The Biggest Gainer

jerk chicken @ mr jerk's, originally uploaded by lomokev.

So far, the weight gain experiment has been a huge success! I set a target to pack on one pound per week throughout the remainder of December, tracked my calorie intake with The Daily Plate, and stuffed my face with food. As a result, I'm up two pounds in 14 days. But there are other interesting side-effects to this exercise.

By recording what I have eaten, I become more mindful of what I am putting into my body. Now I know what it feels like to eat 2,570 calories a day. If I go for a few hours without any food, I have an awareness that it's time to eat something again, whether I feel hungry or not. And the nutritional information is staring me in the face, so when I eat something unhealthy, I know it.

I would recommend this practice to anyone, whether you're trying to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain it. And I would still recommend The Daily Plate as a tool to do it.