How I Lost 20 Pounds in 2 Months On a High-Carb, High-Fat Diet
In this post, I’ll share with you how I lost 20 pounds just 2 months, eating a high-carb, high-fat diet.
How I Lost 20 Pounds in 2 Months On a High-Carb, High-Fat Diet
Before I get into the “how I did it” meat of this post, let’s talk first about why I don’t believe in restricting carbs or fat when you are trying to lose weight.
Why I Don’t Restrict Carbs, Fat or Protein
I maintain that it is not necessary to restrict any macronutrient or food to lose weight. Fat, protein and carbs are all vital to good health.
Let’s face it, carbs and fat are the FUN things to eat! They are the satisfying foods that make us enjoy eating.
Try eating a salad with no salad dressing and you’ll see what I mean. Or a baked potato with no butter, cheese or sour cream. No fat = no fun. You may as well chew on cardboard.
Same goes for carbs. Eating meat with no potatoes and no bread makes me not want to eat! I love pasta, potatoes, bread, fruit, and all kinds of carbohydrate-rich foods. Restricting them makes me miserable and makes me want to binge.
I followed a low-carb diet a couple of years ago and I did lose weight, but it was not sustainable. I hated the diet, and so as soon as I stopped following it, I gained all the weight back and then some.
So, the first reason not to restrict is because restricting makes you unhappy. And if you’re unhappy on a diet, then you’re not going to convert it from a diet to a lifestyle.
Now, I understand that many people out there may be perfectly happy on a low-carb or low-fat diet. And I say more power to you! If it’s working for you, don’t change it. It just doesn’t work for me.
What is High-Carb and High-Fat?
What does it mean to eat a high-carb or high-fat diet?
People eating a low-carb diet typically eat 10-20% of their calories as carbs. A low-fat diet is generally accepted as being 20-30% calories as fat.
For the past couple months, I’ve been eating anywhere from 35-45% carbs and 40-50% fat (it varies because I don’t TRY to eat that much; I just eat what I want). And I am losing weight at a rapid clip. I’m not trying hard to lose weight — it’s just coming off.
How I Lost 20 Pounds in 2 Months On a High-Carb, High-Fat Diet
OK, so let’s talk about how I did it. Here’s how I lost 20 pounds in 2 months…
It’s really simple and only requires 2 steps.
1. Eat Less
2. Exercise More
1. Eat Less
What do I eat? I eat WHATEVER I want. I just eat less of it.
Instead of stuffing myself and feeling full, I eat a much smaller amount — I fill my plate with 1/2 to 1/3 of what I used to. I’m not hungry! Not full, but not hungry either. (When I was 20 pounds heavier, I was overeating most of the time.)
All I do is enter what I eat into my FitBit dashboard but that is it. Then I just stay under the limit. At the end of the day, I know whether I can have a little ice cream a cookie, or another glass of wine.
Here are some of the meals I’ve eaten in the past few months:
Grass-fed cheese, Ak-Mak whole wheat crackers and fruit
Pot roast with gravy, potatoes and carrots
Brisket tacos with gravy, sour cream and avocado
Wild-caught salmon with mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables
Whole wheat pasta with fresh pesto sauce and green beans
Every morning I drink coffee with whole milk.
If I want a cookie or two in the evening, or if I feel like snacking on some potato chips (we get the potato chips fried in olive oil,) I let myself. I just don’t sit down on the couch with a whole bag — I get out one of my daughter’s baby bowls and fill that so I’m eating a very small amount.
When we go out to dinner, I’ll eat HALF of my meal instead of the whole thing, and then I just take a doggie bag home.
I do usually eat dessert when we go out to dinner or we’re out with friends (which is maybe once or twice a week,) but I’ll share one dessert with my husband and I only eat 1/4 to 1/2 of it.
I still drink wine — 2 or 3 glasses every night with dinner. I’d like to cut down on the wine and get it down to 1 1/2 to 2 glasses. But right now it’s keeping me stress-free with the long work hours (12+ hours per day). So… one thing at a time.
That’s another thing about losing weight. Don’t try to tackle too many things at once! If you are a smoker, don’t don’t to quit smoking while you are trying to lose weight. (Unless that works for you — then go for it. My point is, try to go easy on yourself.)
How You Can Do It, Too
1. Get a FitBit.
First of all, get yourself a FitBit. This has been the number one thing that has helped me lose weight and get in shape.
You can order one on Amazon. I got the FitBit Charge which is easy to attach to your waistband, stick in a pocket, or wear on your ankle or wrist.
2. Get In at Least 10,000 Steps Per Day.
Set a goal to walk 10,000 steps or more every day.
This is really easy for me now. In fact, I’m averaging around 15,000 steps, or 6 miles per day.
Prior to 2 months ago, I was extremely sedentary. I work from home and spend 12+ hours in front of a computer.
But it’s just like anything — when it becomes a habit, it’s easy to do.
3. Exercise More!
Get more exercise, in addition to the steps, as much as you can. Start slow if you are new to exercise, and build up your tolerance.
I started with just the walking. Now I’m adding in kettlebell, swimming, weight lifting, etc.
I think walking is a gateway drug — once you establish the habit of walking more than 10K steps per day, you will want to be get more active.
This week I joined a new gym and I went and swam laps for 20 minutes. I also spent 15 minutes doing a kettlebell workout. Today I might do some gardening and in the afternoon, I’m taking my first spinning class.
I want to work up to 3 30- to 60-minute workouts per week (kettlebell, swimming, pilates, yoga, spinning, gardening, etc.) I’ll get there!
4. Watch How Much You Eat.
Track your food on the FitBit dashboard. On the FitBit website, you can select a level of calorie deficit that you want — from easy to hard. Then all you have to do is enter what you eat each day and stay below your desired level.
I’m on the hardest level – 1,000 calories restricted per day. You can go with less — anywhere from 250, 500 to 750 calories restricted per day. I just know myself and I am motivated by results.
And I know, people will say I am not eating enough. But keep in mind, people, I spent years overeating! It’s not going to hurt me to eat a little less for a while. And once I hit my target weight, I can go back to eating more calories.
I also got the Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale so I can automatically track my weight.
All you have to do is stand on the scale in the morning and it will track your weight and body fat — it syncs automatically with your FitBit dashboard on the website. (You don’t need to use the Aria scale — you can just enter your weight manually. It just makes it easier.)
I know, weight’s not everything — measurements are more important. But you can track those too in your FitBit dashboard.
It really helps me to track everything — my measurements, body fat and weight. Because weight can be deceiving. Muscle weighs more than fat, so as you build muscle, you may not see the weight coming off as fast as you like.
But if you measure yourself with a tape measure, you’ll see the inches continue to come off each week, even when you’re on a weight loss plateau.
For example, this week, I did not lose a single pound. However, I did lose 1/2 an inch from my bust, 1/2 an inch from my waist, 1/2 an inch from my hips, half an inch from my upper arm, and 1/4 inch from my upper thigh.
So, don’t get hung up on what the scale says! Make sure you are measuring yourself — it really does help to keep you motivated.
My Other Secret Weapon: My New Treadmill Desk
As I write this, I’m walking on my new LifeSpan treadmill desk. Along with the FitBit, this is playing a HUGE role in my effort to get more active.
I walk 2.5 to 3 hours every day on my treadmill desk and it makes it SO much easier to get my steps in.
Two and a half hours may seem like a long time to you, but it flies by when you are working. You’re going to be working anyway, why not work out at the same time?
My Results
In the past 2 months, I’ve officially lost 20 pounds. I have lost 3 inches from my bust, 3 inches from my waist, 2.5 inches from my hips, 1.5 inches from my upper arm, and 2.5 inches from my upper thigh. That’s a total of 12.5 inches of fat!
I’ve also lost a whopping 20% body fat.
BEFORE
168 pounds
AFTER
148 pounds
BEFORE
Bust 39
Waist 32
Hips 42.75
Upper Arm 12.5
Upper Thigh 23.25
AFTER
Bust 36
Waist 29
Hips 40
Upper Arm 11
Upper Thigh 20.75
I can’t tell you how good it feels to put on a pair of pants that I haven’t been able to fit into in over a year and a half — and now they are FALLING OFF me.
I’m 60% toward my goal. Only 13 more pounds to go.
Writing this post actually keeps me accountable so thanks everyone for reading.