Always chubby

Here goes. I need some feedback: How to do this in a feasible/sustainable/healthy-ish way? Background: 39F. Always the chubby kid. 5-10 kgs overweight, since maybe 7-8 years old. Though active and strong. Fast forward: 17 years/99,7 kgs decided something had to change, lost 30 kgs over two years. Just walking and eating less junk. Since 2014 slow and steady weight gain, from enjoying 70-ish, and now I feel like I’m stuck in 79-81 kgs. Experience with long term fasting - 48 hours is really not a big deal. Very active: 40 - 60 kms bike ride every week, minimum 2 compound heavy strength, usually finish with HIIT. And my god all the snow shovelling…. Anyways, I want what Adele did. More or less. Basically I’d like to lose 13-15 kgs. These days I try doing 48 hrs water fast with electrolytes every week, also try to restrict calories but not counting. I’ve done the intermittent fasting diet, not a big problem. But I love food… I know it’s basic maths. Or “eat less, shit more”. Contemplating cycling 24/48, but not sure how to go about this. I’m also not really keen on reducing the amount I exercise much. I’ll deal with the exercise addiction later - first I really would like to celebrate my 40th birthday (5 months from now) seeing the number 6 as the first digit on the scale. Just started another 48 hrs. 🎺

Answer

Hi there,

I managed to lose about 40 pounds (18kg) with a combination of intermittent fasting and avoiding excess carbs. Not as strict as Keto, just avoiding anything with added sugar and most bread, pasta, potatoes and rice.

At least in my case, sugar and carb-heavy foods spiked my insulin and made me crave more food and it was a terrible cycle.

I went on a 2 week sugar-free diet and as low as practical with carbs. I switched my snacks to salty and spicy things if I had cravings. It really helped! It was tough, but as time went on, the food cravings went away.

Now I only eat between Noon and 6pm and I log everything that goes into my mouth. I suffer from terrible food amnesia and I had no idea how much I was eating.With intermittent fasting and no more sugar, I really do feel full and satisfied with smaller meals. I set a calorie budget and the game for me is to pack as much flavor into those calories as I can

It’s been 5 years and I’m still slowly losing weight and got off diabetes and blood pressure medications.

It was easy for me, but I’ll confess I had to take 2-3 tries to make it a permanent habit. I’ve read that’s typical for people trying life-long habits. So it you try it once or twice and stumble, don’t let that worry you. Practice makes the next attempts more likely to succeed.

Best of luck to you, you can do it!