Natural Weight: Weight Loss in Peru
After the virus or whatever kind of divine wrath was cast upon my digestive system, people told me i looked a lot skinnier – just in the days since getting sick. i weighed myself at 190 lbs. I weighed about 225 when I moved here. At 225, I was a little pudgy but very strong (I don’t think I need to mention my bench, squat, deadlift numbers).
Anyway, 225 was the biggest I have ever been. It sometimes felt like I was carrying a child on my back. Running a mile was a pain in the ass. So when I arrived, I decided to lean out a little. The Peruvian diet, while very carbohydrate intense, is much healthier than the American diet. It’s also a diet of less food and less calories. Before Peru, I spent a year and a half eating everything I could get my hands on and doing grueling football and bodybuilder workouts to pack on the mass.
When I got here, I switched to calisthenics and the Peruvian diet. And then I joined a basketball team where the coach runs our asses off for an hour before we even start to play basketball. Then I got sick and pooped 20 times in less than two days, even after I quit eating. That is how I lost 30 – 35 pounds in three months. I am much leaner, but definitely not as strong.
The ordeal reminds me of a concept I’ve read about called “natural weight.” When physically fit, every human has a natural weight that their genes predetermine (when fit, so natural weight is not a valid excuse for fat people). By cutting out cardio, hitting heavy weight, and eating so much, I balooned well above my natural weight, which is about 190. It took a year and a half to get up to 225, but returning to a normal diet and doing cardio exercise brought me back to 190 in three months. Three months – fascinating!
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4 Responses to “Natural Weight: Weight Loss in Peru”
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Colin — Thirty five pounds since April? That is quite a lot. Do you mind me asking how old you are? From my experience, it’s easy to lose weight when you’re under 30, but much harder the older you get.
Hope you keep it off. It sounds like the weight loss is suiting you.
I’m pretty sure my natural weight is zero. Thankfully, staying above that is not too much of a chore in Peru.
i’ll be 30 in march. but like i said, the drastic weight loss was due to the fact that i was consciously and committedly pursuing weight gain for over a year. then i moved to peru, ate a peruvian diet, stopped lifting weights, and joined a basketball team.
colin
I remember losing weight like I dropped a sack of potatoes in the 1st month. The climate change plus the water and or any stomach bugs are a surefire way to arrive at this natural weight you speak of. Although I sometimes went well under it thanks to a questionable meal here and there and being overtrusting of the local picanterias moreso than I should of been!
But thats all fluff because in the end I justified it as enabling my digestive system to screw around with the best of stomach bugs on offer in peru! and building up a mighty resistance! So as to enjoy the hardiest of meals at even the most obscure ghetto picanterias. All of course in the interest of a more authentic cultural experience and whatever saves me a sol here and there lol.