The job seems simple – lose weight by eating less food!
Amazingly, that doesn’t work with actual people. Part of the problem is the word “less”. Do you know how much you are eating? How many calories did you have today, yesterday, last week, last month? How many calories does you body need to gain weight? Lose weight? Stay the same?
If you can’t answer those questions, then you can’t eat “less” food. You can only guess, and measure by how deprived you feel. Keep a food journal instead, and write in it everything you eat, with a calorie count. After a while you will know exactly how much you are eating and when you eat it.
Then you can talk about less.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 2T peanut butter (190); 2T jelly (100); toasted bread (150);
- 440 calories
Lunch – Big Greek Cafe Gyros sandwich (600);
- 600 calories
Dinner – 10oz sausage chili (420); chicken (150); noodles (100);
- 670 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); pretzels (50); baklava (200); Fun Size Snickers (80); granola bar (100)
- 510 calories
Total for the day: 2220 calories (limit 1800)
Now I've done it!
I didn’t do a good job today of focusing on weight control and putting those needs first. Instead, I was so distracted with my day job that I first delayed breakfast (and was too hungry in consequence) and then lunch. Now that I think about it, I was pretty late to have dinner, too. After that kind of treatment, it’s no wonder that my body took over. After dinner, I found I was still emotionally hungry and craving more food. I call it food insecurity – after letting myself get too hungry three times in one day, it’s no surprise that I am getting a reaction.
The temptation is to blame primal drives, or complain that dieting is hard, or Big Sugar or whatever. But the truth is I did this to myself and I have no-one to blame but myself. Based on all my past experience and my keeping a food journal, I know what I did to cause this and I have to take the consequences.
When I fail myself like this and then get emotionally hungry (not physically hungry) I don’t try to use force to suppress the urge. That would make things even worse. Look at it from the point of view of my body or subconscious. It suffered all day because I didn’t feed it on time, then when it justifiably complained, I used punishment (denying the urge and trying to not eat). Would that help? I don’t think so. So I had various foods and now I feel too full. I accept the consequences of how I behaved and I will have to do better tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day.
There has to be a balance in your life. Frankly, weight control has to be pretty high up in your list of values for it to work consistently. It takes a high precedence but it’s not difficult. Just make sure you eat on time and don’t stress your body out. Maybe I will start setting an alarm – Time to Eat!
Pay attention and you can control your weight. Don’t ask too much of yourself and don’t punish your body for failure. It will work out. Put the blame where it should be.
-The Doctor