Allison - I've tried IF. It didn't help me a bit. I was doing 2-3 days a week super low with a 24 cycle of no food, the other days as normal. Didn't do anything but make me grouchy.
Hi, folks! I've been thinking of joining this thread. The discussion of cortisol and IF finally goosed me into it.
I've gone up and down about 20 lbs several times since I hit my original goal of 129. That just seemed to be my modus operandi. I'm usually stressed but this year is more stressful than most bc DD (only child) is a junior and even thinking about college turns my brain into a puddle of cortisol. I went up more (30 lbs to about 160) and was at my wit's end bc I didn't see how I could add CC restriction into the mix.
I decided to take a KISS approach and not worry so much about the weight loss but try to find something that I could at least use to maintain, then I could focus on loss after the dust cleared. I chose to use an eating window and bulk up my meals with raw veggies as a first course. I was able to reduce my eating window slowly to one meal (6:00-8:30 PM) without adding much stress. Not only have I maintained, but I've lost about 20 lbs! Woot! No counting and I eat as much entree as I want at dinner. The first course is a salad w/evoo or red pepper stirps w/goat cheese or veggie sticks with guac, etc.
I set my new goal higher (139) this time. I just don't care as much about being so thin any more (and at my age, my face benefits from a little fullness).
Anyhoo, Shannon, I tried the ADF form of IF and it was a terrible fit for me, too tough for me on the down days led to too much gorging on the up days. I've found the eating window approach of IF to be very compatible with my stressy existence. Not having to think about food choices most of the day is actually a relief! So, that's something you might consider giving a shot. You can dip your toe in by giving yourself a large window (my original window was 10AM to 10PM!).
(PS: My ticker is from my original high weight. I like to hold onto it as a reminder.)
Probably what I'm doing is experimenting with weight maintenance (which may perhaps turn into loss) by some lifestyle re-engineering. That is, I'm working harder at calling up or meeting friends at least every other day, reading books rather than surfing the Internet, and trying to be out of doors more. I'll let you know how it's working. I have also resolved to take a vacation day every four weeks or so. It helps that my workload has slightly downshifted for a few days. These things, I feel, affect my mental health, which translates into physical health and weight. We'll see if I am on the right track or not. This is not any easier than restrictive dieting or intermittent fasting, BTW, it's just a different tactic.
We've had lunch. This is a "from scratch" household. Mum made lasagne and I prepared enough runner beans to have a good amount. Mum had made trifle for pudding. I used never to have pud here (or anywhere - but this is the main place it appears). Mum and the DB were dishing up in the kitchen and I was alone at the table. I had a drink of water and thought how I'd just keep them company but not have trifle. "None for me, thank you," I called out. "Didn't think you would," came the reply. Win. And my tummy feels much better without pudding inside.
I'm aiming to make enough space to wait for a few minutes and then move on, rather than tear onwards using sugar of some kind. I'm going to use that space to relax a few muscles, breath deeply and possibly shut my eyes.
This afternoon brings a trek (on foot) to find a suitable lampshade for the new lamp. (This lamp means that I'll have a bedside lamp to read by, here at my Mum's. Others have fallen by the wayside over the years. And having a lamp will add a touch more serenity to the bedroom.)
yoyoma
Thanks for bearing with what could be a postathon of mine today. I have to get matters here into order. Challenges aren't going to lessen and I'd like to be in tip-top shape (for me) to handle them. Mum is 89 and her brother is 87.
Enjoying my cottage cheese and pineapple this morning.
I must follow some sort of window for eating. I rarely eat before 7 AM and rarely eat after 7 PM. In fact my normal breakfast is at 8 or 9 AM with dinner at 6 PM. Maybe I should narrow that a bit to see if it helps. A few years ago I did a form of IF that gave me one day a week where I skipped dinner. That, along with being diligent in my calorie counting, helped me lose about 1 pound a week. And it wasn't difficult. It's a lot more difficult now as I have the husband around 24/7. Although I bet he'd be fine with a once a week snack for dinner rather than a whole dinner.
Hang in there Birch! Elderly relatives are a true challenge!!
Welcome Yoyoma! I hear you on the college stressors. My younger dd just finished her sophomore year and it has been stressful on me! Do I understand that you don't eat ANYTHING before 6 pm? Or did I misunderstand your plan??
yoyoma! Glad you've joined us! I've had some luck with a 1-7pm window; I'm not naturally hungry for breakfast. The idea and the studies I've seen on IF seem compelling.
saef, I like your re-engineering a lot. Perhaps it won't move the scale, maybe it will ... but I can't see any downside to it at all. I would at minimum guess you will find a positive mental impact, if not a very large one!
silver, thumbs up on the pastry and trifle victories! I think I would have a very difficult time resisting trifle without a lot of practice.
2 days of exercise down, 98 to convince myself it's a good idea.
We had a fascinating department research seminar the other day on "good stress" versus "bad stress". The good stress is basically the minutes-to-hours long, epinephrine based "fight or flight" response. Their research showed that this stress augments the immune response in a productive way, so that white blood cell trafficking is aimed at sites of potential need. There are a lot of implications - for example, a baby cries and struggles when it gets a vaccination. That's the best thing the baby could do, as it causes the "good stress" response that potentiates his or her vaccine response. Also, patients that mounted the highest stress response to undergoing surgery/anesthesia (their study was on knee surgery) healed faster and had an overall better level of recovery.
The "bad stress" is what you would expect, the cortisol-driven response to chronic stressors that lasts weeks, months, even years. The immune response is altered for the duration of the response in a generally negative way. One of the biggest messages of the talk was that the metric here is "perceived stress". Two people in similar situations can have very different levels of perceived stress, and therefore show very different physiologic responses. We all know this from experience, that some people are able to let things roll off of them and others can't do this at all, but the research showed how your perceived reality affects your blood cell kinetics and function. Really neat stuff.
It made me realize that although I am currently powerless to alter many of my sources of stress, I am completely able to control my response to them. I read an article a while back that said stress is really due to your resistance to a situation, not to the situation itself. Interesting... a bit Zen, I think.
Back home to find the DB making flapjacks. But there's no golden syrup! Have volunteered to go and get some. Will not eat (a) any flapjack or (b) lots of flapjack. Call this premium rate number with your vote NOW.
Drinking cup of hot water w two raspberries in it. A VG drink. Had strawbs yesterday - also good. Lying on my bed before going out again.
Tea will be salade nicoise, with salmon not tuna.
There'll be an evening shift too involving my uncle.
I second the zero flapjacks vote. Actually I'm heading to a meeting right now and I just saw the massive trays of cookies that are headed there too.
So, I'll eat zero cookies if you eat zero flapjacks... deal?
Thank you to those who voted, via internet or just through vibes. I followed the democratic voice and have eaten zero flapjack. Brilliantly, with you behind me I've had no interest in them at all. And there's no pressure here for me to eat them as people have a picture of me as someone who doesn't eat this kind of thing. So I just have to behave according to the model ...
A tiny tea as no-one really wanted much. I had a good amount of protein (hard-boiled egg - forgot they were v fresh so they peeled badly but tasted lovely, spoonful of cottage cheese, spoonful of tinned salmon, lovely fresh lettuce from the market and a few cherry tomatoes).
My uncle was very compos mentis tonight and nothing strange appeared over the horizon. Walked him home and all was well.
11,200 steps today. That's about 4.5 miles.
(Michele, vg means very good.)
You've helped me to look round a corner today. Thank you very very much. Tomorrow will be easier. We leave on Saturday and arrive home on Sunday. I sometimes fall apart on these drives home as I've been so focused when away. I'll give this some thought.
One of the biggest messages of the talk was that the metric here is "perceived stress". Two people in similar situations can have very different levels of perceived stress, and therefore show very different physiologic responses. We all know this from experience, that some people are able to let things roll off of them and others can't do this at all, but the research showed how your perceived reality affects your blood cell kinetics and function. Really neat stuff.
It made me realize that although I am currently powerless to alter many of my sources of stress, I am completely able to control my response to them. I read an article a while back that said stress is really due to your resistance to a situation, not to the situation itself. Interesting... a bit Zen, I think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayEll
As long as someone is doing the same things over and over--working long hours, taking on more than they can handle, running the treadmill of achievement in the eyes of others--they haven't really changed their attitude, and their stress isn't going to be anything else but stress.
From Martha Washington, circa 1779: "I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition."
<sigh> So, the key to weight loss and generally cortisol-free living is to cultivate resilience and equanimity in the face of adversity. Got it. Couldn't have asked for a more difficult challenge for this perfectionistic, type-A person.
It made me realize that although I am currently powerless to alter many of my sources of stress, I am completely able to control my response to them. I read an article a while back that said stress is really due to your resistance to a situation, not to the situation itself. Interesting... a bit Zen, I think.
This research is interesting and your comment above made me think about genetic predisposition to something (fatness, diabetes, skin cancer?) but not encouraging it to develop by one's behaviour (eating too much, not taking exercise, sunbathing too much).
Taking control of the situation so you're not buffetted about by events can, I believe, also include taking the decision to allow some events to go past unchallenged. Observed but unchallenged.
Andrea, I know the expression 'type A personality' but I don't think I properly understand what it means.
A new day has dawned here in the Old World. My plans are to go to the municipal tip with stuff from Mum's (garden weeds which won't compost properly here, old rug etc), calling by at my uncle's in case he feels able to let anything go today. Sports massage at 12 followed by a salad (featuring the lettuce I bought yesterday). An afternoon of financial paperwork plus anything else that appears. No flapjack or lemon sponge cake. No trifle.
When I was here at Easter I did eat one or two slices of lemon sponge cake. Mum won't be here forever and nor will her baking. I felt that was OK. This time I don't feel the same need.
yoyoma 
