Weight Loss Escapades: Part 2

*Disclaimer: The following blog post has nothing to do with physiotherapy, and most definitely does not constitute medical advice.

About a month ago, I published a post outlining my goal to lose a bit of weight for my wedding in July. The plan was to drop from 200 to 193 pounds.

Here's a progress update, along with a few lessons I've learned along the way.

The Numbers

Most recent weight: 194.9 lbs (down from 200)

Waistline measurement: 32.5 inches (down from 34 inches)

Huzzah :-)

Stuff I've Learned

1.Curbing a Dorito addiction is very painful. I'm please to report I'm finally through the withdrawals.

2. Water weight fluctuations are incredibly confounding to accurate measurements of body composition (remember, the goal is to permanently lose fat, not to temporarily lose water). If you only weigh yourself once per week, at random times of day, you really have no clue whether you're moving in the right direction. If you weigh yourself the morning after a sushi night, for example, the number on the scale will be artificially high, because sushi is high in sodium and carbs, which both cause water retention. What's the solution? Weigh yourself at the same time every day, and calculate a weekly average.

3. To stay in a calorie deficit, it is just as effective to increase "energy-out" by exercising more than usual as it is to decrease "energy-in" by eating less than usual. I've been leveraging this principle to my advantage, keeping my diet relatively constant but intentionally walking and biking a lot more because it's easy for me and I enjoy it and the weather has been absolutely gorgeous recently. Ten thousand daily steps is my minimum goal (I get about 7 thousand when I'm not trying; 10 K takes some work). This seems to be working a lot better than my initial approach of severe calorie restriction.

4. If I could only follow two dietary rules, it would be these: eat enough protein (my goal is 150 g/day), and eat enough fibre (my goal is 50g/day). Why? Both are thermogenic (your body burns calories digesting them) and both are satiating, making it harder for you to overeat. Also, protein is critical for preservation of muscle mass during a fat-loss phase.

5. Food quality and food quantity are tough to disentangle. This fact lurks underneath a lot of annoying debates on the internet. The reality is that calorie counting works; we are all subject to the laws of thermodynamics. It's just really time-consuming and arduous. Focussing on food quality is easier than meticulously tracking food quantity, but it tends to take you to the same place. This gets at a broader point about dieting: technically, weight loss always boils down to energy balance - there's no getting around that. But practically, much of a person's success boils down to what's psychologically most sustainable and motivating to them. This will be different for everyone, and is why people can lose weight on any number of diets (carnivore, keto, vegan, paleo, extreme fasting). It probably has less to do with the specifics of the macronutrient restriction, or time restriction, and more to do with the fact that they all give people rules to follow to control energy balance.

Where to From Here?

I still have a few pounds to go to reach my target weight of 193. Once I get there, the plan is to coast at that weight until my wedding in July. Will report back in a month!