Lost 49 pounds in 3 months - very happy, and now have a plan to maintain

It has to be CICO, every single time. But I weighed 211 pounds at 5'11, and I was having a hard time fitting in my usual clothing. Of course when getting into a car, it wasn't uncommon for me to be grunting trying to get up and out of the car. Not to mention underwear, regular underwear feeling tight and wanting baggier and baggier clothing to feel fine. But rather than me going out and buying new clothes, I decided that it was time to get back on my aggressive diet.

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1500 calories a day. 500 calorie meals. 3 a day. Don't exceed the 500, and I would lose weight. So this is what I did for 2 months, on the final month, I hit 170 and couldn't seem to go lower even with my diet. Finally I thought to myself: Do you really need that breakfast sandwich in the morning? Eh, no not really. I love my coffee in the morning though (no sugar). From then again I was aggressively losing weight by just simply existing. I would work out lightly, lifting weights and going running a mile, and walking back home.

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Foods I avoided like plague:

1. Nuts, avocados - these are DEATH for weight gain. While it has "good calories" I found the amount you get filled up on these things is just not worth the calorie gain.
2. Sugary stuff. Literally anything sugary like cerials, baked sweets, cookies, ice cream, chocolate... I killed off sugary things in my diet. If I really really wanted something sugary though (the cravings ARE THERE) I simply would have a diet coke. I was aware that you would crave sweeter things consuming diet cokes, but it did satiate overwhelming desires, and it's better than just having something sweet.
3. Salad dressing. I have no idea why people get a salad and then douse their salads in dressing. The dressing IS the calories in a salad, that mixed with cheeses and fatty foods, you're consuming an easy 700 calories in a single salad.
4. Cheeses. Death, death, calorie death. It's an absolute nightmare how many calories are in cheese. You have to be very careful especially if you are in the USA, they will find excuses to put cheese. Often if something like a burger exceeds calories, by simply removing the cheese, it will make the high calorie item into a low calorie one.

Foods that I learned to love:

1. Contrary to what most people think — It IS sustainable to eat fast food. But calories, calories, CALORIES, are super important. Examples include: At McDonalds, I could get a diet coke with 2 hamburgers. Boom, 500 calories, loses weight. Yes, not the healthiest thing in the world, but when cravings are there, it can be circumvented by eating smaller meals of what you love. (Even a big mac is 540 calories, not too bad) Secondly, taco bell. I would get a bean burrito, a hard taco, and a diet Pepsi. Boom. 500 calories again. There are others but you get the point.
2. RICE. Rice is great. It is VERY HIGH in calories, which you would think is a bad thing. Yet, when it comes to filling yourself up, you might be hard pressed to eat enough rice to fill 500 calories. As a result, it comes as a good compliment while being mindful of portions.
3. Pickles. Pickles are amazing because they are zero calories. So if you are up late at night and absolutely dying for something to eat, no big deal. Eat a pickle. Don't want a pickle? Well, you must not be that hungry and you're just dealing with cravings which can be resisted.
4. Rice Cakes with the powder cheddar cheese flavoring. 40 calories. Great way to eat something if you are dying with desire.
5. WATERMELON. Big on this. It's so little calories there really isn't a limit to how much you can eat sustainably.
6. There are other foods but are a lesser mark mostly because they're not the tastiest, like celery for example.

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MAINTENANCE

I plan on maintaining my body similar to that of a thermostat. A thermostat, when it comes to cold, is either "OFF" or "ON" depending on the temperature. It has no in-between. (this goes somewhere I swear) If you set your thermostat to 74F (23C) and it is 80F (27C) the thermostat determines as "ON". and it puts the AC on full blast. Then it will go down to 74, and exceed down into 73. As a result however, the thermostat realizes it is 73, and stops. It waits till it hits past 74 to 75, and then will turn on full blast to bring it back down to 73. It repeatedly does this over and over maintaining its temperature.

This is how I will treat my body. I plan on staying 165. So if I'm less than 165, eat what I want. But if the next day I am over 165, back on diet till I get back down to 164.

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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/lcg3js/lost_49_pounds_in_3_months_very_happy_and_now/