How I lost 20 pounds

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At the beginning of January I was around 220 pounds (99.7 kg). After a month of dieting and exercise, I am now at 200 pounds (90.7 kg)

How did I do it? I followed intermittent fasting! I skipped breakfast and had a brunch around noon. Then I had dinner around 5:30pm. I didn't eat anything from dinner time until noon.

I cutout all baking from my diet. I limited myself to cheese/yogurt, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and meat. If I didn't feel full at brunch or dinner, I just ate extra yogurt or salad to feel full. I also slowed down considerably when eating and chewed my food thoroughly. Since there is less to eat, this helped me make it last longer and enjoy it more.

I drank coffee (no sugar, sometimes with coconut oil or with steamed milk) to curb my appetite in the morning and in the afternoon. 

I combined dieting with a small amount of exercise. I did the 5 minute workout a couple times a day. At night we did a light workout as a family. This was also fun for the kids.

I started using a standing desk converter. (I bought this one, it was $99 when I bought it.) Of course, I didn't stand all day. I started small and alternated sitting and standing when I felt fatigued. The standing desk converter helped get rid of my backpain. It also helped my torso and leg muscles. I am also guessing the fidgeting when standing also helped burned calories.


Impact 

After I lost the first 10 pounds (which happened within 10 days), I started feeling a lot better and healthy. I could now move faster and more comfortably. My joint aches were cured (I guess due to reduced inflammation in my body.) My overall mood and clarity of mind has improved a lot.

I started to able to do more strenuous exercise as well. A month ago I could only do a couple pull ups, now I can do 12. Initially I could do 5 pushups, now I can do 15. Human body can adapt and improve quickly, if you train it gradually.

After the first two weeks, the rate at which I lose weight slowed a lot. But that is OK, my goal is not to lose weight quickly, my goal is to be healthier. I like to be active till my 70s. Generally the body is the bottleneck, and slows down and drags down the brain. If I take good care of my body, my mental faculties hopefully will not be a problem as I age further. 

I had gathered bad eating habits in my youth. When I was younger, I could eat a lot and still would not put on any weight. Things don't work that way anymore. It is easy for me to put on fat, and hard to burn them. 

This diet helped me reset bad eating habits (crossing my fingers!). Turns out I don't need to gorge on food to get energy. In fact, I become more energetic when I eat half of what I ate before. Who knew? 

Another nice outcome from the diet has been to learn a whole lot more about healthy food. It is possible to prepare filling and delicious healthy food with some research. Let me finish with this tasty and simple brunch idea: Çılbır. Enjoy!

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