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Sustainable Weight Loss- Long time successful share with all



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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Apr 25 2021, 11:22 am
This is also NOT for my paper which has to be based on published, peer reviewed research. It’s due in less than a month, so the most this relates to it is that I am procrastinating about writing it.

As you guys know, I’ve lost a lot of weight and maintained that loss. It occurred to me that regardless of how you want to do so ( in terms of ways of eating) there are common things that successful maintainers have and then that regainers have in common.

There ARE biological and psychological effects to dieting, and there’s also something called an ‘energy gap.’ These things are evident in research but most scientists don’t know what to do with the information because basically in some people ( and indeed at some times of their lives) diet behaviour can cause cascades to other issues.

I have a theory that minimizing the caloric deficit to something livable instead of aiming for a 2 pound a week loss will, in the long run, work better for longer, because regardless of food plan, sustainability is key. You have to be satiated and you have to have enough energy to run your life, but also to feel good.

How each on of us defines it, what our personal needs are, what works for us, that is so individual. So I thought I’d start a thread for those of us who are interested in long term weight-loss and stability in terms of not going back to uncontrolled, insane ( for us) eating. That can involve further weight-loss, or maintaining but I’d like to hear from long term maintaining folks ( even if you have more weight to lose) to see what you do every day to stay right with your body and mind.

This is NOT a debate about what’s best for everyone ( because I don’t believe that exists.)

I was thinking that those of us who are having long term success could post what we do and if others want to incorporate anything into their own lives, great.

I will post periodically from the papers I’m reading if I think something is interesting and relevant.

Anyone want to join me?
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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Apr 25 2021, 11:43 am
Things I do that I think contribute to my maintaining:

I am very dogmatic about what I eat. I avoid foods that trigger my glucose to rise, so I can avoid my drastic reaction to my insulin response that compels me to eat. For me, this means avoiding carbs in the form of starches, sugars, sweetener and even fruit.

I also don’t eat processed foods, so if it’s labelled ‘keto’ odds are, I’m not eating it.

I buy ingredients and cook food at home ( never mind that I have no kosher restaurants where I live or a pandemic- we cook)

I fast intermittently tho not dogmatically.

I do weigh myself periodically because I believe I have to weigh myself or my food to be in the right ball park. However, I take that as one point of data and it’s only important as one point of data.

I try to eat to live rather than live to eat. I used to be a foodie. At some point, I realized that I would no longer eat food I don’t like ( like legumes) and that I would not eat food I didn’t enjoy but that my enjoyment was not predicated on preparation. For example, we buy chicken scraps from a wholesaler. I LOVE them and while we often turn them in to something interesting, my favourite way to eat them is actually fresh cooked and unseasoned.

We save the juices from cooking meat and turn it into broth. We think the best broth actually comes from chicken skin rendering ( separate from the schmaltz. )

I’ve had an uptick in weight lately that seems to have been caused from my lack of sleep and ‘jet lag’ in the second term of my course. I’m ACTIVELY working to correct that by tweaking the following things:

-I’m tracking my food. I wonder if the whole lack of sleep thing caused me to become less sensitive to satiety ( which is a common problem in sleep deprivation )

- we laid off regular exercise over the winter. While I don’t believe exercise causes weight-loss in many people, and in fact can cause weight gain, I do believe that it’s a good habit that is part of a framework of ongoing success. Bear in mind, I’d already lost ninety pounds when I started to exercise and that my husband and I regularly walk/hike together when the weather is good. I sort of fell off this winter because there was nowhere inside to exercise and we are wusses about cold. Anyways, it’s nice now so aiming for 1-1.5 hours a day even when working on my paper for the next month.

- when I still went to other peoples houses and simchas I often either brought my own food, or fasted through an event. People dont seem to mind as long as we are in the same page kosher wise, and I never had so much fun as at simchas I wasnt eating at- or even where what I could eat was limited. I focussed on people instead of food and had so much fun!

- I am publically accountable. I think this makes a huge difference for me. I don’t hide when I’m troubled and I often write about my challengers when they occur. I’ve been a little offline because of school but I honestly believe that my accountability makes a huge difference.

I should really stop procrastinating and get back to my paper.
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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 9:01 pm
Talked to my prof today. I think he was happy with my work so far. Those of us who keep it off are really unicorns. Wish I understood why I can...
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amother
Chartreuse


 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 9:39 pm
I would love to be part of this and see what could help me stop eating!

I could’ve written your post word for word
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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 9:56 pm
amother [ Chartreuse ] wrote:
I would love to be part of this and see what could help me stop eating!

I could’ve written your post word for word


Which post?

I’d love to hear it in your words!
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amother
Pewter


 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 10:06 pm
Andrea, I’m not sure if you ever heard of Bright Line Eating- it is a plan devised by a psychologist who was also very intrigued by how so many of us who lose weight just can’t keep it off. She had personal experience and also studied aton of data and research on this which she shares in her book, blog, FB etc. Basically the takeaway is that there are different levels of susceptibility to the addictiveness of sugar and flour, depending on the person. Someone who rates high (there is a quiz you can take on her website) is not someone who can eat sugar and flour in moderation. They need “bright lines” - firm rules which she explains. She has hours worth of videos where she explains it all. As someone who rates very high on the scale I found that this is the only program out there that really speaks to me and will work to keep my weight off long term.
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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 10:18 pm
amother [ Pewter ] wrote:
Andrea, I’m not sure if you ever heard of Bright Line Eating- it is a plan devised by a psychologist who was also very intrigued by how so many of us who lose weight just can’t keep it off. She had personal experience and also studied aton of data and research on this which she shares in her book, blog, FB etc. Basically the takeaway is that there are different levels of susceptibility to the addictiveness of sugar and flour, depending on the person. Someone who rates high (there is a quiz you can take on her website) is not someone who can eat sugar and flour in moderation. They need “bright lines” - firm rules which she explains. She has hours worth of videos where she explains it all. As someone who rates very high on the scale I found that this is the only program out there that really speaks to me and will work to keep my weight off long term.


I’m familiar with bright lines. Weirdly it does not go far enough for me in some ways and too far in others ( for me.) I

know people it works for and there are also some it doesn’t. My favourite thing about this journey is being so clear on the fact that the most important thing for all of us, whatever we do, is not to give up when things get hard. That we persist!
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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 10:19 pm
amother [ Pewter ] wrote:
Andrea, I’m not sure if you ever heard of Bright Line Eating- it is a plan devised by a psychologist who was also very intrigued by how so many of us who lose weight just can’t keep it off. She had personal experience and also studied aton of data and research on this which she shares in her book, blog, FB etc. Basically the takeaway is that there are different levels of susceptibility to the addictiveness of sugar and flour, depending on the person. Someone who rates high (there is a quiz you can take on her website) is not someone who can eat sugar and flour in moderation. They need “bright lines” - firm rules which she explains. She has hours worth of videos where she explains it all. As someone who rates very high on the scale I found that this is the only program out there that really speaks to me and will work to keep my weight off long term.


I’d also like to hear about what you do!
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amother
Pewter


 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 11:02 pm
andrea levy wrote:
I’d also like to hear about what you do!


I follow the four bright lines, have a weekly mastermind group and check the FB page for inspiration, encouragement and advice daily- sometimes more than once! It really helps reinforce the mantras. I also watch the weekly videos. Another thing the program promotes is self therapy with IFS which is amazing.
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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 11:04 pm
amother [ Pewter ] wrote:
I follow the four bright lines, have a weekly mastermind group and check the FB page for inspiration, encouragement and advice daily- sometimes more than once! It really helps reinforce the mantras. I also watch the weekly videos. Another thing the program promotes is self therapy with IFS which is amazing.


Maybe you could explain the details? I’m mostly familiar with the food plan.

What are the four bright lines?
What is a mastermind group?
What are the mantras?
What is IFS?
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amother
Tan


 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 11:06 pm
amother [ Pewter ] wrote:
I follow the four bright lines, have a weekly mastermind group and check the FB page for inspiration, encouragement and advice daily- sometimes more than once! It really helps reinforce the mantras. I also watch the weekly videos. Another thing the program promotes is self therapy with IFS which is amazing.


I actually looked into bright lines the other day since it was suggested on another thread. It has some great reviews and some very bad reviews. But the thing is it sounds very extreme. I'm afraid to do another extreme diet because ince I fall.off, ita impossible to get back on. Am I not understanding this?
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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Apr 27 2021, 11:15 pm
amother [ Tan ] wrote:
I actually looked into bright lines the other day since it was suggested on another thread. It has some great reviews and some very bad reviews. But the thing is it sounds very extreme. I'm afraid to do another extreme diet because ince I fall.off, ita impossible to get back on. Am I not understanding this?


I don’t know enough about it to comment. Some might say that I’m extreme but my life is so much better than it was before that I’m happy that I found a way to be happy.

One thing that really struck me in my research was that the people who kept weight off are consistent. For me, the less complicated that is, the better.

But the thing I know for sure from all my other experience is that even if I make a mistake I have to learn from it and keep going. My experience in life tells me that every time I messed up I gave up, what was different this time is that I learned. I have HARD Boundaries about certain foods. In the beginning I ate a tonne, but I’ve learned over time. I keep learning.

I was having a hard time the past few months and ny Husband pointed out that in the past, I’d have just given up. Instead, I work at it every day. I figured out the problems ( pretty severe sleep deprivation was really affecting how hard I felt my life was. ) I resolved that and am Grateful that I did not throw out the baby with the bath water.

I don’t know how I hit this blessing that I can finally keep going. In my opinion it is all from hashem. Hashgacha Pratis.
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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 04 2021, 12:12 am
Hey folks. Long post, so if you don’t want to read long, stop now.

The end is in sight. Last September, I started a post graduate certificate in Nutrition for Sports Performance at a local community college. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but NOT this.

It’s been incredibly difficult. I should have a masters degree after how hard this was. I admit, I never dreamed it would be this difficult. So much work. On top of my full time work. My last assignments are a food video and a paper that’s meant to be submitted to a peer reviewed journal. It’s not that long, but darn is it hard.

My subject is maintaining weightloss. If you don’t know me, brief summary:

May 2017- 315 pounds, five one, 49 years old diagnosed w/ diabetic retinopathy.

Over the past four years I’ve lost and maintained between a 105-110 pound weight loss. I’m still overweight, very strict NSNG. I don’t LIL, ever.

It’s been hard to try and get good with continuing to be morbidly obese, because by now, I “should’ have lost the rest, for how ‘good’ I am. On a gut level I understand that getting and staying this far is a miracle. I’ve researched how I might lose more, but the end result is that I’m just not willing to cut calories to the extent I’d need to, to weigh less. Or have surgery. PLUS, I’m not willing to fast extensively or cut too much more in the way of what I don’t eat. Which is already a lot.

This paper has sort of solidified something for me. Weight regain is not inevitable but it is likely, especially if you’ve done a lot of damage to your body over the years as I have. Don’t stop reading now.

Our bodies are such crazily intricate systems. When we lose weight, our hormones are crazily strong in ways that we think are US messing up. Ghrekin, insulin, orexigenic hormones, all mess with us, because our bodies are defending the higher weights they were at. This is literally how we survived as a species.

I’ve had massive healing in my body. It’s not all the way there yet but I’m happy and my body feels good. I’m not diabetic anymore my cardiologist dismissed me. I’m happy and healthy and grateful that after abusing my body for the first almost fifty years of my life, the last four have been full of grace and gratitude.

The past six or so months have caused me to struggle. I’ve been working so hard and at some point, I started eating more volume wise. My weight started to seem like it was in inevitable regain. I just kept working on it and trying. Learning. Applying.

And you know what? The evidence does not really exist to say that doing this will allow us to permanently lose weight. I remember thinking it must be my low carb life until I heard dr. Jeffrey Gerber taking about plateau and regain being almost inevitable unless we can somehow keep our bodies guessing. Fasting. Varying caloric intake a d energy flux. It’s all a part of it. The man knows what he’s doing and he’s on our side, and he admits that no one really understands.

I havent really understood why I’m maintaining until now. I’ve read probably fifty papers for my article and there are serious themes emerging.

There are maintainers and regainers. regardless of macronutrients, somehow, the maintainers make things work for themselves. We impose behavioural checks and balances. We exhibit adaptive learning. We figure out when our bodies are trying to kill us and when we are legitimately hungry. We have a certain amount of flexible rigidity which we utilize to keep ourselves in check. Not that that works 100% of the time, but we learn.

Behaviour seems to be the biggest common denominator and leads to changes in thinking, self concept and ability to deal with life without drugging ourselves with food.

My paper started out about sustainability but I’m actually thinking of changing the perspective. Yes, it’s possible to lose and maintain. We know that. But it’s actually a lot harder to do that than to stay stable, physiologically and psychologically. In a weird turn of events ( because I’m maintaining a large weightloss and know it’s possible) my argument is that if a person is unable to work out how to make their food work for them, they should focus on eating well as defined by eating real food that is high in nutrition density. They should not try to lose weight but focus on health as they define it.

They should be active because, hey, exercise is a terrible way to lose weight but it’s also great for your body- in reasonable amounts. While there are soMe serious exercise responders, for many of us, too much exercise can absolutely cause adaptations in body chemistry that make us hungry and make it harder to control our appetites and our body’s responses to food and activity.

Some day, maybe we will have clear evidence that low carb is more successful than not. Or, we won’t. I don’t think it matters ultimately as long as people learn to do what works for them.

I do think calories matter but are not the only thing that matters. I think that I’m successful (even continuing to be morbidly obese) because Ive changed my thinking and behaviours, am consistent and have hard boundaries about what I will and won’t do. I do believe that I eat too much for MY body to lose weight easily. I’m not willing to destabilize myself when my life is so good. If it ever happens, it’ll happen but in the mean-time, I’m a unicorn outside of this group. I’ve definitely maintained a weight loss of more than ten percent for longer than a year. In fact it’s over three years. I’m not cocky about it either.

This past six months taught me that I am not immune to my body trying to defend a higher weight. That I’m probably very lucky that the tensions between my old life and my new life are mostly not a big deal. That in the past year I’ve weighed more and less. Without that much effort. Today my weight was the same as when lockdown started over a year ago. That is seriously a miracle.

I have so much rolling around in my head. If you read this far, thank you. I think once the paper is complete I might be more coherent. Just know that the research we do have about maintaining weight loss does indicate that it’s rarely easy ( although if you’re lucky enough to recognize it, it’s easier than life before) and does indicate that it’s a result of ongoing work on one’s self with the intent to maintain.That we should keep trying, because that’s what gets us there. That we can never allow catastrophic thinking to dominate us. That we must manage the outside influences and not let them manage us.

This might be as long as my paper needs to be. But sorry, you’ll have to wait for the references til the paper is done.
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amother
Azure


 

Post Tue, May 04 2021, 2:09 am
Thank you for sharing. please post a link to your paper when it comes out.
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notshanarishona




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 04 2021, 5:32 am
I still have 20-30 lbs to go but I have kept off 30.
I drink 100 oz of water or more a day
Eat a big romaine lettuce salad for lunch even when I don’t stick to a plan
Exercise when I can
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amother
Papaya


 

Post Tue, May 04 2021, 6:39 am
for me weight loss surgery was a game changer and life saver.
110 lbs 13 years ago and maintaining. the struggle is gone and yes its work. I feel sad reading how hard it is to maintain. im.happy for you and wish you continued success.
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southernbubby




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 04 2021, 2:04 pm
I am on low carb, high fiber and lost 20 lbs since last summer. I now weigh under 105 and am supposed to add fats, which I do, but I am still losing weight, BH. The doctor said that as long as I get enough nutrition, which I do, I don't have to worry about it. I shrunk in height due to osteoporosis so my weight is still adequate.
My point is, this diet is effective. It was embarked upon due to high cholesterol and slightly high A1C and it has helped those conditions.
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miami85




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 04 2021, 3:17 pm
https://peoplepill.com/people/paul-kimelman

This man was my neighbor growing up. We knew that he was famous for his weight loss feat and as long as I knew him (he moved away when he got divorced) he was skinny as anything always mowing his very steep lawn with a push-mower. I've lost touch with him after his ex passed away (they were in touch). He was the subject of a book mentioned in this link if it's helpful for your project.
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