Day 10: Belt Tightening

One old-worn dieting aid is "tightening the belt," literally: buckle up at a notch that's tight on the hips. The idea behind it is to make the uncomfortableness serve as a reminder to stick to the diet. The benefit of this technique isn't known, but it does have a side benefit if you have a belt that's old and you're thinking of a new one.

I'm now at the fifth notch - a level that would have signalled overeating when I was at a more normal weight for me, but now means I'm on the right track. It's partial evidences like this one that keep the morale up.

Two days ago, I got a suggestion from "mk" to effectively split three meals into five. I'm trying it today, and have found out something about my own technique: it depends upon routinization, upon structure. I've eaten three meals a day at about the same time each day, and had found that the hunger pangs have eased. Today, the hunger pangs have come back. So, a word to any dieter or would-be dieter: routinization makes your "willpower" grow considerably, especially if you keep yourself busy with something you're already good at. I've been easing the structure of my own diet recently, as a test, but I still have the basic template to fall back upon, which I'm largely following still.

If the monotony of a fixed diet is growing tiresome, here's an idea I've already implemented: substituting new foods that are slightly fewer in calories for the meals in the template. This associates variety, and relief of eating boredom, with a slight cut in the calorie intake. The basic meal plan can serve as the template of maximal calories, thus associating a slight calorie increase with monotony, if also a sometimes needed structure.

I'm still finding out how much my weight varies during the day. Last night, while my bladder was mostly full, I weighed myself, then weighed myself again right after urinating. I had lost two pounds, more than I've managed to shed off in two days of "official" measurement. It's observations like this one that, if you're in a cheerful frame of mind, give a sense of perspective to the whole matter.


(Note: This diet is supposed to be done without exercise, as one followed by an active but sendentary man. I might as well let you know, though, that I've gotten a 25 lb. dumbbell for what will probably be recreational use. It may work well as a sleeping aid.)


Weight as of approx. 6 PM today: 249 pounds. Evidently, I spoke too soon yesterday, but the direction is fine.