Jim's Diet

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Jim's Diet

I recently lost some weight; I'm under 200 lbs. for the first time in 25 years. Of course, I plan to keep the weight off. We will see. What's my secret? It is no secret:

Exercise: This is the most important factor, both for better health and for losing weight. You want to lose fat but not muscle. Diet without exercise loses muscle, which results in good numbers, temporarily.
Eat less: There are diets that allow you to eat all you want. But the simplest, most obvious method is to eat less.
No guilt: Don't ever feel guilty that you went off your diet for a day or two. That was your decision, and it is now part of your diet. Just try to restrict "pigging out" to one meal; don't do it two days in a row.
Food is still pleasurable: You can still eat for pleasure; just don't overeat for pleasure.
Some people can lose lots of weight rapidly, but most people who try that gain it right back. My diet is a life-long process. Lose the weight slowly, and keep it off.
Drinking lots of water seems to be important.
If you have too much food, do not eat it all. Sorry, save some for later.
For those of you who become obsessed with being "skinny," have someone pick a weight for you (healthy but not skinny), and try to stay near that weight. Don't keep losing weight; that is dangerous.

That last one is not one of my problems. What about the relative merits of counting Calories, counting carbohydrates, or restricting fat? They are all similar, and they all work, and they all are imperfect. Use whichever one you feel like; it should work for you.

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