Challenge - Week 11 - Day 3 - October 27 - Monday

It's serious now. I am pulling all stops - removing all inappropriate foods from my diet. I'm finding that "the letter of the law" (in my case) < 20-30 grams of carbohydrates is NOT sufficient.

It's time to get a bit more intense. Gone are the low carb bars that I used to have for breakfast - now it's a "boiled egg". The big chef salad at lunch is going to be replaced with two smaller salads (half at lunch and half at dinner). If this does not work - out goes the cheese that I have topped the salad with. I'll gauge this week to see if the cheese goes next week.

This isn't a sustainable way to eat for life, but it will be for the next few months to reach my interim target goal. One thing I did find - is that when I revert back from this intensive weight loss, I do have a pattern of eating that I am comfortable with (what I have done the past three months). I thought it was enough to lose, but it appears that my previous few months' eating style is more suited to maintenance than losing. I can deal with that.

I've learned a few things - my body doesn't lose easily, I do best when I am very strict about eating, I CAN get back on the wagon after an afternoon of snacking - In fact, I can resume normalcy the same evening. (I munched out on cookies at work on Friday afternoon, but was able to go back to normal on Friday night). I didn't do the .....awww, I'll just wait until Monday. I wanted to get the ketone levels back right away. This may sound inconsequential - but for me, this was very significant. I have always tried to extend a day of bad eating until the end of the weekend.

So, there is a diet style for everyone - I found the one I am most comfortable with isn't radical enough to really lose weight, but it is good for a lifetime baseline. I'm envisioning what I did the past three months as my lifetime baseline. I can add something here or there, but will need to gauge regularly to make sure I won't gain. That was something I never quite figured out - what is the baseline? What is the point of not gaining or losing? And, how do you resume dieting after splurging.

I think I'm finding those answers after three months of struggling. Here is to a great week for everyone!