The Sports Doctor
I went to the sports doctor (is that the right term? here in NL it is but I’m not sure what you would call these professionals in North America or the UK for example) this morning and it was an interesting experience. He asked me questions and I re-told my story and he made meticulous notes on what I was saying.
I had to get down to my bra and underwear at some point so he could take some measurements and check how my body was working. Then he gave me some feedback.
It breaks down like this;
I weighed in at 81kG
I measured at 167cm (I thought I was 165cm)
There is no visable sign of water retention
My heart and lungs sound great
My muscle capability looks good – bending, stretching, how the muscles feel – all good.
He measured my fat percentage but didn’t tell me what it was. I’ll probably get a letter in the mail from him confirming what we talked about.
Then he said to me: “Yes you are slightly overweight on the charts, but you absolutely do not need to lose weight.” He went on to say that IF I was still going to attempt to lose weight, I could count on it taking minimum one year to lose 5 Kilos. IF I made some changes.
He went on to tell me that based on what I eat regularly, I do not eat enough during the day and I eat too much at dinner. The amazing mind fuck here is: On Weight Watchers, tallying up my points during the day most often, for example, I usually only have around 6 or 7 points left for dinner. Then I eat my dinner, even in a smaller portion than what would really satisfy me and it’s still 10 – 14 points. Then I would feel awful because every day I would go over my points and every day the numbers would start to do me in. I have tried so many different ways of eating and the truth is, I am indeed absolutely ravenous during the day and I just wait it out, thinking lunch will be soon, or a snack will be soon, or I will be home soon for dinner.
He also said that because I’m not eating enough, the activity that I do in the evenings is completely useless. My body is fighting for it’s life, because it’s been in starvation mode all day, so he suggests that I spread out my activity and do at least 30 minutes in the morning or during the day, rather than kill myself in the evening, eat a full meal afterwards and go to bed too late.
He confirmed that I will never be able to lose weight doing what I’m doing now AND not getting seven hours of sleep at night. So added to what my boss already told me, I have to take advantage of the flexibility and I HAVE to get more sleep. I honestly have no idea how I’m going to do that.
So the suggestions were:
Ride my bike to and from the station (40 minutes)
Take 2 breaks at work of 15 minutes each to walk outside
still run
still go to the gym
more breakfast and lunch, don’t starve myself, less dinner
get more sleep
Supposedly I should eat enough breakfast to keep me going until almost noon. I should eat more at lunch (more bread! again!) and I should eat less at dinner. Then I should go to bed on time.
The only thing is, I don’t know how to incorporate all of this stuff. I don’t know how to go to bed on time. I don’t know how to get in my gym, running, fun time with friends or my husband and go to bed on time. I also have no idea how or what to eat and this has been an ongoing challenge. I am so programmed by Weight Watchers that I am scared to function with out it.
But, I have to stop it now. It’s not what I need. It works for others, but it’s not working for me. The doctor said that I’m just not getting the energy I need from the foods I am eating during the day. My salad, with all it’s veggies, the good fats and protein, don’t do anything for me. I’ve known this for a long time because of the hunger, but now it’s all been confirmed.
I am pulling the plug on my Weight Watchers membership for good. I am focusing and celebrating the fact that I am healthy. When I get these other things in balance I may lose weight again. Until then, it’s my extra bit of fluff and me, running, racing, gyming, biking and focusing on non -weight related goals.
Oh and I have some good news about something I won :) I finally won something from the interwebz! Next Post I promise!
on that note, I’m off to shower and then bed.
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I didn’t want to be the one to say it… but if you’re doing something for a year and seeing no results (when you should be)… why keep doing it? Isn’t that the very definition of insanity?
Granted, once you get into a routine it becomes a little difficult to break free of and do your own thing.
I think the next few weeks will be an adjustment period and if it doesn’t go as smoothly as you’d like? Don’t freak out and panic. Your body is still learning a new routine. I have no doubts whatsoever that you can do this.
Time to be the rockstar you know you are!! :D
Well, that’s a bit of good news! Somebody finally listened to you and gave you some good advice!
And yeah, I’d say that if WW isn’t working – which it obviously hasn’t been for a good long while now – then it’s time to give it up, with or without your sport doctor’s advice. Find whatever works for you. Because it’s definitely not ProPoints.
Like I said though, I’m glad he listened to you, and gave you some good advice. Hopefully you’ll start seeing some changing numbers on the scales after a while now, and your efforts won’t be for nothing!
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you, dear. <3
I am SO GLAD that you found an answer! I know how frustrated you have been. I would hug that doctor if I could. :) I am proud of you for putting aside WW and doing what’s best for YOU. You rock!
Hooray! What a brilliant idea to go see this good doctor AND to be able to get to the bottom of things for yourself. It must have been gratifying to hear that you don’t NEED to lose weight and to be given direction as to how to change things if you WANT to.
Bravo and Congrats!
This makes a lot of sense what the doctor told you. In fact it makes so much sense to me I’m going to steal your advice for myself :) although strangely enough I’m already trying some of this advice.
I’ve been experimenting with getting my 7 hours in the past two weeks and it helped a lot! And I’ve tried to eat a bit more at lunch when I have to run in the afternoon and that helped a lot too.
Go try it, I think it might help you too.
I am so glad you found someone who listened to you. WW isn’t the end all be all, I am a big believer in the program because it works for me but if it isn’t working for you it isn’t working and you need to find what is a fit for you. Renee I have seen pictures of you and I would say you are in fabulous shape not everyone fits on a chart or can be put in a box. You are unique and need to be treated that way. I am glad you are starting a new path embrace it!
What great news! Very exciting stuff here. I can still remember as a little girl, my older, cooler, slender cousin telling she’d learned to ‘eat dinner like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper’. And getting enough sleep will definitely help. I’m guilty sometimes of trying to fit too much into a day at the expense of sleep. I keep reminding myself that for whatever it is (in your case running, going to the gym, seeing friends, being with your husband, etc.), focus on quality, not quantity. Yeah for you!
What a revelation! I’m so glad he took you seriously and gave you some very sane advice. It’s amazing how little we consider sleep in our quest to be healthy but it seriously makes a huge difference to how you function. I know you will make some changes which will make a huge difference to how you feel. You will be a super-fit runner and eventually those last few kilos will come off – probably when you least expect it.
thanks for the responses guys. i feel a little bit in limbo. i’ve been a weight watcher for so long it feels really hard to let go of the idea of points values. so I don’t really know what to do even though I do, if that makes any sense at all?
I’ve been fumbling the last couple of days. it feels like when you break up with someone – even though you know it’s the best decision, it still feels weird in the beginning.
FINALLY someone LISTENED to you! I’m so relieved. Happy sigh. He sounds really sensible and reasonable. I think you’re making a very wise decision to strike out on your own, away from WW. You can totally do it yourself, Renee, you’re the toughest cookie! Wow. In 2011, you may find that you meet all the goals you set for yourself!
Thanks for adding me to your blogroll, I’m honored.
Now all you have to do is actually visit my blog :) haven’t seen you in a while.
I’m glad you finally got some answers, and proud of you that you kept at it, and didn’t let people tell you you’re crazy. You knew something was off, that something wasn’t making sense, and you fought until you found an answer. Good for you for trusting yourself. You can make it without WW. I long for the day that I can say this for myself. I’ll get there eventually, I know. I’m proud of you, girl. Good luck as you move into the next chapter of your journey!
Change is good sometimes, its ok that you are shutting the door on WW, it took you far enough and now you need something else to get you to the finish line :-) Either super proud of you for stepping up!
Alan
Renee,
Oddly, I find myself at the same place you are. Days after you posted this, I came back to read it and thought, wow, I just posted about that, 5 minutes ago! Great minds think alike. Or maybe, great minds just get tired of beating our heads against the wall. I’m going to work at enjoying my tremendous weight loss over the past year. I’d love to lose more, but I’m not sure if I will. And…I’m not sure if I care. I’m looking forward to your posts over the next few months, to see how you’re handling all of this new “stuff”.
It sounds like it’s time for a new focus, and that’s what you’re doing…that’s all you can do, right?
It’s great to hear all of the positives from your doctor..congrats.
It sounds like you got some good advice there. I hope it works for you. I honestly also wonder how to fit everything into my life right now and I don’t even commute like you do.