Fat Paul has left the building. He wasn’t really fat, but he was well on his way.  The problem was that he put no thought into what he was eating, often waiting ‘til the last minute to eat, or just eating terribly all day. *cough*6cokeday*cough*

So exactly four weeks ago, I embarked on a mission to lose weight and get in control of what I eat.  It was exactly 7 seconds after I first weighed in that people started giving me diet advice. Ugh. I took none of it.  I started with basic foods in smaller portions at regular intervals.  I read dietary science books, cook books, scientific cook books (to teach me about the science behind how I know this chicken is cooked).

When I started, I was consuming 800 calories a day.  Now I’m probably up around 1300 or so, but I’ve stopped thinking in terms of calories. I eat whole vegetables and fruits as snacks.  I cook at home (I’ve eaten out once, in an emergency).

But I also some had some really interesting side effects:

I didn’t throw all the junk food in my fridge away.  I plan to have a treat every once in a while still.  But having it in the fridge tested my ability to say “No”, which I’ve never tested before.  Plus, my wife wasn’t dieting with me, and she might want some junk food every now and then.  I realized that I can be in control of my body in ways that I had never imagined.  Well, that, and learning that I previously conflated “boredom” with “hunger” and would eat whenever I was just bored.

My productivity and focus skyrocketed.  I probably don’t have ADHD, but sometimes it sure feels like it.  Well, felt like it.  I can sit and perform tasks without getting distracted.  I’ve been reading books at an alarming rate, and understanding their contents.  I require less sleep (although I still like more sleep), and when I wake, I don’t have problems actually being awake and alert.

Two years ago, I had some medical problems that seemed like appendicitis. It ended up being inflammation of my guts, and the doctors never could figure out what was wrong with me (but at least they eventually ruled out cancer…).  After that, I’d randomly get sick after eating something.  I never knew what might actually cause it, because it was never consistently the same things.

That problem is completely gone.

I suffer from an deficiency of serotonin, which could be related to my previously mentioned sickness, but also lead to random bouts of depression (which I have learned to manage well).  Not only have I not had any problems, but I just got a blood test back, and my serotonin levels are in the “normal” range.

I’m planning on changing to my long-term plan now.  Because I’m annoyed at people who give diet advice, I’m not going to share mine.  I’ll probably lose a bit more weight slowly, and I have a target BMI range that I’d like to stay in (I’m not there yet).  That being said, getting control of this is probably one of the single best things I could have done for myself.