Ditto.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this - are you trying to say that eating right doesn't make *most people* - bundles of energy?

More energy, yes. Bundles, no.

Julie, I don't think you can possibly imagine (thank goodness) just how listless, lethargic and energy-less a person can be at 287 lbs. That would be a 5 foot, female - 287 lb person.

There is no way around it - our journeys were/are very different.

I felt completely energized as well. I ate really bad foods and way too much of it. I was sluggish, depressed, I fell asleep in meetings, in my office in the afternoons. When I changed my life and started eating better, it was a lot like sticking my finger into an electrical socket. It's rarely like that now, I feel like my energy level is "normal" but it was a dynamic few months there where I felt zinging with energy, all the time But, unlike that article, my energy levels have never gone back to the previous low levels, I never suffered "low energy" because of healthy eating - quite the opposite!

Thanks for piping in Glory. I really had a hard time believing I was alone in that feeling.

I was so darn psyched, totally and completely PUMPED about the changes that I was making. I was so excited. That alone gave me increased energy.

But then of course there was the fact that I was giving my body *finally* what it truly, truly needed. I was no longer lying around in a carb stupor. My headaches completely stopped. As did the buzzing in my hands and feet. Oh and that HORRIBLE sleepiness. Like I was drugged or something. Completely, completely DISAPPEARED. And replaced with boundless energy. It was fabulous. Still is.

Having suffered from depression I imagine I can imagine it.

But my point was not to say anything was wrong with you. Just what (I thought) was a good-natured joke, because you just seem to bounce off the walls with energy.

I have never had that much energy, ever. And people have posted that they have lots of energy and feel perfectly healthy despite being morbidly obese. I think it's lots more than how you eat, although how you eat might be the dominant factor for some people.

Julie, I'm glad that my energy comes across in my posts. That makes me happy. I do think it's hard to get things across here on this great big internet.

I can't recall seeing too many, if any posts of that sort. But apparently they exist. But talk about people having different experiences. I can't for the life of me figure out how any one can feel perfectly HEALTHY, while being MORBIDLY obese. That just seems like a total oxymoron *to me*. Heck, I can't even fathom the high energy part. I wonder if after losing the weight, they experience even MORE energy. Now that WOULD BE boundless energy.

I'm one who is full of energy and feelings of health at a morbidly obese weight. There is a definite line over which I start to feel terrible and lethargic. I am just under that line now and feel pretty darned good. It is also tied to how I am eating. Even at this size, if I'm eating well and exercising, I feel great. I have just regained a lot of weight from a previous loss, so it is in my recent experience to know how I felt much lighter. While I felt a little better 50 lbs. lighter than now, it was only a slight difference.

hi festivus,
you and I are the same height, and i don't think i could survive on 1350 calories per day.
i can loose weight on 1600 per day with moderate exercise.
perhaps if you uped your cal allowance, you would be able to stick to a plan easier.
i know from experience that you can easily plan ahead to go out to dinner and still fall withing the 1600 range. most restaraunts have light choices. or you can put together your own meal and ask for alternative substitutions for things like fries.

but this has made me curious,
what are other peoples calorie limits? esp. those who have lost and are maintainers?

p.s. on the subject of 'cheating'--doesn't work for me either, b/c what i crave usually is more related to quantity of food, not just a specific food!!!
for example, and handful of m&m's won't satisfy my craving, but it will intensify it! i think it all depends on your body chemistry.



for clarification: i will still loose weight on 1600 cals with no exercise, it's just that i normal DO exercise of some form.

I agree. I'm not sure how old you are (age can be a factor in metabolism), but I'm a similar height and weight and I lose on 1500 calories a day. Without exercise. Granted, the weight comes off slowly, but it comes off.

I do have days when I eat at maintenance calories, but not every week! Only special occasions (like anniversary, birthday, the occasional wedding.) Those weeks I lose a bit less, but I still lose typically.

I got an audio cassette of the Body for Life book, and the author DOES advocate having a "free" day where you eat anything you want. Apparently nothing is off limits. I remember thinking to myself when I heard that that I would lose all of the benefits I had gained in the previous week if I had a day like that, plus it would be harder to get back on the wagon the next day. It's better just to stick to plan every day, IMHO.

Thanks for the replies! I'm 24 years old, and this is my first formal attempt at losing weight. So I'm really not sure how my metabolism reacts to different amounts of calories. I've since lost a bit more, about 2 pounds, but it seems like I should be losing more.

I know it's very difficult to quickly gain muscle, but my body type has always lent more to the muscular than slender. Although my measurements haven't decreased a lot (1 inch off waist, 1 inch off hips since April), I have a lot of muscle definition in my legs (when flexed you can see individual quad muscles, the v etc) and am gaining a lot more core strength.

I gain weight all over my body, I'm not a pear or apple body shape. So my guess is that I am burning fat all over my body more so that targeted areas, because clothes do fit looser and I look better, but the scale and measuring tape is slow to show progress.

hi festivus,
weight loss in not fast if you are really making changes that you can stick with. 1-2 lbs a week is considered good lasting weight loss when you are loosing wieght healthfully, as opossed to crash dieting, where you drop 10lbs in a week by using extreme measures, then eventually re-gain it when you return to your unhealthy eating habits.

The decision to have a "cheat" day once a week changed my life!! I like to call it "Sod-it Saturday"

By "cheat day" I mean a day where I eat the full 2000 calories that a normal person of a healthy weight eats.

The extra 600 - 800 calories this affords me lets me have a treat such a chocolate or a couple of glasses of wine!!

I also read in a diet publication that mixing things up a little and eating your full allowance one day a week stops the body from going into preservation mode and thus stimulates the metabolism.

It also keeps me sane - we all should have time in our schedules when we can relax a little (the constant monitoring can be a tiring business) and reward our efforts.

The key here is moderation - you can have a cheat day once a week where you can give yourself a treat - you just can't drop your diet mentality completely and eat everything in sight!!

It has worked for me thus far ... 15 pounds down .... 35 to go!!! This Sod-it Saturday, a couple of glasses of wine and a slice of cheesecake will be my poison!