well, it is!Some people say that we have a "set-point." A metabolic thermostat that seems to be set by our diet and level of physical activity.
Anyone who has ever been whipped (I mean challenged) by "Diet Math" must wonder if this is true. Or is it just Urban Mythology? Nonsense!
Increase the output and you're half-way there.
Decrease the input and you're half-way there.
It's so EASY! How could this be hard? This is what I hear people say. Moms across America are telling some poor overweight kid (or grownup kids) just to snap out of it, and get a handle on it, and wrap their minds around it.
Whatever "it" is, I don't recall!
Then I read people's blogs, and I know gaining or losing weight is not as simple as how much, or how little food you eat.
Metabolism is measured in days and weeks. Not hours and minutes. Hours and minutes count, yes. But the bigger picture counts more, I think. For example, Omega 3 fatty acids, like flax seed supplements, can take up to 2 weeks to start to reach optimum levels. Some vitamins and minerals need to be replaced every day. Some not so often. Some amino acids are being formed and reformed and who knows where they go or how they got there.
There's alot we know, and much more that we don't know. I guess we're all learning.
"Go with what works for you!"
A saying I like goes something like this.
ReplyDelete"It's your life and your science experiment".
Never stop looking for answers - in the scientific literature, in the experiences of others and in the experimentation we all perform in our own lives. Some kind/degree of viable answer is bound to be out there for everyone.
The old standbys are usually right. That's why they're old standbys! Great blog, Anne.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote,
ReplyDelete"Metabolism is measured in days and weeks. Not hours and minutes. Hours and minutes count, yes. But the bigger picture counts more, I think."
I never thought about it but I believe you are correct.
The best line,
"The wisest approach might be the old standby "Go with what works for you!"
The only thing I would add from experience, is to believe in your hunches about your own body. and learn to stand up to the all the diet "experts".
cheers
2 + 2 =4 Yes, it is. But clearly, 2 + 2 =22. Depends on who is doing the adding!
ReplyDeletesix to one, half a dozen to another. lol
ReplyDeletegreat thoughts anne!
I wish you were my math teacher in my earlier days. :-)
ReplyDelete