I Joined The Spartanburg 'Shrinkdown'
Let me share with you the ambitious thing I did on Monday. I joined something I first blogged about last year called "Shrinkdown" sponsored by my local YMCA in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Last week I blogged about a man who lost 128 pounds in 2006 after beginning his weight loss journey with the "Shrinkdown" challenge, an effort taking place all across the state of South Carolina over the next eight weeks.
It took a little more than an hour to get through the process of registering for this weight loss event. As I was waiting to have my health markers checked, I started flipping through the materials they handed out. It should come as NO surprise to anyone that this plan is focused on increasing physical activity (a VERY good thing since exercise goes hand-in-hand with low-carb living) and good nutrition. What does that mean? You know--low-fat, low-calorie, portion control! UGH!
Why can't organized weight loss programs like "Shrinkdown" EVER acknowledge the low-carb lifestyle as an equally healthy and beneficial plan for losing weight and keeping it off forever, hmmm? Who died and made the low-fat diet the ONLY way to lose weight and improve health?
It broke my heart to think how many people at that "Shrinkdown" sign-up yesterday will lose a few pounds in the next couple of months eating foods like the apples, fruit bars, and water they provided at this event only to get frustrated by the disgusting choice of foods and from being hungry so much eating this way. That was my experience on a low-fat diet in 1999 and it wasn't pretty.
Click here to read more about my experience signing up for the "Shrinkdown" program and why livin' la vida low-carb could save a lot of the participants on this low-fat, low-calorie, portion-controlled diet a lot of disappointment.
Last week I blogged about a man who lost 128 pounds in 2006 after beginning his weight loss journey with the "Shrinkdown" challenge, an effort taking place all across the state of South Carolina over the next eight weeks.
It took a little more than an hour to get through the process of registering for this weight loss event. As I was waiting to have my health markers checked, I started flipping through the materials they handed out. It should come as NO surprise to anyone that this plan is focused on increasing physical activity (a VERY good thing since exercise goes hand-in-hand with low-carb living) and good nutrition. What does that mean? You know--low-fat, low-calorie, portion control! UGH!
Why can't organized weight loss programs like "Shrinkdown" EVER acknowledge the low-carb lifestyle as an equally healthy and beneficial plan for losing weight and keeping it off forever, hmmm? Who died and made the low-fat diet the ONLY way to lose weight and improve health?
It broke my heart to think how many people at that "Shrinkdown" sign-up yesterday will lose a few pounds in the next couple of months eating foods like the apples, fruit bars, and water they provided at this event only to get frustrated by the disgusting choice of foods and from being hungry so much eating this way. That was my experience on a low-fat diet in 1999 and it wasn't pretty.
Click here to read more about my experience signing up for the "Shrinkdown" program and why livin' la vida low-carb could save a lot of the participants on this low-fat, low-calorie, portion-controlled diet a lot of disappointment.
Labels: diet, exercise, healthy, low-carb, low-fat, Shrinkdown, South Carolina, Spartanburg, weight loss, YMCA
posted by Jimmy Moore at
1/09/2007 01:48:00 PM
1 Comments:
Hey, at least you shared your experience with as many people as you could while you were waiting in line.
Sure, they'll probably attempt to lose weight the way the Y is telling them to do it, but when the frustration over lack of significant progress and constant hunger causes them to snap, hopefully they'll remember that skinny guy in the line with them who said he lost 180 lbs on low carb, and give it a try.
Then hopefully, when they see for themselves just how well it works for them, they'll share this information with others in the program too.
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