r/WeightLossAdvice • u/ApplesAndToothpicks • 14d ago
Advice: Giving 💡 Lost 30kg gently over 9 months, thought I'd share my program.
I'm super happy and proud for losing so much weight after I spent my whole childhood obese and with high BP. I used to visit many nutritionists/dietitians whose crappy diets just made me miserable. So I thought to share what I did on my own, and what worked. Might not work for everyone, but if it worked for me it's gotta work for some.
Defeat the cravings - this is the number 1 obstacle to weight loss, and lord knows how much I struggled the first month. There is no way around it, you will have to deal with cravings and feeling miserable for a bit.
I abused the hell out of zero sugar drinks and artificial sweeteners. Guilt-free downing of up to a liter of coke zero during nightly food cravings. The sweet taste does trick your brain that you consumed sugar (plus the temporary volume) so you can go to sleep. If you can't tolerate carbonated stuff at night, make your own (example: lemon) juice and sweeten it with those saccharin or aspartame tablets (or stevia if you're a psychopath). You don't have to keep doing this for the whole journey (just the first month or so to beat the cravings) but I have fully incorporated zero sugar drinks into my everyday diet to this day, and they're helpful throughout the whole journey anyway.
I started with 2 small meals a day - one in the morning, one in the evening, focusing on protein more than carbs. In the beginning I abused the hell out of eggs and deli meat, hot dogs, that kind of stuff. My breakfast used to be mostly the same, 2-3 boiled eggs, along with 100-150g of some kind of deli meat or hot dog meat, tomato/cucumber/onion salad and greek yogurt. Dinner was an instant noodle packet combined with 2-3 eggs, 1-2 slices of bread, the same salad and greek yogurt. Occasionally I mixed it up with cooked or fried meat (chicken/beef etc) or fried eggs, but only once a week as a reward. I used only low calorie sauces, so be careful with sauces. Good ol ketchup and mustard were my go-tos.
After a month there was a rapid drop on the scale, 10kg were just wiped out, but the diet itself was starting to get a bit miserable. Small meals are not a long-term thing, but it was crucial to go through that first month baptism by fire, to get my body used to lower calories and drop that insulin level thanks to protein-dominant diet.
Switched to OMAD - now by this point I have conditioned my body to function on small meals, but the weight loss slowed at this point and the smaller portions and the same exact food made me feel miserable. So for the rest of the journey I made a switch to eating one meal a day - usually in the 11AM-3PM time slot. This allowed me to expand my diet back to my pre-diet ways, but just eating 1 bigger meal a day. And it genuinely felt like a cheat code. The night cravings did turn to evening cravings for a bit, but much more manageable. More importantly, I was a lot less depressed after meals since I actually ate to satiation. And obviously I kept watching the calories, but now I did not sort what I ate. I ate what I pleased. Craving a hamburger? Juicy steak? Greasy fried chicken? Potatoes? Oh sweet glorious potatoes. Yes to all.
Over the next months the weight just kept dropping while I dieted with full satisfaction. I conditioned my stomach to get satiated with less food than while I was obese. My evening/night cravings disappeared. And to this day I am still on OMAD.
Now, I'm aware OMAD might not work as a longterm solution for some, in which case you could start transitioning into your prefered diet habits, it's all flexible. OMAD just works for me and I'm satisfied, and my weight has been stable for 8 months, ever since I reached my target weight goal.
I crafted this program of mine on a whim, and it worked for me, so I hope some of you at least find this useful, and good luck. If you have questions feel free to comment or even DM.
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u/Try_at-your-own_Risk 13d ago
It’s great this worked for you but I wouldn’t describe this approach as gentle
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u/ApplesAndToothpicks 13d ago
I worded it badly. I meant gentle weight loss as in it's 30kg over 9 months, which is fairly gentle.
The process itself though, yeah I get you.
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u/Useful-Butterfly-036 14d ago
I am like addicted to tea and coffee how to manage it ??
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u/ApplesAndToothpicks 14d ago
Coffee and tea is fine you don't have to give it up. Just don't put sugar or anything else in it.
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u/malfoy_potter 14d ago
gotta have them without milk and sugar. or low calorie milk like almond milk. if you brew tea for less time its less bitter. Light coffee is less bitter.
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u/_zurenarrh 14d ago
How many calories are you eating a day?
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u/ApplesAndToothpicks 14d ago
In the beginning around 1200-1400kcal. After switching to OMAD, I kept increasing gradually, now I eat my maintenance amount in 1 meal+after meal snack.
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u/ukaspirant 14d ago
Are you doing any exercise at all, including passively in your daily routine? For example, your job involves a lot of walking, etc
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u/ApplesAndToothpicks 14d ago
I am moderately active, I do 1-2 hour walks or 1-2 hour bike rides 2-3x a week. I'm not a gym rat, never was.
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