So December 23 I'm at 177 lbs. I've been working on losing weight for a year and I was 2 lbs away from my goal.(47 years old, lost @75 lbs.)


Tried to behave on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but - two family parties back to back with the usual food- let's just say I didn't behave.


Stepped on the scale this morning and was shocked to see 188 lbs. ! I never dreamed I could gain 11 pounds in two days. I realize that most of this is water weight. I fasted all day today and ate a 980 cal plant based meal. Back on the wagon!


I try not to focus too much on the scale but I had to set some kind of goal to shoot for. I wanted to be in the middle of my BMI range by Jan 1. I hope I didn't just throw a monkey wrench in my plans. Gotta behave on New Year's Eve for sure.

Lots of people use this whole week as a cheat week. That doesn't work well if you have only been at it for long though.

I just try to binge on decent foods.

Yesterday I attacked the roast beef and cheese and only had one beer.

Mostly because when I binge on cookies and candy and stuff like that, I feel pretty shitty the next day.

Congrats on the weight loss.

Hard to believe you gained that much in 2 days. Are you sure about the scale?

Were you doing keto .... that could account for a lot of water weight gain. If so, why eat a plant based meal ?

Thanks!
The scale (digital) is plus or minus 1 pound. I always do three things before I do a weigh in-
Make sure scale is zeroed.
Weigh in same clothing (my skivvies)
Weigh at the same time of day (first thing the in morning)

I was shocked, too- until I looked it up. It's very possible to gain even 8 or 10 lbs on the scale even in one day.
Again, mostly water weight. (ETA: My 2 cheat days did not include alcohol consumption or extra fluid intake of any kind. It was sodium, animal products, dairy products, and oils- which apparently causes  the water weight gain phenomenon.) I lost 6 lbs of it the first day after. We'll see what I lost today when I weigh in the morning.

I'm definitely not on Keto. After looking at the hard evidence, the risks outweigh the gains for that type of diet.
The long term health risks of a high fat/low carb diet are simply out of the question for me.
I'm trying to reverse mild heart disease, Keto has never been proven to do that and could very well have the opposite affect.

I've experienced this as well. When I used to eat crap all the time, I never felt any different when I ate more crap.
Now that I eat clean, whenever I eat crap, I get an almost instant crash.
I see this as a good thing- it has became a deterrent to cheating.

I feel the best when I'm fasting and eating clean during my feeding window.

177#s, are you a lady?

C'mon man!

I'm only 5'11". Depending on what BMI chart you look at- it says I should be 155-189.
I AM NOT shooting for 155. I would be a lady at that point. After I'm slimmed down to where I want to be,
I'm planning on adding some weight room time to bulk back up a bit.

I'm two inches shorter than you and about the same weight.

For what it's worth, I feel like I'm about 10 lbs too small.

I'm 6' 225. I would like to be 205. 177 seems really small for 5'11".

I’m in the same boat OP.

From October 2019 til May 2020 I lost 40lbs. I went from 215lbs to 175lbs @6ft tall.

I completely reverted to old ways for the 2020 holidays and pretty sure I gained at least 10, maybe 15.

Once I broke my sugar and  processed carb addiction, it was easy to not eat that stuff. I knew I’d feel like shit, and I didn’t even want it anyway.

2020 holidays I thought, hey, I’ve done great, a piece of pie wouldn’t hurt. Then on and on from there lol .

It’s just easier to not “cheat” in the long run.

An alcoholic wouldn’t pick up a six pack after 2 years of sobriety to celebrate, and I shouldn’t eat a piece of pie to celebrate losing 40lbs.

Very well said and exactly my situation.
I'm better off not even taking a bite. One bite leads to a piece and one piece leads to eating the whole thing, whatever it is.

I basically look at it as a grudge match.
Who's going to win, me or the junk food.

Even though the BMI system is a bit archaic and has its problems because it does not account for muscle mass and other such things- it is still a good indicator of health for someone that is not a weightlifter. While I realize skinny people can still get sick the population studies that have been done indicate that people within their normal BMI range live longer healthier lives.

ETA: Just going through my Youtube feed this morning- a very relevant video on the topic of BMI and all-cause mortality just popped up. I've been closely following Dr. Greger and his approach "evidence-based nutrition" for a few months now. His website nutritionfacts.org, books, and Youtube videos have been a continual source of information/motivation for me.

Follow up: I weighed in at 173 for annual physical/wellness check up at my family Doc on Jan 5.
Doc was curious how I was able to lose 73 lbs (weighed 246 at my last check up) in 12 months AND cure myself of 3 medial conditions (hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and sleep apnea)
I told him the Whole Food/Plant Based diet did the trick. I just recently added exercise, it was all done with food.
On the way out the door I said "Doc, I hope I never see you again." He just chuckled.

I realize that nobody has a crystal ball. I don't know if I'll be alive or dead tomorrow. None of us do.
But I do know that in only one year's time, I've been able to significantly reduce (but not eliminate!) my chances of having a major health crisis anytime soon.
'Not to mention all of the secondary benefits of weight loss and generally better health. (Like- appendix carry!, more energy, better flexibility, no joint pain, etc...)
The science and medical studies that have been done is pretty solid. The ingestion of primarily whole plant foods heal the body.

"Let food be thy medicine..."
                  Hippocrates 400 B.C.

I hope all of your new year resolutions turn out like the one I started on Jan 1 of 2020. If I can do it, anybody can.

You’re doing great, OP!

I lost 50 lbs of fat and replaced it with 15 lbs of muscle. I eat meat, veggies, and fruit and try to avoid sweets and bad carbs. We all need to find what works for us that is sustainable. I no longer have sleep apnea and that motivates me.

That's awesome. Weight loss can be life changing in more than one way. It's not all biological. The mind/body link is an important principle. Fixing the body can clear the mind, for sure.
I'm looking to add back some muscle weight as well. My 19 year old son has been helping me get back into some weight training. I have not lifted since high school. 'Much to re-learn again about stretching, proper techniques, etc... He has build his home gym up over the last couple of years. Time for dear old dad to put it to use. (19 year old on the right )

Is that you on the left? I told you 177 seemed small.

He really shrank

LOL no...
My youngest boy.