Once you have your mind right, then you are living a life where controlling your body’s weight is high up on your list of life goals – also known as your moral hierarchy.  (You don’t gain this control to become more moral, it just means that you don’t eat anything without considering how it will affect your calorie count for the day.  On that front, you are taking on responsibility for your body, which is perfectly moral.)  Almost every successful long term and large amount or weight loss that I have read about involves counting calories one way or another.   I keep a food journal on a Google spreadsheet.  That way I can access it anywhere, and I have committed to writing down what I eat almost as soon as I eat it.  So I control how much I eat.  

The act of writing down everything you eat means you are serious about monitoring your intake and controlling your weight.  But how do you get the motivation to do that?  Like I said, it’s all about getting your mind right.  If one of the top goals of your existence is to control your weight, the problem simplifies.  I changed the reasons I was eating so that feeling full was no longer the goal.  My goal now is to be fulfilled, rather than filled.  Maximum fulfillment comes from enjoying what you are eating, and anticipating the next meal with excitement.  Taking care of yourself would be another way of putting it.  You are now trying to meet your own needs for fulfillment through quality, not quantity.  Therefore your ingenuity is engaged in finding ways to make your lifestyle work.  It’s quite fulfilling.  

The last two weeks I have not been able to control my food intake well.  I’ve had low grade intestinal trouble.  It’s also gotten cold, and my food journal over the last year has several instances of me overeating when I feel cold.  I’m not sure what to make of that, but it has been observed.  I’ve also been quite tired (probably the illness) and have had unusual demands on my time.  This all means it’s been hard to keep my balance (the balance between emotional fulfillment and eating less).  And I miss it.  I have really gotten to like the focus on weight control and how I am living that out in my life.  So I am planning out this week (which includes Thanksgiving) to make sure it is easy to get my balance back. 

It will be easy to know when that happens.  When my digestive system is cleared out and I am living close to the edge, meal times and tastes are very vivid and immediate.  My body feels different.  The cost is that when you are living close to your calorie edge like that, you have to pay a lot of attention.  It’s easy to neglect yourself and then lose control.  Think of it this way: you’re asking a lot from part of yourself.  In return, you must make a promise that you will make it worth your while.  You must keep the promise or else your will, mind, and body won’t cooperate.  

It’s interesting, this idea of living close to the calorie edge.  I will think about that some more.

Happy Thanksgiving week!

-The Doctor