Newsgroups: alt.support.diet

Warning, this reply is over 100 lines long.  Hit 'n now if you don't
want to see it.

Hmm, why am I motivated to keep the weight off?  Partly, it's the 
realization that I won't live forever, but I'd sure as hell hate
to go too soon.  My father died at age 53 from his third heart attack.
He was never as fat as I was, but he was never truly in shape...
It's also being nice being thinner than my older brothers.  Last year
I handed *up* my old clothing.  Kinda neat after a childhood of
hand-me-down clothing..

As to how I stay motivated:
I have to give HMR some of the credit.  The 18 month maintenance
program helps to give me the focus I need.  I've had a lot of
setbacks, primarily due to various stress injuries and inflamations.
The tendency would be to chuck the activity level, but the HMR
program helps me keep the attitude of "OK, I have this problem.  
How do I get the exercise I need."  (Note that the question is *not*
"how do I cope with lessened exercise".  If it comes to that, I *am*
in trouble.  No smily.)

A lot of the rest of my success is the ability to build things into
my life.  My exercise (used to) come automatically, as part of my
commute to work.  I'd walk to the trolley station, take it to the
second-nearest stop to work, and do another walk at lunchtime.  By
taking an early stop on the way home, I could get 11 miles a day 
worth of milage.  (All this from a reformed couch potato; my first
walking at high weight was huffing and puffing through a 3 mile loop.)

Currently, I have an inflammation of the foot ligaments, which means that
the 11 miles a day has to be a rare event.  So, I'm taking advantage
of the California weather and substituting bicycling for most of the
walking.  The doctor just told me that 4 miles a day is OK to walk,
so I'm keeping the lunch-time walk (now a tradition; *nobody* expects to
find me at lunch time), but I'm doing about 30 miles a day worth of
biking. I'll get 10 miles in the morning, and drive to the trolley
station.  In the evening, I'll do a 20 mile loop.

On the weekends, I've replaced my various walks (the default was a 4.5 mile
loop, with longer semi-random walks for variety) with a fairly long ride
each day.  If I have a lot of time, I'll do 40 or more miles.  A few
weeks ago, I managed to do a 65 mile loop into the Santa Cruz mountains.
I was surprised at how much fun it was.  I'm getting serious about biking,
too.

Haven't decided on what I'll do this winter.  If the feet get better, I'll
resume walking more, but it's generally possible to bicycle 70-80% of
the time.  I'll be doing some workouts (I don't care much for stationary
bikes, but the stairmaster is my friend :-), and if I get really 
adventurous, I'll learn to swim.

For me, activity and eating is closely linked.  Part of my special case
is the fact that my raw maintenance calories (the 2340 cal/day required
to support my 195 pounds) is nearly matched by my 1700 cal/day worth of
activity.  To one extent, exercise keeps me out of the house, so I can
only eat what I'm carrying.  (I don't eat while walking, and only carry
food for really long rides.  I *won't* ride to a restaurant.  It wouldn't
work for me.)

The volume eating takes some practice.  At the initial phase of maintenance,
I was eating something close to my original diet.  HMR started a vegie
push within a couple of months, and I found I liked the fruits and vegies.
This eventually evolved into the huge vegie bowl.  It's a nice feeling to
be full and realize that it only cost 600 calories...

As far as cravings go, I can take or leave some foods.  I like peanut butter,
but it's not a problem food.  Liquor?  I still have my christmas 5th of
Jaegermeister.  However, ice cream can be a problem.  I kinda convinced
myself "not to see" the Haagen Dass, though I'll try the Ben and Jerry's
(or Honeyhill Farms) yogurt when the Simple Pleasures pales.  Some foods
just fell out of my diet.  I used to *like* beef, and would eat a
steak once a week, and have burgers several times a week.  Now, I don't
even like the taste of beef.  Tried a "sirloin salad" at Harris Ranch
on the way to LA last month, and the beef did nothing for me.  if it had
been salmon, I would have *loved* it.  My current problem food is
cool whip.  On the occasions I have it, I'll buy a small tub of the
Light stuff, and it will go in one evening.  (My fat intake is quite
low otherwise, so I think I can get away with it.)  For foods like this,
I have to be careful not to buy it "just in case".  If I buy it, I'll
eat it right away.  Other problem foods got a healthful mutation.  My
weekly medium combination pizza turned into a once-every-three-weeks or so
small vegie pizza with soy cheese when I have the calories to spare.  I
also go by the Niven law of food: "Make sure the calories are worth it".
I'll avoid spending calories on foods I don't really like in favor of
those I do.  If I'm gonna tube 400 calories on a doughnut, I'm not
going for the Hostess gunk--I'll hit the best donut shop and relish it.
(One instructor mentioned it's a good idea to "acknowledge the food".
Consider "I'm eating this mousse.  I can/can't afford the calories, and/but
it's really good.  Let's savor it.  Want any more?  No.")

Damn, this is a long post, but I've had to work out this strategy over
several months, and it seems to be working.  It's a balance of things;
if I lose one element in my plan, I can adapt, but I almost never have
to scramble.  I build in what I can, and improvise when appropriate,
but the goal is the things.  My food/exercise record is always at hand
(looks weird at the restaurant, but I don't care; "no behavior is too
weird to maintain your weight".)

For those whao made it through, I hope there is something useful in here.

Pete Brooks
Newsgroups: alt.support.diet