As a youth I couldn't gain weight. Whenever I got sick I'd drop ten pounds and it'd take months to put it back on. In my early 30's I started to put on a bit of weight, but nothing serious until I looked down at 35 years of age and realized I was more than 50lbs overweight. I'm now 52 and the weight issue has not gotten better. I've successfully taken the weight off twice only to put it back on. The first time I went back up to my original 'heavy' weight. This last time I've added an additional ten pounds.
I'm a glutton. I eat too much and snack late at night. I blame it on hunger and I am hungry, but shouldn't I have a bit of self control? Why do I eat past the point of satiety? I've improved some areas of my diet, but the snacking and cheating undermines my improvements. Lately it seems like I cheat more than I actually follow any serious regime. I wish I understood why. My life is good. I have so much going for me and you'd think that realization would be enough, but it isn't. I have a stable job. I have a beautiful/happy/healthy daughter who's a wonderful young person and not a problem teen. I have the house of my dreams, etc. etc. Life is great and I don't want to muck it up by being obese and ruining my health.
Hopefully by posting this I'll find a bit of fortitude to stick to my plan. I've done most diets and of the two that were successful in the short term, the one I designed myself was the easiest and healthiest. At the time I looked at my weight and figured out how many calories I needed to maintain that weight. There are calculators on the internet to help you figure it out. Next I looked at the food pyramid and the FDA will tell you how many servings of each category you should have. Once I had those two pieces of information I was able to build a calorie restricted diet that had plenty of food.
Since that diet I've wanted to improve it a bit. It contained a lot of carbohydrates and I've been trying to cut down on the amount of sugars in my diet. So we'll call this diet Version 2.0. Here's the plan:
1. Drink water, lots and lots of water(not a problem, I carry a water bottle with me all the time)
2. Each morning after my first cup of coffee, take a 30 minute walk.
3. Little to no processed foods.
4. Proteins, fiber, and a variety of veggies.
5. Keep carbs to 30gr or less each day
6. Keep calories to no more than 1800 a day. This will promote at least a 1 lb/week weight loss
7. Besides the morning walk find an activity that raises my heart rate a bit 3 times a week.
8. Not beat myself up when I slip, and I will slip now and again.
9. Hold myself accountable for my actions/choices.
10. Keep varying my menu so I don't get bored.
11....etc. To be added to as I get on this journey(again).
What do I have going for me:
1. I already walk quite a bit and I enjoy it.
2. I'm a decent chef and I have a lot of ideas for tasty meals
* veggie primavera
*low cal/carb meat sauce with spaghetti squash noodles
*fish taco's using lettuce leaves for shells
*I have a great chicken lettuce wrap recipe
*I grill a mean steak and I can live without the potato
* I make an awesome chicken fajita salad with fresh pico
* I even make my own blue cheese dressing - that with some wings and celery and I've got a meal that only has a couple carbs....and I can even add a carrot and not do any carb damage
* I found a recipe for a cauliflower pizza crust I want to try.
3. I already follow a lot of good habits, but I have to cut out the cheating. No more excuses.
4. I always enjoyed biking and it's time to dust off the mountain bike and get my heart rate up a bit.
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