But It’s Only Ten Pounds!

Some years ago, I bought a Smart Vest.  At the time, my (now ex-) trainer, Jerry, had me doing a lot of plyometrics and the thing came in handy for adding weight.  It was kinda expensive, but worth it: it fits just like a wetsuit, so not only does it leave my hands free, the added weight moves precisely with my body.  Nor is it particularly bulky, as the 1 lb. weights are quite thin and flat, and fit snugly into velcro pockets evenly distributed around the back and sides.  It’s an extremely well-made garment – durable, washable, and not the least bit constricting.

I haven’t done any plyometrics in a while, so the vest has been in hibernation.  I pulled it out last week, though, as it occurred to me that it was perfect for doing weighted chin-/pull-ups and push-ups.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I sit on my derriere a lot these days, so I use my door gym on and off throughout the day.  Ditto push-ups, which I do using a set of push up bars to increase the range of motion.  I thought it would be good to add some weight to both (vs. adding reps), so I pulled out the vest and added a single plate to each pocket.  The vest is designed to carry 20 pounds, but I figured it would be best to start with 10.

The first couple of days, I wore it only to do the pull-/push-ups.  Then, I decided I’d wear it to take Jake for a walk.  Finally, I decided to simply wear it, as I figured packing an extra 10 pounds around with me while doing chores, etc. would add a bit to the calorie burn.  I’m not on a diet, but I’m sensitive to all the sitting I have to do…and a few extra cals burned here and there can add up.  Fortunately, the vest is quite comfortable.  IMHO, it doesn’t look (too) dorky either: I’m wearing all 10 pounds in the picture, and so far, no one’s doing double takes in the grocery store or gas station.

The interesting thing is how easily I adapted to packing the extra pounds around.  Initially, I felt heavier and a bit clunkier – but I don’t really notice it now…it feels pretty natural.  I do notice it, however, when I do my push-/pull-ups.  Before, I could knock out an easy set of 20 push-ups on the bars – now I can do only 15 before feeling some arm strain.  I can’t manage more than 4 pull ups either.  This is the reason I got the vest out to begin with, of course: I’ll work back up to the level I was at before adding the weight.  Ultimately, it’s going to help me get a little stronger.  But - at this point – it’s striking to see how increasing my weight by a mere 8 percent has cut my performance.

I also notice how I feel when I take the vest off.  It’s relatively easy to ignore while it’s on my body, but taking it off is a different story.  I feel oddly light.  Even the act of taking it off feels significant – as I drape it over the bed or chair, I can’t help but think: “damn, that’s heavy.”

Ten pounds is a lot of weight when it’s dangling from a vest in your hand.  Yet it doesn’t feel like a lot of weight when it’s distributed around your body.  Worse, it doesn’t look like it either – even when it really is part of your body in the form of surplus fat.  It’s an amount that feels “do-able” – just bite the bullet and use one of those “lose 10 pounds in 10 days” crash diets, and you’re home free.   It’s not quite as fast as slipping a weight vest off, but it still gets the job done in a hurry, and the results are just as good as if you did it at a sensible – but plodding – rate of 1 – 2 pounds/week, right?

WRONG.

Most of the weight lost in a crash diet will be water.  Sure, you’ll lose 2 – 3 pounds of fat too, but the rest is likely to be muscle…precious muscle that you really can’t afford to lose.  This sort of weight loss is an illusion: after your first “splurge” at Olive Garden or Cheesecake Factory, your glycogen stores will refill and the water weight will return. And as you slide back into your normal eating habits, the lost fat won’t be far behind…along with a few more pounds in the bargain.  The muscle, however, is likely to stay gone, in the absence of a strength training program to serve as a stimulus. 

This sort of “dieting” typically leaves you in worse shape than you were before.

Thus, even if you have “only” 10 pounds to lose, you should take it off the slow and steady route – using the kind of lifestyle modifications you’ll ultimately need to keep it off.   Short of being able to unzip the surplus weight and drape it over a chair like I can, it’s really the only solution.