How I keep weight off

It's one thing to lose weight as there are methods for that. Keeping it off is a different story.

Back in '16 I lost a bunch of weight. Wrote a book about it and everything. I may have to write a followup book to answer the question of "What happens after you're done losing the weight? What then?"

It would take a book's length to answer that, but what I can say right here right now is that an integral part of keeping the weight off is a food journal.

My food journal is nothing more than a pen and top ruled memo pad. I like top ruled because it feels better flipping a sheet up to go to the next one instead of to the side.

What do I track on the food journal? One thing and one thing only. Calories consumed per day. On the left side is what I ate or drank. On the far right is how many calories total at that moment, and the column just to the left of that is where I do a little addition math. I was using a cheap desk calculator for a while but I found it's just faster to do the math by hand. At the very top left I write the date I'm tracking.

Why not use an app?

This adds in totally unnecessary complications to something that should be dirt simple.

Yes, there are several calorie tracker apps out there, and they all work. But the process of a) getting my phone, b) launching the app, c) entering in a username and password, d) looking up the food or drink I consumed and e) adding that to the journal takes WAY LONGER than just grabbing a pen and writing it down.

Does this mean I have to read labels so I know what calories are in what? Yes, but at this point I've memorized the calorie counts for all the regular foods I eat so I don't have to read labels or look up anything online.

Do I need to periodically use a food journal to maintain a certain weight?

Yes.

It's almost too easy to gain weight just by not paying attention.

I never put back on all the weight I lost (that would literally mean I'd have to gain over 50 pounds), but there have been times my jeans have felt tight, I get on the scale and uh-oh, 10 pounds heavier...

...and that's when I break out the pen and pad and restrict to 1,200 Calories or fewer per day until those 10 pounds are gone.

Every Calorie is accounted for, including any sugar (which is 4 Calories per gram) be it added sugar to the food item or sugar I add in myself, such as for sweetening coffee.

I don't restrict what I eat, but do restrict total daily Calorie intake. This method along with a few other things I do works for me.

Again, I may write another book on this because yeah, the "aftercare" matters once the weight is off. A lot.

Published 2023 Oct 5

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