The weight loss journey

They say the trip is always as important as the destination. Weight loss seems to be no different in some ways. Oh getting there, where ever there may be, will be great, but so far the journey has been fascinating. Mostly because of some rather unexpected discoveries... like the fact that He has a lean athletic frame which was something of a surprise to us both... and the rather interesting conclusions one has started to draw.

They say that weight loss is all about calories in and exercise out. Personally one has always suspected that it is far more complex than that. In fact as one has pontificated ranted in the past if it was that fucking simple one should be the size of a matchstick... albeit one with curves. Now suspecting this is the case and actually being able to prove it are very different things, so here is what one has observed so far...

On this diet, which is a classic body builders strip down diet, heavy on proteins (about 450-500 gms a day), salads, vegetables and water, one is eating about the same amount of calories as before. What has changed is the amount of meals has been increased, while the overall carbohydrate consumption has been decreased... quite dramatically. The difference is that on this diet the weight is slowly but surely going down. So obviously what one is eating is far more important than the calories consumed... as far as the body is concerned at any rate.

The exercise component on this diet is vastly reduced... actually is has almost halved... due to having a gym literally round the corner and being able to do much shorter routines more often.  And still the muscle is increasing while the overall fat is reducing. Which leads on to conclude that, as one has thought before, exercise isn't the be end all of dieting. It would seem that the calories being expended on exercise aren't as important as people insist... in fact some weeks the fat loss has been higher when one hasn't been in the gym at all.

That's not to say exercise isn't important. It is. Just not for the reasons that are usually promoted. The human brain was meant to exercise; it causes interesting changes in chemicals released, cuts down on depression and generally improves mental aptitude. It also increases hunger... which is somewhat of a hindrance to those losing weight J

It is interesting to note that as one gets smaller the hunger increases. Which isn't logical unless the body only releases a percentage of body fat at a time? If that percentage drops as the weight reduces then it would make sense. The body has less available fuel as an overall percentage and would start dropping hints that it would like some more please... like now!

There is this new process to help get rid of fat... they bomb the offending bit of anatomy with focused ultrasound technology to emulsify the fat. You then need to exercise and the body absorbs it as fuel. Well in reality the body seems to do something very similar. The first thing you notice is that the fat under the skin gets sort of wobbly... you can roll it round rather like the wrinkles on a Shar Pei dog.  Then over the next day or so it sort of disappears... and everything is smooth and taunt again. It's kind of fascinating to observe... in a slightly creepy sort of way.

So far one has lost a total of about 15 kg (about 33 lbs) since September... by eating more often and exercising less... go figure J