Re: Why some people eat so little and can't lose weight...maybe.

On Apr 13, 9:32 am, "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Apr 12, 9:39 pm, James G <SnoopJ...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Apr 12, 7:41 pm, "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > > On Apr 12, 3:48 pm, James G <SnoopJ...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > > On Apr 11, 5:40 pm, "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > > > >http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatt...t-foods-in-ame...
>
> > > > > Note that people who ate out UNDERESTIMATED their calorie intake by
> > > > > 93%. Wow. I strongly suspect this is a factor when people claim to be
> > > > > eating so little but don't lose weight. If they miss the calorie
> > > > > intake that much in a restaurant, my guess is they also underestimate
> > > > > at home. Those fats like salad dressings, olive oil, etc. are most
> > > > > likely the biggest problem, because they are very high calorie and so
> > > > > it is easier to misjudge how much you ate. If you underestimate how
> > > > > many calories are in the spinach or lettuce, that wouldn't likely be a
> > > > > big deal cause it might mean the difference between 100 and 190
> > > > > calories....difference- 90 calories, but underestimate fat which you
> > > > > might think has 350 calories by the same amount and you have really
> > > > > eaten 315 calories more. It is human nature to want to believe that
> > > > > somehow the wt. gain must be due to something rare like metabolic
> > > > > diseases, a really, really slow metabolism but simple overeating and
> > > > > underestimating calories is probably the case. Look to fats if you are
> > > > > overweight. Therein lies the problem. dkw
>
> > > > I think it's even simpler. Boredom eating is KILLER when it comes to
> > > > calories. When we're eating because we're bored, we tend to eat snack
> > > > foods. A lot of those have higher calorie counts ANYWAY, and when we
> > > > mindlessly crunch a bag of chips, we could be eating half of the
> > > > proper intake amount for a single day in a single sitting!!
>
> > > > I always thought the idea of a "food diary" was kinda stupid, but when
> > > > used in PREPARATION of a meal, instead of after or during the meal, it
> > > > really helps keep the actual numbers very close to the top of my mind.
>
> > > > Knowing is [more than] half the battle.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > > What helps me is to make my menu every day then stick to it. For me it
> > > is easy because I eat a lot of the same foods and know exactly how
> > > many calories are in them. When I am through my list, even if it is 2
> > > PM in the afternoon, I stop eating. Acutally, I am finished eating
> > > quite often at 2 PM, but really don't get hungry the rest of the day.
> > > I eat quite a lot at about 11 am. Since I get up at about 5 am each
> > > morning, I have breakfast then.
>
> > > I think one of the main ideas of a food diary is that you can see how
> > > much you have REALLY eaten. Many people conveniently forget they ate
> > > something otherwise and this sort of shames them into cutting back.
> > > Really, if a person doesn't know how many calories they've eaten, it
> > > is kinda difficult for a nutritionist or the person who's overweight
> > > to make the best choices. When I was losing wt...because I was losing
> > > wt., I knew exactly how many calories I was eating, how many I was
> > > burning, and what my wt. loss rate would be. This worked very
> > > precisely with only slight tweaking required because as you weigh
> > > less, you burn fewer calories when exercising and need fewer calories
> > > for the new, lower weight, but even that I had figured out in advance.
> > > When I went onto maintenance at 138 pounds down from 230, I also knew
> > > exactly how many calories I needed to maintain my wt. at the time...
> > > 2025. I haven't gained or lost a single pound in 3 years with thatamount. Theopen-ended eating that many people seem to practice does
> > > not lend itself to serious dieting. Whenever I hear someone say
> > > something like "I really overate today", I think they are not really
> > > serious and their "diet" has already failed. It is like cheating on
> > > your spouse. It's possible that someone might do it just once, but the
> > > likelihood is that after that first time, they do it time and time
> > > again and just like overeating, feel like crap over and over again
> > > too. Best to just not overeat ever, IMO. I know I can't and WON"T.
> > > While few need to be as anally retentive as I am about it, they seem
> > > to need better data plus a good dose of willpower of course. dkw
>
> > I agree with what you're saying, except for the notion that overeating
> > can lend itself to making a diet "fail."
>
> > I know what you mean, that the type of person that complains about
> > overeating doesn't tend to stick with their diet, but it's a subtle
> > difference.
>
> > Every now and then, I get a little overconfident in my diet and my
> > intuition about what I'm eating, and I overeat some. It's not a very
> > large amount, but it's just enough to have a very tangible effect on
> > my weight trend (especially if this occurs 3 days in a row, about the
> > time it personally seems to take my body to readjust the internal
> > mechanisms of fat metabolism).
>
> > I find that before I managed to get on-track with my diet, a single
> > slip-up would result in a "oh well" giving up attitude. I let myself
> > become a victim of my own mistake, and the chain reaction that ensued
> > threw me way off-course. But now, instead of making myself the
> > victim, I pull myself aside for a moment, and sternly but calmly
> > ensure myself that everybody makes mistakes now and then, and the
> > absolute most important thing to do is just to get back on the horse
> > and keep going right where I left off.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> You are right of course, but it is a little like saying a person is on
> a diet between meals, but not during meals, meaning you are constantly
> off or on diets. Another analogy would be that a person quits
> smoking....between cigarettes. It just seems to me that it makes the
> process a miserable affair to be cycling between overeating, then
> trying to compensate or that indiscretion by working out more, really
> suffering by eating even less than you otherwise would and feeling
> guilty with each indulgence. I know people do it and manage to lose
> weight and keep with their particular diets, but it is so much easier
> to not overeat in the first place- no guilty feelings, no refiguring
> calories or workouts either. I may be in the minority, but that
> probably attests to the difficulty of keeping on a diet and the strong
> urges to eat more than we need. I just know that until I did what I'm
> doing now, ie: never overeating, I used to yo-yo. It is so much easier
> to lapse into general overeating if you allow yourself to do it even
> once. At least it worked that way for me. dkw

Don't get me wrong, it's BAD to overeat.

But it's a little evil to say that once you've done it, you've
completely failed. As long as you can keep those indulgences under
control, so you're not constantly going back and forth, they won't
have too much effect on the long-term.

But if you let that be an excuse for yourself, you'll overeat even
more and then you will have tossed the diet.

It's all a question of frame of mind, I suppose.