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I'm still not sure if 1650 calories (roughly) is my "maintaining" or "reducing" number. I have to try to keep the number of calories steady to figure it out.
http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/calculators/calories-required/
As you get lighter, you need less calories to maintain your weight and, therefore, cannot maintain the same number of calories you were following when you were heavier. I still don't know if our perceived need for food also diminishes to follow that decrease in calories but I hope so :P
Despite the fact that I've been noticing some significant improvements after cutting out refined sugars from my died (improved skin, apparently improved hair, much better bowel functioning, less perceived drowsiness and fatigue, food in general appears to be tasting better), my cravings for sweets seem to have come back with a vengeance, to the point where I will tell myself on all of those occasions, that I'm really just waiting a little more to eat them to try to fool myself lol. It has been working so far (just). Despite all those improvements after giving up on sweets, I would happily give them all away again right now to be able to taste those flavors again, even despite the fact that I know this is my brain dealing with withdrawal. I'm constantly undecided about giving up, always fighting my own will, always trying to ignore my recurrent thoughts of sweets... To play safe, whenever the cravings get intense, I will almost immediately eat something, even if I'm not hungry, to make them go away, even if it goes past the calorie limit, I really have to, or I will almost definitely give up lol. I know that if I give up, that I will feel very badly about it, but my brain is trying to only think about the taste of sweets and how that is all that matters right now lol...
It's ironic that, despite having less of a need to eat, in general, right now, I this extreme desire for junk food, especially sweets but also saturated fats etc. Today I really got in my mind that "wouldn't it be great to go to McDonald's and try all the different burgers they have" lol. Whenever I usually go to McDonald's, I will always order the same burger but this is really trying to make me do the worst choices lol. McDonald's have lots of sugar in their food. I wonder if that is, in any way, related to my desire for McDonald's.
According to an article I read, despite the fact that insulin spikes are the problem with refined sugar, the thing that addicts you, in it, is actually the fact that it tastes sweet and that the taste itself causes the dopamine to be released. They add that, for a person trying to quit refined sugar the goal is to get used to not eating so many sweet-tasting foods. I really don't know how that can be possible lol... Yikes! This keeps getting better and better. But I may be interpreting this the wrong way because, in a way, I have already greatly reduced the number of sweet-tasting foods. You cannot eliminate fruit from your diet. That would not be healthy. I'm just going to try and keep doing what I'm doing. A good dosage of pride in my discipline so far is also boosting me forward. It's pride against cravings round 7. There are 7 rounds to go (one full week) to reach the next pride level :)
Another thing to motivate (in a more negative way lol) is that, if I give up now, I will eventually start all over again, and that's double the suffering lol.
Without the empty calories of sweets, it's much easier to stick to a certain calorie limit. Not only because every calorie will make you full but also because, as I mentioned earlier, you don't feel the need to eat so much, due to the absence of insulin spikes.
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132.9 lb
Lost so far: 11.2 lb.
Still to go: 9.5 lb.
Diet followed reasonably well.
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Diet Calendar Entries for 05 January 2014:
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1519 kcal
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Fat: 65.75g | Prot: 69.50g | Carb: 190.73g.
Breakfast: cherry tomato, goji berries, Water, Hazelnuts or Filberts Nuts, Almonds, Dried Pumpkin and Squash Seed Kernels, Raisins, Dried Prune, Dried Fig, Date, Dried Apricot, Walnuts. Lunch: Progresso Chick Peas, Vegetable Soup (Home Recipe). Dinner: Lemon Juice, Garlic, Onions, Ramirez Sardinhas em Tomate, Fried Egg. Snacks/Other: Queijo Serra da Estrela (DOP) Queijo da Serra (DOP), Whole Milk, Granny Smith Apples, White Pepper, Boiled Egg, Almonds, Bananas. more...
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1787 kcal
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Activities & Exercise:
Indoor cycling intensity level 6 (light), 8.8 to 14.4 km/h), 5.2 km, I was slow until the final 10 minutes when all the energy came up and I naturally upped the pace - 30 minutes, Resting - 15 hours and 30 minutes, Sleeping - 8 hours. more...
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losing 1.5 lb a week
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