1. Weigh
yourself daily: Knowledge is power so weigh yourself EVERY DAY!
As someone
who went to Weight Watchers numerous times, the idea of weighing myself daily while
dieting seemed counter-intuitive. Group leaders there basically warned you
against using a scale yourself because your weight is bound to fluctuate and
you would just drive yourself crazy with variations due to water retention,
bowel habits, etc. But now I look back on that advice and see what it really meant:
if you don’t have a scale (and they definitely advised against it), their
having one gives them the power of knowledge over you. You (or maybe that
should read “I”) had to go to their weekly meetings in order to find out how
your weight loss journey was going…maybe all that has changed with the advent of
online programming, but whatever: I WEIGH MYSELF EVERY MORNING.
I truly
believe it’s the best way to keep myself totally accountable. And I know I’ve
spent a lot of my life lying to myself as far as body issues go, so I certainly
want to keep as honest in this diet endeavour as possible. And I’d advise you
to do the same.
2. Measure
what you eat: This means also that you’ll need a small food scale (they’re
about $15-$30) and measuring cups and spoons. Because I measure everything
(e.g., 2T of smoked salmon Philly cream cheese just about every morning) that
isn’t prepackaged/portioned (e.g., Lean Cuisine chicken carbonara). I’d say
that after 10 months of this, I know what a tablespoon of cream cheese looks
like. But why tempt fate by estimating, when measuring is so easy?
One thing I
don’t measure is salad foods (lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, shallots, peppers) because greens
are about 9 calories per cup. So I estimate 2.5 to 3 cups in my salads. And I estimate
about half a cup of milk (1%) in my lattes (two or three daily).
The great
thing about a food scale is that you can eat anything (in moderation!), like
challah or even an apple (because the bigger it is, the more calories it has).
And
speaking of calories…
3. 1200 daily: I try to keep mine down to 1200 per day. I don't always succeed, and it's important to note that I can get off track one day and come back the next.
Most people, on hearing 1200 calories, say what a woman friend of mine did over Facebook messenger when I
finally told her (after a bit of skating around, because I knew how it would be
perceived): “WoW (sic), that’s nothing!!!???”
Lulz!
Actually,
it’s NOT nothing, and it’s probably a lot more than I used to eat
in the bad old dieting days of low carb. Which, as discussed in a previous post,
I’ve found unsustainable. I settled on 1200 empirically–which is a fancy way of
saying by experimenting. This is what works for me. But I’m happy to find that the Mayo Clinic endorses
such a number, even if it sounds awfully low to some of you. See here, for instance,
where they mention 1500 to 1200 for women: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20375749
Listen, you
might have a different biology, different age, activity level, amount of
muscle, sex, etc. You may have to find a number that’s right for you. But
I don’t want to have to diet forever (hopefully 18 months will be enough),
though I will NEVER be able to go back to the way I was eating before.
4. Monitoring is vital:
I use the Samsung Health app to monitor my food consumption, weight, and
exercise. It takes seconds to record meals (I will post below images of my daily
consumption) and it breaks things down into nutrients, so I can see how I’m
doing. And by this measure, I’m doing okay, though I did start adding wheat
bran a few months back to increase my fibre intake (recently switched to wheat
germ because I can’t find wheat bran!). I occasionally take a vitamin C pill
and have been thinking about adding a multivitamin with iron because I hardly ever
eat red meat (though since I no longer menstruate, maybe this isn’t as much of
a problem as it might be with younger women).
I’m sure
there are other apps available for non-Samsung phones.
5. Exercise:
I’m now spending about 2.5 hrs daily in low impact exercise. It’s definitely a
lot, but it’s mostly walking. I do a morning (1hr) and evening (0.75hr) walks.
And I bought a $200 folding bike from Amazon which I use while Netflixing at
night…I spend about an hour on it. I’m not trying out for a Peloton commercial,
either. I only really break a sweat after about 45 mins. The point is, you are
expending a lot more energy than by just sitting on the couch.
I started this
diet in June 2022, when I was still covid-sensitive enough to not want to go
back to the gym (where I used to love Zumba and aerobics). Actually, I have
covid right now (for the first time). I am starting to hanker to do higher
intensity exercise so I can spend less time doing it. Maybe when I’m lighter, I’ll
try jogging. But right now, since I have the time, I walk (I listen to a lot of
podcasts, so if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears).
That’s it
for today.
