To start with, like every other blogger out there who writes about this, I have a few caveats:
- I'm not an MD. I don't even play one on television. (Yes, I am old enough to remember that commercial...) If you have a serious weight problem, SEE YOUR PHYSICIAN. If (s)he is no help, find one who is. There may be a physiological problem that needs to be dealt with.
- That being said, this is based on some empirical evidence (that of my
own household) and a fair amount of reading from, and conversations
with, people who are experts.
- I hold no disdain for those who are struggling with a genuine weight problem. I hold no pity, either. I know from my own experience:
- how easy it is to get there, hence, no disdain.
- that (barring the aforementioned physiological issue) it is a result of one's own decisions, hence, no pity.
- either disdain or pity is actively detrimental.
- I do hold pity for those poor souls who are, frankly, just fine, but are convinced that they are "too fat". This is a psychological problem that needs to be addressed, but is beyond the scope of what I can do in a blog entry. Let me say this: If you think you are "too fat" despite what your friends / significant other / physician / parents / etc. are telling you, get help. Please.
OK, caveats out of the way, some observations on weight loss from someone who has been there. First some general facts:
- Our bodies were built to try to pack on pounds if at all possible, to get us through times when there isn't enough to eat.
- This is particularly true for women, as your body constantly stands ready to provide nutrition for two.
- The problem for most of us is that those "lean times" don't happen anymore.
- Exercise boosts your metabolism.
- The process of burning fat (really converting fat to blood sugar) is slow, while the process of converting food to blood sugar is fast.
- Vigorous exercise depletes blood sugar faster that the fat-burning process can replace it.
These facts create some scenarios that can trip us up.
- Eating less may not work, and eating a lot less may be worse.
- Your body will respond by slowing your metabolism (trying to preserve fat) causing you to burn fewer calories per hour all day, feel lethargic, and be less likely to exercise.
- Working out more may not work, and working out a lot more may be worse.
- Working out hard will deplete your muscle glycogen and blood sugar levels, which your body will work to replace as fast as it can.
- Since your body tries to preserve fat (to get you through the lean times that aren't happening) it won't burn fat to do it if there's food available.
- Since converting fat to blood sugar is slow, converting food is fast, and your body is in a hurry, you will get ravenously hungry after a hard workout.
- Being ravenously hungry either means that you're not eating and suffering, or you're eating and defeating yourself, and feeling guilty because of it. Either way, it sucks the joy out of a good workout.
- Working out really hard without adequate preparation also risks injury.
If you have self-discipline or motivation that would put a Navy SEAL to shame, you may be able to lose a lot of weight and pack on muscle at the same time, but you have to be pretty obsessive about it, and obsession is no fun for you or any of the people around you.
Also, if you focus on weight loss first, you may find that you're pretty happy with the amount of muscle you have.
So what are you going to do? Here's what worked for me:
- Moderate reduction in calorie consumption, particularly avoiding those things that convert quickly to blood sugar or fat (sugars, simple starches, oils, and fats).
- Regular (daily, or at least 5 times a week) moderate exercise that is enjoyable was more effective at weight loss than busting my butt at things I suffered through 3 times a week.
Why did this work? Here are my thoughts:
- Reducing those foods that the body quickly converts to sugars or fats, while still eating enough overall that you aren't aware of hunger, makes your body use it's fat-burning processes to replace blood sugars all day, and gives it time to do so.
- The goal of exercise in weight loss isn't to burn fat. The goal is to keep your metabolism from slowing down in response to the reduced calorie intake. Moderate exercise will keep your metabolism from slowing down, but allow your body to maintain normal blood-sugar levels through the slower fat-burning process.
So that's what worked for me.
- I went from 267 pounds to 220 (47 pounds) by the "work a lot / eat a little" regime, in 2 years, and stalled there for another 7. An average weight loss of about 2 pounds / month, if you ignore the 7 year stall.
- I got from 220 to 175 (45 pounds) in 8 months by the "eat smart / work some consistently". An average weight loss of 5.6 pounds a month, or more than a pound a week.
Here's the danger: Don't go back to your old ways. You will put the weight back on (I did, some, and am working to get it back off again).
Last thought: The word "Diet" comes from the Latin, where it means "daily life". This is a process of lifestyle change.
