Over a period of a year and a half, I(m, 24) gained about 120 pounds, from about 170 to the 290s. I had gotten depressed, my job was overworking me while I was attending school on full time credits and commuting. I went from going to the gym 5 times a week, to working 35 hours a week and commuting to school on a full time credit schedule, and the combination of being prone to eating while in that emotional state, overwork, and smoking weed just snowballed from there. I swung from the healthiest I had ever been to the unhealthiest I've ever been, and it kind of sucked. But at some point a few months ago I felt like I had kind of "snapped out of it" and woken up a bit from the depression, and started sorting through various problem areas in my life.
In this time I've lost 30lbs in 3 months, and I'm staying on that 10lbs a month pace as long as I can manage it. I kind of assembled bits and pieces from various diet plans I used in the past when I was in shape, and had tried and failed while in a weaker state of mind, and have been following a couple of guidelines for myself. As of this post, my calorie goals to lose 2lbs a week are 1800-1900 daily, which is a large number to play with.
I stopped drinking calories, avoid anything more than small portions of breads or starchy carbs, track water consumption, and try to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables prepared in ways I enjoy, and have stopped smoking weed to prevent temptation. I will eyeball most of my calories and round up, since I had dieted down from 210-170 previously by meticulously tracking calories. The caloric tracking experience helps a lot when I don't have time to make my own food, and I have made cheeseburgers fit into my diet when I don't have time to prepare my own food for that day. But honestly, after tracking what is my standard current diet for a while, I just roughly eyeball the normal days and fall well within my goals, since there are no more sneaky carbs catching me off guard, and I haven't slowed down yet.
Large salads made with ~6oz fried chicken, house mix, bell peppers, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, bacon bits, and balsamic or low calorie caesar dressing are a huge staple in my diet, and so are bowls of soup with fruits and veggies on the side. I could be a little healthier by subbing out fried chicken in my salad for grilled, but I figure it gives me enough pleasure at the moment to keep it in the mix, and since I don't add cheese I allow myself the indulgence.
I was surprised at soup, though. Soup is like my new love. It ticks all the boxes for me, it's hot, delicious, satisfying to eat, low calorie, easy, and has variety. You can have a nice big bowl of soup and struggle to make the whole meal with veggies and fruits go above 400 calories, which to me is incredible for the "taste/caloric value ratio" of it.
The weird part of this iteration of my journey is I don't really feel like I'm on a diet. I don't feel much hunger eating like this. I feel like I'm just eating a lot of good food, and just happen to be losing weight, and that's what feels so good. Even though I'd lost weight before when I was truly healthy, I feel like now I'm better than ever at assembling a healthy diet on the fly that lets me feel good all the time.
I've recently been adding basic weightlifting back into my weeks, and know that I'll experience "blips" in weight loss progress where I develop muscle, but considering that I keep track of my intake I don't think it will phase me. I know I'm not that far into the journey compared to others, but this first 30lbs in 3 months has been the best I've felt in a long time and I'm excited to keep up my progress to reclaim my body.
Not sure why I posted this, but hey. Feels good. I wish you all a strong will and determination to continue your journeys as well.
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