A few years ago I returned from living in Hong Kong to find that my weight had crept up to 82Kg. Amazing how this can happen without noticing. I did feel bad and bloated.My workplace had a few people in the same boat as me and kindly they organised a weight loss program that worked very well for me. I lost 10Kgs, mostly by replacing snack food with carrots.
Once again, my weight is creeping up so about ten weeks ago I started trying to lose some weight again. I record my daily weight in the morning. Above is a graph of my weight once a week on Fridays. (I'm being kind to my self as I always go up over the weekends).
Things I've learned about losing weight:
- Can't do it by starving, hunger is a very strong drive, you might beat it for a while but it will win.
- Can do it by replacing one filling food with another with less energy in it. I lost 10Kg by eating lots of carrots.
- Can do it by stopping eating when you are satisfied. (It's a real trap that you'll finish the whole plate just because it's there).
- Exercise makes me hungry and may not result in weight loss.
- Exercise needs to be sustainable, I know if I join the gym I won't keep going in the long term. Walking on the way home, however, seems sustainable.
- Don't worry about daily fluctuations. Actual weight is mostly water and that goes up and down often by 1 or 2 kilos. Track weekly results and don't panic if one day goes the wrong way.
I like the technique of plotting a rolling average as a way of removing the disincentive effect of adverse daily fluctuations. It is advocated in the Hacker's Diet and probably elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteAlso don't underestimate exercise as a weight loss tool. I find that, while it does increase your appetite somewhat, it will also increase your metabolic rate and have other health benefits.
The trick is to find a form of exercise that you enjoy and which fits into your lifestyle. It's sometimes worth re-visiting exercises that you disliked in the past - you might find your attitude changed.
For example I hated doing weights when I was younger but I quite like it now. I'm also playing soccer these days which I was quite ambivalent about before.
Technology can help too. I prettymuch can't go for a run without my iPod these days.
It's "just" a matter of finding something you like and fitting it into your lifestyle. Easier said than done, of course, but there are plenty of options.
Listening to podcasts has been a great way to get motivated to walk. I have a hard time keeping up with my subscriptions otherwise.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that weight lifting would increase your weight. Thanks for the comments.
its a very useful blog with much information
ReplyDelete