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