Friday, February 29, 2008

why should it be so hard...

many of my friends and family member ask my the same question over and over. i even ask it myself, over and over and over...

what am doing wrong? i'm not losing any weight!

what is the best answer for that? who knows. we're all different. something that works for me might not work for you. but then again, maybe something i'm doing is just what you need to do to kickstart a weight loss again.

whenever someone asks me that, i go into problem solving mode and ask:

#1. what are you eating?
#2. do you exercise regularly?
#3. do you eat your extra 35 weekly points?
#4. do you eat any of your activity points?
#5. are you eating the same thing or the same types of foods day after day?

i just wonder if those are the right questions.

are they?

for me, i could say, yes. but what about for you? if you ask yourself these five questions are you able to figure out what you're doing wrong?

#1. if you're not eating enough food your body will go into hibernation mode and start storing the fat. this will happen until your body gets enough nutrients to where it feels comfortable letting some of that stored fat go. so it could take a while to reverse the effects of not eating enough.

#2. if you're not exercising regularly, and i mean religiously, you simply will not lose weight. i've seen people who can eat like a horse... all the fried foods and sweets they want. but they keep the pounds off because they work out every day. exercise is the key to weight loss. period.

#3. this is purely my philosophy, but i believe that your body needs extra fats and calories to keep it happy. if you never give your body fat (or very little) and you limit your calorie intake, don't you think your body will get wise to this? your body has an auto-balancing system in it that will compensate for any unbalanced diet or chemicals. so it makes sense to me that you should throw some extra fat and calories in your body at least once a week. so yes, dip into those extra 35 points. but my advise is to do it all in one day or maybe two days at the most. to spread it out over the week gets your body used to the extra fat on a regular basis and it won't burn it as easily.

#4. this one is a no brainer for me... if you work our, you have to eat extra that day. your body goes through alot when you work out. it needs some repairing. and extra food is just the ticket. for me, i like to eat a little extra protein (reduced fat peanut butter, boiled egg, etc.) just before i work out so my body will burn the fat not the muscle while i'm working out.

#5. this one makes sense to me, but not to alot of others. i believe that your body does get bored with the same types of foods day after day. once it starts getting the exact same nutrients (be they good or even great nutrients), your body will become complacent and never budge one pound. you can be eating the healthiest meals every day, but if you're eating the same types of foods day after day your body will equal out with the nutrients it gets and you won't be able to lose a pound.

well, that's my 2 cents worth. What do you think?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Your philosophy sounds good to me. Especially the part about adding fat once a week. That really works for me. I've learned that when I reach a plateau I can look forward to my mostest favoritest food...rib eye steak. I don't eat all the fat on or in it but probably a quarter of it and it really works. The next week there will be a significant loss. A friend told me to kick start with beef and I tried that with the lean beef and it didn't work. I am so tickled that the rib eye works because I can treat myself to it whenever I'm at a standstill and I get two warm fuzzies from it...the taste and the weight loss. I don't do it very often, maybe once a month. Mommy