Print Blog
Email a FriendPosted by Lisa R T on Friday, Oct 21, 2011 2:28 PM (EDT):
Can’t help thinking that guy needs a real hobby…
Get Down the Pounds
the ups and downs
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Friday, October 21, 2011 11:39 AM
I came across an interesting article about a man who was in fantastic shape who decided to gain a bunch of weight and then after six months, work to get fit again.
I kept thinking how this story seemed vaguely familiar. And then I remembered why. I’ve done this. Six times.
Of course I appreciate this man’s motives. He wants to show people that you can lose the weight and get in shape. It just made me chuckle a bit to think women do this all the time.
I’m not sure what your experience has been, but I gain about 40-50 pounds every single pregnancy. Except for baby number two, where I only gained 25 because my singular focus in life seemed to be not gaining 50 pounds.
With the first four pregnancies, the weight came off pretty easily. With baby number five, I had to work very hard to slim down. It took me a year and a half but eventually I reached my goal—just in time to find out we were expecting Isabel!
Anyway, it will be interesting to check in on the Fit2fat2fit guy and see how his efforts go to get back in shape. Hopefully it really will inspire some people to get moving and know that it’s possible to head in the direction of getting fit no matter what your starting point.
Comments
Page 1 of 1 pages
Posted by Donna L. on Friday, Oct 21, 2011 2:55 PM (EDT):
LOL! I think it would more closely correlate to how Moms might feel: have him begin each day feeling exhausted, have someone wake him up every 2-3 hours each night and hold a water bottle, walk around for an hour, go back to bed, and do that 2 more times each day for, oh, about a year!
Posted by Sarah on Friday, Oct 21, 2011 3:47 PM (EDT):
Good for you. I gained 50lb with the first and it has never really come off. Some pregnancies have gone better than others as far as weight. With this one I’m really struggling to eat right. I know if I eat balanced and in the right portions and get the exercise the weight does come down, but it is such a daily battle. I had gestational diabetes with the 3rd and learned a lot about nutrition and portions. All I can say is american portions are entirely too large.
I have gone through 7 pregnancies and losing the weight gets harder each time. I never seem to lose weight when I am nursing (which is opposite of what the literature states) and have just come to be ok with that. Although it is frustrating, I know that when I am done nursing I will start losing some of that weight! I think we all just need to accept that we are ok at the size we are!
Jodi
Posted by momof4 on Saturday, Oct 22, 2011 3:17 PM (EDT):
Yes, you do keep some weight on when nursing. Your body won’t let go of the calories you need to feed the baby. It’s 300 extra cal/day to grow a baby and extra 500 cal/day to feed a baby. I only dropped my final pounds when I stopped nursing totally. Before that I kept on the extra weight as my body needed it to feed baby.
Posted by Donna L. on Sunday, Oct 23, 2011 12:39 AM (EDT):
Me, too!
“Nurse your baby and return to pre-pregnancy weight!” {Yeah, right!}
I actually gain more weight when my baby is several months old and nursing like a champ. When I mentioned this to my woman’s health specialist, she teased me by comparing me to a heifer with a calf, (yes, she did this sweetly and in a humorous way, and I love her for it). She explained what the other Mums here already attest to, and that is that our bodies don’t want us to starve to death while nursing, so we keep a few pounds—-or like me, about 20 extra.
This is just a short time in your life, and I believe many of us keep the weight during nursing time. It’s worth making all that milk!
Posted by rachel on Friday, Oct 21, 2011 5:48 PM (EDT):
Hopefully it will inspire people, but I wonder if it will make many people discouraged? a big part of losing wieght is the mental ability to make the hard decisions, and if he was in “fantastic shape” before he likely already has that ability to persevere phisically when it is tough. I found it much easier to loose weight after baby 3 (and keep the weight gain reasonable with my current pregnancy) because of a number of situations (running, sick husband, elimination diet, etc) that have made me recognize the importance of my health and how food affects my body. i’m skeptical with this fit2fat2fit because, just like biggest loser, it is a completely artificial situation. i find the amazing testimonies of all you real women much more inspiring!
Posted by Susie on Friday, Oct 21, 2011 7:07 PM (EDT):
I lost the 35 pounds I gained after each pregnancy, but the bad thing was that a couple of years after I had baby #5, I started gaining weight gradually (I was in my mid 40’s) and it has crept on a bit at a time until now I am about 25 pounds over weight now at 52. What I realized was that yes, metabolism was changing, but as the kids got older, I actually sat at the table longer and had time to finish a meal (or have seconds), or time to make dessert, or I would split a beer or drink a glass of wine with my husband. It is just about impossible to lose it now, even though I have more time for “formal exercise” than I did before. I have to eat a lot less than when I was nursing or pregnant, but still it just seems the weight won’t come off. We also have much more junk food than when my children were little, and more sodas etc. on hand all the time. Maybe I have just lost motivation.
Posted by Barbra Carpay on Friday, Oct 21, 2011 9:16 PM (EDT):
Have you had your thyroid tested? A low thyroid can make it next to impossible to lose weight. I’ve had low thyroid for years. When I try to lose weight and I know I’m doing all the right things and still not losing, I get some blood work done.
Don’t give up!
As a lifelong dieter, I was thrilled to find a CATHOLIC weight loss program. It is called The Light Weigh and was written by an amazing woman named Suzanne Fowler who is the mother of eight children. It really helps get behind the “why” of overeating. She uses the Ignatian Review and the spirituality of St. Therese, the Little Flower. You think God brings you to the program to lose weight and you end up with so much more- deepened faith, prayer life, etc. Check out the website: thelightweigh.com
Posted by Deanna Grantz on Sunday, Oct 23, 2011 2:23 PM (EDT):
I just came across a similar article about this man the other day and as a health coach and soon to be personal trainer focused on helping moms and their families live happier more healthy lives I was completely mixed on it. On one hand, I appreciate the man’s desire to really understand what it must be like to walk in another’s shoes however, NO amount of weight will allow him to truly experience this. I also feel like it shows great disrespect for his body because quick, drastic weight gain or loss is never healthy and to do it on purpose? The reason I decided to pursue health and fitness as a career, in addition to it being part of what I believe to be God’s calling for my life and the example I wish to set for my three little girls under 6, is because as a young teen through my 20’s I had an eating disorder. Now that I am on the other side of it, though none of us are ever truly 100% healed as our friend Kate Wicker attests to in her book Weightless, I now see eating and fitness as a way to love my body and serve God. If I hadn’t gone through the pain and suffering of having a clinical eating disorder, I couldn’t be as compassionate with my clients. I get that. But I do find it hard to believe that before this he never had a craving or struggled with eating. If so, kudos, but it does seem like quite an extreme measure that still cannot truly allow him to experience that of us moms, women and men who truly psychological struggle with the issues of weight and self-image. I suppose we shall see. Thanks for writing about this topic Rachel!
Posted by Tina on Sunday, Oct 23, 2011 5:34 PM (EDT):
I appreciate this guy’s motives, but I don’t know how inspired I as a woman would be with his story. Men’s and women’s bodies are completely different. Female hormones are a lot different than men’s! I am constantly hungry throughout nursing (up to a year after a baby’s born), and it’s just hard to constantly eat fruit, vegetables and chicken (not to mention expensive) if I’m going to keep up with my appetite! I resigned myself to accepting that I wouldn’t lose the weight until I was done nursing. That being said, I actually did lose 30 pounds after No. 3. I just stopped nursing No. 4, and I have about 10 pounds to go. I finally figured out how to eat for my body (low-carb, Mediterranean diet). I just made up my mind that I was going to do it, that I’d get there eventually, and I prayed for the grace to lose weight.
Post a Comment
By submitting this form, you give Faith And Family Magazine permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
