Several times this last few days, I have found myself well short of my daily calorie limit.  For those of you who have read a lot of these daily reports, you know that’s not a common occurrence.  Usually, the problem goes the other way.  The number of calories I allow myself is meant to be satisfying and completely fulfilling, but small enough to lose weight.  This weight control system is not about feeling deprived, in fact, the opposite.  If a person was trying to control their weight, I would advise them to choose foods which are rewarding and worth waiting for. They should also be worth getting slightly hungry for.  Under those conditions, eating feels very satisfying, because there is nothing like the first few bites of your favorite food when you are just hungry enough.  “Hunger is the best pickle,” as Poor Richard said, and as I often remember.  

So do not try to push the limits.  This is a long term weight control strategy that is working well, and you should have no interest in feeling deprived and unhappy.  Cutting calories is often a strategy of someone who has overeaten and feels bad about it.  They decide to eat fewer calories the next meal or the next day.  But that feels like a punishment, and nobody can punish themself into losing weight.  Even if they succeeded by sheer will, that’s a loser of a long term strategy.  Once you have put all this work into losing weight, you never, ever want it to come back.  That’s why you kiss your old lifestyle goodbye and invent a new self, and new life, and a new way of thinking and looking at the world.  That is much better and more successful in the long run.  And isn’t the rest of your life the long run?

The pictured Sunday pork roast is a favorite.  The roast is butterflied, seasoned, rolled and tied, then seared briefly and baked at low temperature with apples, onions, garlic, wine, and some French herbs.  This is a fine example of how I reward myself.  I find the food visually interesting and it tastes wonderful, it’s worth anticipating for a whole day, especially a cold and rainy October Sunday.  (To be clear, it takes about 2 hours to cook.)  This kind of food also seems to last a long time in my body, because I won’t be hungry until tomorrow.  So invest in that kind of self knowledge.  Find out what foods are interesting and exciting for you, and satisfy you for a long time.  I cook mine, most of the time, to make sure it is the most dramatic and pleasurable food possible.

One tradeoff of this weight control system is that it takes time, energy, and some work.  You have to enjoy it, make it a favorite hobby.  Other people have other strategies, like eating commercial frozen dinners and other pre packaged food, and that might work for them.  But there’s no denying that my approach is very, very rewarding.  That system of reward is how I keep myself eating a measured amount of calories.  The fulfillment takes place on different and deeper levels than just being full of food.  I am so happy to be doing this, even though it takes time.  That happiness is really the product of my lifestyle, and weight loss (And weight control) are side benefits.  

Isn’t that a great way to think about this?

-The Doctor