Every week I check to see how good my food journal is and how well it reflects what is really happening. The best way to check is to weigh myself and see how it matches what the food journal predicts!
This week was not the best week for my diet. I lost focus, I didn’t reward myself every day, and consequently suffered from the urge to feel full. My calorie average for this week was around 1950 per day. On weeks where I have lost 2 pounds or more, I have averaged 1850 or less per day, over the week. And a lot of the calories I ate this week were highly available, that is, came from processed foods high in carbohydrates. I’m also not convinced I remembered to write down everything I ate. So this total might be too low.
On the other hand, the total calorie count was far below what I needed to lose weight. How did I do this morning on the scale?
Progress! I didn’t lose two and a half pounds, which is more usual, but I did lose more than one and a half pounds. Officially, since starting my diet I have lost (in round numbers):
Wooooaaah, I'm half way there
There is an extra 0.8 pound on top of the 265, so it’s not as good as it sounds, but in round numbers 265 puts me at exactly half of the weight I intend to lose. That’s a total of 120 pounds, starting at 325, down to 205. It’s taken six months to get this far. I predict that the remaining 60 pounds will take another six months. Then will begin the maintenance phase of my new lifestyle.
I am really a new person now. This was brought home to me when talking with my parents. They are coming to visit soon. When I asked what they wanted to eat, they demurred and said they would adapt to what I had. That’s not the way the Doctor works now! I will only eat food I really want. It makes me less adaptable, but it is a trade off I am willing to make, since it makes me so successful at controlling my weight and losing weight. I have never succeeded at losing weight before, certainly not 60 pounds.
Anyway, I gave my parents a hard time, and insisted that they should have food they really want while they are visiting. It was like pulling teeth. They don’t want to put me to trouble, but truly, I am a new person now. I am different than the man they knew just a few months ago. Compared to them, I am now obsessed about my food choices and weight. Now, I am horrified that they would just make do. To me, in severe calorie deficit, that wouldn’t work at all. Why would I bother with eating less, if I didn’t love it? Why should they?
Once I have achieved a body weight that I like, I will not stop my weight loss program. This is my new lifestyle and I like it. I am paying attention to my own needs and taking care of myself, and I find that enjoyable and emotionally satisfying. This is an amazing way to lose weight. What adaptation will I have to make to transfer to a weight-maintenance lifestyle? What will that be like?
-The Doctor
Hey – Congratulations!! Keep motivated and keep up the good work!!!