Damn you, Chilly Willy! Always the instigator.
I refer to my nighttime kitchen cravings as feeling like an
angry bear is taking over. I could be sitting in the living room with the
family, watching, oh let’s say baseball (because it’s always baseball), when I
spring up off my chair and head to the kitchen and stick my face in the fridge.
The bear is calling – yelling, really.
I mentioned this to the Weight Shrink this week, how this is
my absolute No. 1 biggest problem with food. I hadn’t weighed myself for a few
weeks, and when I finally did last Monday, I was back at 240, a weight that my
body naturally likes to be. That’d be great if I were a 6-foot-5 muscle dude,
but I’m not.
I should not be 240, Sam I am.
I’ve been trying to “intuitively eat” the past few weeks,
and it turns out that when I do, I maintain my weight. All during the day, I
eat in weight-loss mode, but I think the calories I ingest at night, after
dinner, kick me into maintenance mode.
Interesting little experiment.
But the experiment is done.
Yesterday, I joined with a bunch of bloggers and lots of
other people on Facebook. We’re trying out The
Digest Diet, written by Liz Vaccariello, editor of Reader’s Digest. I finally met her in person and talked with her
about the book at BlogHer in New York last month. I previously talked with her
about her last big book, The Flat Belly
Diet, when she was editor of Prevention
magazine.
What I like about Liz’s eating plans is that they’re all “real-food”
based and don’t omit entire food groups. There are carbs, and proteins, fruits,
vegetables, sweets (she’s a big fan of honey) and yes, fat.
This new book uses the latest research to highlight foods
that help people release fat and stay fuller longer. The first 4 days of the
plan include lots of smoothies with loads of healthy ingredients (yogurt,
fruit, flaxseeds, healthy fats), and hearty soups, most of which have a “beans
and greens” base (kale and chickpea, chard and lentil).
And since you’re slurping smoothies and soups the first 4
days, she makes sure the snack has some crunch to it – lettuce wraps, dips and crudités,
things like that. Today, for example, I had red pepper strips dipped into a
quarter cup of fat-free cream cheese mixed with diced tomatoes and seasonings (at right; dishes by Ikea children's department).
But last night, that stupid bear was howling again (do bears
howl?). I caved and scraped the top off a leftover piece of pizza. Gave the
crust to the dog.
The Weight Shrink and I discussed The Bear yesterday. I need
to embrace the bear and acknowledge its existence. So I decided to make it a friendly
polar bear. I used to think of it as a crazed grizzly. The bear starts stirring
around 10 p.m., because that has been its traditional feeding time.
But feeding time is over.
Tonight when the bear arrives, I’ll give her a big ol’
Camelbak full of water and let it feed on my reserves. (That sounds pretty
creepy, doesn’t it?) But that’s how weight loss occurs – that’s even one of Bob
Harper’s rules in his new book The Skinny
Rules (go to bed slightly hungry).
It’ll be tough, ignoring that snarling bear, but I really
want to see how these foods on The Digest Diet will work with me, and I’ll
consider any growling as just the friendly polar bear obliterating my excess
weight.