Hi everyone! My name is Konstantin, 30 years old, from Russia. 193 cm height, 107 kg weight, quite athletic, running 3-4 times a week + strength training 2-3 times. But still carry extrae ~20 kg.
It's my second or third attempt to start journaling here. It's been a lot of time since the last try. I gained a lot of experience and now understand my body and my mind better.
For the last 6 weeks I tracked my food intake with Cronometer and gained some interesting insights which help to explain my fails and devise a new plan.
1) When I eat very clean, MWL style, I tend to undereat. Too often my food intake in a day is only 1800-2200 cals. With my height and activity level it's very low. And of course I cannot sustain this low intake for long. I think the culprit here is that I developed some level of distrust to my satiety and hunger signals. MWL is large volume / low calories. Too often my mind says that I ate already a lot and should stop, while body is still not fully satiated. When I eat till complete satiation, without any restriction, I eat more appopriate 2700-2900 cals a day.
2) When I eat not very clean, visiting friends or family, I tend to overeat. Too often my food intake in those days is in 4000-4500 cals range.
3) In general I eat clean 4-5 days a week and not clean 2-3 days. It means that in a week there're 3000-5000 of extra calories. It explains why my weight doesn't change. And eliminating this surplus will start a steady weight loss.
It means that all this time Dr. McDougall has been right. Eat till full satiation, trust your hunger, eat clean and you'll be fine.
Goals:
1) To write in this journal daily for 100 days. What I ate in a day and what my activities were. I think it will help to develop and sustain commitment and accountability.
2) To write a weekly progress post. With my current weight, my level of motivation and commitment, and some thoughts about the week.
Challenges and solutions:
1) Eating clean around family members and friends. Especially when tasty treats are easily available.
Solutions:
- not to go out hungry, to eat well at home first
- bring my own food, eat my food + some veggies and fruits
- remind myself of larger goals
- have an intention to eat clean
2) Losing motivation.
Solutions:
- just keep doing it. Over time it should become easier. And seeing the progress will increase motivation.
- remind myself of larger goals, have clear picture in my mind
The diet:
MWL with occasional bread and no oil pasta or home made no oil veggie pizza. While tracking my food intake, I've found that bread in general is not a problem. Often it helps to up my food intake to appropriate level.
