A few years ago I was following a type of diet, doesn't matter the diet, I was having very good results, I was losing a decent amount of weight on a weekly basis.
Sadly after a few months for reasons obviously unrelated to being on a diet I was laid off, My unemployment lasted 3 months.
In those 3 months I went to an olympic pool twice a day, in the mornings I'd do some sort of HIIT aquatic training, then at night I'd go for a nonstop hour of medium or slow paced swimming.
I stopped looking after following a diet, I lost weight and started to look and feel athletic, my hypertension went away I actually started to have low blood pressure, my heart rate was at around 45BPM when resting.
One time under the right lightning I caught my reflection on a mirror and the 6 pack was almost visible, I called my wife to come to the room and she just sad "you fucker!" (in total awe I like to think).
After 3 months I had several interviews and when I was about to get a lower paying job, my old company contacted me, business was better and they were able to rehire me, they even offered a slight pay increase, so I went back.
Going to the pool wasn't an option then, only at night, and not always because reasons... or excuses...
After 6 months all that progress was gone, and after a year all the weight came back, I was lucky I tried to stop my weight gain and somewhat maintained my obesity levels and they didn't get worse.
After that I tried several types of eating, CICO, Paleo, Keto, Slow Carb, IF, and everything works! If you can stick to it permanently, if you read the fine print, if you do your own research.
I tried running but just "not my thing", I started lifting, got myself a barbell a rack and some weights and that was wonderful, but I decided I wanted to focus on lifting more, and caring about fat percentage later, I actually got a bit leaner, but there are always things in your way.
Then it hit me, there is not diet that will save you, you have to save yourself, how can you eat better and be consistent with it?
How can you improve your cardio if you don't like running?
How can you keep your muscles working if you're traveling and don't have access to a gym?
I had all the answers, they aren't secrets, they aren't revelations, I don't gold a magic key to fitness.
Try to cook for yourself as much as you can, that's the only way that you'll be certain of what went into your meals.
Eat more veggies, less starch, sugar or fast burning carbs.
I used to eat pastries 3 or 4 times a week, sometimes 4 or more flour tortillas with a meal, a six pack while grilling, now I eat one tortilla 3 or 4 days a week, enjoy a pastry once or twice a week, make a conscious choice, read the labels, check portion sizes, divide correspondingly.
I wanted the old wisdom of 500 calories a day deficit to lose a pound of fat per week to be an exact thing, turns out it may be closer to 1000 calories a day to achieve that, and without an effective weight to measure you body fat percentage you'd never know how much of that loss was muscle.
I used to just guesstimate the size of my portions, now I take 30 precious extra seconds to put things on a scale or a cup or a tablespoon. CICO Works for me if I stick with it.
I've had to reassess my tactics according to my progress (or lack thereof) in order to keep advancing towards my goals.
I've had to accept that things I thought were the right thing to do weren't really.
Don't like running/jogging/brisk walks?, but you think you need some of it, if just to aid in your weight loss journey? Try alternatives, there's plenty of cardio options, plyometrics high intensity aerobics, Exxxxtreme Zumba (ok I made that one up), there are rowers, stationary bikes, ellipticals, everything works!... If you stick with it.
You travel and leave your gym behind? well, guess what weights a lot and you can also lift? YOURSELF! Bodyweight movements at a proper difficulty level can give you most of what you can get from weights, but it takes practice also.
All in all, I know there are exceptions everywhere, but most likely it isn't you.
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