Today I stepped on the scale and saw my goal weigh, having lost 60 lbs in 23 months. I knew it was coming, but it was richly and deeply satisfying. I am so proud and still surprised. My first stop, even before telling my wife, was this extraordinary subreddit to share (more on that in a bit).
I''m excited to share what worked for me. I hope it helps. The basics of the Quick Start Guide and The Compedium (in the subreddit sidebar) are of course more general. But everyone whose shared their personal journey (even if mine turned out differently) has helped me. So I truly hope this can help you in some way.
The Keto Hobbit - a Prologue
In January of last year, my wife made a comment that somehow shook me. She referred to us as 'the fat couple' among our friends. It was a jokey comment. And we weren't not that *overweight*. With 2 small kids, we've both put on some weight. But I in particular had put on quite a bit over the past 10 years. And I was shook into action. So I took up Keto and went from 245 to 220 in about 15 months. And hovered there. I was strict (no processed or even fruit sugar) and I did lose some weight. There's a lot of be said for Keto and I don't want to demonize it in anyway. It taught me how reduce sugar and carb intake (especially in sauces). And it got me into home cooking. But I plateaued. And I felt that purposefully eating tons of rib-eyes steaks smothered in butter and bacon every morning wasn't the answer for me.
There were other factors swirling around in my life. I was successfully working on improving my relationship with my wife and my family. My emotional and mental health was pretty good. My kids were getting a bit older, which meant fewer sleepless nights. My finances were a bit better. But my appendix had unexpectedly burst. I also got into a scary car accident (proven not my fault, but terrifying). And I was headed toward turning 50.
And then the world turned upside down when the pandemic hit. And I had a lot of time on my hands to think and control my environment.
Lord of the Wings: Enter CICO and /loseit
Finding this subreddit initially provoked some mixed reactions in ne. Like I assume many people, the most obvious hook is amazing posts about dramatic success stories (hundreds lost!). It drew me in. I was also interested to see a number of males posting. I generally had experienced male support based on fitness goals, but not necessarily weight loss. But I had some initial reactions to the 'extremity' of the tactics, especially on calorie counting. And what I perceived as dramatic emotional expressions of despair/shame/et al. And the simplicity of CICO. That eventually changed a lot.
Getting my head right: Learning to fine tune how I framed weight loss and not be absolutist was everything for me. I got curious.
Coming into /loseit, I did a lot of self- mental gatekeeping. I had to do Keto, because I can't do portion control. My family really loved eating and I do too. If I ate when I was hungry, I know I will gain weight. Salads are the best way to eat light. I could get to this weight, but could never get to that weight. What I learned over time is to transition those thoughts into less absolutes. Portion control is hard for me - how can I eat higher volume and lower calorie (hello /volumeeating)? Maybe I shouldn't judge counting calories - hey whatever works. I eventually, by the way, logged everything.
Related to this was getting curious about myself. My tastes, likes, difficulties. Hey I notice that skipping breakfast works for some people, but over the weeks I've learned it puts me too much on tilt. Having a large warm breakfast really works for me. Sweet potatoes - huh, not as high calorie as I would have thought. Yeah, starchy, but it fills me up and so easy to make. In attuning myself to these details, I made progress. Some people don't like weighing themselves every day, but that ritual works for me. Walking every day is realistic for me, especially if I keep my step goal low (8,500) because I want to keep my streaks going. I also learned that, yep, I in fact did have some of these more "dramatic' ups and downs during the journey. Maybe I wouldn't use the same language about the weight loss journey but the same patterns and trains of thoughts did occur. I just didn't want to listen.
CICO It's so simple. Yes, the math is, but I'm not.
CICO basic tenets have been so revelatory to me. But they were just a key for me. Let me explain. Once you realize that business is about generating more revenue than the cost of what you're selling, you can go make money. Because that's the basics of business. I know this, yet I ain't a billionaire. What gives? Yes, it's important to never forget the fundamentals, but human beings are complex. We eat for recreation. We have tastebuds. We have families. Some foods are harder to prepare. Our bodies and reactions to foods are different.
For me, CICO helped me break out of a keto rut. The no B-S science of it appealed to me. It's no different than the basic advice of the Mayo Clinic. It helped develop a true lifestyle change, but my solutions are born of a cult of one: me. I have needed to tailor how I log, when I weigh-in, what I eat, when I eat... all around trial and error. To use an innocuous example, it took me so long to discover 1) I love popcorn 2) I can keep it low calorie by air popping 3) adding Pam butter spray is relatively low calorie and tastes good to me 4) a simple contraption to microwave air popped kernels is super cheap 5) Switching between a small amount of different savory toppings can make a huge difference 6) I like yellow kernels. Popcorn is now a staple of diet, but a lot of dead ends, other snacks, and trial-and-error occurred. Multiple this journey across 100 different types of food and preparation. Buying an air fryer, getting more freezer space, trying tons of recipes from volume eating (some of which were complete personal busts), finding a few that I can elevate to weekly. I learned about what habits worked and which didn't. Sometimes I never got to the bottom of why. Sometimes I did. But I kept listening and trying.
It's you
Lastly, I have to thank this group so much. I developed this handle because I wanted to be completely candid with my journey and my original reddit handle is pretty close to my real name. But I check /loseit almost daily. It's reaffirmed my faith that the Internet can be a force for positivity. It's made me appreciate the commonality of the human experience. And it's been the number one factor in me losing 60 total pounds and reaching a weight I haven't had since my first year of college. Bless you. For those dreaming about your reward for reaching your goal (eat this, new clothing, etc), whatever suits you. My reward was sharing my story with you. It's the best.
If you're just getting started, stick around... Start paying attention to yourself and your reactions. Find your choose you own adventure CICO journey. Now, shhh, I'm off to tell my wife I hit my goal... but you heard here first.
Post: Sorry am 6' 3''
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