Monday, September 15, 2008

The Weight Loss Paradigm






As women, our lives tend to get occupied with work, home life etc. leaving us little or sometimes no time to focus on ourselves. What with the fast-paced lifestyle we lead and having to deal with all the daily stresses that come our way, our well being takes the last priority on a to-do list. By well-being, I am referring to one's physical health. This has been a topic on my mind for a while now.

While some Indian women are born lucky with the "slim gene" embedded in their system, most aren't. So, working out to stay in shape or to shed the accumulated pounds becomes a priority. The weight loss battle seems like a long drawn battle with results that don't show up for a long time. Unlike, doing something that fetches immediate gratification, this is one experiment or process where the outcome does not manifest itself right away. Hence, the motivation to continue on a regimen of exercise and diet is short-lived.

Has any one heard of the term yo-yo dieting?
It is when one starts on a quick weight loss diet and then doesn’t exercise, which results in a lowered metabolic rate (your body now burns less calories each day than it did before). You quit your diet. Now, you return to eating as much food (or more—because of a sense of deprivation) as you did before your diet. As a result, you gain weight gain beyond what you previously weighed and the cycle continues....

No, I am not a diet plan, since I enjoy good food and have a weakness for sweets and pastries. So, it is doubly harder for me to fight this battle of trying to lose weight. As my fitness center instructor says, "You didn't gain this weight over night, so you won't lose it over night too."

I am not this huge weight loss advertisement woman trying to come down from a size 20to a size 10, but, I do want to lose the inches. I had a workout routine, but, consistency is what I lack. I thrive on it for some months, then come a cold or a flu and a couple of days to the gym are lost. Slowly, the couple of days becomes a week and I end up feeling like I have lost out on whatever little progress I had made earlier.

Today is Monday, a new week, hoping to get back to the routine again.......

10 comments:

Spillay said...

For the last 3 weeks I had been on an exercise regime too. My objective is to improve my fitness level, which I feel is something I am lacking. (In case u are wondering, I am one of those women that u descibed as having a "slim gene" but I definitly wouldn't call myself lucky because of that).

Keeping up the momentum is also an issue with me... Glad to know that I am not alone :)

Keep up the good work!!

Indian Khana said...

Ok add me in the list too...keep the regime is difficult for me too and the cold-flu is so true here :(:(...

Cham said...

For u a cold/flu break the routine but for me the weekend :(

Bharathy said...

Ha ha...Count me in too.. :)
Dieting exercising, all a fab for me as ever :)..
Good luck, Mitr :)

AJEYA RAO said...

Hello Mitr...Please chk my recent post. I am sure you will like it. Had been to some real good concerts

Sachita said...

There is only one weight loss paradigm, that things you like to eat should not add any calories and the things you don't like to eat should have like a zillion calories in them.

:)

Raju said...

My fav topic.. As you mentioned, consistency is in fact the key.. About the 'slim gene' part, the women might be thin till their early 20's.. but after that, if they eat improperly, they too are bound to gain weight..

I give sudden shock to the body once a while... like burning over 1500 or 2000 calories in a single day.. after the initial 200 cals, the rest directly goes only from fat.. of course healthy diet has to accompany that.. Good luck in ur mission!!

Uma said...

Now I am so interested in your plans to lose those extra inches! I am going to try it too. Good luck dear!

Aparna said...

Been there! Done that! As I had written, weight loss used to be one of my high priorities at one point of time. Now though, it has taken a back seat. Will get back there sometime. Probably when certain other things get on track! :D All the best with your consistency, hope to see a post where you have reached your ideal weight/size. Please be sensible in your dieting and exercising though.
Spillay: I so envy you! You look fabulous. Try cardio-kickboxing. I loved it when I was doing it, my endurance levels soared!! My stress levels dropped ;)

mitr_bayarea said...

All,

Thanks for your comments- it is interesting to see how many of us face the same issues when it comes to weight loss.