Fit Communications

I gotta love Tom Venuto for introducing me to the zig-zag concept of caloric reduction. It really, really works, and as empirical evidence, I have two new fat-loss stories to tell you.

But first a little digression about counting calories. Why do people resist this idea so vigorously? Maybe part of it is that we’re so easily suckered by the latest bestselling diet book and the idea that there’s a secret, magical method for weight loss. Bottom line is, any plan that works does so because you’re taking in fewer calories and/or expending more calories through activity. End of story. Calorie counting may be dull, but it works, and once you get the hang of it, it’s easy.

So here are the success stories. Both involve women near my age (one’s 50, once’s in her mid-50s) who have been working on weight loss for more than a year. One had stalled out completely, one had actually gained back a few pounds. Broken record that I am, I keep preaching calorie counting and the zig-zag.

Part of my spiel: Unless you’re counting calories, you have no idea how much you’re actually taking in. And if you’re not losing weight (despite exercising and eating healthy foods), you’re eating exactly as much as you need to maintain rather than lose (barring a genetic or metabolic disorder).

Lo and behold: Both women recently started zig-zagging. Both started losing weight–including my good friend who honestly didn’t think she was eating more than 1,300 or 1,400 calories a day. Guess what? She was.

I have to crow a little because after needling her for nearly a year to try the zig-zag, her plateau (of more than a year) is a thing of the past, and she’s lost nearly 10 pounds in about six weeks.

As for me, I’m working out, maintaining my weight loss pretty effortlessly, and have lost another couple of inches over the past six months. Most my skirts and trousers are size 6 now, with an occasional size 4.

Posted on December 7th, 2005 under fitness. Tags: Tom Venuto. RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback.