sbfluter wrote:
One thing I never did that other hikers did was eat whole pints, even whole half gallons of Ben & Jerry's. I could not do such a thing.
...
I wish I knew what to do, but the "literature" out there on the Internet assumes everybody is a sloth sitting on the couch. I walked a marathon every day for months. Has there been any research about what happens to you if you do that and what you should do afterwards? I would like to keep the weight off but I really have no idea what my body is going through.
I've been known to binge on ice cream, though usually the cheaper store brands.
As to your situation, it might be useful to seek out discussion forums for endurance athletes, such as long distance swimmers, long distance bicycling, triathletes, and the like. Bicyclists (stage racers) often do similar calorie intake/output over long periods of time.
I met someone that did ultra-marathons, 50+ miles in one day, 15 to 20 miles training almost every day. That might be another subgroup that might have information for your situation.
BillChin wrote:
I met someone that did ultra-marathons, 50+ miles in one day, 15 to 20 miles training almost every day. That might be another subgroup that might have information for your situation.
yeah - my ex did these. Talk about your carbo loading and preparations!!!
chrisoff wrote:...To keep weight off your basically looking at making lots of small, permanent changes to your lifestyle rather than one big, but short term, change...
Very much so, that is the basic approach.
I have very few "iron clad" rules about food, but over the years I've developed my own sense as to what "good" and "bad" foods could be, and it seems that as time goes by, I simply have little interest in "bad" foods.
Some years ago there was an advertisement about "How Little Johnny Can't Read," having to do with food products containing so many chemicals that Little Johnny simply couldn't read the names of the various contents of the food products. Well, there seems to be some truth to that concept, and I, for one, find such processed foods unpalatable, with strange "chemical" tastes, too much salt (BTW, I generally don't add salt to food), and weird oils.
At the bottom line, perhaps "good" food simply could be good for a person, in more ways than one.
Better yet, it seems that "good" food simply goes farther, nourishes and satisfies far better, than any of the alternatives.
We've all got different metabolism and also different personnalities that makes it impossible for one single method to work for everyone.
I can tell you what works for myself and my sister. About thirteen years ago I had an "extra thirty pounds" I decided I really wanted to lose. I went on a calorie diet, making sure I didnt have more than 1200-1300 calories intaker per day. I lost my 30 pounds in a few months. I simply had to deal with the feeling of "hunger" and I got used to it, accepting and getting used to feel hunger and not eat. When you're hungry and your body can't get the calories intake it wants, it will get the calories in your fat, thus transforming 1 pound of fat into about 3000 calories.
My sister tried to lose 20 pounds for years with all sort of diets. She recently went for the calories intake "strategy", and lost about 20 pounds in a few months.
I did the calorie intake diet again last year and lost 10-12 pounds.
What I'm saying here is that if you really, really want to lose weight, whatever your metabolism is, you can. Your body can't produce fat from outerspace. It's no magic. Some people will have to reduce their calorie intake more than others, because their body burns less calories. The challenge is also to do it in a healthy way. When I go on a low calorie "rampage", I eat a salad for dinner and some vegetable juice, I have maybe two toasts for breakfast with milk and lunch will be a tuna can with a slice of cheese and fruit juice. You're talking ~1000 calories.
What's hard is to have the will to do it. Once you're in the "game", it's relatively easy. It's to get in there that's hard. It took me a few years before I could lose my last bunch of pounds, I didnt have the will to do it. Also, it's much easier when you're single, as you tend to eat real, full meals when you're with someone. Social pressure, like going to restaurants with friends, is a tough one too.
PS: A gram of fat has about 9 calories, a gram of sugar, 4 calories. When you get more calories than you spend in a day, the extra calories will be transformed in fat. So eating fat or not fat won't change anything if the calories income are the same. Something fat will make you feel more "filled", so eating more sugar stuff instead of less fat stuff will lead to the same total.
PS2: Drinking lot of water or tea during the day can help you fool your brain into thinking you're not that hungry, because you're keeping your stomach filled up a bit. It does not get rid of the feeling hunger but helps a bit.
Getting back to original thread question: yes, I am metabolically challenged. I am even hypothyroid, though I take the lifetime medication and all. Only by a lot of hard exercise and really careful eating can I merely stay at overweight, not badly overweight.
After nearly dying from milk allergy as an infant, I was put on goat's milk and became a fat baby and got those companions of mine for life - - the eternal fat cells. They've expanded and contracted over the years, but it's basically a life sentence of going overweight. Spent a lot of years fighting those buggers, too.
I exercise hard, and you need to as well, sbfluter. For me, it's the mountain bike. Even if I can't ever really get rid of the muffin top, my legs and lungs are good and I feel strong. Feeling that way might be the best we get, those of us who trend heavy. I try to go almost every day unless i have to pick up one of my kids somewhere at the same time. The ride is about an hour and 15 minutes and I'm well-soaked when I get back. Anything less and I'm kiddng myself. I wish I could swim, because I think that's perfect, but I can't and don't.
I don't feel too hungry as long as I don't eat sugary stuff, which makes you hungry again soon. If I keep my nose to the grindstone at work (and fill up all available spaces with Chiffposts), I don't think about food much.
The worst time is after dinner, whilst watching the toob. Whistling keeps from eating snax, because I don't want to foul the windway, guitar playin' keeps my hands too busy. So definitely, watching tv or dvds is more danger-laden.
People will say an hour of walking is good. For you, it has to be harder than that, I think. it does for me. Though the walking is great for the heart, I don't think it will help you reduce weight or keep it off. You learned how much you can walk and still not shrivel up and fly away..
Your body is likely changing, for the worse, male or female, but especially female. I have accepted that fancy eating and such is a thing of my youth, not my present or future. It's just something you have to give up. Period.
Those impulses you described, of craving salad and such are really a sign that at least you are getting good signals from your body. Frankly, I think you were always on the borderline of dehydration, which salads quench so well. No matter how much you drink, those long walks really eliminate the fluids.
I think you need to be very engaged in a life pursuit that will keep you so busy, you nearly forget to eat. The fact that you have been wondering aloud what to do is a sign that you are the most vulnerable to the famous fill-in of all time for any number of personal voids, eating.
Good luck. And of all the diets and such, I think that understanding the glycemic index and the chemistry of it helps one to choose a path of eating. Atkins worked the best for me for weight loss, but it was too extreme for long-term health I think. I remember at the height of my adherence to that diet, that my joints really hurt, which was troubling.
I think what Atkins wanted, was for the person to use the diet then figure out exactly how much carbs they could work back into their diet and stick with it. Because eliminating those carbs at the outset was a true shock. So counter to how everyone eats.
And that's the problem. Post hunter-gatherer man, agricultural man, has a narrower diet, with less fiber. Post-industrial man, with the processed flours and sugars has a nearly poisonous hunger for the wrong things.
Something I've been reading about today as I look at things to complement and help my martial arts training (just started back after a long absence), is HITT. High Intensity Interval Training. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-inten ... l_training
Supposedly it burns fat much quicker than normal exercise, with half an hour of HITT being better than an hour or so of moderate running.
Seems like a simple idea with good results. So instead of walking/jogging for a few hours try fitting in half an hour of intervals (sprint, walk/jog, sprint, walk/jog).
Maybe something you could read up on and consider.
I looked up info on ultramarathon recovery and learned that ultramarathon runners will run as far as I walked every day for training. Then they go out and run 100 or 200 miles in one race.
Seems that this not only stresses the muscles and skeleton but also the endocrine system. They didn't explain what a stressed endocrine system feels like, but it may explain why I feel like I do.
They also talked about delayed soreness. You can do all this work for a long time and then a couple days after the race you're suddenly hit with soreness. That's exactly how I feel. It's been almost 2 weeks and I still can barely move, but while I was out there I could just get up and go every day. I guess they take up to 6 weeks to recover, but they do get out there and at least walk after a few days of rest.
Anyway, they didn't tell me how to keep the weight off because ultramarathoners just go on to train for the next race. I suspect I'll have to do the same and exercise at least 2 hours a day. I already know that 1 hour a day doesn't do anything for me.
I suppose I will become soft and squishy once again.
~ Diane
Flutes: Tipple D and E flutes and a Casey Burns Boxwood Rudall D flute
Whistles: Jerry Freeman Tweaked D Blackbird
A quick question: when you feel the soreness, does it persist after moving around?
The reason I ask is this: At one time I really ramped up my exercise schedule. What I found was that I'd wake up really sore. However, after being up and around for a bit (even exercising a little), the feeling of soreness would pass.
It also reminded me of when I was playing soccer in high school. In the fall, when school and regular practices started, I would be sore for about a week. After that ,howerver, it passed.
Without going into details that might violate board policy...
If you have soreness after exercise that does not diminish over time at all, please know that this can be a warning sign of a serious medical problem, and you should see a physician.
Most of the time on the hike itself I would be sore in town when I was resting. My typical hiking day had me hiking from 6am to 6pm and at 6pm I'd make dinner and go to bed so I never noticed any soreness.
Everybody hiking the trail had the soreness. We all hobbled around. Even the dogs that some people brought on the trail hobbled exactly like we all did.
But put the pack on and away we'd go down the trail putting in our big miles.
It's much the same now at home but I feel even more sore than I did when taking a day off during the hike. But once I get moving again it goes away.
I felt this morning that perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel. I felt less sore and a little more energetic. I spent yesterday morning doing some gardening and that gave me all new sore muscles, but otherwise, the old sore muscles I think are getting better. I think the feeling is coming back in my feet, too. I've heard that can take 6 months to come back and some have said their feet have been numb ever since. At least only a couple of spots on my feet still hurt.
Perhaps in another week I'll be ship-shape and can exercise again beyond taking short trips to town on my bicycle. Seeing as how I'm always constantly hungry with my stomach growling, that will be a good thing if I'm ever to keep the weight off. I wonder when the hunger wears off?
~ Diane
Flutes: Tipple D and E flutes and a Casey Burns Boxwood Rudall D flute
Whistles: Jerry Freeman Tweaked D Blackbird
I bet your body still is used to that huge energy expenditure and is trying to get you to eat. You trained it, with all that walking.
And, once again, though it may violate medical policy: when you mention soreness, I am sorry to bring this up, but you know that Lyme disease can have joint pain issues, right? I know you got bit by various bugs... You said it was muscular, but if it's joint pain, you might want to get tested.
The Weekenders wrote:And, once again, though it may violate medical policy:
Any kind of weight-loss talk violates medical policy...I mean, weight gain is at its base a medical problem. I went to the doctor recently to see about losing weight and the doctor told me less than 1% of people who need to lose weight go to a doctor first, though.
sbfluter wrote:Most of the time on the hike itself I would be sore in town when I was resting. My typical hiking day had me hiking from 6am to 6pm and at 6pm I'd make dinner and go to bed so I never noticed any soreness.
Everybody hiking the trail had the soreness. We all hobbled around. Even the dogs that some people brought on the trail hobbled exactly like we all did.
But put the pack on and away we'd go down the trail putting in our big miles.
It's much the same now at home but I feel even more sore than I did when taking a day off during the hike. But once I get moving again it goes away.
I felt this morning that perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel. I felt less sore and a little more energetic. I spent yesterday morning doing some gardening and that gave me all new sore muscles, but otherwise, the old sore muscles I think are getting better. I think the feeling is coming back in my feet, too. I've heard that can take 6 months to come back and some have said their feet have been numb ever since. At least only a couple of spots on my feet still hurt.
Perhaps in another week I'll be ship-shape and can exercise again beyond taking short trips to town on my bicycle. Seeing as how I'm always constantly hungry with my stomach growling, that will be a good thing if I'm ever to keep the weight off. I wonder when the hunger wears off?
I always take a month off running in the winter. It usually turns into 6 weeks or so because of snow, inclement weather (we get that in the East), etc. I always feel achy after a week or so. My body just wants to get out there and move.
And Jack, this isn't a thread about weight loss, it's about maintaining weight. There's a significant difference.
Charlie Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
Jack wrote:
Any kind of weight-loss talk violates medical policy...I mean, weight gain is at its base a medical problem. I went to the doctor recently to see about losing weight and the doctor told me less than 1% of people who need to lose weight go to a doctor first, though.
Thank God people don't go see the doctor when they feel they need to lose weight, we'd have a healthcare system totally overloaded with people who are in total agony because they can't lose ten extra pounds.
The need to lose weight is often psychological, and although I don't have any stats on this I'd say maybe 80% of people who want to lose weight actually *need* to lose weight for health reasons. The teenagers who want to look like a model, people with anorexia... Also, many of those who *need* to lose weight for health reasons actually don't even see their condition as a problem.
Now, what is a doctor going to do about it anyway? The only efficient thing he could do is give you a few pills and scare you to death so that you go a on a diet
Jack wrote:Any kind of weight-loss talk violates medical policy...I mean, weight gain is at its base a medical problem.
Well, no, not all weight gain is, at base, a medical problem. In my case, it's an overeating and underexercising problem. I put on 25 pounds in the last couple years because I worked all day and spent every night and all weekend glued to either a computer or a textbook.
I'm not diseased, nor am I particularly disturbed by it. It's not a medical problem. It's just FAT. And you know what? I have to present something at a conference in a couple months. If I don't lose that 25 pounds by then, I'm going to hang over the lectern on both sides. I don't want people I haven't seen in a few years gasping in horror and wondering what the heck happened to cute little Lamby.
I'd like to feel that I can talk about that here, just like you talk about your various woes, because it's an ISSUE for me. Everybody else can talk about their issues. What's the problem with the issue being FAT? I don't burden you with my other issues--God knows I have enough. But I'd sure like to talk about this one.
Frankly, I'm pretty miffed right now about having to wear underpants you could fit a couple of bowling balls into. From the back, I'll bet I look like I've got two stoats shoved in a sack. I think it'll make me feel better . . . probably a lot better . . . to talk about that. I might need to talk about it a LOT. Probably every time I get hungry. And I don't think that's medical. It's just perfectly normal, socially acceptable TALK. It's just unburdening oneself. A catharsis, as it were.
