Yes, I know how difficult it is to embrace change. I’m
rapidly approaching that age when I’ll soon undergo that metamorphosis into my
parents. Where habits are carved into stone. And the sun is more likely to
shower rain than warmth on to this little orb before those habits are broken. But
there’s still hope as I’m still an elderly caterpillar that still hasn’t pupated
into that crusty old version of me… yet. So I need to make that abrupt course
change and rush head first to that better, flexible, tolerant, forgiving,
energetic, improved version of me to change the world! Whoa nelly! Need to walk
before we learn to run. Start with baby steps. How about simply trying to get
back into those size 31 slacks?
It’s About the
Weight… Isn’t it?
Whenever we think about making healthier changes in our
lives, I’m willing to bet that the vast majority are focused on weight. Specifically,
losing some of it. To get back to their college weight or even high school
weight. So that their energy is limitless. And their clothes fit better. To
regain that metabolism that allowed them to consume vast quantities of every
food item known to mankind and simply burn it off with one session of jogging.
For starters, if I could simply go back to my physical state at 40, I’d be a
very happy camper. And as I’ve mentioned before, I never focus on that number
called weight. It is after all simply a number and what really is important is
how that number is divided between water, lean, bone and fat. A large number
that’s primarily lean, water and bone with very little fat is a lot healthier
than a small number that’s mostly water and fat with very little lean and bone.
That’s why a Body Mass Index or BMI is only partially useful. It does tell you
when you’re underweight because it’s rare for someone to have a low BMI (less
than 18) but still with good lean and bone density. Most people with BMIs less
than 18 simply have low lean, fat and bone densities. However a BMI more 25 is
considered overweight but if a lot of that weight is in the form of lean, bone
and water, that person is probably a lot healthier than someone with a BMI
smack dab in the middle of normal at 21.7 if the “normal” person has a higher
proportion of fat.
Personally, my focus is on that other “W” word, waist.
Precisely, an expanding waist. Making it difficult to fir into those work
slacks. Nothing takes the steam out of your morning more than having to do that
deep inhalation first thing in the morning just to secure that front clasp on
your trousers. Or seeing that buckle “crease” on your belt moving from the
middle to the last notch in your belt. And realizing that your belt is simply
for decoration as your pants are more than adequately held up by just your
waist. Then worrying throughout the day that any sneeze could cause that pants
button to be forcefully expelled thereby blinding a co-worker. I need to start
those baby steps ASAP!
One plus One does
Equal Two
As I’ve mentioned before, losing or increasing your
weight simply involves basic mathematics. Consume more than you burn and you’ll
gain weight. Burn more than you consume and you’ll lose weight. There is no
magical food source to accelerate metabolism no matter what you’ve read on the
internet. You literally can lose weight just consuming lard as long as the
calories in the lard are less than the calories you expend.
“So all I need to do to lose weight is eat less”? Well
yes, that’s one approach. But since the goal is to keep that excess weight off
for good, unless you plan on restricting your intake forever, it usually isn’t
something that can be maintained. And with these deprivation diets, you usually
lose a lot of weight initially but most of that weight is water so to maintain
that loss means continual deprivation plus a constant state of dehydration. And
because deprivation diets usually aren’t sustainable, you fall back to usual
consumption and simply put the weight right back on. However during constant
trials of deprivation diets, your body does change other than a weight that
drops and increases like a yo-yo. Your body composition changes… for the worse.
During the initial stages of weight loss where you lose water weight, most
people also lose lean weight or muscle mass which is amplified the more you
starve yourself. Then when you fall of the bandwagon and the weight returns, it
doesn’t return as lean mass but more likely fat mass. So while your average
“heavy” weight remains the same, your fat mass has actually increased at the
expense of lean mass. That’s why simply cutting calories usually doesn’t work,
you also have to increase calorie expenditure or exercise.
Will I Have to Run
a Marathon?
Not really. My simple goal I give all of my patients is
to reduce daily caloric intake by about 250 calories and increase daily
expenditure about 250 calories. That translates to a net loss of 3500 calories
per week which equates to about 1 pound of fat, the “weight” you want to lose. It
doesn’t really require training for a marathon or century ride to shed the fat,
just a little extra time – usually about 30 minutes – to burn those extra 250
calories every day and the willpower to continue that routine. As far as
cutting back on the calories, you may even save time as you won’t be spending
as much time eating.
But what’s my
Personal Excuse?
Plain and simple, it’s a reduction in exercise. As I
previously mentioned last year, I’m only getting my cardio done about twice a
week where it used to be at least three times a week spaced evenly throughout
the week. Because of my longer commute and early workdays, I get my cardio only
on Saturdays and Sundays at best which means 5 days of rest… not a good recipe
for health.
So to counter the reduction in calorie expenditure, all I
have to do is reduce calories consumed right? Technically yes. But it’s not
that simple for me. You see, ever since we did that pop-up dinner about 3 years
ago, I constantly think about food and creating new dishes. There are morning
drives to work where I don’t even listen to my music, I simply obsess what type
of pizza I’ll create on the weekend or even when I’m on my stationary bike,
instead on concentrating on my heartrate and power output, I’m thinking about
smoking all-purpose flour for chocolate chip cookies. And you would think 3
years after our pop-up dinner, the food obsession would fade. If anything, it
seems to be worse as I’ve actually blown off cardio sessions just to start
prepping my minced luau leaf with coconut on mini taro tartlets with smoked
meat or “gluing” pork, lamb and beef parts with transglutaminase. So I do need
to get more focused on cardiovascular achievements instead of just culinary
achievements… or they do have to at least be in balance.
Just Do it
Nike was right. Don’t spend time thinking about it. Just
do it. Start with just an extra 15 minutes of exercise three times a week. Then
slowly start increasing the duration and if you’re able to, increase the
intensity. The first eventual goal is to get up to 150 minutes per week of
moderate intensity exercise with no more than 2 days of rest between exercise
sessions so either 30 minutes per session five times per week or 50 minutes
three times a week. And if you reach that initial goal of 150 minutes per week,
keep increasing the weekly duration until your cardio sessions are daily. Not
only will it help you prevent that dreaded “battle of the bulge”, it’s also
been shown to reduce the incidence of diabetes. Plus you’ll probably feel
better.
So personally, I know that I have to embrace it
and do it! And since I’m on vacation for the next two weeks and not traveling,
there’s no excuse for the “no time” thing. Of course I do have to cut back on
those Cape Cod Reduced Fat potato chips… dipped in tartar sauce… with sips of
Champagne taken in between…
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