Our bathroom scale tops off at 280. Two weeks ago, I stepped on it after a shower and bam! The needle smacked its wall with an audible tink. I couldn’t believe it. I knew that I felt badly in general, but I thought it was for other reasons. And I knew that I was fat because things like trimming my toenails were difficult. I’ve been overweight for several years. But damn. I didn’t realize that I was pushing towards 300 pounds.
I had done Atkins before, as well as low fat, and had moderate success with them in the sense that I dropped a little weight fairly quickly. But they were both failures in the sense that I couldn’t stick with them. After my weigh-in, I realized I had to do something and right now. But the thought of both low carb and low fat diets was depressing.
And then it dawned on me. It’s the calories stupid.
The problem, for me, with staying on diets is giving up the foods that I love the most. The top two happen to be Pepsis and bread. I like sipping Pepsis all day long, and I love bread. Low carb kills the Pepsis, and low fat kills the bread. (Yes, I’m aware of Diet Pepsi, but I’m a super-taster, and I just flat don’t like artificial sweeteners.)
So I thought, what the hell. Suppose I build a diet around my favorite foods. Is it just a matter of trimming back the portions? If so, I can handle that. I can sip my Pepsi slower and eat my bread in smaller bites. And how many calories do I need?
Checking online, I discovered a rough formula that several websites agreed with, and used it to calculate that, for a sedentary man of 180 pounds (my target weight), about 2500 calories a day are the norm. Then I started checking the calories on my typical meals. Holy cow. I had been shovelling down almost 4000 calories in a typical day!
Long story short, after a visit to the grocery store and some web surfing, I discovered that I can indeed eat what I like and stay within the 2500 calories simply by buying a little bit more wisely (e.g., thin sliced bread and small Pepsis with twist-off caps) and cutting down the portions somewhat.
I divided my day into thirds, and alloted myself 840 calories per third. Anything I didn’t use, I could carry over. But not from day to day, only from third to third. So last week, I drank my Pepsis and ate my bread, and quite honestly, other than the fact that I was counting calories, I hardly noticed I was on a diet.
And I discovered that some foods, like certain brands of bead 'n butter and dill pickles, are zero calories and make great sides for sandwiches. I discovered that I don’t have to have a mixing bowl full of rice and a whole can of chili beans to be satisfied. I discovered that eating slower filled me up faster.
I did worry a little bit because I ate pretty much all day long (within the calorie count) and felt full and satisfied. I had been used to gaging other diets by how miserable they were making me feel. And by the end of the week, I suddenly realized that I hadn’t taken any heartburn tablets the entire week! :eek: Major big deal for me.
Plus, along the way, I learned new ways to cook things — like eggs in a soup bowl sprayed with Pam and microwaved. Eighty-eight seconds, and they’re perfect! I learned that pickled beets (about 30 calories for four) sprinkled on a salad adds enough zing that it doesn’t need so much dressing. I learned that one sandwich will satisfy me as much as two if I take smaller bites and eat more leisurely.
A typical day for me might go something like this, in order: an egg sandwich with coffee (including sugar and Coffeemate), a peach, a slice of bread, more coffee, a hamburger, a salad, a Pepsi, some popcorn, a Butterfinger Crunch (100 calories), some more bread, a Stoffer’s dinner, another Pepsi, some more bread, an ice-cream sandwich — real ice-cream — (170 calories), some potato chips, some cookies, and a chocolate drink.
Who the heck couldn’t stick with that!? 
(Of course, your favorite foods will vary, but adjusting for that…)
Anyway — and here’s the big deal — I stepped on the scales Monday morning, and joy oh joy! 277 pounds. It stopped three pounds shy of 280. I dropped at least three pounds last week, and probably more. With that feedback, I’m now going out and walking as well. (We have a big lot, and I made a walking trail.) That’s probably burning more calories.
Anyway, it’s working for me. Both my sister and my wife were so impressed with the results and the whole idea of it that they’re doing it too.
The idea is to decide first, “What is my deal-breaker food?” For me, it was Pepsi and bread. For my sister, it is chicken and potatoes. For my wife, it is sausage and egg croissants. We’ve calculated our calories, given ourselves the luxury of our deal-breaker foods, and whatever else is left over in the calorie count, we’re free to eat what we want. Of course, we have to be nutrition conscious. It won’t help to deprive ourselves of vitamins and minerals. But still, it’s the easiest thing I’ve tried. I’m really not even sure if it’s officially a “diet” per se.
That’s it. I am curious whether anyone else has tried this, and if it worked for you as well. Also, anyone interested in trying it, here are the formulas:
Male: 14 (sedentary), 18 (medium), 22 (active) times your ideal weight.
Female: 12 (sedentary), 16 (medium), 20 (active) times your ideal weight.
Those are estimates, of course. And there might be extenuating circumstances for you. And here’s a great website for calorie counters:
They have calorie counts for every food imaginable, including fast food brands and whatnot.
But seriously, if I get that close and slow down, maybe I’ll calculate ideal for 160 and eat that. Should hit 180 pretty soon thereafter. Interesting information about the Weight Watchers thing. Thanks for that.