-Diablo's Journal, 29 Apr 21

So, I was going through an old thread I started on bodybuilding.com where I conducted a diet experiment consisting of 99% "junk" food. I went from ~220 to 176 at my lowest in 8-10 months. In these pics I am 220(Aug. 2011) and 182(Jun 2012) pounds. Not only was it mostly pizza, ice cream, cookies, cakes, etc, my protein was also low. I averaged 2800 calories and only 90 grams of protein. It was about half of what I am getting now and it was mostly from pizza so most likely not the same quality as I am getting now with supplements, meat, and Greek yogurt.

The reason I did this diet was because I didn't quite believe the experts advising that calories are what matter, not processed food vs whole food. I didn't believe it because even while eating clean I could never get to this point so how is pizza going to help? Well, for me, it helped me mentally and seeing the week to week progress was super motivating so that also helped me adhere to my calorie goals. Restrictive diets just caused me to binge eventually erasing most of my progress.

Anyway, the reason I am posting is to show people they don't have to be so strict with what they eat. Sure, try to eat healthy, try to get more protein than I was, but as you can see, total calorie in vs. out is what matters for fat loss.

If these results can be had with a terrible diet and low protein, then people beating themselves up for not being perfect seems counter productive and dramatic. It only served to stress you out and cause derailment. A little progress every week and patience is what is needed to get to your goal and remain there.

Have a moderate deficit and exercise. Get your protein, vitamins, and fiber for health.

These pics make me realize how much progress I've made on my leg size, lol! Another reminder of how important progress pics are. I don't see it since I see them every day but it's obvious where the last 15-20 pounds went. I'm bigger all over but mostly the legs.

For anyone interested, here is my thread where you can see my foods and CICO for the whole journey. https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=141807961&page=2

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2708 kcal

Fat: 97.64g | Prot: 213.13g | Carbs: 292.02g.   Breakfast: Now Foods Creatine Monohydrate, Apples , Ralphs Pepperjack Cheese, Wal-Mart Angus Steak Burger 1/3 lb, Giant Food Bananas (Large), Fairlife Nutrition Plan Vanilla. Lunch: Quest Cookies & Cream Protein Bar, Apples, America's Choice California Navel Oranges, Smarties Assorted Flavors Candy Rolls, Fairlife Nutrition Plan Vanilla. Dinner: Blueberries, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Assortment, Reese's Miniature Peanut Butter Cups (1), Quest Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bar, Trader Joe's Brown Cage Free Eggs (Large), Blueberries, Dannon Light & Fit Greek - Vanilla, Cheesecake Factory at home original ice cream, Calavo Avocado. more...