On February 21st, 2006, I bought a bathroom scale and a Palm Zire, installed Eat Watch on the Palm, and recorded my weight: 211.5 lbs.
By September 4th, 2006, the day I moved from Pittsburgh to New York City, I weighed 177.5 lbs. In about 28 weeks, I lost 34 pounds.
I am writing this to remind myself how I did it, because unfortunately I need to do it all over again.
First of all, I stopped worrying about What I ate and focused only on How Much. The human body is remarkably efficient, and as long as you aren’t stupid and eat a reasonable variety of food, you won’t be in danger of contracting scurvy.
At the time I lived in an apartment complex that included a small gym. Basically a room with some weights and a pair of elliptical machines. Each night I would go to sleep in a T-shirt and gym shorts and each morning I would wake up, walk straight to the gym-room, and spend 20 minutes on the elliptical. I just selected the “Fat Burner” program, since that is what I was there to do.
I did not eat breakfast. All my life, breakfast has never been a habit. In high school my parents would give me a bagel or a Pop Tart but that was about it. When I was on my own it rarely occurred to me to eat in the morning. I wouldn’t feel hungry in the morning but I would feel it by lunch time. I enjoyed it; it felt like I had earned my lunch.
I worked in an office where we typically went out to buy lunch. Most of the time it was a sandwich from Quizno’s or a burrito from Qdoba, but Thursdays were for 50 cent slices at Michael’s Pizza Bar. Most of the time we would bring the food back and eat at our desks, but the social ritual of rounding up a group and taking a walk was extremely important.
When given an option, I always ordered a small. I did not eat to feel full. I ate to no longer be hungry. This is not my natural behavior, and so it required me to pay attention.
I drank a lot of water. I’d keep a bottle around and refill it from the tap. It kept me from drinking other things.
After work, I went home. I tried not to keep food at home. If it was around, I would eat it, so to Eat Less, I made eating inconvenient. In the late evening I would feel hungry. I would watch television and let myself feel it. I didn’t ignore it so much as acknowledge it. I reminded myself that the feeling was a sign that my body was dipping into its reserves, and burning fat, which is exactly what I wanted it to do. It’s a little uncomfortable, but it isn’t painful, and television made it easy to deal with. Specifically, reruns of The A-Team.
During this period, my life was pretty dull. I mean, it was already pretty dull before I started losing weight, but being dull certainly helped. Social situations encourage eating and drinking. Spending my evenings at home alone made it easier to avoid eating, or thinking about eating.
After I moved to New York, I slowly gained the weight back. My life is not as dull as it used to be, and I believe that is the source of most of my problems. I spend more time out with friends, and often there is beer. I have more stress, which leads to bad decision making. And there’s a bodega on the corner open 24 hours a day.
