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I can’t emphasize enough the immense value n critical importance of my personal strengths listed near the end. I think very few people have these strengths. See also reaching target weight=luck25%+75%effort

• —- What make weight loss so hard for me and everyone else:
• First reason — weight reading can be unstable !
• two long-term real challenges 1)starch-dependency 2)fat-binge
  • starch: Grain is a built-in basic need in my “system” and I tend to eat 100% or more grain than other people from China or elsewhere. Cooked meat/veg always call for rice .. lots of rice. See other blogs like intermittent rice-elimination
• inhibition to discard tasty or expensive food, that’s unneeded/unwanted in my diet regime.
• [L] family dinners and meals with friends
• [L] late night meal — easily 1/3 of my daily calories
• [L] snacks — often uncontrolled
• [L] free food temptations
• if you stay away from the following (all high-calorie) for too long you will hit a real craving:
  • fries, onion rings
  • cakes, brownie
  • pizza
  • ice cream, chocolates
  • kway teow
  • Singapore dessert
• [L=loss of control]

Despite these daunting challenges, why does my weight improvement Oct – Dec 2018 rank as one of the greatest self-improvement victories of my adult life? Here are some reasons (unsorted, and I don’t want to spend too much time at this stage):

• I formulated my homegrown strategy based on research (with massive dose of skepticism). Most diets probably won’t work for you due to countless challenges, so you have to formulate your own.
  • eg: %% diet strategies for weight loss #Davis
  • eg: my own strategy against binge
• [t #1] self-knowledge via introspection and consistent bookkeeping. Luckily, I found a formula that actually works and I can see quick results so I became increasingly confident predicting my body’s reaction. I know intermittent fasting and starch reduction will show results in 2 days.
  • eg: choose less tasty foods  , try to sleep b4 impending appetite kicks]
• [t #2] attention-to-detail
• [t #3] self-control (effective!) based on self-knowledge etc. It’s easier to formulate plans than executing them. “self-discipline” is not really the key.
  • eg: combat the cheap availability of calorie-dense temptations — office treats, chicken skin.. (I won’t list too many to intensify the temptation!)
• [t] pushing to the limit and building self-confidence about the body
  • eg: delaying meals; raw veg; starch reduction; raw veg …
• no family cooking no family outing — one of the top 2 external factors
• my metabolism rate? I doubt it as it didn’t help me lose weight over many years. I only lost weight by cutting starch etc
• luck? I don’t think so
• [t=my traditional personal strength]