My Road Back

Guy_Dudeson

Guy_Dudeson

Active member
Hi! Little about myself first.

I’ve always been a fluctuator in terms of weight; I have, for prolonged periods of time, been able to motivate myself to train and diet. But whenever I feel run-down or burnt out I turn to food and alcohol.

Through ‘15/‘16/‘17 I kept my weight below 100kgs (220lbs), until I got a new boss at work who absolutely hammered me and pushed me to my absolute limit. Over three years my weight blew out to what it is today, and I’ve been struggling ever since.

Had a bit of a “last hurrah” last night and weighed in this morning at 143.9kgs (317.25lbs), some of which is bound to be goop and fluid. I’ll add to this at the end of the day after (hopefully) a day of great eating!
 
Welcome to the forum & day 1 of your road back to good health. I think most of us have turned to unhealthy habits when run-down or feeling burned out, but that's when we need to take even better care of ourselves. We are the only ones who can do that really. Do you have a specific plan to lose weight? Is it cutting down on junk food & alcohol or something more specific? Is it sustainable long-term?
 
The main goal early on is to cut down alcohol and basically skip dinner. Eventually I’d like to be having a substantial breakfast, leafy greens for lunch and a meal replacement, soup or nothing at all after 3pm!

As for the alcohol, as someone who’s prone to make silly mistakes with food when sober, alcohol is just a terrible idea.
 
skipping a meal is most effective when it extends the time around your sleeping hours, i.e. breakfast or dinner... dinner when it also includes any after dinner to sack time snacking. it is not quite intermittent fasting, but putting together 12 hours of no caloric intake every day has a few benefits.

the worst sort of alcohol drinking while attempting to lose weight will be late night drinking. alcohol isn't actually a carbohydrate, but it acts very similar to carbs. that is, like sugars, it triggers a large insulin reaction to regulate your blood sugar. if you go to sleep right after drinking, you essentially lose the benefit of a typically low insulin level. insulin will continue to remove digested sugars, storing them as fat well into the night.
 
LaMaria said:
For me alcohol just makes me want to eat All The Things :) Welcome to the forum!
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Thanks!

That is exactly my problem... I'll screw up a week's worth of good work in one drunken night... I'll wake up hungover and wonder why I'm feeling so bloody lousy, then find crumpled evidence of my transgressions all over the kitchen... I'm likely to do that when sober given the right circumstances, so controlling the drinking is imperative!
 
overlandflyer said:
skipping a meal is most effective when it extends the time around your sleeping hours, i.e. breakfast or dinner... dinner when it also includes any after dinner to sack time snacking. it is not quite intermittent fasting, but putting together 12 hours of no caloric intake every day has a few benefits.

the worst sort of alcohol drinking while attempting to lose weight will be late night drinking. alcohol isn't actually a carbohydrate, but it acts very similar to carbs. that is, like sugars, it triggers a large insulin reaction to regulate your blood sugar. if you go to sleep right after drinking, you essentially lose the benefit of a typically low insulin level. insulin will continue to remove digested sugars, storing them as fat well into the night.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not enticed by the strictest intermittent fasting regime, but I found skipping dinner always simplified my routine... night is when I usually screw up.
 
Hey Guy, welcome to the forum!! Starting this diary is a great way to begin.

I am about the same with alcohol. Since I started my diet, almost 2 years ago now, I have cut my alcohol consumption by ~95%. It has really helped, as you say alcohol can impact judgement. Alcohol is also "empty calories" lots of calories with no nutritional benefit, better to eat good foods. Other advantages I have found to cutting back is that when I do drink I need less to have the same effect as before, and with the money I save with much much lower consumption I can buy the best. Amazing how long a good bottle of Tullamore DEW can last me now, over a year on the current bottle!

Tell us more about yourself, what you are eating, and your exercise and you will get more useful targeted advice and support.

Best of luck to you!
 
Day 1
30/3/2020
143.9kgs (317.25lbs)

Started the day with a pork banh mi, which was loaded with leafy greens. Quite a physical day at work, then had four tofu maki rolls for lunch... Probably too many carbs with the bread and rice over two meals, but all would've been fine if I'd stuck to the original plan... It turns out that wisecrack I made about "building" to my diet goals was prophecy... On the way past one of my local Korean eateries in the plaza on the way home... I decided to grab some mini wings. they're not battered, so mostly keto-friendly, and I couldn't chooses between two different flavours... so I obviously took a pack of each. Ended up eating the lot!

If I'd have committed to a keto diet from the beginning, it'd have been fine. But I ended up stuck between two approaches and not really nailing either.

Still, a drastic improvement from last week.

Got home and found the idea of training about as appealing as a kick in the plums.

Day 1 in the bag. Only up from here!
 
alligatorob said:
Hey Guy, welcome to the forum!! Starting this diary is a great way to begin.

I am about the same with alcohol. Since I started my diet, almost 2 years ago now, I have cut my alcohol consumption by ~95%. It has really helped, as you say alcohol can impact judgement. Alcohol is also "empty calories" lots of calories with no nutritional benefit, better to eat good foods. Other advantages I have found to cutting back is that when I do drink I need less to have the same effect as before, and with the money I save with much much lower consumption I can buy the best. Amazing how long a good bottle of Tullamore DEW can last me now, over a year on the current bottle!

Tell us more about yourself, what you are eating, and your exercise and you will get more useful targeted advice and support.

Best of luck to you!
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Thanks mate!

Yep, I already feel greater motivation after people's messages of encouragement! Despite a minor slip-up and not training tonight, it was an achievement in itself to get out of work without a drink... hell, not drinking one on my lunchbreak is hard enough!

My health kick has officially started, but I'm not gonna punish myself if it all doesn't click right away... Day 1 was better than yesterday... trying to stick with an up[ward trajectory lol...
 
Guy_Dudeson said:
trying to stick with an up[ward trajectory lol...
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The right way to look at it, perfection will never happen, continuous improvement is as good as it gets, and is pretty good!

Almost 2 years in and after losing well over 100 lbs and getting to my goal weight I am still trying to keep on that "upward trajectory". It helps me keep on track.
 
Taking it one day at a time is a good approach. Every day that you do well take the time to congratulate yourself. Yesterday I didn't have any wine. Instead of telling myself that it should be every day that I don't have wine, instead, I choose to say "well done".
 
Day 2
31/3/2020
141.6kgs

Thanks for the encouraging words, everyone! I actually did log a better day than yesterday in terms of eating again... Again, three meals, but this time, it was Four maki rolls for breakfast (2 x tuna avocado ad 2 x raw salmon), then a big Caesar salad for lunch (the unhealthiest salad, but a step in the right direction lol) and for dinner, four chicken souvlaki and Greek salad. Fewer carbs in my day and way more leafy greens...

Again, was tough to skip the drink, but managed it... Tomorrow officially begins the April/May/June segment of the challenge, so glad I've put in two decent days to build up!
 
Hey Guy you might try doing some calorie counting and logging. I found that really helps, and it helps to better understand what your portion sizes mean. A kg of broccoli has about 350 calories, but a kg of chocolate about 5,500 calories. Most foods are in-between. I use a lot of measuring and weighing (or when eating a whole package just look at the label) and track calories on the myfitnesspal.com app, not hard once you get used to it.

I missed alcohol at first, but now don't. In fact even when offered and can fit within my calorie budget I rarely take any. You will probably get there, but it will take a bit of time. Wish I could say the same about food, I still want too much...

You are off to a great start, keep it up!
 
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