Hey Charles,

Just read your 2/19 blog entry and I agree with you. I think individuals have to figure out what is going to work for them and and adapt that into their lives rather than trying to force themselves into something they may not be ready for. It's easier for some people to subscribe to a program if their eating habits and preferences, as well as some other behaviors, tend to lend themselves to that program to begin with. If I came across a program that said "you can't have cheese, bread or anything salty and you have to document everything you eat and do but you'll lose the weight very fast" I wouldn't do it because I know I wouldn't be able to sustain it long-term...heck, not even short-term. :p

So, instead, I essentially considered what I was consuming and how much and asked myself several questions along the lines of, okay, what do you want to keep as is, what do you want to keep but modify to a lower-calorie version, what would you not really miss much if you didn't have it (or at least didn't have it frequently), what new choices or the increase of certain choices can you incorporate that both taste good and are good for you?

Same deal with the exercise. I'd kill or at least cripple myself, I think, if I started out trying to do 30 intense minutes at one shot. :p But, hey, I can do 10-minute bursts 3 times and work my way up from there. I mean, I'm up to a 15-pound loss after about 7 weeks of what some, including me sometimes, might consider minimal-to-moderate effort...lol, it doesn't always feel that way, especially after exercising. :D At this point for me it becomes a question of can I keep going at this level and expect a reasonable, somewhat gradual pattern of loss or can I adapt myself to a slight increase in effort and maybe lose an extra pound or two a little quicker? :carrot: I'll focus on my ultimate goal when I get closer to it; in the meantime, I focus on the next few pounds. I'm like the tortoise in my tracker--I can see the goal in the distance but it's gonna take me a little while to get there and I just have to focus on the next few steps that put me closer to it. :)

How's the snow and ice by you, btw? I'm seeing people still having trouble getting cars out. At least they finally picked up the garbage. :p

I agree, Trekkie. I lost a lot of weight before, and this is my second journey with less to lose but man is it harder. Guess why I gained it back? Exactly what Charles says. You stop restricting and you stop spending 2 hours a day 7 days a week at the gym and try to have a life that includes some partying and dinners out with the boyfriend, and you pack it back on. I personally am having success with SB, bc I am in the "introduce carbs back in" phase. We'll see what happens. I think Charles's model seems pretty sound to me, and it is certainly worth a try. Oh, and I love the blog, Charles. I also have a side blog, but it has nothing to do with dieting, so I don't push it here. Take care, and good luck! :D

Hey, welcome! I did it pretty much the same way you're planning to, too. Old fashioned and pretty boring, but it tends to work. All of the other methods are really just more systematic ways of doing the same thing, its just about which method works for you. Nothing too constructive to say, just a hello from another northeasterner:)

In the world of big boobs, tiny waists, and "just a little junk in the trunk", I am the station wagon. Flat all the way down and no real curves. I look like a roll of Jimmy Dean sausage turned upright. At 6' tall and 340 lbs, and a size 24, I don't look like I weigh that much, but I do. I carry it all over, not just in one concentrated area. I used to run 8 miles a day and lift weights for 3 hours, followed by 50 laps in the campus pool, but that was college, and back then, I was 220. Still fat by some standards, but I was in awesome shape, and I thought I was hot. Now I'm married, and I want so bad to show that woman to my husband, he has only seen the station wagon. So, you're into science...I was a physics major in college, but changed my major to drafting design and computer networking technologies because it was more hands on...so now I sit at a desk all day, staring at a computer map. I am pretty intense and I don't hold back my opinions, so, hopefully some of you men are the same way and can kick my rear into shape with some harsh realities.
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