This was an interesting week for weight loss. On the one-hand, my weight stayed within 1.8 lbs of my goal of 210 lbs. On the other hand, there was no really notable weight loss. I hit 210.2 lbs on Saturday, and I was back to 210.4 by Friday. Hmmm... Well, I'll certainly take it. And my current goal is to reach the target weight by June. So I have some time. In the meantime, I am trying to get back toward a full exercise regimen. I am back on the bike most days in the week, and I have taken the "initial test" to resume the 100 push-up challenge. Hopefully, I can find the time and self-discipline to get back to 60 minutes on the bike a day, plus push-ups 3 days a week.
Does not look all that hopeful for biking over the next week, though, as the weather looks poor and the weekend is full of fun but non-bike-related activities like Bible Quiz Meets and Birthday parties. Oh, the humanity!
A new study claims that despite the popularity of low carb diets like Atkins and low fat diets like Weight Watchers, the key to dieting is simply reducing calories not reducing the KIND of calories in your diet.The main finding from the trial was that diets with varying emphases on carbohydrate, fat and protein levels all achieved clinically meaningful weight loss and maintenance of weight loss over a two-year period. "These results show that, as long as people follow a heart-healthy, reduced-calorie diet, there is more than one nutritional approach to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight," said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., Director, NHLBI.
Another important finding was that participants who regularly attended counseling sessions lost more weight than those who didn't. Dieters who attended two thirds of sessions over two years lost about 22 pounds of weight as compared to the average weight loss of 9 pounds. "These findings suggest that continued contact with participants to help them achieve their goals may be more important than the macronutrient composition of their diets," said Sacks.
My experience with weight loss says this study simplifies things considerably. The key is not to find the one diet that works for everyone, but to find the one that works for you. Each body and mind are different. For some, it is key to be able to "cheat" every once in a while with a sugary snack (Advantage: Weight Watchers). For others, it is key to be able to feel full all time time (Advantage: Atkins). For stil others, it is key to be able to appear to be eating normally, so that others are not aware of the diet (Advantage: simple calorie restriction). My body reacts better with no sugar and reduced carbs. Find what works for you. Don't worry about what is hot now, or what worked for your buddy. And on't neglect exercise!
If you've been to a mall lately you've probably seen a Ritz Camera shop or one of their affiliates - Kitts or Wolfe among others. It turns out that recently they've had to file for bankruptcy. In our current economic situation you'd think that this is a normal activity for a struggling business, but it turns out that the reason behind it actually has to do with the transition to digital photography. Ritz made their money printing pictures - many of which sucked and were promptly thrown out, but now people only print the one or two (if any) of the pictures they want. Most of my best pictures go up on Flickr and if they get printed it's usually in a book I order from Blurb. It seems that despite photography being at an all time high, making prints is no longer profitable - that's good for something, just not Ritz.
