Sunday, January 30, 2011

My Take On Fighting the Bulge

Business partner, friend, and fellow blogger Joe has been writing on his explorations into the methodologies for controlling weight gain and achieving weight loss. It is inevitable that as you get older, your metabolism slows down and if you consume the same amount of calories, you're going to gain weight.

Mrs. de-I and I have been fighting this inevitability for a long time and the fact that I really like to cook, eat and drink is not a big help. While there are lots and lots of thoughts and methods that are out there, most fail ultimately because they are not sustainable in terms of a lifestyle that most will enjoy and stick with.

When I got back from Italy in September I was greeted in the mail with my lab results from my doctor and a handwritten note saying "LOSE 10 POUNDS! Gee think she was trying to get my attention. After trying so many pop diet/weight loss ideas without long-term success, we are bought into the "its about calories in and calories out" theory. We are aware of the "if you decrease calories too much your body goes into starvation hold on to the fat mode" so the system has to be finding the right amount of intake to gradually lose weight. This means a long slow decrease. That once again calls for a lot of thought about how to create sustainability.

So Wife and I have been working on that and have been tweaking our program. We are in our six month now and both of us have lost around 10-12 pounds. We still have quite a ways to go. However, I can say that for the most part the system we've developed has not lead to the sense of deprivation. In fact it is a pretty enjoyable meal plan for the most part. So over the next few posts, I am going to describe what we are doing and more importantly show the cooking techniques that I have been using to create the satisfaction/enjoyment component.

5 comments:

terri said...

Foodie posts! YAY! And healthy ones too. Can't wait to read all about what's working for you. I may pick up some good tips for my own family.

Dave Q. said...

I feel your pain. I am feeling the effects of getting older and keeping the same diet from the past. Not good.

So basically I work out a lot more just to be able to maintain a similar diet that I had in the past. But even I recognize the benefit of eating healthier. Life is full of adjustments. This has been a difficult one, but manageable.

Lakeview Coffee Joe said...

Yeah, the calorie in/out is what it comes down to and you're right about the starvation factor. It seems to be a fine line to walk. I'm hoping that my high protein breakfasts will actually burn fat. That's my big goal....though I guess I want that along with weight loss. Very high goals!

Xani said...

Excited to read your upcoming posts on this topic! I've lost about 25 lbs over the past year using a combination of south beach (teaching myself to minimize "bad carbs") and calorie counting. 2011 NY resolution was to add in exercise which is going well so far. Have you heard of/tried an idea called "vegan/vegetarian til 6?"

alexis said...

this is something I dread, since I have all your genes.