Forgive the hyperbole and inject the caveat “for me”. But man, I’ve tried em all. Anyone who knows me well understands my life-long contention with unwanted weight gain and some of the radical experiments it has led me into (for example: http://www.simplemamame.com/blog/the-keto-vegan-experiment/ ).
The past 6 years in particular I have tried a new diet every year. I have been able to draw a few conclusions about what works best for me and stay in pretty good shape. But every time I “cheated” I’d gain a bit back, and inevitably over the winter I’d go right back up to the 190s. If a diet isn’t sustainably successful, it can’t really be adapted to a lifestyle. I was getting increasingly frustrated as with each year I aged, I had to take more and more radical steps just to get back to where I want to be.
And then quarantine happened. Despite my best at-home-fitness efforts, boredom and irritability led me to eating and drinking more. Bam. Right back to 195. If you skimmed the article linked above, you’ll get the idea that I had ratcheted my diet down so strictly that there’s almost nothing left I could try cutting out. I had even tried reducing the portions to no lasting avail.
So what on Earth was I to do? It was around this time that my friend Mat gave me a book he insisted I read. I got around to it eventually and at times audibly scoffed at what it seemed to be suggesting. It’s an easy read – couple hundred pretty engaging pages. Whole point of this post: I highly recommend you read The Obesity Code too. Draw your own conclusions.
Quick, highly inadequate synopsis: I drew 2 conclusions from this book. 1.) Don’t eat sugar or carb-dense food (duh – I already knew that). 2.) It is WAY more import when you eat that what you eat (huh? – what choo talkin bout Willis?). Read the book for the why. It delves into the specifics of how the human body regulates weight gain and the role that insulin and insulin resistance play in this. For all the radical dieting I’d done I had never cared how often I was eating. I knew not to eat right before bed, but otherwise, I’m eating nothing but raw vegetables and nuts; why should it matter when I eat? I was probably eating 8 to 10 times a day in the form of very healthy snacks.
And so began the newest experiment. I gave it 8 weeks before I decided to share how incredibly successful it has been and my inclination that it is actually a sustainable lifestyle that won’t nearly kill me like my other diets have. I modeled after Mat and set my daily fasting window (the diet is actually called Intermittent Fasting) to 17 hours. I eat a moderate breakfast at 6am that now includes the previous forbidden items of more sugary fruits like oranges along with my nuts and nut butters. I tried skipping breakfast at one point, and I felt like it negatively effected my noon-time exercise. I then have a huge lunch at 1pm after my workout combining all the snacks I would have had throughout the day into a feast: salad, avocado, fruit, nuts, even the occasional bit of meat.
First off, it is hard not eating from 1 until bed time. It was very hard for the first week. My stomach screamed at me all afternoon and evening. It was brutal. But then, magically – just like the book says – the pain 100% went away, and the energy levels came back up. It’s a hard hill to climb, but it is so worth it. Why is it still hard if it no longer hurts? Easy: boredom. Best solution: stay busy. Drink black coffee, tea, bone broth, water (no artificial sweeteners), and find something to do.
Every other diet I’ve tried has maybe dipped me down to 180 for a day or two after weeks or months of suffering. I have been at or below 175 for the past 3 weeks with no suffering, and I am at least as strong and athletic as I’ve been over the course of the last decade. I honestly think I can keep this up for the foreseeable future. I will still take a “day off” here and there for parties or vacation, but they can be pretty easily offset by skipping a different meal and/or dropping a 24 hour fast in the middle of the week to compensate.
Read the book. If you decide to give it a try, go for at least 10 days before giving up. See if it works for you. I wouldn’t insist if I didn’t think this could really help a lot of people, particularly those who struggle like me. Let me know how it goes.