Tuesday, June 30, 2020

First post here! So back about 4 years ago I started my weight loss journey, 308=> 150 (lost 158) 5’7” male goal weight in about 2 years; creeped back up to 180 and am back to 175; working to get back to about 160~ (where I felt healthiest) here are my takeaways

So back when I started I was diagnosed with an obesity induced hernia. I was told by my doctor that at my BMI/weight I was probably unlikely to live another 25 years (age at time). I was so heavy I had to lose about 18 pounds to have the surgery because of anesthesia risks. Real wake up call! I did a crash diet to lose the weight for surgery and put back on 10lbs in recovery (6 weeks). I turned it around and spent about 2 years losing weight. Not super slow but steady helped! I came to get and give some advice

1st how I did it Diet: - No secrets here! Basically ate 1400-1600 calories (with doctor approval) a day and diaried what I ate, even weighing food
- tried to only eat things I made and less ingredients the better (spices are a must, sauced were limited to mustard, some soy, and lots of hot sauce) - learned to go out with friends but eat before we went to the restaurants so that I could control calories - avoided soda but would have a Diet Coke, Coke Zero, or unsweetened iced tea when I was out - cut out beer but would occasionally have a glass of wine or a few shots/vodka sodas - favorite dessert was frozen berries, splenda and coco powder; also frozen grapes and lime juice - avoided high sugar and high carb foods, mostly

Biggest lessons - changing habits is a process, choose one every 3 weeks and focus on making a new habit (I.e. no more soda, exercise 3 times a week etc); trying to change too much can be overwhelming and it’s better to completely fix one then temporarily change 10! - if you are doing calorie counting you can use however you want, so if you want cake, eat it, but then eat other meals based around that splurge, rather than having cheat days - try and plan those splurges on exercise days!! - there is always a “reason” to splurge, a birthday, a party, a dinner, you honestly don’t miss much of you plan ahead, eat before and go for the company instead of eating a bunch when you are there, you may even get more out of it because you get to focus on the activities!

Exercise: - for me this was the biggest variable: When I started I did couch to 5k and 2 days of light weights/calisthenics/bodyweight stuff. When I got down to about 250 I started adding in more. I Started weight lifting 3 times per week and cardio (basketball for me!) 2-3 times per week about 1 hour per session; just get out there and don’t be embarrassed no matter how bad you are (for me I am specifically talking about my atrocious basketball skills) people appreciate effort and you will improve. Working out is progressive, don’t get discouraged if this week you could only do 30 minutes of walking, next week shoot for 31

Weird things I didn’t expect: After -60 pounds I was cold like all the time because of insulation loss Having childhood friends and family not recognizing you is strange, still to this day I’ll talk to people and it will take them a few to realize who I am When all the weight was gone I felt like a puppy who wasn’t used to my body all the time, I’d overrun things, my center of balance was off etc... it was kinda hilarious!

Ask me anything and I’ll help; one thing I still work on is hunger! When I was losing weight it went away after a few weeks mostly but when I went back to a normal diet it piqued back up again; My biggest weakness is: ice cream and maybe alcohol, both are great but moderation and as a treat help. Anything I forgot please ask about!!

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