weight management: my approach

[MrsHaloFIRE]

My vet can look at my cats frame size and tell me how much cat should weigh "this should be an 8 lbs cat" Similarly I look in the mirror and I know when somethings getting outta whack based on frame size. Im a tall gal and I can carry alot of weight that doesn't look like weight. Ppl are shocked how much my size 6 butt weighs. Im from heavy bone stock and have broad shoulders /tall/long limbs.

My secret to diet success is less fake food more real food and as much water as I can get down.

 

[jollystomper]

It’s simply not the same for everyone.

But likely for most. Unfortunately the above line tends to be used more as an excuse than as an inspiration.

 

[harley]

I'm trying to walk a fine line. I don't want to be so heavy that I'm uncomfortable, or unable to do some of the activities I enjoy. At the same time, some of the activities I really enjoy involve over-eating and excessive drinking (amongst other things). Add to that my desire to make just enough bad decisions that I will live awhile longer, but will die fast when the time comes. I don't want to linger. I won't know how this plan works out until the end, but in the meantime I'm moderating (in moderation) and mostly enjoying life.

 

[audreyh1]

But likely for most. Unfortunately the above line tends to be used more as an excuse than as an inspiration.

I disagree.

 

[street]

I'm trying to walk a fine line. I don't want to be so heavy that I'm uncomfortable, or unable to do some of the activities I enjoy. At the same time, some of the activities I really enjoy involve over-eating and excessive drinking (amongst other things). Add to that my desire to make just enough bad decisions that I will live awhile longer, but will die fast when the time comes. I don't want to linger. I won't know how this plan works out until the end, but in the meantime I'm moderating (in moderation) and mostly enjoying life.

You summed it up pretty darn good. Finding that balance is key and aluminate things that are known bad for health.

 

[jollystomper]

I disagree.

Then we will just have to agree to disagree .

 

[Highbeam]

But likely for most. Unfortunately the above line tends to be used more as an excuse than as an inspiration.

I agree. It's a goal of mine to stay in the normal BMI range and when a discussion exposes this goal I often hear that the BMI range is BS and nobody is that small. This is almost always from an overweight person.

 

[jfn111]

I'm trying to walk a fine line. I don't want to be so heavy that I'm uncomfortable, or unable to do some of the activities I enjoy. At the same time, some of the activities I really enjoy involve over-eating and excessive drinking (amongst other things). Add to that my desire to make just enough bad decisions that I will live awhile longer, but will die fast when the time comes. I don't want to linger. I won't know how this plan works out until the end, but in the meantime I'm moderating (in moderation) and mostly enjoying life.

Love that!

 

[Freedom56]

I’ve been living inside a BMI 19 body since 2004, and love it. What’s my strategy for maintaining my desired body weight (no yoyo-ing in my world!)?

Some highlights:

• I eat either one or one-and-a-half times a day. My one reliable meal - the major meal - is around 11 am. The optional snack (the ‘one-half’) is around 5 pm. On those days that I don’t eat a snack I’m supposedly engaged in one of the many forms of “intermittent fasting”, which IMO is a terrible name for a great idea.

• I track my weight using an Excel spreadsheet with a 4-day moving average, which smooths out the distracting daily fluctuations that are useless for weight management. Temporary water retention or mild dehydration can have a major effect on any particular weight reading. For example, mowing the grass in the deep Florida summer can result in an immediate 2 lbs of weight loss. On one occasion I had diarrhea and lost 5 lbs almost immediately.

• 6 of the 7 major meals I eat each week are plant-based, as are all of the snacks. I eat fish once a week. The low caloric density of most plant-based foods is helpful in weight management. I’m not a fan of meat analogs (I’ve been mostly plant-based since 1996 - there weren’t many meat analogs around back then!).

• my snack is either Endangered Species dark chocolate (72% cacao) + fruit or Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy Cherry Garcia “ice cream” + fruit.

• So, how good is my weight regulation? Well, my daily 4-day moving averaged weight is usually somewhere within a narrow band only +/- 1/2 pounds from its long-term average - quite satisfactory IMO!

What’s remarkable to me is how easy weight management is for me: if I eat a snack day-after-day my averaged weight will inexorably creep upwards. In contrast, if I skip the snack day-after-day my averaged weight will head steadily downwards. It’s almost as if there is a switch on the side of my body with only two settings: GAIN WEIGHT or LOSE WEIGHT. Maintaining my desired averaged weight just means flipping this switch back and forth.

I hope your weight management journey is equally satisfying!

BMI of 19? You need to go on the beer and Cheetos diet and put on some weight. I have been around a BMY of 22.5 - 23.5 and my wife hovers between 22 and 23 over the past 25 years. I couldn't imagine dropping to a BMI of 19. I work out every day either biking or running followed by free weights. We don't diet but watch what and where we eat. We avoid buffets, sweets, ice cream, and most deserts. That alone will keep the pounds off.

 

[doneat54]

BMI of 19? You need to go on the beer and Cheetos diet and put on some weight. I have been around a BMY of 22.5 - 23.5 and my wife hovers between 22 and 23 over the past 25 years. I couldn't imagine dropping to a BMI of 19. I work out every day either biking or running followed by free weights. We don't diet but watch what and where we eat. We avoid buffets, sweets, ice cream, and most deserts. That alone will keep the pounds off.

I agree. I was treading the 25 obesity line while wo*king, but lost 25 lbs in the first year I retired (NO dieting, trust me), and stay in the low 23's now and feel really good there (at age 59). Clothes fit well, sure I have a TINY gut, but never feel that weight/flab that I used to. 19 BMI must be downright rail skinny, but maybe at other heights, not so much. I'm six and one half an inch in height.

 

[Freedom56]

I agree. I was treading the 25 obesity line while wo*king, but lost 25 lbs in the first year I retired (NO dieting, trust me), and stay in the low 23's now and feel really good there (at age 59). Clothes fit well, sure I have a TINY gut, but never feel that weight/flab that I used to. 19 BMI must be downright rail skinny, but maybe at other heights, not so much. I'm six and one half an inch in height.

My doctor calls BMI 25 line the path to obesity. Clothes really fit well at around the 22-23 BMI range. However they are not easy to find at stores these days. Calvin Klein is about the only store that I can find slim fit shirts and pants that fit well.

 

[Bamaman]

I'm about 6'3" and weigh about 240 lbs. And as a Type II diabetic, I've chosen to live with an insulin pump in order to regulate my blood sugar better--while eating fairly normal. It's fairly difficult for diabetics to lose weight while on diets.

I've also got a Glucose Monitoring System that keeps track of my condition and keeps it on a graph. There have been some nights after eating right and not snacking that my blood sugars go down and down to somewhat low levels. The monitor wakes me up, and I eat a few cookies or drink orange juice to get my glucose to rise to normal.

I would like to go on a much stricter diet, however I'm a little afraid I'd see too many "lows." My normal is steady 110-120 most nights, and those lows really make you feel weak for 1/2 day or so.