By the usual style of this website this is an unusually `personal' thing: that is, it's almost embarrassing to imply by putting this page here that I think anyone might care what I've done with eating or not...
I felt obliged to put this page up in case it helps someone else. A year ago I was really pretty heavy. Over several years it had built up a lot, but I'd been rather excessive since early teenage times. The idea of eating so much less than normal so as to feel distinctly hungry didn't appeal at all. The idea of losing weight seemed something that might be good later, but it didn't very much occur that it even would be `natural' or possible to be much lighter.
Then, a mixture of things made a change: looking at a 20L water holder, and thinking how much that weighs, but that I had more than that in excess (according to the usual guides); thinking it rather likely, on reflection, that I would feel better, fresher, more patient, etc. if lighter; thinking about my increasing age and the pointless strain on feet, back and so on, not to mention widely believed ideas about other `middle-aged' diseases.
Most of all, this (web-based) book helped, for which I'm truly grateful to the author: http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/. I'd seen it years before, looking through other excellent pages on that website. Unfortunately, the title hadn't quickly enough told me what it was about: I initially had inferred a wry commentary about the poor nutrition of a long-hours programmer: the obvious idea of slimming or gross weight-loss, or whatever one should call the procedure outlined therein, didn't get through to me at all.
There's little in it that isn't pretty obvious to one familiar with playing with numbers and measurements. But basic sense about numbers and measurements is sadly uncommon in the many popular discussions one sees about diets. Further, this is one of the subjects where encouragement is needed: that someone managed to lose weight steadily by a calculated shortfall, and to feel much better, was a big encouragement to me. The introduction, mentioning the absurdity of being keen and determined about measuring and controlling almost anything but one's own, rather important, weight, really hit home. The assurance that it gets better after a few days was a help. The summaries of energy content of body fat, foodstuffs, and energy use of various lifestyles, gave a good start to calculating things. The style is, as ever for that author, easily read and very amusing.
I initially intended to go down slowly, as recommended, by cutting down to something well above half the needed energy. But characteristic impatience prevented this: I ended up having about a quarter of the normal energy intake (i.e. about 500 Calories) for a few months, losing 1.5 kg per week for a while. It got steadier later as sensible weights were approached.
There was no particular attention to what food to eat, just
to limiting the energy content per day. There was no real need to
measure and calculate this energy after the first few days: the
remembered values were enough to allow me to know quite close bounds
on the cumulative intake each day, and to keep tabs on my behaviour
when no longer trying to lose fast.
It turned out that loads of salad food was a good way to have something to eat
(~15 Calories / 100g) even if it did little to take away the feeling
of hunger. Loads of aspartame-stuffed Diet Pepsi was a wonderful
help, providing some sort of satisfaction for my sweet tooth with a
type of drink I'd not really had since teenage times on holiday (probably
for the better, I've really gone off the stuff again now). Getting a good
chunk of salmon or herring once in a while felt good. Boiled cod with
lots of salt satisfied a certain lust. Boiled broccoli or french-beans
have only about 25 Calories / 100g but provide something quite tolerable.
Of course, I could have had some chocolate etc., but the small amount
that I'd have been allowed made it seem hardly worth bothering, compared
to these more substantial things.
Image: my weight! Poorly documented years spent going gradually up, then a big come-down largely done in a few months.
The main points that I'd say were helpful to consider all the time were:
I now feel a lot better for moving, running, finding clothes, and feeling that I've not been grossly uncontrolled in my behaviour. (Actually, it's ironically amusing that, perhaps due to the general trend of people getting fatter, I found an awful lot of too-big clothes when trying to buy some suitable ones.) Finding that clothes one used to have long ago now fit, then that they're too big, then that ones that never fitted now fit, then are also too big, is somehow hugely pleasing. Throwing out the too-big ones is not only pleasing but is a (further) good incentive not to let the change be reversed!
For later: I still think about 10 kg further reduction would be good. The appearance and numbers suggest that about this much still remains on me as pointless luggage! I no longer see any reason to carry any excess around. The target, just 2/3 of the initial weight, would have seemed absurd just a couple of years ago, but is thoroughly reasonable now.
My weight has been very constant over the last half year, though there has been a weak effort to eat slightly less for a slow reduction. This effort hasn't been backed up with regular measurements of food intake. It's clearly not worked, and I've started (Jan 2010) a rapid job again. Starting to weigh food made it immediately obvious how many snacky things were contributing to, basically, a full approx. 2000 Calories per day. Now about 600 is the target. It's remarkable, again, how little trouble it is when one has really decided: after a couple of days there's not much nagging hunger, and the immediately visible results of weight give a good stimulus. This memory of last time round (the first big fall) prompted this page: I hope I can encourage someone else. Please let me know if I do! Reading the Hacker's Diet book for a few minutes was again a great encouragement.
Page started: 2010-01-11
Last change: 2010-02-28