The Doctor is trying to cheerfully return to his former weight control diet glory! And there is a lot of trying involved. So far, it has been a mixed bag of some days on, then some days not going so well. In 2020, I haven’t had one solid week of good weight control. And I really don’t want to gain weight back. So even though things are not going as consistently well as I would like, I am very interested in keeping on writing down everything I am eating and a calorie count.
To entice myself back into good habits, I made cookies this weekend.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – Costco pepperoni pizza (355)
- 355 calories
Lunch – Costco cheese pizza (375)
- 375 calories
Dinner – chicken wraps with hummus (450); chocolate (210); chocolate, cherry, pecan, and oatmeal chocolate (300);
- 960 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); bread (150); rice and red lentils (80)
- 310 calories
Total for the day: 2000 calories (limit 1850)
Starting and stopping
So I am not having much success dieting consistently right now. Obviously it’s better when things are going more smoothly, rather than on-and-off again. I have several possible explanations why I am having so much trouble.
- All the work I did last year had an emotional and maybe physical toll. Maybe I needed a break from all the careful dieting.
- I am not feeling well. That always makes it difficult to diet. I had all the classic symptoms: weight gain, sudden hunger, craving for carbohydrates, intestinal problems.
- Seasonal/daylight. It’s possible I am having some kind of reaction to the winter weather and short days. I seem to need more sleep than usual, find it hard to get up in the mornings.
- The weight control method requires a lot in your life to be stable so you can concentrate on the weight control side. It’s not automatic. I am having to pay a lot more attention to work and family over the last few months, so I have limited energy and attention for weight control.
- I’ve gotten a bit lazy or arrogant and have gotten disconnected from what I need to be successful at controlling my food intake.
These aren’t mutually exclusive explanations. The solution to almost all of these, though, is to keep trying. I have gotten into a bad place mentally – I didn’t even weigh myself Saturday. My excuse, that I was sick, was also an expression of worry that I wouldn’t like the number on the scale. Things can have more than one explanation.
So: just keep trying? This is a short week (Monday was a federal holiday and I didn’t work). I can try being really careful about going to bed on time and getting up on time, getting a lot of rest. I can make sure all the foods I will want are in the house and ready. I can (and have) plan all the meals for the week. Of course, I tried to do these things last week, too. But I will just have to keep trying. I have no better plan. The danger is that I will get tired of all the unrequited effort on the days I am successful, ruined by a couple days of slackness. It is then you are in danger of quitting the entire thing.
Weight loss and weight control are for your whole life and have to be paid attention to all the time. Don’t let yourself get discouraged!
-The Doctor
Your difficulties are well established and felt by many people who are attempting your effort – me included. I have not agreed with you in terms of the focus being weight loss and therefore diet – my goal is not a diet to lose weight over the next 12-months. If I meet that goal, then what? Losing weight is vanity. My goal – and I assume yours – is long term health and quality of life with our loved ones.
We are in the fight for our lives in living healthy for the next 30+ years. That means 30-years of control, 30-years of calorie counting (math does not lie, you can calculate your energy needs), 30-years of documentation, 30-years of finding motivation. The goal has to be a healthy and lasting change in lifestyle and priorities. The commitment is to a sustainable healthy diet with consistent exercise regimen and healthy sleep habits. Now we can argue what is a healthy diet. We can argue what a healthy exercise regimen is. We can argue about sleep habits. But, if you commit, document and focus on those three pillars, weight loss will follow. If we can make that change – the weight loss happens as a consequence. But, we did not engage on a diet to lose weight, we engaged in the life change that sustains the effort for the rest of our lives.
I am hoping those simple foci will also help me overcome chemistry such as articles claiming that when a fat person loses weight their body releases hormones to entice them to overeat and get back to “normal.” The more you lose, the more hormone your body releases. I need to overcome 50-years of habits of eating what I want without thought. I need to overcome my perception of priorities in life – job, what other people think, possessions – and focus on developing and maintaining my health. In short – you are not alone. Take heart, we are on this journey together!
The Doctor always noted that thin people are that because they’re conscious about calories and vigilant with regards to their food intake. Let your guard down and your health is in peril. I’m inspired by you both. Went to a yoga class today and my resolve to shed 3 pounds is strengthened. One pound at a time, I can do this. Thanks.