Living the Lifestyle, Wildcard Friday! 1-20-2023

steve0mania

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion.

Monday - crewahl (Charlie)
Tuesday – Flintwinch (Tim)
Wednesday - misterhub (Greg)
Thursday -imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday - Wildcard

Today's Topic: Split personality?

I've often mentioned that I view each meal as a new opportunity. Thus, if I've "stumbled" at one meal, the next one is an opportunity to start over again. That generally has worked well for me.

However, there is a gap I've noticed. In the first part of the day, I'm well-controlled and I follow my plan. I eat appropriate meals, and I get my exercise in.

In the second part of my day, I eat a totally fine dinner. But soon thereafter, I no longer follow my plan. I'll have some wine or bourbon, I'll have multiple snacks, and I seem to very easily ignore my plan.

It's almost like having a split-personality. There's "daytime Steve," and there's "nighttime Steve," and they each have their own behaviors.

Do other folks notice a similar pattern with their own behaviors? What have you tried to combat it? Has it been successful? If not, why not? Etc.?

crewahl

I think you need to go back to tracking and counting points, Steve. 😉

<< ducks and runs for cover >>

What’s ironic is that my eating pattern (a.k.a. Diet n) is virtually identical to yours. I eat my planned breakfast and lunch, which are generally high in protein and low in points. Dinner is sometimes planned and sometimes flexible, but even when it’s eating out, it’s generally from places that have meals that meet my preference for low points/calories. In the evening I may have some beer or port, and I’ll have some crackers or cheese or Chex Mix - whatever is around. Essentially, I’m likely to eat half of my daily caloric intake as snacks in the evening.

So we have that in common. What’s different is two things.

The first is that I don’t see it as a problem. It’s a way of eating that lets me feel I have flexibility throughout the day to make different choices. I can choose to have a larger breakfast, or not. I can choose something different for lunch. I can choose the burger and fries instead of the salad with grilled salmon. Most of the time, I don’t.

The second difference, though, is why I jokingly suggested tracking as the solution. Even though I snack in the evening, I’m working within a daily points range as a boundary for how much I eat. I may have a beer, but not two. Chex Mix is gonna be 3/4 cup, or less. Cheese may be one ounce. It’s all tracked, and fits within the boundaries of my plan. I’ve accepted the idea of boundaries as part of my routing in exchange for a weight that’s where I want to be.

There are, of course, the wild hair days when none of the above is true - I eat with abandon and romp happily past my boundaries. They are exceptions and probably happen less the 10% of the time.

88olds

A plan we don’t actually follow is not a good plan. A plan that isn’t working needs to be fixed.

I try to do things like Charlie suggests. I’m not much on alcohol, but I do like treats. Some I can eat within limits, some not so much. I look on it as what makes a satisfying portion. I can eat about 100-120 cals of ice cream and be satisfied. Cookies it would take about 500. Not so good.

But from our prior discussions you seem to have this coloring outside the lines thing going on that I try to avoid. I try to move the lines to prevent conflict.