I am two weeks into my 12 Week Challenge - Restart and I am starting to see real results. I am not talking about weight loss, though the weight loss is nice, I am talking about muscle tone. My arms are starting to tone up and I am beginning to see some definition in my biceps and triceps. My legs are starting to firm up, again, and I'm starting to see some muscle definition in my quads. I like it when I flex my arm to do an everyday thing, like brush my hair, and a little muscle flex catches my eye. It is amazing how much weight lifting changes the shape of my entire body. I am looking forward to taking and posting Week 3 photos next Saturday. I think we'll see a real difference!!
A couple of weeks ago I posted a link to a New York Times article about the impact rapid significant weight loss has on the metabolism. The gist of the article is that rapid significant weight loss has a long-term, perhaps even permanent, impact on the body's metabolism. When a person loses a lot of weight quickly, their metabolism slows down significantly and in order to not gain weight they have to eat less than someone at the same body weight, that was never overweight. This particular article was written based on the evidence collected after following the participants in Season 8 of the Biggest Loser for 6 years. One of the participant's metabolism slowed down so much that he was burning 800 calories less a day, 6 years after the show ended, than he was before he started the show. During the course of the show which spanned 7 months, he went from 430 pounds to 191 pounds. He lost 239 pounds in seven months, over half his body weight! Six years later he weighs 295 pounds, a 104 pound weight gain since the show ended. All but one of the participants experienced similar weight gains since the show ended, some of them gaining back more weight than they lost while on the show.
The article cites two biological reasons for the regain of weight, a lower metabolism and lower production of leptin, a hormone that helps control hunger. Here is the link to the article, again:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?_r=0
Here is a quote from the article:
"The key point is that you can be on TV, you can lose enormous amounts of weight, you can go on for six years, but you can't get away from a basic biological reality," said Dr. Schwartz, who was not involved in the study. "As long as you are below your initial weight, your body is going to try to get you back."
While one can read this article and get really discouraged, it had the opposite impact for me. I found it encouraging, and here is why:
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| Click anywhere on the graph to see a better image of it. |
This is a chart of my weight since October 2011. I am not exactly pleased with the fact that I gained some weight back after my big weight loss in 2012, but I am very pleased by the fact that the peaks in my weight are getting lower and lower. When I look at this graph, I see my "set point," the weight that my body wants to be, getting lower and lower. Each time I gain weight, I start getting uncomfortable a little sooner. Now, I feel overweight and uncomfortable and like I have to "Do something about it," at about 163 pounds. Way back when, before this graph even started, I weighed 250 pounds before I forced myself to take action.
I know I am on my way back to my goal weight of 150 pounds. I will be there soon. I also know that I am going to have to work on maintaining my weight at about 150 pounds for the rest of my life. This is not going to be easy, but it is not going to be impossible, either. I think it helped a lot that I lost weight a lot more slowly than the contestants on the Biggest Loser did. I lost 74 pounds in 11 months, not 239 pounds in 7 months. I can't even imagine losing over half my body weight in half a year. That seems nuts.
My diet is completely different than it was 5 years ago, in a way that I can maintain for life. I like the food I eat and I am never hungry. I have an ingrained habit to exercise daily, now. I don't think that will ever go away and if it does, I will read Younger Next Year, yet again.
Speaking of exercise, look what we bought yesterday:
Yep, doesn't that look like fun? My trainer will have so much fun with these!!
To sum up today's post, which I admit is a bit of a ramble, I am excited about the progress I am making with regard to both weight loss (and management) and improvement in my muscle strength and tone. I know that it is a fact that I will always need to "watch what I eat," and be ever vigilant about daily exercise, but I am OK with that. I'd rather be careful with my diet and exercise daily and feel great than eat whatever I want, not exercise, and feel like crap. It's a constant trade off, but in the long (and short) run, it's worth it. For me, it's totally worth it. The way I feel, emotionally and physically, is so much better when I am feeling strong and fit, rather than how I feel when I am overweight and weak, that there is no question that it is worth it to "make the sacrifice" and put in the work. I am in this for life. I hope it's a long one!!
OK. That's enough for today. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!
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