Lots of my reading has shown that "balanced" is a myth. Primitive people didn't have a balanced diet. If a balanced diet includes grains and sugars, count me out!
Great little summary John! And so true - the unfortunate truth is that most of us who get morbidly obese have varying degrees of insulin resistance contributing to that. And even with weight lost, managing insulin resistance through lifestyle choices is often a necessary part of maintenance. That tends to mean restricting energy intake and awareness of the effects of various fuels on our bodies, which is not what many dieters are aware of or willing to do.
People with normal bodies and no hormonal dysfunction are going to benefit from a moderate or even high starch/sugar diet, when it comes to how they feel and respond. But again, for those of us who ended up with morbid obesity, the energy disregulation that takes a body there almost always necessitates eating in a way contrary to conventional wisdom if we want to manage our symptoms effectively.
That's not the case with everyone, but a fair generalizing for a good chunk of the obese and formerly obese population, myself included
And if 3.5 is your TSH level, you might want to find a new endo. I would be in bed asleep with a TSH that high. The ranges changed and anything above 3 is hypothyroid. I could not lose a pound until I went on a combo of Armour and Synthroid.
It was 3.5 with my GP and he was OK with that. That's why I went to an endo. She saw it and said it needed to be lower. Thus, 2 months ago I was put on a higher dose. In about 3 weeks I get my levels checked again. nearly 2 years ago the number was 53 or something like that!
If one is insulin resistant adding carbs will not help it will do the opposite.
Insulin sensative people will typically burn more calories with carbs.
Why is the big question and the reason is the output side of the equation is affected.
If you're insulin resistant and you eat carbs you'll be tired and NEAT and SPA will be decreased. The opposite is also true.
Calories always matter but how many calories one burns can be affected by the macronutrients they ingest.
I'm tired and not following this well, but I have tendencies to be insulin resistant. WIth eating fewer carbs, my blood levels are now fine - fasting is 80 and my A1c (Is that the name of it? The long term look at sugar on red blood cells) was 5.2 or something like that the last two times - which is also fine.
I have NO idea if my sky high numbers before were due to thyroid issues or due to my eating and weight. All I know is that I feel MUCH better if I keep net carbs under 100. Around 80 is best. Though, fruit sugars don't do to me NEARLY what other sugars do. I don't start craving sugars from fruit sugars. Maybe I would if I drank juice, but I don't.
So, to feel better and to make eating lower calorie easier, I just limit the carbs. No pasta, no rice, no sweet potatoes, no bread, no candies/cakes, etc. For some reason potatoes don't raise my blood sugars (tested this when I had gestational diabetes and when I was battling sugar issues 20 months ago). So, I will eat a potato here and there. But that's it. I eat a TON of vegetables - especially green vegetables. I love all vegetables. And I eat nuts and then some dairy and meat proteins and fats and fruit - like an apple every day and sometimes some blueberries, peach or the like blended up with some yogurt.
How is it that I weigh less and have the same BMR?
Also, as you get older your metabolism slows down ontop of it all.
Somethings wrong here
Do you mean BMI (Body Mass Index)? Weight and height are used to determine BMI.
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the amount of energy your vital organs and chemical processes expend while you are at rest. While there are BMR averages that are probably loosely correlated with weight, it's not a perfect correlation, because there are so many variables that go into determining BMI, including activity level, genetics, health issues, stress, and probably a thousand others.
If weight were the main determiner of BMR then we all would know our BMR, we'd just be able to look it up on a chart (like we can for BMR), but metabolism doesn't work that way. If you measured the BMRs of 200 people of the same weight, they would not all have the same BMRs. Even if they were also of the same age and similar lifestyles. BMR is dependent upon a lot more variables than BMI (which is dependent upon only two, height and weight).
People with normal bodies and no hormonal dysfunction are going to benefit from a moderate or even high starch/sugar diet, when it comes to how they feel and respond. But again, for those of us who ended up with morbid obesity, the energy disregulation that takes a body there almost always necessitates eating in a way contrary to conventional wisdom if we want to manage our symptoms effectively.
I totally agree with this. Most women I know with thyroid issues gain weight with too many starchy carbs. Our bodies actually start to look doughy.
The only way I can be lean is to cut out starches and sugars. Period.
It was 3.5 with my GP and he was OK with that. That's why I went to an endo. She saw it and said it needed to be lower. Thus, 2 months ago I was put on a higher dose. In about 3 weeks I get my levels checked again. nearly 2 years ago the number was 53 or something like that!
My endo doensn't even pay much attention to TSH - it is the free T3 and the free T4 that determine my dose.
On just Synthroid, I kept gaining weight, my face looked all puffy and fat, and I had all of the hypo symptoms. I added a bit of synthetic T3 (Cytomel) and it helped a bit but not too much. My dose of Synthroid kept going higher and higher and I still had hypo symptoms. I then started Armour Thyroid and over the course of 4 months, started to get "me" and my body back. Armour is not for everyone, but my body needed the T3 it contains.
Very interesting thread. I love my internist, and one of the reasons is that at my last check up she told me that some people are just able to keep the weight off easily "due to genetics", and some gain weight easily "due to genetics". It is much less frustrating knowing that yes, some of us have to work harder than others to keep the weight off is acknowledged. It is not just "will power".
We just can't give up, and need to keep on plugging away. What works for some, might not work for us.
It totally is genetics. My husband is from a long line of skinny people. People who had to try to PUT on weight for parts of their lives. During vacation, he didn't gain an ounce. I gained a ton. I come from a long line of tubby people!
It totally is genetics. My husband is from a long line of skinny people. People who had to try to PUT on weight for parts of their lives. During vacation, he didn't gain an ounce. I gained a ton. I come from a long line of tubby people!
Me too! Some is genetics and some is learned behaviors, but my family is just on the short and plump side, and my husband's family all run long and lean. He is the most heavy member at just a little flabby. Oy >_<
I can honestly say that for me, macronutrients make NO difference in how much I lose/gain, how full I feel, or my general well-being. I would love to be able to say, "by eating an egg with my toast I feel SO much fuller," but it seems to make no difference. Occasionally I have a day in which I eat about 80% carbs, and I feel no more hungry than if the same calories were allotted to different macronutrients. Same deal if I have a very high protein day -- I feel no more sated than any other day.
I can honestly say that for me, macronutrients make NO difference in how much I lose/gain, how full I feel, or my general well-being. I would love to be able to say, "by eating an egg with my toast I feel SO much fuller," but it seems to make no difference. Occasionally I have a day in which I eat about 80% carbs, and I feel no more hungry than if the same calories were allotted to different macronutrients. Same deal if I have a very high protein day -- I feel no more sated than any other day.
F.
You're super lucky, then!
I wish I didn't have to think about macros or percentages in my diet. When I initially started losing weight, restricting calories was enough. But halfway through, I had to start thinking about it. And now, I really do have to watch it.
I read something Kaplods said once, I may be mis-remembering it, that she said that she was okay having to look at macros, because it forced her to pick her food more wisely.
I've been thinking about that comment for a while now, because I'm beginning to accept the fact that I do have IR/PCOS and that I do, in fact, have to watch what I eat. But that has made me make better choices about food.
A few years ago, I might have been happy to eat three Snickers bars (I don't like them, but it's an example!) and call it a day. If calories were just calories for me, I could have done that and lost weight. But they aren't, so I'm forced to eat vegetables and lean proteins, and nuts, and fruits, and honestly, I think that's much better for me, not just in terms of weight loss, but also in nutrition.
So, I'm now grateful I do have to watch the macros. Even if my IR drives me nuts.
Me too! Some is genetics and some is learned behaviors, but my family is just on the short and plump side, and my husband's family all run long and lean. He is the most heavy member at just a little flabby. Oy >_<
Sometimes I wonder if it's learned behavior or if it's how eating makes us feel and our hunger pangs. Like, how can you explain identical twins adopted by two different families and they are both overweight to about the same degree, but their adoptive parents are thin and fit?
I look at my husband and he eats when he's hungry. He prefers good stuff over bad stuff. He can say no to things. Is that learned? or is there some other stuff going on there? I'll never know. All I know is I WISH I could eat like him!
Even if my IR drives me nuts.
