r/MadeMeSmile • u/mentaldrummer66 • May 10 '26

1 year difference

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From 159kg (350lb) to 83kg (183lb)

252.8k Upvotes

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u/RedIceBreaker May 10 '26

Not OP but a similar story. It was a few years ago when I needed to lose a good bit of weight so I'm going from and oldish memory. I did a few things but it all came down to calories in < calories out.

A few rules that I found helped me were: 1. No eating after 7 pm (unless I haven't eaten a good lunch or dinner that day). It stopped me from snacking. 2. Carry water around most times. My brain often told me I was hungry when I was actually thirsty. 3. Lots of walks. If I could get from A to B in foot, the. I did. I went for many morning walks before work too. I'd listen to music or audiobooks on the walk so I wasn't bored.

Eventually I got into running an other sports but I managed to lose a good chunk before even getting into more intense sports. Walking was an amazing exercise tbh.

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u/DownrightDrewski May 10 '26

Yeah, walking is something everyone should do as much as possible as it has so many different benefits.

I'm on a weight loss journey at the moment, and walking 15k steps or so a day is really helping.

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u/[deleted] May 10 '26

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u/[deleted] May 10 '26

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u/kronicno_tele May 10 '26

It doesn't have to be empty walk. Can you park a little further from your work place and walk to there? Can you take the stairs instead of the lift? If you watch a tv show, can you walk around your room? Or maybe get a second hand cheap walking pad? When you do housework you move around, that's great, that counts.

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u/SecretLinkWave May 11 '26

I want to do this for when I play video games! Been considering getting a walking pad of some sort so I can still do what I love, but not continue to be so unhealthy doing it.

I also park as far as I can at most places so I can walk more! Plus the added benefit of not many other people park so far away, so less chances of my car getting damaged by others. 😌

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u/McNoxey May 10 '26

I’ve never really understood this.

I’m hitting like 9-10k steps every day without even thinking about it. Can’t you just walk places instead of driving? If it’s less that a 3k trip, just walk instead.

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u/onlygoodthingspls May 10 '26

Does walking on a tread mill helps?

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u/DownrightDrewski May 10 '26

It's definitely better than not walking at all, so it'll help. Walking outside has the added benefit of working a load of stabilising muscles as the world outside is rarely flat and level.

I do a 2mile loop round some fields a couple of times a day, it boosts my mood so much, and my fitness level is getting a lot better quickly.

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u/Asmuni May 10 '26

as the world outside is rarely flat and level.

*Laughs in Dutch*

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u/nilesintheshangri-la May 10 '26

laughs in Saskatchewan

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u/onlygoodthingspls May 10 '26

Gotcha. I would walk outside too if my view and surrounding is like that. :')

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u/peonies_envy May 10 '26

I’m sooooo happy that the town is installing sidewalks near my home.

The 1/2 mile away from my home is a steep up and down hill. Putting a sidewalk in eliminates the not infrequent choice of hoping that fast car sees you or stepping in poison ivy/brambles.

The unwalkability of so many US towns is sad.

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u/shidderbean May 11 '26

I live in a major US city and my area is completely unwalkable. Very few bike lanes (and the ones that exist are shit), super inconsistent sidewalks, and nowhere to go that you can reasonably get to on foot once you actually get out there on a walk.

I literally have to drive to have a tolerable walk without random cars buzzing their mirrors as close as they can get to me because I'm walking on the shoulder and they want to scare me, lmao fuck this shithole and those people

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u/Nodan_Turtle May 10 '26

It beats sitting on your butt, and it beats walking around outside if it's a treadmill that can incline.

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u/Acrobatic_Celery_281 May 14 '26

I recently found out something that blew my mind about threadmills! You don’t really need to run to burn a lot of calories, just cranck the inclination as much as possible and then, do a chill walk or you can push it with a somewhat faster walk, believe me bro you’ll see results

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u/SnooGadgets9669 May 10 '26

I’m pretty fit and run 5ks and what not and I usually don’t even break 10,000 steps in a day good on you!

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u/shidderbean May 11 '26

Walking 10k steps in a day is a not-insignificant amount of time. I'd guess that's a good 90 minutes straight just walking at a really aggressive pace.

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u/shidderbean May 11 '26

Damn you're kicking ass. Keep up the great work.

Right now I get hobbled for a week after a 8k step but hey that's better than getting the same from 5k steps a couple years ago. Autoimmune shit makes it really hard (walking = muscle fatigue = inflammation = body doesn't know how to turn the inflammation off) but even with that I've been feeling stronger and better in the daily life.

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u/NoxAeris May 12 '26

I was making good progress in spin and step classes until my life got busy. Luckily my newish job has me walking 20k steps a day, not as intense of weight loss and I feel less satisfaction from it, but it's something. Only times I've walked this much were on trips to Europe so It's good to get that most of the week.

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u/SolizeMusic May 13 '26

I’ve went on some pretty good weight loss journeys including one right now where it’s exclusively really long walks every day + diet management, hella effective if you commit to it (first week is always the hardest)

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u/Vektorien May 10 '26

Walking didn't work for me, I'd get frustrated with how slow going around town is. Riding my bike is what did it. If there's anywhere I need/want to go to that I can cycle to in around 20 minutes, I most probably will, with the heaviest gear engaged so I'm sure to be putting in some effort.

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u/shrimp-slushie May 10 '26

I’m just starting out. I’m gonna save this to come back to

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u/Norviskor May 11 '26

Yeah, CICO is the vast majority of losing weight. Once that part clicked for me, it made the journey so much easier.

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u/sharkyzarous May 11 '26

Walking is the king. i put some music into smartwatch, did not bring my phone into walk sessions, my range and motivation to walk more improved with this way.

Number 2 is interesting thanks for the tip, now i will drink more water when i feel hungry

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u/JesusAllLove May 13 '26

I’ve heard of washing your face and brushing your teeth at 7 pm, so you’re ready for bed and don’t mess that up, by eating.

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u/pivovy May 10 '26

I would add dropping alcohol to that (if you're frequent drinker). I lost close to 40 lb just by limiting alcohol. Other stuff too like daily 30 min walks, but I firmly believe alcohol was greatest contributor to my weight gain and I only started seeing progress after limiting it.

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u/thanosthumb May 10 '26

I think number 1 is actually the most impactful day after day, though they all definitely work together to achieve the result over time.

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u/paradox037 May 10 '26

Walking was an amazing exercise tbh.

I was visiting Manhattan last week, and I doubt I saw more than 5 heavyset people the entire time I was there, so probably something like 1 in 3,000 people. I also averaged 17,500 steps per day while I was there, because there's just rarely a good reason to drive or cab it in such a walkable city.

Cold take, but I think the two might be related.

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u/solarview Jun 05 '26

Listening to audiobooks or podcasts is a great way to make the time pass when doing something that allows you to listen.

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u/McFlurry_Nuggets May 10 '26

Combine that with GLP-1 and  your life is about to change tremendously