If you're one of those people who can reach your goal weight, have no cravings, and experience no months-long stalls in your diet while eating nutritionally-weak or inflammatory foods, that's really awesome!
I guess I must be one of those people. I've lost the same 30 or 40 or 50 pounds many times in my life and it's never required any complex tinkering. If I eat 1,500 calories per day, I lose about a pound a week, regardless of nutrient composition, and I never plateau. I haven't really noticed any differences in energy or satiety with different macronutrient intakes, either. That's why I see no reason to make my eating regimen any more complicated or restrictive than it has to be.
Nothing wrong with that! You're very fortunate to not show insulin resistance or inflammatory symptoms - go with what works for you, then .
Might I ask, though, why you've lost the same pounds multiple times? If you are having trouble sticking to a diet nutrients may bear some investigating. The only way I can easily keep weight off and not have cravings for junk is to eliminate the triggers, but thanks to that I've never had a significant regain, despite starting out as morbidly obese. Regain can be an indicator the diet isn't suitable for you long term, if you aren't sticking to it for life, you know?
Just a thought.
Last edited by Arctic Mama; 06-29-2012 at 05:52 PM.
...IF can also effect women differently than men (in that a woman might stop getting her period depending on how she fasts)
There are a number of women who go Paleo or Primal and find that they stop having their periods. They are confused because sometimes they feel the best they ever have, but are not getting their periods. Even if they're not planning on having children, it's a pretty big problem. While we complain out the wazoo about our cycles, they're pretty important for our health. It could be a combination of different things (too low carb, too little fat, too much soy, etc.), but it's something I rarely see addressed outside of women-specific sites.
This is one of the million issues that all depends on who you ask. Many, if not most doctors now say that there is no medical reason you need to have a period. I have not had one (not on any form of birth control) in over a year and my doctors tell me I am perfectly healthy and aren't concerned. It's simply a by-product of my low body fat percentage.
Of my 46 years, I've been dieting during every year except ten or eleven (the first five years of my life, and the period after finding Fat Acceptance movement from about 1995 to about 2000).
Whenever I dieted, I was also was able to lose weight without low-carb, up to 70 lbs, but this is the first time I've ever KEPT losing for any extent of time (my record was about 18 month once on prescription diet pills, and about 6 months without meds).
I continue to experiment with the quantity and kind of carbs, and how they afffect me, but I've never lost this much or on so long a downward trend.
I've been "at this" and succeeding for seven years (the first years were very slow, because I was so afraid to cut carbs and calories too low), and I still can't believe that I've lost more than 100 lbs and am still looking forward to and believing I can accomplish more.
When I saw in the black and white of my own handrwriting in my food journal that I was much less hungry and better satisfied on 1800 calories of low-carb than on 1500 calories of high carb AND was losing weight faster - I had to really rethink the value of "carbs" to me.
I can lose on high-carb, I just don't lose as consistently, and I don't maintain that loss very well because of the greater hunger that high-carb triggers. I imagine that some people do not have this problem, but if anyone can lose weight, but can't keep it off - experimenting with different carb levels (or at least glycemic index) is at least worth a shot.
I do think that some people are more carb-sensitive than others, but I think low-carb is often dismissed before it is given much of a try - and people tend to abandon low-carb before they consider restricting carbs just a little less. They determine that low-carb is unsustainable because carbs taste too good to avoid, but then don't consider eating fewer carbs, or eatig certain carby foods less often.
Experimenting with different carb levels can help you find the diet you can lose best on, the diet you feel best physically on, the diet you feel best mentally on, and trying to find some compromise position that helps you find a balance between the three.
This is one of the million issues that all depends on who you ask. Many, if not most doctors now say that there is no medical reason you need to have a period. I have not had one (not on any form of birth control) in over a year and my doctors tell me I am perfectly healthy and aren't concerned. It's simply a by-product of my low body fat percentage.
My understanding is that they say that there's no medical reason you need to have a period IF you're on hormonal birth control (which ensures that you have enough estrogen in your body). Your docs aren't at all concerned about bone density issues?
Yeah, I'm sorry but that doesn't sound healthy. You should be getting your period if you're not on BC. In a few years I imagine there's going to be a huge backlash to this extreme low carb craze. I have personally never been able to eliminate or heavily restrict an entire food group without feeling deprived, so I don't do it and I lose fine and am healthy. I think it's perfectly healthy to eat carbs.
Yeah, I'm sorry but that doesn't sound healthy. You should be getting your period if you're not on BC. In a few years I imagine there's going to be a huge backlash to this extreme low carb craze. I have personally never been able to eliminate or heavily restrict an entire food group without feeling deprived, so I don't do it and I lose fine and am healthy. I think it's perfectly healthy to eat carbs.
Oh I'm not low-carb... just picked out that one part of her post.
Sumire - Nope, I've had bone density scans done because frankly I was concerned about it but they assure me things look good. If anything I'm actually a bit of a hypochondriac so I'm always getting things checked. I eat a healthy amount of calories (average 1800 per day net) and take all my vitamins like a good girl... so far, no problems.
Might I ask, though, why you've lost the same pounds multiple times?
Simple, really. I love food -- especially gourmet and exotic food. I'm what's known as an adventurous eater. I also have a large capacity for quantity. I don't think there are any hidden biological or psychological reasons for my regains beyond my basic nature.
This time I feel more confident than ever that I won't regain the weight, because I've been much more consistent in getting back on track if I gain a couple pounds and I have a firm red line I won't cross. I'm also exercising consistently for the first time in my life.
But certainly your suggestion is worth thinking about and I'm open to trying different styles of eating. There are just four or five things that I'm not willing to give up (like all-you-can-eat sushi).
F.
Last edited by freelancemomma; 06-29-2012 at 09:24 PM.
Hey, I do a good all-you-can-eat sushi and teppanyaki dinner every four or five months as a date night - white rice is very metabolically neutral, beyond the blood sugar issues it can cause, so if you're going to eat starch that's a great one to consume!
This is one of the million issues that all depends on who you ask. Many, if not most doctors now say that there is no medical reason you need to have a period. I have not had one (not on any form of birth control) in over a year and my doctors tell me I am perfectly healthy and aren't concerned. It's simply a by-product of my low body fat percentage.
I think this is another thing that can be individual. If you've got a clean bill of health then obviously whatever you're doing is working. For others it might be detrimental.
The most I've read is that we don't need to get it every month. THAT is unnecessary but is a product of us living in plentiful times where we all can get the nutrients we need and have the body weight to support a period each month.
I'm suspecting that because I was overweight when I started menstruating that I might fall into the category of women whose bodies got used to the extra fat and now require it to menstruate.
If I didn't want to have kids I might not look into this as much. But the fiance and I want to start a family, so I need to watch out for all of this.
.
