drop the fork

Flux, or Life's (Mostly Little) Ups and Downs

Tired to of trying to stay exactly at goal? Going nuts because your weight is up one day, down the next?

Well, if that's the case, relax! Weight fluctuations are utterly, completely, entirely normal. No matter whether we are trying to lose weight or stay the same, we are highly unlikely to wake up day after day, weighing exactly the same. Even if we are trying to lose, our daily weight is busy doing the two-step. It's true . . . and completely unavoidable.

Frankly, it is impossible for us to stay at a single weight, each and every day. Our weight varies from hour to hour, even minute to minute! We eat, we drink, we, er, "eliminate." We burn fat (the effects of which dissipate as heat and moisture, through our lungs and skin), we put on clothing, we take off clothing. We eat more sodium and carbs (which promote fluid retention), we eat less. We have hormonal fluctuations (also known as That Time Of The Month) if we are female. It's not at all unusual to gain 2 - 5 lbs through the course of a day. Me, I'm typically 2 - 3 lbs heavier in the evening, than I am in the morning. Normal, normal, normal.

Know what else is normal for me? My daily weight fluctuates constantly. It goes up and down some 3 to 4 lbs over the course of a month (and sometimes more, when I go on vacation or celebrate various holidays). But don't just take my word for it; see for yourself:

This handy-dandy chart, taken from my CalorieKing record of daily weigh-ins, shows the way my weight has fluctuated over the course of the last year or so.* (I didn't start using CK until May 2006, which is why I look so flatline for April.) Those high peaks? They roughly correspond to vacations, holidays, and really long bike rides that involved a lot of heavy fueling.

I hope this is reassuring to those of you who think you must adhere to a single weight day after day after day. You're gonna swing high, you're gonna swing low . . . but if you pay attention and adjust your intake when you swing too high or low, you can keep those weight fluctuations reasonable.

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*Don't be thrown by the chart's wild, jagged swings: while it looks like a lot of gaining and losing is going on, the actual range is less than 8 pounds.

It Pays to Be Skeptical

I'm slightly peeved at Corner Bakery, but I'm getting over it. Here's what happened:

I decided I wanted something a bit different for lunch yesterday . . . a different sandwich, anyway (I can be so unimaginative when it comes to my weekday lunches). There's a Corner Bakery 2 blocks from my office, so I hopped over to their website to see what looked good . . . and what was relatively low in calories.

The web site listed a "tuna salad on olive bread," for 450 calories. Hmm. Sounds great! I love olives, and also love olive bread. And tuna salad can be good, too, at least for a change of pace. So, off I went to CB. I ordered the sandwich, took my bag (unopened), then scurried the two blocks back to my desk.

First thing I found, upon opening the bag, was potato chips. I expected that: it's a one-serving portion, a real rarity these days. AND it's kettle chips. No trans fat. YUM!

Then, I lifted out the sandwich, conveniently tucked in its own oversize plastic carton. Uhhh . . . it's kinda big. The olive bread is really more of a ciabatta, about 4" x 8". And I've bought ciabattas from Panera about that size, that were at least 450 calories all by themselves.

So, I got back on the computer, rechecked CB's web site. Yep, 450 calories, no mention of "this is for a half sandwich." So I Googled the sandwich, and came upon a listing in the Diet Facts database.

Nope, not 450 calories . . . 810. That makes more sense, but $#*&! Guess I'll only eat half and put the rest away for later.

Paging Corner Bakery . . . you REALLY need to update your nutritional info!

Moral of the story: always put on your "skeptical cap" before you head out to a restaurant. If it looks to be too much for the calories advertised, chances are it is. Sure am glad I slapped my cap on yesterday.

By the way, the sandwich tastes just as good the second day as the first, as long as it's well-wrapped. I just polished off the other half. It was reaaaally good.

I think I'm going to have to go buy some of that olive bread. I'll bet it's good for pressed panini sandwiches. CB, you're forgiven . . . but I'll be watching.

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Just Do It

You know, sometimes motivation is overrated.

If you've lost weight, everyone wants to know what your "motivation" was. If your weight loss is stalling out, you cast about (or ask others for) something to motivate you.

I began my journey several years ago, with health as my motivator. In 1999, I got out of breath just sweeping off my front porch. That's right . . . just wielding a broom. Furthermore, my ankles were starting to swell up, and my blood sugar was heading toward the danger zone. The broom incident propelled me to get off the couch and move my butt. I slowly got back into shape (first getting into bicycling, then weightlifting).

Then, in 2001, I met someone who had lost 50 pounds on Weight Watchers. This was a program I had never before considered . . . and as I was doing a terrible job of trying to lose weight on my own, I vowed to try it.

I joined Weight Watchers on January 7, 2002. And the rest, as they say, is history. WW provided me with the perfect framework for changing my approach to food and eating, and it helped me lose more than 80 pounds.

These, then, were my motivators: the incidents that got me started. But what kept me going was a "just do it" attitude.

I don't wait for "motivation" to pay my bills, do the laundry, clean the cat box. (Well, OK, my husband cleans the cat box, but you know what I mean.) I do them because they need doing; it's part of daily maintenance -- body and otherwise. Likewise, I show up at my job every day, whether I feel like it or not.

Weight control -- including weight loss -- is the same way. It starts out wonderfully, but after the "honeymoon" phase, it can be a chore. Now, whether it's an onerous chore or one that's relatively easy, lies in how you regard it. Some days you'll be totally gung ho! Other days you'll be ho-hum. But it's on those "ho-hum" days that you just have to DO it.

You could wait all your life for just the right motivation to strike, for the perfect moment to begin. But if you just "do it," this time next year you'll be at goal, or a heckuva lot closer.

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As I'm known to belabor a point, I've actually talked about this before:

So, Like, What's My Motivation?

And, if "just do it" just won't do it for you right now, bolster your flagging momentum with these tips for mustering more motivation:

What's My Motivation? Identifying Why Weight Loss Matters

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Want to subscribe? Check the top of the page . . . on the right. And if you'd like me to link to your (noncommercial) weight loss blog, just drop me a comment; it goes right to my e-mail. All I ask is a link in return.

Cheating

OK, quick - raise your hand if you’ve ever “cheated” while on a diet.

Oh, wow, that’s a lot of hands. Especially since there actually is no such thing as "cheating.”

"Cheating" is a "diet mentality" concept. Genuine, lasting weight loss is not the result of a “diet” . . . it accrues from a series of life changes, using a simple set of tools that can help you lose weight and keep it off. A true change in life habits does not dictate perfection every single day. Those of us who are successful "losers" and have maintained for some time know that we can eat more some days, less others. This is not cheating. It's called flexible restraint, and it's a critical tool for long-term weight loss success.

There were many times, when I was losing my weight, that I would eat something extra during the day - a treat, an extra serving, a favorite food. But I did it in full knowledge of what I was doing, and I tracked every bit of it. As a result, my calories for the week would, perhaps, total a bit more than what I "should" have eaten. But because I still had a caloric deficit going for the week, overall, I lost weight. And that's what is important. That, and the fact that I didn’t feel deprived.

The notion that you should never “cheat” implies that to lose weight, you must eat rigidly: never eating certain foods, for example, or never eating more than one portion of something. Never eating even a single calorie more than what you “should,” according to somebody's plan (which may or may not be healthy and balanced). But, y'know? That's unrealistic. Real life is a balancing act . . . it's doing things right most of the time, carefully and healthfully compensating for times of eating more, with times of eating a bit leaner. It's not necessary to eat exactly 20 points every day, if you are a Weight Watcher, or exactly 1200 calories a day if you are following a written calorie plan. All you really need to do is average a caloric deficit over time, so that you lose weight. Shoot, you can even do it by eating a mere 100 calories fewer per day. It’s a slow way of doing it, but I can pretty much guarantee you won’t feel deprived.

So, where did this concept of “cheating” come from, anyway? Well, my money’s on this: way too many of us are perfectionists, either current or “reformed” (waving hand wildly here), and we also are wont to engage in magical thinking from time to time. We seem to believe that if we can just follow a plan perfectly, the weight will fall off and we will live happily ever after. This is not true, of course, but we believe it anyway; it’s as American a concept as Mom and apple pie. Unfortunately, though, we also believe the converse: that if we make a mistake, we have “blown it” and will never lose weight. So, we give up in disgust.

Now, I ask you: what good is that?

So: do yourself a favor and kick your “diet mentality” to the curb. It's OK if you give in to a couple of cookies one afternoon . . . that's not going to torpedo your weight loss efforts, unless you let it. Instead, think in terms of averages -- aim for an average caloric deficit for the week. If you do eat those cookies, either eat a slightly smaller serving of pasta for your evening dinner, for example . . . or just let it go, and eat as planned the rest of the day. If you’ve been fairly on point all week, it’s not going to make much difference at all. And even if it does, so what? In the context of the rest of your life, what's a couple hundred extra calories one day in July, if overall you are doing a good job of changing your eating habits?

Here’s a final thought: maybe, just maybe, there is such a thing as “cheating.” But if so, here’s what it is: it’s when you lie to yourself. About how much you’ve eaten, how much you’ve exercised, how well you are following your weight loss plan.

As long as you are honest with yourself about what you are doing, and are actively using your weight loss tools to track your food intake, your weight, and your exercise, you are not cheating. You’re doing it right.

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If you enjoyed this essay, please send it on!

Want to subscribe? Check the top of the page . . . on the right. And if you'd like me to link to your (noncommercial) weight loss blog, just drop me a comment; it goes right to my e-mail. All I ask is a link in return.