Some people are unhappy with the idea of keeping a food journal and weighing yourself for the rest of their life. I see it on Reddit /loseit often. Dieting, in their minds, is temporary. After reaching the goal weight, people just want to believe things will work out. It’s an attitude that says, “my body should maintain its weight all by itself.” I think it’s a moral attitude. But “should” doesn’t do the job. Keeping your weight under control is one of those things that must be maintained, or else it is lost. It’s like going to the dentist every year. If teeth need care and attention, so does our weight. Thin people absolutely pay attention to their weight and 99.9% of people who stay thin throughout their lives must keep working at it all the time. We have to accept that this work takes time and attention. You are no different. You too can be thin and under control, but there is that price.
Is it worth it? The Doctor argues that the struggle to refine your goals and aims, and hold yourself to them, adds a lot of meaning to your life.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 80 grams of Ukrainian Paska bread with butter (360)
- 360 calories
Lunch – 5 x pizza slices (100); chicken wrap (180)
- 680 calories
Dinner – corned beef and cabbage, potatoes and carrots (500)
- 500 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); 3 x Jaffa cakes (50)
- 230 calories
Total for the day: 1770 calories (limit 1800)
Food security while dieting
The way the Doctor keeps himself happy, while eating less food and eating under a system of control, is to make the foods that are most satisfying and worthwhile. My eating goal is to be hungry and to anticipate my next meal. It’s no good to get ravenously hungry and run to the kitchen and realize there is nothing there I really want to eat. I call this food security: I cook ahead of time and make sure there is food around that I am very interested in. When I get hungry, I can find a food I really crave and put it together quickly. If I had to eat something I was indifferent to, I wouldn’t be interested in making myself hungry for that.
I’ve also talked about the problem of a meal not working out. Pre cooked bacon was a good example – it’s not nearly as good and not nearly as satisfying. Anyway, when I’ve gotten my hunger revved up and I eat and the meal is unexpectedly disappointing, it is demoralizing. My body says, why did you get me all excited for???? My old values said – eat it anyway, don’t waste. But my new values are supposed trump the old. It is a struggle, but my ideal now is to throw away the disappointing bacon and eat something else.
Someone asked how much advanced planning I do for my meals. Unfortunately, it’s complicated and while some of it is planned (usually while shopping) some is opportunistic. There is no hard and fast rule, except I have to really be looking forward to eating it. I don’t mind eating less, since it will be so good. Living this way really heightens my enjoyment in eating, and I lose weight at the same time. That is nice.
-The Doctor