Re: Need to lose weight - any good ideas

[Guest guest]

> would like to lose at least 15 - 20 Kgs, any ideas

> would be greatful....

> my

> meals can be erratic and as for fasting I am not quite

> sure that at this stage I could

I might be over-interpreting this, but I'm not sure. It sounds to me like

you're saying that you can neither eat regular meals NOR can you do regular

fasting (such as the Warrior Diet). That does kind of rule out every

possible way to regularize your metabolism, which is the only way you are

going to have a healthy weight longterm. If you are not willing to change

one of those things, I don't forsee success for you.

I can tell you a hundred ways to lose the weight you want to lose. Anyone

can. The thing is, " losing weight " is not the issue. The real problem is

that, in its healthy state eating an appropriate diet, the body regulates

weight on its own. Short of being strapped down and force-fed, if you are

overweight then that metabolic balance has been lost or damaged by

lifestyle, genetics, or disease. You can damage it further or you can heal

it. Those are your only two choices. And either one of those can involve

" losing weight. " Some of the worst metabolic damage in the world is done by

unhealthy weight loss!

The decision between a fasting approach (like the Warrior Diet) and a

" regular meals " approach (like Atkins, Carb Addicts, Schwartzbein Principle,

Leptin Diet, and even things like Weight Watchers) is, in my opinion, a

personal one. Fasting and " feast and fasting, " don't appeal to me at all and

don't work with my lifestyle. I also have been somewhat less than impressed

with their efficacy for weight loss, at least from the people I know online

who have tried them. But I do believe they CAN work. I will, though, let

someone else explain them as I have no personal experience.

What I can tell you is that I have lost 130 pounds in 27 months on a

Nourishing Traditions version of Aktins. Now, usually when people say they

have done a " version " of Atkins, they mean they are doing Atkins but LESS

strictly. I am doing Atkins but MORE strictly, in that I eat only real,

wholesome foods and never eat low carb junk food. And I have never in all 27

months " cheated " or eaten off plan. I follow the program religiously, based

on the book, including using the carb ladder and allowable foods lists, and

I do not mess around with it. Having been set free from a lifetime of

obesity, endless hunger, cravings, and the feeling that I was absolutely

lost in a metabolic nightmare, I'm not inclined to throw that away to have a

" mouth party. " So I never have.

But that means I don't leave eating to chance, not ever. I plan ahead. I

shop, I cook, I know every single day exactly what I'm going to eat. I don't

have the luxury of asking myself at ten minutes to noon, gosh, what shall I

have for lunch today? And I eat on a very fixed schedule and never deviate

from it. I have not missed one meal in 27 months, other than when I had food

poisoning on a business trip a while ago.

You have relatively little weight to lose compared to me, so it might be

hard to be as focused as I have been. Also, not everyone experiences the

immediate cessation of hunger and cravings, the regulation of energy levels,

sleep, and metabolism that I did. From the day I started Atkins, I had

boundless energy, began to wake up early in the morning feeling terrific,

and had no trouble staying on plan. It is like this way of eating was

designed for me.

After the first hundred pounds or so, my weight loss slowed down to around a

pound a month. I found this somewhat discouraging and experimented with

different things, including trying to just accept it. <G> I am currently on

my third week or so of using an eating schedule based on The Leptin Diet. I

do NOT eat the Leptin diet, which includes more carbs than I can eat (higher

levels of carbs trigger overeating in me so even if they are beneficial -

which I don't believe - they are just off limitis for me), but I eat on its

schedule. That is three meals a day at VERY fixed intervals, no snacks AT

ALL... not even a cup of coffee or tea with cream in it. Nothing sweetened

and nothing with calories between meals, period. I found the first two weeks

of this agonizing but it has gotten my weight loss going again, and now that

I've adjusted to the long intervals between eating (minimum of 5 hours

between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner, and 11-12 hours between

dinner and breakfast), I'm no longer having problems with hunger. I am now

losing more like a pound a week, except the week of my menstrual period when

weight loss stops.

There are approaches other than Atkins that regulate carbohydrate intake but

are more lenient. I don't have the psychology (and maybe I don't have the

physiology) for these to work for me - I work best on an " all or nothing "

type lifestyle and always have. But Carb Addicts and some of the cyclical

ketogenic diets that body builders use have helped many people I know lose

weight. They might be better for you, but they still require planned eating

at regular, predictable intervals.

> I am also an lacto-ovo vegetarian that eats fish.

I don't know that this matters, but I will comment on it anyway. I never

argue with people who do not eat meat for ethical or spiritual reasons.

Since you eat fish, that is probably not your motivation.

If you are not eating meat other than fish for health reasons, I'd really

reconsider that. The health problems with meat are not intrinsic to meat.

They are related to the inappropriate and inhumane way that large-scale food

production is practiced, the incorrect diets and confinement that lead to

deranged nutrient profiles in food animals. This is true of their milk and

eggs, too, so you in no way avoid this problem by avoiding the meat of these

animals. The best thing to do is to vote with your pocketbook for

appropriately and humanely raised animal foods, animals raised on good

pasture and not fed grains or given drugs. Their meat, milk, and eggs will

be healthful and wholesome and there is no reason to avoid or minimize these

foods. To the contrary. They can and do form the basis of many healthy

traditional diets. And that is, of course, the whole focus of THIS list.

I have a few articles on my blog and on my website about my journey with

food, weight loss, Nourishing Traditions, and Atkins. Something in one of

them might be helpful to you.

The Food of Love Thing

http://www.caberfeidh.com/FoodOfLove.htm

The First Hundred Pounds Are Easy

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2004/12/the_first_hundr.html

Oh, I've Been So Bad!

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2005/03/oh_ive_been_bad.html

Shame About Those Cute Clothes (this is on body image, more than food)

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2005/04/shame_about_tho.html

And the Fat Wars Continue....

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2005/04/and_the_fat_war.html

Fake Atkins

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2005/05/fake_atkins.html

I wish you the best.

Christie

Caber Feidh ish Deerhounds

Holistically Raising Our Dogs Since 1986

http://www.caberfeidh.com/

http://www.doggedblog.com/

[Guest guest]

Christie, I'm not the one who asked for this but thanks anyway. I need

to lose at least 50 pounds and really more like 100. I'd be happy with

20 at this point. It needs to happen soon, and I don't know how I'm

going to figure out what way works for me. I regularly forget to eat

(never in my life thought that'd happen, but since I became a

programmer and then a mom it happens constantly) and I'm beginning to

notice food sensitivities, notably to wheat and possibly corn (gluten

doesn't seem to be the issue--it seems to specifically be wheat). I

lost about 20 pounds without even thinking about it eating NT when I

first started, and my husband lost 30. I've gained about five back and

have lost the energy boost as I've become less focused; I haven't been

soaking nuts and grains, I haven't been doing the broths, and we've

been too poor to get really good meat. Now that the hubby has a better

job we're hoping to buy a whole steer late this year or early the next,

or at least a pig.

So I guess my question for the group is two-fold:

1) How do you quickly figure out which method of eating works for you

without going berserk?

2) How do you stay focused on NT and keep your routines going when you

are by nature a routine-less goofball who gets caught up writing PHP

code all day without even realizing it?

Lynn S.

------

Lynn Siprelle * web developer, writer, mama, fiber junky

http://www.siprelle.com * http://www.thenewhomemaker.com

http://www.deanspeaksforme.com * http://www.knitting911.net

[Guest guest]

Lynn-

>1) How do you quickly figure out which method of eating works for you

>without going berserk?

Analyze your history (or ask people to help you do it) and

experiment. That said, there are plenty of general principles that I think

people are foolish to ignore. For example, my guess is that ANYONE who is

overweight is eating too many carbs and/or too much of the wrong kind of

carbs. Some people can just switch to better (i.e. NN-style) carbs; others

just have to cut them. And snacking is a no-no. Timing really does

matter. I could go on, but I doubt I'd be saying anything I haven't

already said many times before.

>2) How do you stay focused on NT and keep your routines going when you

>are by nature a routine-less goofball who gets caught up writing PHP

>code all day without even realizing it?

Either appoint someone in your family to be the cook, or decide to spend a

certain amount of time per week arranging things for the upcoming

week. You can make large pots of stew, for example, and freeze it in

portion-sized mason jars. You can eat easy-to-prepare meals like yoghurt

shakes with egg yolks or even scrambled eggs. Etc.

And use an alarm clock or a timer or something to remind you to eat when

you should.

-

[Guest guest]

PS to Christie: Lookit how cute you are!

http://www.universityofwoof.com/christie1.jpg

Lynn S.

------

Lynn Siprelle * web developer, writer, mama, fiber junky

http://www.siprelle.com * http://www.thenewhomemaker.com

http://www.deanspeaksforme.com * http://www.knitting911.net

[Guest guest]

>2) How do you stay focused on NT and keep your routines going when you

>are by nature a routine-less goofball who gets caught up writing PHP

>code all day without even realizing it?

I have just accepted that I do not have the luxury of living like that and I

set a timer.

I am a bit concerned... I saw this post of yours quoted in 's reply, but

I never got it. I went to the website and saw your entire post and also saw

your sweet comment on my photo, LOL ... how did you find that???

Christie

Caber Feidh ish Deerhounds

Holistically Raising Our Dogs Since 1986

http://www.caberfeidh.com/

http://www.doggedblog.com/

[Guest guest]

> I have just accepted that I do not have the luxury of living like that

> and I

> set a timer.

oy. OK well I'm going to have to work on that.

> I am a bit concerned... I saw this post of yours quoted in 's

> reply, but

> I never got it. I went to the website and saw your entire post and

> also saw

> your sweet comment on my photo, LOL ... how did you find that???

I followed one of your articles--about the cute clothes. You were cute

at 16 and you're a cutie now! (I know you're " family " but if I let my

husband see that photo he'd be off like a shot--he loves girls with

bobs...we're " family " too, actually...)

Lynn S.

------

Lynn Siprelle * web developer, writer, mama, fiber junky

http://www.siprelle.com * http://www.thenewhomemaker.com

http://www.deanspeaksforme.com * http://www.knitting911.net

[Guest guest]

Hello Christie,

Thank you for your long indepth email.

I do not eat meat because I never liked the taste of

it whether on its own or in a meal combo and no-one

will ever change that as I have tried on various

occassions and found that I have become unwell in the

process.

I have never heard of the leptin diet and as I work

shift work and do not get a meal break in the 7 hours

that I work (except for on the go soup) this would not

suit me at all.

I have not really got into the Atkins diet as such as

there had been a lot of bad press about it regarding

ketosis, protein overload and unhealthy balance of

foods, even though it does cause weight loss it

supposed to be unhealthy long term (unless I can find

an article to prove otherwise).

I have only received my copy of Nourishing Traditions

from the US a week ago and have not had a read good

chance to sit down and look at it properly but hope

this would be one benefit of weight loss.

Yes I will check our your links and blogs and seek

further information on what you had supplied me and

see where I go from there.

--- Christie <christiekeith@...> wrote:

---------------------------------

> would like to lose at least 15 - 20 Kgs, any ideas

> would be greatful....

> my

> meals can be erratic and as for fasting I am not

quite

> sure that at this stage I could

I might be over-interpreting this, but I'm not sure.

It sounds to me like

you're saying that you can neither eat regular meals

NOR can you do regular

fasting (such as the Warrior Diet). That does kind of

rule out every

possible way to regularize your metabolism, which is

the only way you are

going to have a healthy weight longterm. If you are

not willing to change

one of those things, I don't forsee success for you.

I can tell you a hundred ways to lose the weight you

want to lose. Anyone

can. The thing is, " losing weight " is not the issue.

The real problem is

that, in its healthy state eating an appropriate diet,

the body regulates

weight on its own. Short of being strapped down and

force-fed, if you are

overweight then that metabolic balance has been lost

or damaged by

lifestyle, genetics, or disease. You can damage it

further or you can heal

it. Those are your only two choices. And either one of

those can involve

" losing weight. " Some of the worst metabolic damage in

the world is done by

unhealthy weight loss!

The decision between a fasting approach (like the

Warrior Diet) and a

" regular meals " approach (like Atkins, Carb Addicts,

Schwartzbein Principle,

Leptin Diet, and even things like Weight Watchers) is,

in my opinion, a

personal one. Fasting and " feast and fasting, " don't

appeal to me at all and

don't work with my lifestyle. I also have been

somewhat less than impressed

with their efficacy for weight loss, at least from the

people I know online

who have tried them. But I do believe they CAN work. I

will, though, let

someone else explain them as I have no personal

experience.

What I can tell you is that I have lost 130 pounds in

27 months on a

Nourishing Traditions version of Aktins. Now, usually

when people say they

have done a " version " of Atkins, they mean they are

doing Atkins but LESS

strictly. I am doing Atkins but MORE strictly, in that

I eat only real,

wholesome foods and never eat low carb junk food. And

I have never in all 27

months " cheated " or eaten off plan. I follow the

program religiously, based

on the book, including using the carb ladder and

allowable foods lists, and

I do not mess around with it. Having been set free

from a lifetime of

obesity, endless hunger, cravings, and the feeling

that I was absolutely

lost in a metabolic nightmare, I'm not inclined to

throw that away to have a

" mouth party. " So I never have.

But that means I don't leave eating to chance, not

ever. I plan ahead. I

shop, I cook, I know every single day exactly what I'm

going to eat. I don't

have the luxury of asking myself at ten minutes to

noon, gosh, what shall I

have for lunch today? And I eat on a very fixed

schedule and never deviate

from it. I have not missed one meal in 27 months,

other than when I had food

poisoning on a business trip a while ago.

You have relatively little weight to lose compared to

me, so it might be

hard to be as focused as I have been. Also, not

everyone experiences the

immediate cessation of hunger and cravings, the

regulation of energy levels,

sleep, and metabolism that I did. From the day I

started Atkins, I had

boundless energy, began to wake up early in the

morning feeling terrific,

and had no trouble staying on plan. It is like this

way of eating was

designed for me.

After the first hundred pounds or so, my weight loss

slowed down to around a

pound a month. I found this somewhat discouraging and

experimented with

different things, including trying to just accept it.

<G> I am currently on

my third week or so of using an eating schedule based

on The Leptin Diet. I

do NOT eat the Leptin diet, which includes more carbs

than I can eat (higher

levels of carbs trigger overeating in me so even if

they are beneficial -

which I don't believe - they are just off limitis for

me), but I eat on its

schedule. That is three meals a day at VERY fixed

intervals, no snacks AT

ALL... not even a cup of coffee or tea with cream in

it. Nothing sweetened

and nothing with calories between meals, period. I

found the first two weeks

of this agonizing but it has gotten my weight loss

going again, and now that

I've adjusted to the long intervals between eating

(minimum of 5 hours

between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner, and

11-12 hours between

dinner and breakfast), I'm no longer having problems

with hunger. I am now

losing more like a pound a week, except the week of my

menstrual period when

weight loss stops.

There are approaches other than Atkins that regulate

carbohydrate intake but

are more lenient. I don't have the psychology (and

maybe I don't have the

physiology) for these to work for me - I work best on

an " all or nothing "

type lifestyle and always have. But Carb Addicts and

some of the cyclical

ketogenic diets that body builders use have helped

many people I know lose

weight. They might be better for you, but they still

require planned eating

at regular, predictable intervals.

> I am also an lacto-ovo vegetarian that eats fish.

I don't know that this matters, but I will comment on

it anyway. I never

argue with people who do not eat meat for ethical or

spiritual reasons.

Since you eat fish, that is probably not your

motivation.

If you are not eating meat other than fish for health

reasons, I'd really

reconsider that. The health problems with meat are not

intrinsic to meat.

They are related to the inappropriate and inhumane way

that large-scale food

production is practiced, the incorrect diets and

confinement that lead to

deranged nutrient profiles in food animals. This is

true of their milk and

eggs, too, so you in no way avoid this problem by

avoiding the meat of these

animals. The best thing to do is to vote with your

pocketbook for

appropriately and humanely raised animal foods,

animals raised on good

pasture and not fed grains or given drugs. Their meat,

milk, and eggs will

be healthful and wholesome and there is no reason to

avoid or minimize these

foods. To the contrary. They can and do form the basis

of many healthy

traditional diets. And that is, of course, the whole

focus of THIS list.

I have a few articles on my blog and on my website

about my journey with

food, weight loss, Nourishing Traditions, and Atkins.

Something in one of

them might be helpful to you.

The Food of Love Thing

http://www.caberfeidh.com/FoodOfLove.htm

The First Hundred Pounds Are Easy

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2004/12/the_first_hundr.html

Oh, I've Been So Bad!

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2005/03/oh_ive_been_bad.html

Shame About Those Cute Clothes (this is on body image,

more than food)

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2005/04/shame_about_tho.html

And the Fat Wars Continue....

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2005/04/and_the_fat_war.html

Fake Atkins

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2005/05/fake_atkins.html

I wish you the best.

Christie

Caber Feidh ish Deerhounds

Holistically Raising Our Dogs Since 1986

http://www.caberfeidh.com/

http://www.doggedblog.com/

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