A Big FAT Yippee & Weight Loss Math

After a six-week plateau, I lost a pound. 16 ounces isn’t much to get excited about, but I hope that it’s a sign the weight loss dull-drums are over. So how do I keep from making the same mistake again?

Weight Loss Math:

• Calories eaten > calories used = weight gain
• Calories eaten < calories used = weight loss
• Calories eaten = calories used = plateau

I’m not running a weight loss race. I’d end up out of breath, sick of it and celebrate with Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie. (M-m-m)  I’m doing this the slow, old-fashioned way, because that’s how I put it on. It gives me time to learn and adjust. Fast weight loss leads to the yo-yo effect. Do it quick, so you can be done with it and go back to the way you were before.

The way I was before is why I got fat.

So why did I plateau? Because the amount of calories I ate equaled the amount I used. Ideally, this happens at your goal weight. But here in the real world, it can happen at any point (or in my case, points).

My last winter plateau was a combination of mochas and beer. When my kids were growing up, I didn’t keep much alcohol in the house. Why have it around, when not everybody can drink it? It seemed unfair. When they went to college, I thought,"Why not?” At that point, I was cutting back without specifically counting calories and, of course, working the treadmill. To break the plateau, I started checking calories … and discovered beer is something I can live without.

And then, there were mochas – brainchild of an evil genius. Coffee was no calories. Coffee + Milk + Sugar + Chocolate + Whipped Cream = 400 calories. It was a 4th meal!

So this time, why did I plateau? I got off course. The first part of the summer, I was fine.  Beth was cooking larger meals than I’d been eating, but I was gardening and more active.  It balanced. After vacation, I shortened my treadmill time and sometimes dropped it. It caught up with me.

This proves I cannot diet. I have to change. Diets are short-term solutions to a long-term problem. I don’t want to be healthy for a little while. I want it all the time.

Pat's Points: Observations on Life

Speed limits are less of a challenge when your age equals one.

Whoever first got the idea of combing chocolate with coffee was an evil genius.



A lasting marriage comes from shared expectations.



Your bad habits are there, because you like them.



Your fat is not going to loose itself. It’s been tried. It does not work.



Fat women have the best earrings. Jewelry doesn’t care if you’re a size 18.



Being a mom is always a work in progress.



Happiness is sexy.



Murphy's Law of Windshield Wipers: The driver's side always dies first.



The only thing that pees more often than a middle-aged woman … is a dog marking his territory.



The idea is to have a full life, not just a full plate.



Corrupt politicians should be mocked with enthusiasm. .



Maybe it's not so surprising that half of marriages end in divorce. Maybe the impressive thing is half of them last.


For more Pat's Points, go to http://fatfamilyotherfwords.blogspot.com/2009/08/pats-points.html