Diet Rules, Food, BG Numbers, Losing Weight, July 23, 2018

Combinations I like:

* Coffee, Carrots and Apple Cider Vinegar, I can have that and basically have zero calories.

Questions, Experiments
* Can I tolerate very small snacks, 10 calorie Slenderize drink, Mints, for example, without any change in the measured stats?
* What happens if I take a nap after dinner?
* Somehow, I need to measure how effective I am at work with different diets. Some days, I get a lot done, some days not so much.

I really didn't make good progress on dieting until I stopped treating it as a diet and started treating it as an engineering problem.

* Number 1 Rule -- Treat the diet as an Engineering Problem
* Measuring the Blood Glucose Numbers, BG Numbers, was a great example of you can't know something unless you measure it. Before I started measuring the numbers, I had all sorts of wrong ideas about what I needed to do, such as drink more milk.

If you are an engineer, you can solve engineering type problems. Treat the diet as an engineering problem.

* Eat between 10am and 7pm, study shows that people who eat between 10am and 7pm, and fast otherwise lose weight. Empirically, that seems to work for me.
* I think butter and fat are underrated. Using some butter helps the hunger stay away longer.
* Grazing. When you are hungry, eat something, just not a lot. You don't have to fill the cereal bowl. Just eat a little bit and then go off and do something. If you are hungry in a little bit, eat a little bit again.
* No High Fructose Corn Syrup. This and Grazing have been my most effective rules.
* Minimize sugar. Lots of things are sweet without processed sugar. Just look for those. Sugar is an addiction.
* Keep food always available. Grazing breaks down for me, if I think I might not be able to get to food.
* Avoid eating out at night. The problem is, I can't control my portions. Then I am eating a 1500 calorie meal and going to bed.
* Juice or soup days, you can have anything you want that is liquid. This helps shrink my stomach and it really works for me.
* There are lots of drinks that don't have a large amount of calories.o Lots and lots. Try different drinks and have options at home. At Gas stations or restaurants, look at what options there are.
* When possible avoid eating out, because you don't control the portion sizes.
* Read the labels on things at the Grocery store. I find myself wondering how they can say some little jar has calories or sodium, based on the assumption that there are ten servings in this little jar. Watch out for packages with hiding numbers behind multiple servings, they are trying to hide something.
* When you do eat out, look at the menu and think about the foods. What would taste good and be good for me.
* When you go out with friends, don't sweat the dieting thing.
* Take one nut out of the jar, eat it and put the lid on.
* No eating late at night. 8:00pm is too late to eat at night. 6:00pm is better.
* Try to make lunch the big meal of the day.
* Portion Control is the Key.
* Small snacks, tiny snacks
* Water helps, always keep water near by, even if you are not actively drinking it. Have it available so you can grab it if you want a sip.
* As I get rid of sugar, I find I like the taste of a variety of stuff better.
* Coffee or Green Tea in the morning seems to get me going. Really does seem to work. Coffee seems to do the best.
* Chose to think about the diet like I think about problems at work.
* If you think you are still hungry after you eat, give it a few minutes before really deciding.
* High Protein, Low Glycemic foods, they can still taste good.
* 6 oz of pasta on an 8 inch plate looks like plenty. 6 oz of pasta on a 12 inch plate does not look like an appetizer -- Scientific American
* Using small spoons actually helps me also. I have to take more bites to get through a meal and the meal lasts longer. I also find I don't mind, even kind of like, the small spoons.
* Keep something around at all times that you can be drinking. Coffee, tea, water, diet soda, etc.
* Always have something you are drinking or plan on drinking
* Simply riding my bike to lunch can be good for 10 points at dinner on BG numbers
* Riding my bike on the weekend seems to improve my wakeup oximeter reading
* One question is that do I just have so little left that a big meal burns out my ability to deal with food for days?
* A big meal does have an effect for days, not sure why.
* Not snacking between meals may encourage my body to use what sugar is available and may encourage efficient use of what insulin is available.
* I need to keep thinking about exercises that I would enjoy. I like walking. I like riding my bike. I think having a Dual Sport bike would give me a little exercise.
* Need to encourage the cells that can tolerate using sugar and insulin
* General rule for low carb foods, nuts, meat, cheese, vegetables
* Find a way to distribute the taste of high calorie foods on low calorie items like dip on large carrot sticks.
* You do get used to the taste of diet drinks and I find myself looking forward to the taste.
* Sugar is an addiction.
* One thing I fail on often, is waiting too long to eat. I wait too long to eat and then I gorge myself.
* Always have something to sip on.
* If you are going to have a big blowout meal, try to make it something you will really enjoy. Don't waste calories on junk that's really not all that great.
* First law of thermodynamics, conservation of energy, whatever you are going to eat in terms of calories, you are either going to burn or store.
* One can of soda/day = 150 cal x 365 day/yr / 3500 calories/pound = 15.6 lbs/year! - Sugar the Bitter Truth - Dr. Robert Lustig
* Fructose is a poison - Dr. Lustig
* Fructose does not stimulate Insulin - Dr. Lustig
* There is no such good thing as a sugared beverage - Dr. Lustig
* Wait 20 minutes for second portions - Dr. Lustig
* Stress and obesity go hand in hand - Dr. Lustig
* If I am torturing myself, it's no good. Dan Sabo
* Being hungry in your stomach, is not necessarily an indication that your body needs food.
* There is no stable weight. You are always gaining or loosing. Morning weight swings of 2+ pounds are just noise.
* It's OK to have days where you let your diet fall apart. Just let it fall apart and then get back to the diet when you can.

Why do I eat?
* I eat because my body need energy
* I eat because I am hungry, my stomach is empty, which is different than because my body needs energy
* I eat because I am bored
* I eat as a nervous habit

Foods that I like that have very low overhead:
• Pickles
• Raw Carrots
• Snapple Diet Ice Tea (Rhaspberry tastes really good)
• Fanta Orange Zero
• Sugar Free Jello
• Coffee (Caffeine)
• Diet Dr Pepper (Caffeine)
• LaCroix

Diet Drinks that I like
* Snapple Diet Ice Tea (Rhaspberry tastes really good)
* Fanta Orange Zero
* Coffee (Caffeine)
* Diet Dr Pepper (Caffeine)
* LaCroix
* Sparkling ICE Kiwi
* Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale
* Diet Root Beer

Killing off the hungry feeling
* Coffee will work to defer hunger
* Starbucks Viva Refreshers will work to defer hunger, at least one instance of it working really well (50 calories)

Good Meals
* Wendy's Baja Salad gives good numbers, either for lunch or dinner - about 800 calories
* Stouffer's Stuffed Pepper frozen dinner seems to produce good numbers
* McDonald's Premium McWrap Chicken and Ranch Crispy - about 600 calories

Stabilizing My Weight
* I need to target 400 to 500 calorie TV dinners for my dinner. 250 to 350 calorie dinners are not enough.