Underlying Issues

I have suggested that counseling be required for anyone undergoing weight loss surgery. Perhaps I should expand that to say that anyone losing a substantial amount of weight should seek counseling. Even if the weight loss is done via diet and exercise, the reasons for the initial weight gain is not being addressed. The causes of weight gain are easy to see; people eat more calories than they burn. The more difficult question is WHY do people do this?

There are some concrete answers to this question. Poor food choices, drinking empty calories, lack of exercise and portion control can all explain some weight gain. This doesn't explain why about 75% of people who lose weight gain it back. There is some science that shows that metabolism slows more than expected during weight loss, so returning to a caloric load meant to maintain weight can lead to some weight gain. This doesn't explain people who lose 50, 100, or more pounds regaining that all and sometimes even more. To gain 50 pounds, you need to eat 175,000 more calories than you burn. This does not happen overnight. Even if you're eating like it's Thanksgiving every day, it would take you at least a month to gain that much weight. Plus, you'd have to eat that much EVERY day. The reason for that behavior needs to be addressed and changed.

I think the key to losing weight and keeping it off is therapy. Turns out that there's some scientific evidence fo that belief. If you don't address the reasons why you gained the weight, it will come back. If you don't treat the issue emotionally and metally, you will treat it with food, booze, drugs or some other external item. There's also the need to address the disregard for health that is evident with a large weight gain. The same can be said for smokers or any other "progressively suicidal" behavior. Smoking won't kill you immediately, but it will eventually shorten your life span. The same can be said for alcohol abuse, drug abuse or obesity.

I was thinking of this because I saw a story of a man who lost 400 pounds through diet and exercise. He took 26 months to lose it all and 36 months to regain 75% of it. No one seemed to mention him getting any counseling at all. In an interview, he briefly mentioned needing to have a good foundation before the weight loss and that he was lacking that the first time. The story seemed to suggest that he was using his girlfriend for that foundation, though, rather than building it in himself. I hope that he is doing something to overcome his demons and build the foundation internally.

Most Beautiful Woman in the World

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been repeatedly called the most beautiful woman in the world. She is an actress and model who won the Miss World pageant in 1994. Because her husband is a famous Indian actor, she is "Bollywood Royalty" This, her charity work and her international fame make her a prime target for paparazzi. This is now causing some hubbub in India. She gave birth to her first child seven months ago, but isn't as thin as she was prior to her pregnancy.

The pic on the left was when she was about two months pregnant. The image on the right is four months after giving birth.  She will be at Cannes this week to fight AIDS with amfAR. This is where horrible headlines start flying. "Slammed Over Baby Fat" "Betraying her Country" "letting her fans down" Some aren't as bad: "Flaunt Post-Baby Curves"

Why are we discussing this? She just had a baby. Let's give her some time to adjust to that, the postpartum chemical/emotional adjustment and a new life as a mom. It's not like she's too big to get through a door. Or like she's blaming pregnancy for her weight gain standing next to her teenage daughter. She's probably a size 12. Not obese, but not skinny. She's still way more beautiful than most of us could ever hope to be. She's radiant, and that won't change with a few extra pounds.

All people should strive for a healthy weight, but we should NOT be commenting on others. If people want advice on their weight or health, they'll seek it out. They don't need bloggers making uninformed comments. If someone is overweight, it's unlikely that they are unaware of it. Some people have a skewed body image, but it usually skews the other way where we feel larger than reality.

Little Things

I think it's really common for people to look at big items and ignore or discount the small things. We think of our workout, but not the smaller bits of exercise we get throughout the day. We think of our meals, but not the calories consumed through small snacks.

I thought of this the other day when I missed my workout. I didn't get my 30-45 minutes of cross-training in that day. However, I did walk from the train to work and back. Each way was about 3/4 mile. I have also switched my desk at work from sitting to standing. That change is burning about 116 more calories per day than sitting. I've also been doing my physical therapy exercises, but not counting any of that time as "working out."

I think the same thing happens to the calories we consume. We pay attention to the meals, but not the small bites. It's really easy for those unaccounted bites to add up to enough calories that your body will show them, even if you didn't think of them while eating or drinking. When discussing obesity, people discuss how portion sizes have increased over the years, they don't talk about mindless small bites. We consider the calories in the french fries, but not the ketchup.

I think this is a huge part of the childhood obesity epidemic. Children are constantly being hydrated and fed with calorie-laden items. A constant stream of calories that never amount to enough to actually satiate. That means that they can keep eating and drinking well past the point where they're reached their caloric needs. This leads to weight gain. It's not sudden, it's very gradual and then suddenly it's a health issue. The same thing happens to us as adults.

I'm not suggesting we all skip our workouts in favor of small burst of activity and also skip all snacks and only eat large meals. What we should all do is consider the whole picture of our lives, not just the large items. Give yourself credit for walking all over Target for thirty minutes. Track the calories from that extra bite you took after you were basically done with dinner.

The Clock

If the myth of eating after 8 were true, the flip side would be that you could overeat as long as it was early enough in the day, and you'd still lose weight. That clearly makes no sense, so why would this be true?

Your body doesn't look at the clock when you eat or when you work out to determine how many calories to burn or store. It's a formula of calories in vs. calories burned. That's why Weight Watchers weighs in once a week, and not daily or even more often.

Source: prettyfitbody.tumblr.com via Taylor on Pinterest

Jamie Oliver

I've written about some celebrity chefs before. I've mentioned Paula Deen at least twice and talked about how some chefs have weight issues. I understand that they're around food constantly and that it may be difficult for them to maintain a healthy weight. I even understand that a celebrity chef compounds those issues with hectic travel and appearance schedules. A life like that may make it even harder to stay at a healthy weight.

Jamie Oliver was asked about his weight gain, and responded very defensively. He lashed out at the reporter and denied any knowledge of weight gain. His publicist went on to deny the weight gain. I think that denial is really hard to buy if you look at the before and after pictures.

Jamie's main claim to fame is his campaign to improve the food and health of everyone. Once you've set yourself up as the beacon of truth about these issues, your own weight is going to be noticed and reporters are being professional for asking about it. I wish someone would have asked him about his hypocrisy with his cook books. In 2011, his book was listed as one of the least healthy published. He's talking out of both sides of his mouth. He wants people do be healthy, but some of the tools he's providing will sabotage that effort.

Mila Kunis

She's been on TV for years, meaning we've all watched as she grew up. She started acting at age 9 and started "That '70s Show" when she was 14, half her life ago. "Black Swan" took her from teen sitcom start to movie star and model. In a recent interview in Harper's Bazaar, she talks a bit about how that movie changed her body. She dropped 20 pounds to get down to a very low 95 pounds on her 5'4" body.

"I was muscles, like a little brick house, but skin and bones. When I gained it back, it went to completely different areas....All the weight that left my chest went to my side hip, my stomach."

The Today Show talked to a dietician about Kunis's discussion of the unexpected placement of the regained weight.

"What often happens with extreme weight loss and when you lose weight very quickly is that you lose muscle tissue," she says. "Unfortunately, when we gain the weight back, it comes back as fat."

You never lose fat cells and they don't move, so you will gain the weight back where the fat cells are, unless you're very careful to only gain back muscle. This is all just a reminder to lose weight at a steady, slow pace and not lose too much.