Ok so I’ve been pondering this for some time now and would like to get some feedback because I plan on using this same weight loss approach.
Now, in college I was a wrestler and competed at 125lbs. However, every pre-season, I would come in at around 135. So I had some weight to lose.
My general strategy was to do the conditioning program and practice our coach planned, lose a few pounds there, and then basically starve myself to make the rest of the cut. Which basically meant losing a few pounds naturally and then about 7 or 8 pounds through sheer deprivation and ramping up the exercises.
Now, this is the part I don’t get. After I got down to 125, it was no problem at all holding that weight. I could eat literally anything and my weight would not climb above 130. In fact, I usually ate far more at the time usually averaging about 4 hefty meals a day.
Now I figure, it’s due to the high level of exercising I was doing and my body just naturally adjusting to the weight.
So I figure, I’m gonna do it again. I weigh about 135 and I plan to get to 130. I’ll starve myself for a little, but once I get down there I can pretty much go back to eating what I usually have. My only problem I think will be maintaining the workouts considering I don’t have practices now and instead a full time job.
But, in every weight loss book, article, guide, you name it - they claim it as unhealthy and it won’t work. They say you’ll just put the weight right back on. But it didn’t seem to be the case for me.
Read about body weight set point theory. Basically: most people seem to have about a metabolic predisposition to a weight range of 10-15 lbs up and down from a certain point, that their body maintains naturally and often regardless of habits. It’s not difficult to quickly and deliberately move your weight up and down within this range. It can be extremely difficult to try to go outside it.
When people gain (or lose) major weight, deliberately or without trying, it tends to be in a relatively quick fashion, and they stabilize and maintain at a new ‘set point’ 30 lbs up or whatever.
@ why not - that’s right, and it’s basically because I quit exercising pretty much. I picked it back up again mid-summer, but keep in mind I never shot up above 135 even in the off-season.
@ Taomist - Thanks!
@ Rhubarbarin - That’s interesting. I think a lot of that is probably spot on as far as my line of thinking goes. If you exercise enough you can eat pretty much anything you want too.
Perhaps, I may be unclear as to what I meant by starving too. Basically, I’m still eating two small meals a day. Usually I would eat more, but if I want to hit my goal weight I’ll have to go without. After that, keep up the exercising and you’re smooth sailing. You can pretty much go back to your old ways, eating wise. or can you? how hard is it to re-set your body weight?
Now I’m not sure how to compare that against a healthy diet. To me it seems, a healthy diet takes work. I have to prepare all the meals, buy all kinds of food - usually expensive food at that. A lot of it I might not like all that much so there’s not much to enjoy. It results in a whole change of lifestyle and I’ll admit for most people it’s very positive. It’s not bad at all but I like pizza and cheeseburgers. What’s wrong with that?
Set point only works if nothing is changing, but it is. You’re more likely to be doing sedentary work as you get older, your metabolism is slowing down, you’re doing less exercise, and muscle mass is decreasing.
Yo yo dietting can increase that, because it helps to speed up muscle loss.
I used to not be able to gain weight no matter what I did. I do not have that problem any more.
Actually, I don’t think exercising has too much to do with it. People I know who exercise a lot on average don’t tend to be leaner or thinner than those who don’t exercise at all, even though they as individuals may be thinner/leaner than before they did so much exercise. And I’ve known people training for marathons who have gained a lot of weight while doing so.
I think body weight is the result of complex interactions between the many hormonal fuctions of your body (which are heavily influced by both genetic and enviromental factors), what kind of foods you eat, how much you eat, and your general activity level more so than the amount of structured exercise you do.
I identify with the conclusions you’ve made about yourself, as it seems we have a similar body/metabolism type (thin and weight-stable). Since I went through puberty about 11 years ago I have weighed between 95 and 108 lbs (most of that time I was 99-102 lbs), with vast changes in diet, lifestyle, and activity level. For many months I have been pushing to get over my current highest-ever maitenance weight of 104-108, and it’s not happening yet. I am certain that if I deliberarely attempted to undereat and lose 5-10 lbs, it would be quick and nearly effortless (considering how damn much I eat) and I could maintain again easily at under 100 lbs. I don’t feel that we are typical in the general population though, and it’s not very useful to compare this type of metabolism to the average person’s.
@ otara - I did not know that. It’s kind of depressing but good information regardless.
@ rhubarbarin - I see where you’re coming from with the nutritional aspect but I think you are off when it comes to exercising. How else would you explain my weight gain after the exercise stopped? And also take into account that after the exercise stopped, my appetite decreased as well and I ate less. Explain that?
Basically what I am getting at is I want to lose the belly fat. I didn’t have that two years ago whe I was in college and after slacking off for some time it has creeped up on me. Just as a tidbit, this time last year I was weighing around 145, and at times pushing 150. I had enough and employed this tactic and I have been a steady 135-140 ever since. Now shouldn’t the same process work once I get to 130?
I can’t explain it fully. It’s an individual process based on many variables and we don’t know how it works yet. I do believe exercise has some effect on body weight. 10 lbs is a small amount to fluctuate with changing habits, especially for a person over 30.
I will be interested to see the results of your attempt to lose 5 lbs your usual way. If you eat anything you like and that includes lots of pizza and fast food, I suspect that you will continue to to gain belly fat as you age, regardless of whether your total weight stays the same/low.
I guess I’m still confused about what you’re asking us to explain. You needed to lose a few pounds, so you crash dieted, increased your activity level and then went back to your old eating habits while maintaining an increased activity level and slowly regained the weight over the next year. Is that right? What part of that is confusing, or contrary to mainstream nutrition theory?
I mean, the body weight set point theory is interesting, but we’re talking a gain and loss of ~10 pounds every year, with exercise and dietary changes. I don’t see how it’s applicable.
@ rhubarbarin - it’s not lots of pizza and cheeseburgers it’s actually very little. Until I get to my goal weight then I can go back to what I was eating like before as long as I maintain a high level of exercise.
@ whynot - basically how can I lose my gut?
I’m actually beginning to doubt my method though. This evening I weighed 135 after I weighed about 133 this morning. Still got a gut, too. Maybe I will have to change my ways, maybe not. Either way 6 a.m. Run for this guy in the morning.
The basic method you used before, expect that I wouldn’t suggest “sheer deprivation”. That’s the part most people cannot maintain, and can get into an unhealthy yo-yo pattern with their weight loss and gain. (~10 pounds isn’t really a big deal, but gaining and losing 20 repeatedly is hard on the kidneys and insulin receptors.)
Eat a bit less, move more. Choose unprocessed, healthy foods, high on the protein and complex carbs (like whole grain rice and whole grain wheat) and avoid the simple carbs (white stuff - rice, white pasta, white bread, white sugar). At your age, fat may or may not be an issue for you.
If you want to lose your gut, you’ve got to lose fat, period. There’s no way to eliminate just belly fat, but it will go down as you lose fat. Now, if you haven’t been as active since college, you may have lost some muscle. You may be able to get that back through exercise. If you do gain muscle mass, the scale may go up, even as the belly goes down, since muscle weighs more by volume than fat. Concentrate more on how you feel and, to a lesser degree, what you look like, rather than obsessing over a specific number on the scale.
You’re absolutely right, though - if you don’t want to eat differently, you can still lose fat and then maintain your weight by moving more. It’s a lot more moving than most people are willing to do, but it’s certainly possible.
I’m going to assume that you’re young, because I used to be able to eat anything I wanted & not gain weight, too.
Then I got older with a sedentary job.
Lost a lot of weight this way:
ate a lot of vegetables & (usually healthy-cooked) protein, some carbs & only a little fruit. AND I ate anything I was hungry for, just at least only half as much as what I had been consuming before. Also, I ate at least 4 times a day. walking was my only exercise.
Oh, and no snacks (except for salads & popcorn etc) Every extra pound I had on me was stamped Frito-Lay
