Why Weight Loss Is Not The Point

This post was inspired by a friend I was recently having dinner with. (And yes, the topic is weight loss, a bit different from our usual, but it does tie into exercise here in a bit.) The friend was describing her success with Weight Watchers. While as you may know I'm not a fan of "dieting," as it's unnatural for the body, ineffective, and in the long term I believe it can cause more harm than good, Weight Watchers is the exception. I've seen several friends lose quite a bit of weight (at a gradual, natural pace), and keep it off. There are several reasons why I think Weight Watchers succeeds, while others fail. The most obvious is, of course, the reason that anyone on the program will state if you ask them - you don't have to feel deprived of your favorite foods, so you're more likely to stick with it long-term. However, I see several other reasons as well.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)One is that it greatly encourages fruit and vegetable intake. Since these use little or none of your allocated points, you can fill up largely on veggies, and then add in other more point-heavy items like proteins and a few simple carbs. But you don't feel forced to eat veggies - they're just a good option to fill you up, leading you to naturally eat a diet that is more like the natural diet of humans is supposed to be - but without giving up all your favorite snacks.

Another important benefit which most people don't think about is that it naturally eliminates a lot of processed foods from your diet. "Foods" that are highly processed (many of which really aren't foods, as so many contain little or no nutritional value) are usually high in sugar and other simple carbohydrates, so guess what - most of them are also high in points!

However, in my eyes there is one big problem with the program, as well as with a lot of other weight loss programs: it focuses almost solely on weight loss. (Huh? You'll see what I mean in a minute.)

I was nodding along with my friend's success story, until this point, which stopped me cold. She said she had even started working out, but she stopped because....she started gaining weight!!  (And yes, she even stated that she understands that muscle is heavier than fat.) She said she doesn't want to work out anymore because she will gain back some of the weight that she lost.

I wanted to bang my head on the table!  Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees....

Weight and height are used in computing body mass index, an indicator of risk for developing obesity-associated diseases. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)It's so sad that this is typical thinking in our unhealthy yet weight-obsessed society! So let me just clear up one thing:

Weight loss is not the point; the point is.........   HEALTH!!!

Let me illustrate this principle with an example:

Suppose you have two guys, let's call them John Smith and John Doe. Just two fairly average guys in their mid-40s. John Smith is a pretty healthy guy, by today's standards. He eats clean and real whole foods, for the most part, with a few less healthy splurges now and then, and he loves a good steak. He also loves to work out, and does a variety of physical activities almost daily, from weight lifting to running, biking, and even playing a few sports. It makes him feel great, and he's actually pretty darn proud of his physique, which he has maintained into his 40s. He weighs in at 200lbs, and at 5'11" is pretty muscular and has not that much body fat - maybe just very small love handles, but not much abdominal fat at all, and he still looks great shirtless.

John Doe, on the other hand, eats the SAD (Standard American Diet) - lots of processed foods, bread, meat, fairly little vegetables (unless they're fried), and although he's gone on several diets (and added in a lot of "diet" and "low-fat" foods into his daily eating habits), he has not had much success losing those extra pounds. He is more or less a couch potato, as his body hurts when he tries to exercise because he's so out of shape, and he just doesn't enjoy it. He does play a bit of basketball with some friends from time to time, but overall his exercise mostly consists of walking to and from his car before and after work each day. John Doe is also 5'11" and weighs 200lbs. He has a generous "spare tire" around his middle, and is quite flabby, with very little muscle definition. He doesn't like to remove his shirt, even at the beach.

Okay, so what is the difference between these two guys? Obviously a lot; HOWEVER...notice that their weight is the SAME!

Now, if I ask you which guy is healthier, I bet there is not a single person who would vote for John Doe.

Let me put it another way. Do you think John Smith needs to lose weight??

No! John Smith is at his perfect weight for his body type and activity level. And barring some type of unforeseen condition or disease, his health is MUCH better than John Doe's, and he has the potential to live a much longer (not to mention happier) life.

People who are focusing exclusively on weight loss as an indicator of health and fitness are missing the whole point. The point isn't weight loss, it's FAT loss. Or more specifically, it's achieving a healthy body fat percentage for your body type, AND developing healthy muscle tone and strength which will help your body stay strong, pain-free, and young-looking.

And another thing....

Eat less do more (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Your body was made to move! Daily, often, and in a wide variety of ways. (If God didn't mean for you to move, he would have made you a rock, or a tree.) There are literally hundreds of studies showing that regular exercise is a must for health and longevity. Daily exercise has been linked to reductions in incidence of just about every kind of disease out there, from osteoporosis, to heart disease, to even Alzheimers. And yes, when you start building muscle, you just might GAIN a little weight (oh the shock and horror!), but guess what muscle also does (besides look good, by the way, and isn't that why so many people want to lose weight in the first place?) - it burns fat! More muscle mass raises your metabolism, so that you'll burn more calories even while at rest.

The idea that you shouldn't exercise because you will gain muscle which increases your weight is just about the most backwards thinking I can imagine, and really defeats the whole purpose of dieting in the first place, which is of course, to get you healthy, trim, fit, and looking and feeling good. Sorry Weight Watchers folks - avoiding exercise just won't get you there.

And if you're trying to start an exercise program, but struggling to stick with it, stay motivated, or find forms of exercise you enjoy, be sure to check this blog on a regular basis, as we post lots of interesting, fun, and new ways to get your exercise in, that you might not have thought of. You can also find some ideas on our website at http://www.newholisticliving.com/exercise.html.


Copyright 2012, by Rose Hillbrand (that's me!)