This is what 60 Pounds (27 KGS) Looks Like

[JunkBoxJoey_JBJ]

Glad to see you have held the course. f*ck conventional wisdom. A friend asked me today how my diet was going. What diet? I am not on a "diet." I changed the game completely.

I can tell you this. I will keep going until my body levels itself off. Don't know what the number is. I have no inclination to reintroduce things into my life that my body reacts poorly to.

I sleep better. I don't have to "roll" out of bed anymore. Getting up off a couch is easier. I no longer intentionally untuck or "fluff" my shirts. I think the whole time, since memorial day, aside from the occasional craft beer, the only hard core carbs I have had was a small plate of nachos in July.

I carry around almost six less 5# bags of flour everywhere I go. I have a LONG way to go to shed all the weight I want to, but at the same time, I will never go back. There's only one road and that is the one in front of me. Nothing else is even an option.

I was 180# in high school, playing football. I was around #220 when I got married. The lightest I have been since then was probably #235(ish) maybe 15 years ago. So I will definitely get into the 220's, but it's not like then I will start eating donuts.

By the time we get to the 2019 meetup, my body should have found close to it's equilibrium. However, I will stay eating the same way. As @Red knows from when she radically changed her diet... I just "feel better." Hard to explain to those that have never experienced it.

I carry (and you carry) that much less luggage around every day, @Real Deal Denver. I don't ever want that again. When I travelled, I would eat. Now, when I travel, I actually do the opposite. I don't fast, but I probably eat less than 1,000 calories a day when I am on the road. I am travelling next week for most of the week, and by the time I get back the scale will be different.

And you are past the pain. The toughest part? The first few days. Maybe the first four days to a week. Several of my friends have come along for the journey, a few bitching and moaning about it. They won't make it.

Glad to hear of your success. Keep going and don't you ever f*cking quit on yourself.

*2019 Meet UP?
*Bring a pair of the old pants
*BURN EM' BABY, BURN EM'!!!
*Keep it up Vig...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sUKoKQlEC4

 

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[Roli]

Hi Vig,

Just watched this and realised it's congruent with your beliefs and your journey.

Hope all is well.

 

[Al Berton]

I haven't read the whole topic, and maybe this has always been said.... but to lose weight and change style significantly you have to increase your muscle mass, because this changes your metabolism and your body will start to burn fats even when you are not doing any activity. Of course this will improve your shape as well.

 

[Bhanu]

Guys this video is in Hindi (with English sub title ).Very motivating for me ..and I hope will motivate you guys too . I too am in the journey of loosing weight need to loose 3-4 Kgs more to reach my goal :

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aVw1gZ9Ncg

 

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[Raoul Duke]

@Vigilante

Check my progress thread.

110 lbs.

 

[lowtek]

@Vigilante

Check my progress thread.

110 lbs.

you're down 110 pounds?

 

[Raoul Duke]

you're down 110 pounds?

Yes.

 

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[Suzanne Bazemore]

Okay, I just read the whole thread - sorry for blowing up your "alerts" box, @Vigilante and others. Very inspiring. I started using the kaizen principle to improve my health and to take steps toward financial freedom after a series of FTE's, capped off by the death of a very dear friend, who died of cancer. I realized some things:
1. Desk jobs are like a race towards death.
2. I hate the elliptical trainer so much that the thought of how long it would take to work off food is very effective at keeping me from putting it in my mouth.
3. My son was right - the gym is actually fun! I look forward to going now. (Act until echo)
4. SBD is effective for me, too, because it is so easy to follow. I haven't been doing it since my FTE, but maybe I will. It's great for curbing carb cravings.
I know you aren't cooking your own meals, but if you want to try it, the South Beach Diet Shepherd's Pie is really good.

 

[amp0193]

@Vigilante

Check my progress thread.

110 lbs.

Holy cow dude!! Good work

Can't find your progress thread, link?

 

[SDE]

@amp0193

EXECUTION - Master of My Own Fear - Primarily Weight-Loss *110 pounds lost*

One of my favorite progress threads in here.

 

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[RayAndré]

I put myself in Ketosis last week just to see what it felt like. Crazy what the body does when you switch fuel sources.

What did it feel like? How was your energy? What were the "crazy" things you experienced?
I was so close a couple times (I think?). Everything I shouldn't have eaten: gone. But I couldn't nail down what was keeping me back that last little bit. I definitely hit the symptoms, but never felt like "Oh snap this is it OMG! ".

Maybe I hit it without knowing.
Maybe I had inaccurate expectations.

I'm still staying low carb

 

[Get Right]

Maybe I hit it without knowing.

Buy the Keto strips and test yourself. It's the only way to really know.

 

[RayAndré]

Buy the Keto strips and test yourself. It's the only way to really know.

I did, and without changing anything, the dark purple started getting lighter. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Apparently they only test how many ketones your body is releasing, not how many your body is using.

I'm still experimenting

 

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[Raoul Duke]

Not really a Tim Ferriss fan. But he has had decent talks about keto, ketogenic, and ketosis.

 

[Castillo]

Buy the Keto strips and test yourself. It's the only way to really know.

Keto strips aren't all accurate either. The true test is to buy a keto blood test. The strips tell you how much youre pissing out and it will give a sign but can be wildly inaccurate as well

 

[touchance]

No excuses! Either now or never man!

Even though I've never been that overweight, I also struggled with binge eating so in that area I can defintely relate.
I believe to have a rough idea of how hard it can be to change yourself / your life. Overcoming the whole consumerism principle outlined in MJ's books is another example for a tough change. -> The bad choice always feels better first (like buying something NOW vs saving the money or choosing the junkfood over the fruit as an example for the eating category) but all those mini choices result in the big bad outcome.

One important question as you seem to know about the basic principle of calories in vs calories out (
) would be will you track your macros for this 30 day period? Or have you even considered tracking macros generally for your everyday life? Cause I personally can highly recommend it. Combined with IIFYM it helped me to overcome a binge eating problem. I have also tried Keto, Low Carb, Vegan and all kinds of stuff but since I "discovered" IIFYM have successfully and happily stuck with that.

"Doctors won’t make you healthy.

Nutritionists won’t make you slim.

Teachers won’t make you smart.

Gurus won’t make you calm.

Mentors won’t make you rich.

Trainers won’t make you fit.

Ultimately, you have to take responsibility.

Save yourself."

- @Naval

I am new to the site and am just looking over the gold and notable threads. This really grabbed my attention as I am sort of in the heath/medicine field. From personal experience, I feel having the knowledge and being able to execute a sustainable plan according to your own needs are two different things. Sure I can read article after article about weight loss, exercises, hormones, macros etc. etc. but execution is the hardest part, and it's inevitable for most of us to fall off track at some point, otherwise David Kessler (Author of The End of Overeating) wouldn't have suits of so many different sizes. It's a very hard battle given the food industry's aggressive marketing strategies, and also our primal brain chemistry.

Anyway, I have tried different diets, low carb, extreme calorie cut + long cardio (don't do this one since you'll lose muscle and bounce back very quickly), keto, vegan and moderate cut directed by coaches/trainers. I also tried different sports, barbell lifting, functional fitness/circuit training, calisthenics, and bodybuilding. Bottom line is, none of these worked in the long run, I got some results for the first few months and something would go wrong. It could be an energy issue (you'd hate your diet and exercise plan), hunger or stress etc.

This past few months have been stressful for me, but I still wanted to look after my own health, so started to take real control. My approach is calorie tracking (i.e. the IIFYM method, you can use tools such as myfitnesspal). I design my own diet (calorie and macro ratio with mostly low GI carbs, lots of protein and fiber, no additional fat, and some snacks) and then stick to it, to see whether my energy/hunger/weight etc. would change.

It has been working fine and I never felt I am pressured to do things that I don't want to or having to put up with shit like hunger pangs or reflux (which I developed probably because of erratic diet in the past). I have found this flexible approach working pretty well for me. However, it might not be working for you. Point is, you have to really think about what ticks if you are using a fixed plan, because a fixed plan might not work for you specifically (since it is still somewhat a one-size-fits-all approach). The long-term goal would be: you will have a good sense of what portion of what food you need each day, and what meal timing/spacing should be for you to maintain a healthy weight/lifestyle.

When you get the diet going for some days, then think about exercise. I also design my own exercise plan so to take out all major barriers, by going to a small gym near my home with less traffic, and having a layout of exercises that I can put up with and make progress. I personally think calisthenics and regular- or high-impact cardio (like treadmill) wouldn't work for heavier people, since it is so much weight to bear and one would easily give up. I failed at barbells because there is a ceiling at some point that you can't break unless you eat to gain, something I don't want to do given my body fat levels. Also never felt pressured to do things that I find awkward, like going to a crowded gym and work among a few heavy panting bros with their bro swagger . Basically still trying, but plan is 3 days of weights that cover upper body, lower body and abs, and 2-3 days of cardio.

While I'm reflecting, I also realize that past failures came from getting into things too fast and wanting results too fast. It doesn't work with our bodies in the long run. Gotta take it easy, baby steps. It also seems to happen with most people, e.g. chronic dieters, January gym traffic etc. The will can be strong, but the process should be gentle (i.e. no extremes). Since mother nature is a beast and wouldn't consider your seemingly reasonable health goals.

For work ergonomics, sitting for an extended period of time is definitely bad for your health, and can show in your blood work, even if you exercise regularly. See this article:

Patterns of Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A National Cohort Study. - PubMed - NCBI.

The standard recommendation is to stand up and move around every half hour, but if you accumulate more than 4 hours of sitting a day, it still can be harmful. A couple years ago I decided to work on a standing desk instead, and my neck and back pain disappeared.

There are some charts showing the distances between your computer and your eye etc. online, such as this one: https://lifehacker.com/ask-an-expert-all-about-the-ergonomics-of-standing-des-1784829584 and you can test and adjust to your own body metrics.

Hope some of the above information helps.

Good luck!

 

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[Ashiqul Islam]

Congratulations! Keep at it.

 

[YanC]

Not really a Tim Ferriss fan. But he has had decent talks about keto, ketogenic, and ketosis.

I gave a shot a year ago at his slow carb diet and the workouts from his book (The 4 Hour Body), honestly I was quite amazed at the results (goal was to burn a bit of fat and build muscle). I had been working out more or less all the time for years in support of other sports (rugby) before, and that was definitely much more efficient. Went from 189 to 209 lbs in 3 months all the while losing some belly fat.

I'm still on the diet, brings great results and I love its simplicity. The basic version is for fat burning, then you can upgrade it a bit if your goal is to build muscle. Worth giving a try!

 

[Red]

In need of an update, @Vigilante!

 

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[KLaw]

Silence. Sometimes speaks volumes. Hope that is not the case here.

 

[Surf16]

But frankly, how could replacing chocolate donuts (@Chitown) with bell peppers NOT work?

My wife replaced chips and salsa (which I loved) with bell peppers and healthy salsa. I thought she was crazy.
She said we are addicted to the crunch or something like that.
My 5 year old son and I now eat bell peppers like candy!