Every year I set out to lose weight and despite COVID keeping me away from the gym and significantly reducing my distance from the fridge at all times, this was the year I finally broke through and lost the weight.

In March and April, there was a 6-week stretch, where we didn’t leave the house other than to acquire more food. A tough existence and seemingly spelled doom for my waistline.

Every year since graduating from college, I started out in 2020 with a goal to lose 20 pounds. In reality, I would have been happy with losing even 10 pounds.

Throughout the years, I have tried several approaches but the most popular being hoping I could out train/exercise a poor (unplanned) diet.

In 2019, I tried intermittent fasting and lost 10 pounds over the course of 4 months. I was ecstatic. I didn’t change one thing I was eating. I actually was proud of the fact that all I had to do was to cut off my eating at certain times. After the new wore off, slowly the non-eating hours were encroached upon... I would eat lunch 30 minutes early... eat cookies an hour after the window had closed. I slowly put back on the 10 Pounds I had lost, plus more. Wa, wa, wa….

At the start of 2020, I made a few changes to my diet and due to the pandemic, I was forced to change up my exercise regiment.

Exercise Changes

In the first week of March my gym shut down to help control the spread of the virus and for the first time since I was 16 years old my main form of exercise was not “lifting heavy things”.

I got a jump rope and a pair of 30 lbs dumbbells from my father in law that were originally my brother in law’s. I started doing intervals :30 on/ :15 off.

Diet Changes

I also made a few sensible changes to my diet.

• Beer out (for the most part), wine and seltzers in

• Cookies out, G butter in

• Honey crisp apples and a banana out, berries in.

• Eating whatever is in the fridge for breakfast/lunch out, meal prep bfast and lunch.

The pounds started to fall off. I lost 10 lbs in the first 8 weeks of the year and then some muscle mass fell off my legs as my training shifted to bodyweight exercises.

At my peak, I had lost 30 pounds. Before the holidays I would fluctuate between 240- 250. At the start of the holidays I relaxed on my meal-prep and restrictions and I regressed. I was solidly at 250.

Since the new year, like the rest of the world, I have recommitted to those sensible changes. I explored Noom, first couple of days were interesting however with a new baby and an upcoming busy time at work, I am going to avoid climbing a new learning curve.

Looking to lose another 20 lbs in 2021. More to come.