# Losing weight



## father_of_2 (Oct 27, 2017)

Hi all - bit of a change from my previous posts. Want to make this one about improving myself.

I've been overweight my whole life, with only two brief periods in 2003 and 2006 where I really started taking care of myself, working out, and lost a ton of weight. But each time I've ballooned back up beyond the previous starting weight. I was up to 365 lbs. in 2008.

I got down to 265 for my wedding in 2010, but since then my weight has gone between 255-325 pretty consistently. 297 this morning.

I've started intermittent fasting - no food between 8PM and 12PM, which doesn't seem to be too hard so far, but I'm only a couple weeks in. My problem is with snacking. I will have a big lunch and then be hungry 30 minutes later and go get a Kit Kat out of the machine (terrible).

My question for you all, especially any men who have been in the same boat previously, what have you done to get in shape? With the problems in my marriage lately, I want to focus on myself a bit more and less on constantly trying to please my wife.


----------



## Fozzy (Jul 20, 2013)

Plan the contents of your meals around satiety. A carb heavy meal is going to prime your body to burn glucose which will make your body signal you for more carbs again soon after.

Ever notice how you can eat like 12 pounds of pasta, but the equivalent amount of steak would make you burst? Meats and fats have a higher level of satiety associated with them. Structuring your meal around higher protein and fat levels will let you eat comparatively less in calories and stay satisfied longer. Getting enough healthy fat will also encourage your body to burn fat as a fuel source in lieu of carbs.

Also, if you drink--don't.


----------



## Bananapeel (May 4, 2015)

I've never been out of shape, but the secret is really just eat right and exercise. Food should be lots of vegetables and lean meats (e.g. chicken breasts or fish). Eat veggies for snacks or go with fruits if you are craving something sweet. Stay away from processed carbs, but limit other carbs like potatoes (only eat a half potato if you want one) and white rice (switch to brown rice or quinoa). There are things like riced cauliflower that you can use for a rice substitute. If you cook your own food you'll be far better off than buying prepared foods or eating out. Healthy fats like avocados, olive oil, and nuts are great. 

For exercise you need a combo of weight lifting and aerobics. Weight lifting builds muscle mass which increases your metabolism (i.e. you'll burn more calories each day). Track your exercise and food on myfitnesspal and you'll do fine.


----------



## Fozzy (Jul 20, 2013)

Another powerful thing is if you can shift your mindset to accept that being hungry is actually ok. Many people reach for food at the very first hint of hunger. Often if you ignore the hunger for 20 minutes or so, it will subside. When you're hungry, view it as your body grumbling that it has to burn fat instead of Kit-Kats.

Smile, pat your hunger on the head and tell it to get back to work.


----------



## Noble1 (Oct 25, 2013)

Lots of ideas and tips and such out there to choose from but the trick is to find something that works for you.

For myself, I find that drinking lots of water throughout the day helps and is an easy trick to try.

When I'm actively losing fat (weight) I try to follow a modified ketogenic diet (more fats and protein and very little carbs).

The diet, after a couple of days, is filling and cuts out much of the craving for sugar, etc. When I'm really into the diet after a few days/weeks, it sometimes becomes hard to eat all the calories I have allotted in order to not lose so fast.

Of course you will lose a bunch of water weight the first week and that is nice to see on the scale.

Remember that while being active will help, the true weight/fat loss comes from the diet part of the equation. It's true that you cannot out exercise a bad diet.

Good luck.


----------



## father_of_2 (Oct 27, 2017)

Thanks both, good advice. I've never thought of hunger in that manner - brilliant!

I've never been a drinker. I may have one or two drinks if wife and I go out to dinner or if on a business trip, but almost never drink at home. One beer at home a year maybe?

I also drink a lot of Coke Zero. 4-5 cans per day, which I am sure is bad for me. I've heard that diet soda can actually cause you to gain weight because of the cravings it creates. I have tried switching to coffee, and just couldn't get into it. I didn't hate it, but didn't love either. Maybe I'll try coffee again...
@Bananapeel, how often would you recommend exercise - I've done 6 days a week (2003/2006), splitting cardio and weights. But I wasn't married nor did I have children then. Hard to get away now.


----------



## Yeswecan (Jul 25, 2014)

Eat as much low fat foods as you can. Kit Kats and other sugary delights are off the table. Coke Zero? Get a water instead. 

I'm on a low fat diet. Much help in losing and maintaining my weight. Had to do something anyway. My doctors tested my cholesterol and stated I will have a major heart event in 10 years if I don't go low fat now. That was enough for me to dispense with the eating whatever I wanted. 

I exercise 3 times a week. 1 mile in 15 minutes on the treadmill. Lift weights to tone but not really grow muscle. 

BTW, I'm married with children. I make the 30 minutes to get away. Sorry to be direct, make the time to get away for exercise. The family will survive the 30-60 minutes you are not around.


----------



## Bananapeel (May 4, 2015)

A minimum of 3 days per week and focus on weights if your time is limited. I personally do 5-6 days per week and get up at 5 AM to workout, and go to bed early so I'm not tired. I started that a couple years ago when I was getting divorced and now it has become habit and I don't even think about it. When I started I used to repeat to myself each morning when I woke up that the hardest part of the workout is the first step out of bed and that got me the motivation to start my workout that day. I recommend the 5X5 stronglifts program for weights if you are inexperienced.


----------



## wilson (Nov 5, 2012)

father_of_2 said:


> I also drink a lot of Coke Zero. 4-5 cans per day, which I am sure is bad for me. I've heard that diet soda can actually cause you to gain weight because of the cravings it creates. I have tried switching to coffee, and just couldn't get into it. I didn't hate it, but didn't love either. Maybe I'll try coffee again...


The problem with sweets and carbs is that it almost acts like a drug to your brain. It doesn't matter that it's fake sweet stuff--it creates a link between sweet->pleasure. Your brain's reward center will then continue to seek out sweets/carbs to get that pleasurable feeling. One of the reasons that the low-carb diets work is that your brain is no longer linking food->pleasure, so it's easier to avoid overeating and excessive snacking. 

Like others are saying, exercise is important. Weightlifting will probably give you the biggest boost to self confidence, but I wouldn't jump right into that. Weightlifting is a more technical activity and you can easily under/overtrain if you don't know what you're doing. So before weightlifting, join some sort of small-group, instructor-led workout. This can be things like boot camp, kettle bell workouts, BodyPump, etc. CrossFit is a popular one, but it's more advanced than a newbie should do. Some studios specialize in these kind of small-group workouts. Try to find one and workout there for a couple of months. That will give you a solid base of fitness to begin weightlifting or whatever you want to do.


----------



## Ursula (Dec 2, 2016)

Fozzy said:


> Another powerful thing is if you can shift your mindset to accept that being hungry is actually ok. Many people reach for food at the very first hint of hunger. Often if you ignore the hunger for 20 minutes or so, it will subside. When you're hungry, view it as your body grumbling that it has to burn fat instead of Kit-Kats.
> 
> Smile, pat your hunger on the head and tell it to get back to work.


And a lot of times, hunger masquerades as thirst, so keep a glass of water with you to drink from when it hits you. If, like me, you get tired of plain water, pump it up with lemon, cucumbers, fruit, etc. I keep one of those RealLemon squeeze things at work, and add it to a mug of hot water. Hot lemon water apparently aids in weight loss. Cold water burns calories because your body needs to work harder to warm it up to absorb it.
@Bananapeel mentioned www.myfitnesspal.com, which is a great site! Do you have an activity tracker? Apparently, they don't actually help lose weight, but I wear one, and find that it gets me up from my desk a little more often. You can also link the app with the tracker for better monitoring. It's fun to play with the numbers!

Something I found to be a BIG help was to stop counting calories, and to track macronutrients instead. I like to track fat, carbs and protein. For my body, I know that if my fat content for the day is pretty high, I'd better cut back on the carbs to maintain weight. If carbs are pretty low, I can pretty much go gung-ho with fat. I also try to eat a lot of protein and fiber to keep me fuller for longer.


----------



## Fozzy (Jul 20, 2013)

Noble1 said:


> Lots of ideas and tips and such out there to choose from but the trick is to find something that works for you.
> 
> For myself, I find that drinking lots of water throughout the day helps and is an easy trick to try.
> 
> ...


I had amazing success a few years back with a ketogenic diet. Like you, I probably was at risk of actually losing weight too fast. The hard part is that you either have to make keto a lifestyle choice, or you have to be very careful when you come off of it or the weight will pile back on again. I'm going to be trying keto again soon because I need to lose some weight again myself. this time, I'm planning on coming off of it and switching to a modified paleo-lite plan for maintenance. I've done paleo before and while I didn't really lose a lot on it until going full keto, I did feel amazing while on it. I also learned how to cook like a madman and discovered another joy in life.


----------



## Yeswecan (Jul 25, 2014)

I see a few ideas for getting fit. You expressed it is hard to find the time. Joining a gym etc does not look to be in the cards due to time. Purchase a treadmill for home. There are plenty used ones collecting dust. I have a used treadmill in my basement. I do the 1 mile in 15 minutes. Sometimes go more. This helps tone my legs and my stomach is also getting tone from the treadmill. I also purchased 1 20# dumb bell. I use the dumb bell for curls, shoulders and triceps. I do push ups to tone my chest. Workout lasts up to 30 minutes. I'm just looking to tone, burn some calories and lower cholesterol. That is done primarily by low fat diet. Friggin bacon don't happen but once a month. Cold cuts. Nope. Fatty steak. Not happening but once a month. Smart choices. 

It has to become lasting change in your life to lose and maintain. It is not easy and I'm sure you know. Just got to want it.


----------



## wilson (Nov 5, 2012)

father_of_2 said:


> TI've done 6 days a week (2003/2006), splitting cardio and weights. But I wasn't married nor did I have children then. Hard to get away now.


As all parents know, there is no open free time just waiting to be filled with exercise. You will have to carve out time. Even walking during your lunch hour can be very beneficial.

How old are your kids? Get them involved with your exercise. Go out for walks/runs in the neighborhood and invite time to come along. They can ride bikes, scooters, etc. if they don't want to go on foot. Or get a wagon and pull them for an extra tough workout.

You have to be committed and creative to find the time for exercise. There will always be something else (or 100 something elses) you need to be doing.


----------



## NextTimeAround (Dec 15, 2011)

Yeswecan said:


> Eat as much low fat foods as you can. Kit Kats and other sugary delights are off the table. Coke Zero? Get a water instead.
> 
> I'm on a low fat diet. Much help in losing and maintaining my weight. Had to do something anyway. My doctors tested my cholesterol and stated I will have a major heart event in 10 years if I don't go low fat now. That was enough for me to dispense with the eating whatever I wanted.
> 
> ...


I don't believe that "low-fat" is the holy grail. Fat removed from food is replaced by sugar which provides calorie but no satiety.

And I have noticed that when I load up on sugary food, I start sweating and getting jittery. These days, I will goo hungry than eat carby food knowing what can happen.

Fat contributes to satiety. That feeling you get when you don't need to go back for more. Oils, certain veggies, even animal fats. They're healthier than those chemicals contained on those socalled "low fat healthy snacks."


----------



## Yeswecan (Jul 25, 2014)

NextTimeAround said:


> I don't believe that "low-fat" is the holy grail. Fat removed from food is replaced by sugar which provides calorie but no satiety.
> 
> And I have noticed that when I load up on sugary food, I start sweating and getting jittery. These days, I will goo hungry than eat carby food knowing what can happen.
> 
> Fat contributes to satiety. That feeling you get when you don't need to go back for more. Oils, certain veggies, even animal fats. They're healthier than those chemicals contained on those socalled "low fat healthy snacks."


Did not stat it is the holy grail. I can assure you fatty animal meats is horrible for the circulatory system. Eat lean. Chicken is lean with skin removed. Less fatty steak. How is sugar replacing it other than a person adding sugar. 

I also stated Kit Kat and other sweets are no longer a good choice if ever. 

Good fats from from nuts, avocodo and the like will be far better than any fats from meats. 

Proof is in the pudding(which I don't eat either). I have lost 30 pounds on a low fat sensible diet with mild exercise. I have maintained the loss by continuing to eat well.


----------



## Cletus (Apr 27, 2012)

You absolutely must count calories, at least for a while until you understand how much is going into your mouth. Use an app like My Fitness Pal and track every morsel. 

You don't need gimmicks or fad diets, but you do need to know how many calories you are consuming. Any food is OK as long as you stop at your daily calorie limit, and better eating habits will almost certainly follow as you figure out the best way to feel fuller longer. Start making all of your meals and skip the calorie laden fast food. 

Add exercise, and DO NOT count your calories burned against your daily calorie allowance. 

Finally, you will need to exercise 5 days a week or more to keep it off because you are in that sad category of the previously obese. Your metabolism is already sabotaged for life and will slow down drastically when you lose weight - sorry, but that's the cold hard truth. A recent longitudinal study on The Biggest Loser showed that it was only those who exercised rigorously nearly every day who could manage to maintain their weight loss over time.

This is more or less the way I lost 50 lbs two years ago, 40 of which I have managed to keep off. You'll have to change your relationship to food and exercise.


----------



## twoofus (Jun 16, 2017)

You mention you tend to snack a lot. You could try the 10 minute rule:
You go to the snack machine, fridge, biscuit jar or similar. STOP! Promise yourself that if you really want to, you can come back in ten minutes, that's not too long to wait. During that 10 minutes, recall the benefits to yourself of avoiding that snack. If at the end of 10 minutes, you still insist on snacking, go ahead. If you don't, congratulate yourself on mastering your willpower and knowing you can repeat the performance as often as is necessary. The chances are that the urge will have subsided.


----------



## wilson (Nov 5, 2012)

Keep in mind that having the motto "eat less to lose weight" can be like saying "drink less to cure alcoholism". While technically correct, the difficult part of either strategy is in staying on track while going against the cravings, desires, and impulses of your brain and body.

If you struggle to change something about your diet, realize that you have to make a choice to battle the compulsion. For example, you have now instilled the behavior of snacking after lunch because you are eating a Kit Kat, which is very sweet and delicious. It's like giving a kid an ice cream when they have a tantrum--it only creates a harmful pattern. You have trained your body that 'triggering hunger after lunch' yields the result 'eat a Kit Kat'. Instead of a Kit Kat, snack on something unappealing, like unseasoned lima beans. Not only are they much healthier, your brain is not going to get a rush from eating them and create a cycle of craving. While you may not be able to stop your body from craving a Kit Kat, you can control your actions to avoid the vending machine.


----------



## oldshirt (Apr 1, 2017)

father_of_2 said:


> I also drink a lot of Coke Zero. 4-5 cans per day, which I am sure is bad for me. I've heard that diet soda can actually cause you to gain weight because of the cravings it creates. .


Good God man, make cutting those out your top priority for now. 

Seriously. Just eliminating that and drinking water in it's place will produce some results even if you change nothing else at this time. 

The way it was explained to me is the chemicals that are used in diet soft drinks as sugar substitutes have the exact same effects on the body, or even worse, than actual sugar. In other words, even though it may not technically be sucrose (ie 'sugar') the marketing company can legally say it's sugar-free but your body does not know the difference and will react the same as if you were drinking a quart of soda a day. 

And given the fact that it is some kind of artificial chemical, God knows what else it is doing to your body chemistry. 

A lot of those things also have diuretic effect so you end up peeing more fluid than you take in so you end up dehydrating which triggers your appetite and cravings for sugar and salts etc even more. 

The only thing you could be drinking that is worse for you than diet soft drinks is actual rat poisons and strychnine etc etc. 

Make eliminating that crap your top priority for now until your cravings for it are gone (which may take a few weeks). And then you can move on to other diet modifications. 

Haul a jug of water around with you and when you get cravings for any kind of soft drink, chug some water instead. You'll be peeing like a Russian Race Horse for awhile and may have some terrible cravings and mood swings as you detox, but simply getting that stuff flushed out of you will have a positive and noticeable effect. 

I know a gal that was drinking a couple liters of Mountain Dew a day. Her doctor told her if she wanted to live, she had to knock that off. 

She went cold turkey and did no other diet or exercise modifications and in several months had lost 40lbs without doing anything else. 

I know a number of other people that lost 20-30 lbs by simply eliminating soft drinks, alcohol and any other calorie-containing beverages and drinking water only. 

Liquid calories count and soft drinks are a main culprit. So called 'diet' and 'sugar-free' beverages really aren't either sugar free or for healthy diets. They are a legal loophole that allow companies use a chemical loophole that allow them to market themselves in putting "sugar free" on bottle. Your body does not know the difference between the sucrose and the substituting chemical however and so it has the same effect or an even worse effect. 

Start there by getting rid of that first.


----------



## Tatsuhiko (Jun 21, 2016)

The fasting you're doing can be very effective. If you can, make it a fast for the entire day, until 6PM. This is not impossible. Muslims do it during Ramadan. Make a game out of it. Every time you get hungry, look at the clock and think "Just X more hours. I can make it." And like someone else said, just accept hunger as a way of life. You'll find that you get hungry around normal meal times, especially lunch, but then it dissipates a bit in the afternoon. When 6PM rolls around you'll be very hungry. Eat a large delicious dinner, but do it very slowly--chewing slowly and deliberately. Have a small dessert, like a piece of chocolate, just to feel satiated. Honestly, it's kind of a good feeling at 6PM to know that you "made it" and that you cat eat a huge 1000-calorie meal and still have had a low-calorie day.


----------



## cc48kel (Apr 5, 2017)

I believe 80% of losing weight is what you put in your month. There's a couple diets out there where they really don't want you to exercise (or just do something light, like walking) they want the food to do the work first. OR maybe 'they' know that what you eat is more important than the exercise. 

When I was having a hard time with drinking water I found drinking pineapple water (google) helped a great deal and now plain water isn't a problem. I'm having a really hard time with sugar right now which leads to carbs, etc, etc. Every now and then I will kick the sugar habit... then somehow I get sucked back in. UGH I may have to go back to pineapple water to get that sweet taste.. It's a never ending battle.


----------



## SunCMars (Feb 29, 2016)

Fozzy said:


> Another powerful thing is if you can shift your mindset to accept that being hungry is actually ok. Many people reach for food at the very first hint of hunger. Often if you ignore the hunger for 20 minutes or so, it will subside. When you're hungry, view it as your body grumbling that it has to burn fat instead of Kit-Kats.
> 
> Smile, pat your hunger on the head and tell it to get back to work.


I like Fozzy's advice a lot.

Get angry at your hunger.
Get angry at your weight.
Get angry at your self. 

They say anger creates cortisol which make you fat. Don't buy that.
A trick to losing weight is to keep moving.

Do a daily walking routine. Hopefully, your knees and hips have not blown out yet, carrying all that excess weight.
If you wait too long to lose it. You will only have caloric restriction to rely on. 

The trick to make a life style change. A major one. Keep no snacks, no beer, no soda, no sweets at home. Eat vegetables and high grain/bran cereal with skim milk, once a day.
Nothing works but counting calories. Be hard on yourself.


----------



## Spicy (Jun 18, 2016)

Not a man. I don’t have time to read the other replies, so i appologise if this is a repeat.

Tips that work for me:

Low carb, high protein. Less than 50 grams of carbs a day, more like 20 the first couple of weeks.
Protein keeps you really full. Eat as much meat cheese and veggies like broccoli and cauliflower as you want. Weight comes off and will stay off with reasonable maintence. 

When a temptation presents itself, I ask myself:

*Have I had this before?
*Will I have the chance to try this again in my life?

If the answer is “No” then I have a bite. BITE number one, tastes the same as bit number three hundred and one. I enjoy my first bite as my last bite and only bite. Mind game? Yep....

This situation rarely presents itself, so that helps too!
Drink tons of water, and exercise.

I wish you much success.


----------



## FalCod (Dec 6, 2017)

I was overweight and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in my forties. What worked for me was a combination of a few things. 

First, I started logging everything I ate religiously. I used MyFitnessPal, but there are other similar loggers. That did a couple of things for me. First, it let me see the price in calories and carbs of everything that I ate. A lot of things that seemed like reasonable food choices no longer did when I saw the price I was paying to eat them. It also gave me confidence that I was eating enough. As I cut back on my calorie intake, I got hungry. Knowing that I was getting enough calories helped me get through those hungry times.

The next thing I did was to eliminate a lot of stuff from my diet and add in a lot of new things. I no longer eat candy with the exception of an occasional small amount of very dark chocolate. I didn't cut back on candy. I eliminated it forever. For me, the psychology of letting myself know that I will never eat certain things again made it easier not to have them. In fact, the few junk food items that I still allow myself to have as treats are the hardest for me to deal with. If I'm at someplace where cake is being served, it doesn't impact me at all because I just don't eat cake ever. Every time I walk past a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos, I have to argue with myself that this is not the time to have some because I occasionally will eat some as a treat. Just like an alcoholic giving up alcohol rather than just cutting back, I totally gave up on stuff like candy, any drink with calories (I just drink water), potato chips, french fries, and many other things. It was super hard for me because all I used to eat was junk food. That's also why I had to expand my diet to include vegetables, more fruit, and more meat and nuts.

I also started to exercise more. I have always enjoyed walking, so I did more of that. I added in running and slowly built up my stamina. I started lifting weights and using a rowing machine. These are all things that I started very slowly and made part of my daily routine.

One thing that really helped a lot was the support I got. At first, I was afraid of looking like an idiot at the gym or when I was running (and frequently stopping to walk). What I quickly realized is that (possibly aside from a few jerks), the experienced fitness people were all cheering me on because they really wanted me to succeed. My wife jumped all over the idea of making me healthier meals. She did everything she could to make it easier for me. One of the superfit women I work with worked as a personal trainer for me for months to help me get started weightlifting and even brought me bags of carrots every week. Having a support community, as informal as it was, was tremendously motivating because it made me not want to disappoint them.

It wasn't easy. There were nights early on when I was miserable. I was so hungry. I had nights when I dreaded going for a run. I got passed it. I still wish that I could eat whatever I want when I want, but I can't. I'm comfortable now. I'm not usually hungry. I don't dread exercise anymore. My diabetes is completely gone and I'm not taking any meds at all. I still have to stay vigilant, but it has been working for me for several years now.

All that said, what worked for me may not work for you. In the end, it has to be some theme of eating less and/or burning more calories. Eating less is the key. I also think that making permanent changes is much better than going on a diet. It may take longer to get where you want to be by making sustainable changes rather than going on a drastic diet, but I think you are more likely to be successful.


----------



## Satya (Jun 22, 2012)

You need to re-wire your brain to stop craving the calorific/bad foods you are eating.
If you abstain long enough, your brain becomes "disgusted" with unhealthy foods. Your body "rejects" unhealthy foods you put in it.

A good example is, I simply cannot eat fried food. I can maybe eat 1-2 onion rings, and if I eat any more, I become very ill. The knowledge that I will become ill deters me from eating more than I know my body can handle now. 
I've been a decently clean eater for many years. I think this is the primary reason I have not had weight fluctuations for the last 7+ years. I only fluctuate 1-2 lbs per year.

I was better with the exercise a few years ago, before I moved in with Odo. I was living in a place that was very walk-able. Where I am now, we do not have sidewalks and live on a busy street, so I depend on the exercise machines, and I need to be better about using them.

I also enjoy very spicy foods. Lots of chili, ghost, habanero peppers. They help to kick start your metabolism and digestion.


----------



## Rhubarb (Dec 1, 2017)

You have a lot of advice already but I'll give you a trick I use. Drink ONLY water, not juice, not diet coke, nothing else, just water. Some people think if they are drinking fruit juice it's healthy. It really isn't. It's too much sugar.


----------



## wilson (Nov 5, 2012)

Rhubarb said:


> You have a lot of advice already but I'll give you a trick I use. Drink ONLY water, not juice, not diet coke, nothing else, just water.


One way to transition to just water is to drink carbonated water. The carbonation gives the water a satisfying feeling similar to what you get with soda, but typically with no calories or chemicals.


----------



## PieceOfSky (Apr 7, 2013)

You’ve got to keep searching until you find something that noticeably improves how you feel, greatly diminishes your cravings. If the cravings are significant, then you might be doing it wrong — wrong for you. 

What you are doing to lose weight might work well for some, but fail for you because it does not address what is different about how your body processes food, sending you down a path that is more difficult and doomed.

What is your a1c measurement? Have you been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, or diabetic? Do you meet the criteria for Metabolic Syndrome?

All most of us have are anecdotes, and I will share mine. For me, when I reduced my carb intake dramatically for a couple of weeks — cutting out all added sugar I could and avoiding even good food with higher carb counts — then cravings went away, and fat (not just water) came off. The difference was night and day, craving-wise, and it was not hard to continue with it for months. Letting carbs creep back in put me back into the position of having cravings to deal with, which is much harder. I cannot emphasize enough what the difference in hunger is for me, depending on my carb consumption.

I suggest you lookup LCHF and keyogenic on YouTube, and consider doing a personal experiment.


----------



## committed_guy (Nov 22, 2011)

father_of_2 said:


> My question for you all, especially any men who have been in the same boat previously, what have you done to get in shape? With the problems in my marriage lately, I want to focus on myself a bit more and less on constantly trying to please my wife.


A few years ago I did a 3 month purge where I cut out alcohol, coffee, sugary drinks, and cut way back on quantity. I also started walking/jogging. I think I lost 30 lbs in those 3 months. It was the best I've felt in years.

This year I plan on doing the same. I ran a 1/2 marathon last year and want to do the better this year. For 6 weeks leading up to the start of my training I want to purge again and focus on weight loss. I'll gradually increase intake again as I start to train but I need to loose some 30 lbs before.

I have acquaintances who have great success with the ketosis diet. They are loosing 5-10 lbs a week just by changing their diet. I'm not sure that is healthy for everyone but if you don't have any other conditions it might be a good alternative.


----------



## MarriedTex (Sep 24, 2010)

Lots of suggestions here. But there is some low-hanging fruit for you here, so to speak.

First, swap out iced tea for the diet soda. Unsweetened tea gives you the caffeine hit of soda without the sugary cravings. Also, no calories.

Second, recognize that - for many of us - it is difficult to make a lot of changes at once. Unsustainable. So, it's difficult to both "eat properly" and "eat less" at the same time. One thing I try to do during a diet transition is to focus on fixing one aspect at a time. Rather than worrying about cutting your consumption levels out of the gate, just focus on eating the right stuff at first. When you do snack, for instance, eat all that you want but make it good food. Veggies, nuts etc. You have to switch your mindset to eating for nutrition instead of "eating for entertainment."

The good foods will leave you feeling more satisfied with fewer triggers that get you thinking about snacks. The frequency / volume of your eating will decline as you focus on the foods that leave you feeling satisfied. Check out the book "Always Hungry" by John Ludwig. It provides some solid information on what foods are good and those that are not so good for you.


----------



## Laurentium (May 21, 2017)

A few other suggestions

- cut out alcohol - I find it both makes me hungry, and at the same time dissolves my willpower

- make sure you're getting enough sleep - lack of sleep stimulates hunger

- don't consume anything sweet, whether it's low sugar, zero calorie, or whatever. Be careful even with fruit.


----------

