Re: CRON by accident?

[Guest guest]

Hi Mich:

Thanks for posting about your issues. There are a number of points

and my guess is you will get quite a few responses. Here is mine,

for what it is worth:

POINT #1: The science of CR in humans is not far enough advanced to

tell you for sure what will result if you continue with such a low

calorie diet ............... but if you continue what you are doing

you will either live to be 160 or be dead in five years. I cannot

tell you for sure which it will be.

POINT #2: What you absolutely need to do first, imo, is log

everything you are eating into nutrition software (for at least a

full week and preferably a full month) (Fitday.com would do an

adequate job, there are others) and check to find out what your

nutrient deficiencies are. You almost certainly will find you are

grossly deficient in a number of vital nutrients.

POINT #3: Next you need to fix these deficiencies immediately,

preferably by adding foods to your diet that are high in their

content of those nutrients, or by taking supplements if necessary.

(But bear in mind that that only analyzes what goes in your mouth.

Not what your intestine absorbs. So it is possible in some cases to

be eating lots of something, while getting little of it into your

body.)

POINT #4: Once you are confident you have fixed all nutrient

deficiencies on a sustained basis, phone up the local health

department. Tell them, whether it is true or not, that you are " a

bit overweight " , that you recognize you need to lose weight, and

could they please refer you to a physician in the area who: " is

familiar with the science of caloric restiction. " And if they fall

silent at this request, ask them " well is there someone there who

would know that? " And if they say " No " , then ask if they could

please tell you who you should ask to find such a physician. If they

tell you " Dr. Xxxxxx is good for weight loss " , repeat your

question. " What I am looking for is a doctor in the region who is

familiar with the science of caloric restriction, specifically " .

POINT #5: If they still do not know, then phone a local hospital and

ask them the same questions until you find what you want. If that is

a dead end phone the closest university with a medical faculty and

ask them the same questions. ........... until you find what you

want.

POINT #6: When you find such a doctor, tell him the true facts of

your situation. Tell him the deficiencies you had found and that you

have fixed them. And ask his advice. But he may not know any more

than the accumulated knowledge of this group! The reason being that

CR in humans is far from being a fully understood, and we follow the

new science when it is published pretty closely.

POINT #7: Unless you are currently dramatically overweight start

eating higher caloric density foods to slow your rate of weight

loss. Beans; chickpeas; oats; wine, one glass a day unless it is

contra-indicated by personal or family history; dark chocolate, a

small amount daily; berries; a small amount of nuts; ......... .

Unless you are dramatically overweight losing weight at a rate of

half a pound a week is plenty fast enough. And more slowly than that

as you approach an appropriate weight. (fwiw, I have stopped my

weight loss at a BMI of 21; ratio waist to height of 0.44; a ratio of

waist to 'hip' of 0.85; Body fat percent estimated to be about 12%.

But check the data in the database here for the slimmer people of

your gender to get an idea of the kind of ranges that may be

appropriate).

I hope this helps. Good luck, and please keep us up to date with

your experiences.

Rodney.

--- In , " michbugie " <michbugie@...>

wrote:

>

> Point of this post: I wonder if I'm going too far...

> A year ago I had a revelation. I decided that I cared about life

and

> made the choice to live. One of things that resulted was my

increased

> interest in health and my nutrition. With little effort (except

for

> many more trips to the grocery shop), I switched to a diet of raw

> veggies and fruits, some dairy (including egg whites) and fish. I

> dropped a lot of weight about 50lbs. Though it wasn't my main goal,

I

> am happier now that my outside healthier appearance matches my

inner

> feeling of health. I'm not starving myself--I eat when I'm hungry,

> just I eat fruit and veg and stop when I've had enough. Fearing

that I

> wasn't getting proper nutrition I started to monitor what foods I

was

> eating and how many calories I was taking in. I was shocked to

find

> that I eat, on average, less than 700 calories a day! Some days I

> take in less than 500. This seems dangerously low to me though I

eat

> about every 2-3 hours, the food is just so low in calories I'd have

to

> constantly eat in order to breach 1000 (and I'm just not that

> hungry). So, I'm doing it for my health and eating a restricted

> caloric diet--trying to get in enough vitamins and nutrients--I

think

> I'm CRON.

> It just seems very unsafe consuming so few calories. I would like

to

> have a physician monitor my nutrition, but I fear any doc will

simply

> dismiss it as disordered eating and I wouldn't know where to start

> looking for a doc who knew anything of CRON. Any ideas?

>

[Guest guest]

what city/town do you live in??

[Guest guest]

How much do you weigh and how tall are you?

Why not add some higher calorie foods to your diet like whole grains? Have you read Walford who says never to go below 1000 cal a day? I get the feeling you haven't and are " winging " it. Also read all our files including the ones that suggest that BMI's which are " low normal " (20-22) are the healthiest.

There are several CRONIES who compromised their health because of extreme low cal diets - leading to such disorders as osteoporosis, anemia and anorexia.

on 9/1/2006 1:58 AM, michbugie at michbugie@... wrote:

Point of this post: I wonder if I'm going too far...

A year ago I had a revelation. I decided that I cared about life and

made the choice to live. One of things that resulted was my increased

interest in health and my nutrition. With little effort (except for

many more trips to the grocery shop), I switched to a diet of raw

veggies and fruits, some dairy (including egg whites) and fish. I

dropped a lot of weight about 50lbs. Though it wasn't my main goal, I

am happier now that my outside healthier appearance matches my inner

feeling of health. I'm not starving myself--I eat when I'm hungry,

just I eat fruit and veg and stop when I've had enough. Fearing that I

wasn't getting proper nutrition I started to monitor what foods I was

eating and how many calories I was taking in. I was shocked to find

that I eat, on average, less than 700 calories a day! Some days I

take in less than 500. This seems dangerously low to me though I eat

about every 2-3 hours, the food is just so low in calories I'd have to

constantly eat in order to breach 1000 (and I'm just not that

hungry). So, I'm doing it for my health and eating a restricted

caloric diet--trying to get in enough vitamins and nutrients--I think

I'm CRON.

It just seems very unsafe consuming so few calories. I would like to

have a physician monitor my nutrition, but I fear any doc will simply

dismiss it as disordered eating and I wouldn't know where to start

looking for a doc who knew anything of CRON. Any ideas?