Weight change this week:
Down 2.6 pounds to 125.4
BMI 21.3(Down 2.8 pounds so far this month)
Last week I said “My plan for this week is to put a stop to the between-meal noshing, to put a complete ban on coffee and alcohol, and to stop and think before I consume any calorie-dense foods like bread or baked tortilla chips.” I’ve done that, and I’m happy to be losing again. At this BMI, I really don’t expect (or want) to lose 2 pounds a week. One pound (or even half a pound) a week is fine with me. I just want to make sure that I’m not sabotaging my progress with behaviors that I’m not paying enough attention to.
Looking at my food diary, if I were being nitpicky, I could consider getting rid of the soymilk (1 “splash” in each of my 2 mugs of tea a day) and the walnut dressing (although I only use one ounce now, which contains 4g of walnuts, or about one whole walnut). Also, I see that the meal I ate on Monday contained some cashews (about 7g, or less than a tablespoon, in my serving); the potato salad I had on Thursday and Friday had a small amount of “lite” tofu in the dressing; and the stir fry I ate on Saturday had a few tofu cubes. Overall, though, I feel that I am keeping my consumption of higher-fat foods below an acceptable (to me) threshold. I don’t see any flour products, apart from the whole wheat penne on Monday. Whole grain pasta has a calorie density comparable to cooked grains, so I am not counting that as a calorie-dense food. Sugar was minimal; there was a small amount of maple syrup in the red cabbage slaw on Sunday (I think it was a tablespoon for the whole recipe), and a little sugar in the BBQ sauce that I had with my potatoes for lunch on Monday and Friday (I used a tablespoon or two of BBQ sauce each time).
The only other noteworthy thing I can see is that I’ve been eating fruit every night after dinner, and often a whole bowl of fruit (about 2 cups). In March, during my CRON-o-meter experiment, I was eating it often, but not every night, and I think I was usually eating smaller portions.
I intend to keep eating the way I have been, monitor my progress, and be patient. I know that the last 10 pounds are the most difficult and can take some time. Here’s a post from Jeff Novick which helps to explain why this is:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... 791#p68791JeffN wrote:One of the reasons the last few pounds seem so much harder is because they are harder.
The reason is, the math gets harder as there is much less lee-way and "wiggle" room in the numbers.
For instance, (and this is just a "for instance" and based on average numbers).....
... lets say you weigh 250 lbs and burn around 2500 calories at rest, another 500 calories just moving around a bit, and eat around 3000 calories a day to maintain your current weight. You decide to lose weight and decide to consume 2000-2500 calories a day to do so. However, you are off not so accurate in your daily food intake and and do not pay strict attention and you end up consuming around 2600, or 2500, or even 1500, or 1800, or 2700 or even 2800 calories etc etc, but you will still lose weight. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less than you had hoped, but you will still consistently lose weight and most likely, quite a bit of weight. It is because you have a lot of lee way and wiggle room within the calorie range to be off, but still be at a calorie deficit. You can consume anywhere between 1200 and 2800 calories on any given day and still lose weight. That is a huge range and allows you to not be so accurate.
But, let say you are much healthier and now weight 150 and burn around 1500 calories at rest and another 500 calories due to activity. You consume around 2000 calories and have been maintaining your weight and want to lose some more. You want to get that last 10 pounds off. Well, you have much less wiggle room now then before. You want to lose weight now so you go down to 1500 calories per day. However, you now have much less lee way and wiggle room. Your "window" is much narrower. If you consume 1200-1500 (or maybe up to 1900) you will lose weight but as you get over 1500, the weight loss will be much slower. Also, you can't really go to much less than the 1200-1500 as you will compromise the quality of the diet, the amount of food you get and maybe even go hungry.
So, your window went from 1200-2800 to 1200-1800 or really 1200-1500. And, where you were able to be "way" off and still lose weight even quickly, now if you are not within the narrow window, you will either not lose weight, or lose it very very slowly.
So, stick to the principles, look to fine tune, and if possible, increase your activity a little, and lower the overall calorie density of the total diet.
Also, there are ways to increase the amount of calories you burn at exercise each day by increasing the intensity of the activity you do without spending any more time exercising and this is done by incorporating intervals and interval training. If you are physically able to do this, it can really help. Here is an article on the topic that I contributed to..
http://www.cbass.com/EACAPING.HTM
Hmmm…I may want to change up my exercise routine to include more high-intensity intervals. What a good idea.
Here’s my food diary for last week.
April 14, Monday6:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Huge green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing
Oil-free roast potatoes w/ bbq sauce
Bengal spice herbal tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
4:00p
A few chunks of pineapple
7:30p
Mountain of green beans and broccoli
Baked penne Florentine (McD recipe, contains small amount of cashews)
9:15p
Bowl of strawberries and pineapple
April 15, Tuesday6:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Huge green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing
this was 1.4 lbs raw and cooked vegetables before dressing, a normal salad for me
White-fleshed sweet potatoes
Decaf black tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
7:00p
Large bowl of steamed asparagus and chard
Bowl of navy bean soup
8:00p
3 tangerines
10:00p
Herbal tea
April 16, Wednesday6:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Huge green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing
White-fleshed sweet potatoes
Bengal spice herbal tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
7:00p
Large bowl of steamed broccoli and cauliflower
this was 1.4 pounds of veggies, a typical amount
Bowl of navy bean soup
8:30p
Large bowl of strawberries and mango
April 17, Thursday6:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Huge green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing
White-fleshed sweet potatoes
Decaf black tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
4:00p
1 tangerine, a few grapes, a few celery sticks
6:45p
Steamed organic beet greens, broccoli, zucchini
Raw bell peppers
Potato salad
Corn on the cob
8:15p
Mango, banana, grape & tangerine fruit salad
April 18, Friday6:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
1:15p
Massaged kale salad (fat-free) w/added cooked beets and shredded raw carrots
Oil-free roast potatoes w/ bbq sauce
Decaf black tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
7:00p
Steamed cauliflower and asparagus
Raw bell peppers
Potato salad
Baked beans
8:30p
Mango and small apple
10:00p
Herbal tea
April 19, Saturday7:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Huge green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing
White-fleshed sweet potatoes
Decaf black tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
6:30p
Stir "fried" veggies (oil-free) with a little tofu (from Mongolian BBQ restaurant)
Brown rice
8:30p
Bowl of pineapple, Ataulfo mango, and strawberries
April 20, Sunday7:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Huge green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing
White-fleshed sweet potatoes
Decaf black tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
6:30p
Steamed Broccoli and carrots
Red cabbage slaw
Baked beans over Yukon gold potatoes
8:30p
Bowl of pineapple, Ataulfo mango, and strawberries
Herbal tea
ActivityHere’s my weekly progress report from Fitbit. It does seem to be correctly adjusting my calorie expenditure downward each time I log a new, lower weight.