tl;dr - cut out added sugar, and lower complex carb intake from your diet and be amazed.

Last May (2017) I weighed about 215 lbs/~98 kg (my peak was 235 around 2012). I really wanted to lose weight and started at the most obvious place: what am I eating? Well after some basic research and thinking I decided that sugar was my target so I started reducing added sugar intake. Eliminated juices, soda, coffee with sugar, sweet and savory foods like bbq sauces, and all the sweet treats I loved to eat. At this point Ill admit that I had a sweet tooth and ate a lot of sugary foods and drinks. You'd always catch me with some chocolates or a box of cookies in the cupboard. No more.

It wasn't exactly easy and it took some time to adjust my eating and whittle down my added sugar intake to almost nothing. The only sugar came from the occasional piece of fruit and yes, the rare cheat desert, maybe once every two weeks. It worked. By November I started to see results and people were commenting on my weight loss. I continued and this past January I started to realize my carb cravings were mostly gone. I can eat a breakfast of two eggs and some oatmeal and not be hungry until well after lunch. Your hunger goes down because all the carbs arent messing with your brain. BUT! I have to be careful, my hunger dropped to the point where I realized I was under eating and losing weight too fast. By march I was starting to look real skinny and a few people commented that I looked like a: crackhead, heroin addict, cancer patient, or anorexic. One guy took me aside at a party and asked if I was undergoing chemo.

Now I weigh 158 lbs or ~73 kg. All that time I did not exercise. Just heavily adjusted my diet. I also bumped into a personal trainer last month who runs a free weekly crossfit bootcamp in a local park so I started that. I also used his advice for performing simple home exercises (screw gyms) and I'm already seeing results as in muscle definition. I am looking to put some muscle mass on to push myself back up to 165-170. Don't wanna get swole, just good hearty core strength. Maybe get back into boxing and judo/jujitsu.

Far as carbs go, they really mess you up. The past three days I ate like shit, the worst in the past year. Pizza lunch at work, leftover pasta from a coworker with garlic knots, empanadas, I had a redbull, and some more pizza. I feel this heavy bloated feeling in my stomach. Ugh. So yea, carbs are bad, mkay.

My diet? Nothing special but I avoid exceedingly fatty foods like cheese (I know, I know, the horror) and red meat as well as anything with added sugar, and excess bread. So mainly chicken, some fish, turkey for protein and I love green vegetables so lots of broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, kale, swiss chard, asparagus, and bok choy. I usually saute the vegetables in a pan with a little olive oil and lots of garlic (cant get enough of it) and cook the meat in the oven. Just keep a cabinet full of spices and you'll never get bored of eating. And one last thing, remember how said I had a sweet tooth? Well that went away somewhat and very sweet things that I used to like are now too sweet and somewhat repulsive and soda gives me a stomach ache. Amazing what a sugar "cleanse" will do to the body.