The Weighting Game

One might reasonably assume that, having gotten off to a decent start in January, I would have kept the momentum going and lost a fair amount of weight by now. One would be half right. I fell off the wagon sometime shortly after the last post, quit walking, and the next time I weighed myself, I discovered that I was at an all-time high of 167 lbs. This was not good.

So I some research and then I did the math and discovered that if I didn't get ahold of myself, right that minute, I would likely continue to gain a pound every ten days, world without end, life without health, ayyy-men.

I furthermore discovered the great con of the game, which is that if you want to lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than you expend, not just less than you're eating already. Let me explain.

Suppose that you have been eating about 2000 calories per day, and on that diet, you've been gaining a pound per week. You decide to scale back your eating to 1800 calories per day-- the equivalent of three moderate meals, or three small meals and two small snacks. Since you've always been a fairly hearty eater, you feel fairly virtuous about skipping the buffet, cutting your portion sizes, and carefully monitoring your snacks. After a month of this, you get back on the scale to congratulate yourself on your progress-- and find, to your horror, that not only have you not lost weight as you expected, you have actually gained two pounds on your new regimen. (It is "regimen", by the way, not "regime.") Disgusted, you toss your scale in the trash and dive headfirst into a bag of kettle chips.

So, what happened? Simply put, you didn't make the numbers. A pound of fat equals 3500 calories, so if you had been gaining a pound a week, that means you were eating about 500 calories per day too many (3500 cals/7 days= 500 cals/day). By cutting out 200 calories per day, you slowed down your gain from one pound per week to one pound per two weeks, but you didn't stop it entirely. To stop gaining entirely, you would need to cut your calorie intake down to the level of only what you are using (or alternately, increase your output to match the amount you're eating). And to lose weight, you need to eat even less than that (or exercise even more than that).

It gets worse, too. If you consistently eat less than you need, eventually your metabolism will slow down to a snail's pace and you'll stop losing. And exercise doesn't burn nearly as many calories as most beginners think-- walking an entire mile in 20 minute with no hills is worth about 100 calories. On the other hand, if you take up marathon running, you may find that you're burning muscle as well as fat.

So I decided to employ a little strategy. And before I tell you what it is, please understand that I'm not a doctor and I didn't consult one before starting my fitness regimen-- so this is me sharing my story, not giving you medical advice. If you do what I did and it doesn't work for you, or if you get hurt trying, I'm not responsible and you don't get to sue me. OK? Thanks. That being said, my strategy was to work in combination.

First, I went online and determined my basal metabolic rate. This is, theoretically, the amount of calories I burn just by existing, such as when I'm asleep. For my age, height, weight, and sex, that turned out to be 1500 calories. This is also an estimate-- a doctor who measured it directly rather than calculating from a chart might have given me a different number. But I tried three different programs, and they all gave me similar numbers, so I went with 1500. This was the amount of calories I planned to eat in an average day. I figured that going below 1500 would trigger a metabolic slowdown, which I really didn't want. Then I went shopping for healthy foods and snacks, and stocked up my fridge.

Next, I decided to add a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training; the aerobics to burn calories and the resistance to build muscle. And I state again that I didn't consult a doctor or a trainer for this part either; I was pretty familiar with most of the equiment already, and I figured I had enough common sense not to overdo it (if you have any doubts in either area, for the love of God consult somebody; your gym should have trainers on staff and that's what they're there for). I didn't want to bulk up, but I did want to challenge my muscles a bit so that A) my system would know I was using them and not try to burn them along with the fat, and B) the increase in muscle mass would help to burn a few more calories. I aimed for 200 calories on the treadmill-- not excessive in my case, since I could walk 2-3 miles easily-- and a circuit of 3 arms, 3 legs, and one or more "middles" on the resistance machines.

I also made sure I had the structure for success. I aimed for 3 gym visits and scheduled them for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. That way I wouldn't be tempted to justify blowing them off on the grounds that "I can always make it up on Thursday." I started measuring stuff I made at home, and building a list of "safe" foods that tasted good, were filling, and didn't put too much strain on the system. And I started looking up stuff that I ate away from home. There were some nasty surprises there-- who knew that a cup of Hot & Sour soup was 150 calories at one restaurant, and 400 at another? But there were some good ones too. A 6-inch turkey sub with the works from Subway is only 280 calories, if you skip the cheese and mayo (and I hate mayo anyway), and a bowl of veggie chili from Hard Times is-- get this-- 130!! Which leaves room for a few indulgences in an average week, such as the impromptu office party I didn't plan for, the day I ran out of time and got a bagel for breakfast, or the day I just couldn't stomach another bowl of veggie chili and just had to have the Texas-style chicken tenders dinner with french fries and creamy dressing. Yes, that was Good Friday, and no, I don't feel guilty in the least. It was yummy.

Speaking only for myself, it seems to be working. My clothes have loosened a tad, and my scale is no longer under suspicion of libel. From a starting weight of 167, I went a couple of weeks without weighing, then started my fitness plan. First week: 160. Following weeks, in order: 161.5, 161.5, 158.5. At this point I feel comfortable calling it a continuing downward trend. Which is just in time for the wedding I have to attend in two weeks (odds look good for fitting into the dresses I could fit into last year), and more or less on track for a more bathing-suit-worthy physique by summer.

Futher updates will follow as I get them-- and thanks to those who've offered encouragement.