Part 20: The Luxurious Diet: Eating Only the Finest Parts Like Royalty

Some people might think it's wasteful to throw away leftover food.

However, you shouldn't force yourself to eat extra calories just because you think it's wasteful. Doing so will definitely lead to weight gain. If you're still hesitant, please read the whole book; you'll eventually realize that it's not wasteful at all.

Similarly, whenever I crave potato chips, I buy them without hesitation, without considering the calories, and try my best to bring back those delicious potato chips.

However, I would only select the five pieces that were the best in shape and color, thick, and sprinkled with salt crystals. I spent a lot of time picking and choosing to select the five best pieces.

After you've made your selections, take the rest to the kitchen and flush them down the drain! That way, you won't be able to eat them even if you want to, eliminating the worry of overeating.

My ideas come from a collection of small, accumulated experiences.

The Hilton Tokyo has an executive lounge. Anyone who has stayed a few nights and become a member can use this lounge, even someone like me. Drinks and snacks are complimentary in this lounge.

I really enjoy this freebie, and I always take a lot of potato chips and cookies to eat. If it's served in a small dish, I only need to refill it twice. By the third time, I don't even think it tastes as good anymore.

But when I'm at home, I can finish a large bag of potato chips in no time and I don't feel tired of them. Why is that? Actually, the first few chips are indeed delicious, but as you eat more, it's just out of habit that you keep eating them mechanically.

Eating because it tastes good is understandable, but habitually eating it is a big mistake. Gaining weight due to food addiction is absolutely unacceptable! Furthermore, if you keep eating something you don't like, aren't those extra calories just wasted?

Thinking about it that way, I immediately threw away the ones I didn't want to eat. Even if I kept them, they would get soggy and wouldn't taste good, so I might as well throw them away now. Potato chips aren't expensive; I can just buy a new bag if I want some.

At first, I just threw them in the trash, but I took them out and ate them several times. Later, I simply poured the potato chips directly down the drain.

Even if you feel like you're wasting money, you should use reason to control it.

"This can't be sent to the children suffering from hunger in Africa."

"Throwing it in the trash is just a waste of money. But if you eat it, all your previous efforts will be wasted."

"If I eat 200 calories now, I'll have to eat 200 fewer calories tonight, which would be a waste!"

"If you still want to eat it, go to the convenience store to buy it. If you don't want to make another trip, it means you don't really want to eat it."

That being said, there are times when he acts irrationally.

"I just want to eat barbecue, two servings, no, three servings, plus a big bowl of rice, and I also want to drink beer!" Sometimes I have this kind of craving.

There are countermeasures to this.

First, we need to re-evaluate the standard of "1500 kcal per day".

We shouldn't just think of a day as one rotation of the Earth-24 hours. Instead, we should understand it as 1500 kcal per day = 4500 kcal for three days. If you consume 2000 kcal in one meal, as long as the remaining 2500 kcal can sustain you for three days, there won't be any problem.

If you couldn't control your appetite and ate five servings of pork belly and drank beer, then carefully calculate the calories of each item. You can refer to the website recommended earlier.

Assuming you consumed 2000 kcal for dinner on Monday, starting from Monday's dinner, you can only consume 2500 kcal over the next three days, up to Thursday's lunch.

The total intake of calories consumed in eight meals was 2500 kcal, which is an average of only 312.5 kcal per meal.

If it were me, I would consider eating a Subway sandwich. There are many options under 300 calories per meal, and they're generally larger and have more vegetables than hamburgers. I could choose a different Subway sandwich for lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That way, it's possible to consume less than 300 calories in one meal.

In addition, limit your daily breakfast to 200 calories. Two cups of instant porridge are quite filling. If you find that too much trouble, you can eat jelly instead.

If each of the three breakfasts contains an extra 112.5 kcal, the total extra calories will be 337.5 kcal. If these are distributed among the dinners on Tuesday and Wednesday, along with the basic 312.5 kcal, the total extra calories per meal will be 481.2 kcal.

481.2 kcal is enough for one meal at a family-style restaurant. You can refer to the calorie rankings of family-style restaurants.

In this way, appetite can be restored within a week at most. That is to say, instead of rigidly adhering to the rule of "consuming 1500 kcal per day", you should consider how to achieve "an average daily intake of 1500 kcal", which gives you more options.

While restricting calorie intake, you should start drinking 2 liters of water every day at this stage.

This 2 liters of water, excluding coffee, beverages, etc., is just plain water or tea. Drinking 2 liters of water every day can help with metabolism.

When you control your diet, you also reduce your intake of water from food. As a result, your body can unknowingly fall into a state of dehydration.

Dehydration can lead to abnormal metabolism. Fat breakdown occurs through metabolism; if metabolism is abnormal, there's no fat breakdown at all.

If you can't get used to 2 liters of water, it will be quite painful to drink. You can put the water in a bottle and carry it with you, and don't forget to replenish your fluids frequently.

There were no restrictions on what you could eat during the run-up and takeoff phases. But starting from the ascent phase, restrictions finally began.

Here, I want to correct a common misconception: that weight loss depends on willpower.

No matter how strong your will or how determined you are, it's useless! If we had willpower, we wouldn't be obese in the first place!

The key to victory is not willpower, but wisdom!

Since there are limitations in terms of weight, the best approach is to address the issue physically from the outset.

I have a much weaker willpower than most people, and I don't like sports. However, using my brain is a pleasure for me. I think most men fall into this category.

I love to eat, and I've gotten fat from it. As I mentioned before, I tried to channel the passion I had for eating into weight loss.

If you can transform the stress of not being able to eat into the joy of "I can eat now," then losing weight can be fun.

The worst-case scenario is breaking the rule even slightly and falling into self-doubt, believing yourself to be a useless person who can't follow the rules. If you only ate a little more because you felt low on sugar and lacked energy, there's absolutely no need to regret it.

"Oh no, I accidentally ate 1000 calories for lunch. How can I make sure I don't exceed my daily intake?" Approaching it with the mindset of solving a puzzle and putting in some effort and thinking can be beneficial for both your physical and mental health.