A man shared the three things he did to lose 150 pounds, and it didn’t involve exercise or a gym membership.
On August 20, Noah Harned (29) shared his transformation further Reddit under the handle /u/DankyStanker. His post received 15,000 upvotes and a lot of praise from his fellow Redditors.
In an exclusive interview with NewsweekHarned, who lives in Waukesha, Wisconsin, explained how he went from 340 pounds to 190 pounds in 18 months.
“At no point did I exercise externally or go to the gym,” he said. “I was counting calories, doing intermittent fasting and moderate physical activity.
Noah Harned
Intermittent fasting
May 2023 overview of 1,022 American adults surveyed by the International Food Information Council found that the most common eating habits or diets included high protein (18 percent), mindful eating (17 percent), calorie counting (12 percent), clean eating (12 percent), and intermittent fasting (12 percent).
Harned, a package delivery driver, started fasting in 2020. “It was something I started doing to avoid gaining weight when I was at my biggest,” he said.
For two years he observed a 16-hour fast, eating the first meal at 3 pm and the last at 11 pm. During this period, he continued to eat junk food without paying attention to calorie consumption.
“It took me years to come to terms with the diet,” he said. “I used food as a dopamine hit to hide from my dissatisfaction with my life and my body. Knowing the problem and coming to terms with it are very different.”
“I knew for years what I had to do, but I didn’t have the strength to do it. I finally convinced myself that I’d rather enjoy my binge eating than ‘suffer’ with a diet,” he continued.
Newsweek discussed the meal plan with Dave Asprey, who is best known as the “Father of Biohacking”. A healthcare entrepreneur who lives in Austin, Texas, explained what happens when you switch between the two fasting and eating on a regular schedule.
“Your brain loves to fast,” four times New York Times said the bestselling author. “When you fast, your body switches from burning glucose to burning fat. These fats are converted into ketones, which are powerful anti-inflammatory compounds.”
“Your neurons (brain cells), which require a lot of energy to function, prefer to use ketones for fuel over glucose,” Asprey continued. “This is because ketones provide more energy than glucose. When you fast, you may notice greater mental clarity and better focus. This is a result of more brain power coming from ketones.”
Counting calories
Harned eventually recognized the importance of prioritizing a healthy diet in order to achieve his goals. According to the American Psychological Association, men between the ages of 26 and 30 should consume 2,400 to 3,000 calories per day, depending on their activity level. Using a calorie-tracking app, Harned initially set his intake at 2,600 calories a day and gradually reduced it to 1,500 by the start of this year.
Noah Harned
“I finally found something that worked, and that was counting calories,” he said, noting that he was initially reluctant to try it after seeing a family member struggle with calorie counting as a child.
“In January 2023, inflation was in full swing and in a weird twist of fate it helped me because I primarily ate fast food and that was too expensive for me to keep up with,” Harned continued. This led to a “drastic” reduction in his calorie intake and he “unintentionally” dropped to 300 pounds by the end of February 2023.
“I decided to stop being lazy and get back to cooking,” Harned said, adding that his staple meal to this day is chicken or beef stir-fried with white rice and various vegetables.
Harned learned how to make his favorite foods, including pizza, without going over his calorie limits. He swapped potato chips for popcorn and replaced sweetened coffee with a pre-workout drink and occasionally had a sugar-free soda as a treat.
He said that while lows were rare, maintaining discipline was challenging because food was his addiction. Despite occasional “slips” and cheat days that caused temporary weight gain, he refused to punish himself and instead focused on getting back to his disciplined routine.
“As the weight started to come off, people started to notice, which was motivating and inspiring. The most significant moments were when I started to fit into my older clothes,” said Harned, who now wears size large top rather than XXXL.
Benefits of walking
Lindsay Bottoms, reader in exercise physiology and health at the University of Hertfordshire in England, previously said Newsweek that walking has many benefits.
She said: “Increasing physical activity, such as walking, contributes to improved cardiovascular fitness, weight management, better mood, better sleep and better cognitive function.
“Walking can reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases such as dementia and some cancers. In some cases, it helps improve health conditions such as type 2 diabetes.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends walking at least 10,000 steps a day, but Harned regularly exceeded that by at least 6,000 steps. He said: “I used to lift boxes at work and walk about 16,000 to 22,000 steps a day.”
The effect of weight loss on overall health and well-being
Noah Harned
In February, Harned reached his goal weight of 190 pounds, lighter than his high school freshman weight. He said he had always struggled with his weight, which in turn led to physical health problems such as pain and shortness of breath, and poor mental health.
He said: “I hated myself for my body. I was ashamed to go out in public… like I was some kind of ghoul in broad daylight with everyone watching and judging me.”
“I was never clinically assessed, but I felt that I was mildly depressed, which contributed to my weight problem, and food was one of the few things that made me feel good and temporarily forget about my problems.”
Along with his fitness, Harned’s confidence and social skills have improved after his weight loss. He is now working with a therapist to deal with his social anxiety and hopes to join a gym in the future.
“I have more energy. I can run again!” he said. “My high blood pressure has come down to normal and I can’t breathe as easily anymore.”
Harned added: “It was a new feeling to look in the mirror and like what I see. The way I look at myself is much more positive. My mental state is much better than before. Now I feel more positive about the future.”
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