Pay attention to how you are thinking about food and eating. If you teach yourself to eat when you are bored, or tired, or frustrated, or angry, or anything besides hunger, then you are in danger. Your food intake becomes disconnected from your body’s physical hunger. Ignore that message and the first step towards uncontrolled weight gain has been taken.
But why does that lead to weight gain and not weight loss? Aren’t people just naturally going to gain weight? Isn’t that an ancient caveman fact of life?
You are thinking about only half of the issue. There ARE people who lose weight uncontrollably because they disconnect their physical needs from their food intake. Yes, anorexics. Be grateful that weight gain isn’t usually a pathology!
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – skipped, not hungry;
- 0 calories
Lunch – Pork burger (450); Ole wrap (50); 2x cookies (60); milk (80);
- 700 calories
Dinner – pizza (600); salad and cucumber salad (50)
- 650 calories
Snacking – pretzels (200); cheese (50)
- 250 calories
Total for the day: 1600 calories (limit 1700)
Another food week is done
I have eaten my last meal for the week. When I wake up tomorrow it will be a new food week, and I will weigh in. Before breakfast. I never know until I get on the scale just how much I will weigh. But I gave myself all the advantages: didn’t overeat, and I went for a walk today. Last week I lost a lot (down to 222 pounds) and I am not sure what will happen tomorrow. But whatever happens, I will keep on with my weight control lifestyle. It’s just better for me. I’ve gotten so I like being hungry for a meal and it feels strange and uncomfortable to be all the way full. I even throw away food I don’t want to eat (even cookies and cake that aren’t worth eating).
Pay attention to how you are thinking. Do you want to be in control of your weight? Look at people who have stayed thin as adults. Figure out how they think. Maybe you could think how they think. Doing what they do is not possible, without the right thinking. If you do what thin people do, then you are just forcing yourself to do strange and unnatural things. When you stop forcing yourself, your old habits and mindset are there, waiting for you. You must change your mind. The mind is the important part. Your body will catch up – a lagging indicator.
Enjoy a new food week!
-The Doctor