Rob.c.weiss's Journal, 31 March 2014

<h3>Getting "Real"</h3>
I just gave a tip to my good friend, TIC, here on FS. And I thought I'd add a quick journal entry about it. It was about "being realistic" in our diet and expectations.

<h3>Being "Rock Solid"</h3>
The biggest thing that got in the way in my past attempts at weight loss was when I would try to ignore my natural impulses, and be *rock-solid* in my approach, whatever it was at the time. Inevitably, what with being human and all that, I would have a bad day or two, and beat myself up about it. That, of course, led to a certain depression, which in turn led to a growing certainty in my own failure. A severe fatalism would kick-in, knowing the whole thing was pointless. And that was the end of that. No more control. No more weight loss.

The endless cycle.

<h3>We are Human</h3>
Ok. I know it has been kicked to death, but it really is the single-greatest truth that we all have to come to terms with if we want to be successful in this, and probably any other endeavor in our lives, as well. We simply cannot forget that we are human, that we have programming built into us that is very low-level and was built-in to keep us alive. More than that, we have an entire emotional psychology to go along with it. All of our past experiences, good bad and ugly, feed into this. We simply cannot attempt to ignore it, or override it.

<h3>The Success Stories</h3>
There are so many great success stories here on FatSecret, not the least of which are our good friends, KingKeld, NorthernMusician, TXSnowman, and (you may kill me for adding you here, Bill, but I think you're it too) DragList. And I've read journals from a number of others on here too. And through all their varying approaches at success (intermittent fasting, ketogenics, Atkins, VLCD, High-carb / low fat, a more traditional diet, or even weight watcher's points) the one common thread that made the difference for all of them was a component of realism to their own expectations. Bill builds it right into his approach. In fact, in some form, I believe they all did, and continue to.

<h3>Challenge Yourself</h3>
Without a doubt, this does not mean we should not challenge ourselves. Of course, without that there would be no weight loss at all. But within any structure of challenge we determine we want to put in place for ourselves, we have to keep in mind that most essential piece : how does this allow me my human urges? How will I cope with an occasional "cheat"? Does this structure, the way I plan to use it, allow for me to be myself when I need to, and does it provide a means for getting me "back on track"?

If we have not built these into our plan, we may very well be setting ourselves up for failure at the very beginning.

<h3>When things changed for me</h3>
Things finally changed for me when I began to understand this, and formulate plans for how I would handle these things. I have to admit, I didn't do it quite so forthrightly as all that. To be honest, I didn't even realize I was doing it. It was just something I started adding in to kind of *let off steam*. But what a difference it has made for me this time. At first, I had my challenges to *get back on track*. But I never lost the fact that I was serious about the whole thing. In some ways, it was a bit of a challenge, but in so many other ways it has kept me both honest and accountable... and human.

<h3>How'd I do this weekend?</h3>
Had a great weekend with the kid. She did *GREAT* at her VB tournament. I won't go into all the proud-daddy details and bore the living daylights out of you, but we had a blast.

I have really shifted over the last months in how I handle "cheating". Any more, it isn't really cheating to me. For one thing, I've really cut back on the little cheats that I used to do -- the small handful of nuts or trail mix I'd grab here and there to calm my cravings. By tightening down on the day-to-day little stuff, I find that my body responds so much better. And the cravings go way down. Then when I do cut out for a bit on the weekends, because of my natural magnetism to carbs, it has become a kind of carb backload.

That's what I did this weekend. I didn't go nuts, but I fit things into my plan. The higher cals and carbs this weekend evened my averages out. This has really been working for me: ketogenic during the week (net carbs at 40g or less), high carbs here and there during the weekend for a day or two (one day if I go way high, two if I don't). This has been bringing my daily calorie average to right around 1500 for the week. And works pretty well. This weekend I gained 0.2 lbs. Not bad. And I believe I've reset my metabolism to be receptive to the keto.

Now back to it... :D

<h3>My Big Tip this week</h3>
The biggest thing I wanted to tell all my buddies... find what works for you, whatever that may be. Be it intermittent fasting, ketogenics, Atkins, VLCD, High-carb / low fat, a more traditional diet, or even weight watcher's points. Whatever. But while you're looking for what works for you, be sure to add the "realism" component. I have found this is pivotal to success. Every long-term success story on FatSecret that I've found has this component -- Every last one. And it has been the big difference for me this time around.

CRANK ON, EVERYONE!!!

Now, I'm going to go read some of your journal entries. :D Woo hoo! I love VACATION!

204.6 lb Lost so far: 135.4 lb.    Still to go: 24.6 lb.    Diet followed reasonably well.

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1273 kcal

Fat: 67.17g | Prot: 100.39g | Carb: 73.38g.   Breakfast: Syntrax Nectar Latte Cappuccino Whey Protein Isolate, Konsyl Psyllium Fiber, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Milk, Universal Nutrition 100% Beef Aminos, Spring Valley Omega 3 Fish Oil, Splenda Nectresse Sweetener (Packet) (Net Carbs), Splenda No Calorie Sweetener Packets, Meijer Clear Soluble Fiber, Coffee (Brewed From Grounds), Half and Half Cream. Lunch: Steak Sauce, Worcestershire, Dinty Moore Beef Stew, Green Beans, California Mix, Half and Half Cream, Coffee (Brewed From Grounds), Splenda No Calorie Sweetener Packets, Splenda Nectresse Sweetener (Packet) (Net Carbs), Universal Nutrition 100% Beef Aminos, Marie's Creamy Italian Garlic Dressing, Mixed Salad Greens. Dinner: Konsyl Psyllium Fiber, Syntrax Nectar Twisted Cherry Whey Protein Isolate, Onion Rings, Universal Nutrition 100% Beef Aminos, Splenda Nectresse Sweetener (Packet) (Net Carbs), Splenda No Calorie Sweetener Packets, Coffee (Brewed From Grounds), Half and Half Cream. Snacks/Other: Appleton Farms Original Fully Cooked Bacon, Jif Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, Celery, David Seeds Pumpkin Seeds, Roasted Salted Cashew Nuts. more...