You'd be amazed at how complicated people make it.

I'm a PCP and I hear the excuses every single day.

But then one of my success stories comes in and makes my whole day. Literally.

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Come crawling faster

I counsel people that your body is like a bank account that you always want to be in the negative-more out than in. At 900 calories you are considered fasting, if you did this much longer your body would go into starvation mode and you would gain weight. Also, for wt. loss the calorie thing is true, but for health you need to eat a variety of foods. If you ate all your calories from one source you would be missing nutrients. I have my Masters in Dietetics and I joke with people that after all the time, money, and studying it all really comes back to what I learned in 4th grade-eat a variety of foods daily!

Can you explain why anorexics are skinny. If the whole starvation mode thing is true, then shouldn't they be overweight? (obviously I'm being a bit facetious there, but I've never completely understood "starvation mode").

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I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way

I can answer that one - will get to it later :P

short answer is it takes awhile for the metabolism slowing down to happen, also it doesn't happen to everyone (I've never had metabolism issues, I'm a hummingbird)

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

My guess, for what it's worth, is that starvation mode + coming out of starvation mode and eating normal/more than normal amounts=heavier weight/fat gain, but that consistent starvation mode - even if your metabolism slows down, the slow down would not necessarily be enough to counter the lack of food coming in.

I have a friend who has been trying to lose weight and another friend keeps trying to tell her what she can and cannot eat - I always say, 'look, it really is calories in, calories out' - what she eats doesn't matter, though of course if she reaches her daily allotment of calories through junk, than she's not going to be the healthiest person.

Your metabolism slows down when you go under a certain amount of calories. With anorexics they go beyond this and they restrict their calories so much that their body starts to "eat itself". Their body uses their muscles/lean body mass to fuel their basic metabolic functions. They waste away. That is also why their fingernails won't grow and their hair falls out. Since they lose lean body mass they severely decrease their basal metabolic rate so that if they start to eat a "normal" amount of calories they gain weight.

Yes, but you are over-simplfying it. Fuel is fuel but it does matter what you eat. The nutritional aspects have been discussed but not the satiation side.

Personally, I've found that if I eat the same number of calories with a higher percentage of carbs vs lower percentage I lose weight easier on the lower percentage. When I'm being really anal I don't go over 50% carbs regardless of my training load, just when I consume those carbs changes. If I go over that, the weight doesn't want to come off. Took me years to figure that out. I was working with a nutritionist on and off for several years and she kept telling me I needed 65% carbs because of my training load and it just wasn't coming off. Took a complete reworking of my diet to get it right.

Fundamentally it is calories in vs calories out but for me, I can eat more calories if I have a lower % of carbs.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

How starvation mode works.....you're body adapts yo. If you consistently eat 900 calories a day, your body eventually will say "Oh, you're only gonna get 900 calories a day? Fine, I'll learn to get what I need done with just that amount of fuel". You lose say 10lbs but eventually the weight stops coming off so fast (unless, as it's been said, you're starving yourself) and plateaus (just like your training does). Now when you decide you're happy with the lost weight, you increase your calories to say 1200 a day. But your body has learned to operate on 900, so now 1200 is too many and you gain weight. And 1200 is pretty puny! This is why dramatic calorie restriction is detrimental to permanent weightloss goals. And I don't know about you but I like for hard work and depravation to leave me with something that's going to stick.
Besides, most of the weight you're going to lose by restricting calories too much is not fat, but muscle. And muscle is what keeps your basal metabolic rate stoked- it's heavier, yes, but so much better than the jiggly stuff. Keeping your muscle is where macronutrient ratios come into play, and if you're just starting a weightloss program that's putting the cart before the horse. If your primary concern is weightloss, then yes focus on portion control (aka calorie restriction). As you add in activity and as you start to consider body fat percent and lean body mass, then tamper with your macronutrient intake.
One of the tricks I used when I was body building was zig zaging the calories. A few low calorie days and a higher calorie day. The body doesn't adapt to a set level of caloric intake, just like the premise of muscle confusion helps you avoid training plateaus. And hey, I'm a woman and got down to 11% body fat so it is effective, especially when you're already eating clean.

well, I will post and let you know how it works out.....I was 178.2lbs on Monday morning....I was 172.2 lbs this morning and right at goal weight after 3 days of restricted calorie...

and you want to know what I ate each day?....well if you can handle the truth, here you go.....

1 piece of peanut butter toast....16 oz of Starbucks coffee.....and a Medium McDonalds Strawberry shake.....for 3 days straight......

yep, thats the truth.......

and I am betting that after today and tommorrow on restricted calories when I return to a more normal calories day I will not gain.....I predict I will be at 172/173 lbs which is good for me......

fyi, I had a complete physical not long ago and every number of every test looked good....

and there you are....

All you did was lose a few pounds of water. Now in your dehydrated state your body won't be absorbng nearly as many water soluble nutrients but by the looks of things you don't really care about nutrition, just water loss. Glad you are happy with your results, your body however hates you for it and will revolt in time with reduced bone density and fatigue wit enventual weight gain if you go back to sensible eating, which I hope you do soon.

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Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach

I have been really hungry. (yeah, you might have to feel hungry to lose weight)

This is what I'm trying to embrace. Hunger. I have a fear of being hungry. I'm working on not reaching for a snack every time I'm hungry or "think" that I'm hungry. Which is another issue; identifying when I'm really hungry, not just bored, in a social situation with food around etc. I really, really need to drop about 8 pounds and keep telling myself that it's not going to come off if I keep consuming my "typical" diet. I eat quite healthfully, I just need to cut about 200-300 calories out per day.

you dont really have to be hungry to lose weight.

I am down 10 pounds from where i raced the last 3 seasons, and did it through increased training load, and eating more filling/less calorie dense foods, more veggies, fruit, etc.

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Link to my photography
http://davidsavoiephotography.blogspot.com/
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171.8 lbs this morning and feeling good.....one more day and I reassess.....

I'm curious: why do you feel it's necessary to lose the weight so quickly? Why not just reduce your calories to, say, 1800 a day and lose the weight a bit slower?

+1

And what happens when you go back to a regular diet?

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Come crawling faster

good question:

I just like to "get it over with" "hit it hard" and then add back the calories thoughtfully.....

I find its easier to lose it quickly with a more concentrated effort than drag it out over a month....

This is problably the 5th time I have done this in the last 30 years and I can typically lose 8-10 lbs and then moderate and keep the weight off....usually, over the next 3 years I will SLOWLY creep up 5-8lbs or so and then I go at it again....I was 175lbs in High School 34 years ago and was 165lbs during college...so this hit it hard, loose it, and moderate method has been successful in a long term way for me...

I never let myself gain weight quickly in a short amount of time....I control it so I dont allow that to happen...but it does creep up....as a 51 year old my metabolism is not what it used to be....so I tell people: either exercise more or eat less as you get older or you will gain weight....

and one more thing....I find that when I do this I "shrink" my stomach....in other words It takes less food to make me fill full after I diet like this...so its easier to eat a reasonable amount of calories/day as I add calories back....

That is a very real thing. My experience with nutrition, diet, weight loss/gain is all from eating disorders but one of the things that happens in anorexia is the stomach truly does shrink - makes sense that the same would happen with any food restriction (which is what you're doing).

Be healthy. Healthy athletes are faster athletes (this is my new phrase at least! a healthier Alyie is a faster Alyie!)

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

"Calories are all that matter when trying to lose weight"

A calorie is a measure of energy. We could measure it in joules, or grams of carbohydrate, etc etc. The measure of calories is derived from 4 calories per g of protein or CHO or 9 calories per g of alcohol or fat.

It's not so much "calories are all that matter" but "energy is all that matters." Thermodynamics. If you eat less energy than the metabolic reactions in your body need then they will get that energy from places it's stored (ie, fat, or they can create it by breaking down muscle). However, if you undereat too much, all the little metabolic reactions slow. Do it for awhile and the body stops its "unneccessary" functions like keeping your hair shiny, growing nails (these both require protein and the body is synthesizing glucose from protein, rather than using it for 'frivolous' things) --- this is part of that starvation mode/metabolism depression. I think "metabolism depression" is a better way to think of it because it more accurately signifies what happens - your body burns less energy at rest than it would normally, because it is literally not getting the energy to burn.

D! asked "so why are anorexics skinny" --- you can lose a fair amount of weight before that metabolism depression starts. Also, a lot of the weight loss in anorexia is literally organ tissue - they deteriorate, the body sucks protein out of them; and muscle. The best way to think of it maybe is if you don't eat enough your body still needs energy to do stuff so metabolism may slow but the body is still pretty much consuming itself.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Actually... 1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories... not 9.

Right you are. Thank you for the correction.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Just trying to soften the blow a little... wouldn't want anyone to feel like they have to stop drinking alcohol ;)

Bingo. My thyroid up and left the building a few years ago and my weight went up about 25lbs from where it had been. I simply could not lose any weight until my thyroid levels stabilized by way of daily meds. Simply put, my body could not metabolize nearly enough to keep my engine running. My nails pretty much stopped growing, my hair was a disaster (well, I also have no sense of style haha), and I couldn't walk around the block without virtually collapsing from fatigue. It didn't matter how much or little I ate, or what foods I ate. Now that the levels are stabilized, I have lost 15lbs in the last 3 months by reducing my portion sizes by maybe 25% and upping the aerobic exercise.

You can f*ck with your metabolism via yo-yo dieting. But everyone also has their balance point - between daily caloric intake and composition of that intake. It can take time to find it. For me, it is slightly less food, and definitely less fats (even the healthy fats that I used to swear by - my stomach hates them now - they take forever to process). For others it will be less carbs and more protein.

AP

PS: Thank god alcohol is only 7cal/g ;-)

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS