The commitment I made to control my body’s weight has two parts. 1. I regulate my food intake, and 2. I weigh myself every week. Food intake is regulated first through keeping a food journal where I write down everything I eat. It is also controlled by learning how to eat less and enjoy it more. Some people are able to do this through willpower. I don’t have it, not for long. The reason I am able to keep doing this is because I changed myself, and how I see the world. Now I see the world through the eyes of a person who controls his body weight. How did I do that? I sacrificed my old self and how I saw the world before. I sacrificed my future self, who was even more weighty.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – Costco cheese pizza half slice (380); leftover spaghetti (50
- 430 calories
Lunch – Big Greek Cafe Famous $5 Gyros Wednesday (600)
- 600 calories
Dinner – pita bread (230); chicken (200); hummus (100); peas (30); cheese (200)
- 760 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80)
- 80 calories
Total for the day: 1870 calories (limit 1800)
Spreading out the splurge days
Twice a week, after swimming, I allow myself extra splurge calories. Recently I have hardly taken advantage of this opportunity. However when I was losing 2-3 pounds per week, for the first half of 2019, I did enjoy those extra calories. Recently my weight loss has been weaker. Are the two things connected? I don’t know. But I am willing to find out. This week I am keeping to an average of 1850 calories per day. Let’s see what that does come Saturday.
Due to my interest in the habits and mindset of people who are thin and stay thin, I have read some interesting things on the internet. First, there are a lot of excuses out there. Did you know that people who are thin and stay that way have good genes, or low hormone levels, or a natural ability to stay at a certain weight? That’s amazing. And I don’t believe it at all. Have you ever seen thin people (in their 30s or older) in a restaurant? They might order a bacon cheeseburger and fries, but they eat about two bites and that’s it. Some take the rest home and some leave the rest on their plates. I think they are there for the restaurant experience and not to eat themselves to capacity.
Watch people who are heavier at a restaurant. We clean our plates and we are there to get as full as we can. We are there for a quantity experience. Food is eaten there and there is nothing left to take home. (I say we because until recently that was me.)
There are some sensible ideas in this article too. Getting enough sleep is good for staying thin. It also implies your life is well regulated, since you aren’t up all hours wasting time or frantically trying to get things done. It is also common knowledge that thin people pay a lot of attention to staying thin. Paying attention is very important, as I have discovered.
Tomorrow I want to talk about this article. It has several great ideas! Tonight, I am going to take my own advice and go to bed. Sleep good!
-The Doctor