What Is Important?

One of our patients lost (what I thought) was a lot of weight on the scale over two weeks. Her remark was "darn, I wanted to do better!” Now, this statement took me aback simply because I realized that in her mind she had developed an arbitrary number in her head and if she didn't hit it, she "failed.”

A lot of our physiology is predictable. However, when it comes to weight loss and weight maintenance, nothing makes sense. The reasons for this are the array of hormones that regulate our hunger, our metabolism, and our desire for food, such that, even with a ‘perfect' week of eating and exercise these hormones may lower our metabolism and we don't see what we expected. Too many advertisements and promises are made to people that they are ‘guaranteed' to lose 3 or 4 pounds per week, and there can be no bigger lie. (First off those 3 or 4 pounds may not be all fat, a large portion may be muscle and this is a very negative thing to happen for your ongoing health).

Genetically and hormonally, there are quite a few (about 25%) people who, given the same number of calories of food per day just don't lose weight as quickly as the other 75%...maybe not at all. They have very slow metabolism and we have no drugs to speed up metabolism.
Also, as you lose weight, your body metabolism slows down, and you will not lose fat at the same rate as you did in the beginning.

Having said all that, the most important and difficult thing for people to do, is realize they must learn to eat and exercise in a fashion that is sustainable for a lifetime. Thus, the important factors from week to week are what we learn about what works and what doesn't. Also, which situations in life throw us off, and how do we learn to respond to these situations without eating?

When I see a person on a weekly basis, I'm less interested in what happened on the scale and more interested in what happened in their life and how they responded. Were they stressed at work and tired at the end of the day? In that situation, did they reach for a healthy snack, or did they go back to the old habit of mindless nibbling on whatever was readily available? (If we don't learn to conquer this now, no matter how much weight one loses, in the long term the weight will come back on). Also, did the person have a good breakfast, with enough protein to stimulate muscle repair, or did they simply get up and rush out the door after a cup of coffee, or worse, stop at a Tim's and get a double-double with a muffin?

Also, did the person go for a walk, or go to the gym even if they felt tired going? As hard as it seems in our busy lives, we must exercise for health, stress reduction and weight maintenance. If we are simply focused on eating less food to see the scale go down, but not really thinking about long term lifestyle behaviours and their sustainability, in the long run we will regain any quick weight loss that occurs.

Don't let the scale be your enemy...it's only a tool that may or may not show how much fat you have lost. It doesn't measure water retention and it doesn't show how much muscle you have lost or gained. Pay attention to your clothes, because if they are looser, I don't care what the scale says, you have lost body fat.

Think about long term changes in your behaviours around food. Search for solutions on how to eat at events, parties, and rushing out the door to take your son or daughter to hockey or soccer. Think about what you will eat (or not eat) when you are tired, frustrated, down, anxious or even happy. If we can conquer our tendency toward mindless eating, and if we can develop a mindful, healthy eating pattern without letting the scale discourage us, we will have learned not only how to lose weight, but how to keep it off.

Never give up!

Dr. Doug