Category Archives: The Hacker’s Diet

May 17, 2007 — Just 4 Today


Posted by katiebird

Just 4 Today logoJust 4 Today, I’ll drink my fiber twice (YES. done), drink 2 liters of water (about 1/2), walk 5 miles (3415 — I’ve been walking 5.5 ), NOT eat between meals & NOT take seconds.

I decided to pretend I’m going in The Big Brother House (that show where they put a bunch of people in a house for the summer and they fight over what order they have to leave.)  My plan is that I’ll spend this month losing as much weight as I can in preparation for my (imaginary) entry to the house.  And then I’ll spend the summer losing weight with the houseguests.

The shows over in mid-September, so my target date for this diet plan is September 17.  That’s the date I’ve plugged into my Hacker’s Diet Plan and Nutribase to estimate the calories I should eat and the miles I should walk each day.

I got the Nutribase software a week ago — and so far I’ve lost 5 pounds.  I know, I know — it’s not real fat-loss.  Still – It’s great to see the scale move off that 165 mark for the first time in months!

The Nutribase package included digital fat-calipers & a cool body-tape-measure.  The tape measure has a way to self-anchor so a person can accurately measure themself.  But it’s the calipers that have been the most interesting.

I’ve always known that I have small bones.  And that I seem to be made up mostly of skin, fat and hair.  But there wasn’t any way to prove it to an outsider before (I once had a doctor tell me that I didn’t have to worry about bone-density because I obviously had gigantic farm-wife bones.  In a twist on the whole Cartman thing, I told him I was fat, not big boned.  But I don’t think he believed me.) Anyway, I’ve weighed 115 pounds as an adult and I could identify another 10 pounds of fat.  So I know for a fact you have to go down pretty far to hit bone.

Anyway, the calipers.  The charts all say that my BMI is 27.5.  But the calipers say that it’s closer to 41 (on average — you take it in three places.)  It’s going to be fun to see if I can get this to improve by mid-September too.


What it means to have a working Eat Watch or at least a back-up alarm


Posted by katiebird

Yesterday at this time (midmorning) I was having my usual midmorning starvation, “I’m never going to make it through the day“, attack. And I got up to whine at one of my coworkers about it.

I complained to him about how I have this switch in my brain that unexpectedly shuts off all concern about eating. That even though I have my responsibilities here at Eat4Today, I can — all too easily — convince myself that eating this or that (say candy or pasteries) is acceptable. When that switch shuts off, I eat, even though it’s 10:30 in the morning or 8:30 at night and I’ve already long ago eaten breakfast or dinner.

John Walker, author of The Hacker’s Diet calls that switch his Eat Watch. According to him people like me, who eat when they’re not really hungry and don’t stop eating when they’re actually full have a broken Eat Watch. We don’t have a natural eating regulator in our brains to keep us from overeating. So we can, without even noticing, nibble our way through the day.

My coworker’s Eat Watch works almost flawlessly. And he described the process for me yesterday . . . . [MORE]

Continue reading →


After the Storm — Getting the right slope on the trendline


Posted by katiebird

Just today, I’m not going to eat between meals and I’m not going to take seconds. And I’ll weigh myself & use the tools and guidance from The Hacker’s Diet to help me reach (and keep) my goal.

Whew. I think I have a better sense of the damage done to my trendline than I did yesterday. I didn’t do anything crazy or bad yesterday. In fact considering it started with a funeral (beautifully and emotionally done) it was a pretty good day. I had a lovely visit with a friend and a long, fun conversation with one of my brothers.

I’ve heard that that the definition of being an introvert is that you get energy from being alone (which I’ve always thought fit me) and an extrovert gets energy from being with and talking to people. And I’ve always thought that I was an introvert because I love coming home to a quiet house. But maybe the house doesn’t have to be totally empty of others for me to be really happy?

My friend and I talked for almost 2 hours. And then I came home and called my brother and we talked for almost 3. And I felt better after that than I have since the wreck. Considering how I’ve been dragging through the week, the difference is pretty astounding. I got my first good night’s sleep and since waking up I’ve cleaned the kitchen, folded laundry, vacuumed, made the bed and sorted some papers. Which I think shows that I get at least a little energy from talking to people.

On the other hand, it is true that I’m also completely dragged down by the weeks when 3 or 4 or even 7 siblings (who I totally love) come to town at the same time. And we have one huge family gathering after another with hardly a moment alone for days on end. By the time it’s over, I’m a wreck — I feel like my brain is buzzing and all I want to do is go-to-couch and rest with a good book.

So this has been a good weekend — I learned something important about myself (that I do better with a balance of being around people and being alone) and I put a halt to that out-of-control face-stuffing mode I’ve been in all week. And not only do I have a clean house, but the slope on my trendline moving in the right direction again.

I know there will be bad times in my future. But it’s so comforting to have a set of tools that I know will help keep me from letting those times affect my weight and health.


I’m telling myself that it’s not a failure if I learn a lesson


Posted by katiebird

Just today, I’m not going to eat between meals and I’m not going to take seconds. And I’ll weigh myself & use the tools and guidance from The Hacker’s Diet to help me reach (and keep) my goal.

Yesterday morning flew by and I didn’t have a chance to focus on my affirmation. It lurked in the back of my mind as I conducted a couple of online conversations and touched base with family members about a recent death. But that’s a dangerous behaviour. It’s so easy to tell myself that today is different. That it’s ok to slide today because the circumstances are extraordinary. But everyday is special — if I’m going to do something everyday, I can’t be making excuses for not doing it.

I began the week sort of excited by the challenges of a week I knew would be different. But, I had no idea what I was in for or just how deeply I’d be challenged. From Sunday through today, this has been an intense week filled with out-of-town family, accidents, death and loneliness. Which was enough for me — I took refuge in eating, mostly eating take-out. Continue reading →


Where I prove (again) that my eat watch is busted


Posted by katiebird

Just today, I’m not going to eat between meals and I’m not going to take seconds. And I’ll weigh myself & use the tools and guidance from The Hacker’s Diet to help me reach (and keep) my goal.

Yikes! I’ve eaten take out food for the last two nights and that’s all it’s taken for me to ‘gain’ 5 pounds. I put the gain in quotes because I’m hoping that I didn’t really eat 17,500 extra calories in two days. It really was just the two meals without any snacking involved. I guess I did have seconds, but I still don’t think it should have been quite that bad.

Something switched off in my brain last night and I just didn’t care. I guess that’s the whole broken eat watch story again. So, while I feel horrible about my lack of discipline and control the last couple of days. I am very grateful that I discovered The Hacker’s Diet. Because of it, I already knew that I don’t always control how much I eat. And because I weigh myself everyday, I know that in just these two days I’ve gone too far (what could I do to myself if I went on vacation — somewhere away from a scale?).

The weird thing is that I feel sort of excited. Like I’ve got a job to do (brushing off my hands) and I know how to do it. (to be continued)