700 Days

Well, I've been on my diet 700 days now without going off even once.

The good news is that I've lost and kept off about 42 kg = 92 lb. Also
I feel great and I'm wearing normal clothes sizes, etc. Neighbors
often do a double-take and say they didn't recognize me at first.

The frustrating news is that my weight has hovered around 83-84 kg for
months now and that I am actually a few kilograms heavier than my low
beginning-of-the-year weight of 79.8 kg and just can't seem to lose
any more weight lately.

I would really like to lose another 10-20 lb because I'm still
overweight.

Anyway, just sticking to things as best I can...

doug

"doug lerner" wrote in message
ps.com...
Well, I've been on my diet 700 days now without going off even once.

The good news is that I've lost and kept off about 42 kg = 92 lb. Also
I feel great and I'm wearing normal clothes sizes, etc. Neighbors
often do a double-take and say they didn't recognize me at first.

The frustrating news is that my weight has hovered around 83-84 kg for
months now and that I am actually a few kilograms heavier than my low
beginning-of-the-year weight of 79.8 kg and just can't seem to lose
any more weight lately.

I would really like to lose another 10-20 lb because I'm still
overweight.

Anyway, just sticking to things as best I can...

doug

That is such a huge accomplishment. As far as the next 10 pounds, I can
tell you it is really tough. I hover near goal but when I just don't
eat any extra points or processed foods, lo and behold the scale
suprises me and goes down. It can be so hard but as long as you
continue as you have, it should come off.

Audrey

There are two thoughts that I bounce back and forth between that seem
somewhat contradictory:

(1) If I am just 10% overweight, I should need to just reduce my
current caloric intake by 10% and eventually I'll be 10% lighter. In
that case, instead of eating 1700 calories/day I should be able to
reduce that to 1530 calories/day and eventually lose 8.3 kg = 18 lb,
which would be just fine.

(2) If I am maintaining my weight at 83 kg and want to lose just 1 lb/
week I need to reduce my weekly calories by 3500 - which comes to 500
calories less per day (!) which means I should be eating just 1200
calories/day. I don't think I can do that long-term.

Possibly there is no contraction and (1) is true it is just that
"eventually" might not be within my lifetime.

doug

it may take time but you will get there, How do I know? because I know I
will get there, Lee
doug lerner wrote in message
ps.com...
Well, I've been on my diet 700 days now without going off even once.

The good news is that I've lost and kept off about 42 kg = 92 lb. Also
I feel great and I'm wearing normal clothes sizes, etc. Neighbors
often do a double-take and say they didn't recognize me at first.

The frustrating news is that my weight has hovered around 83-84 kg for
months now and that I am actually a few kilograms heavier than my low
beginning-of-the-year weight of 79.8 kg and just can't seem to lose
any more weight lately.

I would really like to lose another 10-20 lb because I'm still
overweight.

Anyway, just sticking to things as best I can...

doug

what about cutting 50 calories a day until you are comfortable with that
then another set to see what happens, Lee
doug lerner wrote in message
oups.com...
There are two thoughts that I bounce back and forth between that seem
somewhat contradictory:

(1) If I am just 10% overweight, I should need to just reduce my
current caloric intake by 10% and eventually I'll be 10% lighter. In
that case, instead of eating 1700 calories/day I should be able to
reduce that to 1530 calories/day and eventually lose 8.3 kg = 18 lb,
which would be just fine.

(2) If I am maintaining my weight at 83 kg and want to lose just 1 lb/
week I need to reduce my weekly calories by 3500 - which comes to 500
calories less per day (!) which means I should be eating just 1200
calories/day. I don't think I can do that long-term.

Possibly there is no contraction and (1) is true it is just that
"eventually" might not be within my lifetime.

doug

On May 7, 3:03 pm, "Stormmee" wrote:
what about cutting 50 calories a day until you are comfortable with that
then another set to see what happens,

That sounds very reasonable. I am really paranoid about "tweaking"
anything, but that sounds very reasonable.

doug

if I have learned one thing its that nothing I do this week will make me
wake up at my top weight this week, small changes is how I lost it. if you
cut the calories and it freaks you out you can always add them back, let us
know how it goes, Lee
doug lerner wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 7, 3:03 pm, "Stormmee" wrote:
what about cutting 50 calories a day until you are comfortable with that
then another set to see what happens,

That sounds very reasonable. I am really paranoid about "tweaking"
anything, but that sounds very reasonable.

doug

Your fear of tweaking needs to be overcome. Getting down to goal and
learning to eat right is a life time learning process. You have to be
willing to make changes along the way. Once you get to goal the hard part
only starts. Learn to make the changes now. I like Lee's philosophy-don't
make a change unless it is something you can live with for the rest of your
life.

Look at what you are eating. Start looking for more ways to further reduce
your calorie intake. Swap out a beef meal for a chicken or fish. Swap a
fruit for a veggie. Look at your snacks and replace one with a fruit or
veggie if you are having a cake-like treat. Look for lower calorie brands of
the foods you like. Swap out starchy veggies (beans/potato) for leafy ones.
Cut back on sauces and condiments. Cut back on the number of times you eat
out. Little things like that should not freak you out but will help towards
getting the scale moving again.

Another suggestion....look at your meals. Are you having the same breakfast
every day? My leader is a firm believer that our bodies get used to where
our calories come from. Have a different breakfast every day. Develop a list
of breakfasts and alternate them. Keep your body guessing.


"doug lerner" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 7, 3:03 pm, "Stormmee" wrote:
what about cutting 50 calories a day until you are comfortable with that
then another set to see what happens,

That sounds very reasonable. I am really paranoid about "tweaking"
anything, but that sounds very reasonable.

doug

"Stormmee" wrote:

what about cutting 50 calories a day until you are comfortable with that
then another set to see what happens

Or 100. Now that Doug is well into his plan and it has worked
well it's no longer time to attempt big changes.

In computers there are joke words frob, twiddle and tweak. If
you see someone twisting dials because it looks like it's fun,
that's frobbing. If you see someone turning the dial and it looks
like they are hunting for stations, that's twiddling. If you seen
someone making tiny little adjustments on a knob and checking
to see if the change had any effect, that tweaking.

It's time for some tweaking Doug. Step out in faith - No small
change is going to be a problem.

I see an effort-reward trade-off. When I was in my losing phase
I made it to 10 pounds from goal and stalled. Reading around
it was clear that careful calorie control would be needed to get
lower. I decided the work involved meant more to me than
those extra 10 pounds. I was already down 40 at the time and
felt great so I declared maintenance.

So suggest trying 100 less per day. See if it triggers much more
hunger. See if it triggers a gradual decline in weight. No hunger,
maybe try another 100 next month. No weight, maybe try another
100 next month. Yes to both, figure your effort and your reward ...

Also consider that your current calorie intake doesn't have to be
your maintenance intake. More calories doesn't always mean
more stable weight. There is some sized range of intake calories
that all end up the same weight. No idea what that range is for
any one person but it's not 50 calories per day.

"doug lerner" wrote in message
ps.com...
Well, I've been on my diet 700 days now without going off even once.

The good news is that I've lost and kept off about 42 kg = 92 lb. Also
I feel great and I'm wearing normal clothes sizes, etc. Neighbors
often do a double-take and say they didn't recognize me at first.

The frustrating news is that my weight has hovered around 83-84 kg for
months now and that I am actually a few kilograms heavier than my low
beginning-of-the-year weight of 79.8 kg and just can't seem to lose
any more weight lately.

I would really like to lose another 10-20 lb because I'm still
overweight.

Anyway, just sticking to things as best I can...

doug


Something to consider:

I recently had a physical after losing 65 lbs. I had gone from 260 to 195
lbs.
According to all the "charts" I am still 10-12 lbs over the ideal weight for
my height.

The doc did all the bloodwork stuff and the results indicated that all the
stuff they check for including sugar, cholesterol and my blood pressure were
perfect.

He told me to forget about losing any more weight. When I mentioned the
ideal weight charts he told me that a better measure is the blood work
results and there was no reason or anything to be gained by losing more and,
in fact, I could screw things up by dropping more.

RCE