1000 days ago, I stepped on a new bathroom scale, freshly delivered from Amazon. It read 214 lb. Given my height of 170 cm (5'7"), this results in a BMI (body mass index) of 33.6, firmly in the "obese" category. I resolved to return to a healthy weight range, defined as under 160 lb for a person of my height. I have been holding steady at around 155 lb the past couple of months now.
Photo comparison of bathroom scales
It has literally been a series of ups and downs the entire time. Body weight as reported by a scale will naturally fluctuate by several pounds over the course of a single day. That variation is caused primarily by food and water intake, and subsequent elimination of said products. Thus came one of my major rules:
Rule #1: Individual weigh-ins don't matter, look at the long-term trend.
Chart showing 3000 data points
I suspect this is where most people fall off the wagon. They cannot see past the number on the scale and miss out on the big picture. It is hard to have enough patience to keep doing this for weeks and months and years, but you have to get through it.
A popular saying goes "weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint". True results will not be apparent immediately. Any initial drop in weight (probably just water loss) is like dashing off at the sound of the starting pistol. Sure, you might be ahead of everyone else for the first few minutes, but you won't be able to keep it up, and eventually others will pass you. You might run out of steam and not even finish the marathon. Slow and steady wins the race.
My old swim trunks before I lost 8-10 inches
Another useful analogy pertains to the method by which long-lasting weight loss is achieved. I see a lot of news articles and blogs and posts on social media unequivocally proclaiming that "[METHOD] does not work, here's why!!!". The truth is, any method can work, as long as it follows the laws of physics and biology.
Your body accumulates fat because it needs to store excess energy. That energy comes from food, and we often eat more than our body needs to stay alive and perform its functions. Conversely, your body will burn fat if it requires more energy than is immediately available. Therefore, the simple equation is "use more energy than you eat". That's pretty much it:
Rule #2: A consistent, sustained energy deficit will result in weight loss.
Exactly how you do that is why the "weight management" market has surpassed $250 billion per year worldwide. Compare this to the global movie and television industry, which only made a paltry $100 billion last year. There is a bewildering array of products and services and information out there. A lot of it is crap, but some of it works. Separating the wheat from the chaff is a huge part of the battle.
This leads me to the third major lesson:
Rule #3: The best weight loss plan is the one you can stick to.
It doesn't matter if you do keto or paleo or raw food, whether you run or bike or swim or lift. Maybe you use this as a reason to switch to a vegan lifestyle. Or maybe this is your excuse to cook more at home and eat out less. As long as you obey rule #2 and keep rule #1 in mind, you will see results.
I compare weight loss to debt reduction. You want your debt and your weight to go down. You also want your bank account and your health to go up. There are a zillion ways to achieve that. Maybe you need some tips on budgeting your spending. Maybe it's just a mater of not browsing Amazon so often. Getting a raise at work helps too. Or maybe pursuing your dream and being your own boss is the way to go. Perhaps you're looking into investing in real estate or playing the stock market. Bonds? Mutual funds? RRSPs? Commodities? Cryptocurrency?
The point is, all of the above methods can work. They can also fail spectacularly. There is not a single one that is either guaranteed to work or guaranteed to fail. You just have to find something that works for you, and then stick with it.
It's perfectly okay to try different methods, or even have a few on the go at once. I would hate doing keto, so I don't do it. But portion control generally works well for me, and I also will practice casual intermittent fasting on some days. Yet other days I may graze on snacks all day. Some weeks I'll avoid meat entirely, but then I'll follow it up the next week with a trip to the local BBQ joint and roast a bacon-wrapped turkey at home. I could eat nothing but ice cream and still lose weight, as long as rule #2 is satisfied.
Now, I don't recommend the ice cream diet because of rule #4:
Rule #4: A healthy diet does not imply weight loss, or vice-versa.
You might think you're getting off to a good start by giving up alcohol for a month and drinking only juice. I hate to tell you, but there are just as many calories in orange juice as in a typical beer. Yes, juice might be healthier in other ways, but it doesn't necessarily mean you'll lose weight. And that ice cream diet? I could lose weight on it (again, see rule #2), but it certainly won't be healthy over the long run!
Finally, this is something I've mentioned many times in the past:
Rule #5: It is easier to eat less than it is to exercise more.
You need to do both, but math and physics suggest that if you only have the willpower to do one thing at a time, eat less. Think about how easy it is to eat 1500 kcal in a meal. I could do that in about 15 minutes while lounging around on the couch in my PJs. But to burn off 1500 kcal means going outside, getting on the bike and riding 60 km. That'll take 3 to 4 hours. So think to yourself: how often do you eat a delicious meal, and how often do you bike 60 km? As they say, "you can't outrun your fork" and "weight loss starts in the kitchen". It's true!
I'm down 60 lb since I started, now hovering around 155 lb. I've stopped daily logging of my food and my weight for the past two months to see how consistently I can stay within this range. The lowest I recorded was 142 lb on July 21. I may try to aim for 145 lb, as that is comfortably in the middle of the healthy weight range, allowing for roughly 15 lb leeway in either direction.
My methods have changed over the past three years, but I've always stuck to the above five rules, restated as follows:
- Weigh yourself every day, and keep an eye on the trend.
- Burn more energy than you take in.
- Find what works for you and stick with it.
- Don't forget about your overall health.
- Be mindful of what you eat and how much you eat.
There are no guarantees of success, but if you also want to lose some weight, following these rules I believe will greatly increase your chances.
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