OK,
I had a plan to write a bit about the scale, but I will save it for a different day. Here are a couple thoughts on what and how much you eat.
There are a few different mechanisms at work when you change your diet. 1)energy in, 2)metabolic rate, 3)involuntary activity levels. The trick when changing a way of eating is to balance the energy in (cals) with the metabolic rate and involuntary activities. Why this matters is this:
As energy in falls, the body compensates by several different methods. The first is by changing the metabolism to make it MORE efficient. This means that you will get the most possible value out of the foods you eat. The second is that it will begin dispensing with the involuntary activities that would normally burn calories, jitters, jumpy legs, toe tapping, rocking, etc. Because of these changes, the dynamics of dieting are different than "fewer calories=weight loss".
The thing that is needed is fewer calories, but enough to keep the metabolism higher, and activity levels at least as high as before. If the metabolism is more efficient and activity levels are lower, then the fewer calories isn't fewer anymore, it is still 100% of what is needed to stay at the same weight.
For a day or two, it doesn't matter. After a few days at extremely low cals, the body makes the changes mentioned earlier, which makes weight loss difficult, and also makes it that much worse when you make a mistake. This is compounded by the fact that extremely low cals are difficult to sustain, and they also tend to drop blood sugar levels and affect moods badly. It seems counter intuitive, but to lose weight you have to eat.
Since you have to eat, the big changes should be WHAT you are eating. There is nothing wrong with fats, carbs, or proteins, but they have to be kept in a proper balance. Fats tend to be tough because they are so calorie dense, and carbs are difficult because it is so easy to eat so many, with refined carbs also adding insulin issues.
I don't care for counting calories, but it is a good idea to look at the back of Beckers Cookbook,
, and get an idea of how many calories many of the foods you eat contain. Put together a breakfast and lunch that are easy, don't contain refined carbs or junky fats, that are maybe 400 cals, and eat 'em. Two pieces of whole grain, spendy bread for toast, a couple eggs, maybe some cheese grated on them... Don't forget to add the butter and jam in the cals, they add a lot.
Doing like the above makes things a bit easier, because you can do it on auto pilot. You can look forward to breakfast, knowing it will be healthy, palatable, and keep you on track. Don't skip it, as it can wreak havoc with all kinds of things. You won't need junky snacks because you have food in you, and you know you will be eating a healthy lunch after a while, where you will still be on track. Your metabolism will stay higher because you are getting enough food in to keep from crashing it.
I am not saying any of this to preach at anyone, but they are things that I have ignored and regretted, and when I follow them things go much better. If you guys get tired of me putting this stuff in here, just say like ma daddy always said... "Boy, SHUT UP."
