Source
r/loseit•
Solndt

Losing weight as a vegetarian without counting calories/macros?

Hi! Thanks for reading.

I (125lb, 5.3ft, 22yrs) am really looking to lose some weight. Nothing extreme, but I’d love to lose 5-10 pounds.

Here’s the thing, I’ve struggled with orthorexia in the past. I don’t wanna go back to counting calories, I’m one to easily become obsessed so I don’t trust myself to do it healthily.

I also find myself extremely frustrated with exercise as I have a very painful cyst on my wrist (only one millimeter, so doctors have kept me from having surgery for years under the premise that it could come back) that prevents me from even lifting a plate sometimes. My other “good” wrist also hurts often from all the compensating, plus, I write for a living. I used to go to the gym 3x a week, take dance lessons, do Pilates at home, you name it.

Now I’ve been so demotivated over the chronic pain that I only do modified yoga at home, some dance workouts, and walks whenever my work schedule allows. At least, I still eat a pretty healthy vegetarian diet. I indulge in some ice cream or homemade “healthier” sweet treats a couple of times a week, but mostly I eat whole grains, tofu, tempeh, honey, kombucha or tea, fruits, and veggies.

With this in mind, is there anything you’d recommend I do to lose weight? I guess I could start measuring macros instead of calories if I bought a scale, I’m just terrified of going down the rabbit hole again.

Anything and everything helps, so thanks!

Posted Dec 29, 2023, 8:25 PM UTC

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GLOaway5237New•

With the limitations you’ve set in this post pretty much all I can recommend is smaller portions and eat more filling low calorie foods like vegetables. If you can’t increase cardio or definitively decrease calories it’s basically gonna be guess work so just smaller portions of grains, deserts, etc. larger portions of low cal vegetables.

Also I just re-read the top of your post and 125 at 5’3 doesn’t sound too unreasonable, if it isn’t what you want it’s probably due to lack of muscle which if you can’t do exercises cause of chronic pain you might want to find a trainer or physical therapist for

7
SolndtOPNew•

Thank you. Yes, I’m hoping 2024 is the year I finally get surgery - though I’ll admit I’m a bit terrified of it. I’m trying to get out and walk more often as I genuinely love it, and I’m willing to count macros too. I think I probably suffer from lack of muscle, as I can’t be consistent with Pilates or home workouts, and you’re right, I’ll look into trainers.

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deCantilupeNew•

Why do you want to lose weight? It sounds like you’re ahead at a healthy weight for your height and age

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SolndtOPNew•

I’m used to having a better physical state because of regular exercise, but getting a 9-6 this year plus an increase in the pain the cyst causes has made me more sedentary. I’m hoping to look a bit more toned!

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MundanePop579170lbs lost•

You need to get your wrist sorted with draining it, surgery or by working with a physio.

Having said that though you can modify most things in the gym. Push-ups with straight wrists on dumbells or elevated hands on a barbell in a rack all work well. Elbows on a box instead of all 4s or plank all should be easy to sub in.

Start running and heavy lifting would be my advice. I don’t think you need to lose weight to get the smaller body you want, muscle would probably give you a similar appearance

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SolndtOPNew•

Thank you! Trying to get the surgery done in 2024. And toning up is definitely my priority!

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Dangerous-Muffin366335lbs lost•

5-10 lbs should be easy enough with small changes. What if instead of tracking calories/macros, you use one of the apps where you take photos of your meals. If you know you eat ice cream or dessert 4 times a week as an example, then next week limit it to 3, or substitute one of them with fruit?

Changes like parking further away at the store, standing instead of sitting at work, things like that could help. Maybe find a friend to commit to short walks on a daily basis, so it's not like "working out" but just a little extra movement.

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SolndtOPNew•

Thank you so much! That’s great advice. I definitely could track my sweets better, especially since I’m from a country where the 5pm tea with sweet treats is literally a proper 4th meal (we don’t do after-meal desserts at all except for special occasions). I actually love walking, just haven’t really found a routine with my new role and responsibilities at my current job. Thanks again!

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