It’s been nearly nine years since that cold, winter morning when I stepped on the scale and saw a number that scared me. I was six months out of college, living on my own, and in the worst physical condition of my life. That weigh-in set me on a journey. Today, all these months, meals, and workouts later, I’m 25% lighter, having also cut my body fat by 13 percentage points.

Honestly, I didn’t think it was possible. I set my weight goal in the upper limits of what the World Health Organization & CDC call “healthy.” I’ve done plenty of research and reading along the way, and I know that weight goals are normally subjective. Every body is different, and every body has a natural set-point, the point at which it’ll stubbornly resist further reduction in weight.

During this time, I’ve become an avid walker. It’s an exercise routine that’s a bit odd for men of my age, but it’s my preferred method of exercise. It’s great for managing my migraines, and gives me a little bit of quiet time to enjoy my podcasts in the morning.

The biggest breakthrough was not in my exercise regime, but in my diet. I had a pretty typical American diet up through the end of 2018. It was in December of that year that I really started looking for a diet to fully implement in my life. I wanted something that would give me a clear plan for what to eat. Alison and I settled on the Keto diet.

We were on keto for eight of the last ten months, only recently transitioning to a low carb high fat diet (LCHF). The key difference between the diets is basically 50 net carbs per day on LCHF instead of the keto 20 net carbs. As it turns out, many of the foods that I really love are LCHF.

The clear source of my weight problem was my high carb/sugar diet. I now average 6 grams of sugar per day and have no cravings. (6 grams is about a 1.25 teaspoons per day!) All of the sweets and treats that I used to eat no longer appeal to me. There are more than a few LCHF-friendly treats that hit the spot. I can manage to eat ¼ cup (about a small single scoop) of Halo Top ice cream and be satisfied. I’ve even experienced the wonderful taste of coffee, who’s natural flavors I used to drown out in an ocean of cream and sugar.

The factor that made the biggest impact is that I adopted this diet not as a weight loss gimmick, or a short term fix. This diet gives me a clear plan with parameters in which I should operate.

I’m now entering dangerous territory. I’ve spent eight years in a period of weight loss; I now need to learn what it means to maintain my weight. I plan on continuing the positive daily habits that contributed to this success. I’m going to continue a food diary, daily weigh-ins, and morning walks. Over time, as I stay within the +/- 5 lbs. weight limit that I set for myself, I may pare back on the daily weigh-ins and the food diary.

I feel fantastic, for many reasons. I took my kids to swimming lessons last week and for the first time that I can remember, I took off my shirt before getting into the pool and did not feel self-conscious for a moment. That’s a tangible result from hard work and discipline.

The greatest source of joy that this change has brought is how I smile when I see myself in the mirror. The person that I see is the young, healthy, vibrant man that I used to see in my mind’s eye. Only now, there’s no distortion; it’s truly me.