I'm working on losing pounds.
The change is not a diet, but an attempt to fundamentally change the way I eat, with nearly unlimited vegetables and some fruit, and as little sugar and calorie-dense foods (olive oil, nuts, red meat, dairy, processed crackers) as possible.
The change is not a diet, but an attempt to fundamentally change the way I eat, with nearly unlimited vegetables and some fruit, and as little sugar and calorie-dense foods (olive oil, nuts, red meat, dairy, processed crackers) as possible.
It's working so far! I'm not crazy hungry, though I have to plan ahead to make sure there's always something for when hunger does come. Water (in the form of tea and sometime coffee) is very important, as is soup. It seems I have been throwing down a lot of calories in the past chasing the weight (your body wants food weight) and the need for water. Logging every food and its calories content (thank you cell phone app!) has taught me a lot about where calories have been hiding, and there have been some real surprises.
I start the day with tea before any food. Then either instant oatmeal (1/2 cup dry, microwaved with water), or a fried egg or two on an English Muffin and another tea. Lunch is fruit (one banana and one apple cut up small), or boxed soup and another tea. A snack might be a few sun-dried tomatoes, or a green pepper, or a cup and a half of frozen mixed vegetables, or frozen peas with lemon, and another tea. Dinner is a cup of rice with a cup of peas, or fish, or rice with Indian chickpeas (Channa Masala), or couscous salad, or some combination of the same.
I am logging everything I eat and weighing myself every morning, and I'm logging that too, and I'm reading up on food psychology and diet too. No pizza, no take out, no hamburgers, no fried chicken, no soft drinks, and no dairy for the most part. I've had only one milkshake in the last 6 weeks -- my only substantive cheat.
My goal is about 850 calories a day, and with the milkshake day exception (1,500 calories for the day), I have stuck to to that.
My goal is about 850 calories a day, and with the milkshake day exception (1,500 calories for the day), I have stuck to to that.
I am about 18 pounds from my goal, which I should hit towards the end of May, just in time for Gazpacho season and even more outside activity.
3 comments:
I got a lot out of this post and hope you will publish a follow-up.
My losing weight started the end of September 2021. Long overdue—I put on weight 15 years ago. The first several months, I used a low carb approach and intermittent fasting and did lose 17-20 pounds. When I hit a plateau at -17 I even did two three-day water-only fasts.
My approach wasn't sustainable and I didn't know enough. I reread your post occasionally but it didn't really make sense until I started calorie counting and logging meals. I looked at weight-loss programs and did this through Noom, but the primary thing, as you indicate, is the app for calorie counting, and those are available for free or cheap.
Having now lost 32 pounds, I have adopted several of your tips as mainstays. Boxed soups, yep. And most days I tell my wife I'm having The Terrierman Lunch: chopped apple and banana! Thank you.
Lost 40+, regained 20, back into the fight now. The struggle is real!
Gained weight by: not weighing myself, not drinking tea all day, eating carbs in the form of bread and crackers. Basically everything Noom says NOT to do. On the upside, no candy, lots more vegetables. Calorie counting is essential.
I hear you! Everyone who eventually keeps weight off probably has had several previous diets and/or major setbacks in their rolling diet. I have.
For men, I imagine, the whole dieting gestalt seems somewhat alien at first. We've got to learn to live like many if not most women, thinking about calories and making tradeoffs. I have found it very interesting and challenging. I think I have gone at it slower than you did.
With Noom, I started weighing daily instead of weekly. Both are better than nothing but daily weighing reinforces one's effort more. So does logging meals/calories, of course, and having a support group or diet buddy or interested friends/family.
Good luck, Patrick.
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