I love food. I never want to sit down to eat and have to worry, restrict, or wonder about what I am eating. I am also not exactly great at staying disciplined in the face of a complex plan. I'd much rather a strategy that is easy to understand and remember, and has a clear path to achieving my goal.
I ended up using the clock to manage my intake. I started by having a hard stop at 7pm. I could eat whatever I wanted until then, but then it had to stop. A side effect of this has been an incredible improvement in my sleep. Having slept well often means I am able to manage my cravings better, it seems.
I then started reducing the hours in the morning when I could eat. First I just eliminated breakfast, then I also eliminated the mid morning snack. This took some discipline at first but I did get it.
I eat an early (11:30 usually) and massive lunch. That gives me time to do some digesting and have a productive afternoon. A big lunch also means I don't really crave sugary or other indulgent stuff mid afternoon. Dinner, I eat whatever I want. ANYTHING. I just try to make sure I drink a lot of water.
Pick your vector of optimization. For me it was time. So easy and you can't argue with or wonder about the clock. It's right there in front of you. I lost 25lbs without thinking about it. I could lose more if I wasn't a bit of a pig at lunch and dinner :)
I ended up using the clock to manage my intake. I started by having a hard stop at 7pm. I could eat whatever I wanted until then, but then it had to stop. A side effect of this has been an incredible improvement in my sleep. Having slept well often means I am able to manage my cravings better, it seems.
I then started reducing the hours in the morning when I could eat. First I just eliminated breakfast, then I also eliminated the mid morning snack. This took some discipline at first but I did get it.
I eat an early (11:30 usually) and massive lunch. That gives me time to do some digesting and have a productive afternoon. A big lunch also means I don't really crave sugary or other indulgent stuff mid afternoon. Dinner, I eat whatever I want. ANYTHING. I just try to make sure I drink a lot of water.
Pick your vector of optimization. For me it was time. So easy and you can't argue with or wonder about the clock. It's right there in front of you. I lost 25lbs without thinking about it. I could lose more if I wasn't a bit of a pig at lunch and dinner :)