Eating light and eating late has always been my problem. Like yesterday I had a big lunch, so I didn’t feel hungry, snacked a little bit at 7ish but then stayed up late and had to snack again around 10-11ish.
Actually, @MiamiDAP, I think new research is showing that the all calories are not equal. The source matters, the timing matters. That was a lot of what was discussed in That Sugar Film. He did not change his daily calorie intake nor his exercise routine, just the source of the calories (moved from a higher fat/no sugar diet to a low fat/high sugar diet) and gained 19 pounds in 2 months. He did also mention that doing his regular workouts got harder & he got less motivated as he got further along in the experiment.
If humans were furnaces, then the source of calories would not matter. We are complex organisms filled with intricately interconnected biochemical pathways. 
Mess one up temporarily, and it can lead to irreversible or hard to reverse changes elsewhere.
Following along. Ironically the day this thread started was my first day back in the gym 2 years and 30 pounds ago. Midlife just smacked me in the face along with a couple injuries and my clothes just kept getting tighter and tighter. Fortunately I’m so tall that 30 pounds didn’t do much visual or clothing damage except naked in front of the mirror. It’s killing me, but just this week it started feeling really good. Down almost 6 pounds, watching what goes into my mouth, drinking water. Substituted plain unsalted nuts for my mid-afternoon M&M craving and cut my wheat related carbs by at least half. Weight resistance 3x per week and jogging or walking a couple miles + 15 minutes spinning or the elliptical or whatever catches my fancy the other days. I found that I need to go to a gym rather than do this “out in public”…it just gets my frame of mind right to walk in and escape for an hour, especially if I stop on the way home from work. On the weekends I go when I’m tempted to park my butt and read for awhile. I will say it is much, much harder at 60 than it ever was after the kids were born over two decades ago!
My inspiration is these two 80+ year old ladies who seem to arrive shortly after me a couple days a week and they can lift OMGoodness can they lift. They weighta whole lot less than me and are much shorter, but they can lift themselves for several sets on the chin up machine. I can do 3 (not sets…just 3) and then I am a goner. My upper body is sadly shot, hopefully not beyond repair. They keep saying “that’s OK dear we’ve been doing this for over a year.” Wow…inspirational.
OP I’ve been on thyroid since my twenties and you just don’t burn like “normal” people. My doc even knows I have to work super hard to keep my weight in a decent range. I call it the double whammy. My thyroid sped up when I was pregnant each time so I never packed on the pounds when I was actually pregnant and with my last they were saying “eat, eat, eat” but if I didn’t get right on the diet and exercise within days after giving birth I’d pack on twenty pounds within weeks. Now that i’m finally menopausal, i feel like the pounds can come on quickly and 30 lbs in two years is pretty darn quick.
The ‘all calories are not equal’ Clean Diet proponents and the ‘a calorie is a calorie is a calorie’ CICO Is All That Matters camps regularly get into it big time in the fora at myfitnesspal.com. Whew… knock down, drag out. Most there are CICO all the way, and if you bring up movies like “Fed Up”, they descend. I never post, just lurk, but it’s entertaining as all get out. Go check it out, if you are brave enough…
All I know us that I have been rethinking all of this. I look back and realize that I was a Pesco Vegetarian with a year of Vegan and no fish for 8 of my 35 years. I did gain weight at menopause but got it off quickly with calorie count and exercise. I naturally, not purposely, did only eat 8 hours a day.
5 years ago my H had medical problems and seemed to do better with more protein. So began cooking beef, pork, etc but I am poultry intolerant so no chicken. I really do not feel as good on my high fat (cheese!) diet.
I have had a few days this week where I have been uncomfortable, felt bad, even with mainly protein and veggies.
Tonight I made potatoes and Tuna and salad and I feel great even after a big workout.
I know it is crazy but I think I do better with carbs and fat and low protein.
I will let you know how this goes but I am ready to return to a veggie life–but gosh the dinners take longer to make.
Think a broccoli and rice and tofu stirfry!
I have always been a morning exerciser and swim with a masters team 4 days a week. Ever since I stopped having a snack before my 6A swim practice, my weight has stayed down, no matter what I seem to eat during the day. Maybe I’m putting my body into some sort of ketogenic state in the morning which may work like intermittent fasting? I then drink a smoothie with almond milk, greens, and a little fruit. I’m at the same weight I was when I was 18, though admittedly not shaped that way anymore!
The intermittent fasting, eating only 8 hours, or my method all have in common to create some sort of period in which your body is forced to use stored energy (fat!) for it’s needs. I do agree that the diet your body seems to prefer is best.
Good morning all! For the last 9 months I have worked on-site at a client’s office…the ultimate luxury was that it was only an 11 minute commute from my house. Now I’m back to the normal commute which is at least 4 times longer. I also recalled yesterday that I have the most convenient office on the floor…the restroom is just around the corner and the coffee/copy room is two doors down. Talk about drastically reducing the step count. But thanks to this thread, I will make more of an effort to move.
I I know that we can all dig deep and take control of that darn extra weight that found it’s way onto our youthful bodies. I have found motivation just by reading this thread. It would be great for me to take off 25 lbs, but would be satisfied with 10 if I could keep it off.
I got a fitbit a few weeks ago and it has been interesting to see my reaction when I am about to go to bed and notice I am a few hundred steps shy of 10,000. I actually find myself standing in the dark and walking in place. I find that I am taking the dogs on faster paced and longer walks. I joined Planet Fitness and am looking forward to building up my strength. I am trying to add an additional minute each time I use to the machine that looks like a cross between elliptical and stair climber.
I absolutely cannot have junk food or chocolate in my house and I will jump at the chance to go to a restaurant that has burgers and fries on the menu. I have ZERO willpower. Having a few walnuts or almonds helps, but I miss my secret stash of M&M’s and mini Snicker bars…
DrGoogle,
"Eating light and eating late has always been my problem. Like yesterday I had a big lunch, so I didn’t feel hungry, snacked a little bit at 7ish but then stayed up late and had to snack again around 10-11ish. "
-that is great that you recognize your own problem. You are way further ahead than the most. So, why don’t you correct it if you feel that ir is a problem? Frankly, I do not think that this is a problem, but you are a judge of your situation. I always make sure to have tiny snack before bed, my snack is a little piece of cheese.
Because when I get hungry I can’t sleep, stomach grumbling, all kinds of problems. I also eat a lot nuts,Chobani yogurt and nuts, particularly after 8pm. They are good food for me but I do gain weight because of that.
I mean, do what works for you (key words here: works for you - as in, lasting effects for you - otherwise you’ll be back at square one) but do you really want to only eat within eight hours??? My day starts at 6:30 am - by 8am I’d like some breakfast - seems like breakfast is a good idea to keep my mental and physical stamina up for work and life! That would mean by 4pm I need to stop eating. What’s going to fuel me through my evening of gardening, running, walking the pup, etc. AND several hours of sleep???
To me, saying you will only eat within 8 hours is as short a solution as saying you are only going to eat yogurt for breakfast and a salad for lunch and dinner. It might work temporarily, but would NOT work long term in my life.
I know everyone is different but for those who feel no need to eat anything before 11am…what are you accomplishing in your morning- your body is trying to function on no calories since 7pm the night before! Or, are you being active enough in the evening and/or morning to naturally require some calories? To me, I prefer activity AND appropriate calories.
I eat first thing in the morning (5:00 to 5:30), but I do like to be done eating by about 6:00 PM if possible. Strangely
enough, I sleep better on an empty stomach. Often this doesn’t happen due to life circumstances of course, but it’s nice when I can manage it.
DH is on Day 2 of his new eating plan. Eggs and whole wheat english muffin with almond butter this morning. Virtually sugar-free except a small amount in the english muffin. Now I just have to get more fresh produce on his plate!
^^ That’s 13 hours of eating - much more than 8 - more doable. (but I still want/need my evening snack - not an ice cream sundae nightly, but a little snack after an evening of activity AFTER dinner). It’s a rare day in life that I am not fairly active after dinner.
Good luck to your H, Gertrude! One really has to watch for sugar in things where you would not expect a load of it, like beef jerky with 6 grams of added sugar per serving!
I am NOT at all active in the evening. I wake up full of energy, always do my workouts in the AM, then steadily fade as the day goes on. After dinner, I read, take a bath, or some other low-energy activity. Definitely a morning person. I do try to eat more in the morning, less in the afternoon/evening, to match my energy expenditure.
Gertrude, are you making your own almond butter? If so, do you add anything?
No, I don’t make my own - I buy the CostCo brand!
Dr.Google, last week I found nuts to be my downfall. I was 3# from my goal, then I bought the Costco trial mix. Just a little thru the day, evening, and I put on 2#. I have my physical on Friday, and certainly didn’t want to be so high.
I made a vegetable soup, with a few flanken as base. I’m trying to live on that for dinner. Also cut way back on cheese. Tonight’s snack will be blueberries. I also did long cardio/weights at gym, and will return tonight for yoga. My oh my, are those pounds hard to lose.
I think they are healthy. My numbers are good even without too much exercising. I know I need to do that. Consider my family is prone to a certain illness/disease and they’ve been on drugs, the prescription kind for years. So I think they are good except the calorie.
I pay attention to what I eat. I’ve just had leeks soup made from organic chicken broth, from the neck bone, it was so sweet tasting without adding anything. My husband likes it. Truth be told I forgot to add salt and pepper. 