Friday, October 12, 2007

Friday Quote Day

The only thing that interferes
with my learning
is my education.
~ Albert Einstein

That quote sums it up for all of us trying to lose weight and get in shape, doesn't it?

How can we figure out what's right for us when we are constantly bombarded educated by media, health websites, government agencies, physicians and bloggers as to why we're not losing and what we need to do about it. As if we all fit into the same mold.


I feel as though I've wasted so much time figuring this out, and I'm not much better off than when I started.

Now before you all chime in and tell me how fit I am, and weight doesn't matter, I agree, sort of. I'm happy to be able to run eight miles [even if it took much longer yesterday than I'd hoped]. I'm thrilled with my normal blood pressure, low resting heartrate and excellent cholesterol levels.

But weight matters, or I – and you – wouldn't still be trying to find the solution. And what I've finally learned is that one size does not fit all.

Many of you have suggested I need to eat more, because that's what we've learned lately from researchers who theorize that when we eat too little our bodies go into starvation mode. I'm sorry, but I've never bought that theory. If I were truly starving, then yes, of course, one's body would do whatever it takes to survive, including wasting muscle.

Last time I tried Weight Watchers, Activity Points were being introduced. Want a cookie? Walk a mile and you can have one. Well, a small one. As an experiment, I followed their plan strictly, eating all my APs for a month, and – you guessed it – gained weight.

So we're all different, and we all lose weight in different ways.

Meaning I don't want everyone running to their doctors for Wellbutrin. 'Kay?

8 comments:

Anne M. said...

You're very right that so much "education" doesn't really help us figure out how to do this stuff.

As for WW activity points - I try to earn them but not to eat them, since I too discovered that doing both is a guarantee that I'll either not lose or gain. Of course, I'm not running marathons, either.

You're definitely fit but weight matters if you think it does. I'm not gonna tell you different!

Anonymous said...

I agree! Unfortunately. I think that the longer you diet, the harder the battle is. That's what I'm finding, but I'm sure not giving up. D

Jennette Fulda said...

I always find it annoying when people tell me what I should be doing, so I don't do that, but I do feel like I should mention that if you have gone through a period of starvation and then start eating again you will gain weight, though not necessarily fat. It's the weight of glycogen and water refueling your muscles. If someone who's starved themselves continues eating more food but still eats less than they burn in a day, eventually they will start losing weight again. I have no idea if that's what happened with you, but just for anyone else reading this it's something to be aware of.

Lori G. said...

I'm not going to tell you that weight doesn't matter. I'm not at all anxious to go weigh in tomorrow. Yet I know I've been to the gym and tried to watch what I'm doing, etc. etc.

I wrote in to the Lean Plate woman and said a lot of what you've just said and her advice was to just try and maintain and not drive yourself crazy with losing. You're not training for a marathon at this point (right?) so things should be relatively stable.

I don't really have any advice except to say that you are doing the right things and taking care of yourself.

ws said...

I can skip the wellbutrin, but if you find an orthopedist willing to ship me some cortisone I wouldn't complain.

Mary Gee said...

Okay, I am going to "weigh in" on this one - har har.

I decided about last january to just eat whatever the hell I felt like. I have been doing that since then. I have gained somewhere between 5 and 7 lbs. I can gain between 5 and 7 lbs. on Weight Watchers, counting every point that passes my lips. I can't explain this, but I am WAY happier this way. At least if I am not thin, I can eat whatever I want. And I am still wearing the same clothes. I don't get it. But I swear, I don't ever want to count how many points are in a chicken breast again... in fact, I never want to eat another chicken breast again. yuk.

Laura N said...

Great post. I loved the last line... you made me smile, and I really need some smiles today.

D said...

I popped over here just to see if you had checked in about the Army run, and lo and behold, you're back! It's so nice to be reading you again :)

This is mostly off-topic, but I have to say the first few months I started taking Wellbutrin were fantastic! I think you are really going to appreciate the energy and overall better mood. We can't always go it alone, white-knuckling our way through the hardest, lowest times. Use this as a springboard. The fantastic-ness of medicine didn't last forever, but it sure did help me get through some hard stuff.

So glad you're back :)

Debi