I just go on personal experience for this one. Someone can tell me over and over that if I up my exercise to X calories and down my calories to Y calories, I'll lose Z amount of weight. And every time, I stop losing weight. Every. Time.
So I think this is a personal journey. I think that there are people who, lucky for them, are fairly linear with respect to weight loss and that the more they exercise, the faster they lose. And my PERSONAL experience shows that the more I exercise, the SLOWER I lose the weight if I keep my calories the same. Now, of course, over time I'll lose weight, for sure. I won't stay at 175lbs indefinitely, for sure.
Let me put it this way:
My last bout with WW was in 1998. I started at 212 lbs. I stuck religiously to my points. I ate some of my Flex points. My exercise schedule was minimal to start with, and I lost quickly -- 2 - 2.5 lbs per week was pretty normal at that time and 3 lb weeks weren't unusual, either. At 180 lbs, I started to run. My weight loss SLOWED. At the end of this particular period in my life (I moved), I was eating:
24 WW points a day plus some Flex points.
My exercise:
I walked 5km to work (or biked in the summer) EVERY work day (I didn't have a car).
I RAN between 5 and 8 km EVERY DAY (5km slow, 5 km fartlek, 8 km, 5 km fast, 5 km slow)
I walked 5km home (or biked in the summer).
I then did a 1 hour aquafit class in the evening at the local Y (walked there, 2km, and back 2km as well).
On Saturdays, I did a LONG run (12-15 km).
On ALL of that exercise, I
averaged 1.5 lb loss per week. A HECK of alot of work for this kind of loss. The maths indicate I should have lost 2-3 lbs per week, but I didn't. I actually STOPPED my plan because I was so. DARN. tired. of doing ALL that work for what I saw as little return.
This time around:
30 days, 90 minutes of Bikram Yoga, which apparently burns around 1100 calories a session.
http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/Calories_Burned.asp
I'm eating 24 WW points per day (22 points plus a banana) for a total of around 1300 calories a day.
My BMR is approximately 1500 calories, assuming that I do NOTHING else that day.
http://www.internetfitness.com/calculators/bmr.htm
I should be burning 1300 calories every day (BMR - WW points calories = 200 calories + 1100 Bikram calories = 1300)
1300 calories BURNED over and above BMR and intake x 7 days a week = 9100 calories.
9100 calories / 3500 calories per pound = 2.6 pounds.
With the math, I SHOULD BE LOSING 2.6 LBS PER WEEK.
Total weight loss in June?
1 lb.
Yup, one FREAKING POUND in the past 30 days.
That's a HECK of a lot of activity on not so many calories. I should have dropped 2-3 lbs per week routinely, given the math. So why didn't I???
Just for me, I think there has to be a balance, and to say that bodies don't conserve energy in off hours as a response to high body demands in the day isn't accurate for everyone. And if it WAS linear, there wouldn't BE anyone who could survive for years on 2 apples a day -- they'd have passed away in a linear, predictable way. But they don't...
I'm glad you haven't had any slow-downs, Ms Lori Bell, and that your path works for you.
I don't think you need to defend ANY eating plan if it works for you. And your stats are amazing.
But PLEASE don't discount or invalidate my personal experience. You don't know the frustration of busting your A$$ and seeing nothing happen on the scales, and to have this experience trivialized is, well, disheartening...
And NO, I don't eat diet ANYTHING -- I cook every single meal and avoid processed foods.
JMHO
Kira