Under 200

For the first time in over two years, I weigh under 200 pounds.

Note: Links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission, at no extra charge to you, if you make a purchase through such a link. Learn more here.

I wish I could blame my weight gain on the pandemic. Certainly I gained the last few pounds during lockdown, but I’d been steadily gaining the whole previous year—about 20 pounds, in all. (No, it wasn’t muscle.)

Toward the end of 2020, I lost half of that. Unfortunately, I gained it all back in just a few weeks, settling at a persistent 210 pounds, where I’ve hovered for about two years. Once in awhile I’d try to break that equilibrium, but I had a kind of mental barrier. That number started to feel natural.

I was aware of the dangers of visceral fat, especially for male old farts like me, and I suspected that my cholesterol, which had recently pushed its toe into the danger zone, wasn’t getting any better. But these were intellectual concerns, things I knew but didn’t feel much urgency about.

Then I started dealing with the aches and pains that often accompany extra pounds. My back started to hurt fairly often. My knees ached. I found myself struggling to get up off the floor. An ankle threatened to give out each time I descended the two steps into the garage.

In late February, I’d had enough, so I began Tim Ferriss’s Slow Carb Diet. I figured I’d give it a month and assess: if things were going well, I’d stick with it; if not, I’d go hunting for a Plan B.

I had one main concern: one component of the Slow Carb Diet, the “cheat day,” is meant, in part, to ensure that one’s “metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.)” doesn’t slow down to adjust in response to calorie restrictions. Of course, I’ve had my thyroid removed, and since my meds hold my metabolism more or less steady, I was afraid that each cheat day would just replace the week’s losses. Things seem to be working out okay, though. I do take a step or two back each weekend, but I’ve ended each week at a lower weight than the previous.

And today, for the first time in over two years, I dropped under 200 pounds

It didn’t happen as quickly as Ferriss advertises (20 pounds of fat in 30 days!), but I suspect that’s because I’m not following the diet to a T. If I were, I probably could have written this post a week or two ago. I’ve become interested in mixology, though, so I’m breaking one of the rules (“don’t drink calories”). It slows the weight loss, but I’m content. I have a system that, for now, is both tolerable (even enjoyable) and effective enough.

And “effective enough” is key. As Ferriss often notes, the best diet (or exercise, or whatever) is not necessarily the most efficient one, but the one you’ll stick with.

And there are happy side effects: I’m eating less meat, fewer processed foods, and far more vegetables (I’ll be interested to see what my cholesterol looks like at my next physical). I’ve also reinstated my daily walk, which is a useful way to ease into exercise (I know I need to exercise, but good habits are like feral cats, ready to dart when they sense the slightest attention).

Of course, there’s a danger with dieting. People who lose weight by dieting often regain that weight, and then some, as happened to me last time. For now, though, I’m still on the diet, in my second 30-day period. At the end of that time, I’ll see where I am and decide if I want to continue. I probably will; at this comfortable pace, I probably have a few more months to go. At that point, I can worry about keeping the weight off.

But it’s nice to have broken that mental barrier.

Top photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash