Pages

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Weighing the cost of obesity solutions

Lately I’ve been feeling squeamish about monitoring my weight loss on this blog. But then I see the Atlantic Monthly cover story on obesity, and I think, hey, if I’m working this problem from the inside out -- making mental changes that translate into physical results, as opposed to Marc Ambinder, who can’t seem to fathom how the national obesity problem could be solved without bariatric surgery for millions of people, at a cost of billions of dollars -- isn’t that information I should be sharing with people?

I’ve lost 40 pounds in 16 weeks on the Weight Watchers program, which cost me a little less than $160, or $4 a pound. Ambinder lost 85 pounds after $30,000 bariatric surgery, which works out to $352.94 a pound.
As a public health move, it would make a lot more sense to pay for millions of people to attend a Weight Watchers-style program than to have stomach-shrinking surgery. Not only would it cost much less, but it gives people time to gradually reduce their intake and make adjustments, both physically and mentally. And there’s that built-in support system.

Granted, Weight Watchers doesn’t work for everybody. My mom’s started and quit this program many times before. She’s losing much more slowly than I am, but this time she’s kept going despite enduring weeks in which she’s had to step on the scale after a weight gain. She’s dropped less than a pound a week, but over time that's added up to nearly 15 pounds. A slow pace, but at least she’s headed in the right direction.

As a frugal person, I hate the idea of paying somebody else to help me eat less. But the weekly weigh-in is a great way to stay accountable, and the points system is a fairly easy game that allows you to fit in occasional treats while rewarding you for good nutrition and exercise. There’s no doubt in my mind that my $160 has been well spent, not just because of the increased energy and mental clarity, but because at the time I started I was getting worried about my blood pressure -- not just the physical risks, but also the possibility of having to pay for long-term medication. Though I still have more weight to lose, those fears have since disappeared.


But enough about Weight Watchers. What I really wanted to share is a mental tip that recently helped me register a 3.4 pound loss after a week in I succumbed to five oatmeal cookies on one day and a bunch of pizza the next.

It wasn’t just the greatest comeback in my own personal dieting history, it was the only such comeback. In the past, I would have surrendered after a couple of binges like that. But this time, I reminded myself that though I’d suffered a couple of huge penalties, I was still in the game.

The most important difference is that I continued tracking my points even though I was devastated by the score. Then, I figured out how I could get back to where I wanted to be by the end of the week, by ramping up my exercise and decreasing my intake -- not by starving myself but by adding a bunch of zero-point veggies for a couple of days.

I knew I’d succeeded because the scoreboard in my tracking notebook said so. Sure enough, I was rewarded when I stepped on the scale.

No comments: