How I (safely) lost 20 lbs in 2 months

I decided to get in better shape in 2022. So far, I've lost 20 pounds in 2 months by following a self-built program that requires discipline, but isn't overly complicated. I went from 210 to 190, and my goal is to hover between 180 - 185 going forward. Here’s the nutrition and exercise plan that I'm following:

Nutrition

I only eat between the hours of 11:30am and 7pm, so I fast for 16 hours per day.

Maximum allowable daily calories = 1,200

This isn’t a lot of calories, so I must eat healthy food. The better the food, the more I can eat. I track my calories with MyFitnessPal, which I highly recommend (thanks, Mar Gar).

Every morning, I consume Advocare Spark (1 scoop), Athletic Greens (1 scoop), Omega 3 gummies (2), and Tru Niagen (2).

I don’t eat anything for breakfast, but I try to drink a lot of water. This takes a little getting used to, but after a few weeks, my body adjusted and I'm no longer hungry in the morning.

I eat whatever I want for lunch and dinner, as long as I stay under my daily 1,200-calorie limit. Most of the time I eat brown rice and chicken or a banana/strawberry smoothie for lunch. Dinner varies. If I eat a big lunch, I can’t eat much for dinner (and vice versa). In general, I had to give up snacks.

Exercise

Every day, I stretch, do 400 reps for abs, 10,000 steps and at least 30 minutes of consistent exercise. Also, every day, I do either 100 pushups and 60 tricep reps or 60 back/shoulder reps and 48 curls/arm. I'll ramp up and diversify my weight training over the coming months.

I track my exercise on a whiteboard in my office, which I’ve found is a great way to hold myself accountable. I call my chart the “Wall of Accountability” and it forces me to never miss a workout. If I missed a square, I’d have to look at it every day, which would drive me crazy. Also, my 4 or 6 year would ask me about it!

Hopefully this post is helpful to you. My plan doesn’t take a lot of time – I've got a busy family and professional life, so I don’t have a lot of spare time. That said, few (if any) things are more important than health, so it's worth it.

Keep in mind, the most important thing “isn’t WHERE you start, it’s THAT you start.”