HEALTH
How I Lost 20 Kgs in 12 weeks
Is weight loss simply related to calories, or are there deeper aspects of our life that warrant a further review?
I have been ‘fat’ for a long time now. I was in good shape till 2014, but then I let myself go, and my weight increased significantly between 2014 and 2017. At the beginning of 2018, I decided to take a few drastic steps to lose weight, and it worked. However, here we are in 2021, and my weight has increased significantly again. In this story, I explore the reasons for my weight loss and subsequent weight gain.
Is it detrimental to be overweight?
We all see these health, fitness and weight loss articles all over the internet. Ever wonder, is there something wrong with being overweight? The first thing that comes to mind is the appearance. Additional fat can sometimes make people look less attractive. Mentally, being overweight can lead to low self-esteem and confidence, eventually leading to depression (and much worse).
What are the physical detriments of being overweight? There are numerous drawbacks. Physically, additional fat tissue can cause accumulation of toxins, promote insulin resistance (and subsequent diabetes), fatty liver, cholesterol and blood pressure issues. Carrying around all that additional fat doesn’t do your knees any favours either.
How I gained the weight
My weight gain started at the beginning of 2014. I was living alone in Sheffield. My 2.5-year relationship ceased as my then-girlfriend dumped me for another guy. I needed to find a job before my visa ran out (by July 2014). I had relocated to Sheffield in 2013, to start a new career but I could not meet any new people. I was lonely and depressed. One weekend, I remember walking into Waitrose, picking up a full-size Black Forest Buche by Heston (it was practically 0.5 kg of sugar), and eating the whole thing the same evening. I am embarrassed to admit, but this happened on a lot of weekends. I stuffed my face because I was sad, lonely and depressed.
In June 2014, I finally found a new job, extended my visa and moved to Aberdeen. For people who don’t know much about Aberdeen, this city is also known as the granite city. Here, the buildings are grey, and the pavements are grey and even worse, the sky is grey. Aberdeen is a very depressing city. I started working long hours, did not have much of social life and my depression worsened. I felt like I was digging a hole for myself. I kept eating takeaways every night. Soon, my weight crossed 100 kgs, but I did not care — I did not even have the motivation to crawl out of bed some days, let alone lose weight.
Finally, towards the end of 2016, I decided to pursue a doctoral research program in Manchester. I was happy and excited to be around people again. I met the most exciting group of people at the University. I was so pleased to have a social life after so many years. In 2017, I did not gain any additional weight, but I did not lose much weight either. I simply was not trying to lose weight.
Often, we oversimplify weight gain — if you overeat, you get fat. So, if you reduce your caloric intake, you will be fine.
I think there are deeper root causes of such behaviour. Considering my case, I was eating so much to make myself happy, because I was depressed and sad. As it turns out, all I needed was happiness and positivity.
How I lost the weight
By the end of 2017, I had a thriving social life, and my Aberdeen depression was a thing of the past. I had met a few fantastic people. One of my friends decided to get married, and planned the wedding for March 2018. Guess who the best man was?
I had ten weeks, and I weighed 104 Kgs.
I scoured the internet for all the possible ways to lose weight. My happiness had transformed into motivation to lose weight and feel great.
I came across this video from Dr Berg. The next few days, I binged watched many videos from Dr Berg and Thomas DeLauer. The concept seemed strange — eat fat to lose fat. However, it made sense, so I implemented a grocery overhaul and started on my ketogenic diet plan. I complemented this diet with 16:8 intermittent fasting routine. Soon, I was in keto, and my body started dropping weight rapidly.
Come last week of March, and I weighed 84 Kgs.
I enjoyed the wedding, had a lot of fun and managed to remain in ketosis throughout. I kept losing weight until mid-April when my weight loss started to stall. Surprised, I decided to make further changes.
Why my weight loss stalled
In April, I started weighing myself every day. I could not believe — why have I not lost any more weight? What am I doing wrong?
In my desperation, I changed my 16:8 intermittent fasting regime to OMAD (one meal a day). Things became worse, and I went from having unlimited energy (thanks to all the ketones) to being tired all the time. Additionally, every time I consumed food, I started getting stomach pains. A quick search on YouTube indicated these pains to be a common issue, causing many people to quit keto. I realised that I had been eliminating the greens and vegetables from my diet slowly and steadily. To sustain my OMAD eating pattern, I incorporated various caloric dense foods, but these lacked micronutrients.
Indeed, I am not a medical doctor. However, I interpreted these pains as my body was of telling me — add your greens! I complied and went back to the 16:8 intermittent fasting pattern, adding kale shakes and juices. Unfortunately, my body did not respond well, and a week later, I gave up. Interestingly, the moment I started eating carbs, my stomach pains disappeared! I was amazed.
I had lost a substantial amount of weight, so I was not too displeased. I started weight training with my friends and continued eating carbs. In 2019, I joined CrossFit, and my fitness levels improved. It is important to note that my weight did not change much during this period — this was a consequence of me losing fat and gaining muscle. I felt truly happy during this period of my life, and my relationship with food had evolved for the better — or so I thought!
How I gained the weight back
I finished my doctoral thesis in November 2019. Subsequently, I relocated to start a new job. I found a CrossFit box and a yoga studio in Aberdeen. I started meeting people and making friends. However, I was just not as happy — moving from Manchester to Aberdeen is a big step down. I found myself ordering takeaways more frequently. Particularly for the Christmas holidays, I sat alone at home watching Netflix and eating one pizza after another.
In February 2020, things went from bad to worse. Thanks for Covid-19, everyone started to work from home. I remember the first week of lockdown, and it felt like someone had rolled the clock back to 2015. I was sad, lonely and depressed. I kept stuffing my face, and by September, I was back to 100 Kgs.
Personally, eating has always been an emotional issue. Whenever things have gone wrong, have turned to food for happiness. Indeed, delicious food made me happy momentarily, but as they say — a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips. I encourage you to look deeper within and question your relationship with food. It is not merely about caloric intake, or following the next new diet but about making lasting change.
Takeaways
- Weight gain (and loss) is not only about calories in > calories out. There can be deeper psychological issues that trigger such behaviour. It is vital to resolve these issues to make lasting change and being truly happy.
- A ketogenic diet is fantastic for weight loss. You might think, is this sustainable? If done correctly — Yes. There are a lot of incredible videos on YouTube that can provide excellent guidance.
- A mistake that I made was to expect linear weight loss on a ketogenic diet. Nothing in life is linear. If your progress stalls, give your body some time. If you do make changes, start small. For instance, change 16:8 fasting routine to 20:4 (instead of OMAD straight away; yes — that was a mistake).
I could not complete this story without disclosing the steps I have undertaken to make lasting change. During the 2020 Christmas holidays, I relocated to London. I still have my old job, but I work from home. I have many friends here, and this city provides unlimited avenues to meet new people when things go back to normal. My weight loss journey goes on and I promise to share my results with you. Good luck, stay happy, healthy and safe.
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