Equilibrium

It's weird. As I've been gearing up for The Big Drop, I've been thinking about my past efforts, and one thing I've noticed is that I always seem to start from the same spot. For awhile, around my high school/college days, my weight seemed to gravitate around 309 pounds. I distinctly remember that weight because it was my weight the first time I ever checked in to Weight Watchers, which must've been right after I graduated high school. In the ensuing decade, I yo-yo'd down and right back up several times, but my peak weight hovered around that magic number. Then, sometime in my thirties, my weight started peaking out in the 320-330 range. In fact as I wrote yesterday, 326 seems to be my new magic number.

This strikes me as weird. Nutritionists and exercise physiologists will tell you that losing weight gain or loss is a simple equation of calories in minus calories out. If you consume more calories than you burn, then you gain wait. The other way around, and you lose. Simple enough.

But here's the weird thing. If this were true, then why would I ever reach any kind of equilibrium weight? Why wouldn't I continue to balloon? It's not as though, on the "upswing" part of my yo-yo'ing, I'm building any muscle. In theory, if I'm chowing away and layering on the blubber, my base metabolic rate shouldn't be changing. For example, last time I was on a serious diet, I lost 60 pounds and dropped to around 245. When I went off the plan, I (depressingly) gained it all back, in probably 6 months or so. That's a clip of about 10 pounds a month, or 2.5 pounds a week, which equates to 8750 excess calories per week or roughly 1250 (excess!) calories per day. Sounds about right, I was probably eating around 3000-3500 calories per day during my upswing. But I'm certain I kept going at that rate for another six months. And similarly, I'm sure I've eaten similarly over the last six months leading til now. Why haven't I gained another 60 pounds in the last year?

I don't know how this works, but it intrigues me. Not because I want to plan my next 100 pound weight gain (although that would be fun, wouldn't it?). Rather, I am concerned about hitting a plateau during my weight loss. I remember how difficult this was last time it happened - I ended up quite discouraged and if I didn't have a personal trainer hammering on me the whole time I might have gotten off track. I don't want to get off track this time.

I suppose I should do a bit of poor-man's research on metabolism. I kindof already know what I'm going to find. The answer, to avoiding plateaus, will surely be to build lean body mass along the way, which should increase BMR (burn rate) and accelerating (or at least sustaining) the pace of loss.

Ok no problem then. I'll just build lean body mass along the way. Is there a pill for that?