I have been paying attention to what I eat since January, 2019. So it has been a year. This is a long term weight control lifestyle, and it’s safe to say this is just the beginning. There’s no point in doing this and letting all the weight come back. That is, my old lifestyle (carefree eating and consequent weight gain) will always welcome me back. I won’t even have to think about it. So living a weight control lifestlye takes discipline. But I have set it up so that it is rewarding. I can eat what I like, and that’s a reward.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 2x bratwurst (260) and 1/2 whole wheat wrap (100) with onions and mustard
- 570 calories
Lunch – leftover carbonnade stew (200) pretzels and hummus and cheese (400)
- 600 calories
Dinner – 12 ounces New Orleans red beans (375); 5 ounces cooked rice (160)
- 535 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (120); chocolate (55)
- 175 calories
Total for the day: 1880 calories (limit 1800 + 500 bonus from swimming, total 2300)
Three days down
…four days to go, for the week. I’ve been finding it difficult to keep my goals and values in focus. I have a lot of practice over the last year thinking productively, so I am making it work, but it feels a little forced. Hopefully that will change with time. I didn’t keep records of how I felt during the time when I was just starting the weight control lifestyle. My blogging only started in April. I kept records of what I was eating, but not that kind of detail. It could be that this kind of transition is to be expected.
The crucial part of the mental change is to promote the value of weight control to the top of my morality, at least as I live it from day to day. Giving it that kind of attention and putting that much effort into maintaining my vision is essential. In December and part of January, I had let that slip away and was trying to motivate myself using tools rather than ideas. That is, I would try to eat the favorite meals and foods that worked for me before, but since my food value had become “find satisfaction in being full,” it din’t help and I would just keep eating. No, you have to put this right at the top of your daily life and it has to be your most important hobby.
Once weight control is the king value, it takes much less effort to keep it there. That helps.
Today was a swimming day. I keep wondering if I will get tired of it, but I don’t. That’s another 600 calories burned, doing something I like. That’s the best way to keep your weight under control and the best way to work out. Save your willpower for something else!
-The Doctor