The end of my ninth week on Weight Watchers is rapidly approaching. Including the eight pounds lost in the two weeks before I started, I’ve now lost almost twenty pounds. Slap my ass and call me skinny!
Well, not quite skinny. According to that silly Body Mass Index thingy, I’m still obese. I blame the vegetarians and dietitians of the world. Slap my ass and call me obese. When I lose a few more pounds, you can call me just overweight.
I’m proud of my progress. Still, I keep thinking I would have lost more if it wasn’t so darn hot. The temperature here in Athens has exceeded ninety degrees for something like two solid months. Getting my bike ride in is a chore, especially on days when I have to work. On weekends, I try to leave the house by seven a.m. so I can get back before it gets too hot. The rest of the week, getting a ride in is hit or miss.
Believe it or not, getting less exercise seems to work for me. Weight Watchers Online produces all kinds of reports from my several-times-a-day entries about my exercise, food consumption, and weight. The results to date are more than a little surprising.
Turns out, the more activity points I earn, the less likely I am to lose weight. It’s a perfect correlation, too. I’ve lost the most weight in the weeks with the fewest activity points. Who knew?
Sure, weight loss is a complicated thing. Maybe I retain fluid from all the chips and salsa consumed the day before my weigh in. The more activity points I’ve earned, the less inclined I am to worry about how many chips I eat. Or perhaps I gain muscle weight in the weeks with a lot of activity points.
The message here is probably something about moderation–a concept I’ve struggled with for most of my life. I’ve always believed if a little bit is good, lots is even better. Even with exercise, that is apparently not the case. Guess I’m still a slower learner.
In any case, I’m not giving up on the exercise. I’m trying to ride for 45 to 60 minutes, three or four times a week. I push myself to go faster during my rides, and I go for a longer ride at least once a week. But I’m no longer trying to ride farther and longer every time I go out.
And that’s what’s going on this week, here in…
My Glass House
5 responses to “Diet and Exercise Lessons Learned”
Thanks for sharing your WW journey…I’m in my 2nd week and down 1.6 in the first. In the past, exercising for me, I still believe, didn’t make the scale dip. I think there comes a point when calories in vs. calories out even up and you just maintain, because at my most successful weight loss (30 lbs), I couldn’t make the scale budge downward anymore, no matter what I ate or how much “normal” exercising I did (like walking or using an eliptical for 1/2 hour daily). The last time I dieted, I found myself going home at lunch (a 15 minute ride) and doing the eliptical trainer for a 1/2 hour, then driving back to work. It didn’t make a difference to the scale. I’m definitely not a marathon exerciser, so I’m not going to make my weight loss focus exercise oriented since the calorie deficit is what makes the weight loss happen, for me.
Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment. Exercise helps, but the calories in part is definitely what counts. Good luck!
Yay. Keep riding the bike. You know the routine. Muscle burns more calories, bla bla bla. Besides. I need my ice cream fix.
Actually, I went to the doctor on Friday and got myself some Adipex. Yeah, I know. Drugs are a crutch. Well, I’ve limped long enough, and I need a crutch to get me kick started. My intentions are good but I end up just sucking at the whole thing… because I get hungry…. and what mama wants, mama does her best to get. It’s just that M&Ms and tater chips don’t give a crap about the size of my ass.
So I’ll do some drugs for a while and hope for the best. I’m proud of you for doing it the “real” way, and for sticking with the program. I know riding in the heat has been brutal. Take it easy. And don’t worry too much about earning APs for me. I’m giving up the ice cream. 🙂
That is awesome on the weight loss!!! WOOHOO!! I know what you mean about the heat. It has been so hot and humid here too that I really have to push myself to get out there and run. I have been getting up early and running in the morning before I go to work. It is just so much easier for me to do it that way. If I wait until after work then I have to wait until 9 or later for it to “cool” down enough for me to get out there. Keep up the good work and keep pushing the rest of us to lose too!!!! 😛
Cathy, Good luck with your new program. I like Weight Watchers because I can always eat something when I feel hungry. Yeah, I’m doing without pizza, hamburgers, and a few other things–but I’m probably eating as much as before AND gt my five servings of fruits and veggies in every single day.
Thanks for the pat on the back, Pam. I look forward to seeing your results so I can return the favor!