(Re-)Starting my diet. How, and why? +A life story

But @Svashta, shouldn't a diet be so enjoyable you never need to stop?

Allow me to get you into the loop of my past ~year and a half when I first started lifting weights, walking around a lot and just being more active in general.

The reason I started a diet was because I had finally broken the magical weight of 75 kg (165 lbs). I'm a 175 cm (~5'9") guy and I had decided a very very long time ago that if and when I reach 75 kg I would do something about it.

Why 75 kg? I simply went with the following "equation":

height(cm) - 100 = weight(kg)

It was in December 2015 that I reached that magical weight. I didn't wait to change my lifestyle as a new year's resolution. I started on December 24th, the very same morning I stepped foot on the scale and it showed 75,3 kg. (Most likely showed 75 kg+ for a while, I just weighed myself very... very rarely.)

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Before I get into the details of how I diet; allow me to present the outcome, the downfall, and the reason I am in a dire need to Re-start my diet (read: lifestyle).

I lost 9 kg (~19lbs) over 3 months when I started this diet, maintained the weight for about 2 months, then gained ~2,5 kg (~5 lbs) in 2 months. I then pushed myself to a rather low 61,5 kg (~135 lbs); and combined with the muscle I had gained through working out, I looked quite lean.

Here's me at my leanest (so far):
*note this is not the best angle or anything, ... I didn't take many pictures then, because I intended to take more when I lose an extra 0,5 kg (~1 lb), clocking in at 61 kg (134 lbs), which was my target weight at the time.

So far; sounds perfect, ney?

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At the time I took that picture, I was working 3 separate jobs, writing my diploma, and had been going to the gym. I worked all weekends and all workdays.

I had no time to relax. I had no time to lay down. I had no real time to sleep.

I guess you can tell by the circles under my eyes.

Honestly though, I liked it. Constantly in a hurry, always something to do, never a dull moment, never bored, ... I must say, although it appears contradictory;

the more active you are, the more active you want to be.

and same for vice versa; the lazier you are, the less you feel like doing anything.

Regardless of where I thought my energy levels were, I had soon faced the inevitable;

I had burned out.

The body requires a certain amount of sleep and the mind needs a certain amount of
me-time to relax. But having been occupied mentally at all times and providing the body with a heavy physical load in the gym; my mind, aswell as my body, both... failed.

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I was brought back to the real-world from the land of the dreams at roughly 3 am by a headache so powerful I would gladly switch it for a kick in the nuts. I remember stumbling to the kitchen to take some pain medication, but to no avail.

Falling back asleep was not an option. Neither was anything else.

I honestly have no idea how I made it through the night. Or how I called my boss I won't be coming in that day.

I re-took the same pain-med dose at 8 am. No difference still.

I thought this was it. Some parasite in my brain or something and it's all just going downhill from here before coming to a full stop.

Much to my surprise, I fell asleep at around 10 am and slept for around 2 hours. My body must have finally been exhausted enough to give up and fall asleep. I woke up feeling a bit better. With time, a couple cups of tea, and more lying about, I started to finally feel good enough to start walking around the apartment like a decent human being.

I stayed home the following day also and felt okay-ish.

Remember how I said something along the lines of; the more active you are, the harder you stand still?

I went to work the next day.

Hell, I even went to the gym the next day.

So naturally, in a couple of days of giving 100 % again... I was back in my bed with my brain painfully swimming in my skull, rendering me unable to move.

So now what?

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With the help of my family I finally realised a regular human being is incapable of working ~16-18 hours a day working stressful jobs whilst being under heavy physical load.

But since some projects were just near the end and on a tight time schedule, I couldn't just... take a vacation.

So I quit everything I could quit.

I quit one of the three jobs, I quit the gym and ...

I Quit my diet.

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I figured if I wanted to bounce back to feeling okay, being in a caloric deficit was surely not any help. So I decided to just eat whenever and whatever I liked. Still being under stress from work, not being able to do anything but lie around, I ate out of boredom. And boy oh boy, Once you begin eating shit junk and lots of it... It's damn hard to go back.

I didn't even want to go back. I allowed myself anything I desired in hopes it would ultimately lead to recovery.

More than a month has passed and I still occasionaly felt like I drank 4-5 beers without actually downing any.

I was still suffering from the burnout.

And yes, I paid my doctor a visit (I hate giving blood, mind you ._." ) and they just said I need me some quality rest.

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Fast forward a week ago now

I had been eating huge amounts of food for a while now. I got used to massive quantities; be it veggies, fruit, meat or junk.

I finally mustered the courage to weigh myself...

70 kg (154 lbs).

Eating a whole lot of food out of utter boredom without even properly enjoying it had caught up with me...

I realised I needed to do something about it. So without further ado, I went back to my old diet.

And let me tell you;

I'm feeling the best I have since the burnout

So let's not lose any more words and get right to;

My Diet

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*Disclaimer: The idea behind all diets is simply to create a caloric deficit. Finding a diet that suits you is actually all about finding the most pleasant way of eating at a caloric deficit. Eating 1500 kcal worth of Oreos will net the same fat-loss as eating 1500 kcal worth of lettuce. What works for me may not work for you, so do not take this as an end-all be-all diet plan. You need to experiment and find what suits you most. Keep in mind 1 or 100 "meals" a day makes no difference.

Here's the simplest of outlines I can provide about my diet:

1. Skip breakfast
2. Have 2 larger meals; 1 of your choice and 1 protein-heavy.
3. Have 1 snack inbetween the meals (if necessary).
4. Drink water, or if you must zero(or at least low-)calorie drinks.
5. Cardio is a bonus, not a necessity.

And that is exactly what the above-written is. An outline.

Do I stick to this every single day? No.

Am I required to never eat out, indulge into a calorie-dense meal or give up an occasional beer? Also No.

Let's see this in action on today's example (workday):

I woke up at 5:50 am, got dressed, had my coffee and did the nr. 2 in the bathroom.

I left work for my lunch break at 12:10 am (I have NO idea if I typed this right. 12:10 am sounds weird. Should it be 00:10 pm? Jeez. Let's just say 12:10 and call it a day.) and had a burger.

I have a burger for my lunch mostly every weekday. Or a sandwich. Or pizza. There's actually no other reason than it being free of charge because I'm a student. Sadly cant get other foods free, so I'm stuck with a "Burger-diet". The burgers taste amazing though, so I don't ever really get tired of them. Along with my burger I had a Pepsi Max. (the zero-calorie version of Pepsi. I just prefer it to coke. Bring on the hate!)

Fast forward to 4 pm when I'm off, I drive home, and if I feel like it, this is usually the time I'll have myself a snack. Here's where it starts to sound a bit worse, but bear with me.

The snack is not allowed to exceed 200 kcal.

I usually have a rice cake or two and an apple; a banana; greek yogurt; basically whatever I can find. On workout days though, I'll almost always have a snack and the snack will always contain around 10 g of protein. I have my snack prior to my workout. If you're the type of person to enjoy protein shakes, this is your time to shine.

Today is a rest day and so I had a rice cake and an apple. Instead of working out, I went for an hour and a half long walk.

Many days I just skip the snack all-together.

lastly, there's the last meal of the day. This meal is usually* a protein heavy meal, consisting of a large amount of lean chicken meat, low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat greek yogurt, fish, ... ... basically any food thats high in protein and low in calories. I make sure to throw a bunch of greens at whatever I'm having and seasoning it with at least salt and pepper.

*I tend to switch the meal types when I know I'm going out to eat with my friends later in the evening. This little trick provides guilt-free pizza with friends. :3

I had ~400 g (nearly a pound) of lean chicken meat today with a bucket load of veggies. Mostly pickles. Never forget pickles. And before you judge me on the amount, which is indeed rather huge-... ...

Wait no. Judge all you want.

It's exactly what this "diet" is all about. Big, satisfying meals.

I needn't let go of being used to bigger meals, I just need to make them less frequent. And although it sounds dead scary when someone tells you to skip a meal, be it breakfast or dinner, it's much... much easier than you think.

And best of all?

All I need to change when I start a bulk in place of a cut is simply to add breakfast.

I essentially do the same thing on weekends, but usually switch the order and have a protein-heavy meal for lunch instead.

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Weight loss secrets

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• Spices add close to 0 calories to your meals while making them taste delicious while most condiments (such as ketchup, mustard, mayo, ...) provide the taste at the cost of many unnecessary calories.

• Coffee/black tea blunts appetite and so does any carbonated beverage.

• Simply asking yourself: Am I bored or hungry? - Keep yourself busy with hobbies and stuff you enjoy. If it means being active, that's an added bonus. If it doesn't, well, I'm writing this right now, keeping myself busy with a hobby I like, whilst losing weight. Profit?

• Tic-tacs, chewing gum and solid candy/lollipops go a long way when you try and keep your tongue busy.

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So that's my way of losing weight explained described very briefly and since it's already 2am and I need to get up in the morning it's also most likely filled with mistakes and plotholes. But I promised myself to finish and publish this today before I head to bed. And I do everything in my power to keep my promises. Especially promises I made to myself.

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Quick recap

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Find what suits YOU. There is no end-all be-all diet that works for everyone...

Besides coffee. Coffee works for everyone. (Fine. Or black tea.)

Oh, and it's never too late to start.

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If you have any questions regarding my diet or whatever else, feel free to post them below for me to answer.
I hope I helped someone out there; a single person is enough.
And remember this above all; diet is part of a lifestyle. And your lifestyle affects how you feel each and every second of your life. So make sure to find a lifestyle that suits you, and not "go on a diet" for 2 months being miserable about it.

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Oh, and before you hit me with "If I skip breakfast, I'll just feel like shit until my first meal"... I set most of my personal records in the gym while fasting. I set my personal hiking record while fasting (1h40min uphill walk/run) and then running down the same hill in 50 minutes. Skipping breakfast might suck the first couple of days, but it quickly turns into a godsend. So consider giving it a try.

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*Disclaimer #2: You need not believe anything I say. But I dare you to try different lifestyles. You might find something that sounds completely weird but actually suits you.

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So I guess that's it. I apologize if I forgot to include anything, I'll re-read this tomorrow and edit if necessary.
Now go out there and ROCK IT!!!!

I believe in ya!