Trying this again.

ninth_ant

Some history: three years ago I lost about 130lbs, but since then had gained back just over half of that. This time I'm taking a different strategy which I hope will be more effective in the long term.

In the initial effort, I went with a ultra-low calorie approach, aiming for 700-1000 intake calories per day, with some cardio to push that down even further. This ended up being tremendously successful in terms of weight loss, I lost about 5lbs per week doing this (some people report a metabolism crash, I did not for whatever reason). The downside was that I was completely miserable the entire time, and it was really negatively impactful to social events as there is basically nothing you can eat at a restaurant, ever. But the problem is that after I reached my target weight, I was so exhausted that I "took a break" when my kid was born.

After the "break" of two and a half years, I'm ready to start again -- but with a different strategy. Instead of a crash diet, I'm trying to imagine what a "healthy me" would be like, and eat and exercise like what I could sustain long term. So that means no crazy crash diets and instead finding food I actually like which fits in the net calorie goals at my ideal BMI.

To put it another way: I'm not eating tater tots because I'm on a diet. I'm not eating tater tots this morning because I don't eat them, and won't ever eat them. I'm not exercising to lose weight, I'm exercising to feel healthy and stay active.

My exercise plan is to run three times a week, and on alternate days do a combination of stationary bike and weights. Doing this every day helps keep me on track as part of a daily routine, and (maybe?) keeps my metabolism up and (hopefully?) prevents muscle loss.

My diet plan is to do a non-dogmatic but mostly Paleo/low-carb approach. I realize everyone is different, but this style of diet helps me feel full and avoid snacking between meals or late and night. I stick with a zero-tolerance policy for high-carb snacks like candy or chips. I cut down alcohol to at most one per week while out socializing with friends, and eliminated coffee to help sleep (which helps with self control in general).

Typical breakfast: big heap of egg whites, avocado, tomatoes, onion, bacon (alternate: two whole eggs, avocado, no bacon)
Typical lunch: chicken, cabbage and lettuce, jalapenos, onions, salsa (alternate: soup; or frozen diet package meal)
Typical dinner: soup, sausage/chicken/beef, salad (alternate: some meat and some low-starch veg)

So far -- six weeks into this new plan -- I'm losing weight nearly as fast as I did when I was on the crash diet, though a lot of it is presumably from the initial impact of reducing carbs so I imagine that will slow down. And the best part is that I can be a normal human, going out with friends and going to restaurants and living life properly. We'll see what happens in the long run, but I do feel like I can maintain this forever.

katevarner

Thanks for sharing. I've lost before and regained even more, so feel some of your pain. I'm around a lot, so feel free to send me a friend request if you need encouragement.