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This should stand as a post on its own, but I’m really writing this as a supplement to my Chapter 2 Journey entry earlier on. And here’s why…
Although my “starvation” method proved to be “successful” in losing weight, that’s certainly is not and should not be the way forward. Yes, I proved that diet is the most important factor when one tries to lose weight, but when done incorrectly, one could be faced with a multitude of unintended consequences.
Many people told me that I would lose muscle and honestly, I didn’t care. I made a calculated decision. I chose to purge myself and start from scratch. There are many arguments over which way is better to start – “cutting” or “bulking.” Many “experts” will tell you that you can only do one at a time. “You can’t build muscle and shed fat at the same time,” they say. And from what I read, I thought I’d see much faster results by shedding all the weight and then building later. So I guess I consciously just traded my “Dad Bod” in for being “Skinny Fat.” Win?
I lost weight. I lost inches. But, here’s the scary part – I was setting myself up for even worse! You see, the body is NOT simple. It’s very complex. It’s really an ecosystem that has evolved to survive. It knows how to adjust to its environment, and it will try to do so regardless of whether you want it to or not. Your body is self healing and self regulating. It is smart. So, all that “dieting” I was doing was actually training my body to survive on less?
This is what commonly happens: Someone wants to lose “weight.” I say weight in air quotes, because I think what they really want is to lose FAT. Anyway, they subscribe to this caloric theory (as they’re taught), and crash diet. They feel like crap while they’re doing it, but they lose weight so they ultimately feel great! They dropped 10 pounds! Victorious, they now feel they can consume their weight in wings and beer… not to excess – just back to what they were eating before the diet. Then their weight rebounds WAY beyond where it was before. This all too common problem, which I’ll explain in more detail and back up with science in a later post, is the body’s way of preserving itself. — It wants to survive.
Think of the signals you’re sending to your body during this process. “THERE’S NO FOOD!” In times of famine, when food is scarce, your body is going to go into energy conservation mode. It’s going to learn how to become more efficient with what it has to use; and, because you’re starving yourself, you’re telling your body to, “Hunker down!” So it does. What might have started out as a TDEE of 2,000 calories, is now down to a functional (not optimal) TDEE of 1,500 calories. In other words, your body gets good at using less. It changed its set point.
Then you stop “dieting.” Your intake goes back up to 2,000 calories (or in most cases, way more because you feel deprived from all that caloric restriction), but your body is accustomed to running on only 1,500 calories. So now it thinks, “We should store all this extra energy for when the next famine comes along – ‘cause, ya know, famine sucks!” And, so it does. It packs those unneeded calories in corners you never even knew existed. You balloon out further than ever over the holidays, and then bikini season comes around…again, like it does. So, you start all over again. Up, down. Up, down. Yo, yo!
Luckily, I got so fascinated with health and the human body, that I learned about the pitfalls of what I was doing before I could inflict some real damage. I learned that, although I was losing weight, I wasn’t getting any healthier. I thought (in the beginning) that I just wanted to lose weight; and that if I were to lose that weight, I’d be happy. Boy was I wrong. I think, overall, I “looked” better – but I certainly didn’t “feel” better.
There’s much more to this challenge than just cutting calories. And it’s easy to say, “Oh, I just wanna to lose 10 pounds – then I’ll be happy.” Well, I’m here to tell you that may not be true. That’s like saying, “I’d feel so much better if I was driving that really nice car.” Unfortunately, there will always be a nicer car. Having aspirations is great, but set realistic and meaningful goals that are obtainable and that will really satisfy that craving you truly yearn for. Consider what it means to “lose fat.” You’ve communicated to your body that it can relax – that good food will come, so don’t be scared. That you’ll take care of your body. Your body then responds with trust and confidence and let’s go of that safety net.
So, do you really just want to “lose weight?” Will that truly make you “happy?” Or, is the real problem deeper, and perhaps you feel losing a couple of inches will make that difference? What do you really want? What internal struggles are you truly dealing with? You just wanna look good? Cool. You want to be able to run a marathon with your wife? Great! You want to be able to protect, defend and provide for your family if the shit hits the fan? Awesome. What are you really trying to “fix.” That is the real question – the real challenge. Without confronting those demons, you can’t be healthy, and losing weight will be extremely difficult. Be honest with yourself however, and health will be the only thing you need to be happy. You’ll find the fat melts away effortlessly, but who cares anymore – that’s not even the focus. Your goals are much deeper than that.
What does it mean (to you) to Be Healthy? Is it running a marathon? Is it being a vegetarian? Is it bench pressing 300 pounds? Is it being medication free? Is it being without pain? Is it being sexually desired? Or…is it simply being, happy? Maybe we’re all trying to fill some empty void inside of us (which commonly gets filled with “comfort food?”). Maybe being healthy is being physically, emotionally, hormonally and spiritually at your best? Whatever drives you to get there is personal, and every individual’s journey and experiences will be unique. The path, however… The tenets to follow for you to achieve your optimal self, is no elusive secret.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned on my journey is that “looking good” is one thing, but “feeling good” is something completely different. In order to change the former, one must rebuild the latter. How you look, how people see you, how you subliminally communicate is simply a projection of how you feel. Trust me. You’ll be much happier with the results.
Crave more health – not food.
Click here to continue on Tobias’ journey: Part 3: A Deeper Understanding
Part 2: Simple is as Simple Does
Featured Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
