5 years on the scale: personal experience

5 years ago, I foolishly wanted to save the world. Sometimes I reread it and am amazed – where was my mind? I try to remember why I named the article that way, why I wrapped my ordinary personal experience of losing weight in such teenage grotesquery? Okay, let's write it off to youthful maximalism, inability to choose headlines and a burning desire to attract attention.

This article will be simpler and shorter – I will simply share my personal weight loss results over 5 years, with graphs and explanations. Perhaps, 5 years is a sufficient period to talk about the stability and reproducibility of the result on myself.

So, I started losing weight in 2019, I was 35 then. I don't remember the exact number when I started. In the original article it was 92, on the charts I see 96, but it doesn't matter. My height is about 172, if that's important. In the spring of 2024, my weight reached 71, now it's somewhere around 74 (in the summer, I traditionally let go of the situation).

An approach

In general, the original article describes the approach I used, but it is too pompous, so I will briefly outline it. Again, taking into account the adjustments over 5 years (of which, it must be said, there were few).

I took the principle from statistical analysis – regression analysis by Draper’s method, its variation called “exclusion method”. This is when you have a function with many factors that may influence the function’s result (they are called predictors), and you need to understand which of them really influences and which ones just accidentally got into the equation. You remove them one by one and look at the change in the function. No change – the predictor is insignificant. There is a change – aha, got caught.

A little later, while reading Nassim Taleb, I came across the via negativa principle – loosely interpreted, if you want to change the behavior of a system, it is better to remove something than to add. In terms of practical application, it is roughly the same as the exclusion method, only with a positive assessment of the approach (like “subtracting is better than adding”).

The only problem is that the equation that determines the weight is unknown. Traditionally, they look at the KBZhU, but I was too lazy, honestly. I still have a very vague idea of the caloric content of products, the daily norm, etc. I was looking for predictors rather in the structure of the consumed food, in combinations, in intervals, accompanying factors, etc.

In the end, I chose predictors like an old woman at the market. I heard somewhere that it is better not to drink during meals and for 2-4 hours after. Someone said that it is better not to have breakfast. It seems that it is considered that it is better not to shove pure white sugar into yourself with spoons. It seems that one plate of food is better absorbed than two. And so on. After checking the predictor for adequacy, I used it. It is clear that if someone recommended buying pills, I would not even try. And I would not switch to green smoothies. A protein diet is also not my thing. I would not stitch my stomach. Well, you get the idea.

Terms and Restrictions

Yes, here I probably need to explain some of the initial conditions that I set for myself at the very beginning.

On the one hand, I am very lazy. This means that I will never buy, cook, or combine anything special “to lose weight.” I wanted to make a minimum of effort – I knew that I couldn’t cope otherwise. Books about willpower had an impact here – I didn’t want to run into obstacles that were stronger than me. Any change should be such that I could implement it.

On the other hand, I didn't want to cause inconvenience to anyone, to be a black sheep. For example, to ask for a separate table for myself at home, to embarrass myself when visiting by refusing the treats lovingly prepared by the hosts, to avoid friendly drinking parties, to eat salads on vacation when “all inclusive” was paid for, to carry nuts or some special drink with me.

Well, you get the idea. Change with minimal effort.

Process

The process is quite simple. You choose a predictor, apply it, and watch the results. If it works and there are no problems with using the predictor, you leave it. Watch the weight dynamics – if everything is good, then you can leave it alone.

Whether everything is good or not depends on the state you are in. There are approximately three options: lose weight, maintain, relax.

When you lose weight, you perform all the predictors to the maximum, as far as your willpower and capabilities allow. The goal of this state is to lose weight to reach the chosen figure. Or to show yourself the dynamics – to make sure that everything is fine, the approach still works.

The opposite state is when you relax. You don't control anything at all, but indulge, so to speak, in gastronomic debauchery. It's not scary to be in such a state, because you know that everything can be played back – just go into the “losing weight” state. The duration of relaxation can be different – from one evening (when you go to a restaurant, for example) to several weeks (on vacation). True, when you gain weight for a long time, it becomes a little scary – what if this is it, which everyone who is on a diet is afraid of? Well, it will always be like this. But, a day or two of torment switching from relaxation to weight loss, and the dynamics are pleasing again.

Well, and the middle state is when you maintain your weight in a certain range. Either you do some of the predictors constantly, or you arrange short swings in frequency for yourself – one day you lose weight, the next day you relax.

Actually, that's the whole process. The main thing I like about it is the confidence that everything will work out. Sometimes, in a relaxed state, you gain 10 kg, but you can get it all back – which I did many times. Yes, sometimes it's still scary, although 5 years have passed. But the fear is light, without hysteria and hopelessness.

My predictors

The predictor I started with has remained the same for all 5 years – I don't drink during meals. Well, except for cases of relaxation – pizza, for example, is unpleasant to eat dry. Yes, I know there are different opinions about whether drinking during meals is harmful or useful. But precisely because opinions are different, it is up to me to decide.

I also eat once a day. This is not a predictor, I was in the same regime and weighed 96. Somehow it happened, already 15 years ago, that I eat once a day. It's fine for me.

About a year ago, I almost quit sugar – I used to throw a lot into tea/coffee, throughout the day. Then I got tired of it – rather, drink tea and coffee throughout the day. Well, at the same time, the sugar went away. There are 6 teaspoons left per day, as recommended by the WHO (a coincidence). But giving up sugar had a strong effect on weight loss – see the graph for 2024 and the second half of 2023.

I try not to eat at night. Mainly to get enough sleep. If my stomach is full, I don't get enough sleep. Although, I don't strictly follow this predictor – if you don't get up at a certain time in the morning, you can easily get drunk.

I tried doing sports. At different times – swimming, horizontal bar, running, gym. I didn’t see any significant effect on my weight. Probably I didn’t do it hard enough – I didn’t feel like it. I will do sports, but not for losing weight, but for my health.

I try to drink more water throughout the day. It affects my well-being and digestion more, as I feel. But it also affects my weight, as an additional measure.

The amount of food at one sitting – yes, it does. There are three observable effects. The first is simply – eat less, gain less weight. The second – it feels like a smaller portion is easier and better digested, and goes through its journey faster. The third – if you eat small portions for a while, they become the norm and large ones stop “fitting in”. They write on the Internet that the stomach gets smaller, shrinks – I don’t know if that’s true or not.

Everything seems to be fine.

results

I don’t have a picture for 2019 – I changed my phone, and I write down the numbers there.

In 2020, I was still experimenting – sometimes I gained a lot of weight, sometimes I lost it. The range, as you can see from the graph, is about 10 kg.

In 2021, I got my act together, especially in the fall – before that I was in maintenance mode. According to the chart, I lost almost 10 kg in six months.

In 2022, I mostly maintained it – my weight was quite satisfactory.

In 2023 – similarly, more supportive. I remember thinking about whether to lose weight or not, but I couldn't decide. And then I quit sugar and it just happened.