This worked in the past, but why???

Maddius · July 2013

Hi all, let me preface this by saying I’m enjoying the journey of MFP and the support and friendships offered are amazing. Still seeking the right key for me, think work in progress, but I Know the road is the correct one, so not too worried.

I actually lost 20kgs about 10 years ago, I sought no advice, I came up with the ‘Plan’ myself and against the odds, something worked, to this day I don’t understand what I did, and the purpose of this post is to gain some understanding on why I succeeded at the time.

The below diet plan, fits with some of what I know to be true today, yet it flies in the face of other stuff (think excessive fructose).

What I put into action was to point blank refuse my ex wife’s cooking (and no, that’s not the reason she’s ex). I came to realise that I alone was responsible for what went into my mouth. The fact that my ex used to my mind, use too much fats, salt and sugars in her cooking was what led me to the undeniable thought that Any change Had to come from me and no one else.

So the ‘Plan’, what was it?

1. Delete beer from my life, no biggie, I wasn’t a Big drinker anyway.

2. Nothing processed, other than canned tuna or salmon.

3. Lots of salad and veg in unlimited proportions.

4. Only 1 slice of bread daily.

5. Two slices of cheese only daily.

6. Protein sources, fish, steak or eggs. No sausages or processed meat.

All’s good so far right?
Now it begins to get grayish, given what I know now.

7. Unlimited diet coke. At the time I was unaware of the dangers of aspartame.
Consumed 2-4 cans/day.
Wouldn’t do This again!

8. Unlimited peanuts in shell, I ate a Lot of them/day. Yep they Are good fats, but they’re also high in calories.
This one would today, concern me?

9. Unlimited fruit, and when I say unlimited fruit I mean I’d eat a Lot.
If I did a fruit salad for lunch it’d consist of 2 oranges, 1 or 2 apple/s, 1 banana,
1 nectarine, 1 kiwi, maybe a pear and then top it off with grapes. This was generally lunch and sometimes dinner as well.

The guys at my Station (Paramedic at the time used to say I’d lose weight just from the time and effort utilised to make the fruit salad).

So what I know these days is yes fruit is good for you, but not too much, given the fructose levels and the huge carb hit I was giving the body.

Being a Paramedic at the time, my activity level was higher just in doing day to day ‘stuff’ with my work than it is these days, but bear in mind, I did no exercise until after I lost the weight. Whereas today, I’m at a desk, but exercising after hours.

I did this in blind pursuit of weight loss and for the first 6 weeks, pretty much nothing happened, after that time it was like someone just hit the Go switch and the weight was literally falling off me on a daily basis.

I don’t understand why I lost with that eating plan, if someone can give me some insight on it, I’d appreciate it.
Tempted to go down this path again (minus the diet coke), but I think there's a better, healthier way.

Cheers
Trev

KarenJanine · July 2013

It's all about calories in vs calories out. Eat below your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and you will lose weight. eat above it and you will gain weight. The plan was obviously giving you enough deficit to allow weight loss.

Your TDEE was probably quite high owing to your active job. If you did exactly the same plan now it might not work so well as your TDEE may be lower.

Also note TDEE naturally decreases with age owing to natural muscle loss over time unless you strength train regularly to keep your muscle mass up.

TheArmadillo · July 2013

Unless you're a diabetic or similar there is no reason as to why you can't eat that much fruit, I do.

Again its up to you whether you avoid aspartame or not.

You would have lost weight because you ate less calories than you burnt, and being male and doing a physical job that probably would have been quite a few.

Eat peanuts if they fit into your calories.

You don't have to eat healthily to lose weight, you just have to eat less than you burnt. You can put on weight eating heathily if you eat too much of it. Eating heathily is good for you, don't get me wrong, but getting obsessive or fixed on 'good' food and 'bad' foods usually only leads to failure. You need to eat in a way you can sustain for the rest of your life. Or the weight will go back on as soon as you drop the new eating habits.

DawnieB1977 · July 2013

As the previous posters have said, you ate at a deficit and you were doing an active job. Also, it looks like you really limited your starchy carbs. As for diet coke, it doesn't stop you losing weight. As you were 10 years younger you probably had a faster metabolism too.

I also lost a lot of weight about 12 years ago now from doing the dreaded eat 1200 calories a day thing, plus drinking diet coke every day! I also exercised a lot. Of course, some of the weight came back on, so clearly it didn't work that well!

Vailara · July 2013

This sounds very like Slimming World (I don't know if it's worldwide, but it's one of the most popular in the UK). Apart from the peanuts, which would be limited on Slimming World. I'm not a fan of SW myself, but it works well for a lot of people. Some people prefer it because you don't have to calorie count, and it encourages you to cook healthy food.

Anyway, why you lose - I think it's partly because you have to cook your main carbs (rice, etc.), so you don't tend to snack. No biscuits, chocolate, crisps, etc. You tend to eat bulkier foods (such as the fruit). High fat foods are limited. You end up eating overall less calories. I've tried it and it works in terms of losing weight, but I just didn't like the diet!

Maddius · July 2013

Thanks for the input folks, funnily enough some of the summations had been the type of stuff I'd arrived at as well. I'm fascinated by the nutrition subject though, on why, what, how. I'm finding out the more you learn, the more there is to learn. A bit like life methinks lol.

Never heard of Slimming World though, obviously didn't make its way down to Australia.

susannamarie · July 2013

Honestly, if you read every piece of research out there and attempted to follow all the recommendations, you would have absolutely nothing to eat.

bcattoes · July 2013

Being a Paramedic at the time, my activity level was higher just in doing day to day ‘stuff’ with my work than it is these days, but bear in mind, I did no exercise until after I lost the weight. Whereas today, I’m at a desk, but exercising after hours.

I would say this ^^ is the difference, coupled with now being 10 years older.

allshebe · July 2013

I think the "key" (beyond an active lifestyle at the time) is that you started with a strong emphasis on fruits and vegetables. They are a healthy start both because of the vitamins and mineral AND because they tend to be high fiber, so they fill you up at a relatively low calorie toll. I would suggest you start the same place now. You added mostly lean meats (not sure how lean aussie steak is relative to USDA "prime", but...), so again, fairly healthy choices. Nothing wrong either with peanuts to "fill the cracks" - good source of protein and fat, though with your currently more sedentary lifestyle, you might want to be mindful of quantities - maybe peanuts in the shell, so it's more "labor intensive" to nosh. I drink mostly unsweetened tea and coffee (so healthy/unhealthy also in a way and likely subject to as much debate as Diet Coke). Water is probably "better", but...

This worked in the past, but why???

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