Thought I would share the news - and pass thoughts. So many previous posts were very helpful to achieve my goal. 40lbs in 12 weeks - dropped from 265 to 225.
- CICO works - the math was fairly consistent - each week I would lose between 2-4 lbs. My TDEE was around 3,000 and my calorie target was 1,500 - so I should have (and did) average ~3 lbs loss per week.
- To kick off my program, I did a 3-day juice cleanse (with a 2-day prep before cleanse). I hit about 800 calories a day for the 3 days, lost 8 lbs that week - and I felt it helped me move to 1,500 days easily (which seemed like a lot of food). It showed a quick win and helped me set a frame of mind.
- I used https://www.reddit.com/r/1500isplenty/ for meal ideas. Some things that worked for me were peanut butter powder (protein add at lower calorie), used freekah as my primary grain, no bread, no rice or no pasta, I did oatmeal for breakfast but also worked in some protein waffles, cauli-rice, lean ground meats, and a ton of veg. Many of the meals I will continue as I move to maintenance.
- I did 300 cal for breakfast, 300 for lunch, and 700 for dinner. I had 2 x 100 cal snacks in between meals. I tried to only eat between 9 AM and 6 PM. In the early few weeks, I chewed gum quite a bit, but then dropped it as I established rhythm. If I had to gnaw on something, I did 35 calorie rice cakes. The structure really helped me stick with the overall program - did not want to think, just execute.
- I never did any cheat meals or cheat days. I had originally planned to up my calories on weekends - and take breaks. But I felt great through the 12 weeks - more energy, better sleep, etc.. I never wanted to disrupt momentum.
- I was fairly active - spin 3 x per week, long hike 1X per week, light aerobics 2x per week. I also did strength training 3x per week (on my spin days). I did not want to lose a ton of muscle, so I watched my protein as much as possible - just wanted to be above 100g a day.
- My secret was a significant other who was in full support - she led a lot of meal prep, which was a big advantage. We worked out a lot together as well - we had access to a building gym with basic weights, spin bike, and treadmill.
- As the weeks went by, my poop did not flow easily. Some of the choppiness in my week to week loss measurement was based on movement timing. After week 5, I started taking Miralax once a week. Since I was low on calorie, needed some help. I had Sunday morning as my weekly weigh-in date/time.
- I had a DEXA scan a few weeks ago and now have a baseline for body fat of 26% - my plan is to up my calorie to 1800 then 2000 and slowly drop to 215.
- Prior to this success, I incorrectly believed that working out hard was the key to weight loss. Although I did exercise hard and frequent, I was still overeating (especially late at night - second dinners). My big lesson: if you want to lose weight, focus on nutrition and calorie deficit.
As always, if I could do it - anybody can do it. I was just really tired of being heavy - and took that first step. When i saw progress, the momentum just kept building.
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