Sugar addict/Keto/ and on being a "I Used to Be a Success Story" loser

CorvusCorax77

I used to be a success story. I lost 50 lbs in 2010 doing CICO. I'm a faithful believer in CICO.

I maintained a decent weight for 6 years. In November 2016, i got thrown off my routine and the weight started to creep back on. For the last 2.5 years, I have officially been "overweight." I find numbers on scales confusing because i was also a weightlifter, so putting on weight and putting on fat are two different things.... anyways, a look in the mirror tells me i put on too much fat. So i have had more body fat than i want for the last three years or so.

For some time, i felt ok with it, but at some point I realized I'm not ok with it. I want to lose the weight and feel skinny again. So for about two years I have been yo-yo dieting. That's crazy! I know how to lose weight! I've done it before! But for some reason, for the past two years I haven't been able to have discipline. I tried IF. I tried CICO. I just couldn't stick to anything long enough. I have kept working out this whole time though, just couldn't control my eating.

So i'm not a believer in gimmicks, but all my coworkers lost a bunch of weight doing Keto. So I decide to give it a stab out of curiosity. Something clicked. First, I think Keto works because you cut your calories. Every day I have done keto has been less than 1300 calories of food. I know I am in ketosis, but i don't know that it really matters. I think it's just CICO. What I do find interesting about Keto is that my food cravings are GONE. GONE. GONE. That's so unexpected. I think my problem has been sugar addiction and now that I'm out of that horrible cycle of my body demanding sugar, I am able to have a reasonable relationship with food!!!

Then I reflect on when i did CICO previously.... i really cut carbs then too... but only because it cut my calories. I remember feeling liberated back then from my food addiction... and I feel it again now! I think my success is inherently tied to having control over my food addiction which is really just a sugar addiction.

Also I haven't posted in YEARS. so... Hi. I'm back.

I'm a vegetarian doing low carb/keto for now. If anyone wants to hit me up and be friends. i'm also pro weight lifting, pro cardio (gasp!), and i love working out outdoors (hiking!).

cmriverside

Welcome back.


I'm glad you found what works for you!

Impala007

After several rounds of New Years resolutions losing 30-40 lbs by June only to put it back on in the second half of the year I have decided to get a jump on it and break the cycle for good. I’ll be 55 in a few months and being old and fat is not a good combination. My eating was out of control and seem like I was always hungry and consequently found myself back up to my all time high of 255+. So about a month ago I started IF reasoning it would be much easier to control my calories in by shortening my eating window. Skipping breakfast was something I didn’t have much of a problem with in the past so that wasn’t too hard. Then about a week later I started keto. Never tried it before although I had done low carb briefly a few years back. Pretty much gave up all sugar, all bread, diet soda, and alcohol. Surprisingly it has been much easier than expected. I now shoot for 19-20 hrs of fasting daily. Currently I am tying to limit my calories to <2000/day. My fasting glucose has come back into the normal band and I feel much better overall. I was 233 earlier this week after only 3 weeks of keto. At 6’2” that just now has gotten me out of the BMI obese category. My goal is to get back under 200. Getting there I don’t believe will be the issue, staying there will be the greater challenge. I have been telling myself each time I drop down .....250s never again....240s never again and soon hope to say that about the 230s. I need to start getting more consistent with my exercise. I would like to start lifting again also. Good luck in quest...I’ll be right there with you!

CorvusCorax77

Impala007 wrote: »

After several rounds of New Years resolutions losing 30-40 lbs by June only to put it back on in the second half of the year I have decided to get a jump on it and break the cycle for good. I’ll be 55 in a few months and being old and fat is not a good combination. My eating was out of control and seem like I was always hungry and consequently found myself back up to my all time high of 255+. So about a month ago I started IF reasoning it would be much easier to control my calories in by shortening my eating window. Skipping breakfast was something I didn’t have much of a problem with in the past so that wasn’t too hard. Then about a week later I started keto. Never tried it before although I had done low carb briefly a few years back. Pretty much gave up all sugar, all bread, diet soda, and alcohol. Surprisingly it has been much easier than expected. I now shoot for 19-20 hrs of fasting daily. Currently I am tying to limit my calories to <2000/day. My fasting glucose has come back into the normal band and I feel much better overall. I was 233 earlier this week after only 3 weeks of keto. At 6’2” that just now has gotten me out of the BMI obese category. My goal is to get back under 200. Getting there I don’t believe will be the issue, staying there will be the greater challenge. I have been telling myself each time I drop down .....250s never again....240s never again and soon hope to say that about the 230s. I need to start getting more consistent with my exercise. I would like to start lifting again also. Good luck in quest...I’ll be right there with you!

I maintained my lower weight for about six years. What i learned in that time is that maintenance takes just as much diligence as losing weight, and it never really ends. I will always have a complicated relationship with food. But i was also able to have new habits.

I learned the unfortunate truth too that, for me, even after six years of holding a good weight, I could easily let myself "go"... putting on excess weight is so easy.

I think low carb is what is going to help me the best. I feel like I have regained control of my body! Sugar addiction is real.

RelCanonical

Keto is great, it allows people to eat satisfying foods without accidentally overdoing their calories from carbohydrates that "go down easy". The only time keto becomes a problem is if people claim that it has magical properties that allow people to lose weight without being in a calorie deficit, or that it is the only way to lose weight because "carbs are evil". It's obvious you don't believe that, so rock it out.

anubis609

As long as you found a diet that you can adhere to for long term and keep your physique/health in line, then congrats!

iheartmyyorkie

RelCanonical wrote: »

Keto is great, it allows people to eat satisfying foods without accidentally overdoing their calories from carbohydrates that "go down easy". The only time keto becomes a problem is if people claim that it has magical properties that allow people to lose weight without being in a calorie deficit, or that it is the only way to lose weight because "carbs are evil". It's obvious you don't believe that, so rock it out.

But Keto taught be to write lose weight instead of loose weight. Keto is a miracle.

RelCanonical

iheartmyyorkie wrote: »

RelCanonical wrote: »

Keto is great, it allows people to eat satisfying foods without accidentally overdoing their calories from carbohydrates that "go down easy". The only time keto becomes a problem is if people claim that it has magical properties that allow people to lose weight without being in a calorie deficit, or that it is the only way to lose weight because "carbs are evil". It's obvious you don't believe that, so rock it out.

But Keto taught be to write lose weight instead of loose weight. Keto is a miracle.

I seriously read my post like three times because you made me think I spelled it wrong in a typo somewhere, lol. Now "lose" sounds weird in my mind.

PAV8888

CorvusCorax77 wrote: »

I used to be a success story. I lost 50 lbs in 2010 doing CICO. I'm a faithful believer in CICO.

I maintained a decent weight for 6 years. In November 2016, i got thrown off my routine and the weight started to creep back on. For the last 2.5 years, I have officially been "overweight." I find numbers on scales confusing because i was also a weightlifter, so putting on weight and putting on fat are two different things.... anyways, a look in the mirror tells me i put on too much fat. So i have had more body fat than i want for the last three years or so.

For some time, i felt ok with it, but at some point I realized I'm not ok with it. I want to lose the weight and feel skinny again. So for about two years I have been yo-yo dieting. That's crazy! I know how to lose weight! I've done it before! But for some reason, for the past two years I haven't been able to have discipline. I tried IF. I tried CICO. I just couldn't stick to anything long enough. I have kept working out this whole time though, just couldn't control my eating.

So i'm not a believer in gimmicks, but all my coworkers lost a bunch of weight doing Keto. So I decide to give it a stab out of curiosity. Something clicked. First, I think Keto works because you cut your calories. Every day I have done keto has been less than 1300 calories of food. I know I am in ketosis, but i don't know that it really matters. I think it's just CICO. What I do find interesting about Keto is that my food cravings are GONE. GONE. GONE. That's so unexpected. I think my problem has been sugar addiction and now that I'm out of that horrible cycle of my body demanding sugar, I am able to have a reasonable relationship with food!!!

Then I reflect on when i did CICO previously.... i really cut carbs then too... but only because it cut my calories. I remember feeling liberated back then from my food addiction... and I feel it again now! I think my success is inherently tied to having control over my food addiction which is really just a sugar addiction.

Also I haven't posted in YEARS. so... Hi. I'm back.

I'm a vegetarian doing low carb/keto for now. If anyone wants to hit me up and be friends. i'm also pro weight lifting, pro cardio (gasp!), and i love working out outdoors (hiking!).

There is little doubt that if you're in a substantial deficit you will lose weight. There is little doubt, in my mind that some methods of eating will make it easier for people to reduce calories.

We have a small divergence of opinion after that and I felt compelled to mention it because you also mention you pro weight lift, pro cardio, have yo-yo'ed and eat what sounded to me less than 1500 Calories a day.

For most of us, regardless of the type of food we're eating, when we are in a large deficit our hunger signals get suppressed for a fairly lengthy period of time.

This doesn't mean that only good things are happening during this time period. Some effects are expected and wanted, and some effects are un-expected and un-wanted.

In the wanted (by some/many) categories we lose weight and also some of our cellular processes slow down. People even believe (based on animal studies that point to longevity increases on long term hypocaloric diets that create sufficient adaptive thermogenesis so as to achieve maintenance at what would be an apparent ~15 to 20% deficit) that eating less long term can even lead to a longer life!

In the not so wanted categories we have increased risk of injury and slower recovery after exercise due to the aforementioned cellular process slow down. We also have hormonal and brain chemical changes that make re-bound regain more likely.

With a history of having trouble with maintenance and yo-yo losses and gains during the past two years I would NOT engage in a large deficit but I would feather any weight loss at no more than a 20% deficit off TDEE (25% if obese levels of fat are present). In fact I would go slow enough that I would need a weight trend application in order to be certain that I was losing weight as my day to day weight ins would not show it!

Based on pro weightlifting and pro cardio... your deficit sounds much larger than 20%

Best of luck and glad you've found what you believe will work for you.

creationscrown

Omg I LOVE your post. I’ve got to find you and become friends!!!Totally relate!!!