Written by tigs01 on 17/02/2011 09:08
We're all here because of food. Aren't we? We love it just that little bit too much, or maybe never learned the importance of good nutrition (or did, and just enjoyed good meals and a few too many treats.)
I've said before that the temptation with any weight loss attempt, whichever road you follow, is to cut back to the bone, deny yourself the things you love and cut out anything that doesn't seem like 'diet food'.
Well, welcome to a new way of thinking! What's this?, I hear you cry. You've joined WeightWatchers, right? This is the New Approach, right here and now. Forget the 'D' word. This is not a diet in the classic 'let's all eat lettuce and be bloody miserable for a couple of weeks, before toppling from the wagon when we realise how unhappy we are'.
No, this is healthy and sustainable weight loss that equips us along the way with the healthy habits and tools to get to a healthy weight and to stay there.
Fact One - Deprivation is a Bad Thing
Want chocolate? Eat chocolate. Point and track that chocolate. Use your weekly points, factor it in to your daily points if you have lots of them (but not too much, you need proper food more!) No weekly or daily points left? Exercise and earn enough points!
A craving denied is a craving multiplied. Sooner or later your iron resolve will soften, and often the later it does, the more you will scarf down of the thing you denied yourself.
This is, admittedly, not for everyone. I know there are some of you who just can't stop once you start eating a trigger food. Still, it has to be better psychologically to indulge occasionally - doesn't it? Best to do it when you're feeling strong and in control.
Fact Two - Everyone has a certain number of calories they need to consume per day
Another earlier blog post topic. Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. How tall, old, heavy you are dictates how many calories your body requires each day just to function. Drop below this, and you are in danger of pushing your body into famine mode. A Very Bad Thing. Eat too little and your body turns to itself for food, but it doesn't burn up fat. Nope, it goes for the high quality, energy-dense protein. This means MUSCLE. What is your heart? A dirty great muscle. Lose too much muscle mass and yes, you'll have lost weight, but at the expense of lean muscle mass with means you will be flabbier than you were before!
Which leads me to:
Fact Three - Your daily allowance plus the 49 Weekly Points is the amount it is estimated YOU need to to eat in order to lose weight HEALTHILY
The bigger you are, the younger you are, the more energy you need. There's more of you to move around, and you are presumed to be more active than an older person would be. (This presumes that older people are sedentary, which isn't really terribly nice, but there you go. Not me making the presumption, I assure you.)
Eating too little is just as counter-productive as eating too much. Sounds mental, doesn't it? But it's true. If you're not eating enough, your metabolism goes to sleep in order to conserve energy. It also starts laying down yet more fat stores, which is really not what you want!
Fact Four - You do NOT lose weight faster by eating less than you should
Seems obvious, given the above. It goes against the grain of everything you've probably ever picked up from the media and from weight loss outfits who are pushing snake oil in the form of very low calorie (often liquid) diets.
Ever wondered why you can't stick to those diets? Boredom. Deprivation. Starvation! Food is fuel. The right fuel in the correct amounts keeps your engine blasting on all cylinders, helps you feel fitter and full of energy and means your weight loss journey will be a big success.
I feel a part two to this blog post coming on, as I am fast running out of characters!
I've said before that the temptation with any weight loss attempt, whichever road you follow, is to cut back to the bone, deny yourself the things you love and cut out anything that doesn't seem like 'diet food'.
Well, welcome to a new way of thinking! What's this?, I hear you cry. You've joined WeightWatchers, right? This is the New Approach, right here and now. Forget the 'D' word. This is not a diet in the classic 'let's all eat lettuce and be bloody miserable for a couple of weeks, before toppling from the wagon when we realise how unhappy we are'.
No, this is healthy and sustainable weight loss that equips us along the way with the healthy habits and tools to get to a healthy weight and to stay there.
Fact One - Deprivation is a Bad Thing
Want chocolate? Eat chocolate. Point and track that chocolate. Use your weekly points, factor it in to your daily points if you have lots of them (but not too much, you need proper food more!) No weekly or daily points left? Exercise and earn enough points!
A craving denied is a craving multiplied. Sooner or later your iron resolve will soften, and often the later it does, the more you will scarf down of the thing you denied yourself.
This is, admittedly, not for everyone. I know there are some of you who just can't stop once you start eating a trigger food. Still, it has to be better psychologically to indulge occasionally - doesn't it? Best to do it when you're feeling strong and in control.
Fact Two - Everyone has a certain number of calories they need to consume per day
Another earlier blog post topic. Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. How tall, old, heavy you are dictates how many calories your body requires each day just to function. Drop below this, and you are in danger of pushing your body into famine mode. A Very Bad Thing. Eat too little and your body turns to itself for food, but it doesn't burn up fat. Nope, it goes for the high quality, energy-dense protein. This means MUSCLE. What is your heart? A dirty great muscle. Lose too much muscle mass and yes, you'll have lost weight, but at the expense of lean muscle mass with means you will be flabbier than you were before!
Which leads me to:
Fact Three - Your daily allowance plus the 49 Weekly Points is the amount it is estimated YOU need to to eat in order to lose weight HEALTHILY
The bigger you are, the younger you are, the more energy you need. There's more of you to move around, and you are presumed to be more active than an older person would be. (This presumes that older people are sedentary, which isn't really terribly nice, but there you go. Not me making the presumption, I assure you.)
Eating too little is just as counter-productive as eating too much. Sounds mental, doesn't it? But it's true. If you're not eating enough, your metabolism goes to sleep in order to conserve energy. It also starts laying down yet more fat stores, which is really not what you want!
Fact Four - You do NOT lose weight faster by eating less than you should
Seems obvious, given the above. It goes against the grain of everything you've probably ever picked up from the media and from weight loss outfits who are pushing snake oil in the form of very low calorie (often liquid) diets.
Ever wondered why you can't stick to those diets? Boredom. Deprivation. Starvation! Food is fuel. The right fuel in the correct amounts keeps your engine blasting on all cylinders, helps you feel fitter and full of energy and means your weight loss journey will be a big success.
I feel a part two to this blog post coming on, as I am fast running out of characters!
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