It's actually more like 4 weeks but I didn't really have a rock solid plan until about 2 weeks ago when the scales arrived in the mail and I started doing some serious tracking of my weight as well as what I eat and drink. So we'll just call it week number 2, ok?
My "honest weight" is down to around 92kg or 203 lbs. I started around 4 weeks ago at 98 kg or 216 lbs. I am quite proud of losing 13 lbs / 6kg in 4 weeks especially when you consider that for the first 10 days or so, I was basically half-assing it and didn't get dedicated until the pasts 2 weeks.
The main thing that I changed about my life is a couple of things really. I dramatically changed what I eat. It used to be that at dinnertime I would order whatever I felt like having and often, this was stuff we all know is terrible for us such as pizza or burgers. These days I have single-source protein for the most part and some sort of starch such as baked potatoes. My overall calorie count could be a lot lower if I didn't drown my potats in sour cream but I refuse to eat flavorless food like bodybuilders do.
For my lunches I continue to eat something healthy and protein heavy and luckily there are a couple of places that are on the delivery circuit here that specialize in health salads and because of the dressings they manage to be quite good and something that I really enjoy. Nadi gets some of it as well.
On the exercise front, I am not really doing anything profound just yet. There is a small gym in my building and I have been going up there to lift some weights and am starting to have a plan of sorts when I get in there. As it is now, for the most part, I just get in there and do something... which is 100% more than what I was previously doing.
Oh and Nadi definitely gets some of that lunch and dinner, just in case you were wondering.
When I do go out to eat, which isn't often, I make a choice based on which selections are likely to contain whole foods. I believe that processed foods are certainly a lot easier, but they contain a bunch of stuff that I likely bad for you. I also try to keep my protein levels up by ordering something that is protein heavy because protein makes you feel full longer, which is important.
Make no mistake: I do not starve myself. I am not taking part in any sort of intermittent fasting or ever being hungry. If I feel hungry, I eat... but I stocked up my house with fruit and nuts instead of stuff like chips and dips.
Fruit and nuts are also heavy in calories but at least they are the right kind. There is nothing processed in there and the ingredient sheet consists of whatever the food item is, and maybe a little bit of salt as far as the nuts are concerned.
I do not count calories for the most part, I only count protein and am careful to not consume any processed sugars. I am still losing weight at a medium pace because my input food was so unhealthy before that basically anything else would also make me lose weight. The biggest thing is that outside of bowling days and special occasions, I don't drink beer or any other kind of alcohol at all. I am incapable of having a "few craft beers " and then calling it a night. I am an "all or nothing guy" when it comes to booze and I think they have a word for people like that.
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Something else that has done wonders for me is that I decided to get on a sleep pattern. I wake up every day at 6:30AM which for those of you out there with traditional jobs, is probably something you do anyway. I do not have a traditional job and basically just wake up whenever I feel like it, or at least that used to be the case.
I do not enforce any sort of bedtime, but by eating at regular times, waking up at a regular time, and getting some sort of exercise into my day every day, I find that I am ready for lights out around 10pm every night anyway. This doesn't do a lot for my social life but hell, I did a LOT of that over the past 20 years, likely enough for most people's entire lifetime.
So in summary, i
- bought a scale and take weekly pictures of myself
- I changed what I eat somewhat but never starve myself
- I get an hour's worth of exercise in every day
- I do not drink alcohol outside of Thursdays or special occasions
This has been working like a charm for me so far although my friends kind of wonder where the hell I am and unfortunately it is me, staying away from them, because I already know what they are doing and those are habits that I am trying to stay away from.
When we get to an honest weight of 91 kg this will be one hell of a milestone for me as an American: It will bring me below 200 lbs which is territory I have not seen for nearly 10 years.
I'm not going to TRY to do it, I am going to succeed. I think this is the correct mindset to have.
What have you done for your health lately?
Protein is super important, so it is good you are doing that. Fiber as well, I make sure you are getting lots of that in some form. Just remember at first you usually lose a lot of water weight, so things go fairly quickly. Eventually, you will probably hit a plateau and that's where most people get frustrated and quit. I've also learned that portion control is important. Probably more so here in the US because as you know the portions are huge here. Processed foods is probably my biggest weakness. There are some that are obvious and those are easy to avoid, but then there are others that are sneaky and easy to "accidentally" partake of.
I'm pretty sure I am nearing the plateau already. The weight loss was around 5lbs as week at the start, but now it is getting frustrating when I lose very little even if I work really hard and stay true to the diet. I know this is how it works though and instead am enjoying that I am already starting to have some visible muscle definition that I didn't have before.
I think back on some of my Applebees or Outback meals and just think "good lord" that was a a lot of food" and yeah, that is just normal back there. No wonder Americans are consistently in the top 3 fattest countries in the world.
One of the steps I took was getting all processed foods out of my system. I have fruit and nuts in my house at all times and if I'm hungry, I eat them.
That sounds like a smart plan. I know what to mean about the muscle definition too. I'm also a firm believer that things are getting better on the inside too even if it doesn't show in the outside. As I mentioned before with my blood pressure and blood work. Just keep it up! You are crushing it!
Nice one there! And with the food in vietnam since it is all fresh this should totally seem doable, you have already put in the work of changing the mindset, that will surely help.
I fould in my recent vietnam trip that I lost a bunch of weight unintentionally just because everything is fresh over there. Noodlesoup in the morning does me good, and no additional E numbers...You will get it for sure!! (and already be proud of yourself dude)
the only thing you really need to worry about with Vietnamese food is MSG and sauces of unknown origin. If you are eating some chicken and it has a wonderful sauce on it, that is probably some sort of corn syrup that came out of a bottle from a factory and is almost certainly terrible for you.
The soups like Pho and My Quang are pretty safe bets though, since it is largely up to you the user what you are going to throw in there with them. Popular sauces like Chin-Su are loaded with sugar, and that is part of what makes them taste so great.
It sounds like you have a great mindset, and I am confident you will continue find the success you are looking for. Do you often eat the local Vietnamese food? I find it to be quite nutritious, and with many unique flavors that are all naturally derived.
the problem with a lot of Asian food is the sauces. You don't really know what is in them and often, especially if it is cheap, they are very poor ingredients of mysterious origin. I will eat meat-based Vietnamese food, but a lot of what is on offer is fried in palm oil or some other seed-based oils and those are to be avoided. On what I am going now I need to aim for whole foods and this means doing a lot of cooking on my own at home.
You are right about the cooking oils, I notice a lot of soybean oil getting used, which is not great. I tend to avoid the sauces, but do love all of the pickled things that are usually on offer.
Wow, changing your food intake has finally taken effect. It's nice that there are food shops offering healthy salad. Thank you for sharing some important points and your ways on losing weight. Control and consistency are important (which may still be a struggle for me). Way to go!
There is a lot of bad information in the food delivery services. You are allowed in Vietnam to call your food "healthy" even if it is not. Some of the restaurants that I have looked at that claim to be "healthy" offer friend chicken and french fries as a meal. How the hell is that healthy?
That's very important, I almost lost it and now regaining back. I have been able to loose a lot of weight of late, thanks to a special home made ayurveda powder made of several ingredients and of course a lot of simple exercise outside.
Regular sleep patterns are a thing that has eluded me my entire life. But that was largely because I have been partying or staying up late doing something like playing video games almost my entire life. These days with my 6am wake up call that I only violate if I am ill, I find that I am always tired around 9-10pm and for the first time in many years, I go to sleep without any chemical assistance. It's pretty wonderful.
You're doing an excellent job setting a great example with your diet control and serving as an inspiration to many who are striving to do the same. Wishing you continued success in reaching your goals!
Hmm... Nadi, your dog, is so cute!❤️
from basically all evidence that i have read and seen online, the diet is the most important part by a long shot
You should steadily lose weight and slow and steady is always good as that is weight you can keep off. Now you will have to buy new clothes which is a good problem to have.
actually, one of the things that inspired me to do this was that I ordered a shirt online that fit my chest and shoulders wonderfully, but gripped my belly in an embarrassing way. I keep that shirt hanging at the entrance of my apartment to remind me of what the end goal is here.
here's something that I think you might be able to relate to because of your background in rugby. I have rather large thighs from years of sports and later from cycling as a hobby in Chiang Mai where I lived and cycled religiously for years. I'm talking 50km a day.
So when I am running I experience difficulty because it appears as though my body has been trained not for this sort of sustained exercise but instead, for brief sprint-pushes with a lot of power behind them. Basically my legs are really heavy despite being quite strong.
Have you ever tried to run or jog some small distance and get winded really quickly despite the fact that you are kind of strong as an ox? That's what is happening to me. I know very few people that are actually as strong as I am as far as what I could pick up is concerned, but I really struggle to keep jogging just as much as a km or two.
Yes our bodies have trained differently to the norm and I don't have massive thighs, but massive calves. Calves that have grown normally from cycling up hills and cycling 10Km to school and back daily. If my bike was broken I would run to school and thought nothing of it. I cannot buy skinny jeans because the leg does not fit over my calves and why I only purchase Tommy Hilfiger today. I have been where you are buying a shirt I liked and had to give it away as the cut made my stomach look bigger than it was ad it wasn't that big. Recently I had to give quite a few shirts away that I bought in Europe for this reason and I will be about to go on a diet so I can wear whatever I want. Funny how guys think like this and we seem to be very similar.
I truly admire those who change their diet for better health. Sticking to a healthy diet every day is not easy. I attempted to do this last year, but I’ve fallen back into my old habits. I want to try to eat healthily again, but I'm constantly surrounded by delicious food that tempts me. I find it difficult to say no to these mouth-watering treats.
Congratulations! It takes great discipline and serious mindset to do such thing. I am one of the people who plan to get a balance diet, exercise, and even make a routine for my morning work outs... but it still remain a plan . hahaha
i have found that it gets easier to stick to the plan each day that goes by. At first I really didn't want to do it, but now if i DON'T do it, I feel a sort of guilt and will work even harder the next day.
Good eating habit, enough rest and exercise is all that we need. Easy to say but very hard to do. And the key is DISCIPLINE. Which I do not have huhuhu
Wow! That's great to hear, 6kgs in 4 weeks 😮 Your consistency is paying off! I was really inspired by your determination. Bravo 👏
Congratulations on your improving your health, I know you can do it! 😁 having strong mindset is the key.
Wow 🤩 you're in your way! I know it's hard but the result will be satisfying and makes you happy. Power up 💪⚡
I am thinking of eating your kind of food because i wanna loss weight too. BE SAFE
it's not difficult, you just have to stay consistent and avoid all processed food and sugar. Natural sugars are fine, such as the ones in fruit.
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