New Year's Diet As Promised

Secondary post from http://imgur.com/gallery/fSmz4 as requested.

Please be forewarned it's long and involves a lot of pictures.

Also- front page is a little crazy. Not as many dick-pics as I was expecting (4 exactly), though there was an offer to be a sugar baby (monthly pay of 5 thousand), around 500 cute gif hellos, and a bunch of highly intelligent questions regarding the crap part of dieting (motivation).

I also had a great deal of requests from people stating that they have almost exactly my old body so I decided to post selected photos from my weight loss because I think that's pretty good motivation to potentially look for milestones. Hopefully helpful.

So first a disclaimer:
Yes, I mentioned I am a nurse, however-! I am NOT a dietician/nutritionist, nor am I nurse who specializes in nutrition or GI. I am not a doctor nor a consultant. PLEASE never take a stranger's opinion on the internet in place of YOUR medical professional's. Sorry, I just want to make it clear I'm just an imgurian on this. :)

Okay. I'm 5'2. Starting weight somewhere around 148 and BMI 27.1. After is 111 lbs BMI 20.3.

As everyone states- there are exceptions to BMI. I am not one of them. My first photo is overweight. My second is the lower end of normal.

So this list was made by my girlfriend (who has been an integral part of this and is still in the midst of her weight-loss journey). I started with the Game On Diet. Now- I only lost around five pounds on this diet, but the above list here is the entire key of dieting for me.

Every meal you eat MUST contain a protein. Seriously. You can vary them up like crazy, but you NEED a protein or else you will feel that hunger. The Game On diet also tells you to have a fat and a carb with each meal. You should have 5 meals a day and two of those meals the carbs have to be a fruit/veggie.

I began eating about 4-5 meals a day that follows these general rules. Keep in mind those serving sizes. If you hate everything else about this post, this is a useful list.

(This is an obviously shortened list- you can make your list as detailed for what you eat.)

I began general walking somewhat. And quit drinking ANY calories. I don't drink alcohol, soda, milk or coffee calories.

I DO drink coffee. (Sidenote- caffeine has a slight calcium-stealing effect. So coffee with a small amount of skim milk can help protect your bones). There's probably some more details here, I'm sure that the comments section can correct me.

I began just mild yoga as exercise. Flexibility is an important thing, but honestly I wasn't very consistent.

I bought a fitbit. Research shows that something around 90% of people who buy one won't use it by a year in. So I decided that I needed to be exceptional. It's a fitbit HR (one), and showed me the shocking news that while I get 7K steps on work days, I get about 1200 on my days off. So I began working on this.

I also began looking ENDLESSLY for inspiration. Climbing a mountain is about finding a series of handholds (and footholds), so it's sooo difficult to keep up the inspiration. I searched endlessly on pinterest with 'weight loss' 'thinspo' fitpso' and the like. Be forewarned, there is a little of waaay too thin on there. Research shows that the bad thinspo often decreases weight loss.

I began losing some very decent weight (probably about 8-10 lbs down from this point. I was excited about getting the curve in my back. And yes you can see my strawberry carbs on the floor. I was DEFINITELY working more fruits than veggies. As a supertaster I really couldn't stand veggies.

I began working on cardio. That means at least 15 minutes of a heart-rate above 130 every day. I began doing this at my job as well. I'm a nurse and can't wander too far from my patients so I walked briskly around the nursing station. At first I think it really confused all of my coworkers- I've since seen some of them doing the same thing.

As the weight kept going I started notice actual muscle under my stomach fat. There were several comments about how to lose stomach weight or tone it. There is NO shortcut. I saw the muscles peeking through and was pretty thrilled, though my waist was still quite wide. Work to continue.

I started monitoring my weight as well. At this point I was still doing four meals a day, plus a nighttime salad. I tend towards extreme efficiency and hate the idea of such nutritionally worthless food like lettuce so my very patient girlfriend would make spinach-only salad with caesar salad dressing.

Rules for Scales!
*Don't go more than three days without weighing with the exception for females- don't weigh yourself during period week. You are holding onto extra fluid and it won't be accurate. There's no need to be mean to yourself.

*Only weigh yourself ONCE A DAY. Get your dry weight- in the morning before eating/drinking and after the AM pee.

So then I added my don't-eat-before-bed rule. Now the comments section called me out on this one. Research doesn't support extra weight loss from this. However for me this forces me to organize my day's food. I stop eating a full five hours before I go to bed. I am usually HUNGRY when I go to bed. My girlfriend decided to follow this one too. At first she was certain that she would be too hungry to go to sleep, but then she'd end up passing out without any drama, so there you go.

This helps follow one of my fundamental rules- BIG BREAKFAST. I eat within half an hour of waking up and I eat a LOT. If you aren't hungry for breakfast it's because you're eating too much before bed. Research does support a correlation (yes, not causation) between eating breakfast and being a healthy weight.

Sometimes it's hard not eat before going to bed. I am night nurse and it's generally 9am when I go to sleep. It was hard to get past the idea that I deserved a 'treat' for doing my work well. I decided that fancy nail designs would replace a snack 'treat' and would keep my hands busy. (Done at home- not spending money on this.)

I was losing about 1.5 lbs a week. It's a slow burn to get there. If you're losing more than 2 lbs a week it's water weight and you'll gain it back.

I also worked on my attitude towards food. Up to this point in my life I had the idea that I should enjoy 100% of my food. That's insane. There is literally no other area in my life where I have that kind of expectation. Not my favorite movies, shows, not even a GOOD sex life has 100% satisfaction. I think a good relationship with food should probably look a little more like a good friendship. You generally like each other, but a GOOD friend is willing to be unpleasant if it's in your best interests.

It won't be easy, but it's probably going to help you to reframe this.

I woke up one morning and noticed that I actually had a thin waist! It was amazing and I took a photo even though my bathroom was dirty. Another of the bizarre news- weight does whatever the heck it wants. My waist was whittling down, but my arms were as big as when I started. So- I decided it was time to get more exercise on board.

My choice was youtube and fitness blender. I didn't do much. I decided to do the abdominal workout everyday and I would vary the pilates legs and the waterbottle arms every other day. I'm a nurse with a three day workweek so I did my exercise on my days off.

My typical day's diet:
Okios yogurt, English muffin with butter, a serving of fruit, a few olives
Turkey sandwich, Okios yogurt, pistachios
Fiber one dessert bar, oatmeal, tomatoes
Chicken/spinach salad, fruit (cherries, blueberries)

I'd vary it as I wanted, but it generally followed around those lines. My work is also absolutely TERRIBLE at doctors bringing in doughnuts, coworkers brought cookies/brownies they made, Sunday Sundaes, and grateful patients bringing cakes and whatnot. I don't believe in total restriction- it just makes you sullen, so I'd eat my lunch FIRST then eat a half serving of the treat I wanted. If it kept bothering me I would announce I was moving it out of reach and did so.

I also got stuck around 118 for a while (a week or two). I began adding in strength training. My gym has weighs and I use them, lighter weights 3 reps of 10 for both wide-grip-lat pull-down and bench pressing weights. I also do very light weight squats and wall sits. I do these a day on and off so that my muscles can recover during a rest day. Keeping my diet the same and adding that made me lose more weight without any further issue.

(Quick note for those afraid of bulking up- you won't. It takes a lot of work to bulk up. You'll gain muscle underneath which will increase your metabolism and will be amazing.)

Around this time my girlfriend told me that my spine had shown up. Though it's mostly to do with my terrible posture, it's worth it to take photos.

Weight loss is PAINFULLY slow. So I find it wildly worth it to take photos. When you can SEE your differences it gives you more of that inspiration.

Also- you will lose weight so slowly that you won't notice it. Even when you're no longer overweight you will feel overweight. Thus LOTS of photos.

My original goal was 115 lbs (high school weight) and I started zeroing in on it. At this time you start hearing a bit from your beloved maternal coworkers/friends. These are the people who are seeing a change, but are so filled with maternal love that they start telling you to STOP dieting. These are the nice ones.

This was one of my photos around my goal weight. It proves one of the points that comes up. Even when you lose the weight, you don't know how to dress for it. You got too used to dressing with a 'hiding' plan. So you STILL won't look quite right to you.

However the stomach itself was great. Finally an inward curvy instead of an outward.

My collarbones also made an appearance. This was all around 115 which was back in August.

I kept up with my fitnessblender exercises though I modify them. I have a autoimmune disorder and certain exercises (running included) just aren't an option for me. Modify everything as you need. If you don't know how, the internet does. If it's QUITE complicated, speak to your doctor. I know my American compatriates pay a fee to see them, but preventative care is NOTHING compared to the cost of your heart attack.

A photo of me at my goal weight. My face slimmed down tremendously, the waist curves inwards and the legs became curvy instead of blocky. 115 was a perfectly great weight.

I gave myself a reward (rewards should NEVER be food- 'rewarding' tasty food is typically punishment for your body and your health). My reward was getting my teeth professionally whitened. I'd recommend something like that. I know that money is often hard to come by, but a trip or an item is better than food.

I stayed at this weight for about two months. Then I decided to keep going. All weight loss at this point is just vanity for my own personal aesthetic.

(Since it came up in the comments section- yes there is something to be said for the cuddliness of a more overweight person. Bones aren't very cuddly.)

At this point I realized I needed to get veggies into my diet. It's the difference between working a lot of hours versus working a higher-paying job. If you can do the latter you absolutely should. I've never liked them so I started doing research on them.

You don't hate all veggies. There's tons of them and surely a few will be okay. Even if you didn't like them raw you may like them cooked. Lots of ways to prepare them. My girlfriend (without telling me) looked up how to get fussy toddlers to eat veggies. The recommended method is to just leave them out in little dishes so that the toddler can run up and sample them between projects. She actually did this and guess what- it actually worked. I managed yams, broccoli, celery, and edamame while working on a printing project. I was NOT clued in until afterwards, which was great. So you can diet even if you are a fussy toddler.

Also we liked the Birdseye protein blend California style protein meal. You microwave it and it is a meal.

Veggies making up meals made the weight REALLY made it move. There is no reason to do these things without the possibility of sustainability.

I got closer to my second weight loss goal.

My girlfriend and I out for lunch. You can still go out to eat while dieting. Parfait, fruit plate (also had a croissant turkey sandwich, with espresso). It's a full meal, covering our basics.

A few shots of what 113 lbs looks like.

You can still diet while on vacation and the extra activity can cause you lose a little more.

Getting a slightly better idea of how to dress a smaller frame. All weight loss at this point is vanity-induced.

I'm currently away from home, my most recent weight was 111.6.

Per request- the way the back looks.

Puppy Tax: And this is our beloved Zowie (as in David Bowie). Tell me that isn't cute. (Don't.)

Though she is also FEARSOME. Fear the wild beast!

TL:DR- Eat less, move more.