Today I weighed in down 72.5lbs, the 50% mark of my weight loss journey. My starting weight was 335, today I weighed in at 262.5.
I started on April 23rd of this year. I'm averaging 3.2lbs per week of weight loss, though recently I've been making an effort to slow that an am losing at around 2.75lbs per week.
Why I did it:
I have always 'struggled' with my weight. I say struggled, but the reality is I've never been huge until recently. I highschool I drifted between 220 and 250 and in college I got healthy and was down to around 215. Then I got married, and let it get away from me. It was a combination of relationship gut meets the real world meets being lazy meets being very busy. I just had a lot going on, none of my hobby's are active (I am a musician who likes video games), and I didn't feel like changing anything.
That changed on March 4th, 2018 when my daughter was born. I looked at my beautiful wife holding my darling little girl and realized that I was a fat fucking mess and that just couldn't stand. I refuse to be the fat father that is out of breath walking his girl down the isle (or worse, is only there in pictures). I refuse to be the dad that doesn't do things with his girl because he's too huge, can't coach her sport, can't take her canoeing, whatever else. So, after our meal train ended, I made a change.
What I did (am doing):
I started with Whole30. Whole30 is generally 30 days, I did it for 90 days. I think Whole30 is one of the best programs for getting you eating right out there. I've done paleo, low carb, calorie counting (still do), weight watchers and a few others I can't remember, none of them actually changed the way I look at food. The thing about Whole30 that really worked for me is that it targets your eating habits with a 30 day plan that isn't intended to be a long term diet, it's supposed to change your relationship with food. For me, my relationship with food was public enemy #1, so changing that and breaking bad habits was a huge priority. What made the way it does that different from other programs is that it didn't let you make 'cheater' versions of anything. In other words, you can't have potato chips and you can't have any kind of chip. Period. You can't have pancakes and you can't have any kind of pancake. Period. Even if you can make the recipe with ingredients that are allowed on the diet, you cannot make a pancake. This plan forced me to learn to make new food instead of my go-to meals like spaghetti, frankly pancakes, and other high carb meals.
After Whole30 I used their reintroduction program to return to a new normal diet. One that uses a lot of the principals that I built with Whole30 and makes it a long term 'diet' that I can really eat the rest of my life.
I also exercise. I started with walking, biking and the elliptical. I knew enough to be really careful about impact injuries early on (I still keep them in mind). My deal with myself was I had to go to the gym and do cardio. I could do whatever I wanted and I could take my ipad and watch TV, but I had to break a sweat and keep my HR over 140 for 30 minutes. Just get to the gym and do something. That simple.
Now I run regularly on a training plan. I'm doing a 10k this October with goals of getting to a marathon. I'm also planning to start weight training here shortly.
Moving forward:
My ultimate goal weight is 190, with a bigger goal of hitting 10% body fat. I plan to get there basically just doing what I'm doing. Eating well and exercising.
To get a little more specific: I plan to slow my weight loss down a little. I've heard lose about 1% of your body fat per week to lose at a healthy rate. I've generally been right around (though a little above) that. Now though I'm still close to 3lbs per week and that 1% mark is more like 2.5. I'll be making this much more of a goal once I hit 250.
I also plan to start weight training much more. I don't want to just be thin, I want to be fit and look good. So, that's starting simple this week with pushups and situps. I'll be expanding into a full routine as I get closer to my goal weight.
Once I hit my goal weight I plan to go into a maintenance diet that will basically be exactly what I'm eating now, just at a maintenance calorie level. I also plan to continue to have fitness events and goals to train for.
Tips for anyone looking to get started:
Fix your relationship with food. For me Whole30 worked great, but that's not for everyone. Either way, figure out how to have a healthy, long term diet that you won't 'quit', doesn't leave you with a ton of cravings and makes your happy about the way you eat. A diet shouldn't feel like a chore.
At the same time, that doesn't mean it won't at first! Or even for a long time. If you're anything like me, you've got a lot of bad habits to break and they're pretty firmly ingrained. That takes a long time. 6 months into this I still don't like having 'no' foods in the house (particularly cookies and potato chips). It's just too hard for me to say 'no' to them, so I don't keep them around. It is getting easier, but I'm not there yet.
Exercise. Seriously. Just do it. Make it a habit (this week I went four days instead of five. It's the first time I've done that since I started.) It's all about habit forming. Set a goal, stick to it and do it. You can lose weight without exercising, but exercise and being physically fit is a huge part of being healthy. Why lose weight if you don't want to get healthy? You don't have to set huge goals, you don't have to run marathons or look like Hulk. Just get that heart rate up in whatever way you enjoy. You'll be happy you did.
Set goals that aren't food (in any way). For me the big one was an Apple Watch at the 50% mark. The reason it's at 50% and not 100% is because I wanted the fitness features for the second half (I've ordered the series 4 today. Yay me!).
For 100% they're basically all clothing related. I want some jersey's from Esports teams that I follow, but I can't buy them 'til I hit my goal weight. I went to a concert for one of my favorite artists recently and bought a shirt in a size that won't fit 'til right around my goal weight.
Some smaller ones are I wanted a new gym bag, some better running shoes, new headphones. I tried to pick things that I really wanted, but also continued to encourage a new lifestyle.
Seriously. Set goals and spoil yourself a little for hitting them. You deserve it. You are the ONLY person that can achieve those goals for you, so celebrate when you do.
If you made it to the end, thanks for reading! I'm looking forward to the next 72.5.
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