Losing Weight – Testimonials?

So, true to any “recovering orthorexic,” I’ve completely immersed myself in Matt Stone’s stuff recently. After about 15 years (I’m 31 now) of trying, becoming obsessed with, and then shortly after renouncing pretty much every new diet or “healthy lifestyle” out there, I checked out Ray Peat. 15 lbs later, I now abhor that too.

However, what I love about this 180 Degree Matt Stone stuff is that he doesn’t hide the fact that you’re going to gain weight initially. Had I known that I was going to gain 15 lbs on Peat, I probably wouldn’t have done it…or maybe I would have…but at least I’d have been aware. Being blindsided just pissed me off.

Anyhow – I’d say I’m pretty close to being metabolically “recovered,” my hands and feet are no longer freezing from morning til night. My average temps are 97.8 – 98.5, (compared to my previous temps in the 96’s and 97’s, I’d say that’s pretty solid).

I recently declared that I’ve “quit dieting for good.” People who know me have been calling to see what hallucinogenic drugs I’m on, as that’s the only explanation they’ll accept after an outburst so contrary to my norm.

Anyhow, I think my weight has stabilized…I’m not quite sure, I recently made my boyfriend hide my scale. (Sidebar, after weighing myself religiously every morning for years, this is both freeing and petrifying. I nearly ransacked the house trying to find it one particularly bleak morning.) Now, I’d like to get on with “shedding” this excess weight.

Why, you ask? Well, I live in Las Vegas, it’s basically bikini season 8 months a year and I’m ready for some pool parties. I work out 4-6 times a week, mixing bootcamp style classes (similar to Crossfit, but no one forces me to squat 3 times my body weight) with some endurance work – walking, hiking, jogging, playing tennis, etc. I enjoy being active and want to have the endurance to live an active life.

I have NO idea how many calories I’m eating as I’ve sworn off calorie counting, but I’m eating whole foods like organic 2% milk, coconut oil, MCT oil, butter, red meat, and fish along with carbs like white rice, some fancy bread, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and even mixing in some pizza, gelato, and booze here and there. (I should mention that I was gluten-free for a few years and experienced ZERO benefit from it. I went dairy-free for awhile and that was pretty lame too. I actually had a food sensitivity test, the results of which banned about 35 foods and suggested I could eat rice, chicken, spinach, and apples, and pretty much nothing else. …so THAT was fun.)

On to my question: I’ve “released the beast” by letting go of my preconceived notions about sugar and carbs being terrible for me, I’m eating smaller meals but a lot more of them with a lot more nutrient-dense foods, and I’m generally saying f— it and eating what I want, when I want, without guzzling 72 oz water a day. So…now what? Does the weight just magically melt away? Do I need to slowly start lowering my calories, or eating more? Less fat, more fat, switch up the macronutrients…or just continue eating what I want, when I want, and I’ll magically start to lose the weight that Mr Peat so forcefully thrust upon my thighs?

I’ve read all the testimonials on the site and I’d LOVE to hear how those people had success losing weight. Once their metabolism got to a better place, what did they do to make the weight come off?

If anyone’s had success, it would be great to hear about it – specifically what changes you made after the refeeding period.