One of the more intense things I pulled off was greatly reducing my calories when I made my career switch into software engineering. I saved up enough money (an

One of the more intense things I pulled off was greatly reducing my calories when I made my career switch into software engineering. I saved up enough money (and sold my car) to take a year off from work to study computer science full time. Since I didn’t have income, I significantly reduced my caloric intake. I lost quite a bit of weight and got pretty skinny. But I was mainly studying at home most days and didn’t need the extra weight at the time. I optimized for getting the appropriate nutritional values and took a B12 supplement to ensure I stayed healthy during that period. I wasn’t as cheap as this post, but my groceries with fresh produce, rice, and beans cost about $40/week. Eliminating meat made it pretty easy to keep costs low. After I got a job, I began hitting the gym and bulking up. Getting rid of all my excess fat during that previous period proved to be pretty worthwhile, and now I’m in better shape than ever.