I love looking back at older pictures. I was taking selfies before they were selfies. We old folk called them progress pictures. Even though the old ones were not flattering, I know they’d come in useful one day. The plan when I was shw was to bench as much as possible, but I knew very well, I could not have a fulfilling life at that size forever. Although, forever could have been a much shorter amount of time if I never came down from 329 lbs.

In these comparison shots I was 281 in September 2013 and am sitting at 251 presently. What a difference two years can make. I could not be happier with the recomposition. I know many people would not be satisfied with 30 lbs of weight loss in two years, but I am. From my oh so technical eye balling, it appears as though I sacrificed very little muscle mass at all. That’s not always the case when dropping weight quickly. I know, as I have done that as well.

Back two years ago I was following a Carb Backloading approach to my diet. That’s probably about the time I started to pay a little more attention to macros. Prior to that I’d just make sure to get close to my bodyweight in protein and then eat whatever else I felt like. To come down from shw, I just ate less. Not a very technical approach. It has been said if you don’t change your eating style you’ll just become a smaller version of yourself. Upon learning that first hand, I knew things had to change.
Now even though I was starting to pay more attention to my macros, I wasn’t always eating the healthiest of foods. I pretty much tried to cram as much crap food in and get close to my numbers. I may have even gone over once or a couple hundred times. Hey, it was my fledgling attempt with nutrition programming.

I know there are those who will argue a calorie is a calorie, but I don’t completely buy it. One thing I’m certain of is carbs would throw me into a craving for more carbs. Now it’s cravings that can really derail a diet. Hi, my name is Vincent, and I’m a carbohydrate junkie.

When I truly started Operation Be Less Fat, I made the diet switch to Carb Nite, which is pretty much a ketogenic plan. That’s when I realized my issue with carbs. Although it took me a while to get used to eating only fats and protein during the day, once I got passed the initial suck of it, I actually felt much better overall. Plus removing carbs from the equation removed most of my temptations. My body finally started making notable progress.

Now I will say that sometimes training did suffer a little with the lack of carbs. There were lots of times I’d get a little light headed and would have to take a seat. At that point, I would really back down the intensity of the session. If I kept my training down to about an hour, I usually held up pretty well.

Much like me being 329 lbs, I knew this no carb thing could not last forever. Jess and I would be eating different meals at times. I had to be so cautious eating out or at gatherings. In addition, I knew my lifting was suffering as a result. It just wasn’t an enjoyable lifestyle. That’s when I embraced “If It Fits Your Macros” or “Flexible Dieting.” I’m not trying to be trendy, but it’s just easier to explain that way. Hell, you could throw in “Intermittent Fasting” while you are at it. I get up in the 5:00 hour and don’t usually eat solid food until well past noon. There’s even a little “Carb Cycling” thrown in there.

In other words, I have worked really hard at figuring out what my body best responds to. I track calories, weigh foods out, hardly every cheat. By the way cheating on a diet is just irrational to me. It’s like training. If I want to get stronger I can’t just decide to throw my program out the window. Hence if you are trying to be less fat, don’t throw your diet out the window. Yes, relapse is part of recovery. Just don’t go off the deep end for a day, or a weekend, or a week. I even count macros on vacation. It is how I have made slow and steady progress without hating my life.

I like how I eat now. Jess and I enjoy so many great tasting healthy recipes we have come up with over time. Even more important, I like how I look and feel a little more each day. Take it from me, don’t rush what should be a lifestyle. It’s really worth the time and effort.