More on the musings of weight control

Dr. HunterFarmer gave another lecture.  

He moderated his message.  There is only one way to lose weight, says he.  "Eat less."

There is lots of developing data that suggests eating less lengthens lifespan.  That is true in cell culture, and in rodents.  (A recent primate study did not show this.  More data is clearly needed.)  No current scientific knowledge proves why eating less lengthens life.  Science-types (me too) think that it relates to the body having to burn less fuel, use less oxygen, and therefore generating fewer free radicals that damage cells.  

There are always the jokes about how if you cut the amount of food you eat each day, then life just FEELS longer.  Or the converse, of course:  who would want to live longer if that is what you have to do to get there??

Dr. HunterFarmer (I typed Dr. HungerFarmer initially...hmmm) took questions from the audience.  One person asked if weight loss was possible through more exercise.  Most people would need over two hours of intense exercise to burn enough calories to lose weight.  He pointed out that more exercise creates more appetite.  Resisting appetite is difficult for all of us.

He pointed out that if we cut our calories, our bodies get very upset with us, and lower our metabolic rates. We are eating fewer calories, not having any fun at all, and NOT LOSING WEIGHT.

Well, yeah.  That used to be a very functional strategy for our famine-prone ancestors.  If your ancestors were not really really good at lowering metabolic rates when calories got scarce, you wouldn't be here.  

I have heard about good results (anecdote only, zippo science) from the 5 + 2 diet.  There is a disputed Wiki article here on this.  

The idea is that you decrease weekly caloric intake by a significant number of calories.  Since you are doing this on nonconsecutive days, your body doesn't figure out that it needs to lower its metabolic rate.  Dr. HunterFarmer says that, on average, each person needs 10 calories per pound per day just to lie in bed.

10 x 130 (yes I am making this up) = 1300 calories

Then, a normal person burns somewhere between 400-800 calories per day in doing normal activities.  Honestly?  Most people are at the 400 calorie mark.  So our hypothetical dieter needs 1700 calories per day to maintain body weight.  

Even if you were to cut down to 700 calories per day for those two days per week, that would be 4000 calories gone every two weeks.  

Of course you can't eat like a starved weasel the day after each calorie-restricted interval.  

The Wiki calls it a fad diet.  I think ANY diet that doesn't make a sustainable change in lifestyle is a fad diet.  But I really do want to dump about 5-8 pounds.  I should add that Dr. HF does not recommend any particular diet, including this one.  

But, obvious pun acknowledged, it is all food for thought.  I've tried the draconian day twice.  It is difficult at the same time that it is very simple.  I am now hyperaware on ALL days about what I am eating.  That is good.  

I am knitting Nuvem.  It took about seven attempts to learn the Judy cast-on.  The sixth try was somewhat heartbreaking:  too short a tail, discovered after 100 stitches x 2 needles.  This business of pushing stitches onto cables, and knitting tight little stitches off different needles bends my brain.  I need to weigh the yarn NOW before I get much farther.  I like Martina Behm's patterns.  She throws in something that does the brain-bend, and then lets you relax for some numbers of stitches before she does it again.  

 

 

Comments

[Angie]

Nuvem looks like a lovely knit, and should keep you warm while you're knitting. Is it variegated yarn?

[susan]

I finished my Nuvem months ago but still haven't blocked it. How many calories do you think I can burn blocking a shawl??

[Cheryl S.]

I have come to the same conclusion about exercising and weight loss. Exercising is great, of course, for your general health. But I'm not so sure about it as a weight loss technique. I have actually just started with the 5+2 thing myself, as of last week.

[Carole]

Eat less, move more. That's my mantra.

[margene]

My reason for exercising is to have muscles that fire properly, keep me moving well as I age, and give me strength. I cook almost all my own food and I think that makes a difference.

[Manise]

I think it depends on w.h.a.t you are eating. I am doing the 90 days Commit to be Fit program through my gym. It's fitness, nutrition, stress management oriented. The first week I started cutting out processed food, caffeine, alcohol and sugar. I lost 4 lbs. The second week( now) I am doing the cleanse. Lots and lots of veggies raw and cooked, quinoa ( a seed), some fruit, tofu, non- fat greek yogurt, and if needed for the more active people 3 oz of white fish, chicken etc... No grains until week 6. I thought it would be awful, but I never did I think I'd be ecstatic to eat a spinach pear salad for breakfast. Dude I am stuffed. I've lost another 6 lbs on week 2 for a total of 10 lbs lost. I even went to the gym and exercised for 90 mins on Saturday without ill-effect in addition to the group Pilates exercise in class day (Tues). We were told to lay low as energy might be low. This week the fitness will be upped to 3 times a week outside of the class and daily stretching. Each of us has had a 60 min one-on-one session with a personal trainer to personalize our workouts and started a worksheet. I am hoping this will be the perfect platform for me to get jump started into regular exercise and wiser eating.

[Kim]

It's true and as simeple as that, in order to weigh less we need to eat less. I think it's important to keep our bodies movin in whatever manner we are capable of doing. It's good for our minds and our spirits which also feeds our bodies.
xoxo

[Peg in Kensington, California]

Interesting. I have become gluten-intolerant (along with some other stuff - hardly any dairy). It is amazing for me that without bread, crackers, chips, etc., that I cannot keep weight on. I exercise a lot (rowing, erging, TRX, and Pilates). My friends who have cut grains out of their lives have lost weight without much difficulty. I love food, but can't seem to eat enough. I know most people don't have this problem and it is really new to me. Weird.

[June]

Eat a little less and STRENGTH TRAIN. Any kind of dieting will also degrade your lean tissue, so strength training will help offset that part. IMO, skipping 700 cal in a day is hard to do without feeling hungry or deprived. Log everything you eat - weigh and measure, don't guesstimate - and you'll learn that 700 is a LOT of food to not be eating. That kind of deficit would make me CRABBY.

Have you looked at (have I mentioned already) Bittman's VB6? I tried it for a while but ended up hungry so went back to including low-fat dairy and eating dinner leftovers (w/meat) for lunch. I want to give it another go, just the meal planning part is tricky. I've lost 15 lbs and am at goal weight but figured I'd shoot for the moon and try for another 10 lbs.