How mfp works

mrs_mouse

Can we sticky the first post of this thread and get rid of the rest of the bullst!t? When I first started I read through the newbie stuff and went online to independently research as well, but something simple like the first post would have allowed me to wrap my brain around it a bit quicker before digging more.

And as for this experiment.... what’s next, someone testing the crack cocaine or meth diet? The program this site was built around works... just watch the success forums. I'm not saying everyone has to follow it to the letter, and yes, something may work better for others, but arguing against it as a means to justify your poor or medically recommended dietary choices only helps to confuse people that just join. And if you think you're so different, get a doctor or dietitian to tell you that and give you a more personal recommendation.

As such, I cringe every time I see another "should I eat my exercise calories" post come up under recent forum topics.

So, rant over, great OP, maybe put something like it when people sign up?

well said.

fteale

I lost fat and gained muscle eating 900 cals a day and rowing for between one and 2 hours 5 times a week, and doing weight training twice a week. For 2 years.

The starvation mode as touted on here is biological non-sense. The key is HEALTH and stripping your body of nutrients it wants and needs is unhealthy, and can lead to cravings and binge eating.

Newfiedan

we have had a few back and forth disputes over this before fteale, I totally disagree with you and you disagree with me the oirignal post was to set out how mfp is setup and how it works and it does so without fail for the majority of ppl, not all but most, so there are always exceptions to the rule, I still firmly believe that your way is unhealthy and we will just leave it at that as this post is starting to turn away from its original intention.

MyNameIsNotBob

The key is HEALTH and stripping your body of nutrients it wants and needs is unhealthy,

Yes, which is why it worries me to see all the "I eat under 1,000 calories a day and I'm fine" posts. We actually don't know that you're fine. What kind of a toll does it take on someone's insides to do that for a week, or two, or two months, or a year?

cuz86

I lost fat and gained muscle eating 900 cals a day and rowing for between one and 2 hours 5 times a week, and doing weight training twice a week. For 2 years.

The starvation mode as touted on here is biological non-sense. The key is HEALTH and stripping your body of nutrients it wants and needs is unhealthy, and can lead to cravings and binge eating.

do you think that feeding your body 900 cals a day is giving your body the nutrients it needs?? where did you read that starvation mode is biological non-sense ? no offense but i think your comment is very ignorant and someone who is new to this site might read it and actually believe depleting your body of its needs will work for them

Newfiedan

I hate that term starvation mode as sooo many confuse that with being hungry when that has nothing to do with it at all. I think it should be clarified and renamed metabolic starvation which is a totally different animal than being hungry.

cuz86

I hate that term starvation mode as sooo many confuse that with being hungry when that has nothing to do with it at all. I think it should be clarified and renamed metabolic starvation which is a totally different animal than being hungry.

your right...thats what i was referring to...thanks for clearing that up

MyNameIsNotBob

I hate that term starvation mode as sooo many confuse that with being hungry when that has nothing to do with it at all. I think it should be clarified and renamed metabolic starvation which is a totally different animal than being hungry.

I think "survival mode" is more accurate... your body will burn anything it can to survive. Including itself.

Newfiedan

I think "survival mode" is more accurate... your body will burn anything it can to survive. Including itself.

thank you that was the term I was thinking of. Just could not remember the term used that I had liked.

nomex

No, it's typical for people who are bulimic to have previously been overweight.
If they are overweight and suffer from purging episodes, they are EDNOS because their actions supposedly aren't a weight-related threat.

If I purge, why am I diagnosed as EDNOS and not bulimic?

my guess ould be that yu do not meet all the criteria for Bulimia which are:
1. recurrent episodes of binge eating (which means either a) eating within a 2 hour period an amount of food that is larger than most people would eat during a similar time period or under similar cicumstances OR b) a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode

2. recurrent compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain following the binge. such as self induced vomiting, laxative use, diuretics, enemas, fasting or exessive exercise.
3. the binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors both occur on average at least twice per week for 3 months.
4. self evalution is undly influenced by body shape and weight.
5. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during episodes of Anorexia Nervosa.

For people who do not fit nicely into this category or that of ANOREXIA, but show several criteria of disordered eating...they will often recieve the diagnosis Eating Disorder NOS.

I hope that helps to clarify. Overweight vs underweight is NOT part of the criteria, but it is no uncommon for people with Bulimia to be overweight. This is not personal opinion, this is from the DSM IV.

mrs_mouse

thx nomex... this is what I would have said had I the medical knowledge (or googling patience) to do so...

binging, purging, and skewed body image are an illness, whether you weigh 90 or 900 lbs...

RadicalCharlie

You're still not getting what I'm saying, but I'm tired of trying to explain it, as you probably are of it to me.

Nomex, I experience ALL of that. You know what my doctors say? Not to worry about it. Do I have ****ty doctors? Maybe, but the reason why they say I'm not bulimic is because I'm not underweight.

fteale

we have had a few back and forth disputes over this before fteale, I totally disagree with you and you disagree with me the oirignal post was to set out how mfp is setup and how it works and it does so without fail for the majority of ppl, not all but most, so there are always exceptions to the rule, I still firmly believe that your way is unhealthy and we will just leave it at that as this post is starting to turn away from its original intention.

Seeing as you have never looked at my food nor exercise diary you have no idea whether "my way" is healthy or not. I have said frequently that I did that AS A TEENAGER, it is not how I eat now, I have a very busy life and small children and don't have the luxury of being starving hungry all day. All I am saying is that is DOES WORK, it's not healthy, but you lose weight. To say you don't is just daft, as it clearly does for anorexics. I have also repeatedly said, and am saying again, that it IS NOT HEALTHY TO STARVE YOURSELF, but starving yourself doesn't make you fat.

RadicalCharlie

"The first thing the body burns is protein, mainly because protein cannot be stored in the body. Proteins from alcohol are burned first followed by other proteins. These nutrients are dispersed in the bloodstream and any excess is channeled towards the excretory system to be removed from the body. Thus, you can rarely complain that your body has too much protein. Next, the body burns carbohydrates, both simple and complex, with glycogen being its main form. Glycogen is sugar stored mostly in the liver and controls blood sugar levels as well as providing most of the energy the body needs. Once glycogen has been used up, the body then burns up fat, breaking it down into smaller units to be absorbed in the blood stream. Muscle comes last. Thus, the answer to the question ‘does the body burn fat or muscle first’ is fat. "

http://bodyshapingtips.com/burn_fat/does_the_body_burn_fat_or_muscle_first/

http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/how-long-can-you-live-without-food/

Not so random things to share.

Atlantique

You're still not getting what I'm saying, but I'm tired of trying to explain it, as you probably are of it to me.

Nomex, I experience ALL of that. You know what my doctors say? Not to worry about it. Do I have ****ty doctors? Maybe, but the reason why they say I'm not bulimic is because I'm not underweight.

If you have an eating disorder, then I feel it is HIGHLY unethical for this 'contest' to go forward as it's encouraging you to further destroy your health. I hope Newfiedan feels the same.

mrs_mouse

I guess where my concern comes in, is that if you continue the same behavior until you lose the weight... then what? It would be great if you could reach your goal and then just start eating normally and viewing your body normally all of a sudden.... but that's not how it works. You create patterns and habits, and you foster these negative views about yourself that are just plain unhealthy... whether you are underweight or overweight, this is just an unhealthy way to live. By this doctor's definition, you don't become Bulimic until you are under your healthy weight but still not stopping this behavior? That's a pretty dangerous assessment in my opinion... for me the behavior is the illness, whether its an immediate threat to your physical health or not. Once you start, it is dangerously difficult to stop.

It may be that the right thing for a person is to drop a lot of weight quickly. That is certainly true in many cases, if the weight itself is causing more long-term damage than the act of losing it quickly... but that doesn't address the bigger problem, and my personal opinion is that if a doctor doesn't think that's an issue, that's a big red flag for me.

The idea of getting the physical weight off quickly and then addressing the mental/emotional issues is pretty scary... most things require a much more holistic approach in order to be sustainable long-term.

RadicalCharlie

It's too late, Atlantique. Now all I want to do is prove that I'm right, so I'm doing this.

mrs_mouse, I don't feel healthy as it is. I cannot eat more than 1000 calories a day without finding a way to get all that food out of my body. I feel guilty for even eating a salad that's only 200 calories. No one really cares what I go through emotionally with this except for my case manager, who all she wants to do is tell my doctor to increase my medication, which is what I don't want. I feel like I don't have time to lose weight. Seeing 1-2 lbs weight loss a week is not good enough for me. It has to be more.

cuz86

It's too late, Atlantique. Now all I want to do is prove that I'm right, so I'm doing this.

mrs_mouse, I don't feel healthy as it is. I cannot eat more than 1000 calories a day without finding a way to get all that food out of my body. I feel guilty for even eating a salad that's only 200 calories. No one really cares what I go through emotionally with this except for my case manager, who all she wants to do is tell my doctor to increase my medication, which is what I don't want. I feel like I don't have time to lose weight. Seeing 1-2 lbs weight loss a week is not good enough for me. It has to be more.

really.....this is just ridiculous...

fteale

It's too late, Atlantique. Now all I want to do is prove that I'm right, so I'm doing this.

mrs_mouse, I don't feel healthy as it is. I cannot eat more than 1000 calories a day without finding a way to get all that food out of my body. I feel guilty for even eating a salad that's only 200 calories. No one really cares what I go through emotionally with this except for my case manager, who all she wants to do is tell my doctor to increase my medication, which is what I don't want. I feel like I don't have time to lose weight. Seeing 1-2 lbs weight loss a week is not good enough for me. It has to be more.

How thin do you want to be? Throwing up is really bad for you in several ways, and isn't even that effective for weight loss.

RadicalCharlie

I rarely throw up. I just eliminate food weight as fast as possible.

As for thinness, I just want to get back to the body I had before, whether that means getting back to 120 or 150 because I was the same size between those weights.