Friday, August 12, 2011

Some Princess Dieter comments and links speaking on the Theories & Complex Factors on the Matter of Becoming Obese and Getting NOT Obese and a Quote ....on a lazy, bloated, wanna-nap day...

Scale is up from salt and added carbs these last 4 days--both of which cause water retention and scale stalls in me, historically. I knoweth of what I speak.

As much as I have enjoyed the added taters, sushi rice (with my veggie sushi), and brown rice (with my grilled chicken and veggies) this past week, and as much as my salt-hungering tongue loved the dips into soy sauce and shakes of the Celtic sea salt, and as much as my fruit-addict self loves summer's bounty of colorful sweet beauties, it's time to get back on program and stop being slackerish on my tracking.

No binges. No massive overages (though I have gone over calories twice this week). It's just me being hungry again from the carbs. I know it. I've doubled my fruit intake. While that may be a heathful food option, raw fruit, it's still too much in the sugars department for my metabolically not-normal body.

So, back to more veggies, fruit moderation (noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, weep, weep) and scaling back on tubers and rice. I won't ever eliminate them, but I got too loose with allowances. Once or twice a week, fine. But almost every day this week, even modest portions not so fine. For me, it's NOT just calories--it's insulin. It's appetite. I felt my appetite growing and my night-time snack urges return. I want them to go away again and regain the Zen Appetite. :D

Yesterday, I walked and did Pilates. 1 hour and 20 minutes of exercise. Felt good. I'm sore.

Lots of interesting discussions out there in LowCarb/Paleo/Primal blogs after the Ancestral Health Symposium (AHS).

I'd recommend this one first: There is no single cause of (or treatment for) obesity

And I recommend this one for the lucid and gracious third reaction  to the Taubes/Guyunet debate by Dr. Paul Jaminet.

For me, recognizing the food-reward research/findings set me on the road to loss. That was pivotal for me. Then Taubes anti-carb pronouncements helped me see my Insulin Resistant status needed a careful eye on starches/sugars. Dr. Jaminets (and others) on toxins/inflammatory foods helped me realize that as a person with a big family history of and personal affliction with auto-immune diseases, I need to consider THAT aspect as well. All three have served me.

But I agree with Healthy Skeptic--it's a very, very complex situation and it requires looking at the variables. Not all situations are equal, because not all bodies function the same.

However, caloric restriction works. We Challengers know it.

And yet, most dieters who lose regain. Or never make goal at all.

How can one keep on a restricted diet for life (if needed), if the appetite is insane or binges are an issue? Even bariatric surgical patients have issues with regain, so how could it not be for those lacking the assist of constricted stomachs or rejiggered intestines?

If wanting or wishing were both = to doing, no one would be fat.

And why don't all people lose at the same rate on the same calories? Not everyone maintains on the same calories, even if they are of the same height and weight. Not everyone is as healthy or energetic or satisfied with their meals or nourished on the same QUANTITY of calories. Bodies differ. Medical status differs. Types of food ingested differ. Fluids processed differ (ask a kidney disease patient about that one.) Carbs tolerance differs --ask an I.R. or diabetic person about that. Tolerances of foods differ--ask a celiac disease or I.B.S. sufferer about that. Fat metabolism differs--some of us absorb and fill up fat cells more efficiently. Some of us release fat from cells LESS efficiently. THere are genetic tests for that. Some folks swell up fast with salt. Some are barely bothered. Some are metabolically more efficient and their bodies ratchet up to burn excess calories. Some just make more fat and don't elevate temperature or activity naturally to compensate.

Variables.

Because I'm genetically a fat-hoarder (if I eat too high fat like some low-carbers, I'm screwed), and auto-immune (I can't have some things that don't seem to bother others), allergic (some food groups are totally out to me, limiting what I can eat), and a hyperconditioned overeater (I do respond to the food-reward combo of fat/starches-sugars/salt, so I have to restrict or avoid trigger hyperpalatable foods or I BINGE). I also have hypothyroidism and that affects metabolism and mood and makes losing weight harder. (Saw what happened to Linda Ronstadt when her thyroid went kaput?) I'm post-menopausal, so I need fewer calories than when younger. Age is also an impediment, though not a solid wall 100 feet high.

Impediments aren't insurmountable, they can just make it harder, make it slower, make it maybe necessary to get MORE professional help.

I'm a genetic, medical, neurotic mess. I need to read and study and work to get over the hurdles to lose weight. For me, every pound is a fight. I'm never gonna be the stellar "Lost 8 pounds a week" type. Oh, no. But I made it out of obesity and just wanna stay outta obesity, even if no one ever nicknames me "Slim." :) It's about health for me. Not Perfect Health (as that has always been beyond me, since birth), but better health.

I've said for nearly a year to assorted friends and relatives who ask that I've lost on both low-fat and lower-carb, but that for me, moderating carbs is an appetite suppressor in a way low-fat never was. But that both break the reward cycle and can help people with that. I still believe this. But I think every person should examine their individual situation and see how many of these variables discussed out there on bariatric matters--toxins, carbs, protein, fat, low fat, low carb, low toxin, hyperpalatability, food-reward, etc--and see which are the predominant factors in YOUR life. Depending you YOUR issues, you may need to tweak how you eat or see a counselor or dietitian or specialist in endocrinology. It's not one diet plan fits all.

I also do believe you must reduce caloric intake (as a nation, we freaking eat too much crap and some of us too much even of the good stuff). But I think that for those of us with crazy big appetites, it's worth looking at appetite suppressing properties in moderating carbs/starches/sugars.

Whatever your individual situation is--and you may be much healthier than me and not saddled with a plethora of genetic wackiness, or you may be WORSE off and feel hopeless--just know that you can learn a lot from the scientists and sociologists and psychologists out there working to see how to solve our problems. But it will come down, as transformations always do, to working your butt off and developing new habits It's hard. But it's not hopeless.

Here are a couple ofs quote from Dr. Jaminet--just two the many I read this afternoon among the blogs chattering after the AHS:
It seems to be easiest to induce obesity with a roughly equal mix of carbs and fat; both low-carb and low-fat diets tend to be less obesogenic. This result is compatible with Stephan’s views because carb and fat together are more rewarding than either alone, and with my views because carb-fat combinations can be highly toxic – for instance, a fructose-PUFA combination is more toxic than either alone; or carbs feed gut pathogens while fats carry their toxins into the body.


...

Due to the diversity of factors which conspire to cause obesity, it is a rather heterogeneous disease. Its unifying character is that some combination of causal factors induces “metabolic damage,” such as leptin resistance, in a variety of organs, including the brain. Metabolic damage can affect both appetite regulation and energy homeostasis.

~~Paul Jaminet, co-author of THE PERFECT HEALTH DIET

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree. Every body is different in so many ways. I have found that when I reduce carbs, I reduce food cravings, and I don't binge. If I up the carbs, I crave and binge. And I feel tired and cranky, and get heartburn.

After all of my own research, my conclusion is simple:

Eliminate these foods:

Wheat 100%
Vegetable and plant oils, like canola, soy, and corn: 100%
Sugar 90%

The rest of the food decisions can be modified to fit the individual person. And there are many, many foods to choose from and experiment with.

I believe that most people will respond positively to eliminating those 3 highly inflammatory foods - whether it's with weight loss, improvement in health, mood, etc.

I will never be able to lose weight fast. I've accepted that for myself, and I'm okay with it. Above all, I want good health first.

Losing it in Vegas said...

I am lucky enough to have a monster metabolism when I do the "right" things for me, even with diabetes and being post-menopausal. On this road to better physical and mental well being, we all have to find our way and what works best for us...

The "restricted diet for life" thing really hit home..I know how I stay on it. When my blood sugars get too high I feel like crap. And if I continue to eat poorly, it is a death sentence for me.

Nothing like a bit of fear for motivation!!

Anne H said...

It really is for life - and for health!
And for not having a life that sucks!

Anonymous said...

I only read through half of the post and the quotes, I will read the rest later. What I did get through was wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to get research out to us who don't spend enough time doing it ourselves. I look forward to reading the links and the rest of your perspective, it is always helpful. I need to get to know my body more, and me as a whole more. It's a process.....

Bluezy said...

Hey lovely Princess...Salt is just a grain of a problem LOL now that you are were you are...and maintaining so well.
I knew I had brain damage and have obeseogenis! Thanks for the linkies. Seriously appreciated.

Feeling better today. And that has something to do with salt as well. My injury is aggravated by salt bloat I am sure of it. After going from low carb lower salts and then fudging and eating what ever...my body complained and my injury complained with it. I am becoming my own metabolic whisperer. I just need to whisper before and not yell after. LOL
And the captcha today was a stopper.
"suffirun'

debby said...

A very thoughtful post. Thanks for taking the time to write it all out. Off to check some of the links.

40404t said...

I am never hungry. Rarely hungry, I should say. But I notice when I eat a lot of carbs, I crave more carbs. But I also found that a low carb, higher fat diet did not work for me. Fats kill me. I love fatty food. Love avocados and olive oil. Love, love, love butter and mayonnaise. But I've found that I have to really watch my fats. Why? I think it's because fat is so high in calories. When I eat a lot of fat, I also eat a lot of calories.

I've had friends do the low carb diets and they say they are never hungry. But I'm never satisfied on low-carb, if I'm doing high-fat. I am always packing in more meat and more fat, trying to get rid of the craving.

What I'm finding is working for me now is lowish carbs, lowish fats, lowish calories, and almost no processed sugar. That gets rid of all cravings. I am completely satisfied on less calories when I do low carb, low fat. So I'm thinking that the fats trigger in me cravings just like the carbs do.

I'm not losing fast, but my main concern is to find a diet I can live with and feel satisfied with. That's the first step, I think. Dissatisfaction is the reason I've always gained back what I've lost. I'm strong-willed and I can tough it out for twelve weeks and lose weight, but no matter the diet, after twelve weeks or sixteen weeks, I'm right back to eating the way I want--high carb and high fat. This time, I'm trying to eat what I want and lose weight at the same time. We'll see.

Thanks for the post. It's true that we're all different and we need to find what makes us lose best and what triggers us to crave food, and how we can sustain what works. It's not an exact science--if it was we'd all be skinny.