How I Lost 30 Pounds…

As we get older, we sometimes pack on the pounds. I’m no different.

About 3 years ago, I tried a Whole Foods Plant Based way of eating diet. It was promoted through books and tv documentaries. My weight seemed to be always around 205 pounds on any given day. I decided to begin a Whole Foods Plant Based diet and let me be honest, it was hard. My meal prep time was easily 45 minutes and I had to exercise like crazy. At one point, I was running 6-8 miles a day! I fought cravings constantly.

Did I lose weight that way? Yes, but I did not look healthy. I eventually could not keep up with the rigorous “do not eat list” and the constant food prepping and exercise. I ended up backsliding.

I started eating and drinking whatever I wanted again. No exercise. Returning to my normal weight of roughly 203 pounds.

Then a friend of mine that rides his bicycle 50-100 miles a day who is fit and about my age told me in a conversation that he thought I should give up sugar. Well, me having a death grip on my Dr. Pepper soda and loving my ice cream as much as the next guy, laughed him off and told him to go ride some more.

About 8 months later, I was watching YouTube and a doctor was on there talking about 10 reasons why you should give up sugar. I watched it and he laid out step by step all my symptoms. Frequent urination throughout the night, mood swings, etc. This got my attention.

I thought I would try and decrease my sugar intake and see what would happen. Well, it wasn’t just one thing, many things happened. I started to feel great and I wanted to learn more. I began learning about what foods to eat that promote fat burning and not storing fat. I also learned about the bodies energy system and how to make it work for me even while I ate bacon cheeseburgers to lose weight. It has been an amazing journey.

The only exercise that I did most of the time was walking. Counting steps. No more meal prepping, and I started gaining muscle like in my twenties. That is crazy, because I am 53, but I do feel like I’m 35. This was something I could maintain. I am now currently weighing in at 173-177 on any given day. I also have an occasional ice cream sandwich and French fries at times without gaining weight on the weight loss system.

I also recently ran a 5k race in 24 minutes and 2 seconds. I am able to do 30 push ups and sit ups. It has been a healthy transformation.

-steve