Being on vacation has made me realize how heavy and out of shape I’ve gotten. I’ve used my sobriety as an excuse (I allowed myself diet freedoms as long as I stayed sober). Well, it’s been 3.5 months. Enough is enough. When I get home things need to change.
But I fear going too far too fast and then fizzling our. I need to ease into this and make it new habits.
Any suggestions?
I’ve dropped almost 30 lbs doing keto. It’s been less than 2 months. I’ve never done any type of diet before but I’m kinda digging this one.
I too realized I packed on the pounds. For the past couple of weeks I have really been doing my own little program. I have a protein shake for breakfast, a healthy snack a couple hours later (Apple, etc.), a healthy lunch and a health dinner. Sometimes breakfast and lunch are both protein shakes.
I also started doing yoga. I do it right in my own house off of YouTube. Then when I’m done with that I hop on my stationary bike and do about 30 minutes (need to up it to about an hour soon), and then I do some free weights for my arms.
There is no rhyme or rhythm to this. I basically just do what I feel I can do and this is what I came up with. I’m also up for any new suggestions so I will definitely be bookmarking this thread, lol! I hope this helped a tad😊
I tried Keto in the fall and it was just impossible vegan. All the sources of protein and fat had too much carbs. I was eating fat bombs all the time and still couldn’t get the right ratio of macros. I tried sooo hard.
Thank you…
How much do you feel you need to lose to be at a healthy weight?
It’s the first piece of cake that does the damage 
Seriously though just ease yourself into it, a day at a time. Basic changes in diet at first so it doesn’t feel like another major change in your life. Drink plenty of water, walk more, swap white carbs for brown carbs and eat more fruit. Just always remember your sobriety comes first. I’ve been guilty in the past of over looking my real issues to gain superficially in the gym. Keep it simple.
At least 10…15 is good…20 is my dream. Actually 25 is dream but I’m trying to be reasonable. I’m not 25 anymore…weighing 115 is probably not physically possible. LOL
I cut out sugar as it’s not good for mental health and that helps a lot! I also try an work out everyday, even if it’s only 20mins! A great app i use is Aaptiv! Do many options! Even yoga and meditation.
Man I done tolt you. It’s magic how easy it is and can work.
I found that the only macro that mattered on keto was carbs. Stay >25 a day and your set.
Don’t focus as much on the weight as you do on the healthy choices. It’s difficult to provide specific advice without firsthand knowledge of your conditioning, but I’ll take a stab at it. I lost 30lbs last year just by being consistent with training, eating semi-healthy and micro-fasting.
Let’s start with activity…what do you like to do? Do you (or have you) run, cycle, mountain bike, etc. or are you more into gym workouts? Whatever it is, start out easy if you haven’t been active for a while. I went from barely running a mile last year to competing in 28K mountain runs. But that doesn’t happen over night - there’s plenty of resources online if you want to start from zero and work up. I’m also a huge advocate for training with a goal…I got involved in Spartan races last year and it gave me a focus for my training. Whatever it is that interests you, you have a higher chance of maintaining it if you have a goal on the horizon and you enjoy doing it. Use a fitness tracker like Fitbit or Garmin and an online tracker like Strava…tracking helps me tremendously.
As for eating…I’m no dietician, so I will leave that one alone…other than plenty of lean protein and vegetables, lots of water and some cheat food.
Micro-fasting…I TRY not to eat after 6pm or before 10 am on any given day. I allow myself coffee in the am when I get up, but I don’t drink any sweetened drinks…except of course the big alcohol elephant in the room which I had way too much of until this week. There’s lots of good data on fasting and I’ve seen results in the scale over time.
Since I came back to the scale topic, I will end here. I weigh myself every morning to track where I’m at. But so many factors influence our weight that it is only a guideline for me. Focus on being healthy and active and the weight will regulate to where you want it to be.
Check out the working on working out thread if you haven’t already.
I started 18/6 intermittent fasting to break through a weight loss plateau. Works for me. I also try to eat single ingredient whole foods.
Do you train fasted? I was doing a 6 pm - 10 am…but have tried a 6-Noon before and just felt wiped with my training sessions. Not sure if I just wasn’t getting enough calories or if my timing was off.
Yes. I train from 0500-0630, and from 1800-1900. My eating window is 1000-1600.
The thing is intermittent fasting enables me to eat enough carbs that I don’t gas out as my glycogen stores are full for both workouts.
It’s got erytrithol. Which is fine on keto bc it doesn’t trigger an insulin response. Rebel is better I’ve heard
Me too I gained 20 lbs in the six months sober. Starting Sunday (six months date) I am cutting the sugar and carbs back out, one cheat day a week
Is it the cold temperatures in the winter that causes problems with getting exercise, or is it snow? I’m curious if snow is the issue, if you have got involved with snowshoeing or cross-country skiing or something similar along those lines to get your cardio? I don’t live in an area that has issues with snow, but I have gone snowshoeing recreationally when on vacation during the winter, and I found it to be equally strenuous if not more so than running in warmer climates.
Fitbit. Walk. Every day. Set a step count goal and do it every single day, rain or shine. I got my first fitbit after I had been sober six months. Sobriety alone had not resulted in weight loss. Walking did. Walking is easy, low impact and can be done just about anywhere. It’s also a great way to change your mood. It was very surprising to me when I started dropping weight just by walking. It’s so easy and sustainable. Invest in comfortable shoes and dress for the weather and then get out there and walk.
I lost approximately 30 pounds within six months of consistent walking and then another ten pounds when I stopped added sugar. I’ve kept that weight off for four years now.
After I lost weight with my walking routine, I stopped all soda: diet and regular. It’s just crap: horrible for you and lots of calories and / or chemicals. I stopped putting sugar or artificial sweeteners in my coffee. That took a little bit of adjusting but I don’t miss it at all anymore. I also added oatmeal with blueberries to my breakfast every morning and eat lots of fruits and vegetables during the day. I still eat pizza and pasta and bread on a fairly regular basis. I drink water, seltzer and coffee and don’t crave anything else. I do go through periods of allowing myself chocolate / sugar once a week but I sometimes lose control and find it creeping back into a daily habit. Like alcohol, I’m an all or nothing kind of gal. Much easier to go without completely.
But the biggest impact was the walking. It completely changed my body and energy levels.
I wasn’t gonna judge you, no worries. Yeah, seriously give snowshoeing a shot if you’ve never tried it. A couple winter vacations ago we purchased our three children snowshoes before we went to a National Park for a week in the snow. It kicked my ass every single day being out on the trails…… Definitely a work out.