the beauty of this website is that were talking to people who understand...just as i cant understand an addiction to alcohol or smoking, there are people who thing were just lazy...thats why its so important to stay in touch on bad days as well as good days...sometimes , not always, we can talk each other off of the ledge...have a great day everyone
the beauty of this website is that were talking to people who understand...just as i cant understand an addiction to alcohol or smoking, there are people who thing were just lazy...thats why its so important to stay in touch on bad days as well as good days...sometimes , not always, we can talk each other off of the ledge...have a great day everyone
"What do normal-weight people do" is a great mantra if it works for you!
I guess i just haven't spend a lot of time thinking about what normal weight people do, because biochemically, I won't ever be one. Post weight-loss, you will always be able to distinguish me from someone who was never obese with a simple blood test...we are biochemically different in our hunger hormones like insulin and leptin (sad but true). I'm never going to be the same as a person who was never fat...I'll always be what researchers lovingly refer to as "weight reduced obese" or just "reduced obese". So i tend to worry more about what other maintainers do, and even beyond that, what I know works for ME, rather than what people who've never been obese do.
But YMMV. For me, some emotional eating is invariably going to be a part of my life, so I make a point to develop strategies to keep that eating in line with my calorie plan, and to keep it with healthy foods, and that has worked for me just as well as trying to prevent myself altogether from doing something that is common among both overweight and normal weight people.
While the jury is still out with respect to definitive "proof" of the above, I firmly believe that the MIND is the most powerful organ in the body. If you can conquer your mindset, your old ways of thinking, and if you challenge yourself to believe and act in new ways REGARDLESS of what you believe your limitations are, you'd be AMAZED at what you can achieve.
And whether or not there is proof of THAT is to me immaterial -- I think we all choose our realities in many senses, and I prefer to believe that I can LIVE the dream rather than feel "doomed" (so to speak) to a life of obesity.
If I wanna BE it, I gotta LIVE it, and if I wanna LIVE it, I gotta BELIEVE it, and if I wanna BELIEVE it, I gotta THINK it. It all starts (and ends) with the mind...if I truly think that biology is forever and unchangeably against me, then what's the point? I choose to believe otherwise.
If I wanna BE it, I gotta LIVE it, and if I wanna LIVE it, I gotta BELIEVE it, and if I wanna BELIEVE it, I gotta THINK it. It all starts (and ends) with the mind...if I truly think that biology is forever and unchangeably against me, then what's the point? I choose to believe otherwise.
Right on! I believe that too - no one said that weight loss was impossible! Just said that, biochemically, reduced-obese people maintain weight on fewer calories than never-obese people of the same weight. Doesn't mean it's impossible - just means that we'll never be just the same as people who were never obese.
But that's no reason or justification not to lose weight, because we CAN do that and we HAVE and ARE, right?
.if I truly think that biology is forever and unchangeably against me, then what's the point? I choose to believe otherwise.
Kira
Oh I believe it all right. I'm not and will never ever be like a person who's always been a "normal" weight. And therefore I can never, ever think like one. One off meal, one and I tack on numerous pounds. My body is waiting for me to get fat again - but it can wait all it wants. So though I may not be able to change the facts, that I am a "reduced obese", there most certainly IS a point. I just have to think harder and work HARDER then biology and those who have always been a "normal" weight.
Mantras are great and I use them all the time. I find self talk vital to keeping the weight off (helped as I was getting it off too). And we all have different ones. I have many in fact for use at different times and they change from time to time. We've all got to use ones that ring true to each of us.
we are biochemically different in our hunger hormones like insulin and leptin (sad but true). I'm never going to be the same as a person who was never fat...I'll always be what researchers lovingly refer to as "weight reduced obese" or just "reduced obese".
Sorry I know I'm going a little off-point but I've tried to google to find out what the deal is with obesity and insulin and leptin. Well obviously i know obesity is linked to type-2 diabetes and that is insulin-resistance but what's the deal with leptin? Do all obese people have issues with this twosome? I had my annual physical with blood work done 2 months ago and nobody mentioned wonky insulin or leptin levels, I was told the usual "you're fine, but you won't be fine forever if you don't lose weight." Should I be concerned? Is the reduced-obese thing true even when you've maintained a healthy BMI for a while? Again sorry this is off-topic but this is the first I'm hearing of all this.
The reduced obese thing IS going to be true even if you've been at a healthy weight for a while...but it's not insurmountable. You just have to work (and with 25 lbs lost, you're DEFINITELY working ...
Thanks that's exactly what I was looking for. Very informative! And thanks for the encouragement also! :P There's so much inspiration on here! You're where I want to be by summer next year!
I think it's unlikely you had a leptin level done. It's not a diagnostic criteria for anything, nor a determinant of therapy.
And it most likely wouldn't have changed that drastically at this point.
Toasted, I don't want that article to scare you. I read it quite some time ago and my mouth kinda hung open. It WAS a little scary. But knowing what we're up against is useful. Knowledge is power.
Come hang check out the Maintainer's Forum and you'll see a bunch of us "beating the odds". It's never too early to think about maintaining.
Losing weight and keeping it off - long term - is doable and it really helps, not hinders to know what I'm up against.
That's why for me, it's crucial to "think outside the box". And why 3FC is sooo important.
And why developing skills like you're doing right now (& did last night) is vital.
I look forward to seeing you over at the Maintainer's Forum!
ok good to know. My inner semi-hypochondriac had rared its ugly head. The leptin info is really interesting though. Something to keep in mind definitely.
Last edited by toastedsmoke; 08-05-2009 at 06:11 PM.
While the jury is still out with respect to definitive "proof" of the above, I firmly believe that the MIND is the most powerful organ in the body. If you can conquer your mindset, your old ways of thinking, and if you challenge yourself to believe and act in new ways REGARDLESS of what you believe your limitations are, you'd be AMAZED at what you can achieve.
And whether or not there is proof of THAT is to me immaterial -- I think we all choose our realities in many senses, and I prefer to believe that I can LIVE the dream rather than feel "doomed" (so to speak) to a life of obesity.
If I wanna BE it, I gotta LIVE it, and if I wanna LIVE it, I gotta BELIEVE it, and if I wanna BELIEVE it, I gotta THINK it. It all starts (and ends) with the mind...if I truly think that biology is forever and unchangeably against me, then what's the point? I choose to believe otherwise.
I haven't chimed in on this thread before because I was really interested in what everyone else had to say. I have to admit that when I saw the subject line my first instinct was to say, "**** no!" But that's me, and I have a bad history with emotional eating. So I thought about it for a few days, and here's what I've come up with:
It depends on the person. No, really.
If the question was, "Is it ever okay to drink because you're upset?" my answer would be "sure!" And I know that there are others who would say, "**** no!" But it's fine for me, because I don't have a drinking problem, I don't drink very often, and so it's perfectly reasonable to me to have a drink or two to unwind at the end of a difficult day. It's not a habit of mine - I do it maybe a couple of times a year - and it doesn't present a problem for me emotionally, physically, calorie-wise, or in any other way.
So, on the subject of emotional eating: Will it cause you problems if you do it? (Problems of any kind - emotional, physical, caloric, etc.) Will it leave you feeling better or worse afterwards? Is it something that you feel the need to do all the time? Are you afraid it will become a negative pattern for you? Once you answer those questions, you can answer the question of, "Is it ever okay?"
I'm really glad you brought this up, because it gave me a chance to think this through and also to remind myself that just because something is wrong for me doesn't me it's wrong for everyone.
the beauty of this website is that were talking to people who understand...just as i cant understand an addiction to alcohol or smoking, there are people who thing were just lazy...thats why its so important to stay in touch on bad days as well as good days...sometimes , not always, we can talk each other off of the ledge...have a great day everyone
