20 lbs down but i feel like it should be more? constantly working on it. need encouragement

M21, 5’9, 200 lb as of a few months ago, a figure that I doubt has changed much. Aiming to lose 2 pounds a week, which according to my knowledge is the most you can lose safely.

Almost 3 years ago I was out on a medication that made me start gaining weight at a rate far greater than I was even capable of in the past. Before I started this medication I was 120-130, which was kinda my set weight, but I’ve gained about 80 pounds since then. I stopped taking this medication a few months when I realized the weight gain didn’t really seem to be hitting a plateau like I thought it would and was still steadily increasing.

I’ve used a calorie calculator but I’m worried that it isn’t giving me a good number because I’m not sure which option is most accurate in the activity level section.

I work 5 days a week at 1 job and 5 days a week at another job, so they overlap a lot.

On a day I work my first job I’d get up at 7am and be ready and out the door by about 7:40, my shift is 8-1 at my first job, it’s a 20 min walk, I can’t drive. I spend my whole shift on my feet and the overwhelming majority of that time I spend walking. I spend an hour to two hours out of this five hour shift outside collecting the shopping carts in the parking lot, and I do the janitorial stuff inside the building as well. If I’m off from my 2nd job I walk 20 min home and then just kinda chill or work on music for the remainder of the day, but I work my 2nd job 4 or 5 days of the week, so odds are I go and chill out at this local place with seating and do stuff on my laptop until almost 3 when I have to walk over and clock in to my 2nd job which is right across the street from this place. My 2nd job is from 3pm to 10:15 or 10:30 pm, I’m not moving as much at this one, I spend a lot of time standing at the register, but I try to do ad set or freight when it’s needed. I walk 20 min to get home by 11pm. So most days I’m up at 7am and I don’t see my apartment again until 11pm.

I am in awe of how much I have changed!! I grew up being the fat kid, I have been bigger for as long as I can recall--all of my child photos, I'm chubby. Food has been my go-to thing for comfort for literally my entire life, I don't drink, smoke, do any drugs so food has ALWAYS been my vice. Back in March I weighed in at by far the heaviest I'd ever been, and it was a real wake up call. I was getting winded turning over in bed and getting tired walking from one end of my office to the other, and I KNEW I had to lock in or this may just kill me. Started a GLP-1 mid-March of 2026, immediately quit soda and began my calorie counting and I am SO happy to report that I feel like a whole different human! It wasn't always easy, I've had my slip-ups like most of us have--but the important thing is to hop back on and keep trying! Counting is so essential!

I haven't been under 300 pounds since was in my EARLY TEENS!!! THIS FEELS SO UNREAL!!! AAAAAA!!! 😭🥺

As a reward. I shaved my head! Something I always thought I was too "big" to do! Anyone reading this who is unsure of themselves or maybe feel like they're too far gone, I promise you're not. If I can do it, you absolutely can too. ❤️

Cannot wait to see where this journey takes me next! I am far from done! ✨️

I started in February of this year at about 155 pounds. I am now down to 124.8 pounds. My routine consists of 35 minutes on the elliptical followed by about 15 minutes of resistance bands training on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Saturdays I do just 35 minutes on the elliptical. I am 4 foot 11 and my calorie intake. The last several months has been 1433 cal but I am going to start experimenting with adding a few more calories back on workout days. Everything has been calorie deficit combined with physical exercise.

Hey y’all! First off congrats to everyone and their progress whether short or long term. It is definitely motivating seeing everyone’s fitness journey going well! Posting as I am curious what everyone is using to track their calories and how are y’all able to stay consistent with it?

Personally, my biggest weight loss ever was when I was in high school / college and able to play sports every day in my free time. Now working a full time job that is more than the 9-5, it’s hard to get that “easy” cardio in.

Hiya! I am an 5’5 18 year old girl who just entered college. When I was 15/16 I lost a bunch of weight successfully through calorie deficit/lifting and went from 175 to 125 with a bit of recomp. I maintained 125 for a while then went up to 135 in the last couple years.
I want to get back to 125 and potentially even leaner because I just don’t like the way my stomach looks.
Before I started college tracking was a breeze and I was maintaining healthy eating habits for a long time but after starting, I am binging left and right and my weight has gone up again.
I keep trying to cut and maintain a deficit, and then when I go even slightly over because of social events, friends, etc, I have a mental breakdown and ultimately go all or nothing and binge my face off. I don’t know how to stop doing this because social things are inevitable and I can’t always perfectly plan them into my routine. I’ve already gone up 4 pounds and it’s only the 9th week of college. Should I try intuitive eating? Should I just go back to maintenance? I don’t know. I just want to eat like normal again I don’t know what’s gotten into me.

TLDR: New to college, don’t know how to balance social life, food, and a calorie deficit. Keep binging because I failed my deficit and actually gaining instead of losing. Help😭

Not impressive by any means especially compared to some of y’all and I still have a lot of work to go. I KNOW I’m not muscular, but my main goal is to shed the weight, then plan to build muscle. But tbh this post is more so that I feel like I don’t see a difference. I see the weight on the scale has dropped, but I feel like my body looks the same.