Ok, I'm not really in maintenance. I'm losing very slowly. I'm ok with this (mostly). It hit me that I dropped between 35 and 40 pounds in, say four months, from April to July. This was at least 10% of my body weight. That's a lot. Right? It doesn't feel like enough because I have a ways to go. But it's a lot.
I also haven't been exercising regularly in the last few weeks. Part of this is because of my work and sleep schedule. Part of this is the whole back injury thing (much better, thanks). Sleep is key to everything for me. If I don't sleep well, it's easy for me to feel a drive to eat poorly. It also tends to fuel depression in me. I know that lack of sleep promotes weight gain. If I have to make a choice between sleep and working out, sleep will win, and I don't feel bad about it.
But I like working out. I don't like planning it, but I like it once I'm there, and I like having done it. Everything hangs better. I'm going today. Didn't sleep well, so I'll need a nap, too.
So, I have a confession to Weight Watchers. I haven't tracked points in almost a month. I've been tracking calories on Livestrong. It's got a good food database, and the price is right. I made the transition because I've been reading about BMR and caloric need, and I decided that WW, which allows a max of 44 points (plus an additional 35 a week) might have been giving me too little. (Want to eat a lot more without putting on weight? Gain 100 pounds. No wait--don't.) WW's point values vary, but 50 calories per point is a good average. That makes 44 points about 2200 calories. Every BMR calculator I looked at puts me 400-500 calories higher than that. So I decided to track both for a while and see where I was.
As a practical matter, there wasn't much difference. WW puts more emphasis on fat and fiber than simple calorie counting does. Livestrong is interesting, because it calculates the percentage of fat, protein, and carbs you're eating. I tend to eat pretty low fat, but arguably not enough fat or protein. (I bought some nuts this at the grocery yesterday. This should help.)
I might stop WW altogether. Meetings on Sunday morning at 8am are tough (though I'm awake right now. I could go). But I've been doing pretty well on my own. Even yesterday, when I felt a great desire to eat all manner of crappy food, I mostly didn't, and I stayed on target calorically. So far, I guess, I just want to be healthier than I have been. Who knew?
Today, I will measure--arms, waist, thigh, calf, neck. I wish I'd tracked these from the beginning.
Oh Skip. You men crack me up. 40 pounds in 4 months - I could only dream of such fast WL :) Half a pound a week is good for me.
ReplyDeleteInterested to hear how your WW experience goes. Of all the official programs, that seems like the most legitimate. But I guess everyone eventually outgrows the need for a program.
I know, I know. But when you have 100 more to go, 40 seems like not much. I really wanted 60 by Christmas. It's not going to happen, but I do hope for a pound a week over the year.
ReplyDeleteWW is totally legit, in my view. It works if you stick with it. (Of course, most things do.) But the support function is important, even if it's online. The meetings sometimes make me crazy, because I don't really care about what candy is low points. Some people do.