On December 27th, I posted about my New Year's weight loss being about my health, not just my weight. That post got a lot of traffic from the Diabetes Mine blog. So, I thought I would try to write on the subject of weight loss on the weekends. My approach is one of long-term change, not a quick change. I don't believe in those lose 50 lbs. in three weeks plans. By the way, there use to be a show called Extreme Makeover on ABC that had many people who lost a lot of weight very fast and had skin just hanging off them!!! They were always trying to get plastic surgery. Yikes, I'll keep the fat. I think you have to be logical in your approach; you know, use your head. That's easier to do now because there is a lot more knowledge out there about weight loss based on new scientific discoveries in genetics and medicine that make success about more than just a lack of willpower. (Hint: It was never about willpower. You were fighting human genetics which tells your body to save fat.)
Let me digress a moment to hopefully make a point. When I was in college, I took a course called Human Sexuality. It was the one class nobody ever missed, I promise. What amazed me (well besides the topic!) was all the things that have to happen in the human body for the final outcome of sex to be that ultimate satisfaction. I mean there were glands and chemicals having to fire right and left and I remembering thinking it was a miracle every time this happened successfully. Then I took a course on early childhood development. Part of this course was a description of the growth of a fetus through the nine month gestation. When you understand all the critical development that must take place within certain intervals of the gestation of a human being, I was struck by how amazing a normal birth was. These classes were like getting the owner's manual to the complex biological system we call our body.
I bought a book recently that is taking me on the same journey in regards to our bodies weight management system. It came highly recommended and is: You on a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management. This link takes you to the Discovery Store where you can also by the DVD if you prefer. I LOVE THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL and it's store is pretty good. Under fitness you can get a digital jump rope!
I thought I was somewhat of an expert on diets. I think I've been on every hot 
new diet from the late 70s to a couple of years ago; but I am finding through this book, that I really don't know a lot about what happens to our bodies when we diet. This book is written like a textbook, using humor, factoids, and testing (I failed the first one and I bet you will too) to give you an owner's manual on how to maintain your body's weight. The author's are drawing from all the recent research into human genetics and weight management to tell you why things work like they do. The authors (medical doctors) insist that you can never win the willpower game because human evolution is stacked against you. Instead you need to retrain some basics so that your diet is automatic. They constantly remind you that knowledge IS power in the weight loss game. By the way, they are not trying to turn your body into that of a model; they are trying to "re-boot" (l like that) you're system to what is was around 18 when your body was its most efficient as a fat burning machine. Like most girls of 18, I hated my body and thought I was too big, so that image didn't help much. However, some of these facts helped:
- Weight loss entails loss of muscle and fat where weight gain is just fat. That is why yo-yo weight loss can leave you the same weight but in much worse shape. You essentially traded muscle for fat. That is an accurate description of my body.
- Given the fact above, I want this weight loss project to be steady and long lasting.
- Muscle makes your metabolism burn at a higher rate so you need some
strength building but it doesn't have to be over the top for results. A little can do a lot if it's consistent. (However, your body will adapt so variety is important here as well as in any exercise plan). - Your weight is NOT what you should measure, you should measure the circumference of your waist at the point of your belly button, and record the number. OK, you're going to hate this so prepare. Ideally a woman should be 32.5 inches. (Wow, I haven't seen that for a while. Since I know this measurement on myself, I had to stop reading for a while and sob. For men, the ideal is 37 inches. Male or female, the more we add beyond this number, the bigger our potential health problems in the future.
- Starving yourself just kicks your body into fat saving mode, so you're better off eating smaller meals more often. The goal is to keep yourself satisfied. (Well, that's been my goal most of my life)
Exercise. Yes, you have to but you don't have to go to a gym (Hate them!!) or follow an exercise tape. It can be as easy as taking more steps. That's my plan. Last week I said I was getting a pedometer and walking more. I did, but not to the level I wanted to everyday. No matter, it was better than nothing and I found in this book that thirty-minutes a day of walking is recommended. It doesn't have to be continuous. At work, we moved into a bigger office and that is making it easier for me to incorporate more steps into my day. If you haven't exercised in a while the worse thing you can do is overdo it. Start slow, but be consistent. They swear to me that after a while, you will learn to love it. Really, people tell me that. Well, it's a beautiful day and I'm going outside for a walk.
Jann