20201001 Daily report some more
In the beginning, was a man who weighed 325 pounds. This weight he had gained a bit at a time over many years. He had never been able to successfully lose weight. It was too difficult to do. When he did try, there was no real system and he would always give up after a few weeks. He tried a few popular diets that were meant to make it easier, but made only a little progress (low carb had the biggest effect). Was low carb the secret to success? No. It wasn’t. But it was an important clue.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – bagel (330); ham (130);
- 460 calories
Lunch – leftover beef and broccoli stir-fry (150); wraps (90) with chicken (100); hummus (100); and tomatoes (10);
- 450 calories
Dinner – stuffed cabbage (320); cauliflower (40); sour cream (50);
- 410 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); pretzels (110)
- 190 calories
Total for the day: 1530 calories (limit 1700)
How to begin: don't be stubborn
When you are overweight, and know you are out of control, there is the feeling that you could lose the weight all by yourself, just by doing the things that lead to weight loss. Eat less food and exercise. How simple! If you tell anybody you are thinking about starting a diet, they may try to give you advice but you don’t want to hear it. You tell yourself, you have your own system. The truth is, you are not mentally in the right place to take control of your body’s weight. That takes an effort and some new thinking.
Admit it: the problem is in your head. If your head was right you absolutely could control your weight. The Doctor has lost over 100 pounds just by changing his thinking! (Maybe there were some ripple effects of living out the implications of the new thinking.) So just start by saying: I would like to control my body’s weight. How could I do that?
Find some thin people and watch them. The big mistake is to watch thin people’s behavior and try to copy it. That won’t work. They act that way because they think differently from you. The thinking is what you need. The behavior will follow. Figure out how they are thinking about food and eating. What are their priorities? You can ask. They won’t be shy about telling you about their successes, and keeping thin is a struggle for everyone who manages it.
The Doctor is a stubborn fellow and comes from a family of stubborns. I couldn’t learn a thing from my family, even though my family has people who have stayed thin throughout their lives, and other people who have successfully lost weight. Of course it also has people who have not been so successful that way, and a few of us who have gained, lost, gained, and lost again.
The Doctor’s realization was that a sustainable weight control system needed to be enjoyable and positive. It needed to be a whole way of living and not just a diet.
-The Doctor
