I just wanted to somewhere to say this and you guys are the ones I think would care the most. I always wanted to join the military, but I'm too fat. I can't make tape or do the PT test. Two weeks ago I hit the gym and talk to a recruiter to set a plan for where I need to be in order to join the guard.
After two weeks of hitting the gym, and an average daily calorie deficit of almost 2,000 calories, I weighed myself yesterday and I gained .2 pounds. I'm a pretty confident person, but I was heartbroken. How could I have gained weight when I'm eating barely nothing and working my ass off? I didn't go the gym yesterday. I was crushed.
This morning I woke up with new resolve. I hit the gym immediately after work, got my best time yet on the 2mile run (31:16 ain't great, but we'll get there.) , switched to interval running, and today will be my most calories burned in one day and biggest caloric deficit so far. After the gym today I realized, if I'm motivated and emotionally strong enough to go to the gym today after working my ass off for two weeks and gaining weight, then there's nothing really standing in my way.
So, my target is Mid to Late October to make tape, and hopefully bootcamp just after the first of the year.
I second Keto. Reddit still has a great Keto subreddit. The process is easy: limit carbs. No breads, rice, pasta, sugar, or starches like corn/potatoes.
Get yourself a kitchen scale and an app like My Fitness Pal. Spend a couple days just logging things to see how you’re doing on a normal diet. Then, make a commitment to cooking for yourself. Chicken, steak, pork chops, ground meat, eggs, bacon, etc. But make sure you have plenty of green veggies on that plate too. A big salad with dinner is the way to go.
The first few days/week are rough. Sugar is like an addiction, and your body is accustomed to eating sweet. It will crave it—blame your gut bacteria. After a few days, the cravings will subside and you’ll feel like a million bucks.
However, you might also feel kinda sickly. This is known as the Keto Flu, and it’s basically an electrolyte deficiency. Easiest way to avoid it: grab some lite-salt from the store, potassium chloride. Add a little bit of it and some salt to your drinks. This is Keto-Ade, and there’s a ton of recipes for it online. Make it, and spare yourself some headaches. ;)
I’ve lost 30 pounds on Keto so far, and I’ve never felt better. My mood is improved, my skin looks fantastic, my stomach issues have resolved, and I have energy out the wazoo. Calorie counting alone is a great way to lose weight, but calorie counting + limiting carbs has been my secret weapon. I highly highly recommend it.
great post!