Setpoint Advice, Please!!!

[anne8789]

Also, and I know many will disagree with this, whenever you stall it is not because you are eating too little. People love to buy into this "starvation mode" theory, but it is just not true. Yes, as you lose weight you will need to take in less food, but that is because your body is becoming smaller and you need less food to maintain at a smaller weight. The smaller you get, the less energy you are going to need. Of course, if you are eating McDougall MWL that still means a lot of food. If you are stalling and you think you need to eat more, just make sure it is really MWL food, otherwise, you are just going to gain. Usually once people, especially women, lose a lot of weight, they need to get used to the idea that they are going to have to continue eating in the same way they did in order to lose the weight, otherwise they are going to regain it. In other words, once the weight is lost, the healthy eating patterns can't end. When I am not true to MWL, I gain. It's as simple as that. Exercise is a big part of my life, but it is the good eating that has changed me from a slightly overweight woman to a very slim woman.

[Nara]

I really enjoy reading your posts, Anne 8789. Thanks for sharing your experience with MWL - it's very inspiring, as I too teeter between slightly overweight (like it's my "setpoint" which I still refuse to accept) and very slender (which lasts about six months but will be permanent one of these days!). The extra 10-15 pounds pile back on when treats such as fatfree vegan muffins and bagels become regular foods, even in spite of regular daily running and weight training. Time to be true to MWL, which by the way I find very enjoyable and satisfying.

[chooseLife]

Ok, now I'm a little confused...I'm eating about 1200 calories a day, doing cardio for an hour, and more, and I was just buying into the 'eating too little' idea, and now I am hearing that's somewhat mythical...not to offend, no intention to do that for sure...but I may be OVER eating? hmmmm, that's crazy!

The good news is that my clothes are getting looser, so something is happening!

It seemed pretty simple early on...I don't know what to think now.

[anne8789]

I agree that at 1200 calories a day and one hour of cardio it should seem that weight should be coming off quickly. However, for some people 1200 calories could be all they need to maintain a slim, healthy weight. Also, it is very easy to underestimate the amount of calories we eat each day and actually be eating more than we think. Adding more calories is not going to help you lose weight. Although I do agree that Dr. McDougall encourages eating to satisfaction as long as we are truly following his plan, I never recall a discussion where he instructed that we add more calories to our diet when we are having trouble losing weight. His direction is to add more vegetables and reduce the amount of starch we are eating, i.e., reduce our caloric consumption. Weight loss and maintenance is very hard. If it wasn't, we could all be very slim all of the time.

[chooseLife]

Thank you, I appreciate all of the interesting information! Onward, HO!

[dlb]

I pulled this off the website under medical info. It may clear up somethings for you:

In plain and simple terms, the cause of obesity is:

Eating too much of foods that are too concentrated in calories. Especially the fats and oils which are present in natural foods or are added to foods being prepared for the table. "The fat you eat is the fat you wear.

Not eating enough starches, because of the mistaken notion that "starches make you fat." The carbohydrate in starches satisfies the hunger drive. Fat offers very little satisfaction for the hunger drive.

Not enough exercise.

Switch to foods that provide fewer calories and more fibers. A change to a diet of starches, vegetables, and fruits will allow you to eat twice as much, as measured by volume, and yet take in only half as many calories as you did while stuffing yourself with the dishes offered by the rich American diet. As an added bonus, you're eating helpful, healthful foods that contain no cholesterol and no additives, lots of fibers and clean-burning carbohydrates, and moreover, all low in fats and in sodium content.

My Recommendations: Switch immediately to a starch-based diet. Eat, eat, and eat. All that you can hold. In fact, the more you eat the healthier and trimmer you will be. Why? When your stomach's full you will be less tempted to cheat with treacherous goodies that hold too many calories. To lose weight faster, eliminate bread at first, and keep fruits to less than 3 per day. Instead eat more squash, white potatoes, corn, and rice. Green and yellow vegetables, like carrots, wax beans, broccoli, asparagus, lettuce, zucchini, and onions are ideal for weight loss because of their very low calorie concentrations. Enjoy them liberally. And don't forget to exercise. Daily.

For a complete discussion of weight control see The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss by Plume/Penguin 1994.

[Fern]

Just because I lose more weight the less I eat, everyone is definitely not that way.

My chiropractor, who I trust implicitly and who has studied nutrition described her difficulty with this. She wanted so badly to lose weight while training for triathalons. She kept eating less and less until she was eating 1 banana per day, working all day, and training for 2 to 3 hours. She didn't lose any weight. Someone convinced her to eat over 1500 calories per day of healthy food and she lost 30 pound over 6 months.

Everyone is different, some people genetically have more of a starvation reaction than others. I wouldn't survive lean periods, she would.

[PamM]

ChooseLife -- just a quick uansked-for opinion. If your clothes are getting looser, what you're doing IS WORKING. Don't let the scale make you crazy, or drive you to reduce or tweak your food intake till it's not comfortable or sustainable. The scale is really just a way to measure (and not very accurately) trends in your *size*, which is what you really care about, yes? Your body is telling you more directly that you're doing just fine!

</soapbox mode off>

Pam

[chooseLife]

Ok, I've decided: if I fit into the dress for the wedding, great. If I don't, I'll go buy another one! And I'll let my body get to the size that's best in the time that it's best. LOL! Wow, why did I worry so much? I'll let you all know if I get to use the original dress, ok? Life is too short to fret so. Thanks, everyone!
Val

[Melinda]

I agree - the scale is a very poor judge - especially when you may be retaining water one day. The scale can be so discouraging, that I use a tape measure instead

[Ed Petersen]

I am a new comer to the forum. I had a cardiac incident in 2004 and required a stint to allow me to even move about. I went through a very thorough cardio rehab program and decided that I needed to get serious about weight loss. I was a vegetarian and had been for years, with occasional lapses into snack food and the greasy stuff from time to time. I was a salesman on the road most of the time and eating wisely was difficult. However I am also aware that God has a sense of humour. Bagles and beer are totally vegetarian and I loved both of them. However in two years I dropped from 245 to 180 and have never gone over that mark, but it takes some effort to stick to a reasonable intake of food, and not too much bread. It is very dense and heavy and I know I have to cut back.

I am now getting serious again. I have dropped skim milk from my diet and intend to get down to about 150, which my MD says will be a good weight for me. All the best to you folk trying to lose weight. Hang in there.