Step 4: To eat, or not to eat...

By this point in the process I was motivated. I was finally being both active and seeing results in terms of weight loss. Now I was counting pounds in the high 160's for the first time in maybe 10 years! But when I dropped soda on Step 3 a couple of things happened that threw a wrench in the works.

First, since I was getting most of my hydration with exercise and not filling up with soda during meals my stomach didn't feel as full.

Second, my brain realized I was loosing weight kicked off a cycle that made it crave fat. I'm not a doctor but when I read about it I learned that it has to do with survival. If the body notices reserves diminishing it will make you want to replenish them.

Bottom line: I was VERY HUNGRY VERY OFTEN!

A few months back during my physical, my doctor recommended I increase my intake of low-calorie foods. And I definitely felt like increasing all my intakes. So I went for it. Since I was hungrier than usual I started eating a lot. But I didn't want to throw all that progress away, so I became selective about what I gorged on. Turns out huge salads were the key.

Leafy greens take up a lot of space and don't contain the stuff that hurts weight loss goals. On top of that they're cheap and promote good gut bacteria. So a TON of greens, with nuts, a reasonable portion of chicken or ham, and a non-dairy dressing became a regular part of my lunches.

Result

Kept the one pound a week loss rate. Dealt with the hunger problem; not gonna lie, it took will power on top of the salads.

I had been taking a probiotic to help with the Irritable Bowel Syndrome. When it ran out I stopped taking it and my gut was stable. From then on: more and bigger salads before anything else!

Crossed into the low 160's!