Forever Fighting Fat: The Never Ending Weight Loss Journey

On the (Butter)horns of a Dilemma

Here I sit, having face-time with the perennial decision of any dieter, "Do I or don't I?" Somebody said that foods made with salt, sugar, and fat are the most irresistible. Why not just call them what they are, "baked...

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Absolutely Hysterical "Interview" with Doctor About Weight Loss -- FUNNY!

I don't know where this comes from but I found it at Weight Watchers today. I read it to the meeting. I had to share it. Enjoy.
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Q:  Doctor, I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it… don’t waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a  nap.

Q:  Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A:  You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn.  And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q:  Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A:  No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy  is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way.  Beer is also made out of grain.  Bottoms up!

Q:  How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A:  Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q:  What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A:  Can’t think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is:  No Pain…Good!

Q:  Aren’t fried foods bad for you?
A:  YOU’RE NOT LISTENING!!! ….  Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they’re permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q:  Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A:  Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q:   Is chocolate bad for me?
A:   Are you crazy? HELLO - Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It’s the best feel-good food around!

Q:  Is swimming good for your figure?
A:  If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q:   Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A:   Hey!  ‘Round’ is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

AND…..

For those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans..

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like.  Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

The Perfect Day

My latest column came out today about what would the perfect day look like with regards to taking care of yourself. You can find it at http://www.times-standard.com/lifestyle/ci_12236306?source=rss  I hope you enjoy.

What Oprah can do to get her weight back under control

I feel for Oprah, really I do. I have had to battle weight my entire life and I've had ups and downs and back again. I also respect Oprah a great deal. Not only did she come from "nowhere" to become one of  richest women on the planet, but she spends her energy for positive causes. She seems to remember from where she comes. I'm sure she has her dark side (as do we all), but for the most part, I think she's a positive contribution to our society. I also admire her willingness to be transparent with the issues and problems of her life. By putting them "out there," she makes it "OK" for the rest of us to accept our own problems. "If she -- with everything she has -- has problems, I'm not so bad myself," we say. That's inspiring. It's motivational. We move forward.

In a nutshell, we need more "Oprahs."

That said, I saw this clip on Larry King:

My reaction?

It's hard to believe that she didn't know this was a lifelong battle. We never get "over" weight issues; we merely get them under control. But control is illusive and it's fluid. Some days you have it; some days you don't. If you have it more days than you don't, you're in control. If you have it fewer than you do, you're out of control. We can very easily slip back into our old habits.

What to do about it?

Remember the last time I wore this?

Nope, neither do I! I went clothes "shopping" in the dark side of the closet; that section where old too-thin clothes go to hide and you say, "One of these days I'll get back into it." Well, it looks like "one of these days" was today for a nice blue pair of pants I really like!

After five weeks of following the new Weight Watchers Momentum Plan, when I weighed in last week (my weigh in day is Tuesday), I had lost another pound, making the grand total eight pounds!!! They say a safe weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week and, despite the plateau for weeks 2, 3, 4, I'm doing just about the average.

 I stood on the scale this morning and had to do a double take. I don't get on the scale as much as I used to because I found myself obsessing on it. If the loss is less than I am expecting, I feel bad and say, "Screw it, might as well eat..." If I'm doing well, I say, "Wow! I've got room to move. I can get a little sloppy." Either path leads to the kitchen, and before you know it, I'm eating again. So, I stay off the scale...mostly.

Since my weigh in day is Tuesday, I do tend to get a little antsy on Mondays, so I got on the scale this morning and couldn't believe my eyes! Lately, my morning naked weight (you know, trying to get the lowest possible number) had been around 184-186, which was too high. I got on the program again because early December, it got to 189 and that was just too freakin' scary.  When I'm doing real well, my morning weight will be about 180-182. This morning, it was 178! I thought, "What? Is the scale broken?" I got off and on it three times just to make sure. It hasn't been under 180 in as long as I can remember!

Granted, since it seems appropriate to remove all my clothes for my Weight Watchers weigh in, I'll weigh four or five pound more. Still, it's all relative, isn't it?

So, what to do?

Well, the first thing is to run to the closet and dig into the way-back machine of clothing that's too frustrating to put on. There are about four or five shirts I used to like but the buttons pull across my chest or stomach now and it looks tacky. Not to mention, it reminds me that I need to lose weight. I also have about two or three pair of pants back there. The price for wearing them is that I must give up my attachment to breathing.

I tried on the brown ones; nice chocolate color and -- without holding my breath or lying on the bed -- they slipped right on but are a little short; a sign that I need to lose about two or three more pounds before I venture into the world wearing them. I could have but who needs to be self conscious all day because my pant legs are riding above my ankles? (We used to call those "high waters" when I was a kid and I hated it then.) So, I pulled out the blue ones; lo and behold - marvelous fit and the correct length. I can bend over and breathe! Praise the saints!

Well, with that victory under my belt (literally and figuratively), I needed a shirt and found one of my old favorites. It's been so long that I forgot I even had it. So, I'm wearing a Nehru jacket! (Naw, just joking, it hasn't been that long...) I found a blue and white vertical striped shirt with white color that I used to just love.  Wearing it -- with a dark blue tie. Looking and feeling fine!

Oh yeah, the coup de grace; I had to go down another notch in my belt!

Science of Weight Loss on Scientific American

In case you want to know a whole heck of a lot about the science of weight loss, Scientific American has this special report:

http://www.sciam.com/report.cfm?id=weight-loss-science

Staying Motivated on My Diet Until January

 So, as I posted last week, my first seven days on the new Weight Watchers Momentum Plan went really well. I lost a whole lot of weight and that's inspiring. Now, the question is how to keep it going; you know how motivation goes; it starts strong and immediately starts on a downward slide. I like to "rate" myself in terms of diligence. Last week, I was probably a 95 on a scale of 100. This week, I can feel the "pull" of getting a little sloppier so I'm probably around a 90. I understand, it's not like I've said, "Six pounds! Time to Par-tay!" and have gone crazy (OK, I would never say "par-tay" no matter what the occasion...) but I believe when you see the beginnings of a problem is when it's easiest to correct it.

So, what to do?

The question is how do you keep on track during what is considered the hardest time of the year during what might be arguably called one of the hardest years? I gave that some thought. Here are four steps I'm working on. I hope it helps.

1. Slow down

Big Loss First Week on New Weight Watchers Momentum Plan

I didn't get to post yesterday because it was one of the those "crazy busy days" that periodically slap you upside the head.  Deadlines and such kept me moving from before dawn to very late at night. However, I completed my first week on the new Weight Watchers Momentum plan, which I have been diligently following. As part of such diligence, I decided I would not step on a scale all week also. I tend to do that to give me an excuse to:

A) Be disappointed with my results and figure, "oh what the hell, I might as well eat"
-- or --
B) Be excited with my results and figure, "Wow! I didn't think it would be going so well, I can eat more."

Either way, I end up the same: chubby. Gotta stop it. So I did. I figured I'd just wait it out and let the program do its job.

So it's with no small amount of consternation that I climb on the scale Tuesday at my meeting (which I might point out is AFTER lunch -- yikes!). At first, I just kind of "tested the waters:" wearing my sweater, shoes, belt, etc. That looked OK.  Then, I removed the "extra weight list"

1. Sweater
2. Shoes
3. Belt
4. Wallet
5. Money clip
6. Pen
7. Spare change

I was alone in the room but I resisted the urge to strip down to my skivvies. There's a fine line between compulsive and obsessive and I tread it. Must be very careful, you know?

So, lo and behold, I was expecting three pounds, thought I might get four, really wanted five -- and I got

Biggest changes in Weight Watchers new 2009 Momentum plan

I've been following the Momentum plan for a week now with my first weigh in in about one hour. (I think I might have lost 3-4 pounds, which for me is amazing!) Of course, in addition to following the program, I've conducted two (rather wobbly) "getting started sessions" for my members. Should you not be totally "up" on WW lingo, a "Getting Started Session"is the 30 minute session we do at the conclusion of the regular meeting. It's for new members. This week, which Weight Watchers calls "Conversion Week," we basically turn the entire meeting into a GSS.

I am what is called a "Diamond Leader." As near as I understand that, it means I'm in the top 20% of leaders in my area. I admit to being a little confused as to how that is determined but I'm still flattered and I've been a Diamond Leader for both years that it has been offered. I mention this not to brag -- well, OK, maybe a little -- but more so to point out that I am very comfortable with leading WW meetings. In my 20 years working for WW, I've probably conducted thousands of GSSs. Yet, for some reason, I'm awkward in doing this one. That said, last night I started getting my footing and I think that's because I finally decided that the changes from the Flex/Core plan to the Momentum Plan are more psychological than physical.

Don't get me wrong; that's not to say they are not substantial. Quite the contrary, you can change your actions all day and all night but if you don't change your thoughts, you'll still find yourself returning to old habits. Weight Watchers has always focused on habit change; that is not new. However, there seems to be more of an embrace this time.

Huh?

Yeah, right. OK, let me explain it a little better. The plan still uses points, which it has for the last decade or so. The daily points target, that amount you get each day, has not changed for any of my members. It's the same as it was in 2008. I have not noticed any major changes in points values of any foods.  In my opinion, what has changed however, is the emphasis put on "filling foods,"  hunger levels, activity, and liquids.

Filling Foods

New 2009 Weight Watchers program is doing great!

So, three days down & still going well (but I have not weighed myself since Tuesday and it's driving me crazy!) This new program really makes you look at how you physically feel when you eat, which is great because if we -- I -- ate based on that, there wouldn't be a weight probrlem.

In the new 2009 Weight Watchers program,  one looks for "filling foods," those healthy, nutritious types that not only fill you up, but don't do it with empty calories. (These are best compared to "core foods.") When one fills in the on-line eTools tracker, it will tell you which foods are filling (and I think you can even choose foods based on that criteria). I'm surprised at how many I'm choosing; good for me.

One other new addition to the program is the way it asks you to monitor your hunger level. I am surprised by how full I usually am and how quickly hunger can sneak up on me.  I have not yet discovered a pattern by time of day, but I am suddenly aware that I need to eat something.

More to follow. New program is released officially on Sunday.