juraitwaluzka's Journal, 30 Jun 19

I've been asked a few times about my recent results and thought I'd share some thoughts on the details. First, I will say that I don't think my results are anything special in the grand scheme of things. I mean, it's a big deal to me as I've reached a place I've wanted to get to for decades and I'm certainly proud of the accomplishment, but there are many far more impressive and inspirational things I've seen from others on here. Below is not the conventional answer that I normally see so maybe this is a worthwhile exercise and will be useful to someone.

I was recently asked, "What's your secret?"

There is no secret, only FatSecret ;-)

I can tell you specifics about what I did, Keto, 16/8 intermittent fasting, ... but I don't think that's very helpful. Those are non-important, interchangeable details. Those aren't how I got the results but rather the tools I used to achieve them. Another short answer is that I just got after it relentlessly, but that doesn't seem all that helpful either as it is devoid of specifics.

Mostly this was a result of good planning and execution. To set the parameters, this is the 121st day of the plan with about another month to go. The results are not as attributable to strict dietary adherence (although there has been that) but rather accountability to the plan and therefore myself. When I started this plan I was 189, now I'm in the mid 160s. 10 years ago I was 250, so this is the finally the last leg of this particular journey. In the past this phase has always ended in failure, so I tried to think of everything under my control I could change from previous attempts.

So what are the details then?

I started with the main objective. "It's end of Feb, I feel fat, I have a trip at the end of July, I want to get the maximum possible results in the allotted time". Everything comes back to that, specifically "maximum possible results", I don't mind wasting time but I abhor wasting effort. Whatever level I decide to commit to, I need to be all in.

Well. that just sounds like an awful time, still that's the goal, OK, so how in the hell do I manage this? What I came up with was to create a set of fundamental principles that cannot be violated (a violation means mission failure) and a framework by which to hold myself accountable. I had to make it simple and clear on a daily basis to set myself up to make the right decisions.

The rules as I stated them to myself:

* Be completely honest with yourself always, no matter how you might feel about it or how uncomfortable the truth may be

* The goals and the plan to get there must be both realistic and attainable. This goes back to being honest with yourself. Tailor the plan to make it as easy as possible for you to achieve. There is no point in making this any harder than it needs to be.

* Regularly evaluate progress and look for areas of improvement based on the data collected. In order to do this effectively it is critical to have solid data which means...

A) Record weight daily, analyze weekly. No exceptions. (I even took my scale on vacation)
B) Track everything consumed. No exceptions.
C) Use a scale to weigh your food. If a scale is available, use it. No exceptions (granted, unless you only eat at home this is difficult to have 100% success with, but I changed things up so that I'm over 90% on this - I've eaten out maybe 10 times in the last 121 days, for example. When eating out I order things that are easiest to estimate).

The main idea with these 3 is to give yourself as accurate of information as possible to work with. Set yourself up for success here. How good are your decisions going to be with limited information vs good information? Why choose bad information if you don't have to?

The better the data, the better the evaluation, the better the correction, the better the results. The more you know about what you are doing the better the chance for success. The better your ability to see your success the more you are motivated to keep after it. The better the data the quicker you can identify and therefore correct bad trends.

* No cheating. Period. That doesn't mean don't have cake on your keto diet. If you eat it, track it, that's a decision but one that must be made. Don't eat now / forgive later. If you eat it and don't track it you have cheated and the mission has failed.

Note there is nothing in the above about this diet or that exercise etc..., this is why I talked about it as a framework, these are the things that support the most important thing about any diet, and that's being able to stick to it and see it through. Once I had this, I fit the rest to my personality/schedule/needs. For me that was Keto/Itermittent fasting and at times One Meal a Day. As it turns out that way of eating for me is pretty easy which also likely played a significant role, for someone else it could be something different. In any case the mental/self part is way more important than Keto vs Mediterranean vs Twinkie Diet. In the end no diet will lose weight for you, it's up to you to put in the work to lose the weight. So, that was the problem to solve and the above is how I attacked it.

---

2236 kcal

Fat: 162.23g | Prot: 150.46g | Carbs: 37.91g.   Breakfast: Great American Steak Company Beef Ribeye Steaks, Ole Extreme Wellness High Fiber Low Carb Tortillas, Johnsonville Chorizo, Green Giant Hass Avocado, Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda with Bacon, Kroger Sharp Cheddar Shredded Cheese, Herdez Salsa Verde, Herdez Guacamole Salsa, Monster Beverage Absolutely Zero, Jimmy Dean Premium Pork Hot Sausage, Butter (Salted), Oscar Mayer Traditional Bacon, Egg. Dinner: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Publix Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Chicken Wing (Skin Eaten), Yellow Summer Squash. more...