Please tell me I am wrong!
I have now been with the VA’s MOVE program for about 4 months, and I am ready to quit! When I signed up for this, it sounded really good, and the name, MOVE, implies action, but, so far, all I have seen or heard, are discussions on portion size, and hearing questions and answers that are just so absolutely basic, I feel like I have stepped into an elementary school classroom! I am sorry, common sense will tell you, fried chicken is worse than boiled chicken, fresh green beans are better than canned, and steaming them in water, is better than sauteing them in butter, simple stuff, right?
When I signed up, I had some sort of fantasy that the group really wanted to MOVE and get results, that we could go to the gym, even a fitness center, something, but no, the big MOVE event for next month is a walk in the park, literally, well, ok, that is some sort of action, but, unfortunately for me, the ROI is not worth it. What I mean is, I can only walk a very short distance, like maybe 100 yards, before the pain is so intense I have to sit. However, if it is to walk into the gym, then sit on a bench, do an exercise that actually does something besides get your shoes dirty, it would be worth it. Walking or standing are the two things I have to limit, I only can walk so far, total in one day, or I am stuck on the sofa for a day or two! If we were going to the gym, the benefits of that type of exercise, would make up for the pain, I would be getting a Return On my Investment, just walking, all I get is the pain and zero benefit.
I know that most of the folks in my MOVE group are much older than I, but, weight training is good for everyone, walking is about the least valuable of all exercises, if the same amount of effort is applied to weight training, the benefits will far exceed what one gets from a walk, as far as I am concerned, walking is only good for getting from the car to the free weights in the gym. Yes, there is a bit of cardio involved with walking FAST, but your heart gets a workout with weights too.
What is the whole point? Gaining lean weight (muscle), will increase your body’s ability to burn fat, even when you sleep, walking is only good for burning a few calories at that given time, and the muscles used for walking, will get used to that stress very quickly, and unless you start carrying weight, while you walk, you will peek in just a couple of days. If that is all that the MOVE program is about, it is not worth the gas money to get there.
What is the MOVE Program?
Today was my second meeting with the MOVE program, and somehow, I still feel a bit disappointed. The VA offers the MOVE Program to help us overweight Vets to lose weight, the name implies action, but, so far, it is a basic, and I mean very basic nutrition class. The first meeting, we read a story about a 600+ pound woman that lost weight by kicking a ball around her apartment, this meeting we played a “Jeopardy” like game, after our standard weigh in. Yep, that was it. Oh, by the way, I was the “biggest loser” this month, I lost 9lbs.
I never expected much from the program, after all, it is a government thing, but, at the weigh in, and they saw I had lost weight, I broke it down for them as to the fact that I had lost about 16lbs of fat and gained almost 6 lbs of muscle, something that one would think might make someone ask a question or two as to how, and yes, it was mentioned that I was going to the gym, but that was as far as it went, a wasted opportunity in my opinion.
I had told them the month before that I was going to get the software etc to keep track of fat loss, when I told them the numbers, the doctor for our group said something like “oh yeah, you mentioned that before”, why was there not more attention paid to this? From what I can see, as long as you do not gain weight, everybody is happy!
Somehow I feel that the name MOVE implies some sort of action, but, the highlight of the meeting was how many nuts make up a quarter cup? I have to be honest, the nutrition stuff doesn’t mean a hill of crap if you don’t have any exercise. The nutrition councilor even mentioned that briefly, while explaining an answer to one of the questions in the game we were playing. She told us that there was a lady in a wheelchair that started doing leglifts with a small weight and eventually got out of the chair because of it, but that was about it, again, a missed opportunity to actually teach the group or even maybe motivate someone, but no, it was all about somebody ringing a bell or blowing a whistle to answer the next question. The game itself is not where I have issues, it was actually an ok thing, you can find similar ones here, but, the meeting only lasts an hour, and so did the game, and everyone there participated, it was fun, but, was it productive?
I am usually way too critical about everything, and, in this case I am sure of that, but, as I see it, this MOVE Program is a waste of time. Here is the good news, we don’t have another one until April, something to do with Spring Break and somebody’s kids or something, to be honest, I don’t want to go back, but, I will, because somehow, I need to help. Being fat is not fun, being old and fat is even worse. I missed six years of training because I was in pain, and couldn’t breath, now that I have meds for this, and know that my pain is there forever, whether I train or not, I am sticking with it, the gym has been my life since I was a kid, I need to help others, it keeps me motivated. If you read this, and are a member of the MOVE Program, do as I am going to, Take Charge! Make the Move Program be more like the name implies!