For every article I read about weight loss, there's one common thread from the beginning of time to now..."eat less, move more...it's that simple."
Aww...bless your heart. (Which all good Southern girls know is code for "eff you.") This tends to be uttered by a lot of people who 1) have never had a weight problem and/or 2) someone who has lost weight that now likes to brag about how easy it was. I'll be the first to tell someone who asks how we got started that we lost our first 50 lbs with nothing more than portion control and a cheat day. Exercise didn't consistently come into the picture for almost a year. We could expect a two-pound loss every week like clockwork for the first four years. So much so, that at the end of seasons, we would buy clothes the next size down for the following year because we knew we'd be down by then and we were.
This month, we're going like gangbusters on month two of a step/strength training program that nets us calorie burns like the old days in the range of 600-1000 calories on the higher intensity days and 350-500 on the two lower ones. The Mr had been losing his 2 lbs per week all of June which hadn't happened in a while. I was losing 1 lb per week on non-period weeks (but 2 on period weeks as usual) despite everything on paper saying I should easily be losing two pounds. I track my food because I've tried intuitive eating but I'm the kind of person who likes to see what I'm supposed to eat. I rarely ever deviate from that even if I want something more except for the occasional popcorn at 120 calories per bag. I watch my nutrient levels and supplement individually where needed.
For me to lose two pounds per week, I need to be at a 1000 calorie deficit between diet and exercise. These were my numbers for last week...
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| (Sunday) |
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| (Monday) |
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| (Tuesday) |
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| (Wednesday) |
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| (Thursday- Painted in addition to regular workout) |
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| (Friday) |
I GAINED a pound. So did the Mr.
On paper, I should've easily lost almost 2 1/2 pounds even if that wasn't what I was shooting for. Some may say I need to eat some of the calorie deficit, but I did that the previous two weeks so I was around 1100-1200 on my deficit and was still losing a pound.
What the numbers can't tell you is the stress we were under last week. From waiting for the Mr to get his invasive echocardiogram, the extreme rudeness of the doctor and knowing he was not going to be part of our team moving forward, to going to a new gynie and trying to see if she's the right fit for me, the stress of undertaking a project in a room that is the heart and soul of our health and fitness goals which is in chaos right now. Wondering where the hell we were going to put everything, dealing with the huge vat of sealer in the living room and trying to pawn it off for free and how we'd get to the toxic waste site before it closed before Home Depot took it back since it sucked. Then having a hard discussion about his health and what we are both comfortable with where potential restrictions are concerned, wondering if I was going to be strong enough to get the heavier end of things that we needed to move out of the basement and scared that he was still lifting too much. We drank less because we were out of our routine, we did more exercise in the form of painting and breathed in more toxic fumes than we should have even with respirators and that work had us both sore, hobbling and I'm sure retaining whatever water we did drink.
Those obviously aren't our typical life situations but the past 4 months have been a constant source of stress in dealing with inept medical professionals so that has always been in the back of my mind. Now we start this week off with a death, impending death, not being able to be there physically for my friend as her mom dies, worrying about the health of another friend, breaking the news to my family about his new limitations, continuing with the crapfest that is this refresh and still pushing to get our workouts in already tells me not to get my hopes up this week even with all of the extra movement I'll be getting in.
They say numbers don't lie but clearly, they can when you aren't taking into consideration the mental part of this journey. I'm sure if they had cortisol at home tests, mine would be off the charts but I just keep doing what I do. I'm not interested in cutting food groups or "jump starts" though I won't lie that I've been tempted at times. I'm just a lady trying to do her best, work with what she's got and create a space to support those goals, keep her hubby safe and sound and hope my body eventually falls in step.
So if you or someone you know is ever tempted to say "just eat less and move more", please don't. Sometimes it's not as simple as that. They could have been tested for things like thyroid and anything else that could be an issue and they're "normal." Sometimes people can be doing all of the right things but just have a crap ton of stuff going on that is making their body fight against them. If someone tries to give you that load of crap, before throat punching them, direct them to this post and tell them to suck it.
Keep fighting the good fight, y'all!
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Yeah I want to punch anyone in the face who says "calories in, calories out" to me. While that works on paper it does not stand the test of the real world for so many people. If it did, there would not be so many variations of diets or exercise programs. We would all just eat whatever we want and be fine as long as we stayed under what we burned. It is also rather challenging to be absolutely certain how much you're burning. Even with all the data we can collect about ourselves, it is only accurate to a certain point and ultimately you're going to have to spend some time experimenting in order to figure out what really does work for your body and even then it will need to change over time and still won't work at all if you have a stressful week.
ReplyDeleteIt's so frustrating. I worked with a guy who always told me it was simple math. He would bulk up in the winter then jump on his bike in the spring and have it all lost by Summer. Then he turned 40 LOL. It just didn't happen that way for him anymore and I believe he's all but given up. I had a huge calorie deficit last week only to celebrate a .4 loss this week. Grrr
ReplyDeleteI just keep Truckin on and hope for the best.
I'm always amazed at this concept and it's usually said with such an attitude as, "duh, just cut your portions and move more." Huh. I guess the entire country is dumb then since the obesity rate has quadrupled since 1980. I also don't like the "if it worked for me, it can work for you/if I can do it so can you!" line. That one probably irritates me more because it's nonsensical and is not actually encouraging. It's setting someone up to fail. There is a reason why every single person has something that can work for them that may not work for anybody else -- because our bodies are different! Some people can't eat certain foods, either because of what it does to them physically, or because it's an emotional trigger food. There are allergies, intolerances, just plain dislikes (I, for one, cannot stand quinoa, bulgur, or brown rice), and financial restrictions as well. I knew someone years ago who was single and didn't really know how to cook who lost weight by eating 4 frozen meals throughout the day, for X number of calories. They did amazingly well and exercised and kept it off. That doesn't mean it would work for the next person on the exact same plan at all. There's such a blaming mentally with weight loss that discourages people. If "one plan" was all it took, then why on earth are there hundreds, if not thousands of diet plans out there? It's clearly not one size fits all.
ReplyDelete