Controlling my body’s weight using a maximum enjoyment strategy is very rewarding, but takes a lot of work. The reward makes it worth doing. I have learned it’s important that I not feel deprived, or I will need to apply a lot of force (willpower) to control my serving sizes. Done right, set on a rewarding goal, I don’t feel deprived. I am fulfilled by the food quality and by paying attention to my own needs. Done wrong, and your willpower is needed; eventually, the willpower runs out and you aren’t controlling your food intake or weight any more. What is the goal? Hint: it’s not losing weight. That is just not a rewarding goal for most situations.
The goal is self-control, control of your body’s weight, taking responsibility for yourself. If that is your goal, any mechanism will work. That’s why there are so may diets that have worked for so many people. If your goal is to be thin, you will never get there. No mechanism will work, and you will be tempted by magic diet plans. Thinness is achieved best as a side effect of your real goal.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 2x Bratwurst (260) and half a wheat wrap bread (55)
- 575 calories
Lunch – Mission Barbecue two-meat platter; 1/3 pound sausage (400); 1/4 pound brisket (240);
- 640 calories
Dinner – 1/6 lasagna (640);
- 640 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (40);
- 40 calories
Total for the day: 1895 calories (limit 1800)
Slightly over the mark
I got to the Big Greek Cafe today for a Wednesday gyros sandwich…..and they were closed! A sign on the restaurant next door said BGC had a fire. There were certainly a lot of cleaners and construction people on site – I thought they were customers until I got inside. I hope they are back in business soon.
I went to Mission Barbecue. They have a nice operation but are a bit more expensive than Big Greek Cafe. Still, I needed a lunch after anticipating a gyro all day. So barbecue it was. I got brisket and jalapeno sausage (the brisket looks a bit blackened in the picture but it was browned, not burned, and quite good with Kansas City Classic sauce).
My calorie count was slightly higher than I wanted today. Usually, that doesn’t matter. But this has been an unusual week, and it had a bad start with a 3000-calorie day (Saturday). When I get on the scale in three days, I will have no idea what to expect (as usual)! But if this week doesn’t work out, there is always next week. This is a life long project.
-The Doctor