I suspect that, among other challenges, Oprah’s yo-yo weight problems are typical of those who successfully lose weight based on a short-term commitment to very low calorie diets and very high rates of exercise. Neither of those is likely to be sustainalble over the long haul, for most people.
Oprah’s nutrition “guru” is Dr. Oz, one of the country’s most outspoken proponents of “low fat, healthy whole grains, high carb” diets. That approach is only going to work for fat loss (maintenance) with restricted calories and/or high exercise rates.
<p>I think that her lifestyle in running an empire probably put her in a lot of situations where the wrong kind of food was too easily available. I think that most here can appreciate the kind of challenges that a heavy travel schedule can have on diet and exercise.</p>
<p>Unlike most of us, though, she has the means to take her lifestyle with her wherever she goes. And the power to carve out whatever time during the day she wants to do whatever she wants, like exercise.</p>
<p>I’d be taking my personal trainer and my personal chef on the road with me if I was a billionaire.</p>
<p>That is true. I suppose that she could even afford to have her favorite treadmill or weight set shipped to her hotel room when she travels.</p>
<p>I just have the YMCA, son’s apartment fitness center (which I haven’t tried out yet), the office gym and my home weights. For my personal chef - I have LiveStrong.</p>
<p>I had to turn off “Biggest Loser.” Too much hystrionics. </p>
<p>And I should know better by now than to read nutrition advice from AOL, but I continue to be surprised by these reports. Today’s advice for diabetics is </p>
<p>I DO believe Oprah had every possible resource at her disposal, which is what is so disappointing. She could have had every single meal prepared for her and set in front of her. She also had the ability to influence and motivate thousands of people. You would not believe how many people buy things or read books just because Oprah mentions them. If anyone could have changed the health of many Americans, it would have been Oprah. Instead, she basically admitted defeat, so we have the “See-OPRAH couldn’t even keep the weight off!”</p>
<p>I’m not an Oprah expert, but I suspect that she has only ever lost weight on extreme diet/exercise programs that are, by definition, not sustainable. The lesson I’ve learned is that I had to make permanent changes. I can’t “diet”, lose the weight, and then “go back” to the way I was eating in the first place.</p>
<p>That means that the “diet” better be something that doesn’t feel like a big sacrifice. Willpower won’t cut it forever.</p>
Everytime I start getting all smug and thinking about how easy it should be for anyone to maintain their lower weight, I stop and really think about it. It has not been a struggle for me because I’ve found an exercise routine that I enjoy and a diet that I enjoy, but… it’s not like I’m not serious about it.
I have not had a single dessert (other than fruit) in over 15 months. The only candy I’ve eaten in the last year was a lapse when that damned Halloween bowl was in the house. I haven’t had a drop of sugar beverage of any kind (soda, juice, etc.) in over two years, except the day I was prepping for my colonoscopy.
And, to top it all off, I substituted a side Caesar Salad for the Lobster Mac 'n Cheese side dish at the fantastic restaurant in Baltimore and I skipped the corn bread and french fries at the Bar-B-Q joint in Boston.
I still weigh myself every morning and expect to do so every morning for the rest of my life.
So no… I guess if you look at the big picture, it’s probably not “easy”. On the other hand, I suppose a lot of people would be amazed that I’ve been able to maintain my weight (plus or minus 2 pounds) for the last eight months given the stuff I eat.
<p><< It has not been a struggle for me . . . I substituted a side Caesar Salad for the Lobster Mac 'n Cheese side dish at the fantastic restaurant in Baltimore>></p>
<p>That right there would have been a major struggle for me. Bravo.</p>
iDad- I’m not at all surprised you were able to keep the weight off, because you really understand what it takes and you have complete buy-in. And, as you said, you enjoy what you do for fitness and you don’t want to go back to where you were. I do understand that it is hard for many people to accomplish what some of us here have done. However, I think more people need to view it as “not optional”. I remember reading somewhere that when you (anyone) starts to say “I can’t…” as in “I can’t give up soda” or “I can’t pass up the rolls because I’m too hungry” or “I can’t exercise because I don’t have time” that you should ask “Could I do it if someone was paying me?” Hmmmmm.
I see young co-workers or spouses of running friends who are SO heavy, and it breaks my heart because of the health risks and things they can’t enjoy because the exertion is too taxing (hiking, skiing, whatever).
I have some friends who sign up for ridiculous (even by MY standards) athletic events just to give themselves a reason to exercise. I mentioned to my husband that I couldn’t understand why this guy undertook things like that (5 day straight century bike rides, half-ironman) when he wasn’t in shape for them. My husband said, “You and I exercise even if we aren’t training for anything because that’s just what we do. Not everyone can do that.” In a way, it makes it easier for us. The food part of the equation is a little tougher, since it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking we can eat as much as we want. We really can’t.
<p>We had already shared the fried local oysters for an appetizer. And the lobster mac n’ cheese was the side for the Maryland Crab cakes, so it wasn’t like I was making a complete sacrifice. I did taste it though, and it was seriously incredible. But, my caesar side salad was good, too.</p>
I am absolutely dumbfounded by what people eat. I’m not judging them, because I used to shovel it down my pie hole, too. But, my god, it’s amazing that people don’t weigh SIX hundred pounds.
It’s really not that hard to give up soda and dinner rolls if you set your mind to it. Heck, I even gave up red twizzlers.
Stopped by Marshalls on the way back from the UPS Store. I hit the mother-lode on Nike - they had stuff in the clearance section and several colors and styles that I don’t have. They even have Pro Combat long-sleeve (that should make its way into the clearance section - not too much demand for long-sleeve shirts with the temperatures this week).
I didn’t buy anything though. It’s tough to justify with my current collection which stands at 13 t-shirts. I wouldn’t mind one of the long-sleeve shirts for next winter though but I want a discount from the discount.
Yeah. I know that first one is going to be brutal. I expect to end up in a heap on the floor next to the stability ball more than once.
The others are all really tough. I’ve been doing the dead bugs and the knee drive holds in my recent workouts. At least for me, those are two of the hardest exercises I’ve ever done.
Gorgeous day here. 85 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, nice breeze. Had to get outside but with no jogging, that meant a 5K hilly walk. I pushed the pace on the hills pretty hard (I averaged 3.8 mph). Couldn’t get my heart rate up (just 80% of max), but I was breathing hard, working up a little sweat, and feeling it in the legs. As long as I’ve got hills, I can make do with these walks. Hill walking definitely gets the glutes more than jogging.
Achilles didn’t bother me at all during or after, although I was careful to shorten up my stride on the steep hills.
<p>You can have LOADS of FUN doing planks with your fore-arms and elbows on the stability ball. Move the arms forward and back or side to side for Stuart McGill’s “stir the pot” variation. You’ll need a fire extinguisher for your abs.</p>
<p>The only frustrating part is how hard these exercises are (at least for me). I really had to just laugh and have faith that they would get a little easier as my core strength improved. That has been the case, but I’ve been doing some of these for two years now. It’s very humbling to fall off a stability ball into a heap. Or to be dripping sweat trying to do the knee drives.</p>