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Nice work and great blog post! If it's any inspiration to other folks out there, or if my anecdotes are of any value, I went from 220lbs down to 165lbs over th

Nice work and great blog post! If it's any inspiration to other folks out there, or if my anecdotes are of any value, I went from 220lbs down to 165lbs over the course of about 2 years and have kept it off now for another 3 years so far. The main things that worked for me: - Eating things that kept me full enough: I would wake up and have a light breakfast (one of: bagel, eggs, toast, yogurt), exercise mostly fasted (30min low-intensity run, 1hr bike ride), get home and have a protein shake (some say casein protein leaves you feeling fuller longer than whey, I experienced this), snack on healthy things throughout the day (eg: nuts, protein bar), drink lots of water, eat whatever I wanted for dinner but not to the point of feeling stuffed (I really like pasta), and going to bed around 10-11pm. The shift for me was not working in the office anymore, which meant no shortcuts like burgers for lunch or expensive food trucks to fight the office depression. Consistent cardio was also the other piece for me, not only did it help a ton with my mental health and stress, but the low intensity cardio day over day I saw producing weight loss results. No gyms, no fad diets, just consistent daily-ish cardio, not eating too much, sleeping well, drinking water. Though I know everyone is different :-)

mhb 1y ago
I don't know when the GLP drugs came on the scene but did you consider those or if they weren't but you were undertaking this now, would you have considered them?
- captainkrtek 1y ago
  They weren’t a thing when I started this in 2020 (or at least I was unaware). I’m not opposed to them (though I don’t take any). I used to be skinny and athletic as a teen so I knew my body could get back to that, but had I grown up and always had difficulty I wouldn’t have been opposed to trying it out, even if its just to get a kick start. It’s hard to exercise with a extra weight and low muscle, so getting some pounds off would be useful I think.
  - stavros 1y ago
    If you don't have food noise, it's not going to be a massive help, I think. They're good in that you forget to eat, but they're bad in that you forget to eat. As a cure for food noise, though, they're massively helpful. I had forgotten, if I've ever known, what it's like to not think of food all the time.
    - captainkrtek 1y ago
      That’s an interesting term I haven’t heard before, but it makes sense. I’ve experienced similar feelings from other medication (side effect) where I don’t feel hungry and forget to eat, I can imagine it’s similar.
okdood64 1y ago
Awesome job! Question: > eat whatever I wanted for dinner but not to the point of feeling stuffed Couldn't this have been achieved with the below? Just eating less. > which meant no shortcuts like burgers for lunch or expensive food trucks
- captainkrtek 1y ago
  I found when I was eating things like burgers at the office, I was also commuting (reducing free time to exercise or cook healthy in the evening), and waking up early for work/commuting made me generally more tired. So the burger for lunch maybe wasn't the issue in isolation, but then when I got home I'd still be tired and hungry, maybe eat something else unhealthy/processed, and be too tired to exercise, either way still not in a calorie deficit. I think it's a chain reaction between these things, at least in my experience.
  - tasuki 1y ago
    If you're dedicated, commute does not reduce exercise time: commute is exercise time. In my 20 working years, I never commuted other than self-powered: walking or cycling, depending on the distance. I understand not everyone has the luxury of this option, but the vast majority of people do, and yet decide to worsen the already bad traffic instead of a little exercise...
    - Eddy_Viscosity2 1y ago
      Great that you can do this and it is a great thing to do, but saying that a vast majority has this option (at least in the US) and just choose not to is blatantly false. Distance is just one of the parameters, but so is the infrastructure, weather, being able to shower at work so you don't start a morning meeting all sweaty, time needed to get the kids ready for school, etc. etc. It just isn't viable for many people, even when at surface level it seems like it should be.
    - captainkrtek 1y ago
      It can be, but isn’t the most realistic starting point for someone out of shape to go from being overweight and driving already for 45 minutes (without traffic) to cycling 40-50 miles each way.. also people have kids to drop off/pick up, errands to run, etc. don’t think in the US its reasonable to say “the vast majority do”. Most American cities are not known for their bike friendliness..
NoPicklez 1y ago
Can't argue with this and aligns with what's always worked for me. However I will add going to the gym can be fun just to keep some variety outside of cardio and also add some muscle mass. Either way its just another form of exercise.
- captainkrtek 1y ago
  Totally. I did add the gym years later for this purpose, but didn’t find it necessary for the initial bulk of my weight loss

mhb 1y ago

I don't know when the GLP drugs came on the scene but did you consider those or if they weren't but you were undertaking this now, would you have considered them?

captainkrtek 1y ago
They weren’t a thing when I started this in 2020 (or at least I was unaware). I’m not opposed to them (though I don’t take any). I used to be skinny and athletic as a teen so I knew my body could get back to that, but had I grown up and always had difficulty I wouldn’t have been opposed to trying it out, even if its just to get a kick start. It’s hard to exercise with a extra weight and low muscle, so getting some pounds off would be useful I think.
- stavros 1y ago
  If you don't have food noise, it's not going to be a massive help, I think. They're good in that you forget to eat, but they're bad in that you forget to eat. As a cure for food noise, though, they're massively helpful. I had forgotten, if I've ever known, what it's like to not think of food all the time.
  - captainkrtek 1y ago
    That’s an interesting term I haven’t heard before, but it makes sense. I’ve experienced similar feelings from other medication (side effect) where I don’t feel hungry and forget to eat, I can imagine it’s similar.

okdood64 1y ago

Awesome job! Question: > eat whatever I wanted for dinner but not to the point of feeling stuffed Couldn't this have been achieved with the below? Just eating less. > which meant no shortcuts like burgers for lunch or expensive food trucks

captainkrtek 1y ago
I found when I was eating things like burgers at the office, I was also commuting (reducing free time to exercise or cook healthy in the evening), and waking up early for work/commuting made me generally more tired. So the burger for lunch maybe wasn't the issue in isolation, but then when I got home I'd still be tired and hungry, maybe eat something else unhealthy/processed, and be too tired to exercise, either way still not in a calorie deficit. I think it's a chain reaction between these things, at least in my experience.
- tasuki 1y ago
  If you're dedicated, commute does not reduce exercise time: commute is exercise time. In my 20 working years, I never commuted other than self-powered: walking or cycling, depending on the distance. I understand not everyone has the luxury of this option, but the vast majority of people do, and yet decide to worsen the already bad traffic instead of a little exercise...
  - Eddy_Viscosity2 1y ago
    Great that you can do this and it is a great thing to do, but saying that a vast majority has this option (at least in the US) and just choose not to is blatantly false. Distance is just one of the parameters, but so is the infrastructure, weather, being able to shower at work so you don't start a morning meeting all sweaty, time needed to get the kids ready for school, etc. etc. It just isn't viable for many people, even when at surface level it seems like it should be.
  - captainkrtek 1y ago
    It can be, but isn’t the most realistic starting point for someone out of shape to go from being overweight and driving already for 45 minutes (without traffic) to cycling 40-50 miles each way.. also people have kids to drop off/pick up, errands to run, etc. don’t think in the US its reasonable to say “the vast majority do”. Most American cities are not known for their bike friendliness..

NoPicklez 1y ago

Can't argue with this and aligns with what's always worked for me. However I will add going to the gym can be fun just to keep some variety outside of cardio and also add some muscle mass. Either way its just another form of exercise.

captainkrtek 1y ago
Totally. I did add the gym years later for this purpose, but didn’t find it necessary for the initial bulk of my weight loss