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A couple of years ago I found myself weighing 250lbs. Basically morbidly obese. I decided to change that. I went through all the food I bought during the week

A couple of years ago I found myself weighing 250lbs. Basically morbidly obese. I decided to change that. I went through all the food I bought during the week and decided to do some culling. I removed anything with sugar and replaced it with Stevia. Removed the soft drinks, alcohol, and carbs. I follow this diet 6 days a week. One day a week, I indulge myself: a pizza or burrito or have a few beers. I also go to the gym 5 times a week. Run 5k in 25 minutes plus one hour of weight lifting. Nothing to intense mind you. I have lost nearly 80lbs with the last 24 months. The trick is to do it slow and steady. I always cringe when I read about the latest fad diet: Lose 5 lbs in one week or some crap like that! In the end, it takes time and will to achieve results but once you get into a routine, if very easy to keep going. During my holidays, I usually drink, smoke and eat whatever I want but as soon as I get back home, I go back to my routine. Some people think that this is boring but honestly, unless you are an athlete competing at a high level, you don't need to eat carbs every day. This is just my experience. Results may vary.

Onewildgamer 8y ago
Removing soft drinks and alcohol came easy, but removing carbs in a daily diet became extremely difficult for me and hence I plateaued. I am curious to know what you replaced it with?
- rdm_blackhole 8y ago
  Sweet potatoes and broccoli. Lately, I have been eating a lot of cauliflower rice. It looks like rice but its cauliflower. Oh and if you find that your food is a bit boring for some reason, you can add some spicy sauce(without sugar) on your meal.
sridca 8y ago
Fasting is the ultimate weight loss tool. It also facilitates (muscle) growth and healing.
- Jaruzel 8y ago
  It also can put a strain on your organs if you are not too healthy. Consult a Doctor before trying it.
  - sridca 8y ago
    Any references for that claim (assuming 5 days water fast or less)?
    - Madmallard 8y ago
      My labs started deviating from normal in the wrong diection during 36 hr fasting in the hospital. Granted, I am very sick.
      - goldenkey 8y ago
        I hope you get better mate. If there's anything that might help and is doable by a stranger on HN, lmk.
    - bildung 8y ago
      "[I]ntermittent fasting diets may actually damage the pancreas and affect insulin function in normal healthy individuals, which could lead to diabetes and serious health issues." (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/20/fasting-diets-raise-risk-of-diabetes https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/20/fasting-diet...) The National Council Against Health Fraud "strongly advises against the use of prolonged fasting for health purposes, and believes that requiring children to fast is a form of child abuse." https://www.ncahf.org/articles/e-i/fasting.html https://www.ncahf.org/articles/e-i/fasting.html
      - beagle3 8y ago
        Your first link talks specifically of fasting every other day, and is about rats. That is completely irrelevant to 5 day fasting in humans, whereas [0] is. Your second link is from 1995; A lot has happened since. Yes, children should probably not fast. Other than that, more recent data (as well as old, but ignored, data) show that water fasting is good for you. And Valter Lango's research (see [0], and google for more) shows that it's actually extremely beneficial in many cases, especially during chemotherapy. [0] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/five-day-fasting-diet-could-fight-disease-slow-aging https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/five-day-fasting-die...
tokyodude 8y ago
I lost 30lbs just removing sugary drinks and side dishes. In other words instead of burger + fries + coke it changed to burger + diet coke. Went from 210 to 180. No other changes, no exercise. Just my results. I don't remember how long it took but I don't remember it being more than a year.
- flyingpenguin 8y ago
  I gained maybe 100lb over a 4 year period while in college. I went from 200lb to 300lb. I drank nothing but water that whole time. After I graduated I cut how much I was eating and stopped snacking between meals. Lost 80lb in 6months... it was crazy and scary.
CogitoCogito 8y ago
> In the end, it takes time and will to achieve results but once you get into a routine, if very easy to keep going. I think for perspective it's good to consider how long it took you to gain the weight in the first place. Say if you slowly went up 80 pounds over the course of 5 years, then remember that time frame. Expecting it to be gone in a month is crazy. Even losing it in a year is 5 times faster than you gained it.
kwanbix 8y ago
> I also go to the gym 5 times a week. Run 5k in 25 minutes plus one hour of weight lifting. Nothing to intense mind you. You consider running 5 kilometers a day, and doing one hour of weight lifting to be non intense? wow.
- EForEndeavour 8y ago
  Yeah, 5k in 25 minutes is by no means an easy jog for most people, and places OP in the average race pace, according to https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-a-good-time-for-a-5k-2911121 https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-a-good-time-for-a-5k-291... (grain of salt, but they have more data than I do). Mind you, I interpret OP to mean that this is their current workout routine, after their dramatic weight loss and increase in fitness.
  - rdm_blackhole 8y ago
    This is my current fitness level. When I first started going to the Gym I was averaging 2.5 km in 30 minutes. I should also add that I was a heavy smoker. Nowadays, my routine consists of 5 different exercises and 25 minutes of running but I am not looking to break a record or become completely ripped. Just toned. So when I say that it is not too intense, I mean it as of now. When I first started, the workouts were a pain but I finally got used to them after a while.

Onewildgamer 8y ago

Removing soft drinks and alcohol came easy, but removing carbs in a daily diet became extremely difficult for me and hence I plateaued. I am curious to know what you replaced it with?

rdm_blackhole 8y ago
Sweet potatoes and broccoli. Lately, I have been eating a lot of cauliflower rice. It looks like rice but its cauliflower. Oh and if you find that your food is a bit boring for some reason, you can add some spicy sauce(without sugar) on your meal.

sridca 8y ago

Fasting is the ultimate weight loss tool. It also facilitates (muscle) growth and healing.

Jaruzel 8y ago
It also can put a strain on your organs if you are not too healthy. Consult a Doctor before trying it.
- sridca 8y ago
  Any references for that claim (assuming 5 days water fast or less)?
  - Madmallard 8y ago
    My labs started deviating from normal in the wrong diection during 36 hr fasting in the hospital. Granted, I am very sick.
    - goldenkey 8y ago
      I hope you get better mate. If there's anything that might help and is doable by a stranger on HN, lmk.
  - bildung 8y ago
    "[I]ntermittent fasting diets may actually damage the pancreas and affect insulin function in normal healthy individuals, which could lead to diabetes and serious health issues." (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/20/fasting-diets-raise-risk-of-diabetes https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/20/fasting-diet...) The National Council Against Health Fraud "strongly advises against the use of prolonged fasting for health purposes, and believes that requiring children to fast is a form of child abuse." https://www.ncahf.org/articles/e-i/fasting.html https://www.ncahf.org/articles/e-i/fasting.html
    - beagle3 8y ago
      Your first link talks specifically of fasting every other day, and is about rats. That is completely irrelevant to 5 day fasting in humans, whereas [0] is. Your second link is from 1995; A lot has happened since. Yes, children should probably not fast. Other than that, more recent data (as well as old, but ignored, data) show that water fasting is good for you. And Valter Lango's research (see [0], and google for more) shows that it's actually extremely beneficial in many cases, especially during chemotherapy. [0] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/five-day-fasting-diet-could-fight-disease-slow-aging https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/five-day-fasting-die...

tokyodude 8y ago

I lost 30lbs just removing sugary drinks and side dishes. In other words instead of burger + fries + coke it changed to burger + diet coke. Went from 210 to 180. No other changes, no exercise. Just my results. I don't remember how long it took but I don't remember it being more than a year.

flyingpenguin 8y ago
I gained maybe 100lb over a 4 year period while in college. I went from 200lb to 300lb. I drank nothing but water that whole time. After I graduated I cut how much I was eating and stopped snacking between meals. Lost 80lb in 6months... it was crazy and scary.

CogitoCogito 8y ago

> In the end, it takes time and will to achieve results but once you get into a routine, if very easy to keep going. I think for perspective it's good to consider how long it took you to gain the weight in the first place. Say if you slowly went up 80 pounds over the course of 5 years, then remember that time frame. Expecting it to be gone in a month is crazy. Even losing it in a year is 5 times faster than you gained it.

kwanbix 8y ago

> I also go to the gym 5 times a week. Run 5k in 25 minutes plus one hour of weight lifting. Nothing to intense mind you. You consider running 5 kilometers a day, and doing one hour of weight lifting to be non intense? wow.

EForEndeavour 8y ago
Yeah, 5k in 25 minutes is by no means an easy jog for most people, and places OP in the average race pace, according to https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-a-good-time-for-a-5k-2911121 https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-a-good-time-for-a-5k-291... (grain of salt, but they have more data than I do). Mind you, I interpret OP to mean that this is their current workout routine, after their dramatic weight loss and increase in fitness.
- rdm_blackhole 8y ago
  This is my current fitness level. When I first started going to the Gym I was averaging 2.5 km in 30 minutes. I should also add that I was a heavy smoker. Nowadays, my routine consists of 5 different exercises and 25 minutes of running but I am not looking to break a record or become completely ripped. Just toned. So when I say that it is not too intense, I mean it as of now. When I first started, the workouts were a pain but I finally got used to them after a while.