Overfed Head
rwc0n335
Posts: 9 Member
I'm wondering whether many MFP members might have read the book "The Overfed Head" by Rob Stevens. It was published in 2004, and was the basis for a weight loss program called "Thintuition," named for a term Stevens coined in the book, which never really seemed to get much traction, perhaps because its tenets are so inherently non-commercial.
If you have read it, I'm interested to know your thoughts about it and to what extent, if any, you might have adopted its approach in your efforts to either lose weight or keep it off.
If you haven't read it, the synopsis is that Stevens describes having managed to lose 140 pounds in about a year and a half, ending in 1999, and to have kept it off since, by learning what others had determined are the common traits among people who have never had a weight problem. He posits that naturally thin folks:
Stevens trained himself to adopt these traits, and claims not to have followed any prescribed diet -- in fact, he devotes his first chapters to explaining why dieting is actually counterproductive to weight loss in the long term -- or commercial program, while allowing that he had had notable but temporary success on Weight Watchers in the past. He also claims not to have counted calories or any other macros, which is where I see his approach diverging most significantly from MFP's.
After almost three months, I am loving MFP and have every expectation of continuing to use it until I hit my goal weight. However, the idea of maintaining at goal by completely internalizing the traits described in Stevens' book, and not needing to log anymore is very appealing. Has anyone found value in this approach, while either losing or maintaining? Any thoughts on what Stevens had to say? I've only seen the book mentioned twice in a search of forum posts, and only in passing.
If you have read it, I'm interested to know your thoughts about it and to what extent, if any, you might have adopted its approach in your efforts to either lose weight or keep it off.
If you haven't read it, the synopsis is that Stevens describes having managed to lose 140 pounds in about a year and a half, ending in 1999, and to have kept it off since, by learning what others had determined are the common traits among people who have never had a weight problem. He posits that naturally thin folks:
- Are keenly attuned to the actual physical experience of hunger
- Eat only when physically hungry
- Eat whatever appeals to them once their hunger fully kicks in
- Recognize when they're satisfied, and rarely let themselves become "full"
- Stop eating when they're satisfied
- Lose any and all interest in food until they become hungry again
Stevens trained himself to adopt these traits, and claims not to have followed any prescribed diet -- in fact, he devotes his first chapters to explaining why dieting is actually counterproductive to weight loss in the long term -- or commercial program, while allowing that he had had notable but temporary success on Weight Watchers in the past. He also claims not to have counted calories or any other macros, which is where I see his approach diverging most significantly from MFP's.
After almost three months, I am loving MFP and have every expectation of continuing to use it until I hit my goal weight. However, the idea of maintaining at goal by completely internalizing the traits described in Stevens' book, and not needing to log anymore is very appealing. Has anyone found value in this approach, while either losing or maintaining? Any thoughts on what Stevens had to say? I've only seen the book mentioned twice in a search of forum posts, and only in passing.
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Replies
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I think those traits are helpful, for sure. In particular really understanding when you are physically hungry vs not, letting go of eating when you're not actually hungry (especially unplanned eating), and letting yourself eat the foods that you really want, but noticing how you don't really need a lot of them to satisfy that desire.
However, there really is no evidence that adopting this eating style results in normalization of weight in people who are overweight or obese. In fact, with what we know about weight regulation, it makes sense that it probably would not work for most people. Our bodies like homeostasis, so the most likely effect of following your hunger and satiety signals is to stay at the same weight or to regain weight if you've lost weight. Hunger and satiety can also be impacted by lots of other things such as amount of sleep, eating behaviors, stress, or medical conditions.
Thus, my recommendation would be to do what is working for you and keep track of your weight. You can try modifying and/or moving away from logging over time and practicing these skills should be helpful to you, but keep weighing and adjust as needed.0 -
Also, if you are interested in this concept look up non-dieting, intuitive eating, health at every size, and eating competency for more information. You'll note the studies generally do not show weight loss with these practices.0
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Maybe it works for some people, but I don't believe it would work for me. Obviously some people manage their eating by relying on the body's natural signals, but if this worked for everyone there would be a lot fewer overweight and obese people out there.
I know when left to my own appetites, I don't eat in proper portions, and I won't trust myself to do so in the future. Even if it was a skill I could learn with practice, I wouldn't want to go through the failures that inevitably are a part of learning something new - I'm done yo-yoing.
Frankly for me, logging is quick and easy (under three minutes a day), and has benefits beyond simply controlling my diet - I prelog the night before and it's really nice to have a meal plan all ready to go when I get home from work and don't want to think.0 -
I plan to eventually reach a place where I can listen to my body instead of counting everything. My approach is to count calories, but also listen to my body. If what I've planned is too much, I stop eating. If I get hungry between planned meals and need a snack, I adjust.0
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Haven't read the book myself, but I'll likely have some thoughts on this in a bit....This should be a good thread.0
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For me this type of behavior is becoming a side effect of logging my calories and learning what adequate food portions look like. I imagine I will always encounter times when I need to double check myself, but at some point, after I start on maintenance, I will probably attempt to rely more on hunger signals. Weighing and logging has not been hard a hard habit for me to adopt, but I'd like to eventually do without. I would not have made the progress I have made without logging. My hunger signals have never been reliable.0
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It sounds like the Naturally Slim program.0
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I'd observed those traits in friends and family that had never had a weight problem...harnessing them helped me lose the first 16kg without counting a single calorie.0
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It sounds like the Naturally Slim program.
I wasn't familiar with Naturally Slim, but I browsed the web site briefly and the program does seem very similar to Thintuition. BTW, the Thintuition site is dead, and from what I can tell based on his LinkedIn page, it looks like Rob Stevens is trying to keep the approach alive by consulting with corporate wellness programs and through a series of YouTube videos.0 -
I think that it's generally a good idea for people to learn to identify and abide by hunger and satiety cues.
That alone isn't likely to be enough of a guideline to keep a formerly overweight or obese person at a healthy weight without tracking intake, but I do think that most people can learn how to maintain weight loss without logging, or with minimal/intermittent logging.
I also think that it's a good goal to shoot for. I think it would be a good idea to identify and work on behaviors that you may need to maintain weight without logging.
That's going to vary a bit from person to person but some things to note:
- As the book mentions, good recognition of hunger/satiety cues.
- Identifying which foods tend to blunt hunger and selecting those foods often
- Moderating junk food either in quantity or frequency
- Preparing most of your food yourself/in home.
- Keeping somewhat consistent meal distribution for appetite regulation and consistency
- For most people (key word being MOST), minimize snacking
- Keep reasonable control/mindfulness over your food environment.
- Maintain adequate physical activity
- As a reference/checkpoint, keep tabs on your bodyweight so you know whether or not the above is working.
Not a complete list.
In THEORY I agree that "do what thin people do" could have merit but that might not be the same as doing what successful weight-losers do so in that regard it's not likely sufficient. Sounds good though and sells books.0 -
I have noticed that ever since I started using MFP I get physically *hungry* right before mealtime, and grouchy if I delay eating. Afterwards I am sated but not stuffed. When I put on weight I would just eat whenever I felt like eating, a very different thing. I am going to take your post and keep it in mind!0
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I was that way, for sure, until middle age. Then I began to enjoy that full feeling. The lbs came on predictably from then on.
But yes, that's basically how I was, and I never had to pay attention to weight. For me the biggest thing was that I just ate until I wasn't hungry, not until I was full.
One bad thing about eating that way is that people who constantly must eat or worry about what they are going to eat really are annoying to me. I find the focus pretty boring. I still do. I am not a particularly great dieter, because I really don't like all the extra attention I have to give to food.
However, it is reteaching me about paying attention to my body. I'm at ease now with being hungry again and then eating. I still do miss eating until I'm absolutely full, but maybe that will return too, to being satisfied with just not being hungry.
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I think the book sounds like an interesting read.
ETA: I just downloaded the ebook, and the author specifically says that his belief in good/bad foods that kept him from being successful with weight loss. I'm excited to read more.0 -
I do think it sounds interesting. I'm curious how he trained himself to adopt those traits. I have found that I have naturally learned some of those behaviors, but the overall philosophy escapes me. Perhaps I just enjoy eating too much; I don't think I'm interested in "losing interest in food".
I do see some of these behaviors reflected in my kids. Our youngest is pretty slim. He leaves almost full plates of food because he's just not hungry. The others tend more towards the clean plate club.0 -
I think those bullet points would apply to everyone I know who has never been overweight. I'm not sure I'd agree that "•Eat whatever appeals to them once their hunger fully kicks in" is always a good idea though.
I know several people who have never been overweight that have health problems most often associated with being overweight. Things like insulin resistance, T2 diabetes, hyperlypidemia, hypertension.
A poor diet can catch up with you in more ways than your waistline over time.0
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