Posted: Jan 16, 08 8:08am
A few months ago, I was somewhat dispirited because I had gained an ungainly 20 pounds ... and it all landed in a spare tire. I found myself using the excuse, my diabetes medication made me do it! As someone who teaches others the difference between good reasons and real reasons, I decided that I would not accept excuses from myself any longer.
Because I never was one to march to someone else's beat when it came to anything I did, I rejected the diet-of-the week, month, year such as Adkins, South Beach or the programs such as Nutri-System or the roller coaster ride with diet obsessives called Weight Watchers who insist on having food that looks and tastes like banana splits. When they quit the program, their weight rises with the tide, but doesn't go out with it!.
I needed some kind of incentive and happened to read an article on - I believe - Web MD about a simple formula that, if used, would guarantee weight loss. "Myself," I asked myself, "what do I have to lose but some ugly avoirdupois?"
I already lived on a sensible diet when it comes to choices: low saturated fat, low sugar ... but in gaining weight, I increased the murderous carbohydrates. I admit it - I looooove pasta. My rationalization as I gained the weight - I use plain tomato sauce, not greasy spaghetti sauce. That one has the same rational base as "my diabetes medicine made me do it!"
The secret formula was the following: Calories are the cause of weight gain. It doesn't matter what you choose, when you exceed the number that your body requires to maintain its present weight, you will gain. Whether you eat healthy or unhealthy, a calorie is a calorie.
The simple formula for determining how many calories you need to maintain weight is: Take your weight and multiply it by ten and then add your weight to the total.
Using round numbers because they are easiest to multiply and add, let's say you weight 200 pounds. Multiply by 10 is 2000. Add your weight - 200 - and you get a total of 2200. Therefore, if you eat 2100 calories a day, you will lose until your number =s 2100!
Your need to reduce calories is not all at once. Your secret is to keep the number below the total of 11 times your present weight and you will keep losing.
I dusted off my trusty calorie book. It hasn't changed since I went on my first needed diet back in 1972. Most products now are labeled with calories/ounce or measure (cup). I weighed myself, used the formula and went to work on November 5th. Today, I am down 26 pounds - six below my goal weight. Now I have play room so that once a week, I can go over the limit and have a few treats without even reaching my planned weight.
I love to eat. Now, a bowl of salad replaces a bowl of spaghetti. I use portion control with meat, fish and chicken. A bowl now is one that fits a portion, not one I can bathe my size 10-D feet in.
Now, my diet is both healthy in content and in amount. I lost my appetite for huge portions. Last Saturday, my wife and I celebrated her birthday at a restaurant famous for large portions. I made 3 dinners out of my "small" prime rib. The potato lasted two meals.
It took only two months to reach my goal because I cut back more than enough to lose 10 pounds a month.
My wife, who needed to lose very little, is losing slower. A half-pound a week suits her fine.
This method is the first that I felt comfortable with. All the others are like religions. If you don't follow the precepts exactly, you will go to hell and your ship will blow up in two minutes!
I want both. The freedom to choose and the discipline to choose effectively. This plan gave it to me and once again I am able to see when my shoes need a good polishing ... and I am able to bend down to remove them before applying the polish!
Good luck to all of you fellow sojourners on the road to health ... or self-destruction. I mean, ya wanna gain weight? Just don't ask me to be one of your pall bearers. I don't need a wrenched back to go with the few other assaults that age has given me.
