Applying the science of weight loss and weight management to the individual

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shelleygold
shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I am interested in how we experience the actual process of changing diet, exercising with an emphasis on how our brain is tasked with the demands of significant alterations required to improve our physical and mental well being. I would like to propose a broad discussion which offers personal stories relating to what types of information pertaining to weight-loss/management people find must useful. I have struggled with my weight for over 4 decades and understand that I have had to change the way I think as well as my behaviours and choices. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences.

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Interesting. I have actively changed my behavior and attitude after I learned a few things about how the brain and advertising work.

    Maybe a less spammy writing style will give you more response. I almost flagged you there :)
  • Ben_Erin
    Ben_Erin Posts: 4 Member
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    I thought it was going be spam too :)
  • shelleygold
    shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
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    Hi, thanks for responding. Do I sound like "spam"? Sorry about that. I do a bit o writing for a living so I will be more aware of saying things clearly. I'm interested in how we try and impose big changes to our routines, choices,etc and then try and rationalise the changes with evidence-based theory etc. I have found that my brain is a bloody elastic band that snaps back into old patterns. So hard to change. I'm great at loosing weight because I've done it so many times....sadly. I thought it might be fun to share our stories: what works and what doesn't. Sound less like spam and more human????
  • baenow
    baenow Posts: 2
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    Yep
  • baenow
    baenow Posts: 2
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    I have never successfully followed a diet. I was going to try Paleo, but with meals like elk and sweetbreads, no thanks. If you are tracking are you following a diet or just trying to eat healthier?
  • shelleygold
    shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
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    I think the best answer is "yes" and "yes". I have eliminated close to 95 percent of all foods which contain sugar (with an emphasis on fructose) and decreased my carbohydrate intake dramatically. Obviously this implies an increase in protein (from meat, vegetables and eggs). Not quite the Paleo gig or at least not intentionally linked to that paradigm. I have taken (far more seriously) the concept that the human body is really the sum total of countless chemical reactions and subsystems of physiological processes and the food we eat has to meet the unambiguous requirements for the appropriate requirements to make sure that the body can maintain its integrity and do what it is designed to do. If you would like more specific information let me know as i can give examples.
    This may sound a bit zealout and even I am surprised with how I am sounding these days. I grew up just as McDonalds, KFC, A&W etc were wonderful alternatives to home cooking and I truly became a fast-food/junk food boy. Not only that but chocolates, chips, biscuits, you name it were my drugs of choice. Consequently, I gained weight at a dizzying pace and then would utilise almost a starvation diet (relying on diet cokes to make me feel full). I would say this defined my eating paradigm from my late-teens to early 50's. It is only now (I'm 55) that I have understood that my brain (neurological pathways) were confused with what I was trying to do and what were the entrenched habits for decades. I have had to completely overhaul not just my eating behavioural patterns but the way in which I think about eating, food and what I want for my body. I imagine, for example, that I have a relationship with my body and it is at the mercy of what I eat, drink and do in terms of activity. I don't always get it right but I have lost weight steadily over the past 6 months (about 12 kg) and I have never felt better. I am not about 94 kg and want to get down to 85 kg at a rate that makes sense.
    That's enough rambling for now. I would love to hear what the stories are out there. I am truly interested.
    Shel
  • Maries_wine_calories
    Maries_wine_calories Posts: 152 Member
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    All of my adult life I was never a label reader, definitely not a dieter- if I wanted it, I ate it. Surely enough my weight crept up to just over 200lbs and the same weight I was the day before I gave birth to my daughter...except she's now 12 and I was tired of being asked when I'm due. I came across MFP (as an app on my phone), and asked a friend about it. It seemed easy enough and thought I would give it a go. Sober October was my catalyst, track my food choices, no eating out and no alcohol for the month=clean start. I lost a big portion of weight my first month and 43 pounds in just over 4 months (yes right through Christmas and New Years) and have been maintaining for several weeks already at my current goal weight. I am delighted with all of the "small" things I have accomplished; inches lost, is that my collar bone?, wow even my underwear are too big? But mostly I continue to be inspired by the simple math of weight loss. 3500 calories not eaten will show a loss of 1lb. Calories burned through activity will earn me wine calories...I can have what I want but now I think about my food as a choice I get to make with no restrictions (aka diet) but I also have the power to alter portion size or make even better choices as I learn more about nutrition to stay in my macros. I appreciate the macronutrient ratios- the need for carbs/proteins/fats and fiber so I don't see myself not logging any time soon.
  • KETOGENICGURL
    KETOGENICGURL Posts: 687 Member
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    Shelly, you will find in the big forums that 6497 people as day zoom thru so starting a discussion in the open may not work, your post will be buried in a day. Try starting a specific group of your own, and visit other groups to invite them in. Visit the 2 Keto and 1 Low Carber Daily groups who eat like you do. In the main forum you will hear 20 year olds swilling diet pepsi and starving themselves, to body builders chugging protein shakes, moms who want to run with their kids…ALL of their stories will vary widely..and will change as they fail or succeed weekly. Unless you are planning a real statistical survey just reading thru the many posts daily will give you lists of "why I began this journey" Also don't apologize over using big words, to reach the masses however, writing at an 8th grade level will attract more posts.

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