The short of it - I’ve been overweight or obese for pretty much my entire life. I stand 5’11 and was 195 pounds in 9th grade. I was 230 or 240 by the time I was in 12th grade... went on a diet, got back down to 190, and for a number of years that was the “bottom” of most diets I went on, as I bounced back and forth between being over weight and dieting. By my 3rd year in university, I weighed 295 pounds. Got back down to 190, plateaued, and slowly regained weight. At age 28, I was back up to 260 pounds, then from ages 28 to 30, I did well battling my weight issues to some extent, but still tended to fluctuate between 220 and 190 pounds. Looking back, any time I hit 190 I felt pretty proud of myself, though I was still categorically overweight.
After that, I - of course - regained, and again tended to find myself in the 240-260 range. To that point, whenever I tried to diet, I relied on pills. Hydroxycut when I was in my early 20’s, and then my homemade concoction to try to replicate the effect (ephedrine+caffeine+aspirin).
At the age of 34, I became a dad, and at 35, while weighing more than 260 pounds, I promised myself - and my infant son - that I would be a better example than my own dad was to me. I was referred to a dietician at 36 and, for the first time since I was a teenager, embarked upon a diet in which I didn’t rely on pills to burn fat. Over the span of about 8 months I lost 100 pounds, reaching my lowest weight ever - 175 pounds. I was 37 years old when I weighed a healthy number for the first time in my life.
And I did a decent job maintaining for about a year, before things went south again and my weight went north. At 40, I once again saw my weight in the 260’s, and decided, once more, that I would try to uphold my promise to my son and be a better example.
This time around, the journey has taken longer. I’ve been dieting since January of 2020. The previous time I attempted this diet, I began running, and saw myself run more than 100 miles a month within six months of having started. My weight started coming back, and my diet fell off, when I stopped running as much - primarily due to heat exhaustion, as I’d never run in summer before and didn’t respond well to running in the humid August sun. I suffered a totally avoidable injury that also stopped me running, and ultimately went about nine months between runs in 2019.
Guys, I have to say — the first time I did this diet, I ran to lose weight. But I really came to love running, to crave it, and this time around, I began to lose weight to run. I wanted to wait until I got below a certain weight - maybe 230 or 240 pounds - but ultimately I started running on Day 1, albeit much more slowly, and far shorter distances, than what I’d achieved previously.
Since COVID shut down the world last March, I turned running into my daily habit. With the exception of November (when I had to go into a two week precautionary quarantine), I’ve run 20-30 times a month, every month, and have seen my distances reach the same point that they were at when I heat exhausted my way out of my daily running routines back in 2017. I run 6-11k a day, and have my eyes on running 20K+ by the end of the summer (albeit only if I can handle running that far in hot temperatures... I’ve learned how to stay better hydrated this time around, and I run at night far more frequently; night-time runs are way easier on my body, even when the temperatures are above 30C).
At this moment, I weigh 171 pounds. Lowest weight as an adult in my entire life. I have my eyes set on 159 - mostly for the bragging rights of saying that I got into the 150’s - at which point I will begin making changes to my diet that will hopefully enable me to eat more normally while maintaining a healthy weight moving forward.
So, what do I do, specifically?
I eat three meals a day, and 1-2 snacks. My meals are high in protein and green, leafy vegetables. My snacks alternate - on certain “phases” of my diet, such as after a cheat meal, I only have no-sugar jello. Once I’m on “phase 2,” I add small quantities of strawberries and raspberries. My favourite meal, technically a late night snack, is taco salad. I cook up extra-lean beef with spicy taco seasoning.
Honestly, the “late night snack” has been the lifesaver for me. In terms of my eating habits, I am, always have been, and probably always will be a night snacker. By skipping breakfast and having my third meal before bed, I hit that craving without cheating on my diet. And the taco salad is optimal, because it’s flavourful as hell and nice and spicy.
I also run pretty much daily. I do not believe my diet would have been successful without running. I mean, after all, I lost weight to run safely.
As time goes on, and I continue adding distance to my runs, I plan to slowly reintroduce carbohydrates to my diet. Whenever I have a cheat day - takeout for dinner, ice cream, spicy Doritos as a snack, etc. - I will go back onto “phase 1” of my diet for three days, to offset the high calories I’ll have consumed. After that, I’ll go back to a “modified” phase 2, but with a bowl of pretzels as a snack. Those pretzels will be the only carbs I have for at least two weeks, before I switch my stevia for real sugar with my coffee. I’ll stick to pretzels + sugar as my carbs for two weeks, before adding a third thing - maybe a glass of milk every day.
Bottom line - as you all know, I will always need to count my calories, and I will have to be very careful about the carbs I consume. I hope, at some point in the future, to have a fairly regular diet - to eat what my wife and son eat - albeit I will still need to eat fewer calories for a person my height/weight, because my body has been overweight or obese for pretty much my entire life, and my metabolism will always be affected by that fact. And if I ever go out for a special meal, I will go to “phase 1” of my diet for three days to offset the calories. If my family ever goes on a trip somewhere where we eat out a lot, “phase 1” for 10-14 days minimum.
I will say - my diet works for me, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody else. I’m very happy with how things have gone, with how I look, and especially how I feel. But I think everybody needs to find what works for them.
I truly don’t know if this is the time it’ll stick. If I’ll keep the weight off this time. Maybe not. but every day I’m healthy is a win. I want to live a long life, I want to be active and healthy when I’m retired, and I want to travel and enjoy the world as much as possible, regardless of my age. Even if the weight comes back, I won’t give up. I hope you don’t give up, either.
Thanks for reading!
