Guys,

Backstory: I've recently had a bit of a mindset change about a month ago and slowly implemented what I hope will continue to be a long-term plan, with long-term successful weight loss. As I sit right now, I'm down roughly 12 pounds in the last two weeks, I've dropped a pant size from earlier this year, my resting HR has gone from 106bpm to 80bpm (I'm sure this was mostly to do with all the salt and caffeine in my diet, the amount of which has dropped drastically), and my blood pressure, which has been pretty damn high for over a year now, was down to 148/84 as of yesterday. I'm still feeling a little fatigued from the big swing in carbohydrate intake and way less sugar/caffeine, but it's starting to level out and I feel alright now. I don't have any set macros I go for yet. Just trying to eat as much protein as possible with 60g or less carbs most days and I'm loosely watching my fat intake.

I've come up with a few things that might go against the conventional diet wisdom, but they've helped me stick to it so far, and if you saw me on a daily basis you'd know two weeks is a huge accomplishment. I was literally eating fast food 1-2 times a day, drinking 4-5 sodas at a minimum with meals and at other times, eating late at night, way too large of portions, etc. When I started recording my intake in MyFitnessPal I was literally eating 3000-4000 calories a day with no awareness of it at all, with some days being worse. This had caused me to balloon up to 330 pounds (now 318 as of this morning). I've been a bit (huge fucking understatement) depressed this year due to career hiccups and death/other issues in my immediate family and it just got me down, so I'd eat. Then I'd feel like a fat piece of shit and go eat some more (stupid, I know).

Here's roughly what I'm currently eating, basically been the same thing for the last two weeks and I'm not tired of it yet but I know I will be sooner or later, so if anyone has some recipe ideas I'd appreciate them:


Breakfast
4-5 egg whites
2 strips bacon
1 serving (bag) of instant oatmeal or 1 container of Greek yogurt (the 100 calorie sized containers)

Lunch
Turkey burger, chicken salad, or tuna salad in a spinach/herb wrap
Quest protein chips

OR

One of the dinner options below

Dinner
6oz chicken/salmon/tilapia/pork loin/turkey, 1 serving veggies (whatever the serving size is) and 1/4 sweet potato or 1/2 cup basmati rice, if I'm going to be doing something afterward (working out, riding bike, taking dog for a walk). If not, I'll stick with two servings of vegetables.


If I really HAVE to have something sweet, I'll eat a little Halo Top or half of one of those Lenny & Larry's complete cookies.

I cook the eggs in a small dollop of bacon grease (I drain and wipe out the skillet after frying the bacon) because it enhances the taste of the whites, along with the seasoning (pinch of salt, good bit of black pepper, garlic, creole seasoning) to where I can stand eating them daily. The chicken/tuna salad is made with Duke's light olive oil mayo, relish, and a little mustard. I HATE brown rice and will not eat it at all, so that's out as a replacement for the basmati rice.

All food is weighed or measured out appropriately based on serving size and recorded in MFP on my phone every day. Usually I end up with a 200-700 calorie deficit based off the number it gives me per day, which at my weight/activity level is 2400 cals - based on losing 2lb/week.

I haven't upped my activity level at all - only things I've really done in the last two weeks are two trips to the gym, one dog walk, and one trip to the bike shop to get my bike in order to start riding it this week (fuck you Hurricane Irma, you ruin everything).


Any suggestions/changes I could make?

Stop worrying about the fat.  Go keto.  Eat the egg yolks, olive oil, meat, cheese and whatnot.

I was 306 back in December.  I'm at 248 now, and plan to be below 225 by next June (my 50th birthday).

Drink plenty of water, take vitamins, and you'll lose the weight.  

I tried losing weight using MFP a few years ago, and had some success, going from 315 down to 260 in 6 months.  But I gained most of it back over the next two years.  Keto is going to be a permanent solution for me.  I've changed the way I look at foods.

Eat keto and do IF and do not starve yourself!  Eat until full!  If you reduce your calories too much, you will slow down your metabolism and stall.  The weight will come off!  Eat to live, not live to eat!  This is a lifestyle change!  My wife and I are doing it together.  Some of my "friends" have given me crap over it (not drinking and being particular with what I eat).  Others, including people at the gym, aquaintenses and family members have asked me what I have been doing.  Some have asked for help and some have said "Screw that, I can't do that".  It's all on how bad you want it.  Only you can make the decision!
I am also doing the starting strength program and making slow gains, but gains non the less!

I take a multi-vitamin, fish oil, allergy pill (small sinuses, doesn't take much to stop me up), glucosamine pill (for elbow), and BP meds I got put on because my blood pressure has been high for a year or so now.

Shooting for a gallon of water a day too. When I was painting houses in this heat, I was drinking anywhere from 160-260 ounces a day of liquid. Now that I'm indoors all day, it's harder to work up that much of a thirst, but I'm trying. I refill my Yeti multiple times a day. Upping my activity level will help.


And surprisingly enough, I haven't been hungry at all since I started. I made sure to eat enough eggs or meat with each meal to be just short of miserably full every meal and keep the calories cut down. A few times I have gotten cravings for sweet stuff or a cheeseburger, etc. but that's why I keep the Halo Top and those L&L cookies on hand. I've had a couple of regular cookies and baked french fries at home a time or two, but I keep track of everything just the same.

Never thought I'd be able to be completely full on 1400-1800 calories a day but it's been easier than I thought once my mindset changed.

Good for you for getting started.  It will be a long path to get to a healthy weight, but worth it when you hit your goal.  

2400 cals/day is a decent amount...roughly what i cut at to lose 1.25-1.75#/week...enough you never feel like you're starving but definitely noticeable coming off where you were before.  If you want to go keto like others posted, that's cool too, but you still need a calorie deficit in keto to lose weight...so keep logging and weighing those portions.  Don't be afraid to add in anything you want as long as it fits your calorie goals though.  

After you've dropped a bit of weight i'd highly recommend getting into a strength training program to preserve what muscle you have during your cut.   You don't want to come out the other side looking skinny.  

take a photo of yourself in MFP now where you log your weight.  It will be great motivation seeing the difference in a year or so.

Yes, stop with the "egg whites only," only using lean meats and trying to shove protein into everything.  No oatmeal, and the yogurt is likely high carb too.  make full egg omelets in real butter or ghee with real veggies in them.  Meat works too.  If you are just trying to lose weight, you want to feel full, so need more fats.  More protein (to me) is if you are trying to get jacked and hit huge protein goals per day.  Instead of potato, just more veggies...

You've already shown you can use MFP, so you have a HUGE part of this licked.  What are your daily macro % with the diet you are throwing out there?

There are 20 threads a week in GD about dieting.  People try to complicate the fuck out of it and prove they are somehow right.

Here is the bottom line - If it is basically unprocessed, eat/drink it.

no egg yolks, no fruit, only certain vegetables, no honey, no milk, blah blah blah.  It's all bullshit, eat as unprocessed as you can and the rest is arguing shit no one can prove anything about.

I plan on doing that tonight possibly, if I can finish cleaning up the yard and getting everything inside in case I have to evacuate for Irma.

Yogurt has 10 carbs per container.

Egg whites I only did to save calories compared to a whole egg, not because I need piles of brotein. I really don't care about hitting a specific number on protein intake except for the fact that it keeps me feeling full longer, which reduces the cravings for the shitty food I used to eat every day.

I'm also hoping the TRT (1cc a week) will help me keep muscle easier than before when my numbers were low (they were super low, too, like in the 160-240).

Edit: I noticed the line up top where you said you are already weighing all your food.

It makes a huge difference in understanding what you are eating.

Definitely. I have gained a lot more awareness of what I take in when I weigh it and portion everything out.

Yep, I agree on the unprocessed line part...the biggest deal of a diet is that it is sustainable.  For some people that is full crazy keto (they like the focus) and for some its just seeing what should be better for you every day and moving that general direction.  Personally, i try to limit sugar/carb intake because even when I do, its hard to get below 100g a day, if I didn't care, that would blow way up...

A good way I have heard a trainer-type guy put it is to "shop the perimeter of the grocery store only."  That is a nice general rule (of course there are exceptions!)

Good luck OP!

the bakery has lovely donuts and cakes on the perimeter

I honestly don't know how people can eat the majority of their food from a box. The stuff is terrible.

Sure I eat raisin bran or cheerios from a box, and I'm to lazy to make make cake batter from scratch for a birthday, plus a few small things here and there, but most of my food is ingredients that I cook, and it tastes way better and makes me feel way better. Olive oil, butter and bacon fat too, those are my main cooking oils except for when do a fish fry or something similar.

My inlaws eat a ton of meals out of boxes or frozen, and I'm pretty sure it's a huge contributor to my father in law's type 2 diabetes. To his credit he's doing what he can to exercise and watch his carb intake now, but it could have been easily prevented years ago.

You're damn right!

Yup, I've heard the "shop the perimeter" adage for years from my mother. There are a few meals I'll eat out of boxes as well, but the majority of the stuff just tastes like complete garbage to me now. I used to love Hamburger Helper when I was a little kid, and we rarely had it (I learned why later on, lol), but after I got older all I could taste was salt.

Down another 4.2 pounds in the last 10 days. I gained a slight amount of weight (1.4 pounds) during the week of/after Irma came through as I had no power and was eating Mountain House and other processed shit that required no cooking or refrigeration, but by the following weekend the grocery stores had re-stocked with perishables and I was able to get back on track.

Pretty sure my fattest weight was 334.5 pounds. Sitting at 315.2 as of this morning. Hoping I can get down to 300 or less by Oct 12th (my 28th birthday).

Good stuff, OP.

Since May, I have lost 30 lbs, and by the end of May next year, I plan to lose the remaining 80.

Cut out fast food and soda completely, eating almost all natural foods, and making sure I don't go above 1800 calories consumed per day (I also strive to burn 500 per day)

Definitely have noticed the results, so far. I'm not as nearly as tired as I was before, my back hurts much less, and my immune system has improved.

Only lost a pound last week, but as long as I'm still going in the right direction I'm fine with it!

Down to 314.2 on Sunday. Breakfast today was a four egg white omelette with spinach, mushrooms, and Mexican cheese; 2 strips of bacon and a bowl of oatmeal. Totaled 364 calories.

Riding my bike is fairly easy, too. I get winded quickly but I seem to consistently stay at that breathing rate and pace. The seat was too low and caused some issues with my left inner thigh wearing out quickly but I raised it once I got home and it's better now.

In the next few weeks I'd like to work my way up to 15 mile rides (started at 3) each morning and hit the weights at night in a fast paced manner with only enough rest to get a drink of water or catch my breath in between sets.

So far I don't see any results in the mirror except the scale number has dropped, I feel better, and my T shirts fit a little looser in the gut. I would expect by the time I lose the next 14 pounds and get down to 300 I should start actually seeing a difference.