Not meeting the caloric needs

by | Jan 21, 2013 | Food Choices, Low carb diet, Weight Loss | 0 comments

This is a copy of the post over at forum.lowcarber.org where I have replied about calories

 

kangaroo said:

Hello everyone! 

I’ve always wondered if eating less calories is that big of a deal. I mean, now that I’m low carbing, some days I’m ok with eating between 800-1000 kcal (and rarely do I exceed 1200/1300 kcal anyway), with no hunger or anything, but everywhere I read says that I’m not meeting my caloric needs and that I’m in ‘starvation’ mode. But if I am, shouldn’t I feel starved??? 

Should I stuff myself anyway to reach the calorie goal, even if I’m perfectly fine with eating less?

 

My response

Yes your body will tell you when it’s hungry. As like most living creatures, we are hard-wired for self preservation. In fact I don’t think you’ll find a single psychologist anywhere who will dispute that. Furthermore if you’re listening to your body and it does seem that you are, then you have no need to count calories, at least not in terms of are you getting enough.

A low carb diet works in a very profound and basic level not in terms of the quantity of food that we eat but much rather in terms of the quality of the food that we eat. Everyday our bodies have a certain requirement for particular nutrients. If the food that we eat is lacking in those nutrients as a high carbohydrate diet would typically be, then we have to eat vast quantities of food in order to get the small percentage of the nutrients that our body craves and then of course it has the perks and job of dealing with all of the other stuffs it didn’t need just to get out what it did need.

Whereas by following a low carb way of eating, the foods that we eat are much more in keeping with exactly what the body needs everyday, meaning that we have to eat a whole lot less in terms on quantity in order to get what we need in terms of quality. All that to say, I wouldn’t worry at all about how many calories you’re consuming everyday and proving your body continues to say, “I’m okay with this” just carry on.

Hope that helps,

Mark

Why can’t I get back on the wagon?

by | Jan 21, 2013 | Books, Fat Loss, Stalls and Plateaux, Weight Loss | 0 comments

Here is another post at forum.lowcarber.org where I have replied to regarding weight loss

 

MishaBelle said:

:: sigh::: I am so frustrated. I’ve been trying for two weeks to get back on the wagon and I just can’t seem to get it together. I’m a veteran low-carber. I’ve lost 30 lbs… twice. I know what to do, but I’m not getting that immediate feedback (e.g., the initial woosh), so I get frustrated, tweak something, or worse, cave and eat something I shouldn’t and I’m back in the same place.

Background: just turned 50, menopausal (no TOM since July) and while my weight hadn’t changed, gravity played a mean trick and everything kinda “fell” and I hate hate hate my shape more than ever.

Help. Seriously… help.

 

My reply:

Hi MishaBelle,

You actually need something bigger than the woosh to help you reach your goal and the thing I think you’ll find most effective is to actually have a good set of reasons why you want to get slim and fit again in the first place. I say again, because you’ve already lost 30 lbs twice as you say, so you know this diet can work for you. It’s more of a question of taking away all the things that sabotage your efforts and reinforcing all the things that will helps you succeed. Simply put, if you can find a powerful enough reason why then it doesn’t matter what life, the lack of feedback or hormones throw at you, you’ll have what you need to carry you through to the place you want to be.

Now whilst hormones may be partly responsible for allowing gravity to have its way, I would also ask you what else has changed over that same time period. Has your routine changed? Have you changed jobs? Have you for any for any other reason become less active? The reason I suggest you look at that is simple, in as much as everything that we are physically is held in place by our muscle structure and if there’s been a change in routine that has caused you to be less active or not to move in the same ways that you did before, the muscles that held everything in place will no longer be there and gravity will inevitably work its work in ways that we don’t really wanted to, so that’s just something to look at.

The other thing to consider is like many of us, you’re a veteran low carber and the problem with us veterans is that we tend to rely on our own understanding of things instead of relying or rather following what the books tell us we should be doing. As you say you get frustrated and tweak something, perhaps it might be simpler just to go back and follow your original successful plan to the latter without tweaking anything as that way you’ll have a firm base to work from and you’ll be going through something that is proven to have worked for so many people.

I noticed that you mention that you snack in the evening because you don’t want to fall asleep. There is no law against going to bed early and that maybe just what your body is asking you to do so rather than fighting it why not give in to it for a week or so  to see how much of a difference it will make. I would also second samissa and Kirsteen’s suggestions of going back to the books and certainly do, really do have a good look through Jimmy Moore’s information (I’ve got a lot of respect for that man).

The thing I want to leave you with the most is if you got a good enough, a powerful enough reason why you want to get fit and healthy again and that you can clearly articulate, first to yourself and anyone else who’s interested what that is, you’ll find just the simplicity of having that will give you the strength you need to carry you through to get the body you want.

Hope that helps,

Mark

In Ketosis but no weight loss?

by | Jan 21, 2013 | Exercise, Weight Loss | 0 comments

Yet another post about ketosis on forum.lowcarber.org where I have commented on

 

Post from Myers728:

I haven’t been hungry for 5 days now, but I am not losing weight? What gives? I thought that ketosis meant weight loss. Maybe I am not in ketosis then or maybe after 3 wks my body needs time to adjust. Needless to say I am frustrated.

 

My comment:

Hi Myers728,

Yes 17 lbs in 20 days is really good!!!

When I first started I was losing about a pound a day and you’ll find there are many other people who do roughly the same so it’s not unusual as I have said I was way before. 

Just judging your success by weight alone is not the best way of doing it.  You need also to take measurements particularly if you’ve got any increase in exercise. Talking of an increase in exercise, you may not even realize that this is happening because as you have more energy, so the change in diet, things that used to be a chore just becomes second nature even without us realizing it. For instance you might be walking slightly quicker. You might be bouncing up steps in the stairs whereas before you were plodding. I’m sure you get the picture.

That is why it is important to make sure that you measure yourself at least once a week around your neck, around your bust, around your waist, around your butt and around both thighs because that way even if the  pounds aren’t falling off you’ll notice the inches disappearing which will assure you of your progress.

Hope that helps,

Mark

Gastric Bypass/Banding

by | Jan 18, 2013 | Weight Loss | 0 comments

A post at fattoskinny.net where I have commented to about surgical procedures as a way of losing weight

 

morgan said:

I was just watching a British program about obese patients that undergo either gastic bypass (really major surgery – approx 3 hours) or gastric banding (‘minor’ surgery of approx 30 minutes).  How they cost the health system a fortune due mainly to medication for high BP, heart conditions and mostly diabetes and that this op is the solution.

I watched these people crying, being horrified and terrified they would not wake up after the event, being on a liquid diet a month before hand to clear up a fatty liver so that the surgeon could see around it to do the proceedure, then in one case (not even a month after) eating his wife’s chocolates and  having ice creams when he went out. The other case a woman who moments after coming out of recovery was stating that she was hungry.

It is beyond me that these people would resort to this rather than give up their favourite foods (sugar).  It seemed that they thought that it would be a ‘miracle’ and they would be slim without effort afterwards.  Whilst they did lose weight it averaged at about 6 kg (14lbs) a month, which really is only 3-4 lbs a week.

It seems that the medical board is pushing these types of surgery as a solution to saving costs in the long run.  Is this what health systems now think is the go;  to do these ops, so in the long run they don’t have to pay for medication.

They lost weight in the month prior on a liquid diet (which I think were protein drinks) – why would they not continue with these drinks to loose the weight rather than the op?

I feel I am being harsh because I know it is desparation that makes them do this and they feel it is a last resort of sorts, but it seems they are ill prepared for afterwards.  They obviously still have major food issues.

 

My thought:

In my mind, operations like this should be banned and the doctors who recommend them should be sent on compulsory  retraining courses to learn about nutrition, that there again, if they advised on nutrition, then they wouldn’t be making money as doctors which if you think about it, is a very sad conclusion.

I would agree with Doug, these doctors do know much of what we know and I’m sure the fact that they receive thousands for doing an operation like this whereas they would only receive hundreds for putting a patient on a sound eating regime has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they continue to recommend the expensive operations or has it?

Cheers,

Mark

Lack of family support

by | Jan 16, 2013 | Weight Loss | 0 comments

Another one of my comment to a post over at fattoskinny.net about weight loss and family support

 

Siltz said:

Have any of you ever experienced a lack of family support in regard to your low carb/low sugar lifestyle?  I’m getting a lot of resistance from my wife about adopting this lifestyle.  She is convinced that portion control and exercise is the only answer to weight loss and is convinced that this is not a healthy way to live.  I’ve heard many comments on us cooking two different meals, one for me and one for her and the kids.  She often comments on the high cost of things associated with low sugar eating, like almond flower.  Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

My response:

A lack of family support is probably one of the most common problems that people on any diet find. The reasons for that are many and complicated but one of the most common is: We as humans seem to have a natural resistance to change. Change makes us feel uncomfortable and when that change is going on in the lives of people closest to us, the level of discomfort is often even higher.

Rather than go into the whys and wherefores of this, I think it maybe more fruitful just to cover actions that we can take when we’re faced with this type of situation. Without making a big song and dance about it , we need to assure those around us that we are doing what we’re doing in order to have a better quality and longer life so that you can spend more quality time with them; whether that’s your children, your other half or any other person who cares for you in any meaningful way. Offering that type of assurance will short-circuit many of the fears that those closest to us may have about the consequences of our changing.

I’ll give you an extreme example; a story that was related to me from a source I know I can trust was concerning a middle aged couple. He has had a health scare and decided that the best thing he could do for himself and everybody he cared about was to put his health in order. So after getting some good advice, he started on a low carb diet and increased his amount of daily exercise. Ten weeks after starting his new healthy lifestyle, he was looking, one has to say, like a new man to the point that his wife’s friends started to comment to her how good he was looking. Initially, she just accepted this with pride and was slightly flattered that they noticed but unfortunately an innocent comment from one of her friends, which I think honestly was misconstrued, as they said “Gosh! He looks like a new man! Perhaps he’s looking for a new woman”. While initially, this was received with a highly amused laugh started to prey on her mind to the point that she became concerned that her husband of twenty-something years was planning to leave her for somebody else. It took quite a bit of assurance from the husband for her to understand that the only new woman he would like in his life is the one he has always had but maybe just a bit fitter than she was now.

Fortunately the outcome from this little tale was a happy one. She couldn’t deny how much better her husband was, how much more funny he had become  to be with, having more energy, more stamina and the greater inclination to do the same things that they used to do when they we’re younger and fitter. She was as encouraged to follow something very similar and the last I heard, they were still together but living interesting and active lives.

As far as costs go, well, mdanziger has said , whilst the short term cost may seem a little bit higher than eating garbage, the long term gains of better health, fewer visits to the doctors seems a much more sound investment to me.

Hope that helps,

Mark

Loratab

by | Jan 16, 2013 | Exercise, Low carb diet, Weight Loss | 0 comments

Another copy of a post I have commented to at Jimmy Moore’s on weight loss

 

Nenicho asked:

This may be a dumb question, but could loratabs keep you from losing wt on the low carb diet. I have fibromyalgia, two herniated discs, which I refuse to have operated on until I lose wt. My doctor insists that I go on an anti depressant for my fibromyalgia, which always makes me want to gorge. I’ve been on five in the last year. I take myself off them, go back to doctor for three month check up and he puts me on another one. I can barely move with out the loratabs. I also have mild case of arthritus, which runs in family and isn’t that bad, but the fibromyalgia kills me with muscle aches and pains. I’ve lost three inches in height in the past three years. I’m on LCHF diet. I don’t like meat except in very small amounts, so it seemed the best diet for me. I can eat egg salad, and tuna salad on lettuce and be satisfied. But my wt has not moved but one pound in a month. I’m 120 pounds overwt and feel crappy. I’ve fallen in the last month two times due to pain in ankles. Really, I’m not a hypocondriac. My dr makes me come in every three months to monitor me. I’m 67. What to do?????

 

My answer:

Hi Nenicho,

I’m going to jump straight in and tackle this one from the top down. It seems to me like your doctor is far more interested in treating the symptoms than getting to the cause of what could be your problem; that is the cause of the fibromyalgia. 

The fact that you’re overweight and that you suffer with mild arthritis and that your condition is further complicated through the use of drugs that totally interfere with the way the body is supposed to work, reminded me of the work of Dr. John Lowe. Dr. Lowe specializes in thyroid disease, which he has proven is one of the main causes of fibromyalgia.

The great thing is, he has shown that, and I’m reading from the website here: Eating a nutritious diet (a low-sugar, low-grain, mainly raw organic diet is optimally nutritious and anti-inflammatory) He also has shown that exercising will help normalizing hormones is crucial and strangely enough, avoiding medications because virtually, all medications creates further imbalances which lead to side effects and further deterioration of health. 

Rather than bang on about it here I’m going to give you the link to one of the friendliest reports I found on his work which is on Dr. Mercola’s website (Here is the link). It’s a 4-part series and I think you’ll find it very interesting because he has come up with a treatment for it which he calls ” Integrated Metabolic Therapy” that’s simply there for getting patients free from chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.

So even though the present may not be too rosy, the work of this well respected doctor does show great promise for your condition.

Hope that helps,

Mark