Joe Hruska (one of my co-founders at RescueTime, YC08) has lost 42 pounds in the last 3.5 months with approximately zero exercise.
He pretty much did the South Beach Diet. It's kinda faddy, but it really is approximately what humans were designed to eat. You should pick up the book, but approximately: no white flour, no white sugar, no rice, no potatoes. First two weeks are pure carb-free (painful) but the rest of the time, complex carbs are okay in moderation.
On Dec. 17th I had blood work done for my yearly physical. At that time I was warned by the doctor that I was trending towards diabetes. My triglycerides were 381 and cholesterol was 173.
This really kicked me in the ass to drop weight. I did a fair bit of research into diets and really detested the idea of a fad type diet. But, for me - the South Beach diet allowed me to eat the food I enjoy and not feel like I was starving myself.
Fast forward to April 12th I had lost 42.6 pounds and had my blood retested. My triglycerides were down to 76 (a drop in over 300 points) and my cholesterol was down to 153. Granted triglycerides can range fairly broadly from day to day, but the doctor was very impressed with my progress.
This week, I started a morning exercise routine as outlined by the Hacker Diet ( http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/chapter1_2_5.html#Exerc... ). My goal is to drop an additional 25-30 pounds, which will get me to 170-175, over the next year by eating right and exercise.
Congrats on the weight loss. Medical reasons kicked off my current diet too--I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. South Beach sounds similar to what I'm doing right now. The first two weeks of no-carbs should have kicked your body into ketosis, and it will stay there as long as you keep the carbs down.
This is important. To first approximation, all that matters is diet. Exercise has many other health benefits, but as a weight-loss strategy it's almost lost in the noise.
I did the SB diet also. Keep in mind it's not a no-carb diet. It's a complex carb (whole grains, veggies, etc) diet. The first two weeks are to break our "addiction" to carbs.
During those two weeks, it was hard to focus + I would get headaches from the withdrawl. Nowadays it's much easier to find whole grain/lean meat alternatives at every restaurant. All you need is will power to make the right choices.
Well, a lot of peoples have basically hibernated for the winter. Inuit hole up for almost half the year and live off provisions. Back in more agrarian days there really wasn't a whole lot to do all winter. Cows and chickens only make milk and eggs all year now from artificial stimulation.
People ate high fat preserved food. Cheeses, pemmican, manteca, bacon, etc. Also pickled stuff.
So if all you do is sit around, try living off tubs of lard and sauerkraut.
First two weeks are painful, but then you are allowed to have some wine and the taste of even a so-so wine is absolutely incredible. I guess these two weeks do something to your taste buds, so they start picking up even minute traces of sugar.
I would actually repeat the South Beach just for this wine tasting experience :)
He pretty much did the South Beach Diet. It's kinda faddy, but it really is approximately what humans were designed to eat. You should pick up the book, but approximately: no white flour, no white sugar, no rice, no potatoes. First two weeks are pure carb-free (painful) but the rest of the time, complex carbs are okay in moderation.