How I'm Doing It: Nutrition- Getting Started

I get a lot of questions about what specifically I have done to lose weight and get fit, so, I'm going to spend some time with a series of blog posts that does just that. The first in this series is about getting started with nutrition.

At the start of this journey in August 2016, when I topped out at 275 lbs, I estimate that I was eating between 3,000-3,500 calories per day. Most of that calorie consumption was at the end of the day and a large portion of it was snacks. At that time, my metabolism was slower than a tortoise, and I would often go 10-12 hours at work all day without eating.

I would binge eat when I got home, usually shoveling in some animal crackers or chips while getting dinner together. Dinner itself was fairly often take out from restaurants with choices that consisted of nachos, bean burritos, pasta, restaurant size salads with bread, pizza or just going out to eat at any number of places around town. 

At the start of this journey in August 2016, when I topped out at 275 lbs, I estimate that I was eating between 3,000-3,500 calories per day.

You see what isn't on that list? Fresh, home cooked food full of fresh veggies and fruits, whole grains, nuts and beans.

So, the very first thing I did was to cut back on snacks. Eating one bag of animal crackers instead of two, for instance. I also started to watch my portion sizes. Eating a single portion or at most two portions, 2-3 routinely. I also started to make sure I was drinking at least 80 ounces of water per day.

With just these changes, no other diet or exercise, I lost the first 20 pounds. It was losing that first weight that made me realize I could do it and I needed to step up my game!