If I Was 300lbs Again, This is What I'd do Smarter to Lose the Fat Now

Thomas built his weight loss on fasted training and believes it's extremely effective for fat loss. However, he became so accustomed to it that he physically felt terrible trying to exercise with food in his stomach, leading him to skip workouts entirely when he couldn't train in the morning. This cost him many training sessions. Now he realizes that occasionally training with some fuel (not necessarily carbohydrates) teaches the body to handle that state and also allows him to do longer, more demanding workouts. By doing so, he avoids the all-or-nothing trap and maintains consistency even if the morning window is lost.

Thomas admits he overdid consistent daily fasting at the very beginning of his journey. He believes it drove his metabolism into a rut. By introducing periods of higher calorie intake (still low-carb) and using longer but less frequent fasts, he recovered. He now advises starting with a moderate fasting schedule and using salt/electrolytes to manage hunger. His current practice is what he'd give his 300lb self.

He points out that sodium is critical for survival, so the brain will keep pushing for sweet things if sodium is low. By consuming salt, he noticed his cravings for sweets significantly diminished. This trick became a cornerstone of his fasting and weight maintenance strategy, and he wishes he had known it when he was 300lbs battling constant cravings.

Thomas admits he would elect to eat less but also move less, creating a negative spiral. Now as a nutrition professional, he understands that preserving metabolic rate through adequate intake and activity is critical. He'd have forced himself to eat a bit more so he had the energy to maintain movement, rather than undereating and becoming inactive, only to have to undo damage later. This is especially important for people who don't have the luxury of spending months fixing a crashed metabolism.

Thomas went through a phase where he demonized carbs, leading to an unhealthy relationship with them. He later found carb cycling extremely effective. He now understands that he doesn't need carbs every day, but an occasional carbohydrate bolus restores glycogen and keeps the body metabolically flexible. He'd have implemented this sooner to avoid the headache of cycling out of rigid low-carb later and to prevent the weekend cheat meal blowouts.

Thomas links reverse dieting to the set point literature, arguing that after about 8 weeks the body starts defending a lower daily intake. By strategically raising calories to the maintenance level appropriate for the new body weight (not the old higher weight), you prevent the metabolic adaptation that makes further fat loss harder. He notes this was emotionally difficult for him to execute back then because seeing any uptick on the scale triggered fear. That's why he ties it to his earlier point about dealing with emotional issues — the confidence to reverse diet requires emotional stability.

Thomas describes his old pattern: strict keto or extreme calorie restriction all week, then a massive cheat meal that was psychologically satisfying but metabolically devastating. He explains that when resting metabolic rate adapts downward during restriction, the sudden huge influx of calories (especially a mix of fats and carbs) overpowers the system and promotes fat storage and metabolic disruption. He would instead use structured carb cycling or reverse dieting to get the psychological relief without the damage.

Thomas recalls running at 300lbs, which caused joint damage. At the time, he believed collagen wasn't worth taking. Now, studies and personal anecdotes suggest it can help maintain joint integrity, reduce pain, and support connective tissue during weight loss. He would now use it routinely during a high-impact exercise regime to mitigate the wear and tear he experienced.

Thomas explains that the NST (nucleus of the solitary tract) neurons play a big role in craving; the brain may prioritize sodium for survival, and until sodium status is met, it will keep signaling for sweet things. By consuming salt, he effectively 'ticked the box' and the sweet craving diminished. This insight led him to rely on electrolytes during fasts and to recommend salt as a first-line tool.

Thomas points to growing evidence that the body establishes a new lower set point after about 8 weeks of calorie restriction. By bumping intake back up to maintenance (for the current weight, not the old weight) for two weeks, he could prevent that downward adaptation and make subsequent dieting more effective. He coupled this with his emotional honesty — reverse dieting takes courage because weight might creep up slightly, so dealing with emotional fear was a prerequisite.

He describes a year of mindset shift via assisted therapies that allowed him to 'release and submit' and even find spirituality. This emotional work moved him from constant sympathetic tone (fear-based decisions) to a more relaxed state where food choices became natural and easier, not harder. It also gave him the confidence to try things like reverse dieting and cutting out destructive cheat meals. He explicitly says he would have done this sooner, as the root cause of his weight cycling and orthorexic tendencies was emotional, not nutritional.