No, seriously – it’s a good thing!
I started my journey toward losing over 100 lbs. on the HMR system. It
turned out to be a very bad idea for me as the artificial and/or extreme low
calorie nature of that diet caused my liver to start failing, however it did
take off the first 35 lbs. that needed to go.
When I left HMR (on my wise Doctor’s orders) I went to Weight Watchers.
There I had a great leader and fantastic, supportive classmates – and I took
off another 40 lbs. WW is a decent program, their system of tailoring your
personal diet to include those things you love while encouraging you to try new
ones is smart, and it’s something that people can do for life – which is very
important for weight loss sustainability.
I don’t agree with them 100%. For example, they push milk which I think
is unnecessary for adult animals (it’s baby food). Also they try to get you to
figure out how to stay within your points on days like Christmas and your
birthday – I personally believe there are days when you should just forget the
whole restriction deal and enjoy yourself. There can be an almost fearful
attitude toward food at WW that I think isn’t 100% mentally healthy.
However, I was happy on WW and it’s easy enough to ignore what you don’t
agree with and take to heart all the useful, encouraging things that they
offer.
Through no fault of WW I began to suffer diet fatigue about seven or
eight months ago. I had simply run out of energy to keep doing the same things
I’d done before. I remained on the program, slogging along, but my weight began
slowly but surely creeping upward instead of downward. I knew I had to try
something new, and as much as I would have liked to add a new plan to my
existing old one, my diet budget being what it is (I have a spending allowance
I dedicate to my weight loss efforts) in order to try something new I had to
give up WW.
That was hard. I love my leader and my classmates. And I was a coward –
I knew I was leaving but didn’t tell them. For one thing, I knew they’d try to
talk me out of it, but my mind was made up so I knew that was a waste of time.
I wasn’t quitting my efforts to get where I want to be, but I was leaving their
company and in the end I slipped away very quietly. I guess a lot of people do
that.
So I joined a gym.
I’ve said in the past that gyms aren’t the right choice for me because
if I have to go home, change clothes, and go back out again – I probably won’t
go. Well, I’ve also said in the past that WW isn’t for me, so obviously I
change my mind a lot.
Deliberately working out isn’t precisely a natural activity. Human instinct encourages us to conserve energy whenever possible just as our metabolisms strive to conserve calories, it’s all about survival. Over the years when I trudge along on a treadmill or elliptical machine, it’s all I can do not to stare at the clock, waiting for the time when I can cease this boring activity.
So there’s a trick to it. I’d heard of this trick before, I’d just
never managed to successfully implement it until now.
Find something physical to do that you think is ridiculously fun.
That’s where Zumba fits in. Silly, I know. Most of the time I’m pretty
sure I look like a baby hippo hopping and flailing around that studio. But it
really is a big dance party with great music and energy and moves I’m able to
follow and lots and lots of sweat. It lasts a whole hour (unlike my generally
half hour treadmill sessions) and I don’t even notice the time flying by
because I’m enjoying myself.
Apparently I will go home, get changed, and go back out – if where I’m
going is to a big, fun dance party.
Group exercise is so different from going it alone at home. The energy
of a great instructor and the rest of the class lifts and carries me along,
helping me to work harder than I would have on my own.
It’s awesome, I’m going three times a week, and my membership also
includes access to a lot of weight lifting machines. Since lifting weights is a
varied activity, it doesn’t bore me to tears like hamster wheel activities do.
In addition to that, I still take walks and hikes with Ted.
This is all well and good, but there’s a great saying that goes, “you can’t
outrun your fork.” What this refers to is that physical activity alone isn’t
going to effect weight loss. It's easy to consume back the calories burned in even a strenuous workout and it’s a lot harder to burn a significant amount of them than
people think. So I’m also using the Daily Plate (my favorite old standby) to
track my calories and the quality of my nutrition.
I’ve found that when it comes to weight loss, loyalty to one specific method
doesn’t really work for me. In order to continue and fight off boredom and diet
fatigue, I’ve got to shake things up a bit. Zumba is my new shakedown.
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