I've been over 200 pounds for at least 7 years. During that time, I have flirted with 200 a small handful of times, but it's only now been able to stick. I haven't seen a weight with a 2 in front of it in days, the longest it's ever been, and I expect it will keep going down.
Here's what's worked for me:
- Diet. Obviously, first and foremost. I eat a lot more yogurt, muesli, oatmeal, and hard-boiled eggs for breakfast. I eat tons more fruit and vegetables. I try to increase protein, but it's hard to get it to suggested levels. I eat a decent amount of cheese, but not as much as I used to. I love nuts, but I've learned I have to stay away--I'll just eat all of them. I switched from oil-fried, buttered popcorn to olive oil on air-popped. I tried butter again at some point and I just felt icky--too much. I eat tons of salads. There's an Evergreens salad place in my office building. It's not cheap, but it's so good, and it's something I really look forward to. I eat at least 2-3 pieces of fruit (plums, apples, mandarins usually) a day as snacks at work. I still go out to eat with friends, but I'm just reasonable about what I eat. No appetizers. Stay away from fried, obviously bad foods. Weekends are still a challenge for me, often. I also still struggle with snacking between meals, especially on things meant for my kids. I rely on exercise to make up for these on some days. :)
- Exercise. This is going to sound like a commercial, but I'm 100% on-the-level. The single best thing I did for my own exercise habits was to buy a Peloton Tread. We bought it in early 2021. I originally thought I would just use it for when the weather was bad outdoors, and that my wife would like the classes, but no…. I love the classes too. I have never exercised as consistently and intensely as I have with this. It's literally one of my favorite possessions. I had also bought in early 2020 (right before the pandemic! lucky!) a barbell weight set and rack. I've done that fairly consistently, but I've focused in the last few months on more cardio and core workouts. (I've also had to move it around for some necessary home maintenance in the garage, so it's currently unusable, but it's going to come out again in 2023.) If I had space, I'd buy the new Peloton Row, no joke.
- Apps. I've gone from MyFitnessPal to LoseIt. I did Noom for 4 months. It was fine, but I didn't look forward to the check-ins after a while. Just didn't fit. The courses were great, though. I also use Libra (weight trends/averaging) and Garmin for workouts/everything. I use Peloton-to-Garmin to sync my workouts to Garmin. I currently have a 78-day streak on LoseIt, but have been using it for over a year.
- Water. I drink more than 100oz of water a day, most days. I have a 24oz contigo water bottle that I love and I go through it at least 3 times while working. Plus more for breakfast and family dinner. I almost never drink soda, and if I do it's usually a diet soda to get a caffeine kick for a specific time period at work. I don't drink coffee or alcohol.
- Book: The Beck Diet Solution. After tiring of Noom, I looked for some books that were based on a CBT-approach for dieting and found this one recommended in r/loseit. It's a great book. It has tons of good ideas. I need to read my notes again and re-absorb some ideas.
- Podcast: Half-Size Me. This is a very good podcast. It's a reasonable, no-nonsense, uplifting and inspirational approach to weight loss based on sound, simple principles. I actually no longer listen to it because I just got overwhelmed with the total number of podcasts I listen to, so I had to cut (See dropping things below). But if you're struggling and need some inspiration, give this a go.
- Meditation and Mindfulness. This is still vague for me. I'm still not 100% sure about it. I have done a lot more meditation (mostly with the Headspace app, which my employer provides free), and I have done food-specific meditations as well. Sometimes I find these very helpful, sometimes I'm not sure and I get very bored. I think that the biggest benefit is that it's forced me to slow down at the start of the day, and to be more mindful in general throughout the day, not just around food. I'm going to do it through end of year and evaluate.
- Journaling. I don't journal about health or food specifically, except by chance if it's on my mind. I have tried multiple types of journaling. I'm currently doing the 5 Minute Journal. Not sure if I'll keep that up. I also use journaling as a way to plan out the day, thoughts for life, making my thoughts concrete, planning future projects. I will often set a 15 minute timer and just sit with a journal, a pen, and no expectations. If something comes to mind that's important, I record it. It's kind of halfway between meditation and journaling. This is working for me right now. I also started writing down what I did for work each day. This has all helped me to be more intentional about my whole life.
- Dropping things from my life. I read less news. I watch less TV. I don't do social media (even Reddit is more rare now, and never on my phone.) The entertainment I do choose is more mindfully selected. I've always read a lot, but I've made it my default activity. I have had to drop or decrease hobbies. I have three children and a demanding job. I don't have the mental space to do well at work, AND a mentally challenging hobby, AND keep up with three kids and make sure they're feeling loved and appreciated. Something has to give. I need my health, especially to keep up with them, and to be present for my wife. So I've made some hard decisions about where I spend my time in this season of my life.
- I go slow. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. I've dropped weight faster before, and it's come back. If I overeat one day, I don't freak out about it anymore. I talk to myself about it. I talk to my wife. "That food was so good, but I ate more than I wanted. I'm a little disappointed in myself. Next time, I need to keep it to a single serving."
- Get organized. I have focused on my systems and processes, especially at work. I'm a fan of Cal Newport and have digested all his books, among many others, for years. But I've really honed it over the last year. I have worked hard to make my job less of a source of stress, focus on the things that will get me ahead in my career, and be very selective with my attention.
- More sex. I hesitate to write this. But really. Even when things are hard, or not getting along with wife that day. Don't wait to fix things to have sex. Sex can fix the things. This helps feed a virtuous cycle. Not going to say more.
Reading through this list, the thing that stands out to me is that I didn't just revamp my diet and exercise. I've been on a journey to rework my life in ways both small and significant. This never ends.
None of the above should be read as if I'm perfect. I mess up a lot, and I'm not always who I want to be in many areas of my life, but it's ok. I'm going slow and slow is fast.
Some things I still have challenges with:
- Negativity. Not everything has been easy with life, pandemic, family, children, my job, my faith, and more. I have a temper. I am really focusing for the rest of the year on being more positive in my outlook on life, and not getting frustrated with other people.
- Snacking. Oh, you bought those Nilla wafers for our 3-year old? Don't mind if I help myself… I have to remind myself to keep them out of sight in the pantry. Default to other things. I can eat as many fruits and vegetables as I want.
- Popcorn. Man, I love my popcorn. I try to stick to the air-popped stuff, but the kids like the Costco microwave stuff, and if I smell popcorn, I eat it.
- Sleep. I try hard to get adequate sleep. But syncing schedules with my wife, handling sick kids, kids who don't sleep when we want, it can really "mess" things up. I'm learning to just roll with it. If I can't wake up at 5am to get on the Peloton, then I can still get up at 6am and do something. I can try to get something in later in the day (rarely happens).
- Weekends. It's hard, man, it's hard.
If you've read this far, kudos to you. I appreciate it. :) I hope it's helpful to people who are like my past self. You can do it, I can do it, we can all do it.
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