A big thank you to all the gurus on this thread. I was inspired by all the tremendous stories of individuals losing upto 20 KGs in a few months and looking a decade younger in some cases. I started my journey into Keto and IF about 2 weeks ago. But first a little context.
I am 30 years old working a desk job in your regular software company setting. My office provides food and ever since I joined this company a year and a half ago, my waistline and weight had increased by a significant margin. Coupled with long and stressful work, I was not left with much time for exercise. Or so I thought. I have been inside a Gym twice in my life. Once to see and once to try it out. Not for me. I prefer sports and the outside after being cooped up in a cubicle all day.
Eventually, I needed a trigger to change my habits and move to a healthier way of life. This came about, as in most cases, with the photographs of my engagement ceremony. I had not realized how I had let myself go. I had a paunch!
I looked rather round, to say the least. I weighed myself the next day and found I weighed 85 kgs. For my height of 5'5", I was bordering obesity. I needed a quick fix to lose a lot of weight and not make me miserable during the process.
I read up on keto (especially this thread and
this (The Weight Loss Thread) post by @Samurai), talked to someone who had done it, and decided to do Keto and IF based on the success that BHPian @dhanushs has had.
I started over the Republic day weekend so that I could tide over the Keto flu if it hit me over the first few days. It didn't, but the cravings and hunger pangs!!! Damn!! They were something else that I hadn't accounted for. I went to bed the first couple of days dreaming of Biryani. I didn't weigh myself for the first few days because I knew it would be inconsequential if I didn't follow it through and I didn't want to be content with what I had lost.
The first three days I had 3 meals a day and found it difficult to keep under the 20-25 gms of carbs limit. Even though most of the carbs were from Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, I didn't want to take a chance with the total and net carbs dilemma. After switching to IF (16-8), it became much easier to manage the calorific intake and include the right macros.
I also introduced exercise in the form of brisk walking (Can't run because of an old motorcycle injury) for about an hour daily or an hour of Badminton. I used to play Badminton earlier as well but my appetite had also increased and thus did not lose any weight during that period.
In just 4 days or so, the results started showing and my mother commented that I looked a little thinner than I was before. A few friends I met remarked that my face looked a little thinner than before. The belt buckle had found a fresh hole to go into on the positive side!!! I was ecstatic. I finally weighed myself after about 10 days and saw I had lost 6Kgs.
I feel fantastic now and I am able to concentrate for a longer period of time. The lethargy and drowsiness that I used to feel during the afternoons are gone! Evenings, which were typically for relaxing and characterized by lack of energy, are now replaced with activities which I enjoy. Listening to a podcast as I walk or a game of competitive sport charges my batteries up.
I plan to continue this lifestyle for the foreseeable future, at least till my wedding in April and aim to lose another 10 kgs by then.
A huge thank you to all the people on this thread and especially to @Samurai for his extremely useful and insightful posts. I am posting this to help people who are still on the fence to take the plunge and get started on improving their health.