How do you write a weight loss journey? My Weight Loss & Dieting Journey
"Since the majority of meals consumed in America are high in calories, we have all been attempting to diet by consuming less amounts of foods that are low in nutrients. We not only have to deal with hunger, but because of our nutrient deficiency, we also experience perverse cravings.
Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman
I didn't worry about my weight for the majority of my life. I had a body in high school that my elder self would come to admire. My high school pals even called me "Man-Boobs" since I had abs and well-defined chest muscles. I mostly followed the conventional American diet during this time, eating whatever I pleased, and I looked "healthy" well into my 20s
I didn't really pay attention to how much I weighed, what I was eating, or how healthy I was. I first became aware of a weight gain when I was in my late 20s (27, to be exact). I noticed that I was much heavier than I had been when I looked in the mirror one day during my second year of my MBA programmer. The pronounced chest muscles and abdominals were gone, and my
"Man-Boobs" had gotten bigger, but they were jiggly and less firm. I had no idea that it would be another 14 years before I would see my abs again. I don't know how long I had been this fat. I'm unsure of what occurred as well; perhaps my metabolism slowed down.
The free food that was easily available on campus at the many company-sponsored parties, in my opinion, is what caused it. I saw these activities as a competition to see how many free sandwiches, pizza, etc. I could eat, and from my perspective, I was winning.
I started dieting to reduce weight in my early 30s. I only wanted to appear better; my objectives had nothing to do with my health. I lacked confidence in my appearance and yearned to once more see my abs. I desired to regain both my body and my swagger.
My early attempts at dieting were based on calorie control and restriction while consuming my normal food (aka the standard American diet).
I kept track of my calories by researching the calorie counts for different foods on Google and entering the information into a Google spreadsheet where I calculated my daily calorie intake. I would always give up on these diets after four to six weeks because I felt so bad. I detested counting calories, and I was also puckish. Once I quit, I quickly put all the weight back on.
I was bemoaning my unsuccessful attempts at dieting and how heavy I had grown while at a party with some old acquaintances I had made during my MBA. A handful of us agreed to try a dieting competition to see who could lose 30 pounds the quickest after they recounted similar stories. I had a competitive nature, therefore I was confident in my chances.
I immediately changed my diet to consist
mainly of cucumbers and celery once the competition started, and I started working out every day for 45 minutes on an elliptical machine. I was the contest winner
after losing 30 pounds in little over six weeks. I was quite happy with my ability to reduce weight, but I was even happier that I had defeated the competition and won.
When I realized there was no other reason to eat only cucumbers and celery all day except to compete in a weight loss competition, I promptly discontinued the "cucumber/celery" diet. I rapidly put all the weight I had lost, plus a little more, back on as soon as I resumed my regular diet. In a nutshell, all of my diets adhered to this same 6-step plan:
Step 1: Start new diet
Step 2: Lose weight
Step 3: Realize new diet is not sustainable
Step 4: Stop new diet, revert back to old diet
Step 5: Gain all the weight back, and usually more
Step 6: Feel terrible about myself (including any hope I had to ever see my abs again or get my swagger back)
Late in my 30’s, I became interested in my health. My interest was sparked mainly from a few realizations I had after having kids:
Kids have a LOT of energy
Playing with kids takes a lot of energy
I REALLY want to have the energy to play with my kids
I REALLY, REALLY want to have the energy (and be alive) to play with my grandkids
In order to be able to actively play with my grandkids, I would have to live AND have enough energy well into my late 80’s / early 90’s
The average lifespan of the American male is 74.5
I need to do something different than the “Average American Male” if I expect a different outcome
A handful of these realizations completely confused me. I pondered, "
How am I going to live and have enough energy in my 80's/90's to play with my grandkids if I don't have the energy at 37 to play with my own kids?" I made the decision to start looking at ways to turn this desire into something I at least had a 50% chance of achieving. I sought assistance from my primary care physician at first.
He gave me the name of a Registered Dietician, with whom I discussed my desire to improve my prospects of living longer,
more fulfilling lives. A family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol was another thing I mentioned. She immediately put Lose weight (I'm 5'10" and at the time weighed between 200 and 210 pounds). To achieve goal #1, switch to a high-protein diet of "lean protein" (fish, poultry, and egg whites). I followed the RD's nutritional advice for the next six months, all the while requesting evidence that this diet would lengthen my years of quality life. I took a cholesterol test after six months on the "lean protein" diet. My total cholesterol level increased to 254 (total) and 182 (total) according to the test.
(LDL). My initial reaction was, "With cholesterol that high and a family history of heart disease, there is no way I'm going to live to be 90." I made the decision to cut ways with my RD because of the bad effect on my cholesterol and her failure to show me evidence that this diet will improve my health. I also started to be leery of diets in general. I learned from this experience that obsessing over trying to reduce weight could shorten my life expectancy.
I Googled "Top Books on Nutrition" because I didn't know where to go after this encounter. I came across The China Study and bought it before beginning to read it. This marked the beginning of the second stage of my journey, during which I adopted a whole-foods, plant-based diet. I experienced excellent results when I could adhere exclusively to a plant-based, whole-foods diet. My LDL cholesterol was 96 and my total cholesterol was 146 after the first three weeks. Aside from that My energy and emotions both experienced a noticeable improvement,
but something was still wrong. After three weeks, I began alternating between consuming just whole foods from plants
(WFPB) and consuming a larger percentage of my calories from processed foods. I was consciously avoiding anything that had to do with my weight or how I felt about my body, which did not help. This avoidance resulted in a
number of unhealthy behaviors, such as never weighing myself, avoiding looking in the mirror, and consuming a lot of organic, dark chocolate that is 80% or more whenever
I felt self-conscious about my weight.
Results from my annual physical at age 39 prompted me to face what I had been avoiding. I went to my first doctor's appointment in June 2021, 20 months after my last one because of COVID. I stepped on a scale during the visit for the first time in more than two years. I saw the
weight listed as 221 lbs. The first thing I thought was, "I guess my strategy of never weighing myself isn't working," as this was the heaviest I could ever remember being. After this visit, my bloodwork was completed, and when I saw my hemoglobin A1c (h1ac) levels and estimated average glucose
of 5.7 and 117 MG/DL,
respectively, along with a large red exclamation point next to the Test Result in MyChart that read "The result is abnormal," I received yet another kick in the gut. I discovered that I have prediabetes after researching this. I visited my health care physician a few days later to get guidance on managing my pre-diabetes and preventing Type 2 Diabetes. He expressed astonishment that I entered and asked about this at the beginning of our meeting because:
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