My success in losing weight (75 pounds so far) has come largely from promoting weight control to one of my most ardent desires and highest values. Once weight control was established as the lens through which I viewed all my choices, willpower left center stage as the most critical part of the effort. Every time I dieted in the past, I forced myself to go against my established habits and patterns and values, using pure strength of will. Did that work out? Nooooooot so much.
Instead, I found a way to transform who I was and how I saw the world. My transformation was mental, and my body is catching up to the consequences. The author Terry Pratchett said that inside every fat person is a thin person (and a lot of chocolate). Now, I am that thin person. I have consciously tried to adopt the life-view of a person who is in control of their body’s weight.
Sure, there are still 50+ pounds to go. I didn’t say it was easy. But instead of willpower, I use rewards to motivate myself. I feed myself carefully and reward myself by increasing the pleasure I get from eating. It might sound backwards but it works well.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – Jimmy Dean sausage egg and cheese croissantwich (400) with extra egg (80);
- 480 calories
Lunch – 2x bratwurst wraps (300);
- 600 calories
Dinner – 12 ounces homemade New Orleans red beans and andouille (375); 5oz cooked jasmine rice (160)
- 535 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); Aldi chocolate wafer cookies (125)
- 205 calories
Total for the day: 1820 calories (limit 1800)
They get it!
There is a man called John. John is more than a hundred pounds overweight. We don’t know why it happens, but one day John realizes just how big he is. It’s intolerable. He goes to visit the doctor for advice, and gets a bunch of pamphlets instead. The pamphlets, and the medical advice, are useless. It’s very disappointing and disheartening. But John knows that he is the one who has to live with his body, and he knows his choices have resulted in his overweight state. Somehow, John discerns that he can sacrifice his old self and adopt new values that will help him control his weight.
John decides to sacrifice some leisure time. He starts working out every day, but hates it. Then he discovers that he can make even a larger sacrifice. By giving up his Sundays, he can prepare his meals for the whole week and portion them out ahead of time. That way, he can regulate how many calories he is eating during the week. He sacrifices his trips to restaurants, and gives up casually filling himself with food on the spur of the moment. It’s all planned and under control now.
Through his sacrifices, John loses weight. He loses a lot of weight. People are impressed. He meets a young woman who is rather overweight and she is inspired by his achievements. She joins him. To keep her interest, he makes further sacrifices. He gives up the foods he is used to making, and together they find ways to make foods that are exciting and interesting, not only to themselves, but also to a growing audience of internet fans. They are by now a couple. Together, they lose all their excess weight and now weight 187 and 136 pounds, respectively. Isn’t that a nice story? Click to see their pictures and read the whole thing.
Important insights from them:
“It can be hard work. I do it on a Sunday and spend hours doing it. But I don’t cook in the week at all. It’s all done in one go,” John said. “It’s all about making sure your diet is balanced and sustainable. I cook really tasty food, even things that people usually think are unhealthy.
“It’s a diet plan that allows you to eat whatever you want. What I cook are really nice meals. I’d say it’s the best diet in the world,” he said.
Deniz [his partner], who now weighs 136 pounds, added: “The way we eat is amazing. It’s a way of life that I couldn’t live without now.”
One of the Doctor’s key insights is that when you decide to control your weight, you are adopting a new life. You have to create a lifestyle that is very attractive to you to keep it up (and lose over 100 pounds). John knows that. Deniz also gets it – it’s amazing and she wouldn’t go back to her old self, life, and values. Those guys are a success. They sacrificed a lot and were responsible for their own transformations. That’s very inspiring.
But look how they succeeded against most dietary advice! Truly, what you have to do is give up what you valued before and launch out into the unknown, and find new values that will serve you better. It’s no good to keep you old life and try to force yourself to act against your…self.
-The Doctor