Why do we get fat?

[Amethyst]

True! I didn't know any body builders back then, unfortunately. And back then, working out wasn't the thing it is now...young women wanted to be slim, but they mostly just restricted their eating. I remember plenty of of girls being concerned about their weight, but I only remember one young man who was concerned about his. I also remember knowing the calorie counts to all sorts of foods when I was only 19, and learning ways to estimate portion sizes - you know, deck of cards = amount of meat on your plate.

Thank goodness for exercise.

H

Body builders like to eat their burgers without any bun and have been doing it for years, so not just a chick thing.

 

[dixonge]

For your consideration:

Your low calorie diet is actually a low carb / high fat diet as far as your metabolism is concerned.

Now I'm confused. 'as far as my metabolism is concerned'

Using numbers from a couple of your posts:

Your requirement/goal: 2000 calorie per day energy balance with 800 calorie per day deficit

1200 calories consumed per day
50% carb diet = 600 calories
protein (estimated) (you should make sure you get at least this much) = 100g or 400 calories
this leaves 200 calories as dietary fat.

PLUS

800 calories body fat consumed to meet energy balance requirements


Totals
Carbs: 600
Protein: 400
fat: 1000

So: effectively your diet is 50% fat, 30% carbohydrate, and 20% protein. For me, that is a little high in carb intake but is in line with the Jaminet's "Perfect Health Diet". It should be healthy for most people. Good luck with your program, but when you get to your maintenance phase be aware of what you are actually doing here.

OK, it took me a bit to figure out the math you were using. I don't think I have ever seen anyone combine fat burned with fat consumed and refer to an 'effective' calorie total. An interesting angle...

FYI, two of my three meals (which I eat almost every day) are 50-70% carb calories (oatmeal and vegetable soup). Most dinners involve salad and either baked or stir-fry veggies. No meat or dairy. I'd put my intake at more like 60% carbs, 30% protein, 10% fat (not counting fat burned). I have recipe breakdowns with better numbers somewhere in some spreadsheet, but not at work with me...

 

[6miths]

Body builders like to eat their burgers without any bun and have been doing it for years, so not just a chick thing.

No still a chick thing!

Just kidding of course. Sort of... I have been taking the middle bun out of my Big Mac for years. And feeding half my hot dog bun and sandwich bread to the birds. I fear for their health!

 

[dixonge]

Agree, my husband now doesn't run on an empty stomach. He used to run first thing in the morning before eating.

But I *always* work out on an empty stomach (in the mornings). Go figure.

I also decided about a year ago that I got too hungry too early in the afternoon if I ate breakfast too early. So now I take oatmeal to work and have breakfast around 9:30-9:45. Starting my calorie intake later helps me make it through the day without overeating, and is evidently easier for me than trying to *stop* eating earlier. Half of the problem seems to be just tricking the mind into compliance!

 

[dixonge]

I think you should see your Dr. if you haven't already. Things that pop-up like that, and don't go away and become memories after a few weeks, always ping my "Dr." radar. I don't blame anything on aging until I know what's what.

I do intend to get a general check-up and blood work done in the near future, but I have never had this problem if I walk before I eat. I can walk at 7am or at 9am and I'm fine as long as it's before breakfast.

 

[NW-Bound]

I never eat hamburgers without the bun. I just had a late lunch with a roll of bollillo (Mexican bread) with homemade pâté, and a small avocado. Drink was just a glass of ice water with a squeeze of lemon for flavor, no sugar. Later I will have a snack with a banana and a 5 oz low-sugar yogurt. Dinner will be heavier with grilled chicken, veggie, and rice, and a glass of red wine.

Maybe I am lucky to have no problem so far with weight, nor high blood glucose. Everything checks out good. May not mean much, because something else may get me. No one gets out alive.

 

[jebmke]

We never eat burgers with bread. Rarely buy bread at home. For some reason, when we lived in Europe we could eat bread without consequence. Probably because we didn't drive as much.

 

[NW-Bound]

Ah, those Europeans who have to walk up/down the stairs to the metro, and carry their grocery bags home... They eat bread daily. I suspect Fitbits don't sell too well in Europe either.

 

[travelover]

I never eat hamburgers without the bun....

We never eat burgers with bread......

I order hamburgers and throw away the meat.

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, someone who needs a crash diet should just keep the pickle and throw everything else away.

We can form a club to go eat out together to save money. One hamburger can serve 3. Now, who gets the fries?

 

[Amethyst]

I'll annoy you the way I did my college boy friend. Drink two mouthfuls of his chocolate milkshake, but refuse his offer to buy me one of my own because it would be too much; and eat three of his French fries but refuse...well, you get the idea. Soon I'll be kicked out of the club!

We can form a club to go eat out together to save money. One hamburger can serve 3. Now, who gets the fries?

 

[zerogravity]

So, why exactly do we get fat?


--ZG

 

[nash031]

So, why exactly do we get fat?

Funny!

It's because we eat more calories than our bodies need, and we eat more for a lot of different reasons and each of our needs are different for a lot of different reasons.

 

[donheff]

Ha ha, that's called being a woman! Just kidding, since I know you are a MAN, but taking half the bun (or more) off the burger used to be a chick thing. I remember being teased in college for doing that.

Those healthy eating chicks would be horrified at my burgers - I tear half the bun off sure but underneath is a double meat bacon cheeseburger. Love those things but I'm not happy with lettuce or no bun - gotta have some bread.

 

[eytonxav]

Those healthy eating chicks would be horrified at my burgers - I tear half the bun off sure but underneath is a double meat bacon cheeseburger. Love those things but I'm not happy with lettuce or no bun1 - gotta have some bread.

I am certainly glad to see you included bacon; life would suck without that!

 

[Amethyst]

Did I say they were healthy? Maybe they are, but the point of avoiding the bun - or chocolate shake, or anything else - was to keep weight down. Sometimes we think weight obsession is a modern thing, but it was a big worry 40 years ago, at least in the world I occupied. And my Mother's world, too...I have her 1940's beauty manuals, which contain diets that look a lot like something you'd see in a ladies' magazine today.They don't mention carbohydrates or fat grams, but they do talk about calories.

Those healthy eating chicks would be horrified at my burgers - I tear half the bun off sure but underneath is a double meat bacon cheeseburger. Love those things but I'm not happy with lettuce or no bun - gotta have some bread.

 

[NW-Bound]

Keeping one's weight in check is for more than appearance. A lot of health risks comes with obesity. And while everything in my blood test is OK, my blood glucose was inching up to the borderline. Knowing that my parents and siblings all have this problem though none is at the point of requiring insulin, I would be dumb not to cut back on carb.

 

[rgarling]

I do intend to get a general check-up and blood work done in the near future, but I have never had this problem if I walk before I eat. I can walk at 7am or at 9am and I'm fine as long as it's before breakfast.

Most likely your high carb breakfast is stimulating insulin secretion which clamps most of your body's ability to burn body fat. Your walk depletes the glucose you consumed plus the limited amount of glycogen you have stored (due to your long-term calorie restricted diet) and you bonk.

I recommend you get a glucose meter and see what your high carb meals are doing to your blood sugar. Ideally, you want to keep your blood sugar fairly stable (and certainly below 140).

 

[ivinsfan]

Most likely your high carb breakfast is stimulating insulin secretion which clamps most of your body's ability to burn body fat. Your walk depletes the glucose you consumed plus the limited amount of glycogen you have stored (due to your long-term calorie restricted diet) and you bonk.

I recommend you get a glucose meter and see what your high carb meals are doing to your blood sugar. Ideally, you want to keep your blood sugar fairly stable (and certainly below 140).

Although oatmeal is certainly not low-carb one cup of cooked whole oats has only 1g sugar.. if someone add lots of sugar or other sweet stuff it might raise the glucose but oatmeal alone shouldn't be a problem. I eat a few grains but I don't eat oatmeal ever since I heard a nutritionist refer to it as basically "sludge for the gut"...

 

[Marita40]

One of the "new" things I'm doing in my current diet plan is eating an entire Haas avocado per day. Not too long ago that would have been considered diet suicide! But now as a superfood it is known to actually aid in dieting with a host of good fat adding to the all-important satiation factor. I'm losing weight and loving the avocado!

 

[ivinsfan]

+1 on the avocado ...i eat mine with eggs or on a salad...

 

[NW-Bound]

Avocado is good food and has a lot of nutrients. It is not low in calories but, same as with nuts, it keeps me feeling full longer than empty carby food like crackers or bread. Each of us has been doing one small avocado a day, and we eat it by itself like a fruit that it is.

 

[ivinsfan]

Something about the texture keeps me from eating it whole, I use it instead of a meat protein during a meal. For some reason I find meats less appealing as time goes on. My Aldi's has had beautiful avacaodos for .49 cents for the last 2 weeks, what a bargain.

 

[rgarling]

Although oatmeal is certainly not low-carb one cup of cooked whole oats has only 1g sugar.. if someone add lots of sugar or other sweet stuff it might raise the glucose but oatmeal alone shouldn't be a problem. I eat a few grains but I don't eat oatmeal ever since I heard a nutritionist refer to it as basically "sludge for the gut"...

That cup of oatmeal is about 25 grams of carbs. It has a lowish glycemic index, but the glucose meter will show him how much that affects his blood sugar. Whatever he is eating for breakfast appears to clamp his body's ability to use fat.

 

[ivinsfan]

Point taken, he pointed out that his diet is probably about 60% carb 30% protein and only 10% fat so perhaps that's an issue...I'm reading labels for both carb and sugars count to work on fine tuning what I eat. I'm finding out for me, balance between the 3 groups makes a difference in how I feel.