Posts by chotzee

Original Post by cindiw1: Well, if it doesn't work, why is it that the Calorie Target calculator tells me I need to eat 1,200 calories a day in order to reach my goal weight by April 2010? I wish I could believe everybody and eat more. The thought of eating so little food is disturbing to me, plus I can't do it. But the calculator tells me I should eat 1,200 cals a day.

I believe (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this) that the calculator will default to that bare minimum of 1200/day when the goal date entered into it is too soon to be met via a safe rate of weightloss. You can check this by assuming a loss of 2 lbs per week and working out yourself how many weeks that would be, given your personal goal. If the date that you come up with is far past the date that you entered into the calculator, this may be the reason why it's giving you such a low suggestion (because, to reach your goal in the time frame you entered, you would have to starve yourself).

It is important to remember that the calculator is just passively filling in a formula. It's up to you and the rest of us who make use of it to add the "good judgment" part of the equation. Even with the tools provided here, it's still your job to take what you know--e.g. that 1200/day is the bare minimum for a sedentary lifestyle unless you're particularly small--and apply it to keep yourself safe and on track. If the calculator or another tool tells you something you doubt, don't surrender to it. It's working with whatever information you gave it, so investigate and adjust a little until things make more sense.

Another thing that may contribute is the portion sizes that different people were raised with, or that they have become used to. In other countries, portions are just habitually smaller than in the US, so people can still feel that they're eating whatever they want--they're not stepping outside of anything normal--and they're simply accustomed to thinking of a satisfying amount as smaller. It's not JUST "other countries," though. Regions within the United States differ in this way, also, as well as offering different fare.

All that to say... it's not always a straight-up matter of self-discipline and willpower, with human beings in one corner of the ring and food in the other. A lot of it is simply environment and habit for the "thin" people you're talking about, and not a battle at all. For them, the statement "Anyone who just eats what they feel like every day is gonna be obese" simply isn't true, because they may not be in the habit of thinking of food constantly, or as rewards and comfort, or eating much when they do sit down for a meal. In many ways the modern middle-class appetite is a matter of programming instead of honest hunger.

Applying that to general weightloss, then, means putting thought into those elements: environment and habit. And in that sense, for many of those "thin" people, exercise is the same way. You don't have to be raised that way to think of it as simply something that you do, but many people are, so it's not too far out in left field to think of it as simply part of their culture.

I started one of these programs, too, after reading a little about them on these very forums! Those early stages felt difficult, as I'd been basically stuck at a desk for a few years, but in retrospect I can see what was happening with those first walk/run/walk spurts: that was the time during which pace gets figured out, and during which you start to learn how to push while still conserving. By the time I got past the fifteen minute mark, it was pretty easy to tell the difference between "needing" to stop, and just "wanting" to stop, and the habit of sticking with the program made it easier to just ignore the latter. I would never have believed that I would ever like running, but I do!

As I've been doing it (I now run 30 minutes or so regularly, 3 or 4 times a week), I haven't seen a huge jump in weightloss. It's stayed pretty consistent at 1 or 2 pounds per week, but that's because I've been consciously trying to keep it there so that I don't run out of gas, so to speak, while I'm running. I've gotten to the point where I enjoy the run so much that it dictates my eating patterns, and I'm wary of undereating and accidentally robbing my body of the energy it needs to get through the workout efficiently.

So nothing has magically melted away because of the running--BUT! It's been three months and I have noticeably more energy throughout the day, which I think has helped with staying on track in terms of being careful about my snacking, and with being consistent about my running schedule, too. It's just generally given me a boost in willpower.

I hope you get a kick out of it, too!

A good vegetarian source of protein is any kind of legume:

"Legumes — a class of vegetables that includes beans, peas and lentils — are among the most versatile and nutritious foods available. Legumes are typically low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are high in folate, potassium, iron and magnesium. They're also a good source of protein and can be a healthy substitute for meat, which has more fat and cholesterol."

That is from this site:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/legumes/NU00 260

There are also a wide variety of legumes to choose from, so that may help to cut out the boredom factor.

Hope that helps!