The mechanism of the Doctor’s transformation into a person in control of his weight has two parts. (1) Weight yourself and (2) regulate your food intake. #1 is done once per week and #2 is done every day. I never used to do either of those things. My goal for eating was to be full, and I was pretty enthusiastic about it. The consequence was constant calorie overload and weight gain. Being thin was not high on my hierarchy of values. But whatever satisfaction comes from having a full stomach was. Dieting was a total failure under those conditions. Now I have changed all that and become a new person. Unfortunately, that new person still gets a cold from time to time.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 2 x meatloaf wraps (250)
- 500 calories
Lunch – chips (200); ice cream sandwich (190); Nestle Drumstick ice cream cone (280); 1.75 ounces Sarris Peanut Butter Meltaway egg (320)
- 990 calories
Dinner – nothing (not hungry)
- 0 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); ham slices (200)
- 280 calories
Total for the day: 1770 calories (limit 1800)
Eating while sick vs. eating while dieting
Being sick is no fun. I have noticed before, though, than when I get sick (with a cold or ordinary flu) my appetite is for carbohydrate or sugar rich foods. I had meatloaf for breakfast, but everything after that was more carbohydrate rich. The Doctor is not on (and does not espouse) a low carbohydrate diet. The Doctor has lost 50 pounds so far and continued to eat from every type of food group, though the amounts are now regulated. However, there is no doubt that when sick, I rush to carbohydrate rich foods, and I am not sure why.
The last time The Doctor had a cold was in February and during that time, I mostly had carbohydrate rich foods too. I didn’t even track the amounts – I just have question marks in the calorie counts for those days. Once I was better, my appetite returned to normal. Because I keep a food journal, this kind of information is easy to find.
Anyway, during that February cold, I let myself eat without any regulation. This time, I am trying to stay within my calorie limits. But I imagine this will still affect my weight come Saturday. I wonder how many of the weight loss plateaus people complain about are actually illness related? I have been sick three times since starting the diet and each time it has affected my weight, in one case for three weeks. We will find out!
-The Doctor