How we do what we do...

Chinatown 7/11

Lots of people have asked me how we lost so much weight.  For many years, Corey and I wished that we had jobs with insurance that would cover some kind of weight-loss surgery.  After we moved to Illinois, we were excited to learn that we did, but after I started researching this option, I was afraid of the side effects, so we never seriously pursued any surgical procedures. 

The biggest obstacle to weight loss was and still is my ongoing battle with food addiction.  I know it sounds like a cop-out to some of you to say that sometimes I almost can't control myself around food, but it's true.  There was a reason that I was 334 lbs.  I love food.  LOVE it.  LOVE IT!!!!!  If I could put little hearts and flowers around pictures of some of my favorite dishes (but that would be weird), I might.  The good thing about being addicted to food is that you can appear to be completely normal; people don't have to know how much you are freaking out about food on the inside.  I used to wake up in the morning and literally lay in bed and anticipate getting up to eat breakfast.  I would plan certain activities around where and when I was going to eat.  I would eat in secret, so no one could see how much I was eating because I was ashamed of myself.  Most of all, I was afraid to be hungry.  I know how strange that sounds, but I wouldn't do certain things because I knew it would take a long time and I might not have access to food during the activity.  If I got hungry, I was miserable and could hardly think of anything else until I got something to eat. 

Here I am in Maryland in 2008 putting some serious thought into what to have for breakfast.  During this meal, I tried Scrapple- a melange of a lot of leftover pork pieces ground up together and fried; it was pretty gross!

Here we are at Crabby Mike's seafood buffet (yum!) in Myrtle Beach 7/10. My mom and dad and my brother Brent and his wife Evelyn are also enjoying the food (but maybe not as much as we did).

Well, I had to learn to get over that.  Being hungry is part of dieting sometimes.  It can make you uncomfortable, but it's not going to kill you (hopefully).  To quote Friedrich Nietzsche (and Kanye West- lol), "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."  When I die, I want that on my headstone (and "Demoted Wife and Dressmaker"- Hahahaha!!!  Sorry, had to put in that Drowning Mona reference.  If you haven't seen that movie, you really should).  Anyway, I used to seriously be frightened to drive past the Metro Center on my way to work because Rocky Mountain Chocolate is there, and I would imagine myself turning the car into the parking lot, going into the store, and gorging on all my favorite things there.  Let me just put in a plug for their caramel apples- they are amazing.  Here's a tip to the slim and fit folks out there: if you want to ever figure out where to eat, call a plus-sized friend; they can tell you all the good restaurants and give you suggestions on dishes. 

Here's the proof- here's a suggestion on two great restaurants and a cafe in Chicago (more will inevitably follow in this blog because I still love eating).  The Grand Lux has amazing everything, especially desserts, the Chun Quon Bakery in Chinatown has yummy (and authentic) sponge cakes and tarts, and  the Bergoff has fantastic schnitzel and noodles. 

 Even though I have now lost 135 lbs. I have never lost that sense of being out of control completely.  I struggle with eating right every day, and some days are better than others.  The sucky/wonderful thing about food is you have to have it to survive; I can't simply give it up and never touch it again.  If I were giving up something else, I think it might be easier because I could never touch another cigarette or another beer, but I will always have to touch food (several times a day, in fact).  I wish that they could come up with a pill that would allow me to never have to eat.  I could take it three times a day and never have to put food in my mouth again.  I think that would be easier than constantly struggling against wanting to eat bigger portions and less nutritious food.

Here is a short list of my favorite things to eat (but which I have learned to eat in moderation or not at all):
1.  Chocolate.  When I hear of people who don't like chocolate, I really wonder what's wrong with them.  I know there was a time when chocolate was not known or readily available, and I can't imagine what that would be like.  Crappy, I guess.  My favorite chocolate foods are chocolate candies (especially See's) and chocolate cake with milk.  I could eat chocolate cake three meals a day.  It's especially good with vanilla icing and red hots.  Cinnamon and chocolate are delicious together- try some Mexican mole sometime if you don't believe me.
2. Sugar.  I know this seems like a continuation of my rant about chocolate, but it's not.  Sugary things that are not chocolate-based are also wonderful.  I love sweet-savory dishes especially, like Orange Chicken from Panda Express.  That stuff is the worst for you- not only is it chock-full of refined sugar, but it is also deep-fried, so it is delicious and terrible at the same time.  I totally acknowledge my love-hate relationship with food.


Here are some dim sum dishes from the China Cafe in Chicago's Chinatown.  It's a little more authentic than Panda Express!

3. Ketchup.  I know that ketchup is a condiment, but the way I eat it is almost like a real food.  I don't just dip things in ketchup, I scoop.  I know- for all you non-ketchup people out there, this sounds disgusting, but I think it's delicious.  Fries, my hamburger, chicken strips, hot dogs, eggs, you name it.  I think it goes back to my love of sweet-savory sensations.  Scooping things in condiments seems to be a food addiction tell.  I have witnessed other food addicted people who were obsessed with one condiment or another.  It has to do with the need for MORE, I think.



Here I am in the China Cafe with a bottle of hoisin sauce, the Asian equivalent of ketchup. 

 4. Cheese.  I love cheese.  This is a savory food that goes great with a lot of other savory foods and some sweet ones as well.  The great thing about cheese is its flavor and texture- there are so many of both.  The texture of cheese has a mouth-feel to it that's incredible.  So creamy!  Cheese is one of the most calorie-dense foods out there, so I hardly ever eat much of it, but it is a food I still worship from afar...  Sigh... I loved you, Cheese...
5. Bacon.  Is there any food that goes with more things?  If you think about it, you really could eat bacon three meals a day.  Wow!  It is so good with a lot of different foods like maple syrup, eggs, tomatoes, cream sauce, cheese, lettuce, potatoes, hot dogs, hamburgers, pasta, gravy, and more.  The list really could go on and on, but this blog is not about bacon, so I have to stop. Suffice it to say that bacon is another delicious food, and if you want to eat it, eat Oscar Mayer bacon bits, which have only 25 calories per tablespoon and give a lot of flavor bang for the buck.  Turkey bacon is just not the equal of the pig- it doesn't crisp very well, and it is still pretty calorie-licious.  Better just to have the real deal and eat it in moderation in my dieter's opinion.

The first day I was under 200 lbs.

So, now that I got that out of my system, back to how we lost the weight and are still losing it (slowly).  Well, if you want to lose weight, you have to be willing to count.  When we first started, I had no experience with calorie counting, so it was a whole new experience for me.  What you really have to do is figure out a base-line for your calorie amount- this is your resting metabolic rate (RMR).  This is the amount of calories you would burn if you laid in bed all day and did nothing.  Your body is going to have to burn some calories to keep your heart beating, intestines working, eyes blinking, etc.  There is a big equation to figure out your RMR, but since math isn't really my thing- you can go to http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php where they have an RMR calculator for you. So, how do you lose weight after you have an RMR number?  Well, to actually lose any weight, you have to have an output of calories that is greater than what you are burning.  One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories.  If I want to lose 2 lbs. per week, I have to have a calorie deficit of 7000 calories every week. 

So, you take your RMR, and you multiply it by a factor based on your activity level (don't worry- they will do this for you at caloriesperhour.com).  Mine is 1.55 because I am moderately active.  Right now, my RMR is 1,661.  That means to keep my body basically functioning if I did nothing but lay in bed, I burn 1,661 calories every day.  With my factor of 1.55, my RMR is 2,575.  To lose 2 lbs. a week, multiply this number by 7 (for seven days) which equals 18,025.  Then I subtract 7,000, because you have to have a 7,000 calorie deficit to lose 2 lbs. per week.  This gives me 11,025.  Then I divide by seven to see how many calories I should be eating per day: 1,575.

After I have my calorie goal, I track my food and calorie intake on a website like sparkspeople.com or livestrong.com.  I make sure that I stay within my calorie goal, and I lose weight.  Most of the time.  Now, why I say this is because I think your body gets used to dieting, and you can hit nasty plateaus where you won't lose any weight for a few weeks even though you seem to be doing everything right.  Jillian Michaels says you should up your caloric intake by 10% and get more sleep to break through plateaus.  My solution has been to shake up my eating or exercising, which sometimes helped. 

One important side note: even if after you do all the math your calorie goal comes up under 1,200 calories, you shouldn't do it.  Eating too few calories can make your body think it's starving, which may make you gain weight.  Besides, you can't maintain an eating plan that makes you constantly hungry.  You will eventually cheat big-time, and you will gain weight.  This is the opposite effect of what we want (duh!).  If your calorie goal is that low, you must be thinner to begin with, which may mean that you need to lose weight more slowly, or if you still want to try to lose 2 lbs. per week, you need to eat at least 1,200 calories but exercise more to make up the calorie deficit you want to maintain.

One last thing: for runners, you cannot eat like crap and expect to feel good while you run.  I can't believe what a difference it makes to eat right.  I feel 180 degrees different if I eat well the day before a run versus eating junk food.  Even if you are eating your 1,500 calories, if it is junk, you will feel like junk.  Eat right to feel good.  This has never been clearer to me than after I started running.  I try to eat a 25/50/25 diet for running.  That means 25% protein (for muscles)/50% carbohydrates (for energy)/25% fat (for proper hormone production).  I got this diet guideline from the book The Runner's Diet by Madelyn H. Fernstrom, so it's not just me blowing smoke up your tail pipe.  When I eat 25/50/25, I feel stronger and less out of control than if I stay within my calorie goal but eat whatever I want.  End of soap-box sermon.