Greetings all. I want to state upfront that I’m not an expert on this, just a middle aged guy who’s spent a lot of his life battling weight issues, and perhaps my experiences will be of benefit.
Tldr: eat more vegetables, especially greens
I’m 44, and I’ve considered myself fat since I was a kid, even though like a lot of you I look back on photographs and wonder how I thought that. As an adult, I became genuinely fat by any standards. I participated in weight loss competitions at work. Counted calories. Tried all kinds of exercise routines. Learned about macros, counted those.
I’ve lost weight several times, only to regain it. Up, down, up, down.
The trouble I ran into is that the process of losing weight was unpleasant. Either I was hungry all the time, or I had to force myself to work out when I really didn’t want to. It was a chore.
And like most unpleasant things, I’d only keep it up for so long. I’d hit some predetermined target, then celebrate with pizza and beer. Just tonight. It’s fine.
But then of course my old habits took back over, and there I was right back where I started, if not a bit heavier. That led to a whole lot of self-doubt, frustration, disappointment. What’s the matter with me?
At some point, it dawned on me that it might be worth my time to study my fit friends’ habits, do some comparisons. I know these people. They’re not freakishly diligent. They don’t have shocking willpower. No, they just eat and move the way they eat and move, and it works for them.
One of my friends mentioned in passing last summer that he has a simple habit of eating a salad every day. Interesting, I thought. I tried that, and it made a difference straight away.
I find that if I make a conscious effort to include fresh vegetables in my daily routine, in particular leafy greens, I eat less. I don’t spend any of my day hungry, unless it’s just time to eat again. There’s no suffering, no willpower needed. I eat just as much pizza and beer as I’m in the mood for. I just am not in the mood for that as often.
I wonder if I’ve spent my whole life on a micronutrient deficit. That the reason I felt hungry all the time is that I was eating garbage that didn’t actually do the work for my body that food is meant to do. So perhaps my brain was continuing to send out ‘eat more’ signals in the hopes of getting those nutrients.
I’ve taken up gardening during the pandemic, and as a result I have a variety of fresh greens available at all times just outside. The way I usually get my greens for the day is to pick a few leaves off of each plant that I happen to be in the mood for, chop them up with a clove or two of garlic, and pile it all on top of whatever I happen to be eating. Delicious, fresh, full of nutrients.
The weight has fallen off with no additional effort on my part, and for once I really don’t think it’ll all come rushing back.
I imagine it’s not a cure-all answer for every situation, but I wish I’d tried it earlier. Best wishes.
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