Women who eat a ton without gaining.... page 35

[PaleoMom]

paleomom, aon of the key aspects of this re-feeding technique is a higher starchy carb intake. Where are your starchy carbs?

Cronometer says my average carbs over the last week were 312, with 40g fructose from fruit and honey, the rest of the carbs would be from yams and white potato mostly with a small amount from other veggies.

[PaleoMom]

16-1700 cals is what I would eat if I were inactive, as a 30 year old female at 5'5".

This study didn't actually take account of the food people were eating in any more depth than just basic macronutrients. It doesn't say what type of carbohydrates, fats and proteins people were eating. Were the obese and overweight individuals getting more of their carbohydrates from sugar, fast food, for example, and fat from things like baked goods, pastries, chocolate etc, ie were they eating food that would not be satiating and would encourage overeating (as we discuss about those types of foods a lot on here). What proportion of the overweight and obese people's intake came from higher calorie drinks? Sugar intake didn't appear to be discussed, or alcohol intake either.

You are right that there weren't good details on what they ate, some days I just start panicking that I'm doing something that makes no sense. I'm sitting here weighing more that ever and it can be hard to remind myself of what I'm trying to do and what the end result might be. Ignore, moving on...

[sbhikes]

Maybe it's that when I eat all this gorgeous food to satiation point, I'm giving my body the signal that I love and respect it which makes me feel free, and reduces stress. I usually suffer from insomnia, so the deep sleep is amazing.

This thread is moving fast! I think you are on to something, YogaBare.

So for months now I have been pretty much ensuring that every meal I eat includes a large serving of lean meat and either ample vegetables or potatoes or both, usually without added fat except that needed for cooking or whatever is in the meat/nuts/avocados that I eat.

Between Christmas, my birthday and Valentine's day I had been swimming in chocolate. I also normally drink a lot of wine. A few weeks ago I decided no more chocolate or wine.

a) My waist measurement has decreased about an inch
b) I really can't eat nearly as much quantity of food as I could before
c) I've kind of sort of lost interest in food, especially treat-like things

It's kind of like the potato diet with meat and vegetables added, or maybe I'm just finding out that strict paleo actually works.

Also, I hurt myself so I've been trying to do lighter weights, no sprinting, but lots of squats.

[YogaBare]

YogaBare,
I have been very warm at night since this began. I did have to stop eating before bed, like Zach said, it was bringing on rapid heartbeat and gave me restless sleep and I was even hotter. This is saying a lot as my bedroom is usually around 55 degrees at night. I don't really sweat but I have to sleep without blankets for awhile or just a sheet. It does seem to come and go through the night though and I'll get back to normal after an hour or so.

I had this same experience when I used to do cold baths and I was eating very little back then but I think it was stimulating the metabolism as well. Can't imagine what it would be like to eat like this and do the cold baths. I'm not in the mood to try right now but somebody should

I actually rarely eat before bed... Had my orange at prob 8.30pm and that was the end of my eating. I'm actually a really bad sleeper anyway, but since doing this I've been having really vivid dreams, and sleeping quite deeply. Getting 7-8 hours consistently! After 8 years of chronic sleep deprivation, this is amazing.

Btw, I think Bestbetter did the increase in cals combined with the cold baths!

[YogaBare]

You are right that there weren't good details on what they ate, some days I just start panicking that I'm doing something that makes no sense. I'm sitting here weighing more that ever and it can be hard to remind myself of what I'm trying to do and what the end result might be. Ignore, moving on...

Keep the faith. Even if we're all wrong, take consolation in the fact that:

1) The weight will come off pretty quickly if we decide to start cutting again. Both times since November when I did that I literally shed it.
2) As I said before, we can always go back to yo-yo dieting

[Zach]

Yogabare, it might actually be a bit too much protein but if you arent eating several hours before bed then it shouldnt be a problem. Next time you get the sweats, try a small spoon of sugar/salt under your tongue. Restless legs might actually be from to much salt or dehydration, try a glass of water maybe.

It just takes experimenting.

[YogaBare]

This thread is moving fast! I think you are on to something, YogaBare.

So for months now I have been pretty much ensuring that every meal I eat includes a large serving of lean meat and either ample vegetables or potatoes or both, usually without added fat except that needed for cooking or whatever is in the meat/nuts/avocados that I eat.

Between Christmas, my birthday and Valentine's day I had been swimming in chocolate. I also normally drink a lot of wine. A few weeks ago I decided no more chocolate or wine.

a) My waist measurement has decreased about an inch
b) I really can't eat nearly as much quantity of food as I could before
c) I've kind of sort of lost interest in food, especially treat-like things

It's kind of like the potato diet with meat and vegetables added, or maybe I'm just finding out that strict paleo actually works.

Also, I hurt myself so I've been trying to do lighter weights, no sprinting, but lots of squats.

You also said some very lovely things on this thread sbhikes. Namely, how depriving yourself made you sad, and how real physical change is the sign of real inner transformation.

We could be totally wrong in what we're doing, but right now it's making more sense to me. If toxins get stored in fat, then with a crap diet you need more fat to keep the toxins away from the organs. With a good diet, the food can actually be used to fuel the body and nourish the tissues.

My body does not function to it's optimal ability. I have been doing something wrong, and the only thing I haven't tried is actually feeding myself and eating to my appetite. The reality is that I've been anorexic and I still wasn't thin enough so at this point I'm embracing the extra weight (which isn't even that much). Health and happiness, self love and appreciation is the new goal

[YogaBare]

Yogabare, it might actually be a bit too much protein but if you arent eating several hours before bed then it shouldnt be a problem. Next time you get the sweats, try a small spoon of sugar/salt under your tongue. Restless legs might actually be from to much salt or dehydration, try a glass of water maybe.

It just takes experimenting.

Hmm. I've been really, really craving iron-rich protein so I don't think it's that. You know, I think it could be dehydration. I haven't been drinking much water...

Thanks Zach

[BestBetter]

Btw, I think Bestbetter did the increase in cals combined with the cold baths!

That's right. I was doing ice baths in the late spring/summer and began my increased calorie/overeating phase in August, so they did coincide. I had to stop the ice baths in the fall, unfortunately, because they were making me tense up too much and that was contributing to my chronic back/shoulder pain.

I don't 100% know if the ice baths improved my metabolism, since I changed a whole bunch of variables simultaneously, but they definitely made a huge difference in my body's ability to regulate my temperature and to deal much better with both extreme hot and cold weather.

However, I have noticed that taking long hot baths temporarily increase my body temperature and heart rate, which would indicate that heat raises metabolism. A disclaimer is that I have low BP, so the increased heart rate could be in reaction to a way too low BP; the hot bath lowers BP by 20-30 points, so if mine was too low to begin with, my body pulse probably went into overdrive when a dangerously low BP is detected.

So ultimately, I'm really confused about whether hot bath or cold baths are better for metabolism, but I think they both have benefits

[diene]

Welcome to the club, where "feel(ing) super guilty because I wasn't really even that hungry when I got the burger" is unnecessary.

Did you really have to force it down or did you feel guilty because you felt that you *could* have done without it and that would have been the *correct* thing to do to help you lose fat?

Haha! I didn't have to force it down at all; in fact, I wolfed it down. I wolfed it down even though I wasn't really hungry. So, yeah, I felt guilty because the "correct" thing to do would have been to not eat it. But oh well.

You know, since I stopped counting and restricting, I no longer feel the urge to binge on the weekends. I think all of those weekend binges were just a reaction to the weekday deprivation. I certainly feel more like a normal human being (no longer thinking and obsessing about food constantly), but sometimes I also feel like a pig.