Deprivation Dieting

I have been dieting hard. I was thinking of starting a YouTube channel to explain my "Deprivation Dieting" but, for now, here were the main thoughts:

Dieting is a way of life. You have to commit to it and figure out how to embrace the discomfort. So -yes- it involves discipline but not so much on a day-to-day basis as with an overall discipline to "enjoy" the dieting. You can do this if you feel lighter on your feet and physically healthier; but you do it primarily by planning some nice low calorie meals. Get ready to de-prioritize everything else because dieting will be your main activity.

After 3 years of Covid pandemic, I was seriously overweight at 200lbs. I knew well that I had to start getting my life together as the pandemic started to fade. Currently I am at 165lbs and hoping to lose another 15lbs. Then I'll worry about how to get back to "normal" eating. 

After Covid, I went to the Doctor and was told I had Type II diabetes and needed to start taking lots of pills. I am now taking a few, notably Berberine, but I refused to buy into the diabetes framing and by blood glucose and blood pressure have dropped back closer to "normal" range because of the dieting [and also blood pressure pills]. My initial problem was too much glucose. So the essential premise of my dieting has been eliminate carbohydrates - or replace them with carbohydrates (like graham crackers) that also have a lot of fiber. I am supposed to be eating more vegetables but fat and protein are OK. 

The feeling of losing weight is precisely the feeling of being hungry. So get used to being hungry all the time. Going to bed hungry, waking up hungry, and waiting for lunch. This is how a nice meal can become a delicious meal.

Supposedly a body my size and age needs 1,500 to 2,000 calories per day. So my goal was to eat fewer than 1,000 calories per day until I lost the weight. I also try to have an occasional "austerity" day, where I try to stay below 700 calories for the day. I am estimating calories and surely kidding myself more than a little. I was losing weight quickly two months ago. Now it is getting slower and I am having trouble keeping the discipline. Gosh I want a croissant!

So the fun part of dieting is discovering new foods. When you are hungry, things taste better. For example I am enjoying cod-liver oil. Awful as it is, it is giving me some good "Omega 3" fat. 

Standard foods are: 

 - a bit of protein on a bed of seared arugula.

Salmon:

Hard-boiled egg, with side of homemade tomato soup:

 - small bowl of oatmeal

 - soups (tomato and beef)

Ingredients of beef soup:

 - salads

Tuna and salad - a bit of hummus makes it all worthwhile.

Stuffed Turkey Breast with coleslaw and cherry tomatoes

 - walnuts and prunes for desert

 - kefir and kefir/fruit shakes

 - sauerkraut (just started)

 - protein with other fancy vegetables:

Chicken and ratatouille

Salmon and eggplant (with tomato and mozzarella) [and a tbs of rice]

Another favorite meal is a friend egg with cheese and ham, inside a "carb-balanced" tortilla which as only 80 calories and lots of fibre.

Typically I will have one of these meals, and follow it with desert consisting of a small portion of yogurt with agave syrup, or a 1/3 glass of almond-milk with 1/2 tsp of agave syrup. I usually follow this with a small handful of walnuts and two prunes. I also have a couple hundred calories of alcohol after 3PM.