365 days later

Today marks 365 days of tracking my eating habits with MyFitnessPal. It has been a fun, difficult, complicated, frustrating ride, but it has been 100% worth it and very successful. I went from 186 to 155, breaking my goal by one pound.

I learned a few things: nutrition is everything, don’t eat garbage, no more sodas, water all the time, sugar is the enemy, and exercise is not the only thing. I have changed the way I live, I didn’t just simply go on a diet.

My main nutrition focuses on these ingredients:
Meats (beef, chicken, turkey, bacon, salmon, tilapia, tuna)
Vegetables
Fruits
Nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, macadamia nuts. NOT peanuts)
Water (Only. No exceptions.)

That’s it. Really. Nutrition is the main thing that I needed to change to lose weight. Eating only this and maintaining a low calorie intake I was able to reach my goal quickly (from about 3000 calories a day to 1900). Try cooking your meals, I do it on Sunday afternoons and eat them throughout the week. I found recipes online that used only these ingredients. This will also save you a little money.

I won’t lie to you, I do cheat with meals here and there, but no more than once a week (In n Out is just too damn delicious, but I stick to my guns and only order a burger with no bun, no fries, and no soda).

ALSO, and very very important, DO NOT let other people dictate your diet. If you go out with friends, do not pay attention to what they say about what you’re eating, do not order like they do, do not let them derail your goals. This is for you, and only YOU can do it. They don’t mean any harm, but they are simply not on the same path as you are, so you cannot let them sway you.

I highly recommended doing cardio, but I will say that nutrition was the main thing that I needed to change. Doing one hour of cardio a day did not offset my bad nutrition (I didn't start truly exercising until about 3 months ago. By that point I had already lost about 90% of what I was aiming for).

There is nothing more important than being healthy. It helps with everything else in life. Next thing you know you’ll be living a healthy life and looking for more ambitious ways of being fit, healthy, and in shape.


BEFORE (5-6-12):



AFTER (5-5-13):