Written Sept 27th, 2026, but published Dec 2025 on my blog to keep this more hidden. I worry it's a tad obnoxious; it might be more of a diary entry. Maybe this only works for me, I don't know.
What do you do after you've hit your goals? I think what helped me avoid the "let down" is that I lost weight, so I can do more outdoorsy stuff. There's been a solid reward. But if I'd done it just to feel better or look better in my clothes; I can see why people feel oddly unsatisfied after hitting their target weight. I've still got a little belly. When I sit el bucko in my sauna, I'm still flabby, just much less so.
My goal has been to get below 220lbs, and ideally to stay in the 210-215lb range. I've been < 215 for a couple months now (August & September 2026). I've been under 220 since mid June 2026.
Maintaining weight long term is the tricky bit. Duh! a "Captain Obvious" statement I know. But, I feel like this is where I always failed in the past. Yet, I'm more hopeful this time.
I'm going to continue weighing myself each morning and keeping track on my
google weigh-in spreadsheet No more living in denial, hoping I'm not putting on weight. Others may maintain based on how they fit in certain clothes. Do whatever helps you stay on track best. Honestly though, I'd rather track my weight so I only have to deal with losing a few pounds instead of 10 or more. I don't really freak out when the number shifts 1-2 lbs during the week.
This time around, I didn't have a "dieting" mindset to drop the weight. It felt more like a puzzle. I was figuring out recipes and portion sizes I could enjoy and live with long term. I'm not hungry day to day. More problem solving, less will power.
For me that means mostly high fiber, plant based recipes, and it's what I actually prefer eating now. I'm not reverting back to deli meat subs, chips, frozen pizzas, factory made cookies. NO! to Ultra Processed food. It's not healthy, and it's literally engineered to make you overeat.
I still eat a burger once or twice a month. More often, I get a slice of pizza from the Wegman's food court after biking there. I'll even splurge on a donut or a cookie for dessert too. It's totally ok occasionally.
Most days I just eat veggie/bean/lentil stuff, 50% whole wheat sourdough, a serving of 2% Greek yogurt, and protein powder recipes. I don't cook daily either. I cook 1-2 times a week and just re-heat leftovers until they're gone. I try to shift recipes so there's variety week to week. I never eat the same thing for lunch and dinner. There are usually 2-3 pre-cooked options in the fridge.
Before I made all the changes, I really didn't believe a low inflammation diet would actually make your joints feel better, but it does for me. I remember my knees aching a lot more when I biked in my 20's, At 54, my knees feel better now, even after biking all day when touring. Tbh, I'm biking slower now vs my 20's, and I got my bike fitted to me so that could be part of it too. I rode much, much faster in my early 20's though. My younger self would leave me in the dust, lol.
I like how his Life Long podcast focuses more on the mental challenges of maintaining a healthy weight; his American Glutton podcast is more for people just getting started or still in the process of losing weight. It's such good advice to start small, and figure out changes to a healthier you, one thing at a time for a week or two until you master it. Then start the next thing.
There are so many different ways to go about losing weight; there's no magic fix. People obsess way too much about what diet to follow. Vegan, Keto, Carnivore, Weight Watchers, Mediterranean whatever. Figure out what you like best; it doesn't matter that much IMHO. My one caveat is that the different diets likely do have a significant impact on longevity and aging (per epidemiology studies); but regardless, you'll live longer and better at 200lbs eating Keto than at 500lbs eating ultra processed food. Keep perspective. Do whatever works for you long term.
For weight management, I believe the key thing is actually figuring out your particular mental health issues driving the overeating (excluding people with metabolic or health driven issues of course)
Ethan Suplee's podcast and guests have given me some interesting insights. He's my age, so I think it helps me relate to him more. I haven't had the drug/alcohol addiction issues he's had, but if I'm honest, food was always my drug of choice. If I had a rough week/day at work, I'd go pig out with half or 5/8's of a large supreme pizza and half a bag of chips. Or, Jacqui and I would go out to eat somewhere, and I'd easily consume 2,000-3,000 calories in one meal. Now, I see that behavior like a drug addict getting a fix. When I get those binge eating urges, I just imagine myself as a drug addict sneaking off somewhere awful to shoot up heroin. Visualizing it that way really got me to stop managing stress with food, and I don't get the cravings nearly as much anymore. I go for a ride/jog/hike/paddle ... instead.
So I guess, I see food more as fuel or medicine now, not a party drug to shoot up for a "reward" or stress relief.
More specifically, I like putting food into the following categories
- Fill up Food
- Tasting Food
- Crack/Heroin
- Riding Fuel
Raw Broccoli, beans, lentils, apples, plums, lettuce etc are Fill Up foods Eat as much as I want
Ranch dressing with some chili crisp is Tasting Food. I often have some with raw broccoli. A few tablespoons of that mix is likely as calorie dense as a full crown of Broccoli, but after eating a ton of broccoli, I'll feel full off the 400-500 calories combined for a long time.
A single serving bag of chips is Tasting Food, a spoonful of Ben and Jerry's is tasting Food. Stuff you eat to just enjoy the flavor/taste, but shouldn't "fill up" on. Honestly, who feels full after eating ice cream? I've never gotten full eating ice cream, hot dogs, chips, etc.
For me, my Crack & Heroin are Doritos and Diet Coke. Be careful here, there should be very few foods you label this way. Crack/Heroin foods should only be foods you can't stop yourself from binging. I don't think categorizing anything containing Sugar as crack/heroin would be sustainable long term. People like to ban way too much from their diet, and then they fail at some point.
Riding Fuel. When touring or doing some massive ride or hike for a day, you need fuel. I just try not to binge it all at once; I just eat an extra 200-250 calories per hour when hiking/biking a long time. I'm burning an extra 400-500 calories per hour, so meals have to be bigger too. When I did my VTXL bike tour, I had to face reality that I was burning an extra 3,000 calories per day. i NEEDED dense, high calorie food to keep my muscles happy. I felt so much better on the tour once I started eating a dense homemade blondie/brownie/crumb cake each day, as well as eating bigger meals. After I finished the VTXL ride, I was down 3lbs to 212.6 lbs (over just 6 days), and I ate a lot.
The main issue with weight management from here on is probably going to be social gatherings. But again, it's more a mental issue I think. I don't want to be an obnoxious, "holier than thou" jerk. No making special diet requests to the host. Everyone is responsible for their own feelings, but I'll live with upsetting my Mom after declining 2nd helpings
At gatherings, what I've done is enjoy whatever is offered in Tasting Food portions, but I'm not going to "fill up" on a super calorie dense casserole or lasagna if that's all that's offered. 500-800 calories worth, sure. But heck no to 1500-2000 calorie portions (or more). 1750 calories = half a pound of fat. 3500 = 1 pound. With my truck camper, I've brought healthy food options with me when I visit family. Helps me avoid overpriced fast food too.
People need to understand that not everyone can feast during a family/holiday meal without risking a big relapse. Or if you're working on losing weight, people may think it's just pigging out for 1 meal, but a calorie hit of 1500-2000 calories can set you back 1-2 weeks from reaching your goal. It's a bigger ask than your friends/family may realize, and they shouldn't assume that their special meal is the only one you're going to during the holidays. People often give in to the peer pressure and that's why everyone gains 5-10 pounds over the holidays, it's nuts.
Oh well, enough blah blah blah. Before my next annual checkup in January, I might splurge and pay for a Dexa Scan somewhere. It's the most accurate way to determine muscle mass and body fat, and it's a great way to make sure my bone density is ok. I'm jogging and hiking more to keep the bones strong (I hope), but it would be nice to know for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment