I'm coming to the realization that there are basically two successful eating strategies for maintaining weight:
1. Eat when hungry only, or 2. Strictly structured/controlled.
Obviously these are extremes on the spectrum, but it seems that muddling around in the middle is where most of us get into trouble.
Strategy 1 requires consumption of whole nutritious foods and really listening to our bodies. We did not evolve in an environment of instant gratification when we got hungry -- we had to go out to hunt and forage. In a world where we're conditioned to eat every few hours barely having to lift a finger to procure food, it really takes some reprogramming to adopt this strategy.
Strategy 2 is more the conventional wisdom for weight control. The old "never go hungry" approach to eat a balanced diet. There are folks who can sustain this, dutifully logging every morsel, or aiming for 500 calories per meal or whatever the strategy.
Unfortunately, in reality, the Western lifestyle doesn't put much stress on the important part of this Strategy 2 If you're going to eat on a schedule rather than according to your body's signals, you need to consciously track/control portions -- your body will not be able to tell you when you're satisfied if you eat when you weren't hungry in the first place! Convenience foods notoriously contain more calories than we think they do. Hence, even if one has a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, a 6" sub for lunch and a steak with a side of potatoes and veggies for dinner, they may well be over-consuming even without eating all that much. Add in the extra calories from that latte or energy drink and ... When we eat pre-portioned foods, rather than cooking a dish and taking a helping, we also tend to eat more. We're somewhere in the middle.
My personal feeling is that if you can get yourself into Camp 1, it is more "natural" -- perhaps practicing a little delayed gratification or exercising before satisfying a hunger pang every now and again may make this more effective. But if you're more comfortable in Camp 2, then even with LC it is probably best to track and limit portions.
There's no such thing as scheduled ad libitum!
Hello Cheat'ah:
ReplyDeleteTimely commentary for me...esp. the last line.
In trying to do Camp 1, I've found that eating windows don't quite work for me. I seem to do best with a Ramadan-like schedule of eating a big meal in the morning and again at dinner. Some days I do feel truly hungry around lunch so I have a snack. For me, it seems the amount of calories in the meal, more than the macro ratios, influences how long I can go before the next meal. I am hoping the higher protein does effect a spontaneous caloric intake as per the article posted in your asylum. Many thanks for your peer reviews and sharing your experiences. I keep reading as long as you keep writing,
Helen/Wannabe from llvlc
Hi Helen! Thanks for reading and commenting!! It is really good to *see* you. I've been more scarce at LLVLC of late, but haven't seen you post recently at all. Hope all is well :)
ReplyDeleteI don't try not to eat in the morning, but it works out that way most days. I won't push doing so to conform to some conventional wisdom. Two "meals" in the early and late afternoons seem to be my thing most days.
As we've discussed over at Jimmy's maybe you and I are in different places. You may need more protein to spontaneously keep intake under control, I may well need to cut back to let go of some "preserved" lean body mass!
I envy those who can do ad libitum high fat LC. Me? I would have to put down some caloric limits or I will gain.
All is well enough. Our family had to uproot and move to northern Canada so that I could start a nursing program come September. I finally have home internet but before that I couldn't stand to use hubby's smartphone to use internet.
ReplyDeleteI agree I need to get quite a lot of protein at this point. A 30% intake for me at this point means about 150g daily, although if there is that spontaneous intake reduction, it's be more like 120g. Spread over 2 large meals and a mid-meal snack as needed, it has been do-able.
I had been thinking of going lower fat, higher carb because of home economics and logistics. But I was also thinking about the high absolute amounts of O-6 I've been consuming on my high fat woe, as I don't have the financial means for better quality foods and supplements.
I've seen the discussion between you and Hyperlipid Peter about avoiding the 'middle' in fuel mixes. Do you think my change to a more Zone-like mix of 25-45-30 (f-c-p) is too 'middle'? I am welcome to anyone's comments here.
Helen
"I've seen the discussion between you and Hyperlipid Peter about avoiding the 'middle' in fuel mixes. Do you think my change to a more Zone-like mix of 25-45-30 (f-c-p) is too 'middle'?"
ReplyDeleteNo sooner than had I posted my initial statement in that discussion, I felt the need to clarify/amend the statement.
When it comes to not gaining weight in the first place and/or losing weight in the least structured manner, I do believe that the moderate edge of the extremes is probably best. IOW, low fat, but not very low fat because we need some fat in our diets. Low carb, but not very low carb because ketosis can be a stressful state for the body.
Where we can get in trouble is in the middle, but when one thinks of the foods that get us there, most of them are relatively low in protein. So I think if we're anywhere in the middle for fat & carbs, it is important to keep protein high. Excess protein can be used for energy, but not necessarily through conversion to glucose and carb metabolism.
I think where Zone falls down a bit on the diet comparisons is because it does require a lot more planning and combining. Been a while since I read up on it, but basically they advocate the macronutrient mix at each meal.
Since our bodies don't seem to process simultaneous carb & fat ingestion very well, this is what I try to avoid. I aim for protein at every "meal". If I'm having something high fat I lay off the carbs and vice versa. If I'm indulging in a fat+carb treat, I make it a conscious effort to limit the portion.
Really interested in how this works for you. As I recall you are not significantly overweight so you have some playing room there.
I agree with the see-saw ratio of fat and carbs when eating (but don't exactly know the physiology as to why). To effect this, I don't use the Zone's fixed ratios per meal. I try to 'fat load' at one meal and 'carb load' at a different one, but each meal does contain some of each.
ReplyDeleteIt's getting hard to eat as much at breakfast, and I see this as a good sign that my appetite is curbing in the right direction :)
If you ever happen to come across animal studies that test a treatment of 'high fat' one day, 'high carb' another day, or some version of separating fat and carb intake for the individual, I would appreciate any commentary you might have on it.
Uggh Helen, I had a whole comment lost in the internet vapors :( Will recompose since it is still fresh in my mind!!
ReplyDelete