My Food Pattern Intervention

Tackling my achilles heel - food behavior. My current weight of 199.2 lbs as of this morning makes me “heavy” and is getting in the way of everything else. I have had a low of 194 lbs in January and last fall I did see 208 on the scales. At a checkin with my doctor one time in the fall of 2023, I asked to use their body analysis scale. Lets just say that was a lot of information that I did not want to see.

Since December, I have been mindful of being a future weight of 120-130 lbs where I was in my twenties and early thirties. I have been weighing myself more for the feedback. This has gotten me into the 190s. I know the 2__ is right there creeping back. Moving forward, a simple morning weight in is one of the interventions I will be using and logging the number.

I have my MS in Human Factors and did research for my masters thesis on creating intervention tools to create change. I know what I need to do, but I do not do what I need to do. I guess we all decide to make change when our current state is hurting us more than making the change. For my MS thesis I got volunteers to do simple tracking of the foods that they ate in a paper log. This was in 2005 - this would be so much more effective and easier today with the app trackers that exist. I did find some evidence that the longer you use an intervention, there is a likelihood of making change.

Here is my plan:

Interventions:

1) Weigh myself every morning and log the weight in my paper planner and in MyNetDiary (https://www.mynetdiary.com/)

2) Log everything that I eat in MyNetDiary app - I use the diabetes version because I like how that version breaks down the Carb/Protein/Fat.

3) Create a food script (see below) to follow with an emphasis on 1:1 carb:protein ratio - as close as possible. No matter what log the food (intervention #2). Creating a script should help with not making on the fly choices.

4) Use social media, VLOGging and BLOGging to share the process - this is my story and so may other people’s story. I also believe it will create a source of accountability.

All 4 interventions are going to create feedback loops for me. The goal is for the interventions to help me focus on making changes to my food patterns that will result in the loss of weight. The focus is on what I want in the future not a current desire.

Food Script Jan 24, 2024

***Avoid Wheat and Cheese

***Eat as close to possible of a 1:1 Carb:Protein ratio

Breakfast ( Carbs 36g, Protein 32g, Fat 7g - Calories 326)

Protein Shake: frozen banana - 1 cup coconut milk - 1 scoop Jarrow Whey Vanilla Protein

3 hard boiled egg whites

Snack 1 (Carbs 23g, Protein 17g, Fat 11g - Calories 253)

green apple

10 almonds

1 hard boiled egg

2 hard boiled egg whites

Lunch (Carbs 21g, Protein 27g, Fat 11g - Calories 281)

4 oz boneless chicken breast steamed or baked

3 carrots cooked (or other similar vegetables)

1/2 tbsp of olive oil

Snack 2 (Carbs 18g, Protein 20g, Fat 4g - Calories 220)

2 Banana Protein Muffins (ingredients 6 scoops Jarrow Whey Vanilla Protein, 1 cup coconut milk, 3 smashed bananas and 1 egg)

Dinner (Carbs 30g, Protein 39g, Fat 8g - Calories 343)

6 oz baked salmon

green apple

steamed or baked vegetables