My first Reddit post ever so please forgive me if I'm inadvertently breaking any unspoken / spoken rules of the community (it's out of ignorance, not bad intent).
Stats upfront for anyone interested: F, 32, height 5' 0.5", highest weight (Apr 2018) 133 lbs, starting weight (Feb 2020) 127 lbs, lowest weight (Aug 2020 after an 87-hour water fast) 101 lbs, current weight fluctuates between 107 - 100 lbs, goal weight 100 lbs, current body fat percentage 21%, goal body fat percentage 15% (let me know if I'm missing anything of substance w/ regards to physical metrics, happy to update)
Over nearly a decade of sedentary lifestyle / long hours of desk job w/ some significant amount of long-distance plane travel over the last couple of years, I found myself slowly gaining weight (1-2 lbs a year) to reach a high of 133 lbs in 2018. While that may not seem like a significantly high number, please bear in mind that I was solidly in the "Overweight" category BMI-wise given my height. What's worse though is I was perennially lethargic, no matter how much sleep I got (I got relatively little during the work week but would catch up on the weekends), would be extremely tired in the mornings and useless until at least noon, got very little physical exercise, and suffered from adult acne (which I didn't have in college and only back in my early teenage years).
In 2018, I tried keto (not strict) for a month and lost 10 lbs, of course a lot of it was water weight but even after hopping off that diet I did manage to retain half of the weight loss so it definitely worked for me. Over time though, the weight continued to creep back up and reached a high of 127 lbs in February of this year.
I started a very strict CICO diet in February that was balanced across macros (<1,000 cal intake per day and logging as many as 20 miles running) and had tremendous success in many ways: weight consistently came off, I felt so much more energy, acne went away, and I didn't have any hunger cravings... until I didn't. After reaching a low of 101 lbs in early August and several months of what I intended to be a weight loss mode, but just more sustainable (as opposed to rapid, crash dieting mentality), I started to rapidly gain weight. Calorie deficit would no longer result in weight loss because my metabolism slowed dramatically and I lost a lot of hair.
My mental health took an enormous toll following the several months of extremely strict restriction. I didn't realize it at the time, but clearly I could feel the consequences afterwards. I've never - I repeat, never - had a binging disorder in my almost 33 years of life and yet I started having many episodes at least once every few days. I would eat even after I was physically stuffed, and still couldn't reach mental satiety. It was very depressing to see my progress slip away, my acne came back, I felt bloated, and when I would try to step away from sugars, I'd go through a major withdrawal. On days where I would successfully restrict my food intake, all I could think about was food, I constantly had an urge to snack, and it was incredibly mentally taxing.
Fast forward to this past Tuesday (so yes, it's only been a few days). For the first time since February, I had a ton of protein in one sitting: a large platter of mixed grill kebabs with only a little bit of side veggies / carbs. And it was the most satisfying, soul soothing, satiating meal of the entire year. I felt like a different person, but also myself from before the extreme dieting started, back when I was utterly unaware of binging / constantly thinking about and craving food. Calorie-wise, it was very similar to some of the other more substantial meals I've had over the last few months (~1,200 cal) but the major difference was that it was like 90-95% animal protein whereas previously it'd be mostly carbs, fat, plant protein, followed by animal protein. This meal made me realize just how much I missed meat (sorry, vegans). And it made me very satiated without feeling heavy and lethargic for the rest of the day AND the day after (I water fasted the next day). What a world of difference. So I've done a total of 3 OMAD days with 90-95% of calories coming from animal protein (beef, chicken, lamb) and alternated that with complete water / tea (no coffee) fasts of 40-45 hours. And I feel amazing. My mental sharpness is through the roof despite being sleep deprived and weight is coming off super fast.
Mentally, I feel the best I've felt in many, many months after such a huge emotional / physical rollercoaster. Very excited to continue this for about another month or so and then transition to still be heavily animal protein centric, but include more leafy veg and fruit.
There are so many other aspects of this journey I haven't even touched on or touched on only briefly (e.g. my relationship with simple carbs, mostly in the form of desserts), which I'm happy to address as well if anyone is interested.
P.S. Anyone know how to upload a photo? (Looking to upload my weight chart.) Thanks!
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/38FxDR9
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