Melting In The Sun

Today I saw a man on a park track at high noon wearing black shorts, black shoes, a black t-shirt and jogging. It seemed maybe he was on his second or third run, because he looked slow and kind of hunched over. I thought, "Who in their right mind would pick noon time in South Texas heat (even in "Spring" time) to go out wearing all black and jog in the hot sun? It doesn't make any sense!"

Then it hit me.

This man's motivation is probably driven by the idea that the more he sweats, the more weight he will lose.

Okay, perhaps there could be other very good explanations for why he was out there at that hour wearing all black. But, come on, Ockham's razor states: all things being equal, the simplest explanation is often the best one. I think he was trying to maximize his sweat output. It's all part of the mentality of "NO PAIN, NO GAIN".

 First of all, in my view, nothing could be farther from the truth when it comes to exercise and weight loss. Let me make it clear that I am talking strictly about individuals efforts to become more active and exercise more for the express purpose of losing weight. This post says nothing about people using the no pain, no gain idea to prepare for an upcoming arduous sports competition or body building show/cat walk (whatever they're called).

Who knows what that man was trying to accomplish jogging in 90 degree South Texas heat with the sun riding heavy on his shoulders. But he looked like a regular Joe, overweight, mid to late forties. Not the prototype competitor for the next blockbuster championship boxing match, I'll tell you that. He should have been wearing a straw hat, light colored clothes and carrying a large water bottle at the very least.

I used to believe that if I made myself sweat a lot while exercising, this meant that I was losing weight faster. And, actually, that is not entirely incorrect. Of course, inevitably you will sweat while working out, even if the ambiance, or the weather, is cool. And if you sweat profusely, you might notice a slight, immediate drop on your scale reading. But this weight loss is merely water expenditure due to your body trying to regulate it's core temperature, especially when you are exerting yourself in an already hot environment. This weight is easily regained when you replenish your body through proper hydration by drinking plenty of liquids, and/or eating the right water-containing foods, like fruits and vegetables.

In other words, while you may be somewhat elated that you lost like two pounds on your run in the sun, this means nothing other than that you risked heat stroke, dehydrated yourself and weakened your body. Chances are that by the time you are done, you will be so tired and almost sick, that you won't be highly motivated to return to the track until possibly days later. So in the meantime, your body shuts down to repair the damage and any progress in actual weight loss is lost. This happens to individuals who push themselves to extremes in their workout routines, as well. They effectively make themselves sick and so for one or two days they are suffering from all kinds of aches and pains.

Weight loss through exercise cannot be something that you rush. It has to be tempered. It must be used wisely and consistently in order to get the most benefits from it, and have lasting results. If you begin an exercise regimen and achieve some small degree of positive results in a short span of time, stick to that pace and be patient.

If you are seeking to alter your routine to try to maximize the results then do so very moderately, because if you over do it, you will only jeopardize your body's exertion potential and end up hurt, which will lead you to a longer period of recovery; in turn, this could undo the results gained, which will very likely kill or seriously hinder your motivation. This will sabotage your entire weight loss big picture/long-term plan.

So remember, if it hurts, makes you feel weak, dehydrates you, or pushes you to extremes which cancel your immediate follow-up work out sessions because you are at home recovering from heatstroke or something, then it ain't a good strategy for weight loss.

Do as a snail does. It is the consistency in the snail's pace that gets it to its destination in spite of its slow progress. We are not snails, so we don't have to move tremendously slowly, but don't over do it and you will see that your efforts will be sustained for longer than you might have expected.

And that's the point: to create good, healthy habits which can be sustained for the long term so that you may not be stuck in a yo-yo effect of losing and gaining weight, because eventually you might not be able to lose the weight again.

After experiencing a certain number of failures, most people just give up and resign to their fate as obese individuals. Don't be that guy or girl who says, "I'm just big-boned." No one is born being obese. We become obese through the consistency of our bad habits and the absence of good habits.


***UPDATE!

This morning I had two fried eggs, pulled pork leftovers (about 12 oz. worth), 11 sautéed, mini carrots, two slices of fried, soft, white cheese, two raw Serrano peppers, two cups of old-fashioned oatmeal with 1/6 cups of milk, one tablespoon of real butter, two teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 12 oz. of cherry Kool-Aid. That's right, I took it old-school, eighties, trailer-park-style! I then took a 24 oz cup of black coffee sweetened with stevia for the road. For lunch, I had a single-sized bag of pork rinds with half a large avocado and washed it down with some water. I will be eating a large orange with lots of cold water in a while and that should hold me pretty good until the morning feast. Until then...hasta la proxima!

The Morning After

I gained three pounds from Saturday to today!

 

 

That's right. Saturday morning I was at 258 lbs. Today, I was at 261 lbs. You might look at that and think it a set-back. But I don't. Actually, it's perfectly understandable. You see, it's all part of the plan to be able to be disciplined during the diet week and be completely free of that discipline during the one day off.

 

When you gain weight, a certain percentage of that mass is actually just water retention. Have you ever had to take a diuretic pill? Usually when you are first diagnosed as having hypertension, doctor's will first prescribe these pills to see if eliminating the excess water retention will alleviate some of the high blood pressure. The problem is that these pills affect different people in different ways. For me, I began experiencing accelerated heartbeat and just a general feeling of panic. They were quickly removed. But during the week that I was taking them, I slimmed down at least five pounds. I thought I had found a magic pill for weight loss! Of course, had I kept on taking them, the only thing that would have happened would probably have been that I would be retaining less water, but still gaining weight. And, sure enough, when the pill was removed I quickly found the five pounds I had lost...and then some.

 

So my point is that if you are trying or thinking of trying this approach, be prepared to see your weight fluctuate back and forth every week. This is not a sign of any problem other than the fact that when you eat the right foods and refrain from having late dinners and keep active, your body is functioning more efficiently and you retain way less water and waste in your guts. But when you revert to eating all that decadent stuff that we all love and crave, like fried foods and pancakes or any kind of bread and starchy foods (fast food especially), and then you wash that down with sugary drinks for that one day off, you will find that you quickly gain back at least two to three pounds over night. But if you are disciplined enough to faithfully pick up where you left off, I assure you that those two to three pounds that you regained will be the amount of pounds that you will lose beyond what you achieved.

 

In other words, what I am saying is that I am guaranteeing that by next Saturday morning, (April 27, 2013) I will have lost two to three pounds beyond the achieved weight for this past week, which was 258 lbs. So I will be weighing at least 255 lbs. Let's test this theory and see what happens. My offer is still open for anyone who might want to monitor in some way my methods and results.

 

 

Just FYI

 

In case you are curious about what I had to eat on Saturday. I took my boys to Cracker Barrel and had a pancake, two basted, sunny side up eggs, chicken fried steak, two biscuits with butter and jelly, hash brown casserole, a little plate of grits and coffee. I also had a couple of thick French fries from my little boy's plate. This was at around 11 a.m., the first meal. For a very late "lunch" or second meal of the day, I had two large flower tortilla tacos with pulled pork, white Mexican crumbling cheese (I got no idea if it has an actual reference in English), avocado slices and hot sauce. Then I had two small corn tortilla tacos of the same. For late dinner, I was at a get together/"Bar-B-Q". I had about six corn tortilla tacos with lamb chops, avocado, hot sauce and washed it down with about ten bruskies. It was a good night.

 

Today, I had one large flour tortilla with pulled pork and a chicken quarter leg, refried beans, a serving of whole pinto beans, avocado, hot sauce and two 24 oz. servings of diet soda for lunch. I haven't had any dinner. It's late. I'll probably just have an orange and water and call it a night.

 

Hasta luego.

What to do about hunger.

You won't believe it (I didn't either) but most of the time when we feel a little rumble in the tumbler and immediately envision a gigantic three meat, double cheese burger with an order of large fries--biggy it, please--and a jug of cold, popping soda, it's usually not hunger that we are experiencing; it's thirst. You don't believe me, huh? I don't blame you. I thought the same way. "How the hell is any random guy going to tell me that I don't know my body well enough to know when I am hungry versus when I am thirsty?" Well, that's exactly what I'm telling you.


***Disclaimer***

[Now, first off, I ain't no nutritionist. But this blog does not purport that. I am a common guy who has experimented with the relationship between food consumption and weight gain/loss. I can tell you from personal experience that this is true for me and I am not the only one saying it. Look it up and you'll see.]

Now, when was the last time you actually skipped a meal because you did not have absolutely any way to feed yourself? Probably never. Unless you live in some third-world country and got nothing but dirt to chomp on. Otherwise, food is so accessible these days that most of us live within walking distance to a fast-food joint. What's worse is that it is not only readily accessible, it's dirt cheap! Edible dirt, actually, is harder to find and probably more expensive than fast food and junk food, but healthier for you, I bet. We are surrounded by food. This level of availability does not let us ever go hungry. In fact, we don't know what it is to truly be hungry. Don't get me wrong, there are natural processes and responses designed by nature to get us to feed, drink and do everything else our bodies need for existence. But we are so out of sync with what our bodies have to tell us that when our bodies tell us that we are full, what do we do? We take a minute to breath, wring our hands, chit-chat a little, burp and come right back to that scrumptious meal because we are used to it. In our society, the majority of us are taught to always try to get the most for the least. That's why when we are confronted with the question of fast food versus health food, we tend to choose the fast food primarily because it is cheaper. Also, we share a culture geared toward the pleasure of the senses. Everything is about constant stimulation and very little processing. That's what happens when we watch movies or get on the Internet. We view for laughs and action, and only rarely for seeking content which could help us grow intellectually, emotionally or skill wise. So, too, do we behave this way with food. It's about pleasing the pallet and rarely about fueling the body. And it's so easy and pleasurable to satisfy the pallet.

Well, I'm one of those that enjoys food very much for the flavors and textures and rarely see it as simply fuel for the body. If I were always seeing it as such then maybe it would be easier to make better choices about what to ingest. It's like being at the gas station and filling up your tank with piss. Chances are your car ain't going to run. Unless, of course, you drink Tequila like water, then maybe you got a chance. Most of us know what it feels like to eat a very tasty meal but then be incredibly sluggish afterwards. That's because we didn't feed our body the right fuel for it to function properly. When you feed on things with high fiber, water, and nutrients, the break-down process in the stomach takes on a whole different aspect. You don't get high insulin spikes. The water and fiber help you feel fuller for a longer period, and the nutrients are released evenly so that you are adequately fueled and ready to go.

This brings me to the answer to the question posed today. What to do about hunger? First, drink some water. You don't like water? Get some diet green tea. Have some non-sugary liquid first and ponder the question of hunger. Then if you still feel the pangs wreaking havoc, confusing those around you about whether you farted shamelessly or not, go for some fruit or veggies like carrots. I know, it's not as glamorous as a big ole bucket o' chicken but it will help you get your mind off the idea of solving the problem with fast food or junk food. (Unless, of course, it's your normal eating time, then have yourself a full meal, but lay off the refined carbs and sugar, please.)

So try it. The first step in changing the process of gaining weight is making small changes to our behaviors, our habits. Instead of reaching for the candy bar, go for the water. If it quells your "hunger" then it wasn't hunger at all but thirst coupled by a response to some situation or stimuli. Like eating a huge fast food meal after a long, tough day at work. Or eating half a chocolate cake 'cuz your relationship is in shambles. These are responses to external pressures and not internal needs.

UPDATE!

Day 2: The first thing I ate today was a banana. I then had two scrambled eggs with pork chorizo this morning. I also had a small avocado with pork rinds. I sauteed about ten mini-carrots, and grilled two mozzarella cheese sticks. And, lastly, I had about three tablespoons of hummus. All this was my breakfast. For mid-morning treat I had a 20 oz. black coffee. For lunch I had a bottled water with a individual-sized pack of roasted peanuts. (I'm guessing about 10 oz. actually). It's 7:00 p.m. Central Time (U.S./Canada). I don't eat after 6 p.m. I am feeling the hunger a bit. I am going to have a hot cup of green tea with Stevia. That should hold me...barely. (Personal note: Stop using the "Day" counter; could be cumbersome after a while).