I was muscular-athletic (80kg) when 18, but gained ~40kg weight during my undergraduate studies.
I lost 30kgs in 2016-18 then, gained almost all of it back later when completing my PhD.
I am now at the end of my PhD and in the last year have made some changes in my life. These changes include eating healthily and going to the gym regularly, and I have now lost 18kg over 1 year.
I still have another 18kg to go until I reach my goal weight; but I thought I'd make this post here because I am now only clinically "overweight" and not "obese" for my BMI relative to my height.
I consider that a small victory; and the slow weight loss combined with heavy lifting at the gym has had the effect that my chest, arms, and legs now starting to recover some of the muscular definition that I had during my youth, which has helped with motivation.
I now fit into single XL shirts comfortably, and any shirt is only tight around the chest and arms (never the waist, stomach, or hips). My bench press has improved to the point where I can lift my own bodyweight for ten repetitions, and I can squat and deadlift almost double my weight for at least 5.
My wife has started to appreciate my body more as well as it has become more athletic, which feels great.
As to how this was done:
(a) I have not counted calories regularly because up until this point it has not been necessary, but as I get closer to my ideal BMI I expect I will have to be more careful in managing my calories;
(b) each meal has a large serving of lean protein, and two meals per day are soups, salads or meat and vegetables;
(c) I eat Miso Soup, dates, jerky, oranges, berries, Kefir or Skyr yoghurts for snacks;
(d) I have a post-workout protein shake of two servings of lean ON Whey Protein Gold Standard with 500mls of full cream milk after each gym session;
(e) I lift heavy weights 4-5 times a week; I run about 10kms three times a week;
(f) after every 4 weeks I will have a 2 week maintenance period, where the goal is to gain muscle and not lose weight.
Sorry if this sounds like bragging, but I am proud of my achievements so far.
My fears for the future (which I am sure many of you share) is the excess skin around the abdominal region when I finish weight loss - I do not have any problems with it at the moment, but when I reach my goal weight (which is to be around the upper midpoint of the ideal BMI for my height) I anticipate that it will get worse. You can't lose 40kg without some loose skin.
I have a good paying job lined up for post-PhD, so I am hoping that that will help fund surgery by the time I reach my goal weight to remove any excess skin, should that prove necessary.
Good luck to all of you who are still doing your best. For those like me who lost the weight and then regained it, I feel for you, but wanted to let you know that it is worth restarting the journey again no matter how hard that might seem in the beginning.
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