All my life, I’ve wanted to weigh less than I do. Except for the summer of 1961 which I spent
in Mexico – at the Summer Institute of
Linguistics Jungle Camp in the State of Chiapas.
The fall of that year was the only time I can recall
weighing close to “what the charts indicate.”
Of course it didn’t last.
I’ve been called “husky,” “big-boned” and “stocky.” Never “thin.”
I’ve tried exercise, conditioning, and diets of every variety known to
mankind. Nothing has ever worked the way
I wish it would have worked to get my weight where I wanted it.
Now, apparently, we have scientific evidence that there is a
very good reason. Evidently, exercise +
diet = no weight loss (you eat more to compensate for the exercise). It’s looking more and more like the only way
to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in as food. Sounds so simple, but doing it is so hard.
Sugar and refined carbohydrates in our American diet are
likely the most significant culprits.
And the food industry is not without guile in often blatantly misstating
their effects and, in fact, promoting fitness while at the same time
encouraging the use of carb-loaded “sports drinks” and such.
None of this is revolutionary. But it sure is disconcerting that all those
workouts and laps around the track didn’t take off anything that gravity pulls
on.
Here is the science:
In a current article in the Washington Post by cardiologist Aseem
Malhotra, he cites a large body of studies that show that basal metabolic rates
tend to drop as people lose weight in spite of exercise.
“A comprehensive
2013 literature review by Amy Luke, a public health scholar at Loyola
University of Chicago, concludes that ‘numerous trials have indicated that
exercise plus calorie restriction achieves virtually the same result in weight
loss as calorie restriction alone,’” writes Dr. Malhotra.
Now don’t
misunderstand. Exercise is good and
beneficial. It does many good things
(reduces risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure,
etc.). But, alone, it does not take
weight off. And further, exercise is not
even needed to lose weight.
I just knew it
would turn out this way. I guess the
good news is that I don’t have to push the exercise bike quite as hard, but the
bad news is I may have to get counselling for separation anxiety from the
absence of deep dish pizza and bacon cheeseburgers.
