When I went to, and worked at, Weight Watchers, we always talked about how our program wasn’t a diet, it was a lifestyle change. However, it was a lifestyle change that started out as a diet (as defined by having a calorie restriction, which is the point of every “diet”). The goal was to become a lifetime member, someone who was at, and maintained, their goal weight.
I got to my goal weight. I became a lifetime member. And then I stopped following the program. Why? Well, that whole lifestyle change? It requires doing the same things over and over, being glued to the scale, to your points counter, to the Weight Watchers lifestyle. And I’ll tell you this right now, if you work the program, the program works. But I will also tell you this: no matter what program you use, if you are an overweight individual, you are fighting yourself when it comes to maintaining weight loss.
First off, most diets don’t work (as this article about a UCLA study shows). Secondly, there are real reasons why:
According to Dr. Rudy Leibel, the genetic predisposition to fat is so strong, it’s the reason why 95 percent of the population regains all the weight they have lost from diet efforts (article here linking to this videocast). According to Dr. Leibel: (as stolen from a BBC News article)
“If someone loses a lot of weight, they often have persistent hunger, even if they are eating enough to sustain themselves. ‘Think of it like a thermostat and that each person has a set point,’ says Dr Leibel. ‘When it is reduced below that point the body begins to do things that will force it to recover its lost body weight.’ … ‘The body will constantly tend to try to bring you back to whatever your normal body weight is,’ he says. But he does not think this is the full story. There are other issues that influence a person’s weight. ‘Fifty per cent is down to genes and the rest is probably down to environment. If you get the gene for Huntington’s you have the disease 100% of the time. That’s certainly not the case with obesity.’”
So, when I found myself consistently gaining weight, I had to wonder why. Yes, I was no longer working the program (because my tolerance for counting every calorie that came into my body was limited) but also it seemed like trying to eat the same as my naturally thin friends was also making me fatter.
I am convinced now that my body has a natural weight it wants to be. I don’t know what that weight is though–when I was my thinnest, I was in the mindset of portion control and picking the healthiest of choices, and I was exercising a lot more. However, since then I have been struggling with the mindset of “dieting” because, frankly, I’m tired of dieting and I’m not convinced that if I lose weight I won’t be back here yet again a few more years down the line. Do I want to always yo-yo, or do I want to find my natural body weight and stick there (and finally get a complete wardrobe I don’t have to keep changing)?
The only real way to test this theory is to figure out which factors, by body or my lifestyle, are making me gain weight. And so, in the spirit of Lent and science (how’s that for a combo) I have decided to give up my ultimate indulgence for 30 days (even though I missed the initial start of Lent, I’m starting now, and 30 days seems long enough to me). So, for the next 30 days, I will not eat ice cream. I will, however, eat pretty much anything else I want. I will try to eat vegetables and fruits, lean meats, and try not to pig out on pasta (though I make no promises in regards to that). I will keep eating my desk-drawer mini candies as I see fit (or need to…I’m a stress eater), and I will try to incorporate exercise into my life (though, again, I make no promises).
But I’m an ice-cream addict. I live off the stuff. I feel better when I have it in my freezer (there is a Ben and Jerry’s pint in there now). However, I don’t like to be ruled by addiction, and this might be a good way to prove to myself that I don’t *need* the ice cream. And it might also be a good way to see if eliminating one of my favorite (and nightly) treats will have any effect on my body weight.
My scale has been battery-free for a while now, so I will have to judge any change in my body by the jeans test (they are tight on me now, so we’ll see). I may also put on a belt to see which hole that is on, and see if that makes any difference.
The problem with the idea of a lifestyle change is that the idea of doing something, anything, for the rest of your life is daunting. I don’t want to always do x, y, or z.
But I do want to be healthy, however I can define that for myself, and at a level I can live with.
So, I will never fully give up ice cream. I don’t see the point. But I will try to replace the comfort and, whatever, that I get from ice cream with journaling, exercise, pudding if I have to, and kitty snuggles, and see what helps.
I would like to know what my body’s natural weight is. I would like to know what it would take to keep it there. I would really like it to be smaller than I am now, and if not, would love to find a way to be okay with where I am now (or with where I end up).
But I’m not comfortable with this weight gain, this slowly inching up. I just still don’t know the best way to deal with it.
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