Good morning Riley,
It is a combination of reducing how much I eat and exercise. For example, mom and gf are not exercising so while they are losing weight it is not a rapid as it is for me. Do I watch my calories, perhaps, yes it is something that I am aware of.
But it is currently a case of what is the size of my stomach and how much I can eat at any one time. Also while you need to be drinking 64 oz of water a day, you can't be drinking 45 minutes before or after eating either, lest you risk stretching your stomach.
My stomach is about 25% of its former size.
I am currently targeting trying to get between 50 and 70 grams of protein a day which the Dr. said was the critical factor in losing the weight in the long term.
The water volume and protein are proving to be daily challenges. I'm bringing in new foods daily and have a table I've made of # calories to # grams of protein and going with the best ratio.
I also have to take multivitamins daily as well as B12 in the morning. This is going to be for life but not a problem, just part of my morning routine.
I'll be honest and if someone told me I'd be getting by on say 600 calories a day without being lightheaded and sleeping all the time I'd have told them they were out to lunch. Yet that is exactly the state that I am in.
I still get up at 5:30, out the door by 6:30 for exercise and in bed at 9:30, my schedule has remained the same pre and post surgery.
My end goal? Well, honestly Riley I'm not that sure. I think that it will get to be more of a challenge as my weight drops. I spent a very brief time between 190 and 200 when I lost weight back in about 1999 and between 200 to 210 five years ago.
I might challenge going lower than that. I really am not sure. But once I am where I want to be then I have to start consuming higher calorie foods relative to protein. That should not be a problem as let me tell you I have a love for both peanuts and peanut butter!
I don't recall what the calorie intake is for a male our age and height, maybe 2000?
I think that the saddest part of what we have to accept is that once our bodies are grown, say around maybe 18 to 20 years of age, we get screwed in two ways after this.
1)we don't need as many calories as we are not longer is a construction mode but have to switch over to a maintenance mode.
2)our metabolism slows down as we age - we become more efficient at using the food we eat therefore we need to reduce intake again as we age. Who ever designed us this way should have given it more thought!
The bottom line sadly is, if you weight more than you'd like to, or what you should weigh, then you ARE eating too much. Thus to lose weight you either need to exercise more or eat less or a combination of the two........
My two cents anyway.
But you have a good understanding of what I am feeling. I eat by the clock rather than by being hungry.
For the moment, no if's, and's or but's, I'm fine with this. Heck I'm even going swimming this weekend and if you want to challenge self confidence, if you don't go swimming because you don't like how you look in a swim suit, then you need to lose weight!
Cheers,
Garry
I'm fat.
