370 to 250 7 Months - Suggestions on how to get there

Someone asked me to compile a "guide" if you will to how I personally lost the weight. Starting at 370 and being 28 years of age I definitely had an advantage over most being that I had more to lose. Hopefully some of this helps. I am not trying to be a doctor or attempt to convince that my way is the right way, it simply has been working for me. So, below is said guide.

1. Logging -

Be accurate. It is pretty simple. Those little things that you may not feel are important end up adding up to big numbers at the end of the day. If you are unsure of a food item you ate say at a restaurant, my general rule of thumb is to stick to a policy. My policy is go above average. For instance a taco shop has a California Burrito listed at 750 then another at 925. Then when you break down the ingredients you get something around 850 and you find another one at 1000. I go with the 925. I consistently find a average that I stick with. That way when I am comparing calorie intake with other items in the database I am at least at the same level if I am under shooting it or over shooting it I am at least somewhat neutral. Log every day period. Even so called cheat days or Superbowls, Holidays etc. This is a lifestyle change, for me I had to take it permanently and seriously every day otherwise I lose control. Stick to the MFP numbers be honest about your activity level. I think the MFP work out counters are on the average of say 15% or so over what your true caloric burn was and so I usually reduce my calories burned by 15% before completing my entries.

2. Beginning "Cleanse" -

I suggest this simply because it worked for me. The first two weeks was cold turkey of most of my "bad habits". For two weeks I had plain oatmeal for breakfast, a chicken breast with salad and no dressing for lunch the same for dinner and nothing but water, raw veggies and fruits throughout the day. The first few days were torture. You don't know how many times I found myself floating around a fast food place just thinking "One burger won't kill me" then I looked at a photo of my son on my phone and imagined me not being there, it motivated me.

You do not feel good the first few days of the cleanse, I sweated for no reason and it smelled funny, you retain water like a camel, I had caffeine withdrawals, I felt nauseated. Then on the 5th day or so, I woke up and felt for the first time what it was like to be regular, not to feel sick and to sleep normally. Yes, in 5 days I had results but I was paying attention and noticing them.


3. Walking - I lost the first 70 lbs by being under my calorie goals daily and walking a lot. I started off with about a 30 minute walk and then eventually got up to a 5 mile walk hike and did it consistently 4 or so times a week. The first 70 lbs came off within the first 3-4 months. It may not seem like a lot but it will catch up to you and it is exercise.

4. Calories Earned vs Calories Burned - There are a lot of debates on MFP about eating back calories. Don't listen to any of it, it is all bull****. It is about how and what your body does. For every person that says they succeed eating back there is a person that says they succeed not eating them back. I found a happy median. I usually eat about half back, mainly to make up for any over or under caloric "guesses" in both the burning of those calories or the consuming. I stick with proteins and low carb foods after a work out and drink a lot of water. This works for me.

5. Spiking - This is pretty much what seems to work with me. There are plenty of names for it but I just call it Spiking. Basically it is simply messing with your metabolism. I really don't have a set way of doing this, it mainly occurs naturally or when I hit a plateaux. Essentially what I do is I review my caloric logs and notice I have been meeting my calories daily for say a week but I have not budged on the scale. I go out and eat 500 calories over my requirement and viola the next day I lose 2 lbs. or I eat 300 calories less than my daily goal and the same thing I lose a lb or 2. I have gone so far as eating 1k over my calorie count and end up losing lbs the next day. In the back of my mind I am constantly spiking. I will go for a whole week of going under then I will go way over one day and the next week I will go over my calories a few days and then go drastically under and fast. There really is no rhyme or reason to it, just listen to what works.

6. Eating when not hungry - This is another MFP debate. If I am low on calories should I continue to eat? My opinion is no, unless you are hungry. For me, eating for the sake of eating is what got me into trouble in the first place. I try to listen to my body you can eat every two to three hours if you do it right, you can eat every 4 hours if you do it right, the key is balanced sized meals to the goal you want. Personally I don't care some days I go two hours and eat, some days Ill have breakfast lunch and a snack. I don't want to ever tell myself I have to eat, when in the past that is all I did was tell myself I had to eat...

7. Attitude and dedication - People are simply motivated differently. When I have a bad day I feel terrible, I feel guilt and I use that energy to motivate me to not do it again. Design your motivations around what works for you. My wife in the beginning would always tell me "don't beat yourself up over a bad day" to me that is the worse thing you can tell me, that is failure and at no time do I want to be comfortable with failure. I want to feel like crap, otherwise in my head, I will convince myself that it is ok because I am being accepted for my failures. My wife has learned that instead of offering sympathy she simply suggests ways to make it work better for me with diet suggestions and work out suggestions etc.

I apologize to the grammar police it is late, I hope this helps.