Why Am I Doing This?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I cuss like a sailor. This ain't no "Mommy Blog." Got a problem with it? Move along, Sailor Moon.

If you are like me, you are:

1) Female

2) Hyper-athletic

3) Somewhat over-weight ("Fit-Fat")

4) Have problems losing weight

5) Peri-menopausal or menopausal

6) BEYOND FUCKING ANNOYED that everything about weight loss excludes #2 and the mantra is "Eat less, exercise more."

Bitch, really? Like exercising 10-20 hours/week is not enough? 

"The Rona" + 5 surgeries in 6 years + peri-menopause = Where the fuck did this 25+ extra pounds come from? I mean, yeah: I couldn't do group rides. But FFS, I was still riding 100-200 miles/week in summer. I never missed the 50K Birkebeiner Ski Marathon (or Vasaloppet) during that time, despite injuries etc. 

Was I slower? Sure. But the weight is a bitch. And nothing was working. So I got complacent. So here I am. On Weight Watchers. Wait, what...?

I tried it...long ago--after the "liver once a week, no oils" phase, but once "points" p=had started--points based on age, gender, current weight; add more when you exercise. And it didn't fucking work. That picture you see of me is rather old [pre-weight-gain]. I don't want to post how I look right now. I am not super fat. But I am...fluffier than I used to be. And slower on the bike and skis. And it pisses me off. 

So how did I end up on WW again? Thanks, Mom-in-Law. She started it. Apparently, this year, 2023, it is a new points deal. And I did some digging. And I am thinking maybe--just maybe--it can work.

WHAT CAN YOU EAT [almost] UNLIMITED AMOUNTS OF [0 point foods]

  • Chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, tofu, tempeh
  • Beans (including FF refried)
  • FF Yogurt (Greek = better for protein) and FF cottage cheese + Quark
  • FF plain almond milk
  • Eggs 
  • Corn and popcorn
  • Fruit (be careful of super-sweet things like Honeycrisp apples)
  • Non-starchy veggies (so...no potatoes)
Why is this good? Because EVERYONE only gets 23 points/day, and 28 "free" weeklies to "spend" as they will. 

Because now I can EAT UNTIL I AM FULL with those 0 point foods. 2 weeks in, and I *seem* to be down 4 lbs.; and I am not starving, nor have my athletics completely suffered--though I am still trying to figure out the best pre-hard-workout food. 

Am I using all those points I accrue from working out? No. I use up to half. At most. I think super athletic people who are fluffy shouldn't eat just "because they can." I didn't succeed on that before, and athletes' bodies are not like "normal" bodies
. I am eating up to maybe half of them, and after REALLY hard workout or race days. 

So, I am doing this to see if it works. I am doing it so that, if it does, I can prove there IS hope for the chonky menopausal mid-life hyper-athletic female who is sick of the bullshit ads on FB about "meno-belly" and "Fix your hormones" and "eat less, exercise more" and "you're eating the wrong foods for your body type/blood type/astrological sign/WTF ever" and "try this probiotic." 

I'll keep you posted (maybe 1x week)? And if you don't care, do IGAF? No. Because I am doing this for me, in the end--as that one last, final resort, having literally spent WAY too much $$ out of pocket for every type of nutritionist, holistic/western doctor, etc. etc. etc. and had ZERO results. And if I have zero results again, at least I tried. I can accept that I am a decent human being at any weight. I just don't fucking like how the current weight affects my athletics. 

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