![M/45/5'4" [189lbs > 151lbs = 38lbs] (6mo) Happy with my progress](https://preview.redd.it/99c0xgpyek0h1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=43ae096d25f1332669bb69705334186c19ad599c)
I made a bunch of changes all at the same time: started a GLP-1, working out ~6 days a week, eating way better, cut down alcohol by 90%, and sleeping 8-9 hours a night. I realized that if I didn't, I may not be around for my family in 20 years. I feel so much better.
Six months ago I had let myself go. I had been recovering from a couple surgeries, was eating out six nights a week, and was drinking multiple glasses of wine pretty much every night. While I've exercised regularly in the past, I had never been thin, and ever since Covid I had stopped going to the gym. My weight was higher than it had ever been, and I realized if I wanted to be around for my family in 20 years that I needed to get myself together.
I knew how to exercise, and I knew how to eat right, but I just couldn't get myself to do it and stick with it. I did my research on GLP-1s, looked into my insurance options, and found nothing was covered by my insurance. While that was frustrating (and ridiculous, given how many benefits they have), I am fortunate enough to be able to afford out-of-pocket if that's what it took. I talked to my doctor to get his recommendations (including a full blood panel), and I started on tirzepatide shortly thereafter.
Almost immediately, it felt like I had the willpower to eat healthy food and give up (most of) my drinking. I was sure at least some of it was placebo, but I didn't really care; the food noise and desire to pour myself another glass was just gone.
I started by tracking what I ate very closely in a spreadsheet, weighing my food and calculating calories and macros closely. As I got more comfortable with my diet, standardizing onto a few very regular meals for breakfast and lunch and learning to eyeball the larger variety of dinners, I stopped tracking so closely, only noting exceptional cases (e.g. having a special dinner out with friends one night so I can correlate it to situations like salt-related water retention). However, to start, when I didn't have a good sense of exactly what macros and calories were in my food, tracking those macros closely was super helpful.
Supplement-wise, I add protein powder, 5g creatine, and a multivitamin to my breakfast. Nothing else.
Drinking, I'm down to about two glasses once a week, only when we go out. I have a small wine collection at home that is gathering dust.
I also started tracking my workouts in a spreadsheet. I had always tracked them mentally before, but recording this makes it much easier to be precise in my progression. I wish I had done this years ago.
So, I'm super happy with how this has been going. I'm 45 years old, down from 189lbs to 151lbs. I plan to keep cutting to 10% body fat, just to prove to myself that I can. I may not stay at that level, but I do hope that I keep up my good eating/sleeping/exercising habits I've developed. The results are obvious to family and friends, but mostly I feel way better every day. Tirzepatide didn't work magic -- I still have had to put in the effort to eat well, work out hard, and get enough sleep -- but it's been a critical tool for helping me put in that effort without distraction.
