|
For the first time in my life, I've been losing weight in a healthy way.
I have a super slow metabolism, a history of hypothyroidism (has improved), GI (gastrointestinal) problems, and a range of allergies.
The most I've ever weighed is 96 kg (212 lbs), and I'm 159 cm (5'2.5"). I have thick bones and a stocky, curvy build. At 96 kg/212 lbs, I was a big size 16.
That high weight was when I yo-yoed after abdominal surgery (lost the weight waiting for abdominal surgery because of infection and inflammation and adhesions, then gained it back and a whole lot more right after the successful surgery). Before the abdominal illness, I weighed about 80 kg (177 lbs).
I started this new diet on January 25, at 85-87 kg (187-191 lbs) and now it's June 12 and my low weight is 76.9 kg (169.5 lbs, about a 10 kg loss in under 5 months). I'm now a small size 12 (size 10 pants do up, but they feel tight).
What am I doing differently?
Let's start with what I was already doing right before (and only maintaining, but not losing, weight):
1 - Only drinking water, unsweetened herbal tea, 100% pure cranberry juice or freshly squeezed lemon with water or sparkling water (now added V8/tomato juice in small amounts a couple of times a week). No caffeine or sugary drinks or alcohol.
2 - Eating no wheat, very little cow dairy, and no processed foods. Eating no chocolate, few sweets.
And yet I still wasn't losing weight.
So here's what I started doing differently:
1 - Counting carbs. Ya, no fun. But it works. I am allowed up to 2 carb servings/meal (15 g carbs/serving), and up to 8 carb servings/day.
2 - Eating breakfast, as a rule, with carb and protein. 30 g carb, plus the equivalent protein of one egg. Plus some fiber.
3 - Counting veggies and fruit, to make sure I get enough. I eat a minimum of 5 servings/day and up to 9 servings/day. 2/3 of that should be veggies.
4 - Counting protein and fat. I have 4 servings of each/day. This is a loose measurement. Basically, about 3-4 oz. of meat is one serving for me of each of fat and protein. When I plateau, I'll look at this more closely, but for general purposes, a 12 oz steak would be enough fat and protein for me for an entire day.
5 - Checking that I'm getting fiber with every meal. Looking for the fiber source on the plate. This helps keep things moving.
6 - Counting overall calories: on a low day, where I'm not hungry, I get about 900 calories. On a pigging out day, I get about 1800 calories. Most days, I range between 1200-1500 calories consumed.
7 - Walking. That's it. I walk, I stretch. That's all the exercise I do, for now. I've had health problems, so I'm being gentle with myself. If I plateau, I'll push it more. I try to walk 30 minutes to 2 hours per day. No running, no jogging, no cardio. Just moving and stretching, gently and consistently.
8 - I use tricks like splitting big bags of "healthier" potato chips and cookies into small snack bags, with a serving size of about 100-150 calories, and 15-30 g carbs. One of those snack bags is 2 hours worth of food (can't eat for 2 hours before that or 2 hours after). That's about 17 plain potato chips (or often sweet potato chips), by the way.
I also use small plates to make it seem like more food. And I use a bowl of greens under my other food to fill up on veggies and make the bowl seem full.
I take half my restaurant meal home and start eating with the veggies, then the meat/protein and I eat the carbs last, so that I am already mostly full by the time I get to the carbs.
Anyway, that's about it for now. If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know.
|