Day 38 and as of this morning, 20 pounds
2-7-07
Day 38 and now 20 pounds gone 265/245/200 20 pounds gone this morning! I got on my scale just now and saw that I was at 245 pounds and so that means that 20 pounds are gone in 38 days. I had about 900 calories yesterday and so my average daily intake since Saturday has been about 1950 a day (with 6000 for Saturday and Sunday). Certainly the weight loss will slow down but it is fun to see the scale go lower every couple of days. In terms of the effective components of systematic weight loss, I think that looking at the data can be very important if the data are not discouraging or counterproductive. Yesterday morning, for example, I was unable to sleep for a while and I turned my clock around to look at it. (This is something I rarely do and I encourage others to avoid this as well.) The clock said 3:30 (AM) and immediately I said to myself, "Oh, no! I'm up at that dreaded time again!" I started ruminating about it, about being unable to sleep, etc., and I couldn't get back to sleep for several more hours. On the other hand last night when I woke up briefly in the middle of the night I refused to turn the clock around and look at it and I was able to return to sleep fairly readily, perhaps being up for 20 minutes or so. (I was comfortable in bed and thinking about the progress I've made with weight loss and that really helped my mood.) Same too with the method of weighing myself that I use - that is, not moving the indicator higher if it reflects a temporary weight gain. (With a restricted caloric intake, the weight will simply HAVE to come off, unless the laws of physics are suspended in my neck of the woods.) The amount of weight gain I might have in the morning as a result of water gain, fiber in the gut, etc., is similar to my looking at a clock in the middle of the night - that is, it is information that will not help me, is discouraging, etc. This weighing process is a major reason I've been able to maintain my task focus long enough to lose significant amounts of weight in the past. Anyway, I hope everyone has methods that help them achieve their health goals and that everyone is able to stick to them until their health is improved! Yours truly, Caleb |
Day 38 and as of this morning, 20 pounds
On Feb 7, 7:01 am, "Caleb" wrote:
2-7-07 Day 38 and now 20 pounds gone 265/245/200 20 pounds gone this morning! I got on my scale just now and saw that I was at 245 pounds and so that means that 20 pounds are gone in 38 days. I had about 900 calories yesterday and so my average daily intake since Saturday has been about 1950 a day (with 6000 for Saturday and Sunday). Certainly the weight loss will slow down but it is fun to see the scale go lower every couple of days. In terms of the effective components of systematic weight loss, I think that looking at the data can be very important if the data are not discouraging or counterproductive. Yesterday morning, for example, I was unable to sleep for a while and I turned my clock around to look at it. (This is something I rarely do and I encourage others to avoid this as well.) The clock said 3:30 (AM) and immediately I said to myself, "Oh, no! I'm up at that dreaded time again!" I started ruminating about it, about being unable to sleep, etc., and I couldn't get back to sleep for several more hours. On the other hand last night when I woke up briefly in the middle of the night I refused to turn the clock around and look at it and I was able to return to sleep fairly readily, perhaps being up for 20 minutes or so. (I was comfortable in bed and thinking about the progress I've made with weight loss and that really helped my mood.) Same too with the method of weighing myself that I use - that is, not moving the indicator higher if it reflects a temporary weight gain. (With a restricted caloric intake, the weight will simply HAVE to come off, unless the laws of physics are suspended in my neck of the woods.) The amount of weight gain I might have in the morning as a result of water gain, fiber in the gut, etc., is similar to my looking at a clock in the middle of the night - that is, it is information that will not help me, is discouraging, etc. This weighing process is a major reason I've been able to maintain my task focus long enough to lose significant amounts of weight in the past. Anyway, I hope everyone has methods that help them achieve their health goals and that everyone is able to stick to them until their health is improved! Yours truly, Caleb Here's something I wrote before, but I think it's still applicable 8 years later: ****************************************** My approach is called the "100 Days, 'good-enough,' feedback diet and exercise program," and I'll run through quickly some of my reasoning and steps. "100 Days" is a target people can aim for -- committing oneself to permanent change seems very unrealistic. And also, if one does the math, one can readily see that adopting a low calorie and exercise program for a 100 Days will lead to a heck of a lot of weight loss, a vast improvement in health, etc. (Of course, this approach strongly advocates checking with your physician, etc.) Hopefully the "100 Days" will result in such improvement in health and weight, that after 2 or 3 days off, people will start on their next 100 Day program. "Good-enough" for me entails a simple system, one that doesn't require calorie-counting -- or at least very, very little. For breakfast, I have a Slim-Fast in 32 ounces of water (adding cinnamon, almond extract, etc.), or a Cup of Noodle Soup. Then I skip lunch as a rule, because I'm busy at work, and dinner is mainly a large potato and cabbage soup -- lots of volume. And I snack a bit at night too. Altogether about 1400 to 1600 calories a day. (David Heber, MD, wrote in his book "The resolution diet" of the value of meal-replacements, such as Slim-Fast. He argued that even after one has reached the desired weight-goal, Slim-Fast may be useful in helping a person stay at weight. He reasons that in the course of a week, I person traditionally has 21 meals, and if some of those meals were replaced by Slim-Fast, that would get the total week's calories quite a bit lower than what otherwise would be the case.) I avoid alcohol and bread -- this as they are foods that lead on to more eating, etc. For me, writing down foods is a laborious and frustrating task. So I try to adopt the same general diet and stick with it day after day, week after week, etc. This lack of variation helps me be regular, orthodox, etc. (Perhaps boring to some, but it is the variety of foods that got me into trouble in the first place.) I do snack a bit, and if I go over my diet goals for a day, this is not the end of the world for me. There is a phenomenon called the "what the hell effect!" in which people who are dieting fail to live up to their high goals. And so they eat a lot of everything in sight. A "good enough" approach with its lack of calorie counting, with its emphasis on bringing about a healthy eating pattern and limited food choices, etc., appears to me to limit the "what the hell!" effect. "Feedback" because I wear little numbers on my watch-band that tell me: 1. How many days I have been following my diet and exercise program and: 2. The number of pounds I have lost. That really, really has been motivating to me, and I recall that at about day 45, a neighbor asked, "So how long have you been on your program?" and I looked at my watch and quickly said, "45 days." "Not that we're counting!" he responded, and I said, "Absolutely I'm counting." With the numbers on the watch, I am reminded many, many times in the course of the day that I am on the right track. (On my website I explain that one of effects of good feedback is that it tells us when we are doing things correctly -- so extraneous advice, the latest fad, etc., will be less likely to distract us from our goal. And the numbers on the watch also help cue others that we are following a program and are serious about it. I really believe that increasing the speed at which one can recite the time one has been on diet and the pounds lost leads to increased motivation, this as the linkage between the desired behavior and the the desired outcome are made clearer. Also, if you will look at my website, you will see examples of the numbers, directions on getting transparent medical tape from a nearby pharmacy, etc. This system also emphasizes as its bottom line the measure of "days being good." That is, one shouldn't be good only for an hour, an afternoon, a week, etc. One should be good for a 100 Days. And if one is "good" for that hundred days, unless the "laws of physics cease to exist" in your neck of the woods (Joe Pesci uttered those quoted words in "My Cousin Vinnie"), you WILL lose a heck of a lot of weight in a hundred days, you WILL be healthier etc. "Diet and exercise program" -- For me, my calorie goals are about 1400 to 1600 calories a day. (I'm six feet tall and now weigh about 220. I still have about 20 pounds to lose.) You should find a calorie goal that is reasonable, okay with your doctor, that leads to a weight-loss rate that is both healthy enough and motivating enough for you. Expect that you will lose a heck of a lot of weight the first several weeks of such an approach, but thereafter, depending on how much weight you have to lose, expect to lose no more than a pound or so a week. (I have heard people caution against losing more than one or two pounds a week, but I do think it depends on where in their diet losers are, how much extra weight they are trying to rid themselves of, their sex (males lose weight at a faster clip), etc.) Also, some people find it easier to follow one calorie goal during weekdays and aim for another goal during the weekends. This sure makes sense to me. About exercising -- I like daily exercising, and today will be the 141st day in a row that I will have exercised. After back surgery, I can no longer run, so most of the time I walk up a nearby hill with ankle- weights on and holding barbells in my hand. At first, I could barely get up the hill without any weights, but over time, and having lost 56 pounds, simply walking up the hill without weights is not terribly taxing. For the last 40 days or so, I have been trying out the "heavyhands" approach advocated by Leonard Schwartz, this entailing pumping the weights up and down as I walk, and this has lead to as arduous a workout as I could possibly wish for. I perceive it to me as difficult as uphill work I had occasionally done with my previous jogging/running. (The definition of running, by the way, is your speed or faster. People slower than you are jogging, at least this used to be the joke.) At any rate, with a pair of walking shoes, most people can get in a half-hour a day of walking -- perhaps broken up into several segments -- and return to regular exercise. I like daily exercise because then I don't think about whether I'm going to do it -- I don't' negotiate with myself, etc. As I brush my teeth every night, I know that I will exercise everyday (or walk up my hill or around my neighborhood as late as 9 pm). If not daily exercise (and moderate daily exercise is recommended by the NHLBI -- National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute -- in their approaches for the treatment of obesity), then one should exercise quite often. It burns up calories, creates muscle mass which will lead to more calorie burning, increases cardiovascular fitness, etc. (I'm not a physician, etc., but the benefits of exercise for people is very widely recognized.) For me, my walking with ankle-weights and using barbells has been very, very low-impact. I've never felt better, etc. Several other things to think about -- I had earlier said that I weiged "about" 220 pounds now. I have a balance scale and the little indicator never goes higher. I know that if I follow my diet and exercise program I will lose weight ("unless the laws of physics cease to exist" in my kitchen). My lowest weight thus far -- 220 pounds -- was achieved about a week ago, and I have been quite close to it several times since then. (I know this because when I get on the scales, the indicator rises only very slowly.) But I don't need to know exactly how many pounds over my lowest weight I am. In this fashion, I can weigh myself daily without being nearly as discouraged by seeing a higher weight on the scales -- and that, for me, really helps me maintain my motivation. (I have problems sleeping at night, and so I do not look at the clock at my wife's side of the bed. I'm near-sighted, and without contacts, I can barely see anything, but at night, I refuse to look at the time, because whatever the time will be, the news is likely to have a bad impact on me. e.g., "Oh, no! I've been tossing and turning for two hours -- only 4 more hours until the alarm goes off!" etc. Such mind games are similar to the ups and downs of what scales usually tell people.) I like a vegetarian approach for the most part, but any diet will work with this approach. (I also take multiple-vitamins and calcium, etc.) I have checked this approach out with my physician and he said I am doing great. The bloodwork, EKG, etc., all show vast improvement in health. (Cholesterol is now 176 with about 1/3 of that being HDLs. Used to be about 240. Heart rate 59 beats per minute. Getting down to where it was when I ran long distances.) Anyway, good luck! And if you follow this general approach for 100 Days, you WILL lose a lot of weight, WILL be healthier, etc. (Please remember that I am not a physician, and the person you should trust is your own medical professional.) Susan, I look forward to hearing of your progress! Yours, Caleb |
Day 38 and as of this morning, 20 pounds
Went up my little hill in the light rain tonight, getting at the top
about 9:15. Quite cold -- maybe 40 degrees or so -- at least that's what it felt like. (www.wunderground.com said it was 43 degrees just now) Nice quick walk up the hill. I'm about to do about ten minutes of work on the computer and then do a few push-ups, crunchies, light weight lifts and then time for bed. Toastmasters Speaking club is early tomorrow -- our meeting begins at 6:35 and I'm the Topics Masters. I hope EVERYONE has a great day tomorrow and a very successful week and month ahead! Yours truly, Caleb :) ****************** This is what I posted earlier tonight on ASD, FWIW: These are the results of the three 100 Day programs I've completed thus far. (I tried to complete another one but got too involved in answering messages, etc.) Starting on 8-17-99 I went from 276 to 226, a loss of 50 pounds. On 8-10-01, I went from 241 to 200, a lost of 41 pounds, and On 8-19-02, I went from 239 pounds to 198 pounds. I'm pretty much on schedule now to match the early schedules - perhaps a pound behind the lines for the first and third schedule. All three of these were quite simple to do - very painless - and they certainly demonstrated to me the effectiveness of calorie restriction in losing weight. The three programs also demonstrated other things as well, including: 1. the problems with bad or distractive advice, 2. the need to focus on calories and exercise, 3. the need to just keep at it even if people are highly critical of what you are doing (it sure is the case that people live in food-toxic environments), 4. for me, the importance of daily weighing (this might bother some people but the way I do it is very motivating to me), 5. adopting a simple eating schedule with a limited variety of foods, and 6. avoiding bread and putting away the alcohol. (Also, if I eat too much in one day, I try to make up for it in the next several days.) I hope never to have to go on a weight control diet after this one but I sure know how to go about losing weight again if I do gain. Still then, I sure wish I was at appropriate weight right now, but that will come in the fullness of time. Again, this process is just not that painful. I am more fortunate than most people here on this Usenet group in terms of losing weight. I'm a guy, and so it's easier for me to lose weight than it would be for a woman. Also my weight is fairly high - 245 pounds - and so even carrying the extra 45 pounds requires about 585 calories a day (45 times 13). If I were a 130 pound female who didn't exercise, I'd need only about 130 times 11 calories to maintain my weight (1430). And any more than that and I probably would put on some weight (everything else being equal). I could eat 1430 in a big breakfast and still want another heap of pancakes - at least I could when I was eating freely. But those days are over. (Sigh!) On the other hand, I've heard nutritionists say that our dietary goals in general should be something like 1400 calories for women and 1700 calories for men. Sounds pretty glum to me but, as Franklin said, "We should eat to live and not live to eat!" I guess, suppose, can convince myself, etc., that he was right. Death and disability have a way of ruining our time here on earth. I'd hate to rush out early! Yours truly, Caleb Day 38, 20 pounds gone 265/245/200 (I hope I get to 200 by June) -- actually 200 by June will probably be tough... But maybe... |
Day 38 and as of this morning, 20 pounds
I have been making me sugar-free jello to eat at night...it satisfys my
taste buds for something sweet and that full feeling.......In my mind I focus on this , if I lose 1 pound a month thats 1 pound smaller than last night.....I been thinking about the things that dicourage me and taking charge over them.......One thing I get dicouraged by is that fluid weight gain, but I go to my and try something I hadnt worn in awhile and it fits...I know I am still losing ....inches right now.......Donna |
Day 38 and as of this morning, 20 pounds ? Caleb
What is the url to yor website about the 100 day approach ? Donna
|
Day 38 and as of this morning, 20 pounds ? Caleb
On Feb 11, 7:21 pm, (MRS WINTERTIME) wrote:
What is the url to your website about the 100 day approach ? Donna Donna -- Thanks for asking! Here it is. http://home.teleport.com/~calebb/manual.htm I think of the several things that I do differently one of the most motivating is to use a balance beam scale and not move the indicator higher if my weight goes up because of water/fiber gain. So if I'm eating substantially less than the calories it takes to maintain my weight (For instance, today I had 300 calories at brunch and about 900 calories at dinner, but I also went up my little hill and that probably consumed 300 calories or so. Hence the total for today is about 900.), I know that I will HAVE to lose weight, unless the laws of physics are suspended in my kitchen. So every morning when I get on the scale there is the CHANCE that the indicator will be lower and there is NO CHANCE that I will move it higher to see how much water weight I've put on. Very similar to my looking at the clock in the middle of the night, wondering if I will get back to sleep. Last week I did it once and I got up at 3:30 AM and stayed up until about 5:30. The next night I didn't look at all. I advise people to turn their clocks over at night if they have sleep problems and I made the mistake of not doing that myself. Anyway, good for you! I think your idea of a self-reward for losing weight is terrific! Also using clothing to reassure you of your success also is great! Whatever it takes to be "good enough for long enough!" Yours truly, Caleb |
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