Keto diet question

[twaddle]

We all choose our own paths. That’s another theme to explore - personal choices as it relates to how much, when and what kind of food to eat.

Satiety commentary from hypothetical subjects:

1. “I’m stuffed, can’t eat another bite. I can barely move.”
2. “I’m full.”
3. “That was good, I’ve had enough for now.”
4. “Great meal! Looking forward to next time. It made me feel great!”

Responses 1 and 2 are unacceptable behavior, and common in my view. Responses 3 and 4 are more appropriate in my view.

This is a why I said our vocabulary is weak in this area. All of these are short-term responses, and frankly, they don't matter much.

You seem to imply (1) and (2) will make you fat. I don't think so.

There is an initial satiety response. It's graded, and its function is to signal "stop eating." If you ignore it, it will become more urgent and eventually lead to nausea. It's basically signaling that you're exceeding some short-term capacity, similar to the urgency signal when your bladder is full.

What matters more is longer-term satiation. How long till your body signals hunger next time. The stronger the initial satiety signal, the longer the satiation signal should last.

You also imply that we can ignore these signals if we want to. That's true to an extent, but you're really underestimating their power for long-term weight control.

There are many hormones involved in these processes. One of them is GLP-1. Imagine if we could bottle this stuff or put it in a pill.

It's been done. Check the research results if you're interested. For those who can't easily change their habits, it's a great option, and it demonstrated the power of these hormones.

It's all about hormones and their influence on brain and behavior. "Personal choice?" Willpower? Do you need to pee yet?

 

[chassis]

@twaddle Agree that hormones and emotions, self control, personal choice and discipline are in play.

Do you immediately use the restroom at the first sensation of the need? For example, you are in a vehicle on the interstate. Do you immediately stop the vehicle and let nature call, right there on the side of the road? I don't. I can hold it for quite some time. The longer the holding period, the greater the discomfort.

Hunger is the same. Do you immediately eat at the first sensation of the need? Using the vehicle on a highway example, and you have no food in the car, do you stop the vehicle and start foraging for something edible on the side of the road? I don't. I can wait to eat for quite some time. The longer the waiting period, the greater the hunger and more irritable I get.

Ignoring hunger for a period of time is possible. This is something patently obvious to me. What likely differs between people is the length of time chosen, intentional use of the word "chosen", before indulging in eating.

Self control and discipline is indeed required. A person with zero self control or discipline needs to start there. It's an inside job.

 

[twaddle]

@chassis, I'm fairly sure that nearly everybody has tried your method at one time or another. Some people seem to be able to pull it off (at least for a while), but it doesn't seem to be having much effect at a population level.

So there doesn't seem to be much value in trying to spread that particular message. Like I said, CICO is not a useful framework, even if it's true in terms of calculating energy balance.

Maybe it's worth understanding how to work with your hormonal signals rather than against them?