I wrote last time that I am in my first prolonged struggle with my weight - I'm still there. Many of the obstacles that hinder weight loss (and cause weight gain) all ganged up on me this past weekend. They are the same enemies that prevent many of you from seeing the change on the scales that you want, and I want to write briefly about each factor.
1. Lack of proper rest. If you are not getting adequate amounts of rest and sleep, two things occur. One, in order to keep moving and functioning, you substitute food for sleep. Of course, food is not an adequate replacement for sleep, but for many of us, food can produce a small burst of energy or alertness simply because we are participating in an activity that we enjoy. Less sleep = more food. The other negative impact is that a lack of rest pushes your body into survival mode, during which it holds onto fat stores and fails to release excess fluids. More food plus less burn equals weight gain.
2. Busyness. When we are busy, it's easier to rationalize eating poorly and not getting any exercise. This may partially explain why, although people are busier than ever, obesity is rampant.
3. Lack of accountability. Accountability doesn't have to be in the form of a partner, or a support group. It can be as simple as frequent meetings with the bathroom scale. I read arguments for and against weighing in often; I have found that for me, if I know exactly what the number on the scale is, it directly affects my food choices. The most dangerous place for me is "comfortable", because if my weight is on the low end, I tend to work harder to push it down; if it's up "just a little", I'm not quite as careful with my diet ("one more won't do any more damage"). I have found for me that if I don't weigh every single day, I get more careless. Only one time have I skipped daily weigh-ins and been pleasantly surprised.
There are many other reasons for being stuck, but these are the ones that are affecting me right now. The question is, how do I fix it? I just do what I know to do, and stay motivated to change. I subtract out of my diet some of the things I had let back in; I increase my exercise; I increase my fluid intake; and I keep regular (daily, at least) appointments with the scale. For me, it's almost always about the fluid. Yesterday at PHC I was up 5 pounds; that will just about be gone by tomorrow morning.
(Insert a 24-hour pause here...)
It is now Thursday; Tuesday I was up 5 pounds at PHC; today, I was back down by the same 5 pounds. These spikes don't ever last very long with me, but they have to be dealt with right away.
In totally different news, I blogged a while back about a photo shoot and a three-hour interview with Nandy and me. It was announced via facebook yesterday that the new issue was out. Two Kroger stores and PHC did not have them yet, but I hit the jackpot at Kroger in Evans. I grabbed about eight copies off the newsstand, and, after lunch with my bride, I took a few of them over to PHC. They were closed for lunch, but I caught Mark outside, and he, Donna, and I looked through the issue. If you haven't heard or seen by now, Nandy and I are on the cover, and there's about 8 pages in this issue dedicated to the Augusta's Biggest Loser competition. For my out-of-town friends, I'm hoping they will have it posted online before too long.
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