weight < 220

[javasaurus]

There is an episode (Shadow Dancing) of Babylon 5 where Marcus offers to teach Susan Ivanova how to speak Minbari, and she says it'll take a year, and he responds, "how old will you be in a year if you don't learn to speak Minbari?"

I'm not posting this to solicit kudos, but rather to suggest that weight loss can happen without pain, without the sudden drops and plateaus, and without giving up completely on foods you love. Like learning Minbari, it's a slow process, but has real results.


Back in May, in response to a fitness challenge, I started dieting. Not Atkins, not South Beach, not Nutra System. I do use Slim Fast for about 5 or 6 meals per week. Mostly I'm just counting calories. My daily target is 1500 to 2000 calories per day. I can eat anything I want, but I have to count it. And I write it down. I've got a food log of nearly everything I've eaten for the last several months.

After starting at 255 pounds back in May, I've now dropped to 218, the first time I've been less than 220 pounds in years! The loss has been slow but consistent. Even the first weeks were only one or two pounds per week, not the big "15 pounds in a week" that some diet plans promise.

Has it been a struggle? Not really. Mostly it has been a process of learning what foods are high in calories and what foods are nearly free. I started measuring the weight of my foods to get an accurate count (a little battery-operated kitchen scale was a gift from my sister, and it has been a life-saver).

Typical day's food:
Breakfast:
28g cereal, 120 calories (some cereals are 55g per serving for 200 calories)
1/2 cup 1% milk, 55 calories
20oz coffee, 15 calories (I use splenda instead of sugar, and sometimes add the milk from my cereal)

Lunch:
Slim Fast, 220 calories
20oz coffee, 15 calories (with splenda)

Light Dinner:
6" Subway sandwich, w/o cheese, 290 calories
chips (baked) 150 calories

Heavy dinner:
1/2 Jerry's large pizza, 1150 calories

Another dinner (last night's, in fact)
4oz (precooked weight) speghetti, 420 calories
sauce, 110 calories
English muffin with parmesan cheese, toasted, 170 calories
250g salad, 60 calories
2 tbls fat-free salad dressing, 50 calories

That's 190 to 270 calories for breakfast, 235 for lunch, and 440, 1150, or 810 for typical dinners, or 865 to 1655 for the basic three meals.

I supplement the meals with snacks, which can include an apple (70 to 120 calories, depending on weight), veggies, even chocolate covered javabeans (170 calories per serving) or a half-bag of microwave popcorn (275 calories per bag for "light buttered"). And if I know I'm going to a movie, or out for a nice lunch or dinner, I adjust my other daily calories accordingly, and don't feel guilty for having evil movie snacks.


Also, I drink lots of water, and take a daily multi-vitamin.

Comments

[rionnkelly.livejournal.com]

Weigh to go! I'm having a good time getting rid of some extra pounds myself.

Keep up the good work!

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

I know you've been going to the gym. I wish I had time to start working out -- one of the drawbacks of losing weight using only diet is that you lose muscle as well as fat. There was a time in my life when I was at the gym five days a week (way back before the dawn of civilization).

Hmmm...maybe I could put barbells next to my desk and do curls while I read LJ...

[rionnkelly.livejournal.com]

Even 20 minutes a day helps. Take a walk (a brisk one) at lunchtime or pick up a Tae-Bo video and do that for a half an hour before getting ready to go to work. Hey, if I can make time to fit it in, I figure anybody can :)