selfishshellfish

However well meant, the original post does come across to me as being controlling. You may think you're helping your girlfriend by not 'leaving her to her own devices' - poptarts and all - but in reality you're not doing either of you, or your relationship, any good. Getting this far into the business of another competent…

You don't need to eat sugar to survive. Your body can make it from fat and carbohydrate (by the process of gluconeogenesis, in case you were wondering about the science bit). You do need to eat salt, however.

Oh yeah, it happened to me. It has happened to me in the past, too (in my teens, when I was a competitive middle-distance runner, and in my 20s when I ran just for fun but quite hard). I got a regular running habit going last year for a few months and my weight plateaued. Furthermore, my body fat (as measured by a…

You're not the enemy. As it says on my profile, I don't buy into the received wisdoms about weight loss. I have a pragmatic approach to this venture. Whatever works. Whatever motivates you best. Just keep on keeping on. And bloody well done for your progress so far!

Protein is your friend, and some fat. Eat eggs every day - whole ones, not just the whites. Don't be scared of nuts and seeds. Cut down white starch (like spuds, rice, bread). They're not no-nos, but I find they don't curb my appetite long-term, even though I feel full immediately after eating them. Make notes in your…

Well, most hospitals and primary care people here seem to use the term 'bariatric' nowadays anyway. I will say this in defence of the idea: if the term 'obese' provokes a shame response in patients then its use may well be counterproductive. For a lot of people (yes, me included) being shamed tends to correlate with denial…

Yes. And germs are from Germany.

Anything about the miraculous effects of water. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for proper hydration. But we won't seriously endanger our heath by having yellow wee once in a while. And: 1) If you're hungry drink some water first, because we often mistake hunger for thirst (really? they're two very different and distinct…

I get migraine, and when I first started trying to lose weight I used to wake up with a migraine at the weekends (when I sleep 2-3 hours more than was usual in the week). Eating a snack about 30 minutes before bed seemed to cure that. Depending on what time you eat dinner, the gap between dinner and breakfast (especially…

No. My body fat readings were getting higher, and my waist measurement increasing. This is a phenomenon I had noticed in my past, when I had been doing even more distance. It became evident that running was not good for me at that time, because my increasing waist measurement was of concern to me as an indicator of…

Most mornings for me it's 2 dessert spoons of full-fat Greek yogurt, 25g raspberries, 25g blueberries and 30g nuts and seeds all mixed up. Sometimes it's 2 whole eggs scrambled with 10g butter and maybe 20g grated cheese.

I think some people seem to lose better with exercise, some not. for me, a half hour brisk walk each day seems to do wonders in controlling my appetite. But last year when I was regularly running 4 miles 5 days a week, I hit the mother of all weight loss plateaus. I started getting ravenous, too. So at the moment I'm…

I'm certainly willing to agree that calorie balance may well be the bottom line in all this. At the moment though I'm unconvinced whether it's a law or a heuristic.

Yeh, true about the insulin, but from what I remember from my physiology classes, the insulin response caused by protein tends to be mitigated by the effects of glucagon (not sure if this applies to diabetics). I play it safe by mostly swapping my carbohydrates for good old fat, not protein. My scepticism about the…

Re. the tired old 'you can't rewrite the laws of thermodynamics' quip: the first law of thermodynamics applies to closed systems. We are not closed systems. It is clear from this thread that some of us, for whatever reason, cannot lose - or in my case even steadily maintain a pretty high - weight using the standard…

If you're dieting you need to drink lots of Guinness to build you up. Oyyyy.

And occasionally you might want to make cheese.

Good luck. I think it's healthy to honour your feelings, even if they can't be stated logically or explained coherently.

In answer to your question, yes it can. I had a one-nighter with my husband twenty years ago and he never went away! But I agree that you shouldn't just go along with what he wants. What do you want?

Sounds controversial but try upping your fat intake. It works for me.

Please don't eat Orange Roughy because: "Orange roughy is a fish that has no business playing any significant role in our seafood industry. The animal simply isn't built to withstand heavy fishing pressure. First off, it reaches market size well before sexual maturity -- a lamentable characteristic, since this results in…

I would say that there is such a thing as essential protein and also such a thing as essential fat, both of which are probably scant in this type of regime. You need adequate protein and fat just to maintain and repair your cells in a state of optimal metabolism. What would be in abundance (probably - depends on the fruit…

Ha ha - that's quite good! Better than being 'overbite lady' or whatever, I suppose.

Btw, when opera singers move into the mainstream they certainly attract lots of flak for their weight. I remember Monserrat Caballe being called 'Monster Fat Caballe' after she did her Barcelona duet with Freddie Mercury. Having said that I don't recall anybody calling Pavarotti anything like as nasty a name, so maybe all…

Wow, some of those comments are foul. I think both women look good. I wonder how many of their critics have that sort of talent and success (and look even half as good in their clothes). In life it pays to be very selective about what feedback one takes on board.

Yeah, I'm also in the 'just say "Thank you"' camp. Say it with a smile and don't make a big deal out of it. I have learned that it's possible to do this convincingly even when you don't believe or feel the compliment.

I find that if I do anything other than walking for my exercise I tend to get very, very hungry and light-headed. Disproportionately so. Two years ago I lost 28lb and then immediately stacked it all back on because I was permanently ravenous. My strategy this time round has been to vary my walking intensity and duration…

You certainly don't need to get mean, but you may find that you want to put some distance between the two of you (maybe even just for a while). Sometimes that's the way it goes when change happens. I certainly wouldn't try and put pressure on her to join you in your new lifestyle - that too is her responsibility alone. And…

Oh yes, I've had a lot of this sort of thing. Except that most of the time, people round me have not been so open and honest about the source of their unsupportiveness. I think your friend's candour about her pain is actually a positive sign. The short answer is, as a pair of competent adults, your friend's feelings and…

When I run seriously I also gain fat. I've noticed this for years, repeatedly. For me it's as though a lot of intense exercise gives my body the 'lean times - fatten up' cue. I know I'm not alone - I've met a lot of fat (eve obese) runners who watch their diets hawkishly. I'm a biologist (not a human biologist, admittedly)…