There wasn’t much mischief on Tuesday. Now, at 10 p.m., I’m looking at Wednesday, then Thursday, and a school workday on Friday. I need that workday — I fell behind on papers and filing while I was out sick. I feel like I’m treading water, which doesn’t help the daily headaches. My hip aches too; I know it will improve once I restart strength training, but for now I feel like an old woman.
I’m a big fan of The Biggest Loser. I know the contestants follow intense nutrition and exercise routines to lose dramatic amounts of weight. There are likely injuries we don’t hear about, and the lifestyle they adopt isn’t realistic for most people long term. Still, I appreciate the core message: a lot of weight-related health problems are preventable. Too often, the biggest changes start with putting down the fork and going for a walk.
This season has made me think. The contestants were divided into three teams by age, and the oldest group (55+) were noticeably smaller than the younger groups. It’s hard to find 300-pound, 60-year-old contestants who meet the basic criteria to appear on the show. That first episode made me study the crowds around me: plenty of kids and people in their 20s to 50s who are morbidly obese, but far fewer people over 250 pounds with gray hair. Excess weight shortens lives — often through conditions like diabetes and heart disease — and many of those outcomes are preventable. I’m not referring to Type 1 diabetes or everyone with a genetic predisposition to heart problems, but to the large share of cases linked to lifestyle.
On tonight’s episode I noticed that the older contestants worked just as hard as the younger teams, but two main factors made it harder for them to achieve the same calorie deficits:
- worn-down or injured muscles
- slower metabolism
It’s sobering to realize weight loss tends to get harder with age. That’s a wake-up call to manage my weight now in my 30s so it’s not a bigger struggle later in life. The good news is those two challenges can be addressed. In the episode, the oldest team actually beat the middle team by percentage of weight lost. They lost 22 pounds as a group, which amounted to a higher percentage because they started from a smaller combined weight. I was glad to see them win.
Watching made me anxious because I can’t work out right now. Every day feels like an opportunity I’m wasting, but I also know following my doctor’s orders is important — otherwise I could delay recovery by days or weeks.
For dinner I wanted vegetables and pasta, so I combined both.
Sautéed Brussels Sprouts
- 1 strip of bacon
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 2 cups Brussels sprouts, sliced lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1. Cook the bacon until crisp. Remove and chop for later.
2. Drain most of the bacon grease, leaving a thin coating in the pan.
3. Sauté the Brussels sprouts and mushrooms about 10 minutes over medium-low heat.
4. In the last minute, add the chopped bacon and Parmesan.
5. Serve alongside pasta, or combine with pasta and extra vegetables if desired.
Three more days until I can run. I’m counting the hours.