Big appetite days

[bonnieUK]

ok, I realise this subject has been covered a multitude of times.

I've made good progress over the last 2 months, not sure how much actual weight I've lost (I don't weigh often enough to keep reliable records), so progress is measured by two facts:

1 - I can now fit into a pair of combat trousers that I've not been able to get into for a year and a half!

2 - I'm only a few kgs heavier than my skinny friend (who accredits her flat belly to 2 single plate meals per day, no snacks apart from 1-2 pieces of bread with butter / cheese, and lots of walking).

But I've hit those big appetite days, that come up most months, and I worry (probably needlessly) about undoing all this good work. In order to stay on habit on these days, I eat about 20% more at each meal (for about a week), and include more fat (e.g. more olive oil, peanut butter, nuts, margarine) this approach works, as in I stay on habit, but at the cost of eating much more. But on the other hand, how much damage can be done by adding more calories but still sticking to 3 meals per day?

Any thoughts?

p.s. interestingly, my skinny friend has big appetite days too, and I've observed that she eats about 20% more at meals on these days while sticking to the 2 meal 1 snack pattern. However, she is still eating a bit less than me

[wosnes]

My thoughts? Keep it up, and don't worry about it.

[BrightAngel]

In order to stay on habit on these days,
I eat about 20% more at each meal (for about a week),
this approach works, as in I stay on habit,
how much damage can be done by adding more calories
but still sticking to 3 meals per day?

Any thoughts?

I've always made it clear that I consistently keep track of my calories
through Diet Power, a computer software food journeling program,
as an enjoyable habit which I never intend to change.
So, of course, I have something to say about calories.

Although I use a one-day-at-a-time approach, in that every day is a new opportunity for success with food,
in order to judge how I'm doing with calories,
I don't depend on how many calories I took in during just one day or one week.
I average out my calories over the weeks and the months.
This has led me to be very aware that while what happens at one meal or in one day or even in one week
affects the "big picture", it is NOT the Big Picture.

In life some days are just harder than others,
as are some weeks, and most people's food intake is affected by this.
This is one of the principles involved in the basic No S plan.
I am in agreement with Reinhard's negative position re running a "line of credit" with food.
This has been one of my most difficult areas within maintenance,
and one I'm hoping No S gets me away from.

If you have one week with 20% more food
than you have during the three other weeks in the month,
that 1 week's 20% averaged out over 4 weeks turns out to be about 5% over the entire month.

In order to lose or maintain weight,
if that overall 5% increase turns out to be too much,
then you'd need to decrease your overall monthly calorie consumption
by whatever percentage it takes to maintain or lose your weight.
It's not really necessary to count calories to accomplish that.
A slight across-the-board-food-reduction to every meal would probably do it.

[blueskighs]

bonnieUk,

it is weird there seems to be a certain crossover point and I don't know exactly where it is for myself (I am not there right now) but when I reach a certain point of thinness I actually have to eat more to maintain my weight.

Possibly because there is not excess fat on the body? I have been getting much better in being able to adjust my food volume meal by meal. Before i prepare I kind of get a register how hungry I am and how much food I will need.

It is kind of neat!
Blueskighs

[Sheiler]

What I think is wonderful about Reinhard's plan is that it's easy to adjust for what our bodies need on any given day. On previous diets there was no flexibility. Calories were limited, or types of foods, etc. When we lose a certain number of pounds our body needs to adjust, and sometimes it starts screaming for calories. If we don't respond to that, it goes into starvation mode, lowering our metabolisms and storing every calorie as fat. We don't even need to be starving ourselves, we just need to be losing weight. Adjusting our intake a bit at that point keeps us from going into the mode of becoming ravenous, the next step our body takes to make sure it's getting it's needs met. Bonnie has chosen the perfect, satisfying, healthy fats to satisfy those needs.

I think that women are especially affected by this, because we are meant to carry more fat in certain places for childbearing. Our bodies try to keep plenty stored - just in case, (even when that's not EVEN a possibility.) Varying the amount that we eat occasionally keeps our body guessing, and losing. S days serve that function fairly well, but sometimes we wind up getting so on habit that we don't really take in much more on S days than on No S Days. Being able to adjust to our bodies needs without cheating or guilt is the real beauty of this plan. Thanks Reinhard

[bonnieUK]

Thanks for the feedback & reasurrances everyone From a logical point of view, I know that as long as I'm sticking to 3 healthy meals (and no Ss of course) it shouldn't do any harm to have a week each month of eating more. I just need to undo that "diet mentality" conditioning and realise that fat is not the enemy, I shouldn't worry about calories and eating peanut butter occasionally won't make me gain 5kgs

I've actually found it very helpful on these days to include peanut butter or nuts with both breakfast and lunch, it really promotes a feeling of satiety and means I need less volume to feel full (I sometimes eat nuts with breakfast anyway, but on my "normal" days, don't always feel the need).

So, I'm looking forward to a guilt free peanut butter sandwich this lunchtime, followed by some fruit

Thanks also Bright Angel for those percentages, 5% over a whole month sounds a lot better than 20% in a week I think it helps to have a bigger picture mindset in these circumstances.