It didn’t come too soon. The Doctor sometimes needs a long weekend. It’s time to stop and think about what’s important and get your mind right.
Every day, I keep a food journal, maintain portion control, and make sure I am hungry every time I eat. Yes, it takes discipline to do it every day, but I have made it easier by setting up my life and my mindset so that I want and need to do it. It doesn’t take willpower and force for me to lose weight. I tried that for many years and it didn’t work, over and over. I thought for a while that low carb/keto would be the answer, but it seems even on those magic diets you still have to wach how much you eat or it doesn’t work.
That’s the difficult part, really. How do you lose weight? You eat less. But you must never, ever tell yourself that.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 3x eggs (80); 1.25 ounce Pepper Jack cheese (140); tomatoes (20);
- 400 calories
Lunch – 9oz Nacho topping (420); 1oz chips (140); sour cream (60);
- 660 calories
Dinner – pizza (600); salad (50);
- 650 calories
Snacking – cheese (50);
- 50 calories
Total for the day: 1760 calories (limit 1700)
Persuade and lead yourself
Force yourself to eat less? What a terrible idea. You would have to do that every meal and every day. You would hate it and when you stopped using force you would go right back to what you prefer. You have to persuade yourself to prefer a different goal when you eat.
One of my goals is to be physically hungry before I eat anything. Sure, there is something to regulatory and eating when it is the usual time. But if I am not hungry at that time I will usually wait until later. The first few bites when you are properly hungry are the best part. You don’t even want to eat too much because it ruins the experience. I mean, the experience of eating when hungry only lasts for a few mouthfuls. After that the experience is diminishing returns. Plus if you eat too much now you won’t be hungry at next mealtime.
Pick your new goal carefully. I found with my goal of being hungry that I actually prefer it to my old goal. When I was gaining weight and not paying attention, my eating goal was to feel full, and I taught myself that eating and feeling full was comforting and satisfying. Now that my goal has changed, I find being physically full a bit distasteful. In a way, I welcome the end of my measured portion and the feeling that I could eat more.
Why eat more? I have had enough! Enough calories and enough so that Iwill be hungry for the next meal. Satisfying that hunger is now why I eat. The behavior reinforces itself because I don’t want to eat too much and I want to be hungry. Now it’s no longer about force. I WANT to do it. Now it’s a matter of discipline. My goal is so rewarding that I will do all this portioning and measuring and journaling every day, because attaining the goal is worthwhile. Losing weight is a side effect. It’s a side effect I like.
I have persuaded myself to do this. Go thou and do likewise.
-The Doctor