I have lost 60 pounds by transforming the way I think. My body is a lagging indicator.
My values are now built around being in control of my weight. How did I do that? I had to transform myself and adopt new ways of thinking about myself and about food. I changed my thinking. My body is steadily catching up to my new brain and my new way of thinking. No, I am not saying “think thin”! That’s just a reminder and a slogan. I mean, now I am the kind of person who obsesses over calories and what I am going to eat. When I was my old self, I didn’t worry about those things. So it was a real transformation.
One of my requirements was that this weight control should be successful. I have had it with willpower diets. In a way, I am treating myself like a collection of people with different desires. These people are willing to cooperate on weight control, if I give them something in return. What do they want? Sometimes it is ice cream.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – Grilled pork tenderloin wrap (150); Grilled bratwurst wrap (350)
- 500 calories
Lunch – Pork carnitas wraps with yogurt (400); baked chicken (200)
- 600 calories
Dinner – grilled wagyu beef burger 5.3 oz (raw, 4 oz grilled; 350) half wrap shell (55)
- 400 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); Snickers ice cream bar (180)
- 260 calories
Total for the day: 1760 calories (limit 1800 + 500 bonus from swimming, total 2300)
Exercise and diet
I swim, twice a week, because I like to. I don’t expect it to lose me any weight. It’s nice that it also helps keep my muscles strong, and requires practicing coordinated movement. Notice that on days when I swim, I allow myself an extra 500 calories of food. The swimming is burning about 600 calories (online calculator). Sometimes, I am just not hungry for the 500 extra calories and don’t have them. Sometimes, I am hungry for them and go the extra meal! That’s a nice system because I feel like there are days when I can have more. I think I will recommend that part of the rewards people build into their diets, is the occasional “more” day. It can be something to look forward to….but your mind has to be in the right place. So much of this is mental.
As for diet, I have written a lot about my dislike of the concept of going on a diet. The real danger in dieting is that you will force yourself to eat less for a time, while changing absolutely nothing about the way you think. In a way, such a diet is a long punishment session you inflict on yourself, if you follow me! Then, at the end, you reach a goal weight, or quit your diet, and go back to your old lifestyle – either right away, or after a short time. You are the same person who got overweight, you just weigh less for now. It will come back, and then some more may follow.
Part of the mental change you should make is to realize that people who stay thin have to work on it a lot. Weight control takes constant management, and that is just the price you pay. In exchange, you get to stay thin. Having your weight under control doesn’t just happen, not for anybody. To gain this control, it’s important not to feel sorry for yourself or blame others. It is all you and can be improved only by you, by your mind. At the end, you will be a stronger and more capable person, in control of their weight. And you will know the price of that and whether it is worth paying. Isn’t that a nice outcome?
-The Doctor