Stacie Angel

Well, my fortieth birthday is upon me and those pesky 5 pounds are still hanging around.  Sigh…so…I guess I could set a new goal:  swimsuit season.  I could spend the next two months meticulously counting calories; I could even try a fast.  I could continue to get on the scale every morning, celebrate if I’ve lost .3 lbs since yesterday and spend my day frustrated if the reverse is true.  In other words, do what I’ve been doing for the last decade.

It was Steven Tyler who sang, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”  (Actually Mark Twain said it first, and he used proper grammar, but I like Steven Tyler’s version much better.)  Inspired by that memorable Aerosmith lyric, I decided to give myself a birthday gift.  I’m not going to spend my birthday feeling bad or complaining about the 5 pounds I didn’t lose.  Instead, I’m going to trade in my obsession with losing 5 pounds for a better goal.  In 5 weeks, I’ll be able to run a 5k.

Honestly, it is a relief to give myself a break from the endless mental energy I spend thinking about how to lose weight.  But maybe it is not just a gift of a more peaceful mind; perhaps it will also be a gift of better overall health.  A 5 pound weight loss for most of us has little effect on overall health.  However, preparing to run a 5k by doing 30 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week can have several positive effects.  I will reduce my risk of heart disease, increase endurance, and help make me happier.  These things are more important than fitting into skinny jeans…right?

It’s not that I don’t exercise, I do.  In fact, I ran a very sluggish 5k race last summer.  But in the winter, I normally avoid 30 minutes of sustained cardio.  I’d rather do cardio bouts or circuit training.  Racking up 3.2 miles on a treadmill is not my idea of a good time.  But now that spring is here, and I can run (ok, slowly jog) outside, I can commit to being ready to achieve a respectable time in a 5k race to be run on July 4.  I do well with rules and programs.  A training schedule like this, I can follow.

So starting next week, (sorry, this week I’m busy “celebrating” being a 40 year old) I will begin week one of my five week training schedule.  And I will exchange a rather meaningless 5-related goal to one that really matters.  A 5k in 5 weeks.  Who’s with me?

Oh how I miss the fat-free diet days.  Purchase an extra-large bag of Gummie Bears before ENG 200 and eat the whole thing during the three hour lecture.  Dine on an entire box of pasta but top it with caution because spaghetti sauce has one gram of fat per serving.  Eat the meatball?  No way!  But pass that fat-free box of wine.

It was during this “health-craze” that my friend ironically complained, “I can’t lose weight no matter how many fat-free cookies I eat.”  We found it surprising that despite the extra large portions of fat-free snacks, dinners, and alcohol, we had both packed on the freshman 15 and then some.  At the time I chalked this up to the idea that diets don’t work for me.  I decided I was just one of those unlucky people who can’t lose weight.

I had a similar problem when I was pregnant for my first child and gaining weight rapidly.  By week twenty I was up 30 pounds.  My doctor, so rudely, questioned me about my weight gain.  So, I explained to him that I had been eating really healthy: whole grain muffins, full-fat yogurt, lots of cheese.  His response, “Well, if you eat two bushels of apples a day, you’re going to gain weight.  It’s still calories.”  Not the wisest thing to say to a fat and crabby pregnant lady, but I got the point.

As much as I may wish it was otherwise, calories count.  The fat-free diet was yet another example of me wanting an entire fat-free cake and eating it, too.  I want to be able to over indulge without consequence.  If fat was the enemy, then I could gorge myself as long as I avoided it.  Or, when carbs became the problem, I happily lived on brie and filet mignon.   But really, did I honestly think that was the answer?

As disappointing as it is, eliminating any one food group will not magically result in weight loss.  So here’s the TRAINER’S TIP:  EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.  At first I found this punishing. (“You mean I can’t eat this sleeve of reduced fat Chips Ahoy before bed?”)  But now I see this philosophy is actually liberating.  That’s because the word EVERYTHING comes right before MODERATION.  So instead of focusing on the limit, I can choose to enjoy the variety.  A small slice of a homemade brownie is so much better than an entire fat-free one wrapped in plastic.  So the trick is to embrace the joy of really eating whatever you want…just not as much as you may want.

Well, after a two week attempt, The 5:2 Diet has failed me…or I have failed it.  I would have thought the failure would be due to my inability to live even for one day on 450 calorie.  But that part, I was able to manage.  What I could not handle was getting on the scale the morning of my fourth fast day to find I weighed exactly the same amount as I did on Fasting Day 1.  My determination instantly disappeared and I headed downstairs for a big bowl of oatmeal instead of the lemon water that would have been my breakfast.

Thus, the day that was supposed to be my fourth fast day ended up being a return to my normal diet.  And instead of spending the day thinking about how to stretch 450 calories across 15 hours, I spent it wondering why The 5:2 Diet didn’t work.

I know the science behind weight loss.  I know that it takes a caloric deficit of 3500 to lose one pound.  I’ve learned that much from my husband.  So this diet, mathematically, should work.  Right? If I only eat 400 calories in a day…and I usually consume 1800…then I’m saving 1400…for a deficit of 2800 for the week…but I figured I deserved to overindulge a tad on my day-after-fast-days…so maybe a 2000 deficit.

Really?  That’s it?  All of this hunger won’t even result in a pound of weight loss in a week?

My conclusion, there are easier ways to create a weekly 2000 calorie deficit.  I consulted the Exercise and Caloric Expenditure chart.  Here are some of my ideas.

• Go for a 30 minute walk five nights a week (150X5=750), do an hour of circuit training on Saturday and Sunday (475×2=950) and eliminate two glasses of wine per week (100/glassx2=200) CALORIC DEFICIT=1900
• Stop having a bedtime snack (250×7=1750) and eliminate two glasses of wine per week (100/glassx2=20) CALORIC DEFICIT=1950
• Do Jeff’s High Intensity Circuit Training YouTube video three times (160×3=480 calories) and only have a bedtime snack one time during the week (250×6=1500) CALORIC DEFICIT=1980
• Do two cycling classes in a week (600×2=1200) and eliminate four glasses of wine per week (100×4=400) CALORIC DEFICIT=1600
• Add ten high intensity running minutes to my treadmill time (110×5=550), do one cycling class (600), eliminate all wine (7 x100=700) CALORIC DEFICIT=1850

Granted some of these strategies may seem extreme, a weekend without wine is not much of a weekend, but a day without solid food is also pretty drastic.  For me, I think small adjustments to my normal routine are more appealing than twice weekly starvation days.

So perhaps, The 5:2 Diet did work.  It gave me a new perspective on a couple of things.  First, I learned what real hunger feels like.  This will be valuable knowledge for the next time someone brings left-over birthday cake to the office and I suddenly need a snack.  Second, I learned that even when I am really, truly, unbelievably hungry, there are things I can do to survive it like drink water or chew gum.  And finally, I learned that an hour of intense exercise is easier for me than a day of intense hunger.  So The 5:2 Diet book is going on the shelf and I’m going to spinning class.

My friend and I were recently comparing notes about how we squeeze in exercise between full-time jobs, raising children, and managing a household.

“I give my three-year-old his DS and let him play while I work-out, I know it’s bad parenting,” she confided guiltily.  But she needn’t worry about me judging, I have used electronic babysitters for far less noble causes.

However, her situation did bring to mind all of the people I know who go to great lengths to stay fit.  My sister, mother of three, full-time Law Professor, told me recently she had to choose between keeping up her gardening and running.  Running won.  I was certain my brother would ease up on his competitive bike racing training after his daughter was born.  He did for a few months.  These days he logs hundreds of miles after his daughter goes to bed instead of right after work.  Another friend fell and injured her knee.  As soon as she could, she strapped on a knee brace and went back to her interval classes.  She focused on upper body training and treadmill walking.  And my best friend who, like me, used to consider herself a non-runner is preparing to run a half-marathon along The Great Wall of China.

So admittedly, I get a little bitter sometimes when I wake up at 5:00 for my solo work-outs.  It’s easy to assume that people who are fit simply have more time for exercise than me.  But I know that’s not true.  We all have busy lives.  There is always something else to do other than work-out.  We all have to squeeze in the precious time it takes to stay healthy.  So I will not hit snooze tomorrow.  I will drag myself out of bed and get on the treadmill and join the ranks of the people I admire:  all who make fitness a priority when it is oh-so-easy not to.

But just in case I do hit snooze…and need to do some cardio after work instead…that idea about the DS is a pretty good one…