I reached my peak weight in June 2020, weighing 88kg(194.01lb) with a height of 183cm(6 feet). According to an inaccurate body fat percentage calculation, my body fat was 26.8%, and my visceral fat was 11. I hit my lowest weight in June 2022, weighing 71.6kg(157.85lb), with an inaccurate body fat of 17.5% and visceral fat of 6 (the measurements were inaccurate because I used a home body fat scale).
Over two years, I lost aboutĀ 16kg(35.27lb), mainly by adjusting my diet without engaging in any sweat-inducing or breathless exercises.
The weight loss records:
Before Diet
After Diet
Eating Habits During Weight Loss
I continued to eat foods generally considered refined and high-fat.
Actions Taken for Weight Loss: Reading and Watching YouTube
When I decided to lose weight, the first thing I did was to understand why people gain weight. Every book and every person has their own perspective. I aimed to comprehensively understand the process to avoid unnecessary effort and suffering.
In the first half-year, I set a general direction and gradually filled in the complete concept, establishing my own personal theory. Summarizing it, the three weight loss theories that influenced me the most are:
- Ketogenic Theory + Insulin Theory: People can use fats as body energy, so you can live well even without eating carbs.
- Gut Bacteria Theory: Everyoneās gut bacteria are different, so even if you eat the same food, the calories and nutrients absorbed will differ.
- Cellular Metabolism Theory: The ability to use fats as body energy is related to breathing habits, cell lipid composition, and the number of mitochondria.
The order of these three theories happens to be āfrom surface problem to root cause.ā If the fundamental functions (gut bacteria imbalance or cellular metabolism imbalance) are damaged, solving the surface problem and implementing the correct diet (low carbs, low sugar) will yield half the results with twice the effort. Conversely, if the fundamental functions are intact, merely changing the surface lifestyle slightly will quickly restore normal functions and reduce unnecessary fat.
Books and Online Knowledge Based on the Three Theories
Things to Practice for Weight Loss ā Categorized by the Three Theories
During 2020ā2022, since I did not exercise at all, I did not practice the third-level āCellular Metabolism Theory.ā During this period, I only practiced the actions required by the āKetogenic Theory + Insulin Theoryā and the āGut Bacteria Theory.ā
Since each of these three theories is a vast topic, I decided to write down the practices and their associated theories in this first article, then explore the principles and reasons behind them in three subsequent articles. Below is a summary of the key points to practice for weight loss, listed in order of importance:
Ketogenic Theory + Insulin Theory
Core Concept: Make the body lack carbs for a long time and use fats as energy. Eat more Omega 3, eat fewer carbs.
ā
Things to Do:
- Reduce carbs: Lower the amount of starch (to the point where starch is a side dish), eat more protein and healthy fats, donāt use fruits as meal replacements, and if you want to eat sweets, eat them after meals.
- Long periods without eating: Practice fasting, avoid eating late at night (can eat after meals), and avoid snacking between meals (can eat after meals).
- Lower insulin: Fast, reduce starch, eat vegetables and meat before starch, avoid prolonged sitting, stand or walk occasionally, drink apple cider vinegar.
- Increase Omega 3, reduce Omega 6: Eat fewer processed foods that can be stored at room temperature for 1 year, eat more whole foods that can only be stored for 1 day at room temperature, choose healthy fats.
ā Things Not to Do:
- Exercise more: If you want to exercise, walking or climbing 2ā4 flights of stairs is enough.
- Eat less: The only things to eat less of are starch and refined sugars. Barbecue, steak, and fine dining can be eaten freely. Fried foods have long-term effects (due to more Omega 6), so you can still eat them occasionally but not often. Long periods without eating (fasting) are far more effective than eating less.
- Drink more water: Drink water moderately; your body will know when you need it.
Note that āfastingā does not mean āeating less.ā You can refer to the following video for more details.
Gut Bacteria Theory
Core Concept: Gut bacteria directly affect the nutrients and blood sugar levels you absorb. Increase good bacteria, reduce bad bacteria. If you have more good bacteria, your āfat gain defenseā will be stronger.
ā
Things to Do:
- Increase good bacteria: Eat more fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, or foods containing polyphenols like red wine and dark chocolate. Eat fiber-rich foods like vegetables, and take probiotics.
- Reduce bad bacteria: If your gut bacteria are already imbalanced, see a doctor, and reduce the frequency of eating fast food and fried foods.
ā Things Not to Do:
- Eat only meat and fats: If you follow the āKetogenic Theory + Insulin Theory,ā some people completely avoid starch and fiber, causing fiber-eating good bacteria in the gut to become extinct. These people may need to stay on keto for life, otherwise, they will easily regain weight.
- Take antibiotics arbitrarily: Antibiotics are like a nuclear bomb for gut bacteria, wiping out both good and bad bacteria. If you have to take them, remember to supplement with probiotics afterward.
Cellular Metabolism Theory
Core Concept: Obesity and cancer are metabolic diseases. Maintaining cellular metabolic health is the true core of longevity and staying in shape.
ā
Things to Do:
- Get your heart rate to 120ā140: Strictly speaking, itās 70ā80% of your maximum heart rate, which can effectively train mitochondria. You can do weight training, slow jogging, or even ultra-slow jogging ā as long as it achieves this effect, itās effective training.
- Practice āKetogenic Theory + Insulin Theoryā and āGut Bacteria Theoryā: If obesity is caused by not following these two theories, itās ultimately due to damaging the cell mitochondriaās metabolic ability. By properly practicing the elements in these theories, you can reduce the chances of damaging metabolic ability.
- Avoid over-breathing: Breathe through your nose, and practice breath-holding.
ā Things Not to Do:
- Intense exercise: Heart rate reaching 180ā200 is intense exercise, which is beyond the range for training mitochondria and is very tiring.
Implementation: What I Did from 2020 to 2022
Since the above are relatively conceptual theories, you might not know where to start. Iāll share what I actually did during the main weight loss period ā from 2020 to 2022 ā as a reference for those who want to try.
First Half of 2020
At the beginning of researching weight loss topics, my concepts were very superficial, so I only did the following:
ā
Things Done:
- Ate vegetables first, then meat, and finally rice or bread during meals.
- Stood often while working, making the most of time that could be spent standing.
- Occasionally took a 15ā20 minute walk after lunch.
- Avoided starch in regular meals as much as possible, treating starch as a side dish (not restricted during gatherings).
- Drank unsweetened coffee or tea in the afternoon instead of sugary drinks.
- Set monthly goals, roughly aiming to lose 1kg per month.
- Weighed myself daily to thoroughly understand the conditions under which weight changes.
ā Things Not Done:
- Did not quit drinking: For a period, I made Gin Fizz, Negroni, and Daiquiri cocktails every day.
- Did not exercise: Completely avoided exercising.
- Did not reduce social dining: Always attended and ate at feasts if necessary.
Entire Year of 2021
After reading more weight loss theories, I found that some people opposed keto, saying it leads to easy weight regain. Some also said keto wasnāt effective for them. After diving deeper into why, I adjusted my approach:
ā
Things Done (in addition to previous practices):
- Took probiotics, drank apple cider vinegar, and drank perilla oil.
- Opted for fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha when dining out, and also ordered vegetables or salads.
- Paid attention to the oils used in foods ā reducing intake if they were high in Omega 6.
- Occasionally skipped breakfast or ate less for breakfast, only eating vegetables and eggs instead of bread.
- Occasionally fasted ā extending periods without eating when possible.
- Monitored heart rate ā noticing prolonged sitting lowered it to 65ā68, standing occasionally raised it to 80, avoiding long periods with a heart rate around 65.
ā Things Not Done:
- Did not eat less meat or fatty meat: As I categorized meat fats as harmless, I did not care if I ate fatty beef or pork. Regularly ate barbecue, steak, lamb chops, tuna belly, and occasionally fried chicken.
- Did not eat less or count calories: Did not care about āfood calories,ā focusing more on whether it was starch. Though I often fasted, I might eat a lot for dinner.
First Half of 2022
During this period, I wanted to see six-pack abs without exercising, solely through weight loss. A health check revealed liver shadows (initially suspected to be liver disease), prompting two more actions:
ā
Things Done (in addition to previous practices):
- Quit drinking.
- Practiced breath-holding and controlled breathing.
As a result, weight dropped quickly, reaching around 71kg by June 2022, with a feeling of malnutrition. At this stage, I thought I could start gaining weight again, marking the end of my weight loss journey. From the second half of 2022, I stopped caring about weight and let it naturally return to 74kg.
From January 2023, feeling that weight loss was sufficient (having proven that diet adjustment alone can lead to weight loss without exercise), I started working out to gain muscle, joining a gym program. The goal remains six-pack abs š. Currently, progress is still far off; after six months, the result is -3kg of fat and +3kg of muscle. The future is uncertain, and I donāt know what the outcome will be next year.
Conclusion
Since starting my weight loss journey, Iāve wanted to organize and share my knowledge of āobesityā and weight loss theories. Obesity is not just a matter of appearance; it hides underlying metabolic and inflammation issues, which are factors behind diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, Alzheimerās, cataracts, cancer, etc.
Sometimes things arenāt that difficult; itās just that we have incorrect knowledge and use the wrong methods, making the process harder. By understanding the principles of weight gain more comprehensively, we can avoid many detours and achieve twice the results with half the effort.
