Resources and Thank You’s
There is no way I could have done this by myself. I was surrounded by amazing health professionals, friends and loved ones, and a ton of resources. I share a few here:
- Helpful Resources
- Thank You
- My sis, my brothers, and all my partners in crime for supporting me through my journey
- Judy Ko, for introducing me to 4HB and being an amazing massage therapist and healer (blissko.com)
- Tim Ferriss, for writing the 4-Hour Body and transforming my life (fourhourbody.com)
- Dr. Scott Wachhorst and his team at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (pamf.org)
- Dr. Robert Millard and his team at S.O.A.R. Clinic (soarmedical.com)
- Dr. Ted Omura and his team (Dr. Trav, Dr. Tomo, Gino, Hilda, Amanda, and William) at SCORE Clinic (scoreclinic.com)
- Bill and Cathy Fields and their team (Alison, Andrea, Lily, Saryn, Ron) at Fields in Motion (fieldsinmotionpt.com)
- Dr. Robson Capasso and his team at Stanford (Stanford Sleep Surgery)
Please feel free to share this story with anyone you care about who might be inspired by this story. A quick link: http://gonzal.es/100-lbs. I am always here to help if you are starting your own journey and need someone to listen.
Read the rest of my story at:
- Introduction: How I Lost 100 lbs Without Surgery or Exercise
- Mental and Emotional Prep: Face the Root Cause
- Tools: You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure
- Quick Start and Morale Boost
- Nutrition: How I Ate 100 lbs Away
- Detour: A Geek’s Explanation (A Hypothesis, Anyway)
- Exercise (Or Lack Thereof)
- Supplements: All Natural, Baby
- Other Helpful Tips
- What’s Next?
- Resources and Thank You’s
June 7, 2012 @ 14:24
Sergio,
This is epic! So excited for you. I love how you point out that what works for you may not work for everyone and this is your journey, but it can be done! I also appreciate you for just opening up and saying mistakes happen and that doesn’t mean you failed. This is so awe inspiring and of course well written, but I would expect nothing less than that from you as you were just as great in high school. Lol. At any rate, thank you for sharing. I always enjoy people’s success stories. My husband lost 70 this last year with no exercise and his choice came down to being vegetarian – he doesn’t eat a lot of veggies, so that’s hilarious – but he eats plenty of fish and fruits, with minimal whole grains. I haven’t found my combination yet, but I work out 5 days a week, eat fruit and veggies and protein and I’m down 20. You have inspired me to take measurements daily and log my food as I’m sure that can help immensely as you say and show you how far you have come. Well, just wanted to say thank you for sharing. You are amazing in your story and tell it openly and honestly. Thx for the inspiration my friend!
Celeste
June 7, 2012 @ 16:17
I’m always here to help if you need someone to talk to or need a morale boost. I would absolutely suggest taking a photo journal of all your food and drink intake. People who log their meals in a journal do far better in their health programs than those who don’t. And those who take photos of their meals do that much better than those who log their meals in a journal. Not only does it help you stay on track–you’re less likely to eat a whole bag of M&Ms if you know you’re going to have to snap a pic of it–but it also helps you make adjustments as you go along. For example, I am very aware when I don’t drink enough water (I drink about 3.5-4 Liters a day). I also figured out that while turkey chili is on program for slow carb, something about the breakdown of the beans makes the carbohydrates a bit more accessible to the body to retain water (as opposed to whole beans).
June 17, 2012 @ 17:01
Hi Sergio,
You look great (although I liked the Pooh version of you too).
Why don`t you send this to Tim Ferris — seems like he is willing to share the success stories like yours.
My question was always: does the diet and generally new lifestyle prevent you from doing you need to do (like travelling a lot) or like to do (except for not eating food you might like)? Anything that pops in your mind immediately?
-Alex
June 18, 2012 @ 03:41
No it does not impede me in any way with my lifestyle. I have never gone to a restaurant where I felt I didn’t have options to eat, and to eat well. I will say with a disclaimer that we are very fortunate here in California to have lots of eating options, even within a given restaurant. Perhaps certain cuisines might not be so forgiving. However, in a worst case scenario you can always select vegetarian options when you are out and as long as you avoid pasta and rice, you’ll be okay; even a little cheese now and then won’t hurt you. The same goes for travel; however, I will say that making sure you eat consistently, every 4.5-5 hours is very important, which may require more discipline while traveling. Since I have been doing this for a year now–and I won’t stay on strict slow carb forever–I have become very disciplined and creative while out. Perhaps if one is just starting the program a heavy travel schedule will prove difficult to gain some momentum if you don’t stay focused. As for passing this on to Tim Ferriss, I plan to share my story with him, though I’m sure he gets hundreds of such messages.
September 11, 2012 @ 16:10
Awesome job Serg! Thanks for the spreadsheet too, it’s a great resource.
September 11, 2012 @ 16:13
Cheers! Hope it helps a bit. Yeah, I went back and forth quite a bit about whether to share my own measurements–I always planned to share the template–but I thought the benefit of transparency and perhaps inspiring someone outweighed the insecurities I had about it. Best of luck!
September 11, 2012 @ 18:38
Wow. Thank You! I was on the 4HB for about 3 months, and I lost about 30″. But I’ve found myself slowing slipping up, especially since I started working out, I’m trying to rationalize it. I agree, f*ck ’em. Everyone has an opinion, and most of them stink. Anyhow, you have inspired me to get back on the horse! Thanks for sharing, and good luck!
September 11, 2012 @ 23:04
Thanks. After having so much success it’s definitely an effort to stay focused and avoid rationalizing since I’ve started working out. Let’s make a pact…I’ll keep fighting the fight if you do. I still beat myself up a bit when I slip from the program but I have never let it beat me two days in a row (and never more than once every 2-3 weeks). Slow and steady. It’s hard not to fixate on the weight loss even though I say I’m focused more on the %BF. I still need to shift my expectations and focus, but I’ll keep trying if you will 😉
May 18, 2013 @ 11:32
Hello Sergio, I’m not sure if you still read these responses our not anymore. Atkins has always worked for me. I lost 70 pounds, went off Atkins and back to eating bread, I’ve now gained 35 – back. I’m going try what you do, I believe it could work for me, bread & sugar are my enemies. I have about 125 to lose. wish me luck. thanks
May 18, 2013 @ 15:16
Ellen, I will keep reading these and responding as long as I am able 😉 Firstly, congrats on the weight loss. Even though you’ve gained half of it back celebrate an even more important accomplishment…the discovery of hope. The knowledge that it is possible. You are not starting back at square one (you’re still ahead 35lbs, which is a big deal). You have learned that there are levers you can use to achieve weight loss. Now you just need to figure out the ones you can make a permanent part of your lifestyle.
That’s always been my concern with programs that completely eliminate an entire category of food. Once you re-introduce those items unless something else has compensated (e.g. removing something else, increasing exercise) then I would expect the weight to return. So you’d either have to completely swear off carbs for life–not an appealing thought to me–or find some equilibrium with your other contributing factors. This is also why my journey has been intentionally done over a long span of time and focused on the behavior, not the weight loss. If I lose weight, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve made good decisions that lead to lifelong behaviors. However, if I continue to make good decisions then my weight loss will ALWAYS follow.
I’m nearing the end of Year 2 of my journey. Come back to my site to see the write up (sometime in July). Year 1: lose 100 lbs (done). Year 2: lose another 50 lbs (13 lbs to go). Up next, Year 3: 9% BF (or defined abs, whichever comes first). As I finish the nutrition-driven portion of my journey, there will come a tricky part where I try to balance introducing fast carbs back during my week. Of course, then that means I will have to compensate with other things…working out more, not going so crazy on Fatterday. I am sure it will take me a bit of effort to figure out that balance (and that’s okay). By going through this for the past two years I’ve built the skills, mental focus and behaviors that will be my toolkit to address the resulting bumps.
I don’t need to wish you luck because I know and believe that you can do it. Be sure to come back and visit me here to share your progress. I’ll do the same 😉
March 29, 2014 @ 07:04
Hi Serge,
I happened on your blog the other day as I was doing some research on 4HB. I’m also following the diet, cold therapy and kettlebell workout. My goal was to lose some weight and get fit. I just wanted you to know that I really enjoyed reading your story and hearing about your success. The best part was where you talked about the emotional reasons behind eating. Someone very close to me has the same issues and I have to remember that it’s something they need to face on their own, in their own time. Your story helps all of us! Way to go!