Help! Marriage is Making Me Fat!
A FUTURE FORMER FAT GIRL WRITES: I recently got married, and as a stay-at-home wife, I have gained 10 pounds in the last 4 months. One of the reasons was that I was baking almost every day to pass the time. But I also increased my running from 30 minutes, 3 days a week to a full hour 3 days a week and 30 minutes running/30 walking two days a week. It seems like this has made me gain weight, also--I didn't lose any pounds and my legs are definitely bigger. If I continue to pursue running, even though I'm watching my calories like a hawk and only baking once a week, will running make me bigger? As in, huge legs, hips, butt?--Beth
DEAR FUTURE FFG: It's funny--I talk to many women who struggle with their weight who admit to a baking habit too. Ever since I got my Easy Bake Oven when I was five, I was a big baker--mostly because I wanted to eat the stuff. I still love to bake but don't do it very often, for obvious reasons. I don't want to deal with the siren call of warm home-baked cookies, tempting me to have Just. One. More. Baking, as you've found, is NOT a Former Fat Girl-approved hobby. Running, though, is. But the funny thing about exercise is that it often fools us into thinking we can eat more--the more we exercise, the more we tend to eat, perhaps because we feel like we deserve a reward. There's actual research to back this up, which led a Time magazine writer to pen a recent column arguing that exercise does not make you thinner. I have to disagree, because it is one of the key things that worked for me. But it MUST be paired with healthy eating habits. Because we know there's the tendency to eat to compensate for exercise (and therefore cancel out any weight-loss benefits), it's important to, as you say, watch your calories like a hawk. I would go even further and suggest you keep a brutally honest food diary, where you write down EVERY MORSEL you put in your mouth (yes, even a swipe of cookie dough). Get an honest assessment of your intake, and you may see why you're not reaping the benefits of running. You should see some results from your increase in running, and not the ones you're describing. Running may build up the muscles in your legs, but as long as you aren't continuing to put on body fat due to dietary indiscretions, I can't see any reason why it should make your hips and bottom larger.
Lisa D
DEAR FUTURE FFG: It's funny--I talk to many women who struggle with their weight who admit to a baking habit too. Ever since I got my Easy Bake Oven when I was five, I was a big baker--mostly because I wanted to eat the stuff. I still love to bake but don't do it very often, for obvious reasons. I don't want to deal with the siren call of warm home-baked cookies, tempting me to have Just. One. More. Baking, as you've found, is NOT a Former Fat Girl-approved hobby. Running, though, is. But the funny thing about exercise is that it often fools us into thinking we can eat more--the more we exercise, the more we tend to eat, perhaps because we feel like we deserve a reward. There's actual research to back this up, which led a Time magazine writer to pen a recent column arguing that exercise does not make you thinner. I have to disagree, because it is one of the key things that worked for me. But it MUST be paired with healthy eating habits. Because we know there's the tendency to eat to compensate for exercise (and therefore cancel out any weight-loss benefits), it's important to, as you say, watch your calories like a hawk. I would go even further and suggest you keep a brutally honest food diary, where you write down EVERY MORSEL you put in your mouth (yes, even a swipe of cookie dough). Get an honest assessment of your intake, and you may see why you're not reaping the benefits of running. You should see some results from your increase in running, and not the ones you're describing. Running may build up the muscles in your legs, but as long as you aren't continuing to put on body fat due to dietary indiscretions, I can't see any reason why it should make your hips and bottom larger.
Lisa D
posted by Lisa Delaney at
8:14 AM
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