I’ve never actually talked about this online before, but now I’m going to. I used to weigh over 560lbs, and I’ve lost 190 of that, with more going every week. I spent a lot of time on this, tried a lot of diets, tried medication, and ultimately considered surgery. In the end a ferocious commitment to eating less, eating better, and moving around more was what worked, and continues to work.
Years ago I went to a medically supervised weight loss program, twice, and met a loooot of people of all ages, all with serious weight problems. A few found success with surgery, and maybe half of those kept it off. Of the half that did, they knew going in that they were ready for the hard work, but they were so big they needed a boost to get moving.
The people who used drugs never kept it off. The the people who thought the magic was in some special way of eating never kept it off. The people who committed to lifelong lifestyle change kept it off, and it didn’t seem to matter if it was Keto, Atkins, Paleo, or any permutation of potentially healthy lifestyles. The active ingredient is not the plan, it is the desire to commit to the plan with all of your being... for years, forever.
For me at least, it was also a matter of growing the fuck up, really taking responsibility for my negative patterns of thought and behavior, and relentlessly working on them in a positive way. It’s hard, but I went from barely being able to walk, to jogging up stairs.
Everyone is a bit different, everyone has different issues with food and exercise, and everyone probably has to use a slightly different approach. Still, some constants for me were the need to ditch fast food completely, and soda is now a very rare treat. More than that however, I had to slowly alter my mental habits about food, and really pay attention to how I felt, especially after an unhealthy meal. I basically tried to form new habits to take the place of old destructive habits.
Anyway, enough babble from me, I just wanted to add my own perspective as someone doing the work to live, and live well.
Edit: I forgot to mention what actually made me post this in the first place, that I found intermittent fasting genuinely helpful. In particular I tend not to have cravings until after I’ve had my first real meal, so I just start a bit later, and have a defined cut-off. I have something with plenty of fiber in the morning, and then just lay off until lunch. More protein with each meal, less sugar, and plenty of fiber, and normal portions.
> The active ingredient is not the plan, it is the desire to commit to the plan with all of your being... for years, forever.
All of your post is good but this is the most important bit (IMO). The biggest scam the weight loss industry ever pulled on Western civilisation was the redefinition of "diet" from "what you eat" to "a temporary change in what you eat". To maintain a healthy weight you have to monitor your weight, and what you're eating, and adjust the latter in response to the former, forever. It's not a thing with an end. It's how you have to live.
> To maintain a healthy weight you have to monitor your weight, and what you're eating, and adjust the latter in response to the former, forever.
Yeah, this is the part that people don't get when they talk about weight loss. They make it out like losing weight is the greatest thing, you'll feel better, have more energy, get more attention from the opposite sex, etc.
Truth is those benefits aren't guaranteed and are mostly exaggerated, but worse is the part they never talk about: what you're giving up to get there. Personally, I have to avoid (or leave early) social functions where free food will be available (you wouldn't believe how pushy people get, insisting that you eat), or that takes place at a restaurant (order a salad and everyone acts like you shot their dog). I have to suppress the urge to hit people who bring donuts to work. I spend three nights a week exercising and I eat a single meal a day of steamed vegetables and fake meat. I weigh myself every single morning and I make n effort to count every single calorie. And I have to do this for the rest of my life if I want to maintain where I am.
Weight loss is not a panacea, the tradeoffs aren't going to be worth it for everyone, and I really wish people would stop being such dicks about the whole thing.
Thanks very much, and I agree on all counts; it’s really the only advice I can give that I know to be true. You have to want to lose the weight and keep it off, to change profoundly, more than what you’ve been doing for years. The specifics are going to be different for various people, but the commitment over time is the big thing.
> "I tend not to have cravings until after I’ve had my first real meal
Very much the case for me too, to the point that I can "forget" to eat all day so long as I really don't actually eat even a bit.
More importantly, though, I've found I can duplicate this effect to a great extent by strictly eliminating carbs from my first meal, and then a eating a proper square old-fashioned "dinner" in the afternoon. This has other benefits for me as well, the most noticeable being that I don't suffer grinding foggy sleepiness at midmorning or late afternoon. It also lets me be satisfied with a light supper later on, which is critical for my sleep. Big meals before bed leave me tossing and turning until early morning.
A sugary breakfast, on the other hand, will fuck up my whole day.
I agree actually. You have to really want to change enough go through all the pain and suffering and to persist indefinitely. I have a lot of difficulty with hunger, to the point I couldn't fight it on will alone and would find myself compulsively eating and unable to stop myself. Rather than kill myself out of frustration over slowly undoing all that I had suffered for I kept trying different things until something worked, and that something was ephedrine.
Everyone responds differently to diet and exercise. For me, intense 30 min cardio makes me not hungry, which is probably counterintuitive for most people.
And for any nutrition plan,ensure you get all your macros in your feeding window too. I've totally found that hunger is suppressed by IF though, but only after a week or so of doing it. Even if you did everything right, maybe it's just not for your body.
Years ago I went to a medically supervised weight loss program, twice, and met a loooot of people of all ages, all with serious weight problems. A few found success with surgery, and maybe half of those kept it off. Of the half that did, they knew going in that they were ready for the hard work, but they were so big they needed a boost to get moving.
The people who used drugs never kept it off. The the people who thought the magic was in some special way of eating never kept it off. The people who committed to lifelong lifestyle change kept it off, and it didn’t seem to matter if it was Keto, Atkins, Paleo, or any permutation of potentially healthy lifestyles. The active ingredient is not the plan, it is the desire to commit to the plan with all of your being... for years, forever.
For me at least, it was also a matter of growing the fuck up, really taking responsibility for my negative patterns of thought and behavior, and relentlessly working on them in a positive way. It’s hard, but I went from barely being able to walk, to jogging up stairs.
Everyone is a bit different, everyone has different issues with food and exercise, and everyone probably has to use a slightly different approach. Still, some constants for me were the need to ditch fast food completely, and soda is now a very rare treat. More than that however, I had to slowly alter my mental habits about food, and really pay attention to how I felt, especially after an unhealthy meal. I basically tried to form new habits to take the place of old destructive habits.
Anyway, enough babble from me, I just wanted to add my own perspective as someone doing the work to live, and live well.
Edit: I forgot to mention what actually made me post this in the first place, that I found intermittent fasting genuinely helpful. In particular I tend not to have cravings until after I’ve had my first real meal, so I just start a bit later, and have a defined cut-off. I have something with plenty of fiber in the morning, and then just lay off until lunch. More protein with each meal, less sugar, and plenty of fiber, and normal portions.