I’ve mentioned on this blog before that I had a radio show when I lived in New Orleans in the 1980s. For the uninitiated, it was a call-in talk show. It was kind of like an “ask the expert” thing. I was the expert. It goes to show they’ll let anyone on the radio, and let anyone call themselves an expert. Despite this, I generally had more knowledge than the folks calling in. Note that when I didn’t know an answer, I didn’t make one up. I would consult a few doctors I knew and then give out the answer on a later show. One day when I decided to plunk down the phones and take some questions, I received a call from an older lady. I’m assuming she was an older lady. If she wasn’t she was a smoker. She had a weak, yet raspy voice. Think Suzanne Pleshette nowadays, not back when she was hot and sexy. But I digress. Wait…I forgot what I was talking about. I got caught up thinking of her young, raspy voice. OK, I’ve pulled myself together. The caller said she hardly eats anything, and when she does, it’s a vegetable. She couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t losing weight. In fact, she was gaining weight. I asked a few questions. She said she loved vegetables, fresh fruit and a serving of yogurt a day. I asked about exercise, she said it was moderate. She got out and walked from time to time. I asked if the yogurt was nonfat. She said it was lowfat, and she only had one serving. It wasn’t adding up to me. I was perplexed. I then asked her how big of a serving she was having. She said, “Just the one little carton.” I asked how big the carton was, so she went get it. It sounded like a comedy routine as her feet clip-clopped there and back. She returned and asked “Are you still there.” I said yes and then asked her to read the nutrition facts. There was silence for a moment. Then I heard “Oh, dear.” To make a long story short she was eating a half gallon of lowfat frozen yogurt every day. First off, I assumed she was eating not frozen but plain lowfat yogurt. Not an ice cream cousin. Please, let’s not gloss over the fact that she was eating a half gallon every day. I told you that to tell you this. Way back when I moved to Los Angeles, I had a friend who eventually became a roomate. She had the type of job you want every roomate to have, especially if it’s a female. Kristine was all female. Her job? She was a bikini model. Kristine and I are still good friends today, almost 20 years later. I actually get to see her from time to time. We generally have a cup of coffee, and check to make sure we’re OK in life, then part ways. But there’s another time I hear from Kristine. I hear from her when she gains a couple of pounds, if she’s met a new guy or has an event coming up and needs to look good. She knows what I’m going to say. She knows all of the information. Hey, if you can get a fitness guy for free, why not. And to be honest with you, I like when she calls. She did just that a couple of weeks ago. It seems that with the holidays she’s put on five pounds. I gave her some advice, like using Weight Watchers. She’s used the program with success in the past. I’m not sure why she doesn’t use it every time. I gave her the usual advice. The stuff that I know works for her. Then a week later, I got another call from my friend. She couldn’t understand why she worked so hard on her diet for a week and didn’t lose a pound. She kept me on the phone for more than 20 minutes as we tried to figure out what was going wrong. I was giving her what I call “the O.J. Simpson interrogation” where I left no stone unturned. It seemed she was doing everything right. But just like the old lady and the half gallon of yogurt, I knew something had to be missing. Just as I was getting off the phone, I asked when was the last time she had her period. It was coming up. The pound or two of fat she lost was replaced by the pound or two of fluid they gain in the days before their cycle. The point of this story is it takes well longer than just one week for your body to adjust to any diet. Just like Kristine, remember other factors can play into it. Just because you did everything right for one week doesn’t mean that magic will happen.
