The Strange Way My Biggest Fear Made Me Lose Weight

June 20, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

My weight’s fluctuated a little since school started.

There are some ups. There are some downs. I’m constantly finding new ways to sabotage and save myself. I mean, don’t get me wrong; lucky for me, my idea of “fat” is still the average American’s idea of anorexic (hashtag: vegan privilege). Even so, when I’m carrying around a little extra flesh, it’s not a great feeling. But I figured that, with summer break coming up, I’d shed it eventually. With a little extra time and energy, I reasoned I’d have more oomph to put into MMA training, where all fat goes to die. (All while swilling fewer sugary mochas…) But then something funny happened. It all just kinda came off this past week. All on its own.

Seemingly.

(“Dude… Where’d it all go?”)

And, as I came back from my run today, I tried to figure it out. What could be making me drop weight like I had a tapeworm? Then I realized something. Last week, I kept hearing reports of bears in the area. (IKR. You have no idea where I’m going with this. But “bear” with me…) Simply put, bears terrify me. (Anyone here seen “Backcountry”?) After seeing posts on Facebook from my own neighbors about sightings of these man eating monsters in proximity to me, I didn’t know what to do. I love trail running. But I didn’t wanna get eaten by Baloo. So, like any dedicated nature-phile, I went to the store, got a small fitted back pack, bought some bear spray to pop in there, and made my way back to the trail with (a minuscule slice of) peace of mind.

So, what’s this got to do with weight loss?

Did a bear jump out, yell “Hazza!”, and eat one of my legs anyway? Deleting an easy fifty pounds on the spot?

No. (Knock on the wood of every effing tree I pass on my daily trail.) Furry evil hasn’t captured me. Yet. But my abject terror of it has indirectly led to my weight loss. How? Well, when I came home from today’s run, I decided to run a little experiment. I stepped on the scale, still decked out in my sweaty running duds. Including my backpack of (what I thought was) negligible weight. Granted, I expected it to read a few pounds more than my usual pre-shower weight. That’s typical. But, alas… it was a whopping seven extra. Take away one or two for the shoes and sweaty threads I’ve always worn, and we’ve got a five pound backpack I’ve been jogging around with. Now, you may recall an article on here about what weighted vests can do for you. But, if you don’t, here’s the rundown: Five pounds doesn’t sound like much. But think of every calorie burning estimate chart you’ve ever read. Who burns more – you… or the chick next to you who’s five pounds porkier? She does. (Lucky bish.) The more you weigh, the more you burn. But, what if you could burn as much as her without being as big? Really, it’s the same logic as those weighted vests you pay too much money for at your local Dick’s.

Per Livestrong:

“During a six-week study conducted by Texas Tech University, it was found that participants who wore a weighted vest at 10 to 12 percent of their body weight could jump higher and run faster, so your overall fitness improves while burning extra calories.”

It’s true. Think about it. If your muscles are stronger and larger, you’re able to churn out more’ve that ingested energy, meaning you ultimately lose weight. Essentially, your body’s more efficient at burning calories. So, just how many calories are we talking? Well, while the actual amount lost varies per person (obviously – considering we all weigh different amounts), test subjects who wear a weighted vest as light at 4 pounds still burn up to fifteen more calories simply walking up steps (compared to those going sans any extra weight). So, imagine what five pounds has been doing for someone like me, who’s been jogging (versus stepping) for half an hour or more – over hilly terrain, no less.

(Spoiler alert: the answer’s weight loss… within *less* than a week)

So, whether you’re afraid of bears or just the bear that is weight loss, next run, try adding some weight.

And you’ll lose even more in the long run.