Jane’s weight loss secrets!

Last updated on: May 1, 2014 at 11:05 pm by Jane the Actuary

Jane’s weight loss secrets! 2014-05-01T23:05:00-06:00 Jane the Actuary

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Secret number 1: Don’t snack after dinner.

Secret number 2: Don’t snack between breakfast and lunch.

Secret number 3: Just because you work at home doesn’t mean you should sit around all day until the kids get home from school.

Yes, OK, this isn’t very insightful. But, heck, it took me a while to figure this out. I started working at home about three years ago, and starting gaining weight. Not a lot — about 10 pounds, ultimately, and not all at once, but this after I had finally lost the last of the baby weight and even bought some new pants (genuinely new new clothes, not from the thrift store). And I’m small, so 10 pounds make a significant difference.

In any case, for quite a while, I told myself, “this must be due to that post-40 hormone-change weight gain. Too bad.” It took me quite a while to realize that, while the weight gain started after I hit the big 4-0, it was more likely related to beginning to work at home: not having the exercise of walking to the office from the train station, and instead having the temptation of the fridge and pantry. Besides which, my schedule changed from three days working, two days hanging out with a preschooler, to five days of working five hours per week, with the late afternoon spent supervising homework — and that preschooler was now old enough that I couldn’t pop him into the stroller to go on a walk.

So it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure this out. First I started exercising, both going (sporadically) to the local cut-rate health club (no, not Planet Fitness; it’s Fitness 19 — $9 a month, if you don’t mind not having showers at the facility) and, starting this past fall, using the exercise bike at home when I can manage to get up early enough. And that was enough to stop gaining any more weight.

Then, say, at the new year or so, I finally realized that the biggest change in the past couple years was that I was snacking a lot more than in the past. So — finally — for Lent, I gave up after dinner and morning snacking and have managed to lose half of that weight gain, and have come to the realization that I have to give up snacking permanently.

I say this not because I think my readers are especially interested in my weight gain-and-loss adventures, but because it has me thinking about weight gain and loss in general.

Really, I’ve never had any weight troubles, back in my college and grad school days. I always just thought of myself as someone who could eat whatever I wanted — but the reality is that I didn’t really overeat and I got in a lot of exercise, not necessarily running or working out, but just a lot of day-to-day walking. When I started working 40 hours, I gained, say, 10 pounds or so, but I didn’t worry much, and I gained a ton of weight when I was pregnant, and the lost it again.

Do I have a “fast metabolism”, a near-magical ability to metabolize food so quickly that I just don’t gain weight? I don’t think so, really. Until my first pregnancy, I just didn’t have a big appetite.

I look at my middle and oldest son. My middle son is skinny — very skinny. Does he have a fast metabolism? No. But he’s very active — not super-involved in sports, but always in motion. When he talks to you, he has to walk around the living room rather than standing still. And, though he likes his sweets, he’ll be just as happy to eat a bag of baby carrots. My older son isn’t overweight but always shows up on the growth charts as “just right” — and I’ll sometimes watch the two of them; the younger pacing around the room and the older slumped on the couch.

So I know that Glen Reynolds/instapundit.com is a big fan of Gary Taubes and super-low-carb diets. And to me, that just seems like magical thinking. Really — I did read the book, though I admit I don’t remember the details. And, in general, I just don’t buy the idea that different people can have different metabolisms that mean that, solely by the metabolism alone, some people can eat hardly anything and still gain weight and others can eat the entire fridge and stay skinny.

So this is a completely fact-free post.

But, anyway, what do you think?

Uncategorized

Previous Post

May 1, 2014

I have my first troll

Next Post

May 2, 2014 Another minimum wage guinea pig, and the bls data

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Actuarial/Retirement Issues Politics Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 December 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many years did Solomon reign?

Select your answer to see how you score.

50 years 40 years 30 years 35 years