Wanna lose weight? Diet and Exercise!

I've written about this in earlier posts, so if you've heard all this before, sorry. I can speak with some experience now because I've lost 15 lbs. since August 2020. "Big deal," you say. "Fifteen pounds? Doesn't seem like much." Slow and steady, building better habits, that's the goal, and it's working. ☺

Here's the thing, though. I haven't given up anything to do it, nor have I started training for a marathon. I eat anything I like, I just eat less of it! I've increased my activity level a bit, too, of course. I visited 2 or 3 times a week a gym until the COVID-19 lockdowns went into effect. Now I walk the grocery store for about 45 minutes twice a week - as quickly as I can without running over anyone. Of course, I'm properly masked with 4 layers of cotton and 2 layers of polypropylene. I also walk my dog twice every single day at a quick-step. My aging dog is slowing down, though, so I have to stop and let her sniff around several times during our outings. I dance a little jig during those breathers. The neighbors probably think I'm nuts but I am getting better at the Texas Two-Step. ☺

I track my caloric intake/output carefully. My favorite online tool is MyFitnessPal.com, which lets you enter goals, foods and activities and calculates your progress. You can enter your own recipes or choose foods and activities from the database that's been built by others.

You can’t really “burn” enough calories to lose weight without cutting calories, too. You can hit the gym, walk, row, or swim all you want, but exercise alone won’t make you svelte. And counting carbs is only useful if you're reducing calories, so why bother.

Given that 1 pound of human fat is worth about 3,500 calories, you would have to add 3,500 calories of extra activity to lose 1 pound. You could walk 35 miles thereby burning 3,500 calories or do one of the following, daily. Each of these requires about 500 calories:

• 45-minute jog at a 10-minute mile pace
• 60-minute cycling session
• 90 minutes on the elliptical
• 50 minutes on the Stairmaster
• 70 minutes of resistance training – i.e. lifting weights
• 45-minute breaststroke swim
• 45 minute of treading water
• 2-hour walk at a moderate pace, about 6 miles
• 1-hour Zumba class
• 2-hour Power Yoga class

If you do one of these every single day for a solid week, you might lose a pound, if you eat as you normally would. Whew!

Researchers have found that while physical activity burns calories, it also increases appetite, and people may compensate by eating more or by being less active the rest of the day. Physical activity has many proven health benefits, allowing people who are physically active to live longer and healthier lives, but it’s not necessarily a good weight-loss method by itself. You cannot outrun a bad diet.

No matter what messages the government or PepsiCo may send out, physical activity and diet should not be given equal...um...weight in any plan to control obesity. The message from food companies has for decades been that it’s our laziness that makes us fat. Nope, it ain’t all about inactivity; it’s much more dependent on what we shove in our pieholes.

A better approach is gradual, small changes to both diet and exercise. It's working for me.

• Eat more fruits and veggies and fewer refined carbs. You might want to lean heavier on the green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, seafood, poultry, olive oil - the basic Mediterranean Diet.
• Lighten up on the butter, red meats and hard cheeses.
• Record your calories after every meal. It's quick and easy with online tools, especial if there is a phone app.
• Increase that once-a-week stroll to a brisk daily walk.
• Move around more - do leg raises under your desk if you're working from home; do a little boogie while you're doing housework.
• Step on the scales every week and record the result.
• Make changes that are sustainable over the long haul.
• Eat healthfully but enjoy your food. Forcing yourself to eat kale (shudder!) because it’s supposedly good for you and low in calories is as futile as buying a treadmill that ends up being a clothes rack.

Give yourself a break, once in a while, and eat something decadent. You're in it for the long haul so an occasional 'slip' is no big deal. I think this will be a way of keeping my weight under control for good - it's so nice to see my waistline again! Let's hope I can continue. Stay tuned...

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