Body Image...

[blueerica]

I mentioned it in the Super Tuesday thread, but I've been watching Biggest Loser this season. I've never really gotten into it until now (probably because I was far too busy to really watch much TV), and I've gotten caught into the emotional content of the story.

One of the problems a lot of people had were not eating enough calories. I think I go back and forth between too many and then not enough. I wish I had the patience to actually count those damn things. If I got better about metering myself somewhat naturally, that woudl be a good solution. Or if I had a personal chef.

[blueerica]

Damn, I must've caught up on this thread right before MW posted that.

But yes, that's a huge problem for a lot of people, I think

[BarTopDancer]

If you don't eat enough your body goes into starvation mode. Your metabolism will drop and you won't lose weight.

Here is an about.com link with information on how to calculate how many calories one should eat to maintain and/or lose weight.

Women:
655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Men:
66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Please note that this formula applies only to adults.

Calculate Activity
Step two: In order to incorporate activity into your daily caloric needs, do the following calculation:

* If you are sedentary : BMR x 20 percent

* If you are lightly active: BMR x 30 percent

* If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): BMR x 40 percent

* If you are very active (You exercise intensely on a daily basis or for prolonged periods.): BMR x 50 percent

* If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): BMR x 60 percent

Add this number to your BMR.

The result of this formula will be the number of calories you can eat every day and maintain your current weightt. In order to lose weight, you'll need to take in fewer calories than this result.

As you lose weight, you can re-calculate the formula to assess your new BMR.

[tracilicious]

Another thing worth mentioning is that your body needs good fat to lose weight. At least mine does. Your liver has a lot to do with weight loss and the right kind of fats are what keeps it functioning. I find it very hard to drop pounds without half an avocado, or a bunch of olives, or olive oil, or flax oil every day. I learned a lot by reading both Fat Flush Plan and some other book that I can't remember the title of right now that talk about how your internal organs relate to weight loss.

[Disneyphile]

Originally Posted by Prudence

I've reached a point where I truly don't know what to do.

Experiment and find out what your body says it wants and needs.

Listen to how you and your body feel after eating or doing something. Does it taste good for a few moments but make you feel like crap for hours and is it worth it? Is an activity boring and repetitive and not making you feel better?

My body responds best to eating every couple hours rather than snacking. And, it's helped me curb cravings, because I still eat whatever I want, in moderation. My body also responds really well to weightlifting, which I've also found out that I enjoy far more than jumping on a "stairmaster" or exercise bike. I never tried much with weights before, because I was concerned it would make me gain numbers. And, it actually has had the opposite effect - building strength while the newly worked muscles keep burning off fat for the next 48 hours, even while I'm sleeping.

But, that's the combination that has worked well for me, without dieting, without deprivation, and without forcing myself to do something I don't want to.

Your body might tell you something completely different.

[MouseWife]

Originally Posted by blueerica

Damn, I must've caught up on this thread right before MW posted that.

But yes, that's a huge problem for a lot of people, I think

I have watched each season. Love it. Did you watch last week? The person who was voted off? I've been dying to ask someone what they thought about that!!!

[alphabassettgrrl]

Losing weight is *not* simple for some people. Pru, I'm sorry people treat you so badly.

[MouseWife]

I think it is a double edged sword~ when you are overweight, you can feel uncomfortable to eat. But, if you don't eat, you won't lose weight.

My friend whom I am walking with, I have to tell her to eat. She tells me how she forgot to eat breakfast, how she ran around doing errands but forgot to eat. I try to eat before we go walking. That way it will give me something to burn.

I know with some people, saying you are hungry in front of them will only invite comments. I recall driving around with my mom, Hubby and I had skipped breakfast in our hurry to get the kids out and then to take her on errands. We kept passing delicious smelling Mexican restaurants. I said 'Oh my gosh, can you smell that?' to which she replied 'That is why you are so fat. You want to eat everything.'

So, it ain't easy.

And, back to looks {and not weight}: noses. *sigh* Let's just say, growing up, our family had the nickname 'The Nose Family'.

I'm just sayin'.

[wendybeth]

I know for a fact that losing weight can be problematic. I never, ever had to diet until I hit my 30's. Never. I did go through a super-skinny (anorexic) phase in my mid-teens, but I snapped out of it within months and never did anything so stupid again. I wore an average size (9/10 juniors) until I had Tori, and I actually got pretty close to that size again after with a bit of work. Well, when I hit around 38 it started to creep up on me, and my sisters as well. Quitting smoking, while a definite plus, also zapped my metabolism and now I'm learning the hard way how weird our systems can become with as we age. I work just as hard as ever, eat far less than before, and yet I just can't seem to lose anything. My doc says it's just part of getting older, but at the same time tells me that losing 15-20 pounds would be a healthy thing to do. (Yes, I want to choke her when she says that- the last time I said perhaps a little nicotine would rev up my metabolism, and she quickly backpedaled on the preaching). I don't eat sugar, I eat very little bread or fried foods, and I know I seldom exceed 1500 calories a day. I have just become resigned to doing the best I can for as long as I can, and so long as I am doing that nothing anyone says is really going to get to me. (Now, I just have to stop getting on myself....).

[Nephythys]

Honesly it is less about what I weigh (since muscle weighs more than fat anyway) it is about the way I look.

I can handle a few extra pounds if it was not flabby and saggy on my body.