I'm about three pounds away from my goal weight, which means, in my mind, I'm pretty much where I want to be, number-on-the-scale-wise.
For several days, however, the number's been the same at every weigh-in first thing in the morning.
It's called a plateau. Everybody who has ever undertaken a weight loss program experiences it.
Another universal experience: a spike in weight. It may be the temporary effect of indulging in one slice of the pizza your boss brought to work during a prolonged project, or a couple too many salsa-dipped chips before your sizzling fajita arrived at the table. It happens.
And -- I'm not going to kid you -- it can all too easily indicate relapse, reversal and regain.
The doctors and nurses who tell you your BMI is too high won't tell you -- probably because they don't know -- that for obese people, long-term success in attaining the so-called ideal weight is rare. Some studies suggest it's non-existent, even with invasive bariatric surgery. I'm not quite that pessimistic, but I'm realistic.
There's been a study of people who attained major weight loss as contestants on the TV show "The Biggest Loser," many of whom regained most or all of the weight they lost. The reason? They didn't (probably couldn't) maintain the eating habits and physical activity levels depicted on the show. As they lost the weight, their resting metabolism slowed considerably, and maintenance of their weight loss required keeping up with the same reduced-fat, small-portion diet and accelerated exercise regimen that led to the weight loss in the first place. Well, try scheduling two hours a day with a personal trainer around things like, you know, work, family, real life. Most of us can't.
I know, from experience, how body weight can be a yo-yo -- a slow yo-yo, maybe, but capable of deep lows and atmospheric highs. Between 2000 and 2002, I lost about 150 pounds through a change in diet and activity level. That loss was reversed when we moved to the Twin Cities in 2003; by the time we moved back to Madison in 2007, I was back to the weight I'd carried in 2000, and stayed there for about a decade.
So why is it different this time?
To answer that question, I have to start with honesty: I don't know for sure that it is.
A reversal happened before. I could happen again.
But I hope my experience 15 years ago offers insight that will help prevent a repeat of this history.
I hope I keep craving spinach salads, grilled salmon and 80-calorie yogurt for a long time, and that the thought of anything breaded, greasy or deep-fried will continue to make me a little nauseous, as it does now.
I hope I keep yearning for the joy (endorphin high?) of swimming and stationary-biking, and maybe add to these activities -- say, with a real bike, or upright apparatus like an elliptical, when my knee is ready to handle it.
I hope I stay vigilant. This blog helps with that.
And I hope I keep up the habit of checking the scale, instead of avoiding it as I'd avoid a person to whom I owe a lot of money. If I see plateaus and setbacks, as I inevitably will, I hope I will act to address them.
Now, I'm going for a swim.
For several days, however, the number's been the same at every weigh-in first thing in the morning.
It's called a plateau. Everybody who has ever undertaken a weight loss program experiences it.
Another universal experience: a spike in weight. It may be the temporary effect of indulging in one slice of the pizza your boss brought to work during a prolonged project, or a couple too many salsa-dipped chips before your sizzling fajita arrived at the table. It happens.
And -- I'm not going to kid you -- it can all too easily indicate relapse, reversal and regain.
The doctors and nurses who tell you your BMI is too high won't tell you -- probably because they don't know -- that for obese people, long-term success in attaining the so-called ideal weight is rare. Some studies suggest it's non-existent, even with invasive bariatric surgery. I'm not quite that pessimistic, but I'm realistic.
There's been a study of people who attained major weight loss as contestants on the TV show "The Biggest Loser," many of whom regained most or all of the weight they lost. The reason? They didn't (probably couldn't) maintain the eating habits and physical activity levels depicted on the show. As they lost the weight, their resting metabolism slowed considerably, and maintenance of their weight loss required keeping up with the same reduced-fat, small-portion diet and accelerated exercise regimen that led to the weight loss in the first place. Well, try scheduling two hours a day with a personal trainer around things like, you know, work, family, real life. Most of us can't.
I know, from experience, how body weight can be a yo-yo -- a slow yo-yo, maybe, but capable of deep lows and atmospheric highs. Between 2000 and 2002, I lost about 150 pounds through a change in diet and activity level. That loss was reversed when we moved to the Twin Cities in 2003; by the time we moved back to Madison in 2007, I was back to the weight I'd carried in 2000, and stayed there for about a decade.
So why is it different this time?
To answer that question, I have to start with honesty: I don't know for sure that it is.
A reversal happened before. I could happen again.
But I hope my experience 15 years ago offers insight that will help prevent a repeat of this history.
I hope I keep craving spinach salads, grilled salmon and 80-calorie yogurt for a long time, and that the thought of anything breaded, greasy or deep-fried will continue to make me a little nauseous, as it does now.
I hope I keep yearning for the joy (endorphin high?) of swimming and stationary-biking, and maybe add to these activities -- say, with a real bike, or upright apparatus like an elliptical, when my knee is ready to handle it.
I hope I stay vigilant. This blog helps with that.
And I hope I keep up the habit of checking the scale, instead of avoiding it as I'd avoid a person to whom I owe a lot of money. If I see plateaus and setbacks, as I inevitably will, I hope I will act to address them.
Now, I'm going for a swim.
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