Weight maintenance, logbook
Here's what happened since the last check-in:
- After 6 weeks "in the band" (and after a trip without access to a bathroom scale) I hit my upper limit of 67 kg again…
- I started eating 1200 kcal/day.
- After 4 weeks, I hit the lower limit of 64 kg again.
I'm fine with this! :) Super used to calorie counting by now. But it'd be even better if I found a way to stay in the band without it…
Weight maintenance, logbook
I learned that "Slime Mold, Time Mold", a group of hobby scientists on the Internet, are conducting a new Potato Community Trial! This time, you're instructed to eat mostly potatoes, but with your own "riff" added to it!
So I decided to eat nothing but potatoes, soy products, and chocolate for a month, and see what happens! Spices and oil are allowed, as well.
Note: I'm doing this because I think it's fun. So far, I don't see a helpful effect in weight maintenance.
Weight maintenance, logbook
Long time no weight update! Here's the current chart (made with https://github.com/blinry/nom).
You can see a couple of things:
- I've left my target weight range of 64-67 kg over the last three months!
- When I'm at home, I'm tracking calories with a restriction to 1200 kcal/day, which makes me lose weight at around 1 kg/week.
- When I'm traveling, I usually don't track calories and allow myself to eat what I want. That usually makes me gain weight at the same speed!
Weight maintenance, logbook
Since May 2024, I've been experimenting with an additional rule: I never need to track calories for vegetables!
Only low-calorie vegetables count. I'm still tracking potatoes and legumes, for example. 🥔
🫛
But all other vegetables are "free" now – I'm trying to trick myself into eating tons of them, and I think it's working! I often eat them as snacks, and my dishes are almost always full of them.
If you're tracking calories, I can really recommend that rule!
Weight maintenance, logbook
Overall, I'm happy that I allow myself to eat what I want when traveling. Counting calories when eating out is difficult, and trying lots of local food is part of the fun for me!
But it seems that those trips are responsible for the most weight gain in the past year.
On my US trip, I tried the rule set "eat what I want, but I have to eat some vegetables every day". It didn't help much, still a bit early to fully evaluate.
Weight maintenance, logbook
In phases where I'm at home and don't track (because I'm in my band), I seem to gain weight less quickly. Possible reasons:
- I'm usually exercising three times per week.
- I feel some social pressure not to snack all the time.
- I cook for myself basically every day.
One interesting phase was April 2024, the potato diet month, where I only ate "potatoes, soy products, and chocolate". My weight stayed relatively level there.
Weight maintenance, logbook
I'm trying a new strategy to count calories:
Each morning, I'm setting a counter ring to the amount of calories I want to consume each that day, and then subtract them as I eat.
Advantages:
- Much faster to use than fiddling with the Cronometer app
- Easier to build an intuition for how many calories are in things.
I've been using a unit of 50 kcal per number, which works really well: A small apple is 1, a slice of bread is 2, and so on. Feels cozy somehow!
Weight maintenance, logbook
Other current rule: Low-calorie vegetables (most things other than legumes, pumpkin and potatoes) and protein shakes are "free".
Because of this rule, I'm losing weight slower than before, but I probably also eat healthier & I'm happier :)
Slowwwly approaching my goal of 64 kg again, from which I drifted up when traveling this year. Bit frustrating. I'll try to remember to make another check-in once I get there!
(Graph made with https://github.com/blinry/nom)
Weight maintenance, logbook
If you want your own counter ring, by the way, I've made an open-source clone of it which you can 3D print! https://blinry.org/counter-ring/
I just published a blog post about all the techniques I've tried and used in 13 years of losing weight!
It covers things like my counter ring; free vegetables; calorie quantization; accountability; rewards + penalties; various software I've used and written; and motivation.
Feel free to steal from it what seems most helpful to you!
https://blinry.org/weight-loss/
blinry