It’s been three months since I started on the ITG Diet. Back at the end of August, I weighed 217 pounds, had a 36 inch waist, and felt generally unhealthy overall. I didn’t eat well, sleep well, and my body didn’t feel so great day to day. I was getting tired of buying large shirts and wearing baggy clothes all the time; nothing seemed to fit right on me. I didn’t feel good about myself or the way I looked anymore. There were many times I would glance at my reflection in a store window or a mirror and think to myself, “who is this guy? What happened to the old me?”

Well as of today, I have lost 30 pounds; I’m down to 187! I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made over the past few months and I’m looking forward to losing my last 12 pounds to get to my goal weight of 175. Yes, I’ve had some setbacks along the way. My rate has averaged about 2-3 pounds per week. I know I could’ve reached my goal weight about a month ago but I did fall off the wagon here and there. Being new to the area and making new friends has been hard on the diet! I’ve eaten a few things that I know I shouldn’t have, and gone out for drinks over the weekends which basically kicked me out of ketosis and set me back a good 3 days each time. And then there are those days where I just had a lazy attitude and didn’t cook healthy food for myself. So even though I know I could’ve done better (hey, us guys lose weight very quickly anyway!), I’m still happy with how far I’ve come and what I’ve been learning along the way.

I have been paying attention even more lately to what I eat. I haven’t walked through the middle aisles of a grocery store in a while; I only browse the outskirts, which is a little tip that I found out early on in my diet. The middle of the store is where all the dry processed foods reside, while the perimeter of the store has the meats, vegetables and whole foods. Yes, I do miss a lot of the old foods I used to eat. What I won’t miss are the empty calories that all turned to fat and what those snacks and junk food have done to me over the years. Is it really worth it to forget all the habits I’ve created, just to eat some pre-packaged, non-nutritious foods? No! Old habits die hard so I know it’s just not worth it to pick them back up again. I’m excited to get to Step 2, Transition, and begin to enjoy more foods that I have cut out for the past few months, such as fruit and dairy (oh, to have cheese again!). There are several recipes we’ve been posting on our website, and I’ve found hundreds more that will work in Step 2 and Step 3 to keep me on the right path to stay focused.

So even with some of the obstacles I’ve dealt with in the past few months, once I started seeing and feeling some really great results and physical changes on the inside and out, I’ve been very determined to keep going and see the fat disappear. Next up, Step 2 and heading back to the gym (I haven’t worked out regularly since the summer) to get even healthier. I’m not going for the 6-pack abs but, hey, if they happen I think I’ll be just fine with that!