How I lost 40 pounds without exercise

When I was in my teens and early twenties, I could eat anything I wanted and not gain any weight. Once I turned 25, I started to gain some weight, but nothing alarming as I was always skinny. I lived a healthy, active life with a sales job that had me consistently on my feet. My height is 6'1, and during my mid-20s, my weight was always between 190-200 pounds. 

When I turned 26, I started to see more weight gain with no significant change to my routine or diet. Over the next couple of years, my weight would go up to 240 pounds. Yikes! Reaching this weight has been my "you better do something wake-up-call" twice. 

The first time I reached this 240 pounds, I joined a pretty special boot camp twice a week. We called it "Devo Boot Camp." What made this boot camp unique was the short Bible devotional before the workout routine. 

During my time at the boot camp, I lost 40 pounds in about five months. I was fit and feeling great! My diet was well balanced, but it didn't change much compared to what I was eating before the boot camp experience. As soon as the boot camp season was over, I started to gain weight again. 

I was dating my now wife, and by the time our wedding day came, I was 212. A couple of years later, and with my wife pregnant, I gained weight as she did. From what I hear, this happens to a lot of newly married men. Fast forward to 2019, and I'm 240 pounds again. My second, "you better do something wake-up-call," was here. 

This second time, I was eating "normally" staying within 2000- 2500 calories. The thought of submitting to strenuous workout routines forced me to look at alternative options to weight loss. I did not want to rely on exercise or starving myself. 

My research took me to the commonly know "Keto Diet." There are plenty of resources on the subject, and I will list a few at the end of this article. 

What attracted me the most to this diet was its simplicity and that I didn't have to starve myself. The basic concept of the Keto diet is to reduce carbohydrate intake to 20 grams per day, high fat, and moderate protein. When I tracked how many carbs I was eating, I was shocked! I was consuming anywhere between 250 and 350 grams every day. Yikes! Potatoes, sugar, rice, bread, orange juice, were all part of my daily diet. On my quest to start this keto diet, I also wanted to avoid the sales tactics from the "diet industry." 

The sales process is a normal and necessary part of life. As I mentioned at the beginning, I worked in sales for over a decade. One of the most valuable lessons I've learned while working in sales is that truthfulness and transparency and genuinely helping your clients solve their needs get you the best results and referrals. My experience in this field trained me to look the same in everything I buy. One of the greatest things I learned is that weight gain has nothing to do with calories but with hormones. The more you eat high carb foods, the more insulin you need, the more fat your store.

Twelve ounces of water as soon as I woke up, followed by a cup of freshly grounded and brewed Colombian coffee with a big spoon-full of organic coconut oil, with frothed whole milk, with a handful of macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, or almonds, and two small pieces of dark chocolate. 

Lunch: 

By the time lunchtime arrived, the urge to eat something had gone away after the initial week. On some days, I would grab a quick fat bomb, one whole avocado, or another handful of macadamia nuts. On other days, I would keep on going without any cravings until dinner time. There was the occasional lunch meeting at a restaurant. If this were the case, I would order something keto-friendly. But this was the exception, not the rule.

Dinner time involved more creativity. Our family dinners varied between fish, steak, chicken, bacon, and a side of low carb veggies. The veggies included broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, lettuce, tomato, and bell peppers. Since I was the only one loving this new diet, we made rice or potatoes for the rest of the family. 

On weekends, I will still have my morning "special coffee," accompanied by eggs and bacon. We would either cook lunch or go out following the same dinner guidelines.