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Before (forgive the mirror)
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After
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Name/datestamp
Background: Hi! I'm male, mid-20's, a hair under 6'6" (198 cm) tall. I won't bore you with the details of how I got fat (I'm sure everyone can put that together), but here's a little rundown of what I did to lose it. Total weight loss to date has been ~137 lbs, with more than 100 of that coming since August 2018.
What I did: I ate between 20-50g of carbs a day, with all my meals (generally two) coming in a 6-8 hour window. I watched my calories to a certain degree, but I wasn't maniacal about it. Once a week (e.g. dinner on Friday), I would spike my calorie intake. I don't know if this actually did anything (leptin something or other), but it improved my overall sense of well-being and it didn't seem to hinder me.
I did no formal exercise and never went to the gym. I don't necessarily recommend this, I'm just a broke college student and couldn't swing the membership costs/commitment. I did, however, start walking a lot more, though never a set amount - I wasn't trying to hit a certain amount of miles or steps per day. I just replaced some of my car trips (to class, for instance) with walks.
Critically, when I slipped up -- and I will admit, I ate more than one pizza during the course of this little project -- I didn't beat myself up about it. I got up the next morning and did my level best to get on with my life. I got better at this with practice.
What changed:
Several things about my health improved:
Snoring/apnea: When I was heavy, I would snore and wake up a lot at night. I was never explicitly diagnosed with sleep apnea, but I had all the symptoms and was offered testing on multiple occasions. This is completely gone now.
Silent reflux: I was always clearing my throat and coughing, and my voice would get progressively more hoarse throughout the day. This, too, has completely resolved.
Rapid heart rate: Of all the (many) annoyances that came with being so heavy, this was the scariest. Frequently, my heart would start pounding from very little exertion, and on multiple doctors visits I registed an HR between 120-140. Several tests/EKGs/etc. revealed no issues, and they eventually told me it was likely some combination of deconditioning and anxiety. They were right. My typical RHR nowadays is in the 60's-70's, and the rapid, sudden increases I used to experience are totally gone.
Skin/hair: My skin and hair got progressively more oily and "brittle" feeling as I put on weight. Having lost the weight, both of these issues have more or less cleared up entirely.
Digestive health: I'll give it to you straight - mine has never been great, and it's still far from perfect. That said, I am, right now, the least bloated/uncomfortable that I have been since I was probably 15 years old. It has gone from an enormous hindrance in my life to a mild annoyance that I only notice occasionally.
General fitness: I can see my abs now. That's pretty cool.
Some things didn't change all that much:
Self confidence: I have always been rather shy, and that hasn't changed with the weight loss. I'm much more comfortable being out in public/meeting people now, but I still struggle with my self confidence (I have a very hard time imagining dating, for instance). I trust this will improve with time.
Lower back pain: When I was 18 and pretty healthy, I threw my lower back out ... standing up from the couch? I know. Anyway, it's never really gotten better, and while taking this weight off has certainly eased up some of the discomfort, I was hoping for a bit more in the way of relief. Ah, well. We all got problems.
What I learned:
1) Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
I would have really liked to have gone to the gym, eaten organic, gotten exactly the right amount of sleep every night, etc., but that ain't the way it shakes out sometimes, so I gave up that dream pretty early on and just resolved to do my best. I ate a lot of stuff that people smarter than me recommend against (probably with good reason), stuff like almonds roasted in vegetable oil and store brand dairy. Was it optimal? Nope. Was it very low carb, high in fat, and, overall, good enough? For me, yeah. I could not have done this had I chased perfection or insisted on things like a gym membership and grass fed beef. Instead, I leaned on mother nature for exercise, ate cafeteria cheeseburgers without the bun, and trusted the process.
2) Occupying your mind and your time is important.
Stay busy. Find things you care about more than food and focus on them. For me, this was stuff like Bible study, photography, my schoolwork, and video games (Destiny and Fortnite, mainly). For you, it might be water polo, or learning piano, or beating me in Fortnite. Having something is important and was probably the largest single contributor to my success.
3) If you don't like the way you look, resolve to do something about it, and then get out there and live your life anyway.
I spent a long time -- a looooong time -- away from people because I was so ashamed of the way I looked and the way I felt. When I got the opportunity to attend my current school, it was one of those "you either do this, or you spend the rest of your life hiding" sort of moments. Problem for me was, I had always planned on getting back out there eventually, but it was supposed to be on my terms, and it always came with the caveat, "as soon as I lose some weight." Well, the time came to get ready to ship out, and there I was, still 290+ pounds. What's a guy to do?
Hard as it was -- and I was an anxious wreck for the first little while -- I did go back to school, and in doing so I learned a very important lesson: life keeps going whether you participate or not. While I was home feeling bad for myself, other people had kept on moving and living and enjoying themselves and, critically, not thinking at all about me, because who cares? I pretty quickly figured out that, oh wait, no one actually cares that I'm fat; in fact, no one pays much attention to me at all. Hey wait, these people actually like me!
I burned a lot of years worrying about being mocked, ostracized, and socially rejected. Now, I understand how important it is (and was) to get out there regardless. It'll work out.
Anywho, that's the long and the short of it. I'm not super knowledgeable about keto science or anything like that, but I'm happy to answer any questions people have about what I did and how I did it (to the best of my ability). Appreciate you reading, and remember to trust the process. See you on the journey, pals.
