My doctor has a sign posted in each of his examining rooms that says something to the effect of:
I recommend a healthy diet and exercise as an initial step in treating many conditions.
Always struck me as eminently reasonable.
That sign is not a bad idea.
Sounds about right.
Yep, I’m sure we have a lot of elite athletes and elite performers who regularly participate in these threads.
I do not think “fat shaming” is a useful method to motivate people to start minding what they eat and consider the amount of exercise they do.
I also think the brand of “body positivity” of the likes of Lizzo is even more counter productive.
It is not OK to be morbidly obese. Claiming it is belongs with flat eartherism and anti-vax bullshit.
You do not have a “natural setpoint” @BMI > 30.
People have several natural setpoints during their life and can change these. As an avid natural weightlifter, my current BMI exceeds thirty and my weight stays constant even if I eat relatively little. However, I have a flat stomach and am metabolically healthy. My concern with obesity is when it is metabolically unhealthy.
This is almost certainly true. People who have a BMI greater than 30 for a long period of time develop a set point that supports that weight, which makes it difficult for them to lose weight and keep it off.
If you decide to lose weight, my dietician suggests doing it slowly, and only lose 10% of your body weight at a time. Once you’ve done that, you should wait 4-6 weeks to give your body a chance to adjust. If you want to lose more weight, lose another 10%, and keep going until you reach your goal. (I wasn’t aware of this and lost 22% of my weight at one time. No wonder my body tried so hard to put back on the weight when I stopped dieting.)
Usually, there is no good reason to hurry your weight loss, unless there’s a valid medical reason. Remember, it took you years to put on that weight in the first place. Weight loss won’t happen fast unless you get gastric bypass surgery. If you want to be a healthy weight, your goal should be less than BMI 26, unless you are older person, then less than BMI 28 is a good target according to this.
If you don’t believe in BMI, then pick a weight you would be happy with for rest of your life and aim for that. Of course, if you’re a bodybuilder, BMI doesn’t work since muscle weighs more than fat, so building muscle and decreasing body fat will increase your BMI no matter what.
That’s really good advice. Thanks.
I was fortunate then that I was only around 230-240 for maybe 2 years-before then I was typically around 185. After a short hospital stay (heart arrythmia, ate the wrong things) I just said the hell with it and lost 40 pounds, in maybe 6 months? As said, haven’t had any issues keeping it off and now losing an additional 5.
It sounds like you were fortunate, and you’ve stumbled, either accidentally or intentionally, on a way to lose weight without gaining some or most of it back. The fact that you took 6 months to lose the weight means you lost it fairly gradually, which may have been key to resetting your set point over time. Your body had time to adjust to the weight loss, and it was gradual enough not to trigger typical metabolic and behavioral responses that often cause people to regain the lost weight.
If you don’t mind sharing, could you tell us what your current maintenance/weight-loss strategy is? Are you restricting calorie intake? Are you exercising a lot more than you used to? Are you avoiding or restricting specific foods? Are you on any particular diet, such as the Mediterranean Diet, or the Keto Diet, or a Vegan Diet?
Why do you feel your weight is stable and that you will lose another 5 pounds? I’m eager to learn how others have found ways to have a normal, healthy diet, by not counting calories or tracking macros, and that it allows them to maintain their weight almost effortlessly… assuming it is fairly easy for you to do.
The only real comparison is pre-2010 [high water mark of 243] and since then.
As said, I will binge on something maybe once a week (mentioned the pistachios which I am finishing off now, occ. do a not-quite-one-full-pint-anymore of Haagen Daas ice cream, maybe occ. cheesecake.
Otherwise I restrict portions of the 3 main meals-breakfast is yogurt/grain cereal/blueberries, lunch is a single sandwich with thin cheese slices, and dinner is c. 5 times a week Lean Cuisine or a can of soup. Twice a week I’ll go double and do either pasta w/ portobellos and maybe ground turkey, or a burrito bowl with same, adding refried beans and Spanish rice w/ jalapenos and sour cream. Pizza once a season or so.
Normally snack just enough thru the middle of the day and the evening to keep me going: maybe another yogurt, Fig Newtons (ditched heavily shortening-laden cookies), the nuts here and there, granola bars. I don’t put any stock into any of the fad diets where specifically Carbs Are The Devil’s Spawn or such…
2- 2 1/2 hours of intervals per week on the elliptical or stationary bike, 1 min hard pumping 1-3 min resting. That’s been pretty constant for the 14 years now. [I’ve tried jogging a few times but was sore as fock for the entire following week and also found that my heart rate just soared through the roof and had to walk half the time. Note I am easily able to hike up and down steep hills-in one such place off the Blue Ridge Parkway EVERYONE else was winded, even teens, while I was barely winded despite forging a very brisk pace. My body just doesn’t like jogging I guess, and specifically don’t want to damage my knees-I wear a brace on the left one after an injury on a damaged elliptical a few years ago, not sore or restricted in movement just precautionary. May get a 10 speed this spring note.]
Otherwise when I overdo things too much I’ll simply hunker down for the next week or two and work it all back off. Been absolutely no yoyo’s of more than 3-5 pounds during this entire time. I’m happy being at 170 note and don’t plan to lose any more. As I indicated above, if I DON’T sin in any way it will come off pretty easily. I do plan to restart pumping the iron-I had food poisoning a month ago which severely bloated my entire digestive tract and bruised my ribs something awful, couldn’t lift the 20 lb. dumbbell I have.
Thanks for all of the info, It sounds like you’ve figured out how to keep you weight stable through prudent eating and regular exercise. If you binge once in a while, you know how to get back down to your ideal weight, at least ideal for you, which is all that matters.
Keep up the good work and keep climbing those hills. I believe that’s one of the best things you can do for long-term health. I learned that from studying what folks in Blue Zones do to stay healthy and live a long time, which should be everyone’s goal.
Meant to mention: my liquid of choice is water 80% of the time–no alcohol, a soda once in a blue moon. The local supermarket has a monthly special on orange juice which I typically spring for, however.
I also drink water most of the time. I do drink green tea with breakfast and decaf coffee with dinner.
Since I try to keep my blood sugar low, I don’t drink fruit juices, but that’s a lot healthier than drinking sodas.
Seconding the discarding of soda. If guys want to try one thing, and one thing only to start to improve their diet, getting rid of soda will probably yield the most and most immediate health benefits (blunts sugar cravings, better for teeth, and less drop-kicking the pancreas). You will feel better in a matter of days. IMHO ditching soda is a gateway to better eating/drinking overall.
Thirding! It never quenched my thirst.
As mentioned above, drinking soda, whether diet or regular, is one habit most to break to take control of your weight and overall health. Countless millions started drinking diet soda because they thought it would help them lose weight, when it did exactly the opposite. Water is probably the best drink for your go-to beverage.