New Year's Resolutions

[pozorvlak]

I don't normally make New Year's resolutions, but what the hell.

1. Start tracking my weight and calorie intake again, and get my weight back down to a level where I'm comfortable. This morning it was 12st 1.9 - not terribly high in the scheme of things, but it's almost as high as it was when I first started dieting (though I think a bit more of

Comments

[lesslucid]

Re: low-willpower weight loss, maintaining a routine is much easier than creating a new one or trying to "behave well" outside of a routine. "Pre-committing" yourself to what you're going to eat - and including a moderate amount of indulgences within that routine - is a lot easier than trying to "spontaneously" make good decisions every day. It does require an investment of effort and willpower to kick it off, but if you've written a plan for yourself, bought the necessary ingredients, and try to follow it, it's possible to set up a low-willpower healthy-eating lifestyle.

[susannahf]

This sounds a lot like the "slimming world" approach, where there are "free" foods which you can eat as much as you like (usually fruit, veg, and carb staples like rice, couscous etc). Everything else costs you points, of which you have a budget per day - it's pretty much calorie counting but using simpler units which are easier to add up. But doing a similar thing where you have some reasonably healthy and pleasant-to-eat things that you can snack on without worrying may help

[johnckirk]

There's an interesting WSJ article: The Science Behind Failed Resolutions. According to that (paraphrasing), willpower consumes blood sugar, so when you eat less your willpower will weaken and you'll go for the chocolate.

Based on my experience with WeightWatchers, it works well if you eat stuff that's in their database (either prepackaged or from the set menu at certain restaurants). You can still use it if you make your own food from scratch, but it's a lot more of a faff because you have to weigh everything; if you're low on enthusiasm, you probably won't bother.

For what it's worth, I spent a week cycle touring in 2010 and 2011. I ate loads while I was away, then when I got home I found that my body fat percentage had dropped significantly. In terms of motivation, I find it easier to do extra exercise rather than eating less.

Anyway, good luck with it all.

[pozorvlak]

Thanks!

[necaris]

I don't have any useful advice, sadly, although I am lurking to see if there's anything that people suggest that might work for me. However, that "bite off more than you can chew" picture is awesome.

[wormwood_pearl]

I will evaluate Weight Watchers and report back. You usually lose weight when I do so I have high hopes :p

[anonymous]

When my inbox gets out of control, I select everything below the first page and then just delete it all. The first page gets a bit more detailed treatment as it's usually new enough for the below not to apply

[pozorvlak]

I'm trying not to just delete everything, though I'm quickly skimming lots of mail relating to events that have already happened. There have been one or two interesting conversations in there. I'm down to 1033 messages to read, so I reckon another week or two will do it.

Your tips on keeping inboxen under control look good, though - thanks! Particularly the one about not reading mail until you're in a position to deal with it.