Weekly weigh-in: 203.5
Loss: -2.8
Total loss: -89.3
Body fat percentage: 14.6
Emotion: Not So Large, and Very Much in Charge
This may come as a shock to you, but I’ve discovered a link between the amount of food I consume and the amount of weight I gain or lose. I know, it’s too unbelievable to believe!
One of the things that’s gotten me to the place where I currently am (closer to “fit” than to “sh*t”) is the fact that I’m planned and plotted my food consumption, placed a lot of restrictions on what I eat… and even when I eat.
I eat a handful of almonds most days at 11 a.m. to help satisfy my appetite and fuel my lunchtime workout. After lunch, I sometimes ate a small snack around 3:30. And some nights I had a pretty big snack at night. The good thing about my system was that I was never really hungry.
The bad thing about my system was that my weight seemed to be creeping up on me.
When I stepped back and really took a hard look at what I was putting in my mouth, I realized that my early almond snack had basically doubled in size over time and my every-so-often snack had become an everyday occurrence.
The really troubling aspect of this was that I found myself eating when I wasn’t hungry. That’s a balancing act, I guess. Eat small meals to ward off hunger that sets off bad behavior… but so many of my problems stemmed from eating for all the wrong reasons.
Eating because I was bored.
Eating because I was stressed out.
Eating because it was fun.
So I skipped my nightly snack early this week, and something strange happened… I was hungry the next morning. I counted out 22 almonds for a snack and I was hungry for lunch.
So yes, I’ve been hungry from time to time this week. I still am.
Hungry to do better.
Perfect....Hungry is the motivator???!!!!
ReplyDeleteI posted about hunger not too long ago. The fact that in the past I never let myself go long enough without food to really feel hungry. The fact that I still struggle with eating when I am not hungry and should not be eating. The fact that some of my hunger is not actually physical hunger but emotional or something else. Like you, I ate (and still sometimes eat) for the wrong reasons. But slowly I am making progress.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm hungry for reaching Onederland.
ReplyDeleteI'm eating clean and eating fats and I think that's helping me to feel satiated enough to last me to the next meal. I'm eating 4-6 times a day and only sometimes reachng for extra food that I haven't planned for.
I can't pinpoint what exactly has clicked for me this time but I'm finding this turn at bat more effortless than any other I've attempted.
I've given lip service to this before but I didn't back it up with action ... I really believe with all my heart that I've made a lifestyle change where eating is concerned. I'm not fretting and fussing and obsessing. Just planning healthy meals, enjoying a treat now and then and it's all just falling in to place.
Now I'm not nearly as far along this road as you are so I can't say with any conviction that I won't be facing this challenge in the future that you are now but ...
I feel like I'm going to be ok. For reals.
Congrats on the loss this week. That's a huge drop at this stage of the game.
^^^
ReplyDeletegees, what a blowhard. sorry.
Ooooh, well done that man!
ReplyDeleteI'm hungry too, Jack. Strapping on my running shoes - restrictions lifted, back in action!
ReplyDeleteDrink more water... most of the time we are just dehydrated!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the loss this week! :) whoohooo!
ReplyDeleteAS part of the whole WW program they teach us to track our hunger. I was eating a mid-AM snack but as I lost weight and lost daily points I needed to cut out some snacks and that one had to go. At first I was hungry but learned what to eat at breakfast to fill me up. If I do get hungry I know I can grab a low point snack. :) It is important to listen to your body when eating or it can become mindless munching!
Same here... been hungry this week.... particularly this weekend. Had a Faterday yesterday. Oh well, blow it off and regroup.
ReplyDeleteThanks man!!
Rob
Congrats on the loss.
ReplyDeleteI've recently learned that based on my water consumption, I'm probably chronically dehydrated. My goal this week is to daily drink in ounces the equivalent of half my body weight in pounds. I think some of my hunger pangs may be actually related to dehydration.
Great loss Jack!
ReplyDeleteIt really is a balancing act. We have to figure out how to eat enough but not too much. And of what? It can take awhile to figure it out but it sounds like you are doing just that.
ReplyDeleteI eat every 2-3 hours myself, to keep my blood sugar stable. If I go too long, I crash and become famished and no longer care what I am putting in my mouth. I feel better knowing I am in control.
Awww great post! Well said! Good job on your weight loss.
ReplyDeleteJack, great post! YES, food is a huge part of this weight loss journey & often we let it get away from us when we are feeling too good about what we have accomplished. Don't get me wrong, great to feel good about it BUT when you then let things slip here & there too much.. well one little bite leads to another & before we know it, 5 pounds are on us.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you show this! I too have got carried away with my almonds & scaled back. They really do help me as a snack till my next mini meal BUT too many on too many days in a row.. not so good!
Thx again and congrats on that weight loss!
Amazing how the consumption factor affects weight maintenance, huh? It's never a bad idea to take a step back and evaluate what we're doing, even when we're pretty sure we're handling things well. (Delusion is such an ugly little intruder.)
ReplyDeleteGreat job this week detective sh*t! It's a good reminder to everyone that we should double check our portion sizes from time to time!
ReplyDeletei tend to eat every meal light but dinner.
ReplyDeletei like to feel full at night.
other than that...i count calories that way i never get the idea that i am 'okay'
lol.
great job on the loss.
i think it's interesting, looking at your weight loss roll how when youdidn't weigh for a month, you gained 4 lbs or therebouts. They say (the 'experts") if you don't weigh at least once a week you tend to go off course.
Because it isn't at the front of your mind.
Not to use you as a guinea pig, or to use you as a guinea pig....lol...looks like there might be something to it.
That's a fantastic loss, Jack. Glad you're back in the swing of things after re-analyzing things a bit. :)
ReplyDeleteI try to drink lots of water to fill myself up, but I know what you mean. I have a big (55g) bowl of porridge for brekkie every day (oats = slow release, right?), yet I am starving again by 10:00.... however, strangely I can then go through til about 7/8 at night before I have dinner. I have no idea what makes me so hungry mid morning but that my lunch (which is usually just vegetables and maybe some sort of pasta) keeps me going through til evening. It's a mystery to me.
ReplyDeleteGood loss - and well done for getting back in control... it takes a lot to do that.
Keep up the great work Jack!
ReplyDelete(I count out my almonds, too.)
(oh wait, that sounds kind of dirty doesn't it?)
Cheers!
Christine
Dude.
ReplyDeleteYou're like my all time weightloss bloggin hero and, uh, please don't take this wrong, but I am so loving that you are talking about a struggle. It makes me happy to know that everyone struggles.
Even after they reach awesomeness. >:-)
-jafg
Hunger is definitely a good thing, I think. It's that famished I-want-to-eat-everything-in-sight hunger that shows you you're not eating often enough.
ReplyDelete