Living Large
Like Sam over at Becks and Posh, I too have been trying to lose weight by dieting.
I realize that by losing a significant amount of weight I will be removing myself from the furtive glances of those who chase people of size, but this alienation is one I am willing to endure, if only because I'm tired of being looked at like a piece of fat.
In fact, I am more than willing to abandon the meaningless subcultures that go with being overweight to the point that I'm ready to scrawl on a t-shirt the words "I'm not a Bear, I'm just fat". This t-shirt will proudly join other items of clothing from earlier inner angst ridden days, such as the jacket I scrawled "I'd rather be alone than be a Clone" on.
Basically I wanna be the size I was back when I could choke out a hippie and then go for a long bike ride.
Ah, those were the days!
While Sam is doing Weight Watchers, I'm doing plain ol' calorie watching. Sometimes I watch these calories go from a trickle to a breaking dam, depending on my schedule that day.
I've found obsessive calorie counting the best way to lose weight, as well as your mind. Being part of the Reality-Based community, I know that basic science is behind losing weight of any kind. Simply, you consume less calories than you use. One pound of fat contains 3000 calories, so if you've eaten 3000 less calories per week, you'll lose a pound a week.
If only it was that easy.
Take for instance last week: I was up to around 800 calories during the daytime consisting of non-fat yogurt, a banana, a couple of carrots, a can of sardines, a cup of coffee, a rice cake, and a small cup of chicken soup. Then when I got home, I'd have maybe two pieces of chicken and some bread. I was doing pretty good and even lost a few pounds in just 5 days.
But that long weekend threw me off course.
After the duck confit, the rest of it was just a blur culminating in some Pork Adobo at Carmen's near the baseball park.
The culprit as mentioned.
This week was blown after I was pretty much forced to attend a co-worker's birthday party where I consumed what has to be one of my all-time favorite sandwiches - a Reuben; piles of hot pastrami on rye with sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and 1000 Island dressing. And then today, it was the marinated pork chops and spaghetti at a little dive that I'm currently investigating for a future blog post.
This weekend we'll be down in the Valley for the Almond Blossom Festival and you know what that means...funnel cakes!
Plus plenty of potluck food and cookies and you know, nuts are pretty damn fattening too.
At this rate, I'll end up at my goal weight when I'm 102.
k.
I realize that by losing a significant amount of weight I will be removing myself from the furtive glances of those who chase people of size, but this alienation is one I am willing to endure, if only because I'm tired of being looked at like a piece of fat.
In fact, I am more than willing to abandon the meaningless subcultures that go with being overweight to the point that I'm ready to scrawl on a t-shirt the words "I'm not a Bear, I'm just fat". This t-shirt will proudly join other items of clothing from earlier inner angst ridden days, such as the jacket I scrawled "I'd rather be alone than be a Clone" on.
Basically I wanna be the size I was back when I could choke out a hippie and then go for a long bike ride.
Ah, those were the days!
While Sam is doing Weight Watchers, I'm doing plain ol' calorie watching. Sometimes I watch these calories go from a trickle to a breaking dam, depending on my schedule that day.
I've found obsessive calorie counting the best way to lose weight, as well as your mind. Being part of the Reality-Based community, I know that basic science is behind losing weight of any kind. Simply, you consume less calories than you use. One pound of fat contains 3000 calories, so if you've eaten 3000 less calories per week, you'll lose a pound a week.
If only it was that easy.
Take for instance last week: I was up to around 800 calories during the daytime consisting of non-fat yogurt, a banana, a couple of carrots, a can of sardines, a cup of coffee, a rice cake, and a small cup of chicken soup. Then when I got home, I'd have maybe two pieces of chicken and some bread. I was doing pretty good and even lost a few pounds in just 5 days.
But that long weekend threw me off course.
After the duck confit, the rest of it was just a blur culminating in some Pork Adobo at Carmen's near the baseball park.
The culprit as mentioned.
This week was blown after I was pretty much forced to attend a co-worker's birthday party where I consumed what has to be one of my all-time favorite sandwiches - a Reuben; piles of hot pastrami on rye with sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and 1000 Island dressing. And then today, it was the marinated pork chops and spaghetti at a little dive that I'm currently investigating for a future blog post.
This weekend we'll be down in the Valley for the Almond Blossom Festival and you know what that means...funnel cakes!
Plus plenty of potluck food and cookies and you know, nuts are pretty damn fattening too.
At this rate, I'll end up at my goal weight when I'm 102.
k.
posted by Dive at 6:42 PM
Hello and welcome. This food blog is based in San Francisco and I'm Kevin, the guy who writes it.
You may know me from my brief, but violent and cracked out, appearance on COPS. Actually, that wasn't me - he didn't even look like me.
I'm more than happy to entertain you, but please don't be so shy. You can comment below or contact me personally at baconprss at yahoo dot com. Oh, and I like to eat sometimes.
7 Comments:
uh oh!
I keep meaning to do a calories count to compare to weight watchers points (in which I am cluelesss about the calories), but then there are only so many hours in the day to track these things, and I think I've gotten fairly good at WW guestimating points.
The 'special occasions' are definitely the hardest moments, especially as I manage to talk myself into several special occasions a week. WHat I try and do id the rest of the time is to psycholgically talk myself into agreeing that I should be extra good. So when I have a debauched evening of feasting in which I am unable to resist dessert, the next day I get right back to the yoghurt for brekkie and the soup or salad for lunch.
It seems to be working so far, and I am determined not myself slip into my old bad habits (like eating the free pastries at work because they are free and available, despite the fact they taste pretty bad) so that I save my calories or points for only the good stuff.
Yes - it takes a lot f willpower sometimes, and I do succumb to temptation sometimes, but I think it works by recognising when the temptation is a truly valid one.
Does that make sense, or has lack of food caused lack of oxygen to my brain to????
I have a hard time with portion control. I find it easy to eat most of a roast chicken, such as the one I made last night and is now up on MH.
Instead of worrying about calories and fat, I'm going to worry more about getting some excercise. If I can burn about 3000 to 4000 calories a day, I'll be SET.
Biggles
Thanks for the good advice Sam.
However, I'm pretty bad at resisting temptation. To be honest, it's not the sweets that get me, it's the carbs (like a big ol' plate of noodles), fat (I could eat duck skin all night long), and generous portions.
Like Biggles, I have a hard time with portion control. Like most Americans, I was raised believing bigger is better with everything, to the point of being ludicrous.
Big cars. Big stores. Big churches. Big hair.
And of course, big plates of food.
It's breaking this conditioning and thinking "small" that is the real challenge.
k.
PS And Biggles, I think you'd have to walk from Richmond to SF and back to burn half that many calories. I'd go with Plan B if I were you.
i eat the duck fat too and the lamb fat, I just make sure no one islooking when I do it and then it doesn't seem to count?
I bought smoked pig's foot. Impulse buy. At least it's a small foot.
Your blog cracks me up and also often makes me hungry (damn you!)
Good luck with the weight loss! Love the T-shirt idea.
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