Thoughts on food restriction v. activity
May. 2nd, 2012 11:24 am![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
A problem I've discovered with a lot of commercial weight loss programs is that they promote food restriction but don't factor in activity. Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig give lip service to exercise -- usually somewhere around week four of the program -- but they're assuming that the participant is fairly sedentary. I suppose that for the majority of cases, this is true. However, those of us who are active wind up at a caloric deficiency and screw up our metabolisms by keeping our bodies in constant starvation mode. In my last few months with Jenny Craig, which was also the time when I started bike commuting, I was supposed to be taking in 1200 calories a day while I burned somewhere between 200 and 400. It was disheartening to feel weak and starving and not losing any weight while I was doing everything "right" within the plan. A few months after I quit paying $600 month for food and counseling, I gained back 15 of the 42 pounds I'd lost but I didn't change clothing size. (And no, this isn't a function of vanity sizing; I continued wearing my "skinny" clothes.) My doctor fussed at me about the weight gain, but when I pointed out that my measurements hadn't increased, she stopped harping and grudgingly agreed that I'd gained muscle weight.
Nearly a year later, I've kept off the 10% of my starting weight. My BMI is four points lower than it was in August 2010. I am still obese and would need to drop another 50 pounds to hit the topmost point of the "overweight" category. I'd need to drop 60 pounds to qualify as a "premium" member for my life insurance company. Sure, I want to weight less and fit a more conventional mold but I know that my frame won't ever allow me to fall into the lithe category.
What I am focused on instead can't be measured on a scale or a chart. I am working to improve my strength and my endurance. I can ride with ease the hills upon which I used to walk my bike. I may huff and puff when carrying a full laundry basket up two flights of stairs, but I can jog unencumbered up those two flights without breathing heavy. I want to run at least a block, though, and build up my core so that I can ride farther without discomfort or bonking. I also want to build up strength to deflect the osteoporosis that runs rampant in my family.
Long story, short: No more food restriction (this does not I will go nuts and eat everything in front of me all of the time, but it does mean eating mindfully) and continued activity for me. It'll do my body good.