More than consuming fewer calories and running more

This week's topic for Take It and Run Thursday is weight.  Amy is having rousing success right now, and I'm looking forward to benefiting from everyone's input tomorrow.

The way I see it, if you want to lose weight, it’s all about plus and minus.  Add more exercise and reduce calorie intake.  Period.

However, if I want to manage my weight, increase my energy, improve my running, and maginify my overall quality of life, then it’s not simply about addition and subtraction.

It’s about multiplication.

The best experiences managing my weight include putting to work several factors, none of which is particularly like scaling Everest.  But when you multiply them all together, they add up to sizable results.

Drinking more water.  Hydration improves every organ and function we have.  Another way to look at hydration is to include water based-foods such as fruits and vegetables.  There is no water in Twinkies and corn chips.

Eating what I really love.  A controlled portion every day such as 1 -2 cookies or 1 cup of ice cream, and then banish all the other awful foods out of the house.

Eating a good breakfast.  Mom was right. Enough said.

Never skipping a meal.  My brain thinks it’s winning but my body always loses on this matter.  I skip a meal and I feel like I’ve got calories in the bank to consume later. Doesn’t work as I end up bingeing 17 times more than if I’d eaten a reasonable meal when my body is accustomed to eating.

Getting a full night’s sleep.  When I operate short on sleep, my appetite soars.  I've learned that sleep deprivation increases a hormone which stimulates appetite and decreases hormones that suppress appetite.  As if feeling tired isn’t bad enough, then I have two hunger hormones harassing me.

Getting help from others. There's something about a runner seeking professional weight management help that doesn't sit right with us.  I’ve never so much as imagined myself calling Jenny Craig or attending Weight Watchers.  And why is that?  Would it kill me to learn a little more from the experts? And there's nothing quite as motivating as teaming up with others for practical and moral support to curb the bad habits and stimulate new ones.

Cross training. Whether it's walking, weights, yoga, biking, or whatever, cross training recruits new muscles to add strength both physically and mentally.  What a way to improve managing our weight!.  Many of us compiled a great treasury of cross training advice several months ago.

So rather than plussing and minusing—shaving calories and piling on more miles—take advantage of the exponential benefits of multiplication.

I just know that when I’m at my optimal weight, I feel better, run easier, more, and faster.  And when I can run easier, more, and faster, it’s easier to manage my weight.  What a great trade-off!

Multiplication Rock on Flickr by Jikan

Comments

[Nat]

YOu know it sounds so common sense when you put it that way. (She said in a state of sleep deprivation.) Cookies. It's all about the cookies.

[AndrewE]

Thanks for those tips.

[steve]

Simple yet effective advice. How true those words are....

Thanks for sharing,

--Steve

[suzee]

Truer words never spoken. Especially about the sleep.

[Nike Free Running]

Such a good writing, or by I saw for the first time. I'm quite happy, you are a good writer