The life lessons are as valuable as the weight loss

Have you ever stumbled to the bathroom after waking up, looked in the mirror, and almost gagged because of the fat man staring back at you?

That’s how I began 2022 until I decided to kick the fat man’s butt. Through a six-month meandering journey, I lost 28 pounds but gained a ton of insight.

The takeaways are simple yet profound. Losing 28 pounds in six months was hard! But do we learn anything by doing easy things? I hope the insights I gained through suffering will help you 🙂 I landed on a plan I love, and I think you will, too.

5 Simple Lessons from Losing 28 Pounds in Six Months

1 — Know Your Why

Weight loss is hard; you’ll get stuck and want to quit. Sticking with any long-term goal requires knowing your “why.” We make worthy New Year’s resolutions, and 92% of us abandon them by the end of the year. A strong why is our north star to guide us when overwhelmed by dark days of discouragement. I’ve lost weight many times only to regain it because of a weak why.

I’m a middle-aged man and want to age with dignity and strength. When my wife has to tie my shoes because I’m too fat or decrepit, someone, please smother me with a pillow.

How’s that for a strong why?

2 — Pivot, Don’t Quit

Yes, you’ll get stuck. You’ll hit a weight loss plateau. The plateau is as real as the hot and now Krispy Kreme doughnuts sitting on the counter you can’t eat (more on that later). I hit a wall monthly, and in frustration, I banged my head against it a few times. But I didn’t quit. Recalling my why, I pivoted to something new. I kept myself motivated.

Now, it’s time to explain the icons on my chart. They tell the tale of the measuring tape.

No Beer In the House

My diet began on January 1 with a loose idea to cut carbs. My why was present but immature as a smart-aleck teenager. I wanted to lose weight and feel good, but I hissed and snickered at the thought of counting carbs and logging food. I still managed to shed two pounds in two weeks. The flywheel was barely spinning, and I needed to do something else.

I decided to stop bringing beer into my house. A beer with wings over dinner with a friend is fine—I’m trying to lose weight, not friends—but the beer didn’t need to be within walking distance of my fat belly.

I Tried the Noom Diet

By March 1, I was only down 3.5 pounds — less than two pounds a month. But I’m due credit for not quitting. Instead, I researched diet plans and signed up for a 7-day free trial with Noom. The coaching aspect appealed to me like I had a corner man (or woman) cheering me on and wiping the sweat off my brow. Ultimately, I quit Noom before the free trial expired. I couldn’t justify paying someone to tell me how to lose weight when it seems like common sense. And the web is full of free advice. I also gained a pound. But instead of throwing in the towel, I pivoted.

Big on the Pig With the Carnivore Diet

I feel silly about this, especially after espousing common sense in the last paragraph. I stumbled across a YouTube doctor who swears by the Carnivore Diet — a meat-only nutrition plan. Just meat and nothing else? Count me in!

I lost six pounds in four days. Now we’re cooking (or grilling)! Then I lost only one pound in the next three weeks. The rapid weight loss is easy to explain — I starved my carb-craving demonic fat cells. By now, the flywheel of my motivation is gaining momentum. Another pivot.

Counting Carbs With Keto Diet

I’ve previously lost weight on the Keto diet but loathe tracking my food. I’m good with the directives, “just eat meat” or “stop drinking beer.” Black and white. Do this, don’t do that, and track nothing.

But now, I’m over three months in and ten pounds down. I like the feeling and don’t want to capitulate on the gains. So, I reinstalled the Carb Manager app and started counting carbs. Ugh. Over the next three and a half weeks, I lost two pounds — time for another pivot.

Combining Keto With Intermittent Fasting

By this point, I’m four months in and 12 pounds down. Either my scales are malfunctioning, or I’ve only lost three pounds in six weeks. It’s gut check time.

I’m tired and want a beer.

Do I restock my elastic waistline jeans and remove all the mirrors in my house? I’m kicking and screaming about the next pivot — the keto diet combined with intermittent fasting, or KIF.

Intermittent fasting is purposefully depriving yourself of food for a long stretch, at least 16 hours in a 24-hour period. Most people eat lunch and dinner and skip breakfast. Yes, sleep counts in the fast, thank the Lord. This KIF plan calls for restricting calories and carbs, not the popular Keto plan that heralds fat bombs. I was successful with this diet before, but it’s intense, and I try to side-step most hard things.

But I jumped in and lost over 4 pounds in the first week! The following week, I lost another three.

Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto with Intermittent Fasting

About four and a half months in and 19 pounds down, my wife and daughter started a weight loss plan. My wife discovered YouTube phenom Dr. Berg, who advocates intermittent fasting with “healthy” Keto. Limit your carbs, eat plenty of leafy greens and moderate protein—and no calorie counting! The man has almost 1.5 billion views, and if he’s telling me I don’t have to count anything, count me in!

Super-charging the Healthy Keto and IF Diet Plan

I bumped my fast from 16 hours a day to 18–20 because Dr. Berg was so convincing about intermittent fasting. I discovered rocket fuel. I lost another 5.5 pounds over the following two weeks and even more with the next tweak.

As you can tell, I enjoy gamifying my health routines.

Now You’re Telling Me I Have to Exercise?

On June 9, still doing healthy Keto with extended intermittent fasting, I started a 5–4–3 exercise plan. Five days a week, I did four exercises three times a day. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I did bicep curls, tricep pulls, pushups, and crunches. On Tuesday and Thursday, the routine was jumping jacks, windmills, pushups, and crunches. Occasionally, I mixed in deep knee bends instead of windmills.

Between June 9 and July 1, I dropped another five pounds when it was more challenging to lose them.

Be Tenacious about Your Weightloss Efforts

Don’t believe the clickbait headlines. Losing 28 pounds in 6 months isn’t easy. I can’t credit any one plan for my weight loss, but I can attribute the loss to one factor — tenacity. I refused to quit.

Your ambitions deserve your best efforts. When you hit a wall, go around the blockade.

Pivot, don’t quit.

3— Succeed with Synergy

I started the diet on January 1 alone. My wife and kids ate all the Krispy Kreme doughnuts they wanted whenever they wanted while I cooked my food. My resolve was tested and strengthened every day, but it was tiring.

Then, in May, my wife and daughter joined forces with me, and we moved in sync with the same goals. Man, this synergy helped! Everyone chipped in with meal prep, and we only served healthy options. No one brought junk food into the house. The sinners replaced the Krispy Kremes with Keto-friendly Halo ice cream bars, which were heavenly.

We don’t live in a vacuum. We live in community with a few others. Every decision we make sends ripples through the lives of those around us. Not only does synergy promote success, but it also produces harmony.

Synergy is the secret sauce for your weight loss success.

4 — Give Yourself a Chance

You decided on a worthy goal, examined your why, and set your alarm clock. And I already warned you that you’ll get stuck. This weight loss journey taught me that we must give ourselves a chance — keep the flywheel spinning, even if deathly slow. Reevaluate your action steps, pivot if necessary, and stay the course.

When we give ourselves a chance, we can experiment, tweak, and discover the key that unlocks Pandora’s box. We can hit our stride, ignite momentum, and unleash confidence we’ve never experienced. This magical moment can’t happen when we quit.

I struggled for four months between January and May to lose 12 pounds, and then in May, I tripped the energy to set the flywheel at full speed. I lost 10 pounds in four weeks, and then I lost another six pounds over the next month when the pounds were harder to lose.

Your next breakthrough could be tomorrow.

5 — Inspire Others

We’ve already established we don’t live in a vacuum, and even Castaway Tom Hanks had Wilson, his volleyball buddy. Our pursuit of worthy goals catalyzes our family, friends, employees, and coworkers. My family observed my dogged tenacity for over four months, finally motivating them.

My journey encouraged my wife to lose weight, setting her on a unique path. Her journey has ignited a passion for nutrition and holistic health. She’s consumed more educational videos and written material in six weeks than most college kids do in a year. And she’s got me on a baggy of supplements. 😊

If you stand near a flame long enough, you’ll catch fire.

Healthy Keto Is My New Way of Life

I know from experience that my demonic fat cells can wander around lost for a while and return to this body if my strong why loses steam. For this reason, I’m ecstatic I discovered a healthy way of living I enjoy and one that supports my why. I traveled many winding roads to lose 28 pounds in six months and learned lessons from every turn, but if I began today, I know the right starting point — healthy KIF.

Healthy Keto combined with intermittent fasting isn’t a fad. It’s not an “apply once daily for six months to lose 30 pounds” prescription. 

Healthy KIF is the way to live.

I created a silly infographic that illustrates the healthy way to live. It’s called ACES and summarizes Dr. Berg’s teaching on healthy keto intermittent fasting.

Healthy keto is the recipe for a healthy, holistic, and pharma-free life. Please check out Dr. Berg’s video on the basics of healthy Keto and follow his thread from there. The lessons will change your life.

A Postscript about Keto Intermittent Fasting

I eventually flipped my eating cycle to skip dinner instead of breakfast and ate between 9 am and 1 pm. The change was for two reasons:

1. I struggled in the mornings. My stomach rolled and rumbled and ached with hunger. The suffering lasted for about an hour, and then I was okay. I wouldn’t have changed cycles for this reason alone, but the second reason was too compelling.
2. By eating two big meals at breakfast and lunch, I have all day to burn off the calories. When I ate dinner, I took the calories to bed with me three hours later (early to bed, early to rise). Also, I need more fuel in the mornings than in the evenings. A solid lunch supports me until bedtime without the daily Royal Rumble in my tummy.

You’ll struggle with hunger, too, but stick with it and give yourself a chance to see the results. And by the way, I fast 5–6 days a week and usually slack a bit on the weekends. I still eat healthy foods but enjoy some grace.

Wrapping It All Up

I traveled many winding roads to lose 28 pounds in six months, and I wouldn’t change any roadblock or pothole I encountered. Each one taught me valuable lessons beyond weight loss routines. 

You can lose weight, too, if that’s your goal. But more than losing weight to look better in a two-piece, I hope you examine your why. Your why is more important than awesome Instagram pics. A strong purpose is fuel, a guiding light for all your goals and dreams. Your worthy why won’t let you quit. You’ll pivot around the plateaus and keep moving, giving yourself a chance to trip the turbos. Your dogged tenacity will inspire others, creating opportunities for the magic of synergy and percolating their possibilities.

You can get rid of your beer belly and love handles, and there’s so much more you’ll learn in the process. Get started, hold yourself accountable, and be the best you that you can be. You owe it to yourself and others.

I wish you the best!

My Weight Loss Numbers

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