"You get strong at the gym and thin in the kitchen." ...and all the other things I learned while losing 78lbs in 17-months.

INTRO & STATS

Hey! I'm an early 40s dude of 181cm (5'11") who didn't like what he saw in the mirror and dropped 78lbs since January of 2017.

This post turned into a massive stream-of-consciousness that I've organized into sections to make it more readable. I hope there's something in here for anyone struggling with their own journey to better health - maybe ideas for healthier food or habits, or breaking unhealthy attitudes toward food or exercise.

I've direct linked pictures of my food, progress, and weight trends throughout this post but here's a link to the whole gallery if you want to mainline it. (the post adds context though)

DISCLAIMER

I am not your doctor, nutritionist, dietitian, or personal trainer - I don't even play one of those on TV - and am by no means recommending any specific exercise or diet plan to you. Please consult appropriate medical professionals before starting any new diet or exercise routine.

NON-SCALE VICTORIES (NSVs)

	DEXA Scan Dec 2017	DEXA Scan Jun 2018
Weight	178.3lbs	159.6lbs
% body-fat - TOTAL	25.8%	17.1%
% body-fat - arms	17.9%	9.7%
% body-fat - legs	21.6%	15.1%
% body-fat - trunk	31.0%	20.8%

blood pressure and blood chemistry are in the "optimal" range now.
Went from an XL shirt, 36 waist Levi 501 (more like 38 waist, accounting for vanity sizing) - to a SMALL shirt, 29 waist Levi 501.
I can function well on 6 hours of sleep, 7+ ideally if I'm recovering from intense exercise. I used to need 8-10hrs+ just to get through a day. (well duh - I was carrying an excess 75lb fatberg around with me 24/7!)
Food spending is way down, from dining out less, to buying less processed food, and needing fewer calories a day.
I've walked half and full marathons. Yeah, they were walked, not run. I aspire to run and have started C25k.
My daily routine is now easy - walking 5-10km home instead of busing, running up several flights of stairs carrying groceries etc.
I can do 16+ hour days of chores and errands without being the least bit worn out.
My feet and ankles don't hurt after those epic days.
I tolerate heat very well now,
I can do unassisted chin-ups (albeit only a few at a time),
I'm working toward strict muscle-ups and every other type of /r/bodyweightfitness motion,
The range of activities and sports I can engage in expands,
Taken with a grain of salt: Garmin ranks my physiological metrics as "excellent, for a 20 year old...top 25% for my age and gender." (I think this says more about how poor the population's health is in general - I still feel I've got a long way to go to be really fit)
I don't "suck at life."

NON-SCALE FAILS? (NSFs)

I've had to wardrobe shop about half a dozen times. (thank you Salvation Army Thrift Store, Value Village/Savers, TJX/Winners/Marshall's).
I do not tolerate cold well. (a challenge living in Canada)
Family and coworkers expressing "concern" about my weight loss, none of whom are health professionals. They've largely come around once I sit them down to show them data and explain that my healthcare/fitness team has no concerns.
Stretch marks, loose skin.
...that's kind of it, all outweighed (bit of a pun) by the NSVs.

FOOD & NUTRITION

"You get strong at the gym and thin in the kitchen." - Astronaut Chris Hadfield "You can't outrace the spoon." -unknown

Photos of my typical food:

Breakfast - 167-grams of cottage cheese + 150-grams of fresh or frozen fruit, along with a side of coffee + milk and sweetener. (374kcal)
Lunch - Bento-style box with sticky rice, some crunch sriracha-peas (kinda like crunchy wasabi-peas if you've ever tried those), boiled egg, some kind of greens w/dressing. Clocks in around 580kcal. (drink: water with lemon/lime juice - zero cal)
Dinner - 200-grams of frozen veggies (Green Giant Asian Blend with barley) + around 200-grams of some type of protein - here it's two medium chicken thighs, baked with dry-rub herb (no breading), but I've been using Gardein meatless products lately, mostly to reduce my carbon footprint. ~600kcal. Freebies: diet soda/Crystal Light/water/tea etc.

A few years ago, I lost about 40lbs and gained it back because I got injured and couldn't go to the gym, but didn't have my diet/meal-plan dialed in. Here's a plot of my weight dating back several years, if you want to see what trying to outrace the spoon looks like.

Food game-changers:

From an info-graphic my nutritionist sent to me:

Diet Mindset	Intuitive Eating
Can I have this?	Do I want this?
How do I look?	How do I feel?
How much food do I get today?	How much food do I need today?
Will this make me skinny?	Will this nourish me?
I exercise so I can eat.	I eat so I can exercise.
I can eat whatever I want on my cheat day.	I can eat whatever I want every day.
Food is my worst enemy and my favourite reward.	Food is just food.

doing a month-long "Real-Food-Reset" group program with a local nutritionist - this one completely changed the lens through which I see food. Further to that...
going from highly processed foods to minimally processed/unprocessed for the vast majority of my meals,
whole, unprocessed, fibrous foods keep you full longer than processed "junk.",
The film "In Defense of Food" and the book/audiobook "Salt Sugar Fat",
"Delayed gratification" - I can have whatever I want... what's the harm in waiting? Sometimes I wait so long I don't want it at all anymore.

My advice on how to deal with food depends on your personality:

If you're the type to get distraught over going to a pot-luck lunch, I'd say don't beat yourself up if you just WANT a greasy slice (or three) of pizza - you didn't get fat from one greasy meal, it's your habits that make you.
If you're the type who finds excuses - "hey, I had a crappy day at work - I DESERVE this [truly horrible processed food-like product]" I'd say "quit your bullshit." Nobody "deserves" anything - but you'll have the body your habits built.

I started out in the latter category and as I broke my dependence on processed crap, I moved into the former and can enjoy food without beating myself up. Food's just food.

ON CRAVING JUNK FOOD

Chef Magnus Nilsson in the series "Mind of a Chef" says something about tasting menus like:

"Think about eating your favourite flavour of potato chip. Nothing is as satisfying as the first two or three chips."

The book "Salt Sugar Fat" describes how we quickly tire of powerful tastes, theorized to be an instinctual need for a variety of foods - a phenomenon called "sensory specific satiety."

Now that I eat mostly unprocessed food, I rarely crave highly processed food and I can objectively think about how unsatisfying it is before I put it in my mouth. I will flush 2/3 of a bag of chips down the toilet rather than eating the whole thing - my stomach is not a garburator.

Advice from my nutritionist that worked for me: quit junk food (and alcohol) cold turkey for ONE MONTH. I just stopped wanting it after that.

Food stuff I do:

batch cooking - though I've dialed this back to "easy mode" - cottage cheese and fruit for breakfast, rice, egg, veggie "bento box" at lunch, frozen veggies and lean protein baked 15 minutes for dinner; everything's pre-portioned once a week so I don't spend time during the week doing much meal-prep. /r/MealPrepSunday /r/EatCheapAndHealthy for ideas
MyFitnessPal - I've saved all my meals for fast logging. Cruise over to /r/MyFitnessPal and read the sidebar for tips on how to use the program. (I hope the mods of /r/loseit won't mind that link as it's already in the FAQ here)
I don't keep junk food around the house - if I want it, I force myself to WALK to a store to buy SMALL quantities of it and it all gets logged.

EXERCISE

I'll repeat the Chris Hadfield quote:

"You get strong at the gym and thin in the kitchen." - Astronaut Chris Hadfield

I feel like exercising to lose weight relates to an unhealthy attitude toward both food and exercise: exercise isn't punishment and food isn't a reward.

Exercise stuff I do:

Walk, like, everywhere, all the time. I have the luxury of time on my hands after work so I frequently walk home (5-10km) or just take random walks.
Weight machines, some free weights. Muscle building, slowly.
Indoor rowing - I love this for a low-impact, high-intensity, full-body workout, sometimes varying it with a stationary bike.
Hiking - national/provincial parks, day hikes, overnights/weekenders with backpack and tent, using trekking poles. (cruise over to /r/Ultralight for more on this)
This is why I wear a fitness tracker that buzzes at me to get up and stretch every hour: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-05-leg-critical-brain-nervous-health.html

WEARABLE TECH

When I started going to the gym, I was manually logging activities in MyFitnessPal but quickly noticed just how ambiguous stats were. 30 minutes of rowing - is that "light" or "moderate" effort?

Wearing a fitness tracker with a heart-rate sensor gives much more accurate data and automates logging.

Popular fitness gear blogger DC Rainmaker has some advice on activity trackers:

"If you’re motivated by competing with friends, then you want to be on the same platform as them. So if they’re all on Fitbit – go get a Fitbit. And same goes for Garmin or Withings, or anyone else."

Once you cross over from "basic step and activity tracker" to "fitness performance metrics," I'd argue Garmin is tops (though Polar and Suunto are pretty close) - they have devices for just about every budget, many have GPS built in, most (all?) are waterproof and have heart rate monitors, and generally don't need charging for a week.

The Vivoactive HR is a steal right now as it's discontinued but still very capable. If you want something more stylish, its replacement, the Vivoactive 3, is amazing. Smaller? Vivosport. Never needs charging but don't mind no on-board heart-rate monitor? Vivofit 3 or 4.

CLOTHING

Don't be me: I was trying to wear after I'd shrank out of.

Regardless of your size, there is clothing available to compliment your shape!

Fashion tips for dudes (I'm a novice here so take this with a grain of salt)...

Vanity sizing for men is real - I wear Levi 501's labeled "29 inch waist" - my waist is more like a 31 inches. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Read some men's clothing style guides to give you a bead on trends but don't feel the need to ride the fast-fashion trends - find a style that's yours. (I can't stand the patterns/prints thing being pushed on guys now *SCREAM-BARF*) If you can rock that though, go you!
Personal choice: ditch the t-shirts (especially ones with clever stuff printed on them) and go with untucked button-up shirts, top two buttons open. A waffle undershirt classes this up a bit, plus you can tuck it in and wear a tie.
Pants should stay up without a belt - if they don't, they've gotten too loose. Run, don't walk, (while wearing a belt to keep your pants up) to the nearest store the replace them.
Keep it simple - my personal style is neutral tones (black, white, grey) so I can add in accents like dark jeans or tan corduroy jacket and not worry about mismatches.
...or don't do any of the above! "You do you..." do whatever works for you and makes you feel good.
Be ruthless - if something "fits" but you just hate the colour, don't buy it. If you like the pattern but fit is janky, DON'T BUY IT!
Likewise: if a piece of clothing in your closet isn't something you'd buy off the shelf right now, ditch it.
Shop at off-price and thrift stores while you're losing.
on days you're trying on a tonne of shirts (new or used), wear a super lightweight athletic t-shirt so you can try shirts on top without a change-room - this will save you a TONNE of time.
on pant shopping days (less frequent than shirts, IMO), wear loafers you can slip on and off quickly to save time. I don't even bother thrifting these - I go right to the Levi store or Hudson Bay Co./Sak's and get the exact size and colour I want.
if shopping thrift stores, check the aisles one size down and one size up from your target - often stuff is either mis-stocked, or mislabeled. Also:
find a friend (preferably of the opposite gender and with a fashion sense you trust) who will either shop with or be available to send selfies to for yea/nay on stuff you're not sure about. As you get better at this, you'll need input on fewer items.
The "paper towel theory" is real.

If I had to TL;DR for dudes: shop hard at thrift/off-price stores, don't get discouraged if you don't find anything on a given day, be ruthless and only wear stuff that makes you feel awesome.

Bonus: buy a cheap sewing machine and tailor the lateral seams of your shirts as you shrink. Instructions here: https://old.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/vuhd4/simple_guide_to_tailoringslimmingtaking_in_your/

FOOTWEAR

All of your weight is channeled through your feet, several multiples of it if you're doing anything dynamic. It can also affect your entire musculoskeletal system. You better have the right footwear or you're going to have a bad day/life.

I was wearing the wrong shoes for years, mostly because they were too small. I figured I needed a tight shoe to prevent my foot from moving around in it. I learned there are just some shoe designs that I will never be able to wear because they're too wide. (and I have average, "D" width feet)

Go to a sport/running oriented store and have your feet measured on a Brannock device. Do that at several stores and several times of day to eliminate any outlier data.

As was explained to me, you need:

a toe box large enough to let your toes splay out when you push off, long enough to give you about a thumb's width between big toe and shoe tip, and
a tight enough fit in the rear so your heel doesn't lift when you take a step.

Some shoes are just not going to work for you - toe-box too narrow, heel-opening too large, arch too flat/high, whatever - don't force it, move on to a different one. It's not you, it's the shoe. For me, I went up a full size and stopped all manner of foot pain. I feel dumb for trying to wear stupidly tight shoes and having foot and ankle pain for years.

FWIW, I'm a fan of Saucony Kinvaras, Nike Zoom Air Pegasus, though I've used a variety of others.

Per /u/Funchords, socks are important for preventing blisters: https://old.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/8ls2wf/surely_theres_more_to_life_than_endless_blisters/dzhyn18/

TOOLS / SYSTEMS / PROCESSES

Daily (hourly? minute...ly?) tools:

Garmin wearable linked via smartphone app
MyFitnessPal app (links to Garmin Connect)
several large sets of matching Rubbermaid food containers for pre-portioning food.
Nokia WiFi Scale links to Nokia Health Mate app that then pushes daily to "Libra" app for Android or "Happy Scale" for iOS (because MFP's weight trend analysis sucks and feel like a roller-coaster ride - Libra/Happy Scale smooth out trends due to water-weight fluctuations) You can follow this workflow without the connected scale too.
digital kitchen scale (for batch cooking, weighing out portions for breakfast and dinner)

With all of that, I have data about what's going into me, how much I'm exerting myself, and the net result. I have a routine - get up, use bathroom, step on scale, eat one of my pre-portioned breakfasts, pop a pre-portioned lunch into my bag for work and go.

PEOPLE

I did this for myself and nobody else.

An idea that's been on my mind lately:

"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." Jim Rohn

Be mindful of who you let into and keep in your life.

I ditched or limited my contact with some people who had habits I didn't want spilling over into my life. New people came into my life who were on the same page, and other people already in my life hopped on board. Don't let other people get in the way of you reaching your goals.

Look for the people living the way you want to. Example: I go to a "regular gym" (typical corporate gym where they want to upsell you on training etc) and a cross-training gym. The latter is where I met my nutritionist (she's a regular), and am constantly seeing useful, life-changing "stuff". They don't upsell anything. They have a coaches blog, a social-media presence, and video screens around the gym where I learned about the books "Salt Sugar Fat", and "The Obesity Code," as well as various fitness and health events in the region. These people eat, sleep and breathe healthy living and it elevates everyone around them.

ADVICE ON ROUTINE

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Will Durant paraphrasing Aristotle

"You do you." - pick a routine you can stick to. Life is going to throw curve balls at you - sick family, overtime at work, whatever. If you build a robust routine, you're more likely to weather the bumps. Maybe it means always having extra batch cooked meals in the freezer ready to go, or leaving one of them in the office freezer with your name on it - build a buffer.

The goal isn't a weight, it's a healthy lifestyle.

Weight and size - along with reduced blood pressure, better strength and endurance, and reduced risk of chronic disease - are side-effects of a healthy lifestyle.

You don't have "x" pounds to lose - you have 1-pound to lose, x-times.

Did I make healthy choices today? Great! Groundhog day tomorrow. Lather, rinse, repeat. If your habits are - on balance - healthy, you'll see progress.

Don't beat yourself up - I still enjoy a good BBQ!

There's no endpoint, just new goals. After /r/LoseIt, think:

Good luck!

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