Re: New & Some Questions

[Guest guest]

To and all newbies: PLEASE read all the instructions you have received in your in box before posting! (In fact that's the first thing you are told to do). Many of these answers are in our files and in our MUST READ before posting: Dr Walford's " Beyond the 120 Year Diet " .

It is certainly easier for a newbie to just post away without doing all the required reading for this group. But it's far from a pleasure for our 2000+ members to reinvent the wheel everytime a new person joins.

We have put many hours of work into our files and links for you. Take advantage of them.

on 9/21/2006 1:42 PM, Egelston at wendy@... wrote:

Hello, all --

I am reading up here, because I have been around 34 pounds overweight

since I had my kids. My experience has been common to a few of my

friends -- pregnancy didn't mess me up, but slowing down nursing did

-- my appetite stayed up while calories burned went way down!

Right now I'm at +20 pounds, having lost around 14 pounds in the past

couple of months due to exercise. Weight was still fluctuating a lot,

so I started a calorie-restricted diet two weeks ago. I came here b/c

I think I haven't been getting enough vitamins & minerals, and would

like some input on a few things.

--Dizzy spells. These have been terrible & constant, nearly every

day. The only time they subsided was when I gave in at a social

gathering & ate a piece of cheese pizza from Domino's. I'm not sure

if it is too-low calories or MSG withdrawal symptoms, LOL.

--Number of Calories per day. I averaged these, and it is around 1100

calories/day, fluctuating from 1000 to 1400. One day I was super

hungry all day & ate around 2000 calories, but none of the days have I

gone hungry, and after that day I have gone back down. Better food is

accounting for low number. My BMI numbers say I would need around

2200 per day, so I'm running a deficit of 900-1200 most days. Is this

causing the dizziness? The thing is, I'm not going hungry or

depriving myself -- in fact, going hungry is very hard for me because

I'm close to being hypoglycemic, and usually eat a little all

throughout the day. I'm trying to adjust & get closer to 1600 per

day, for healthier weight loss & not losing muscle, but it is hard to

do if you are eating good foods. This even includes eating

whole-wheat bread every day & cereal for breakfast, having occasional

desserts.

--Weight loss is averaging 2.5 pounds/week. If this continues, will I

risk losing muscle instead of fat?

--If the problem is minerals/nutrients, is it possible to get what I'm

missing through supplements? I have some organic supplements that are

pretty good in terms of content, but I haven't been super-great about

taking them, because I have doubts about absorption. Comments?

--Weight -- the guideline in the opening emails from this list say

that my healthy weight should be around 125. When I have around 20%

body fat, my weight is around 140 pounds -- and that is around a size

5-6 (female). That is my current goal weight for the end of 2006.

Does CRON say that you need a lower body fat for health (I'm still

looking through), and should I be using body fat or another estimate

rather than weight, since mine has always been heavy, even when I am

small? For my women friends who are the same height, I am typically

the same clothes size as they are when I am around 15-20 pounds

heavier -- not sure why. Even when I was a teenager & ran every day,

did a lot of weight training, and had a very low body fat (closer to

size 4), my weight still stayed around 138-140.

I appreciate your comments as I'm just getting started & looking at

what CRON means, but I want to be healthier, maintain a good weight

long-term, and hopefully inspire my husband, who is currently 50+

pounds overweight & showing pre-Diabetes Type II symptoms & elevated

cholesterol at age 29 (I worry constantly about his health).

If any of these questions are really stupid, please forgive as I'm

still researching this. Thanks!

[Guest guest]

The dizzy spells sound like your body shouting at you to change something. May be low blood sugar if you've been eating very low carbohydrates and your body isn't used to burning fat alone.Another possible cause of dizzy is low blood pressure but that isn't typically modulated by short term diet changes.When in doubt ASK YOUR DR.  There's no reason to be in such a hurry to lose weight. I'd target something more like 1# week and plan on some back sliding over holidays... You have the rest of your life to get it right, don't mess up by rushing.JR On Sep 21, 2006, at 12:42 PM, Egelston wrote:Hello, all --I am reading up here, because I have been around 34 pounds overweightsince I had my kids. My experience has been common to a few of myfriends -- pregnancy didn't mess me up, but slowing down nursing did-- my appetite stayed up while calories burned went way down!Right now I'm at +20 pounds, having lost around 14 pounds in the pastcouple of months due to exercise. Weight was still fluctuating a lot,so I started a calorie-restricted diet two weeks ago. I came here b/cI think I haven't been getting enough vitamins & minerals, and wouldlike some input on a few things.--Dizzy spells. These have been terrible & constant, nearly everyday. The only time they subsided was when I gave in at a socialgathering & ate a piece of cheese pizza from Domino's. I'm not sureif it is too-low calories or MSG withdrawal symptoms, LOL.--Number of Calories per day. I averaged these, and it is around 1100calories/day, fluctuating from 1000 to 1400. One day I was superhungry all day & ate around 2000 calories, but none of the days have Igone hungry, and after that day I have gone back down. Better food isaccounting for low number. My BMI numbers say I would need around2200 per day, so I'm running a deficit of 900-1200 most days. Is thiscausing the dizziness? The thing is, I'm not going hungry ordepriving myself -- in fact, going hungry is very hard for me becauseI'm close to being hypoglycemic, and usually eat a little allthroughout the day. I'm trying to adjust & get closer to 1600 perday, for healthier weight loss & not losing muscle, but it is hard todo if you are eating good foods. This even includes eatingwhole-wheat bread every day & cereal for breakfast, having occasionaldesserts.--Weight loss is averaging 2.5 pounds/week. If this continues, will Irisk losing muscle instead of fat?--If the problem is minerals/nutrients, is it possible to get what I'mmissing through supplements? I have some organic supplements that arepretty good in terms of content, but I haven't been super-great abouttaking them, because I have doubts about absorption. Comments?--Weight -- the guideline in the opening emails from this list saythat my healthy weight should be around 125. When I have around 20%body fat, my weight is around 140 pounds -- and that is around a size5-6 (female). That is my current goal weight for the end of 2006. Does CRON say that you need a lower body fat for health (I'm stilllooking through), and should I be using body fat or another estimaterather than weight, since mine has always been heavy, even when I amsmall? For my women friends who are the same height, I am typicallythe same clothes size as they are when I am around 15-20 poundsheavier -- not sure why. Even when I was a teenager & ran every day,did a lot of weight training, and had a very low body fat (closer tosize 4), my weight still stayed around 138-140.I appreciate your comments as I'm just getting started & looking atwhat CRON means, but I want to be healthier, maintain a good weightlong-term, and hopefully inspire my husband, who is currently 50+pounds overweight & showing pre-Diabetes Type II symptoms & elevatedcholesterol at age 29 (I worry constantly about his health).If any of these questions are really stupid, please forgive as I'mstill researching this. Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Francesa,

You are clearly intent on keeping down 'noise' on the list - but the

tone of your message could be perceived as elitist and hostile. There

is another group to which I belong, with many more members than

this one, where the messages from the regulars to newbies are much

more welcoming and warm, however much the newbie repeats material

which has previously been discussed. It is difficult for people to

admit that they need help to do CRON; telling them off for not having

read the instructions really doesn't help. If this group is only for

regulars to discuss details of scientific papers, perhaps there needs

to be another group which actually welcomes people looking for mutual

support to get started on, and stay on, CRON - operated with the same

care for examination of spurious claims, which is very valuable.

artifex (going back to lurking)

>

> Hello, all --

>

> I am reading up here, because I have been around 34 pounds overweight

> since I had my kids. My experience has been common to a few of my

> friends -- pregnancy didn't mess me up, but slowing down nursing did

> -- my appetite stayed up while calories burned went way down!

>

> Right now I'm at +20 pounds, having lost around 14 pounds in the past

> couple of months due to exercise. Weight was still fluctuating a lot,

> so I started a calorie-restricted diet two weeks ago. I came here b/c

> I think I haven't been getting enough vitamins & minerals, and would

> like some input on a few things.

>

> --Dizzy spells. These have been terrible & constant, nearly every

> day. The only time they subsided was when I gave in at a social

> gathering & ate a piece of cheese pizza from Domino's. I'm not sure

> if it is too-low calories or MSG withdrawal symptoms, LOL.

>

> --Number of Calories per day. I averaged these, and it is around 1100

> calories/day, fluctuating from 1000 to 1400. One day I was super

> hungry all day & ate around 2000 calories, but none of the days have I

> gone hungry, and after that day I have gone back down. Better food is

> accounting for low number. My BMI numbers say I would need around

> 2200 per day, so I'm running a deficit of 900-1200 most days. Is this

> causing the dizziness? The thing is, I'm not going hungry or

> depriving myself -- in fact, going hungry is very hard for me because

> I'm close to being hypoglycemic, and usually eat a little all

> throughout the day. I'm trying to adjust & get closer to 1600 per

> day, for healthier weight loss & not losing muscle, but it is hard to

> do if you are eating good foods. This even includes eating

> whole-wheat bread every day & cereal for breakfast, having occasional

> desserts.

>

> --Weight loss is averaging 2.5 pounds/week. If this continues, will I

> risk losing muscle instead of fat?

>

> --If the problem is minerals/nutrients, is it possible to get what I'm

> missing through supplements? I have some organic supplements that are

> pretty good in terms of content, but I haven't been super-great about

> taking them, because I have doubts about absorption. Comments?

>

> --Weight -- the guideline in the opening emails from this list say

> that my healthy weight should be around 125. When I have around 20%

> body fat, my weight is around 140 pounds -- and that is around a size

> 5-6 (female). That is my current goal weight for the end of 2006.

> Does CRON say that you need a lower body fat for health (I'm still

> looking through), and should I be using body fat or another estimate

> rather than weight, since mine has always been heavy, even when I am

> small? For my women friends who are the same height, I am typically

> the same clothes size as they are when I am around 15-20 pounds

> heavier -- not sure why. Even when I was a teenager & ran every day,

> did a lot of weight training, and had a very low body fat (closer to

> size 4), my weight still stayed around 138-140.

>

> I appreciate your comments as I'm just getting started & looking at

> what CRON means, but I want to be healthier, maintain a good weight

> long-term, and hopefully inspire my husband, who is currently 50+

> pounds overweight & showing pre-Diabetes Type II symptoms & elevated

> cholesterol at age 29 (I worry constantly about his health).

>

> If any of these questions are really stupid, please forgive as I'm

> still researching this. Thanks!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Artifex and everyone: There are two sides to this issue. One is Artifax's which is to welcome and help newbies at all costs. The other is to keep the group interesting for our " regulars " and major contributors, from whom we gain the most information and insight.

To balance the two, we have created the files and links and ask newbies to do the required reading to bring them up to speed. This has taken much time and work for those of us who run the group. And we clearly say that there is required reading before posting anything. It's hardly fair to the people who have fulfilled this requirement to excuse those who haven't. And it " s true that I have little patience for those who won't adhere to the rules that we have set up to keep the group vital and interesting.

I'm sorry you don't agree with our policies or the tone of my posting. I make no apologies. Our group is highly successful with a very low rate of people who leave. Therefore we will continue our policies and I will insist on people following the posting rules - regardless of the few who disapprove.

Out of 2000+ people we know we won't please everybody.

on 9/22/2006 8:48 PM, arti_fex at arti_fex@... wrote:

Francesa,

You are clearly intent on keeping down 'noise' on the list - but the

tone of your message could be perceived as elitist and hostile. There

is another group to which I belong, with many more members than

this one, where the messages from the regulars to newbies are much

more welcoming and warm, however much the newbie repeats material

which has previously been discussed. It is difficult for people to

admit that they need help to do CRON; telling them off for not having

read the instructions really doesn't help. If this group is only for

regulars to discuss details of scientific papers, perhaps there needs

to be another group which actually welcomes people looking for mutual

support to get started on, and stay on, CRON - operated with the same

care for examination of spurious claims, which is very valuable.

artifex (going back to lurking)

[Guest guest]

Thank you for doing what you do. It's remarkably easy to be critical of others, much harder to improve ourselves. ommmmmm  :-)JROn Sep 22, 2006, at 10:04 PM, Francesca Skelton wrote:Artifex and everyone:  There are two sides to this issue.  One is Artifax's which is to welcome and help newbies at all costs.  The other is to keep the group interesting  for our "regulars" and major contributors, from whom we gain the most information and insight.To balance the two, we have created the files and links and ask newbies to do the required reading to bring them up to speed.  This has taken much time and work for those of us who run the group.  And we clearly say that there is required reading before posting anything.   It's hardly fair to the people who have fulfilled this requirement to excuse those who haven't.  And it"s true that I have little patience for those who won't adhere to the rules that we have set up to keep the group vital and interesting.I'm sorry you don't agree with our policies or the tone of my posting.  I  make no apologies.  Our group is highly successful with a very low rate of people who leave.  Therefore we will continue our policies and I will insist on people following the posting rules - regardless of the few who disapprove. Out of 2000+ people we know we won't please everybody.on 9/22/2006 8:48 PM, arti_fex at arti_fex wrote:Francesa, You are clearly intent on keeping down 'noise' on the list - but thetone of your message could be perceived as elitist and hostile. Thereis another group to which I belong, with many more members thanthis one, where the messages from the regulars to newbies are muchmore welcoming and warm, however much the newbie repeats materialwhich has previously been discussed. It is difficult for people toadmit that they need help to do CRON; telling them off for not havingread the instructions really doesn't help. If this group is only forregulars to discuss details of scientific papers, perhaps there needsto be another group which actually welcomes people looking for mutualsupport to get started on, and stay on, CRON - operated with the samecare for examination of spurious claims, which is very valuable. artifex (going back to lurking)

[Guest guest]

Hi Artifex,

Since I have been a member of , I have seen people

complain about one aspect or another of how the group is run, or what

the group's purpose should be, etc, etc. However, the charter of any

group and the way it is operated is set by the group owner, and here

that owner is Francesca. Your idea for a support group for those

beginning and staying on CRON is an excellent one. It would require

someone with the time and commitment to set it up, attract members,

and moderate it. Perhaps you could be that person?

Francesca has done all the leg work for . Although she

generously gives credit to others, this group is mostly a product of

her hard work and the fact that she has provided a forum that has

attracted intelligent, engaged people interested in discussing

scientific studies on nutrition, longevity, and general health. As

she points out, there are 2000 or so members who generally remain as

members for a long time, so the purpose and topics are of interest

enough for them to remain involved. And most don't object to reading

the material first, so that the same questions aren't endlessly addressed.

Diane

> >

> > Hello, all --

> >

> > I am reading up here, because I have been around 34 pounds overweight

> > since I had my kids. My experience has been common to a few of my

> > friends -- pregnancy didn't mess me up, but slowing down nursing did

> > -- my appetite stayed up while calories burned went way down!

> >

> > Right now I'm at +20 pounds, having lost around 14 pounds in the past

> > couple of months due to exercise. Weight was still fluctuating a lot,

> > so I started a calorie-restricted diet two weeks ago. I came here b/c

> > I think I haven't been getting enough vitamins & minerals, and would

> > like some input on a few things.

> >

> > --Dizzy spells. These have been terrible & constant, nearly every

> > day. The only time they subsided was when I gave in at a social

> > gathering & ate a piece of cheese pizza from Domino's. I'm not sure

> > if it is too-low calories or MSG withdrawal symptoms, LOL.

> >

> > --Number of Calories per day. I averaged these, and it is around 1100

> > calories/day, fluctuating from 1000 to 1400. One day I was super

> > hungry all day & ate around 2000 calories, but none of the days have I

> > gone hungry, and after that day I have gone back down. Better food is

> > accounting for low number. My BMI numbers say I would need around

> > 2200 per day, so I'm running a deficit of 900-1200 most days. Is this

> > causing the dizziness? The thing is, I'm not going hungry or

> > depriving myself -- in fact, going hungry is very hard for me because

> > I'm close to being hypoglycemic, and usually eat a little all

> > throughout the day. I'm trying to adjust & get closer to 1600 per

> > day, for healthier weight loss & not losing muscle, but it is hard to

> > do if you are eating good foods. This even includes eating

> > whole-wheat bread every day & cereal for breakfast, having occasional

> > desserts.

> >

> > --Weight loss is averaging 2.5 pounds/week. If this continues, will I

> > risk losing muscle instead of fat?

> >

> > --If the problem is minerals/nutrients, is it possible to get what I'm

> > missing through supplements? I have some organic supplements that are

> > pretty good in terms of content, but I haven't been super-great about

> > taking them, because I have doubts about absorption. Comments?

> >

> > --Weight -- the guideline in the opening emails from this list say

> > that my healthy weight should be around 125. When I have around 20%

> > body fat, my weight is around 140 pounds -- and that is around a size

> > 5-6 (female). That is my current goal weight for the end of 2006.

> > Does CRON say that you need a lower body fat for health (I'm still

> > looking through), and should I be using body fat or another estimate

> > rather than weight, since mine has always been heavy, even when I am

> > small? For my women friends who are the same height, I am typically

> > the same clothes size as they are when I am around 15-20 pounds

> > heavier -- not sure why. Even when I was a teenager & ran every day,

> > did a lot of weight training, and had a very low body fat (closer to

> > size 4), my weight still stayed around 138-140.

> >

> > I appreciate your comments as I'm just getting started & looking at

> > what CRON means, but I want to be healthier, maintain a good weight

> > long-term, and hopefully inspire my husband, who is currently 50+

> > pounds overweight & showing pre-Diabetes Type II symptoms & elevated

> > cholesterol at age 29 (I worry constantly about his health).

> >

> > If any of these questions are really stupid, please forgive as I'm

> > still researching this. Thanks!

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

:

You have cut your calories too drastically, too quickly.

The dizzy spells are not a good sign. Give your body

a chance to adapt by slowly cutting calories as the weeks

and months go on. Eventually, you may be eating 1400

calories a day, but going from 2200 to 1400 immediately

is a mistake. As your body weight drops, you will need

fewer calories to maintain that weight and you won't feel

so hungry. Give it some time. As for supplements,

use moderation there too. No need to pop tons of pills

if you have a very healthy diet already (and of course,

supplements are no substitute for a well-planned diet).

>

> Hello, all --

>

> I am reading up here, because I have been around 34 pounds overweight

> since I had my kids. My experience has been common to a few of my

> friends -- pregnancy didn't mess me up, but slowing down nursing did

> -- my appetite stayed up while calories burned went way down!

>

> Right now I'm at +20 pounds, having lost around 14 pounds in the past

> couple of months due to exercise. Weight was still fluctuating a lot,

> so I started a calorie-restricted diet two weeks ago. I came here b/c

> I think I haven't been getting enough vitamins & minerals, and would

> like some input on a few things.

>

> --Dizzy spells. These have been terrible & constant, nearly every

> day. The only time they subsided was when I gave in at a social

> gathering & ate a piece of cheese pizza from Domino's. I'm not sure

> if it is too-low calories or MSG withdrawal symptoms, LOL.

>

> --Number of Calories per day. I averaged these, and it is around 1100

> calories/day, fluctuating from 1000 to 1400. One day I was super

> hungry all day & ate around 2000 calories, but none of the days have I

> gone hungry, and after that day I have gone back down. Better food is

> accounting for low number. My BMI numbers say I would need around

> 2200 per day, so I'm running a deficit of 900-1200 most days. Is this

> causing the dizziness? The thing is, I'm not going hungry or

> depriving myself -- in fact, going hungry is very hard for me because

> I'm close to being hypoglycemic, and usually eat a little all

> throughout the day. I'm trying to adjust & get closer to 1600 per

> day, for healthier weight loss & not losing muscle, but it is hard to

> do if you are eating good foods. This even includes eating

> whole-wheat bread every day & cereal for breakfast, having occasional

> desserts.

>

> --Weight loss is averaging 2.5 pounds/week. If this continues, will I

> risk losing muscle instead of fat?

>

> --If the problem is minerals/nutrients, is it possible to get what I'm

> missing through supplements? I have some organic supplements that are

> pretty good in terms of content, but I haven't been super-great about

> taking them, because I have doubts about absorption. Comments?

>

> --Weight -- the guideline in the opening emails from this list say

> that my healthy weight should be around 125. When I have around 20%

> body fat, my weight is around 140 pounds -- and that is around a size

> 5-6 (female). That is my current goal weight for the end of 2006.

> Does CRON say that you need a lower body fat for health (I'm still

> looking through), and should I be using body fat or another estimate

> rather than weight, since mine has always been heavy, even when I am

> small? For my women friends who are the same height, I am typically

> the same clothes size as they are when I am around 15-20 pounds

> heavier -- not sure why. Even when I was a teenager & ran every day,

> did a lot of weight training, and had a very low body fat (closer to

> size 4), my weight still stayed around 138-140.

>

> I appreciate your comments as I'm just getting started & looking at

> what CRON means, but I want to be healthier, maintain a good weight

> long-term, and hopefully inspire my husband, who is currently 50+

> pounds overweight & showing pre-Diabetes Type II symptoms & elevated

> cholesterol at age 29 (I worry constantly about his health).

>

> If any of these questions are really stupid, please forgive as I'm

> still researching this. Thanks!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Artifex:

Thanks for your contribution. But I very strongly do not agree with

it, for the following reasons:

Each week approximately a dozen new members join this site. If it

was set up in such a way that people who have spent no time at all

looking into CRON were free to get every question they might think

of, or dream up, answered by the rest of the crew at the site, until

they run out of questions to ask, then how many posts would there be

a day?

Well here is a guess: Take about fifty new members a month, with

each new member asking perhaps an average of thirty questions in the

first thirty days after joining, and more after that as new issues

come to mind, but presumably at a much reduced rate. That amounts to

1500 additional posts each month asking for information. In

addition, if after the first month each member were to ask just one

question a month, that would be another 2100 additional posts asking

questions. This would mean a total of 3600 additional posts. And

that does not include the posts that would have to be made to answer

all these additional questions ........... Assuming only one answer

per question asked (very likely there would be more than one, perhaps

two or three?) that is another, at a minimum, 3600 posts answering

questions. Think about it. The total number of posts would rise

from the current manageable ~250 per month to a ridiculous number,

over 7000, perhaps 10,000 per month, 97% of which I would have not

the slightest interest in reading. Indeed, we would all be so busy

(if we were still here) reading the posts asking for information that

none of us would have the time to answer them. Taking the lower 7000

number, if we spent just 30 seconds per post reading then we would be

spending two hours a day, just reading.

As is lamentably the case most places most of the time - so much so

that there is even a rule for it, it is called 'the 20/80 rule' -

" 20% of the people do 80% of the work " . In the case of

it is worse than that. Very approximately, here 2% do

100% of the work. In fact 0.048% of the participants (that is

Francesca alone) has done 99% of the work. And I rather doubt there

will be any major change in this situation in the near future. Those

who contribute here, in whatever way, are not paid for their time

spent. They contribute what they do to try to be helpful. Can you

really think it is reasonable to expect these people to now start

answering thousands of additional questions each month on their own

time just because others are too idle to do a little reading? Sorry

to put it bluntly, but that is, realistically, the issue.

There is worse to come. If such a site were to exist, after people

had joined and asked their thirty questions they would then be

deluged with posts to which they have heard the answers fifty times.

They would then ***leave*** and look for a site ***like this one***.

And there would be no one left with any depth of knowledge or

personal CRON experience to answer questions. Nor, most likely,

would there be anyone contributing new material, because those

remaining would only be newbies. So the site would be reduced to the

status of the multitudes of sites already available all over the web,

where always unqualified, and often near totally ignorant, people are

giving each other advice about how to fix, in some cases very

serious, health problems based on what they read somewhere else on

the web.

The reason I spend a little time here each day is because I value

this kind of site. Not the kind of site I believe this site would

turn into if your suggestions were adopted. For certain I would not

waste my time even reading here, let alone posting answers, if I had

to dredge through thousands of questions every month that I had heard

dozens or hundreds of times before, in order to find those that

contained some genuinely new, helpful and reliable information.

So, as I said, I do not agree with you. But of course, as Diane

suggested, if you think it would be valuable then you are certainly

welcome to do the work required to set up such a site. But where are

you going to find experienced/knowledeable people to answer all the

questions? If you offered to pay a few people $100,000 a year you

might find some qualified people to do it.

As far as I know (correction welcome) this site has more members than

any other site devoted to caloric restriction. It is THE most

successful site of its kind. The reason is that, at the outset,

Francesca set the site up in such a way that it has been able to

retain the interest of people who would continue to contribute the

kind of information people want to read. My advice to Francesca (not

that she needs any advice from me, lol) is not to change anything.

She has a formula that, quite evidently, works.

All the best to you if you believe you have a better mousetrap,

Rodney.

> > >

> > > Hello, all --

> > >

> > > I am reading up here, because I have been around 34 pounds

overweight

> > > since I had my kids. My experience has been common to a few of

my

> > > friends -- pregnancy didn't mess me up, but slowing down

nursing did

> > > -- my appetite stayed up while calories burned went way down!

> > >

> > > Right now I'm at +20 pounds, having lost around 14 pounds in

the past

> > > couple of months due to exercise. Weight was still fluctuating

a lot,

> > > so I started a calorie-restricted diet two weeks ago. I came

here b/c

> > > I think I haven't been getting enough vitamins & minerals, and

would

> > > like some input on a few things.

> > >

> > > --Dizzy spells. These have been terrible & constant, nearly

every

> > > day. The only time they subsided was when I gave in at a social

> > > gathering & ate a piece of cheese pizza from Domino's. I'm not

sure

> > > if it is too-low calories or MSG withdrawal symptoms, LOL.

> > >

> > > --Number of Calories per day. I averaged these, and it is

around 1100

> > > calories/day, fluctuating from 1000 to 1400. One day I was

super

> > > hungry all day & ate around 2000 calories, but none of the days

have I

> > > gone hungry, and after that day I have gone back down. Better

food is

> > > accounting for low number. My BMI numbers say I would need

around

> > > 2200 per day, so I'm running a deficit of 900-1200 most days.

Is this

> > > causing the dizziness? The thing is, I'm not going hungry or

> > > depriving myself -- in fact, going hungry is very hard for me

because

> > > I'm close to being hypoglycemic, and usually eat a little all

> > > throughout the day. I'm trying to adjust & get closer to 1600

per

> > > day, for healthier weight loss & not losing muscle, but it is

hard to

> > > do if you are eating good foods. This even includes eating

> > > whole-wheat bread every day & cereal for breakfast, having

occasional

> > > desserts.

> > >

> > > --Weight loss is averaging 2.5 pounds/week. If this continues,

will I

> > > risk losing muscle instead of fat?

> > >

> > > --If the problem is minerals/nutrients, is it possible to get

what I'm

> > > missing through supplements? I have some organic supplements

that are

> > > pretty good in terms of content, but I haven't been super-great

about

> > > taking them, because I have doubts about absorption. Comments?

> > >

> > > --Weight -- the guideline in the opening emails from this list

say

> > > that my healthy weight should be around 125. When I have

around 20%

> > > body fat, my weight is around 140 pounds -- and that is around

a size

> > > 5-6 (female). That is my current goal weight for the end of

2006.

> > > Does CRON say that you need a lower body fat for health (I'm

still

> > > looking through), and should I be using body fat or another

estimate

> > > rather than weight, since mine has always been heavy, even when

I am

> > > small? For my women friends who are the same height, I am

typically

> > > the same clothes size as they are when I am around 15-20 pounds

> > > heavier -- not sure why. Even when I was a teenager & ran

every day,

> > > did a lot of weight training, and had a very low body fat

(closer to

> > > size 4), my weight still stayed around 138-140.

> > >

> > > I appreciate your comments as I'm just getting started &

looking at

> > > what CRON means, but I want to be healthier, maintain a good

weight

> > > long-term, and hopefully inspire my husband, who is currently

50+

> > > pounds overweight & showing pre-Diabetes Type II symptoms &

elevated

> > > cholesterol at age 29 (I worry constantly about his health).

> > >

> > > If any of these questions are really stupid, please forgive as

I'm

> > > still researching this. Thanks!

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>