Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
jellybeans01 wrote:I'm wondering if the No S diet has worked for anyone who really wants to be trim trim.
reinhard wrote:It's hard to tell. It's not designed to get you "trim trim;"
it's designed to help you eat moderately (and see what happens).
That being said, moderate eating can have a striking effect on your physique.
forum member wrote:Breakfast - a bowl of porridge and then two slices of toast.
Lunch - two small breaded chicken strips, then burger and fries.
Main meal - a large portion of fries and then two chicken burgers.
The "No Snacks" Rule and the "One Plate" rulereinhard wrote:...Sounds like a lot of pretty calorically dense food,
and by putting it all on one plate in front of you at the same time
it'll look like a lot of food, too
which is the main point of the no-seconds rule.
You could then legitimately go ahead and eat that mountainous plate of food.
Just don't allow yourself to deceive yourself about how much you're actually eating
and odds are then you won't want to eat quite so much.
WHY THE SCALES CAN LIE
A biologist at Berkeley shared something very revealing that is helpful all through the erratic weight fluctuations one invariably encounters: Fat cells are resilient, stubborn little creatures that do not want to give up their actual cell volume. Over a period of weeks, maybe months of "proper dieting", each of your fat cells may have actually lost a good percentage of the actual fat contained in those cells. But the fat cells themselves, stubborn little guys, replace that lost fat with water to retain their size. That is, instead of shrinking to match the reduced amount of fat in the cell, they stay the same size! Result - you weigh the same, look the same, maybe even gained some scale weight, even though you have actually lost some serious fat.
The good news is that this water replacement is temporary. It's a defensive measure to keep your body from changing too rapidly. It allows the fat cell to counter the rapid change in cell composition, allowing for a slow, gradual reduction in cell size. The problem is, most people are frustrated with their apparent lack of success, assume they have lost nothing, and stop dieting.
However, if you give those fat cells some time, like 4-6 months, and ignore the scale weight fluctuations, your real weight/shape will slowly begin to show. The moral of the story - be patient! Your body is changing even if the number on the scale isn't.
PATTERNS OF WEIGHT LOSS
Common patterns of weight loss from tracking a lot of people who begin dieting show.... the first two weeks of a diet can be pretty heady...weight lost just about every single day, enormous and unbelievable amounts of weight loss are reported. This is often followed by complaints that weight loss "stalls" or that the rate drops to only 1 pound per week.
Many people just don't know that fat-loss ...the actual goal when on a weight-reduction" diet, is rate-limited. In other words, the human body has factors that prevent more than a certain amount of fatty-acid release from storage...and even more factors that prevent those released fatty acids from being used up instead of stored back into the fat cells.
A priority of the human body is survival. Anything that threatens its survival results in the cascade of events to maintain the previous status quo. Water fluctuations are one way the body does this. OK...so you done good on your first week or two of dieting...lost 10 pounds the first 2 weeks. Maybe 7 the first week and 3 the second. But, whoa! Weeks 3 and 4 there is NO loss! And weeks 5 and 6 is only 1/2 pound each!
So... what gives? Initially, the body jettisons the water attached to the glycogen stores that we diligently deplete...this accounts for about 3-5 pounds of water. In addition, muscle stores of glycogen are not being replaced when used...which will account for the rest. All in all...MAYBE 1/2 pound of fat was metabolized during the first week... and MAYBE 1/2 pound of fat was metabolized the 2nd week. Of that 10 initial pounds, only 1 pound was fat and 9 pounds water...
The body senses this lack and sirens start shrieking: Warning! Warning! Losing water... new thing...got to get back to the status quo! Brain tells body to produce and release that vasopressin anti-diuretic hormone....more water is retained, and no weight loss noticed. Fat loss is still occurring, MAYBE even 2 pounds per week, because ketosis is firmly established and appetite suppression is in effect...but water retention is hiding that continuing fat loss. The body is preventing dehydration with this mechanism, and that's a *good* thing.
From the perspective of the scale, it can be discouraging. Which is why the mantra: Water retention masks fat loss (repeated frequently to oneself) is helpful. Water retention will mask ongoing fat-loss for as long as the body retains the water. We can combat this by drinking more water...but we aren't going to totally overcome this mechanism during the initial water-loss phase of a diet. By weeks 5 and 6, things start to get back in balance, and the scale will begin to reflect the true fat-loss...which, as mentioned before is rate-limited.
Individuals vary, but max weight loss runs about 2 pounds per week...under extremely optimal conditions... or 1% of body weight (whichever is the lower number). So don't use the scale as an excuse to undermine your progress. Even when the scale is in a stall, fat loss can be occurring.
We've been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can't resist peeking at that number every morning. If you choose to weigh daily, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it's readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.
Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body's water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don't understand what's happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it's water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.
Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium, so it's easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn't have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts.
The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That's why, when it comes to eating, it's wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.
Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.
Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it's packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it's stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates.
As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it's associated water. It's normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you're prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.
Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it's wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you've had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It's the actual weight of everything you've had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you've finished digesting it.
Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it's not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it's likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in.
Generally, it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it's physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you're really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.
This brings us to the scale's sneakiest attribute. It doesn't just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn't necessarily mean that you've lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you've lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you're just sitting around. That's one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.
Sometimes the best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don't be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride.
It's a matter of mind over scale
So...it looks like in the 14th Century, it was commonly knownKathleen wrote: Here is a paragraph from the Third Story of the Seventh Day of Boccaccio's :
The Decameron, a book written just after the Black Plague in 1347-49.
"But why do I ramble on about this Friar Rinaldo of ours? Is there a single one of these friars who behaves any differently? Ah, scandal of this corrupt and wicked world! It doesn't worry them in the least that they appear so fat and bloated, that a bright red glow suffuses their cheeks, that their clothes are smooth as velvet, and that in all their dealings they are so effeminate; yet they are anything but dovelike, for they strut about like so many proud peacocks with all their feathers on display. Furthermore, their cells are stuffed with jars filled with unguents and electuaries, with boxes full of various sweetmeats, with phials and bottles containing oils and liquid essences, and with casks brimming over with Malmsey and Greek and other precious wines, so that to any impartial observer they look more like scent shops or grocery stores than the cells of friars. But what is worse, they are not ashamed to admit that they suffer from gout, as though it were not widely known and recognized that regular fasting, a meager and simple diet, and a sober way of life makes people lean and slender, and for the most part healthy. Or at least, if they produce infirmity, this does not take the form of gout, for which the remedy usually prescribed is continence and all other features of a humble friar's existence. Moreover, they think we are too stupid to realize that a frugal life, lengthy vigils, prayer and self-restraint ought to give to people a pale and drawn appearance, and that neither Saint Dominic nor Saint Francis had four cloaks apiece, or swaggered about in habits that were elegantly tailored and finely woven, but clad themselves in coarse woolen garments of a natural color, made to keep out the cold. However, God will doubtless see that they, and the simple souls who keep them supplied with all these things, receive their just deserts."
Why are we so afraid to eat less?
Regarding the ambiguous and nonsensical “Get plenty of exercise and eat a healthy and balanced dietâ€. . .
Even when we know what ‘healthy and balanced’ is, it’s still skirting the issue of ‘HOW MUCH†healthy and balanced diet.
The answer is less.
If you weigh more than you want to,
you are eating more than you need to.
One reason we may shy away from saying ‘eat less’ is that it creates the need to know ‘how much less’.
This question creates the need for calorie counting, and predictive equations.
And predictive equations create the need for guesstimating fat mass and lean body mass
and the average calorie burning associated with exercise.
So we measure, predict and guesstimate…then pretend it’s all 100% fact.
Now, we all have our estimates … but they are ALL estimates.
This is where confusion sets in…
...when we start pretending we know EXACT numbers when everything is estimates.
By saying ‘eat less’ we have to admit that we don’t know EXACTLY how much less,
but Eating less IS the answer…. because it works.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brad Pilon, author of Eat Stop Eat
Member of Another Forum wrote:I have found that the amount of food I ate while losing weight (a lot of weight)
is pretty close to what I get to eat to maintain - shocker for me to realize ...
It was really not a "diet" all that time ...
I was eating what a 130 lb girl has to eat to stay that way.
I do think that takes a big mental adjustment.
It did for me
... and no one tells you this from the get-go
because they do not want to scare you off your goal of losing weight ..
and sadly, not enough people succeed longterm to make it matter
(to the diet plan developers) at the beginning.
I have to ACCEPT in my head (the following Truths):
"It is unfair that I have to do what I have to do to maintain this weight and this level of fitness."
"It is also hard, and sometimes annoying, to live life the way I have to live life."
And THEN I must just get on with what needs to be done.
Because, for me, wallowing in self-pity, and
"doing what I want and what should be right and normal"
kept me obese my whole life.
It was a big wake up for me to realize THAT was what my obesity was
- and for most obese people,
not only a result of possible insulin resistance,
not just medical problems,
or the development of processed foods in the last 30 years,
it was REFUSING TO ACCEPT
that there are certain ways one has to live ones life in order to be healthy ..
It sucks, but I feel that the alternative is unacceptable to me.
While it is true that many people get tired of calorie counting (wear out);Kathleen wrote:It's occurred to me that the restrictive eaters
can't manage to continue calorie counting when under a lot of stress,
but I also think that at some point those who calorie count just give out.
That's my perspective from giving out so many years ago.
That's why I am so stubborn in trying to find a way to lose weight without portion control.
Along with several other members, I use my Individual Daily Check-in Threadamarbach wrote: I don't post here often but I read posts all the time.
I always come away with some great idea or inspiration.
KCCC wrote:This post is prompted by two things...
First, I've been going through a rather stressful period in my life, and have found that No-S has helped a great deal. Under stress, I used to have two reactions. The most common was emotional eating, to avoid whatever-it-was I needed to deal with. The second was an inability to eat at all (rarer, but also not good for health). With No-S, I avoid both of these extremes, and both my weight and my health benefit.
Second, BA just posted on her personal thread a review of some of the stressful times in her own life - some of which are quite intense, in my view - during which she kept up her habit of calorie-counting and logging her calories. She writes:(She also asks that lengthy replies - especially those that might engender extended discussion - not be put on her personal thread. I am opening discussion here out of consideration for her preferences.)And So Life Goes.
During that time, I also brushed my teeth, combed my hair,
got dressed daily, and used the toilet when necessary..
I prioritize entering my food into my computer journal as equal to,
or more important than, those activities.
Now, though I have a great deal of respect and liking for BA, she and I hold almost opposite views on many, many topics related to this forum.Artificial sweeteners come to mind. Calorie counting, for sure (here's a prior discussion on that). There's probably more. Yet with these widely divergent perspectives and practices, both of us have been relatively successful at maintaining our weight over time.
The common thread here is that both of us have built habit-systems that work for OURSELVES, as individuals, and both of us have worked to make them rock-solid. I see that as the KEY to No-S - developing habits that work day in and day out, whatever else is going on.
And one of the things I value about this board is that, as a group, we accept and acknowledge that there will be individual variation in those habits. One person will feel the need to limit carbs, another MUST have them or feel unsatisfied. One person will choose to eat organic, whole foods, and another will eagerly try the latest low-something food product. We have very, very different approaches. (I suspect that's in part because individuals really do process food differently - at least, that's my conclusion over extended observation. But I digress.) And the tone of most advice is "here's what worked for me, or what I think, but 'your mileage may vary.'" To me, BA's expression that "We are all an experiment of one" beautifully sums up that perspective.
The nice thing about habits is that once they're in place, they're pretty much automatic! I don't even think about snacking any more, even though at one point I consumed far more in snacks than meals and thought I'd NEVER build the no-snack habit. And BA clearly has NO trouble logging her calories, even though I would run screaming at the idea.
And once the initial habits are solid, then you can add another. Then another. When you look back over time, you've radically changed what you do... but the gradual process has kept you from resisting.
All of which reinforces my perspective that the most important aspect of No-S is habit-building. And I'll add to that respecting the "experiment of one" that we all are. Thanks again, BA, for that wonderful phrase.
Just another bloggy post...
Each of us brings our own experiences and knowledge to the "dieting table".Kathleen wrote:As you remind people, we are all an experiment of one, and we are all different.
Prior to 18 years ago, when I had bariatric surgery,Member of Another Forum wrote:Bright Angel, Personally, most of us are not perfect,
and trying to lose weight from above 200 lbs is very difficult.
I do appreciate most of your wisdom and advice
but also do consider that you have had bariatric surgery
which make your challenges a bit different than others'.
From the age of 9 until age 48,
I spent my lifetime yo-yo dieting, losing more than 100 lbs 3 separate times,
and regaining it all, plus more, 3 separate times,
while losing and regaining 20 to 50 lbs numerous times.
As an overview, I'll list a few of my dieting efforts.
When I was in my teens and twenties, I took various diet pills,
while under the care of various "diet doctors";
I've joined and participated in Weight-Watchers more than 15 times;
I'm a lifetime member of Jenny Craig;
I participated in Nutri-System and many more commercial diet organizations;
I followed numerous popular diets, both “fad†and “healthyâ€;
I counted calories, points, carbs, meals, and bites;
I worked to eat only when Hungry;
I worked to eat only what “hummed†to me;
I belonged to numerous Gyms; and engaged in various exercise activities;
I spent about 4 years as a TOPS member;
I spent 5 years as a very active Overeater's Anonymous member;
I participated in a 6 month doctor's assisted, liquid-fast program;
I participated in an outpatient, eating disorders program;
I also spent almost 20 years in individual Therapy...
...much of which was spent on issues surrounding my weight.
Finally, 18 years ago at age 48, weighing 271 lbs. at a height of 5'0",
I had an RNY gastric bypass,
with NO removal of any intestine,
which means that every calorie I eat is still digested,
and still counts.
The surgery made my stomach smaller,
and the first 6 to 8 months immediately after surgery,
my body would allow me to eat almost nothing.
Due to food intake of about 500 calories a day,
my weight dropped from 271 down to 160 lbs..at a height of 5'0".
For the next 2 to 3 years I maintained in the 160s
while eating as much food as my body would tolerate,
however, my stomach begin stretching, and my body began to tolerate more food,
and again, I had to begin dieting to keep my weight down.
For the next 10 years, I did this, but my weight kept creeping up.
I felt I simply could not bear weighing over 200 lbs again,
after all my effort, pain, and expense,
and my struggle allowed me to maintain in the 190s for several years,
before September 2004, when I began logging my food into DietPower.
At that point, I begun losing weight, and
about 16 months later, I reached my goal weight of 115 lbs.
This was the first time I weighed 115 lbs since I was a Freshman in High School,
and at that time (1959), I did it while using Dr.-supervised, prescription diet-pills
For the 4 3/4 years since that time,
I have maintained at or near my goal weight.
The only thing different this time, from all my other dieting attempts,
was the continual, consistent logging of ALL my food into this computer food journal.
My surgery still gives me one definite advantage,
in that my body won't tolerate much more than 3000 to 3500 calories
in one 12 hr time period,
which limits Binges to that amount.
My 6 years of detailed individual food and weight records
show that…(due to my size, my age, and my activity level)…
currently my personal daily energy burn for maintenance is about 1050 calories,
so it is still physically possible for me to gain 3/4 of a lb of fat in one day...
which is 5 lbs per week; 20 per month; and over 100 lbs in 6 months.
Your statement indicates that you are of the opinion
that because I had bariatric surgery 18 years ago,
it is now easier for me to lose and/or maintain weight
than it is for you and for most other people.
I beg to differ with you.
connorcream wrote:Calorie Counting A Year Later
October 6, 2010
130.4#: Lost 61.6#
(Last time was at this weight May 1987)
A year has passed with calorie counting as my method of weight loss. I think it might be helpful to summarize my efforts. As background, I will review my weight history and my responses. As a child I was not overweight. I ate what was prepared for me by my mother. The family ate three times a day, a snack after school sometimes, and never before dinner because it would spoil our appetites. We did not eat in our rooms nor while watching TV in general. We could see the TV from the kitchen table and it would be on. But as for TVs in other rooms, we did not cart our food to them. My mother was not a baker so we did not have desserts often. When I began to cook, I usually made the desserts.
I did not start having weight problems until I started to have children combined with a busy life- undergraduate and graduate school in demanding, low acceptance rate, high failure rate programs. I am very academic and scientifically driven so it seemed to me that when one had a problem, in this case excess weight, then one would turn to the experts in weight loss regimes. I joined Weight Watchers and lost successfully two times covering almost 30 yrs. In fact, I am a lifetime member with a key in the drawer and my original books and materials too. After several years passed and I more children were born, coupled with moving and various stresses, I again gained weight. I really did not have time for meetings with a demanding home life so I started to look for another method. I found South Beach, I liked the broader health approach, the author being a cardiologist, I followed it, lost successfully again, and maintained for several years. Diabetes is a concern in my life and I liked learning about the glycemic index and carbohydrates role with it.
But life continued to unfold, I had more children, moved again, gained weight and stumbled across another diet, NoS, online. It was from a money forum that I had frequented. At this time we were living in a rent house while our home was being built. Half of our belongings was in storage, and Nos appealed to me because of the lack of detail required to be successful. I was told not to weigh myself as that was not accurate but rather to use my clothing fit and body measurements as a guide. I did not need portion control or food group avoidance. As my bathroom scale was not convenient in the rent house and my life was in disarray, relatively speaking for me, this seemed approach seemed so attractive. The only portion control was a plate. Nothing could be easier and more appealing. My previous attempts had all proven successful without me having to learn about nutrition in a precise way, so I assumed I would have the same outcome. Concurrently, my dear husband and I had adopted the cash envelope system a couple years earlier for managing our money which engendered great success. I thought the plate approximated an envelope and was yet another reason to expect success with NoS.
However, I did not lose on Nos, I gained and by the time I stepped on the scale after using this approach for almost 18 months I had gained 12#. I felt a crazy as I would read about others losing so easily and happily. What was I doing wrong? Not to worry, it could take several attempts, the weight loss is slow (moderate). Looking back it is a wonder I did not gain more.
My breaking point came on October 6, 2009 when I tried to put on my capris and I could not even get them over my hips. I had bought into striving for a moderate weight attained by moderate eating. What I really got was fat, 5# from being obese. Enough was enough. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is insane and I was tired of being stupid. This one time failure turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to my health. I had also learned about the indispensable role habit plays in success and I applied this knowledge to my previous dieting successes and decided to craft my own program.
I was ignorant about nutrition. I was dependent on some other entity for doing my thinking for me in the most important area of my life, my health. I did not know 3500 cal=1# or that a calorie is not a calorie. Because I had belonged to gyms in the past I knew how little exercise burns off calories, so focusing on the food seemed logical to me. I had read posts by Bright Angel discussing calorie counting which I had dismissed as being too obsessive and restrictive. I was now disgusted enough with my weight to try calorie counting. It was also providential that I had gotten an iTouch for my birthday a week earlier. So I was playing around with it, downloading apps, one of the first being Nutrition Menu. I could not use Diet Power, as she had used, because I have a Mac. She rightly said recording my food intake would be very helpful. I would use LoseIt later as well as Fitday, each having a role in my journey. I used dietphysics with weight loss tracking.
I began my calorie counting, while traveling to NASA with the children, meeting family, for a home schooling day. I first logged my calories in Nutrition Menu in the breakfast buffet area of the Hampton Inn. That night we were eating at a wonderful Asian buffet as we had also visited the Emperor Qin Terra Cotta exhibit at the Museum .Afterwards I was figuring out the calorie counts of what I had eaten. Little did I know that I this most unlikely and difficult of starts would be how my diet would need to operate- on the go, traveling, with food journaling portable in my iTouch, full of sticker shock at the beginning. Sticker shock is what I call finding out the calorie counts for foods and being shocked out how caloric some food is, especially the healthy, pure clean local stuff. I started calorie counting right before the major eating holidays of the year too. There wa really a lot to fight against before I was sick and tired of being fat. Sitting here today, 60 #s lighter, thank you dear Lord for letting it be so. How much joy I would have missed this past year if had decided to wait for a better time.
I also began to learn about all aspects of weight management, nutrition, calories, carbs, exercise, building muscle mass, research articles, interviews, books, pedometers, calipers, BMI, resistance bands, etc,,, I found a supportive website, 3FatChicks, from reading an article on maintenance about how obese bodies are fundamentally changed by their weight gain. I learned tips from expert maintainers and within two months of calorie counting I began to think about my maintenance plan. I bought a very good scale, Tanita, put batteries in my Weight Watchers food scale, and began again. This time, I began counting and weighing daily knowing I would be doing this the rest of my life. It was as important as my daily prayer life, budgeting and balancing my checkbook, brushing my teeth, showering, cleaning my home, regular date nights with DH. In fact, I began to notice that anything in my life that was worthwhile required regular ongoing attention to detail. And how infantile of me it is to whine about calorie counting when one of my sons has Crohns. He MUST monitor his food intake every day, every meal. I thought of my family and friends who have diabetes and MUST take their blood several times a day plus be very mindful of their eating and the need to take medications. How much easier it is to just have to worry about weight. However at my large weight, my own health problems were just around the corner. In fact, I suffered greatly from this excess weight though I did not know it at the time. Now looking back, I wonder how I could have not known. How did I buy into accepting a higher weight than was good for me. How did I not see? Being tall helps to hide the extra pounds. Blindness can run rather deep.
My immediate goals are to continue my maintenance monitoring. I am close to my final weight so I am learning what to eat to maintain, the consequences of eating different calorie/carb ranges, and how to adjust for this. I have a maintenance graphic but the ranges continue to change so I have not posted it. I have successfully maintained for 6 months and I look forward to joining the National Weight Loss Registry in April 2011. I savor my success every day. I find myself savoring ordinary moments. It is so true that being thin and trim is better than being fat and overweight both for joy filled times and for sorrow enveloped moments. I have loved this time of self discovery. I have and will continue to develop delicious, filling, and nutritious meals for me and my family so I will not miss those foods which do not nourish me. I love clothes shopping, seeing my reflection in the mirror and looking at department store flyers. My capris, the ones that motivated me to calorie count still do not fit, they are too big:-)
Kathleen wrote:BrightAngel,
Wouldn't it be nice if all you had to do was go through "bariatric surgery"
and you magically became naturally thin?
No calorie counting. No food monitoring at all.
Just eat what you want because your body can only tolerate so much food.
I don't believe that I have discussed my fasting experiences in detail.Kathleen wrote:I also found it interesting that you could determine
exactly what your maximum number of calories per day now is.
I was wondering if you have ever described your experience with fasting.
PORTION CONTROLKathleen wrote: “Portion control†necessarily means eating less than you want,
so it necessarily requires willpower rather than habit.
I believe that each of us has to find his or her own way. "You see a lot of contradiction in diet books
and on diet blogs and message boards.
Some people will tell you to eat certain foods,
others tell you to stay away from them,
eat six meals, or maybe just three meals,
do aerobics, avoid aerobics,
take these pills, don't take any pills.
Nobody's right. Everyone's right.
You have to think of a diet as a trip home for Thanksgiving --
it's a personal destination
and you should know better than anybody how to get there.
If you're driving east on the highway heading home for Thanksgiving,
you'll see a lot of cars driving west.
If the person in the passenger seat said,
"There's a lot of people heading home for the holiday,"
you wouldn't turn to that person and flip out and say,
"What the hell!
What a bunch of retards!
Don't they know home is this way?"
But that is what diet writing often is --
people arguing over how to get home."
marygrace wrote:The act of counting calories itself can be easy,BrightAngel wrote:It doesn't HAVE to take a lot of brain power, or will power to count calories.
Again, a plug for calorie counting via the use of a software computer program.
It's really easy to remember to walk to my computer,
click the icon that opens my software food journal,
use its search function to find the food I ate,
enter the amount I ate and hit a button.
Calories counted...over and done.
A 1 to 3 minute task.
but we're talking about willpower--
as in, the willpower to resist dessert or seconds
or whatever food you're trying to avoid in an effort to lose weight.
I used to try to count calories.
Of course, it wasn't difficult to track the food that I ate
and add up the numbers,
but sometimes my cravings became too strong
and I'd eat sweets that I wasn't supposed to.
At that point, it didn't matter whether I was counting calories
or doing any other kind of weight loss stratgegy--
because I'd blew it for the day (or week),
I'd forget the plan and just keep eating.
After all, what would be the point of tallying calories
if they were going to end up being super high?
BrightAngel wrote:AH !!!marygrace wrote:After all, what would be the point of tallying calories
if they were going to end up being super high?
The ongoing necessary WILLPOWER exertion is merely
to get oneself to walk to the computer and input the data.
BUT the above-quote states the crux of the calorie counting issue !
The POINT is ACCOUNTABILITY,
and second POINT is HABIT.
Accountability. All of the food I eat includes calories.
My body uses these calories or stores them as fat.
There is no free ride.
Calories must be counted CONSISTENTLY...
without regard of the fact of whether it is 500 calories or 5,000 calories.
I am Accountable for what I put into my body....ALWAYS,
and therefore, I must input my food into my computer food journal ALWAYS.
Habit. In order to make calorie counting a HABIT,
I have to do it ALL of the TIME...every meal, every bite.
The easy way is to simply input that information into a software food journal..
To establish HABIT, I have to do it always...no matter what I eat..
THIS is, of course, the POINT!!!
It is hard to live in a world that celebrates everything with booze and cake.
I was whining to my mom about this recently.
Just counting carbs was not working for me
because I was eating way too much food.
I started crying and said:
“I’m so confused now, I have no idea what I should be eating.â€
Her typical Zen response :
“Get quiet and listen,
you have the answer already, you just don’t like it.â€
BrightAngel wrote:I don't believe that I have discussed my fasting experiences in detail.Kathleen wrote:I was wondering if you have ever described your experience with fasting.
I'll give the issue some thought and make a future post about it.
The Fast-Five Diet and the Fast-Five Lifestyle
a little book about making big changes’
by Bert Herring, M.D.
The title of this little book made me think it was about how to make quick easy meals suitable for eating ‘on the run’. But its not about that at all! It is far simpler and very comprehensive. The book has a total of 67 pages –many of which (in PDF format) are blank, or contain chapter headings, graphs or references. It is a very easy read – able to be done in less than an hour if you’re quick.
Bert Herring claims the book’s purpose is ‘improving lives through innovation and education’ yet it is in fact an old principle – which he acknowledges in the book. It is a refreshing look at how and why we eat with some great points to consider.
When I read a ‘diet’ book, I like to know why the author thinks the way he does, how we can implement his plan, when we’ll start to see results and a detailed meal example. The book covers three out of four of these categories making it a worthwhile read.
Why intermittent fasting?
Herring goes into quite a bit of detail with regard to why the body gets hungry and how we often misinterpret that hunger. He produces a convincing argument why he believes the way he does.
How does it work?
Essentially, all your eating is restricted to one 5 hour window every day. The method is outlined very simply and clearly and is easy to comprehend. Split up into two sections, the first describes the 5 simple steps in great detail and the second addresses 9 ‘problems’ people come across, Q & A, and the physiology of the diet.
The first section can be read in depth – which gives you detailed information on hormones, types of hunger and why fasting is good for the body – or it can be skimmed for the basics (which I mostly did!) and still perfectly understandable and able to be implemented.
When will you start getting results?
The author is careful to cover all bases when he starts talking results. We are warned that some people will adapt very quickly and begin to see results very quickly, while others will take a little longer. As a generalization, results will be seen after 3 or so weeks, and the goal should be at least a pound a week. There is also a lot of information as to how each ‘goal’ can be personalized, including lots of charts and graphs which are useful tools!
How do we put it into practice?
There is no meal guide included. It isn’t very specific about what to eat and what not to eat – a sample weekly meal plan would be a fantastic bonus for the book! What would happen if we followed this diet plan religiously and eat pasta and bread every 5 hour window?
As any diet book should have, there is sufficient warning given to those
who dare to try it out – yet the diet requires no complicated aspects like replacement meals, special pills or random herbs you’ve never heard of. I like it because it is simple, easy to read, and it makes sense.
One thing he perhaps over-emphasizes a bit is calorie-counting. The seems to detract from the simplicity of it somewhat!
The main issue I have with the book: the author commends artificial sweeteners – which really does not sit well with me at all! In fact on the website, Stevia is almost disregarded because it is not FDA-recommended – coming from the argument that even though it is natural and ‘non-caloric’, deadly toxins are also natural… yeah! I guess if you are considering intermittent fasting, it is likely you have considered other aspects of ‘healthy eating’ too so common sense almost applies here.
To Read or Not to Read?
Well, the fact that you can read it for free is a pretty compelling reason to give it an hour of your time. On the whole it’s a pretty good little book and the hard copy wouldn’t be a waste of money. Just be aware, without taking away from the good ideas the author has, some pages should be read with a grain of salt. I’ve started implementing it myself and have found it reasonably easy adjusting to the plan so far. Also, it means I have two less meals to think about and prepare!
One can use whatever Term one wishes to define “under eating†days. 
Kathleen wrote: ...."changes in my eating that naturally occur"....
BrightAngel wrote:I believe you have stated your difficulty here "in a nutshell".
No matter what the food plan is....or whether or not it includes fasting,
The CHANCES THAT THE KIND OF CHANGE...
in any Obese person's eating Habits that will cause any kind of substantial weight drop....
WILL EVER "NATURALLY OCCUR" are almost ZERO.
There is no scientific, or historical evidence, supporting this Desire.
It is merely a Wish that will always remain unfulfilled.
Obesity is a PHYSICAL problem...a problem OF THE BODY,
not just a moral or philosophical, or mental problem.
An Obese body will do everything in its power
....which includes using its Hormones to make one feel famished,
and to slow down its own metabolic functions....,
to maintain or exceed its current weight..
as a simple matter of survival, no matter how fat it might be.
An Obese body will never NATURALLY become a Normal weight body.
Intuitive eating might bring psychological peace
and acceptance of obesity to a person with an eating disorder,
but it won't bring an obese body to "normality" without effort.
Also Fasting doesn't commonly provide a religious "miracle" such as "divine healing".
Fasting can temporarily relieve one from Hunger,
but when Hunger returns, it brings along its friends.
Both Initial and Ongoing EFFORT is a requirement of such change.
As long as one continues to expect one's Body to correct itself NATURALLY,
one will remain obese.
ACCEPTANCE of this issue is the STARTING Point of a weight-loss journey.
But there are many "Experts" out there
...including trainers, nutritionists, and psychologists...
who pander to the unrealistic dream of weight-loss without effort
to benefit themselves financially.
While some of these are mis-informed,
many of them simply provide "well-intentioned", "motivating" lies.
My Thread contains recent posts which could be helpful for weight-loss.
There isn't just ONE way, but EVERY way takes effort.
For an Obese person, weight-loss and maintenance of weight-loss, is not a "NATURAL" occurance.
It will always involve...in some manner...
fighting the desire to overeat
that is NATURALLY created by one's obese or reduced obese body.
Kathleen wrote:The idea of using fasting to "naturally" reduce desire for food is not, for me,
grounded in any sort of thought that I could be the recipient of a divine miracle.
What Pieper says about Aquinas' view is that fasting is part of natural law:
natural law is the basis of religious law but is not dependent on it.
I am not a religious scholar. I am not a philosopher.
I have had zero familiarity with the history of fasting
since I started doing research in the last year or so.
I am exploring what I think may be present based on a few scattered references.
Could I be wrong?
Absolutely.
The bottom line is this: I prefer being obese to constant restriction of calories.
You may well be right.
What's nice is that you have pinpointed where we disagree.
TexArk,TexArk wrote:Diet Power is sooo easy and it is almost like a game.
I have just faithfully recorded
and have even been out of town to take care of relatives, etc
and it has been so easy.
And I have steadily lost while enjoying my meals.
I need both accountability and habit.
I know it is a personal journey,
but this is the most comfortable plan I have ever done.
The habit is the entering in Diet Power.
I could not use Diet Power because I have a Mac. However, BA gave me wise, priceless advice, use the technology I have, recording is valuable in and of itself. So, I used my iTouch, 2 apps, one which syncs to my iMac and has an online component (LoseIt). It is incredibly easy, quick, and is as essential as brushing my teeth, balancing my checkbook, etc....BrightAngel wrote: Prior to using this computer software food journal,
I also found calorie counting so burdensome as to be almost impossible,
and I am Thrilled by the fact that it now has become an enjoyable Habit for me.
I'm so glad you were willing to try out the method, ]
Connorcream, 
Finally getting around to watching the clip. Fantastic. Copied and sent to interested family members, on the mark again. This was would be funny if it weren't so very true.BrightAngel wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQbuzsY_34Q
I'm very interested in a Concept “These mice can make fat out of their food
under the most unlikely circumstances,
even when half starved.
They will consume the protein in their muscles and organs
rather than surrender that fat in their adipose tissue.
Indeed when these fat mice are starved,
they do not become lean mice,
but become emaciated versions of fat miceâ€
I am currently very interested in the conflict between these two Hyphthesis.In 1936 Francis Benedict (of the Harris/Benedict BMR formula)
fasted a strain of genetically obese mice,
and reported that they lost 60 percent of their body fat
before they died of starvation,
but still had five times as much body fat as lean mice
that were allowed to eat as much as they desired.
"Unless you have a degree in human biology
…and in many cases even if you do…you do not understand what ‘metabolism’ means.
Eating Less Calories isn't Dangerous for your Metabolism,
This word gets thrown around the fitness and diet media
and is used to scare people into thinking there is a dangerous level of calories
that will destroy their metabolism.
This of course is a false premise considering your ‘metabolism’ isn’t a thing
that can be destroyed or sped up or slowed down (not without drugs).
“Metabolism’ is just the sum of the processes of your body on a cellular/systemic level
…that’s it…that’s all it’s ever been…nothing more.
So what…who cares.
Why do fitness marketers keep talking about it?! I’ll never know.
And there is virtually nothing you can do to change this.
Eating at or below your actual BMR isn’t going to ‘damage’ your metabolism
any more than eating above it.
And speaking of which, why don’t marketers
suggest that there could be ‘metabolic damage’ when people overeat!? …anyone…anyone?
Right, just what I thought, this lie doesn’t lead to lucrative weight loss products.
The following claims are false
and are your best way to know that a person is clueless
about biology and physiology and nutrition if they say:
If you see any of the above claims,
- Eating too few calories is going to ’slow’ your metabolism
(unless they’re referring to people who are starving to death…and are in fact about to die)
That there are foods that can ‘damage’ your metabolism
That you can speed up or slow down your metabolism
(without drugs…and that this would be a good thing in either direction)
That a slow metabolism is responsible for weight gain
That a fast metabolism is responsible for weight loss
That you have any control whatsoever over your metabolic rate
That your meal timing or exercise timing can affect your metabolic rate
…and any other garbage claim you hear from any fitness marketer
with the word “metabolism†in it…
you can be assured that the person who said them
is sorely lacking in their understanding of how the body works.
If you want to lose weight…
....EAT LESS than you are currently eating.
End of story."
BrightAngel wrote:When it comes to Weight-loss issues,wosnes wrote: Another tip that I discovered by accident
and was suggested to a friend by a dietitian
is to consume more calories -- about 200 more daily.
In her case it was another meal daily;
in my case it was just a little more of more calorie dense foods.
people...including "Nutritional Experts"....
have difficulty distinguishing between ASSOCIATION and CAUSATION.
Increasing calories to lose weight is a commonly repeated Myth.
but even though this is sometimes Associated with weight-loss,
Increasing calories never Causes fat loss.
Dieting people frequently hold onto water,
and fat loss doesn't always show up immediately.
Sometimes during a long period of reducing calories,
one loses fat from fat cells, but those cells repace the lost fat with water.,
This results in an outward show of zero change in both weight and size.
When this occurs, sometimes a slight increase in calories
will shift the body's "balance" and cause the fat cells to release that water.
Since this makes prior weight-loss visible,
people mistakenly believe that eating higher-calories CAUSED lost fat loss,
when in fact this was merely an ASSOCIATION.
connorcream wrote:
These two topics have become my top pet peeves for misinformation with dieting-
the starvation myth
&
eat more calories to lose weight.
My third pet peeve, is
lose weight slow for more successful maintanence.
Yes, I agree.
Intuitive eating can be a wonderful way to make peace with eating issues and take the good/bad and black/white thinking out of food choices. But I haven't seen any evidence that it's an effective strategy for weight loss or maintenance, unfortunately.
I could have maintained 257 pounds with intuitive eating -- and did for years, in fact -- but that would have meant remaining morbidly obese. In order to achieve a healthy body weight, I had to count calories, weigh portions -- all the usual stuff -- and I have no doubt that I will continue to need to do so for the rest of my life. It's completely the opposite of IE -- I guess we could call it Non-Intuitive Eating. But at this point, more than nine years into the process, it's effortless. And a very small price to pay for health and fitness!
If you've read about setpoints, you know that there's a lot of research out there about our body weight being controlled by 400+ hormones and biochemicals designed to maintain our current weight (even if it's obese). Once we lose 10% or so of our body weight, a physical process kicks in to defend our weight and return it to previous levels. The thinking is that it's relatively easy to manipulate weight within a 20 - 30 pound range, but once we get out of that range, we're fighting Mother Nature. At that point, intuitive eating will return us to our previously high weights because that's what our bodies are signaling us to do.
The problem with IE is that its fundamental premise is that when we listen to our bodies, we'll achieve and maintain a normal weight. The past fifty years of obesity research has shown that notion to be dead wrong for overweight and obese people. If we listen to our bodies, we'll stay fat. Instead, we need to be constantly aware of our food choices and make thoughtful decisions based on our rational brains, not our intuitive stomachs.
Having spent more than two decades being 100+ pounds overweight, it would be naïve to expect my body to self-regulate at a normal weight. I know never-overweight people who can do it, but me, with all my empty fat cells just waiting to be filled up again? Not happening, though I sure wish it would. But as Bright Angel said, it's just wishful thinking.
I don't mean to be a bummer about IE and it certainly is an enticing idea, but it just doesn't seem to work for most of us.
__________________
***
Start: 257 - June 1, 2001
Goal: 135 - May 12, 2002
Size 22/size 4
Here's a copy of a post by
I had a moment a couple of months ago when I finally saw how big I was,
despite having lost probably 20 lbs or so by then.
I must have been in denial at my size for years,
despite intellectually knowing that I was morbidly obese.
Like others, I couldn't cope with thinking about the whole journey (100lbs +) –
it was just too overwhelming (and still is, some 8 months later with lots still to lose).
What really helped me put it into perspective is something a fellow weight-loss friend said -
"the time will pass anyway –
do you want to spend it losing weight or gaining?".
I've also found it helpful to think about losing weight as my first step to maintainance.
I know that I'll have to eat some version of low calorie for the rest of my life
if I'm to maintain a healthy body.
In the context of 'the rest of my life', the weightloss phase is relatively short.
So, I try to remind myself that
"the time will pass anyway, so I might as well spend it losing weight,
and in the context of the rest of my life,
the time it takes to lose the weight is relatively small.
All I can really do is focus on adhering to my plan each day
and trust that the weightloss will take care of itself in it's own time".
That doesn't mean that I don't sometimes wish it would hurry up.
Another Great post about Intuitive Eating by another forum member: I've lost anywhere from 20 to 100 pounds *multiple times*
only to return to morbid obesity *multiple times*
by eating mostly healthy foods in reasonable portions
(or at least that was what I told myself I was eating)
after I finished "dieting."
While I'd always heard
"don't do anything to lose weight that you aren't willing to do to maintain it,"
I thought that somehow the fat fairy was going to smile upon me
and give me a special dispensation.
I've been calorie counting, monitoring intake and burn,
consistently now, for just over a year
and I'm still not even close to figuring out when I am truly hungry,
in need of food....or just feel like I am....
without checking my food and burn logs.
I have no reason to believe that my
"I've had just the right amount of fuel today" button
....(which is broken in both directions, btw)... .
will ever work.
I'll never run a 4 minute mile or sing at the Met, either.
That's just life.
*
Start: 250+
Current: 180
Goal: 149
Height: 5'7"
TexArk wrote:Still working the plan. Yesterday I made a list of all the diets I could remember that I had tried over the past 4 decades. It was amusing and instructive. Young folks could not identify, but it was like an archeological dig starting with Ayds candy and Debbie Drake LP workout records! When I think of all the books, magazines, and notebooks that I have bought and put together over the years it would fill a library!
The analogy of love affairs (not that this is my lifestyle or morality) comes to mind. I had several long term relationships, some short flings, some one night stands, and others never got to first base! Weight Watchers was the longest relationship off and on several times beginning with the original 5 fish meals, 1 liver, etc. Then there were various forms of low carb and low fat and meal replacement. I even tried very strict diets like Pritikin. I can see the appeal of intuitive eating for those of us who have spent years working all the other plans and are just tired of it and hope for normalcy. But as others have said it was a disaster and I tried several forms for 3 years as a maintenance plan. Result: more weight gain.
However, after a lifetime of working on this, I think I can say that I learned something from each approach. It may have damaged me in some way, but I choose to look at the positive. I have learned many types of foods and I would rather cook my own food than eat out. I know a lot about nutrition and exercise. I really have trained myself to prefer healthy, filling foods and many "bad" foods are just disgusting to me now.
And technology has finally come to my rescue. The ease of counting calories and all the nutrition labeling did not exist before as well as all the online support from groups such as this board. So I have no regrets.
It is a relief to know that I have settled on what I need to do from now on and the search is over. That doesn't mean that there is not more to learn, but the framework is there for me, and I will not veer off course any more chasing the impossible.
Here's the opinion of yet another person from another forumThe definition of "intuitive eating" is a little vague.
True intuitive eating, in my opinion,
would be naturally and automatically eating the perfect amount of food.
To naturally eat a small treat once in awhile but never feel compelled to overdo it.
Intuitive eating should be effortless,
.........even if the process to achieve true intuitive eating would take lots of practice,
will power, and learning to listen to the body's cues........
The final product would be automatic;
eating the perfect amount of food to maintain one's weight
without making an aware effort to do so.
It would be the concept of:
"I'll just eat what I want, how much I want, whenever I want" ,
and to have that system maintain weight.
If I quit calorie counting (not that I want to), and ate intuitively, I would balloon quickly.
If I depended ONLY on the factors of
"I will eat what, how much I want, whenever I want,"
man, I'd chow down.
BUT, if I quit calorie counting, I could probably still maintain my weight
just by being very aware of what, how much, and when I was eating
...just without logging it.
I could maintain my weight
by making a conscious effort to choose
low cal whole foods,
reasonable portion sizes, and
no seconds or snacking, and
eating at regular times
But that would not be true intuitive eating,
it would still be a conscious effort to control my food...I just wouldn't be logging it.
I simply don't think I could ever achieve true intuitive eating and maintain my weight.
It's not worth it to me to find out if I can or not, really, it's not a goal that I feel compelled to achieve.
I'd rather just take 5 min out of my day and count calories, lol.
*
Start: 183
Current: 124.4
Goal: 125-130
Height: 5'7
Kathleen,Kathleen wrote:I think you tend to crave foods you deny.
It's not that we eat too much sugar,
but it may be that we eat too little saturated fat.
I try to keep an Open Mind,Kathleen wrote:My concern about the presentation is that restriction of sugar might include restriction of fruit,
and I flat out don't buy into that.
As for carb restriction, I also don't buy that.
I think that carbs like oatmeal are just fine.
I have read enough to be concerned about a low carb diet.
As for restriction on fat, I have started to not buy that.
There is a principle
which is a bar against all information,
which is proof against all arguments and
which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance
– that principle is contempt prior to investigation.
I offer this reverse statement and a possible cure for everlasting ignorance;
"Investigation prior to contempt."Self-honesty is not easy but it is attainable
- To begin with we must keep an open mind and not fear alternative ways of thinking.
Second we must look at multiple sources
to see if they provide answers with similar views and beliefs.
Third we must consider the date in time of the previous statement
and any advancements in technology and research that may now
adequately disprove this past belief and
Fourth we must be aware of our own ability to interpret the truth utilizing our sixth sense
because deep inside we all have the ability to know when something feels right.
if we have the willingness, courage and patience to stay the course!
Life is an amazing journey with many twists, turns and unexpected road blocks,
but there is no need for us to make things worse.
Sure we need to trust,
and sure we would love to trust everything from doctors to the Holy Scriptures,
from our Grandma to Google,
but blind faith doesn't necessarily guarantee that all statements are true
and that they’re actually in our best interests.But after observation and analysis,
- Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
when you find that anything agrees with reason
and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all,
then accept it and live up to it.
Question interests me,Memer of Another Forum wrote:Is there a point after maintaining for a while,
when your body just has a mind of it's own about what weight it wants you to be?
I lose weight when I have to, but much slower, even with lowering my calories.
I can't get down to the 105-106lbs. that i was staying at for 15mo.
(which was my feel good weight), & is within a healthy range for me.
What more can I do to stop the weight gain or is this normal for most people?
What did you experience?, please help.
My answer to these first two questions is....Perhaps.connorcream wrote:Bright Angel-
Does carb intake effect your efforts?
Could your body become more more carb sensitive over time/with aging?
Could you eat more calories, while eating lower carbs?
Just wondering if you are tracking this too.
and, so far, I've found it difficult to abstain from them for more than short time periods.
This past 6 years I've exercised more than I did during my entire life.,Teemuh wrote:Hi Bright Angel. You said increasing exercise has not been effective.
Did that include muscle building?
I wonder if that might help since we lose muscle mass as we get older,
and muscle does burn more calories than fat.
Question: #4 – Adding muscle mass through weight training
helps accelerate fat loss/weight loss.
Answer: FALSE
An additional pound of skeletal muscle only burns an extra 5 calories per day.
This is an insignificant amount of calories.
It doesn’t matter how much muscle you think you can build,
it will never add up to enough to help burn any real amount of fat.
http://johnbarban.com/4-adding-muscle-a ... ss-answer/
Thanks for your comment.Sienna wrote:I've run some BMR numbers for myself recently
and found that the estimated* decrease in BMR from aging is around
5 calories per day each year.
5*365 = 1825 and 1825/3500 = .52 pounds per year.
So it's possible that some of what you are seeing is just a natural consequence of aging.
*I know that BMR formulas are only estimates,
but that aging lowers BMR seems to be fairly well established.
We each do different things, to some degree.
For myself, it is:
“This is what I choose to do and this is what proves to be effective for me.â€
We don't need anyone's approval; what has worked for us has worked for us.
What works for other people works for other people.
We aren't obligated to try to convince anyone of anything,
and we might have good intentions to help others,
but ultimately they have to want to be helped, and that isn't our business.
I find myself looking back and remembering what my thoughts and feelings were
when I was fat--both when I was fat and not really losing weight,
and when I was fat and actively committed to losing weight.
I'm trying to remember what my beliefs and excuses and fears were, back then.
Maybe that will help me relate to people with a little more compassion and less exasperation.
It can be pretty overwhelming when you're starting out,
or even partway through, and have a long way to go.
One of the things I remember plain as day
was seeing Ali Vincent--the first female winner of "The Biggest Loser"—
on Oprah one day, a few years ago.
She was walking the viewing audience through a typical day in her life,
and one of the things they showed
was Ali carefully weighing out the food to make her lunch.
She said that's what she still needs to do and chooses to do,
even though she's lost and kept off her weight.
I thought "Oh for God's sake, who wants to live like that?!"
Well, as it turns out, I do.
I never would have thought it would be not only okay with me,
but something I value and appreciate.
At the time, with so much weight to lose, I thought:
"Well, that's just obsessive and unhealthy.
I can't imagine having to weigh and portion your food all the time.
That's just not natural."
Yeah, but was eating whatever felt "natural" working for me?
No, it wasn't.
I honestly didn't think I ate any more than a lot of thinner people did.
I thought I ate pretty well--pretty mindfully.
So I think when people are near their starting weight,
they have not yet arrived at a place where it "clicks"
that the very things they dread, fear, and reject
might be the things
which are going to possibly change their lives.
You can't tell somebody something she isn't ready to hear.
If it falls on defensive ears, it comes off like yet another scolding lecture,
or further confirmation that she will be asked to do things
that feel extremely uncomfortable and out of reach.
I wasn't at all ready to accept, let alone embrace,
the idea that if I want to have what Ali has,
I have to be open to doing what Ali does.
It took me a long while to get there.
**
Start weight: 212
Current weight: 118
I know I will be 'counting' calories and carbs for the rest of my life-
-unless I want to end up back over 300lbs!
The 'listen to your body' advice cannot possibly work
for someone like me
who has been morbidly obese much of her entire life.
I doubt that anyone gets to morbid obesity without some metabolic dysfunction
which interferes with 'normal' body eating signals.
My body really doesn't give me reliable 'signals.'
And if it did, I long ago learned to completely ignore them,
and, if I every had it, that ability is lost forever.
A lifetime of morbid obesity obviously has totally distorted
my relationship to food from a psychological perspective.
Food is never a benign presence in my life;
it was a good friend who has become the 'enemy.'
It is something I have to deal with one day at a time,
trying to make sure I remain in control.
In a way, it's like being an alcoholic,
but worse because total abstinence is not possible.
Last winter, I went on a two-week cruise with a very good friend of mine
who has been normal weight all her life.
She is a model of 'eating when hungry/stopping when full,'
and I could bore you with examples of that behavior that I saw over and over.
One in particular was striking.
We were having dinner at a buffet,
and she had a moderate portion of several items.
Her plate was in no way full.
She was 3/4 through the food and stopped (I was still shoveling it in).
She happened to glance over to the buffet and said,
"I didn't notice they have fried catfish; I just love that" (she's from New Orleans).
I expected her to go get some, but she just sat there,
so I said, "Aren't you going to have any catfish?"
She replied, "No, I'm full, and I'm finished eating."
I was amazed that she would ignore a food she loves
simply because she wasn't hungry!
Fat from early childhood, I've always been a "food for entertainment,"
"food for stress," "food for boredom" eater.
My friend is a 'normal' eater who can listen to her body-
--but she's never had to lose weight in her life.
It seems to me that the advice to eat when hungry/stop when full
is ONLY useful for people who have already always done that.
**
Start: 340
Current 165
The long post below PRECISCELY describes my own Belief.TexArk wrote:While thinking about how every bite counts, I came across this post from a blog that says it all.
I think the podcast on S Days Gone Wild is great,
but I never overcame the S day mentality until I admitted that every bite counts.
Another Forum Member wrote:Every Bite Counts.
I had a huge light bulb moment last night
as I was reading this thread on the "3 Fat Chicks" website
(GREAT place for support, by the way!)
It's a thread about "cheat days,"
which is what some people call it
when you plan a day to go off your eating plan and eat whatever you want.
The theory is that if you PLAN a day like that every so often,
it makes it easier to stay on plan the rest of the time.
Whenever you are craving something,
you just tell yourself that you can have it on your cheat day,
but you have to wait until then to have it.
The problem is that for some people (like me),
a cheat day turns into a cheat week or a cheat month
and it's really hard to get back on track.
Or if you have problems with bingeing,
it isn't any hardship to ingest upwards of 4 or 5 thousand calories on a cheat day
(yes I have done that),
and it really messes up all your hard work you did eating right all week.
Anyway, reading through that thread, it hit me.
Every bite counts.
EVERY.
Now, maybe this sounds obvious, but how many times have I gotten up,
started a healthy eating day, and then at lunch "slipped up" and had pizza?
Then I would tell myself, "oh well, I ruined my day,
so I may as well have candy bars and burgers and fries for dinner
and start over fresh tomorrow."
Isn't that something a LOT of people are in the habit of doing?
We look at our eating aka "diet" in terms of a UNIT.
One good day
(eating the right number of points or calories or whatever your plan is)
is a Unit of Success,
and a Bad Day
(eating over your limit, not counting calories, eating junk)
is a Unit of Failure.
Sometimes we even try to string days together,
as in "I will start on Monday" or the first of the month
or after Christmas or whatever,
which is an excuse to eat badly and not count anything
until we "start again" on that special date.
WHO came up with this idea???
Why is a "DAY" the unit of success or failure??
Who decided that if you eat badly for lunch,
you can just eat whatever you want for the rest of the day
and start over in the morning?
It's as if we think that "one bad day" is a single unit of failure,
whether we ate 2000 or 5000 calories,
that it's the same because it is just ONE bad day.
It makes no sense!!
EVERY BITE COUNTS, whether you eat a Hershey bar on a "bad" day
because you are bingeing
or eat it on a "good" day and add it into your calorie count,
it is STILL 210 calories going into your body.
You HAVE to stop looking at it as good and bad days.
It is your LIFE.
What I mean is this.
Say you are aiming to eat 1500 calories per day to lose weight
(substitute WW points or whatever other unit or plan you are using).
Now, say your week looks like this:
Monday: 1500
Tuesday: 1470
Wednesday: 1460
Thursday: 1520
Friday: 1460
Saturday: 3200
Sunday: 2900
You slipped up on Saturday and told yourself you would start over on Monday.
You had only 2 bad days.
But now you have eaten 13,510 calories for the week
which averages out to 1910 per day... way over your limit.
And you wonder why you haven't lost weight.
Because every bite counts,
and the unit is not a day, or even a week.
It is a lifetime.
When you eat something you shouldn't have, it's over.
Stop, and eat right from that very moment on.
Have a healthy dinner.
Keep going.
A bad meal is way better than a whole bad weekend.
You want a cheat day?
Every bite you take counts, because it still goes into your body, counted or not.
Every bite either helps you get closer to your goal
or slows you down from reaching it.
So the question becomes, how badly do you want it?
Do you want to lose weight more than you want that cookie?
Then put it down.
Every time you eat something unhealthy or go over your calorie limit,
you are effectively putting a speed bump... or even a roadblock...
in between you and your goal.
Every bite you take determines whether you will reach your goal weight
in 6 months, 12 months, 3 years, or never.
What do you REALLY want?
BrightAngel wrote:I am one of the people who support calorie-counting as a No S modification.SoATXGirl wrote:Would any calorie-counting members mind sharing their methods of combining it with No S?
There are many Threads here in the General Discussion that discuss the opinions of various forum members.
I think you might benefit from reviewing
the individual Daily Check-in Threads of some No S forum members who support calorie counting.
Of course, one of them is me.
At present my Thread contains 8 pages, and much of that talks about calorie-counting.
My Thread contains comments of others, as well as my own comments,
and I believe it contains a great deal of helpful, and or, inspiring information.
In that Thread on page 7 (post of 10/7/10) is a copy of a post by KCCC,
a successful No S member who does not like calorie-counting,
and in that post, she provides a link to a prior discussion of the General Forum on that subject.
Here is the link to my most recent page.
No need to use it, since if you are reading this, you are already here.
http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... &start=350
Another No S forum member who has achieved great success is Connorcream.
At present her Thread contains 6 pages, with many posts about calorie-counting.
Here is a link to her most recent page.
http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... &start=250
Two other forum members who have recently made that modification to their No S plan,
are Parnetty, and TexArk. Links to their Threads are:
http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6814
http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6881
I believe if you read the pages that are contained in these Threads
many of your questions about calorie-counting combined with No S will be answered,
and, you will find information that is both interesting and helpful.
No So Forum Member wrote: Gary Taubes said it was carbohydrates that triggers appetite.
The problem with eliminating carbs is you need them so you end up craving them.
The above-quoted statement is inaccurate.
The concept of Intuitive Eating involves letting one's BODY tell one how much to eat.KCCC wrote:True, I can't speak to the level of weight that they're discussing -
I was 35 lbs overweight when I was yo-yo dieting in my youth, not 100 - but I WAS obese.
I agree that body signals get out of whack,
and if you're used to over-riding them then you don't notice them at all.
I also agree that you can't go from having them "broken"
to trusting them in one fell swoop,
as some of the intuitive eating books advise.
But I think that the ability to recognize and respond appropriately
to hunger/fullness can be re-built.
And I think the No-S habits do that, over time.
Intutive Eating is a MENTAL process of teaching oneself to rely on the BODY's NATURAL hunger and appetites."The mean individual energy requirement of reduced-obese subjects
was less than that for the control (normal-weight) subjects,
despite the fact that they still weighted 60% more than the controls.
In order to maintain a reduced weight,
some reduced-obese or even partially reduced patients
must restrict their food intake to approximately 25% less
than that anticipated on the basis of metabolic body size."
BA_BrightAngel wrote: Research studies have proven that the Human body
will SURVIVE and THRIVE without carbohydrates.
While the Body can USE Carbohydrates, it does not NEED them. .
Just because it is an "S" day,A NEW MEMBER wrote:I know I am supposed to-- I mean--NEED to "make S Days S Days so N Days aren't",
but I just am hoping that indulging in sweets
won't set me up to binge on Saturday and then crave come Monday.
If anyone has any lessons learned about this situation,
I would really appreciate hearing them.
No diet or food-plan, Pernetty wrote: The plan has to fit who you are - not the other way around.
I had this warped view that a diet meant lots of salads, deprivation and hunger.
Even NoS presented challenges that didn't fit my lifestyle.
It felt too restrictive for me.
CalorieCounting puts me in charge of my own plan.
Clarinetgal wrote: I know what you mean.
I'm somewhere in between calorie counting and No S.
I'm following the No S structure of no seconds and no snacks,
but I like to have a treat every day, too.
The calorie counting helps me make sure that I stay within my budget.
It's a great reality check.
Pernetty and Clarinetgal,A very accurate summation of my views, thank you. I agree that that habit of CC becomes more important as we age. Our bodies do not need more calories but rather less. A fact is a fact whether I like it or not.clarinetgal wrote:The calorie counting helps me make sure that I stay within my budget, so to speak (I'm paraphrasing something Connorcream wrote in one of her earlier check in threads). It's a great reality check. I'm 35, but I'm finding that my metabolism has slowed over the past year or two, so I strongly suspect that calorie counting will become even more vital as I get older.
member of another Forum wrote: I’ve learned along the way to find a satisfying Way Of Eating that I can sustain,
and to accept the fact that I'll never be able to eat like so-called "normal people".
For me it's like having a chronic illness.
If I don't continue to do the things
that I know help keep the symptoms (in this case gaining weight) under control,
I will have to face the consequences,
and, unless something miraculous occurs, this isn't going to change.
I've learned to accept that I will always have to be vigilant,
and am doing the same things I did when losing the weight,
except I stay within what I have found to be my maintenance calorie range
and I have a 5 lb. maintenance weight range.
My plan is that if I hit the top of that range,
I go immediately to weight loss mode until I am back to at least the middle of that range
***
5’6â€
Starting Weight: 208
Current Weight: 148
KCCC wrote:Dear Self,
This is your internal voice of reason, and I just want to remind you of a few things... things you know, but sometimes forget.
You've been doing No-S for a while, and you have experienced the difference between "good" S-days and... and well, S-days that aren't so good.
On a Good S-Day, you have a scrumptious, satisfying treat of some nature. Maybe more than one - and you savor every bite. However, you also eat regular meals (maybe extra-yummy, but on time), refrain from perma-snacking, and enjoy the day. Emotionally, you feel proud of yourself, and deeply satisfied by what you ate. Physically, you feel good.
On a Not-So-Good (okay, pretty bad) S-day, you fall back into perma-snacking mode. You eat so much between meals that meals don't taste very good. Neither does anything else... for all the food you're inhaling (without even tasting), you don't feel satisfied. Emotionally, you feel desperate, out of control...and dissatisfied. Physically, you feel bloated and queasy.
Reinhard says S-days are meant to be a reward. A good one is exactly that. A bad one... nope.
So, what can you do to have a rewarding S-day? Well, start by remembering what works for YOU (other people will have different strategies, and that's okay). And remember to use the strategies your user name, which stands for Keep, Chuck, Change, Create.
KEEP what works for you during the week. Reinhard says habits will naturally carry over, but you don't have to passively wait for it to happen by magic! Pick an easy habit or two that you actually like, and incorporate them intentionally. For instance, eating regular meals and remembering to drink enough.
CHUCK what doesn't work for you. Right now, the biggest issue is snacks - they're a slippery slope, and you don't even like them that much. Do you need them to have a special day, or will seconds/sweets do it? (And when that self-destructive little voice whines "but it's an S-day, it's allowed!" tell it firmly that "allowed does not mean obliged. I don't HAVE to eat that if I don't want it!")
CHANGE the day's patterns to make them work better. For example, you have more energy in the morning, so maybe cook a big lunch and an easy supper. Or try one of those "put it in the oven and bake for an hour" recipes that you never have time for during the week.
CREATE new routines and habits that give you pleasure. Plan a special outing with the family. Buy flowers. Find something special to do... and savor it.
And yes, I know you know all this, but sometimes it helps to be reminded at the right time.
So have a great S-day. And remember, there will be a lot of weekends in your life. If you miss a treat, there will be another chance. And if your S-day is not-so-good... well, learn from it. There will be another chance.
Best wishes,
Your Internal Voice of Reason
The past six months or so I’ve been investigating low-carb issues
),
A BBC TV show called "Horizon: Why are Thin People Not Fat?" did some very interesting studies. They stated that there is far too much research in obesity concentrating on the people who are obese or have been obese, but very, very little has been done on those people who are NOT obese, except as part of a control group. Few people have rounded up a group of thin subjects to see why they are thin.
Horizon studied a small group, so by no means conclusive research or anything, but they were logging their activity and diets very carefully. Most of the people had to withdraw from the program because they were physically unable to consume the required number of calories to take part in the weight gain experiment. One participant (an Asian male) actually gained muscle when he ate excess calories, and there's no evidence he worked out or did anything that would normally lead to muscle gain, just that it appears this is how his body metabolized and stored the excess calories.
The amount of weight gained by each subject was not at all in keeping with how much they ate, it did not follow the 3,500 cals to 1 lb rule at all. Every single thin person automatically shed their extra weight after the experiment with no effort.
To maintain your weight you must eat a difference of no more than 7 cals per day, and the mechanism by which the human body does this naturally in some people is a source of fascination, as 7 cals is the most tiny, tiny amount, how on earth does a body sum up all the different types of food and pick out a diet that varies by no more than 7 cals on average each day? With so much variety of food that our bodies have not had before no wonder they find it difficult to analyze the foods and assign values to it. Perhaps if you ate nothing but rice each day then not only would you become very bored with it and the desire is minimal but your body knows exactly how rice is ingested, digested, burned and stored, and will regulate your intake of rice to ensure it's appropriate to your physical needs. When you suddenly eat a Pop Tart your body doesn't know what to do with that. Maybe it's not so much what people in many carb-staple countries are eating, it's the sheer repetitive consumption of it?
Very interesting starting points, but unfortunately there is little funding to do obesity research with thin people as the powers that hand out funding don't see how it contributes, they'd rather "get fat people thin" than find out what causes the desire to get fat. And I think that's the underlying problem too, that they concentrate on factors that scientifically and objectively cause obesity - eating too many calories - but do not do much on "why does this person choose to eat too many calories when the next person doesn't" just assuming it's all "willpower". That's nonsense, if I desire a chocolate cake and my friend does NOT desire a chocolate cake then her refusal is not due to better willpower! It is not through willpower that I resist alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drug addiction, etc. I just don't like them. I'm not better than the alcoholic, I'm not full of a fabulous willpower that he does not possess, I just look at alcohol and think "yuk".
I decided to post an edited copy of Please Listen to the voice of reason.
Your comments remind me of an old and common child's trick which goes like this...
There is something nearby that a child plans to get,
but the child doesn't want a nearby person to see it taken.
So the child says to the other person...."LOOK OVER THERE",
and while the other person is looking...the child takes the object.
You are both the child and the other person.
While the other person is distracted and soothed by devising new diet rules and strategies,
the child continues to eat just as it wishes.
You have made a COMMITMENT that you will do Vanilla No S for the month of December.
You need to HONOR your COMMITMENT.
Vanilla No S gives plenty of room for individual preferences.
You have "N" days, in which you eat only 1 plate of food
at each of your meals..(normally 3),
No seconds, No snacks, and No sweets.
Within those N day peremeters you can choose to ......
eat whatever foods you like,
schedule your 3 meals when you like,
skip meals or eat nothing if you like (fasting is okay),
write any or all of your food down or not,
Exercise is not an issue of Vanilla No S.
Things like allowing an occasional breath mint or piece of gum for bad breath
is like brushing your teeth with toothpaste...i.e. shouldn't even be an issue...
certainly not during one's first month of committing to vanilla no s.
If you eat outside the basic N day rules, DURING N DAYS, it is a Failure.
End of story.
No rationalizing, no justifying, no excuses.
No matter what you find your mind telling you, the rules didn't change and it's not okay.
IMMEDIATELY...that day, that hour, that minute, that second,
resume compliance with your N day rules.
You have "S" days, in which you have the Freedom to eat as you like.
Within those S day peremeters you can choose to......
eat the same way you do on N days,
have S day events - in which you limit eating outside the "N" day rules,
eat whatever, whenever, and as much of whatever you like,
fast or binge part or all of the day.
Whether you do any or all of those things DURING S DAYS, it is a Success.
End of story. No rationalizing, no justifying, no excuses.
At any time, during S days, you have the ability and the choice to
IMMEDIATELY...that hour, that minute, that second, change your mind,
because there is nothing you MUST comply with on S days.
THIS IS YOUR DECEMBER COMMITMENT. You don't get to change it.
You might break the N day rules, but You can't break the S day rules...there aren't any.
Individual choices within the basic rules during December are acceptable,
and you can play with scheduling eating events during your S days,
or with allowing yourself to break the rules during N days,
however...it is CLEARCUT. You've made a Commitment.
There is no justification or excuse
for deviatiating from this overall Basic Vanilla S Plan in December.
THE IDEA IS TO STICK WITH THE SAME BASIC PLAN - Vanilla No S - for ONE MONTH.
and stop this endless and repetious cycle of figuring a way to weasel out of the Basic rules.
Reading and re-reading the NO S book will be Helpful.
Many No S members have been following recent posts on a fellow member's Thread.I suggested that you review it to avoid repeating it.Kathleen wrote:I don't want to review the mess that was November.
Kathleen wrote:Your commitment to logging ALL food intake, BrightAngel,BrightAngel wrote:This does NOT mean that I never overate or never binged during the past 6 years,
It merely means that I ALWAYS entered ALL of my food into the journal.
It became, and is, a HABIT.
This is the principal of ACCOUNTABILITY.
I am accountable for every bite I eat....
even on vacation days, sick days, stress days.
NO MATTER HOW HIGH MY FOOD-INTAKE, I LOG IT.
This has provided me with long-term success.
is what inspired me to consider
recording ALL indulgences
as a way to avoid labeling the dessert at a holiday dinner as a failure.
It can be a success if I'm willing to record it.
I don't think I need to record all food intake
because I'm relying on the N Day food rules to keep me from overeating
except for those indulgences which are outside the no snacks and no sweets rules.
It's not practical to follow N Day rules with perfection.
It is practical to record all eating outside N Day rules with perfection.
As you said yourself, your logging of your food intake
is what provided you with "long-term success."
I think 100% success in something related to dieting
is helpful in creating and maintaining a strong habit.
Recording any food I eat outside N Day rules, I think,
could keep them to a minimum, to ones that are very reasonable.Why do you think this isn't a good idea for me?Kathleen wrote:My modification is one indulgence on Sundays
and other indulgences that are recorded and justified.
There are several different issues here.I suggested this OPTIONAL plan as an alternative to yours…My Plan for "S" days is one indulgence on Sundays
and all other indulgences on "S" days will be recorded and justified.
My Plan for "S" days is one indulgence on Sundays
and all other indulgences on "S" days will be recorded and justified.
I wil also record all deviations from “N†day rules.
I recently ran across this very Amusing and Appropriate Song. 
Following Vanilla No S is a good way 
TexArk wrote:Judith Beck has several characteristics that make following a "diet plan" difficult.
Several apply to this discussion it seems.
I like Judith Beck, and I agree with her 
On page 95 of Rinhard's book, regarding "S" days:"The no seconds rule means you get one physical plate of food per meal.
You can load up that plate with however much food you want--once.
When you're done eating the food on that plate, the meal is over."
"The sight of excess is embarrassing, even just to yourself.
When it's all right there in front of you, on one plate,
you can't deceive yourself into thinking that you aren't eating a lot.
By forcing that excess into the open you'll gradually shame yourself into smaller portions.
Shame is powerful, it's deep, it's part of human nature, it isn't going away.
So you might as well use shame instead of pretending it isn't there.
Make it your ally."
"....look at the calendar, and you'll know when you can take it and when you can't.
This clarity is powerful.
It means you'll have a hard time abusing or extending the exception
without it being very obvious what you are doing.
It limits the scope for self-deception.
You can abuse this rule...by gorging yourself with gallons of ice cream every weekend,
but you can't do it without knowing you're being a bozo.
And most of us, most of the time, will not knowingly be bozos."
As you know, PERSONALLY, I choose to log all of my food into a computer journal every day,
"When you focus on behavior,
you get results thrown into the bargain because behavior causes results.
When you focus on results,
you get neither because results cannot exist without behavior.
And behavior, besides being a better thing to measure,
is also an easier thing to measure."
On page 95 of Rinhard's book, regarding "S" days:
Since I posted the above-quoted passage,"....look at the calendar, and you'll know when you can take it and when you can't.
This clarity is powerful.
It means you'll have a hard time abusing or extending the exception
without it being very obvious what you are doing.
It limits the scope for self-deception.
You can abuse this rule...by gorging yourself with ....(insert sweets of choice)... every weekend,
but you can't do it without knowing you're being a bozo.
And most of us, most of the time, will not knowingly be bozos."
Noun: bozo - a person who is a stupid incompetent fool,
a cuckoo, fathead, goof, goofball, jackass, twat, zany, goose,
fool, muggins, saphead, tomfool, sap, - a person who lacks good judgment.
Sounds like a good plan.clarinetgal wrote:I really, really want to focus on behaviors.
I want to focus on three meals a day, no snacks or seconds,
and having one treat each day that fits onto my plate,
along with doing some calorie counting,
to make sure I'm not consuming too many calories in my meals.
I think that is a plan that will work the best for me,
and it's one I can stick with for life.
Using a computer food journal to track calories member of another forum wrote: I know there are a lot of different schools of thought
on how often you should weigh yourself .
But how about maintenance?
Do you weigh more/less frequently than you did during your weight loss?
Also, do you have a trigger weight
that means to you that you need to go back to loss mode,
even if it's just for a few pounds?
I know people fluctuate, so getting used to those rhythms is part of it,
but what number means to you that it's not just a water/natural fluctuation
but that you're starting to gain?
I weigh every day, 
