Posts by disc

Original Post by msheeran:

Assigning so much emotion to a number on a tag.  Just think about how insane that really is.  I teach physics, and I have a lab in which students must determine their own mass for some calculations.  I set the scale in metric units (kilograms, it is science after all.  And yes, you can tell by that I'm American :-)  )

I love the students' responses, especially the girls, they find out their mass/weight in kilograms, but they don't have a frame of reference to know if that's heavy/light/fat/thin, etc.  So they don't get worked up about it.  Sometimes they ask me what that (number on the scale) "means."  If it says 50 kg, then I respond, "It means you are 50 kilograms."

No more, no less.

 

 Thank you guys for the replies. I appreciate the reassurance.

Msheeran, thank you for this message, you have a great attitude and I agree with you 100%. What made me mad was precisely that my "friend" implied that my personal worth, looks, or health was in some way defined by that number on the  tag. That a person my weight/height should be a certain clothes size.

Original Post by spirochete:

Original Post by joshandmom:

I only meant by me losing weight thru the bible and what God wants me to eat, non-christians will not understand because they do not read the bible like I have and do.

 

A million years of CCD later and I still have no idea what this even means. I must have ditched the day on what god wants us to eat and what chapter and verse deals with weight loss. I did drop out before confirmation so maybe 'weight loss' is just another one of my missing sacrements

 No need to mock either the Bible or the sacraments, spirochete. Think of Augustine's famous statement: food is medicine, curing the illness of hunger. Or the virtue called "temperance" or the deadly sin (one of the seven) called "gluttony." As others suggested, google a searchable online Bible, plenty of verses on moderation in eating and drinking.

It is a bad idea. It will only make you hungrier by making your blood sugar go up and down in a very quick succession.

Besides, being a female, you need to eat fat to keep your period and hormones in order. Even a not underweight woman who eats enough can lose her period through not eating well.

Your muscles also need protein, your system cannot absorb certain vitamins without fats etc. You know the basics.

If you are a vegetarian, you can still eat nuts and eggs and dairy (the latter only if you are not a vegan, obviously).

#2&3, the way I read it, the OP did not mean that she will communicate with Christians only. She has a specific mindset, a specific way of looking at her life and weight loss efforts, and she wants to befriend like-minded individuals here, among other people.

For a religious person, everything, including weight loss, has to do with religion.

Would a carnivore attack a vegetarian for not asking them for dietary advice?

It is a bit disappointing that a body cannot post an innocent question without having people snorting at it. :(

I wouldn't think it is from exercise. It is very likely "spotting" mid-cycle (if you ended your period a week ago and your periods are about five days long, you may be ovulating soon)  Are you on the pill? Do you take any medication that contains hormones? Have your periods been regular so far? ANY chance you may be/may have been pregnant? (sorry for being obnoxious and nosy, these are just questions to consider, not to answer here)

I would set up an appointment with your ob-gyn, just to make sure there is nothing wrong. If you are actually cramping, it is not just "blood left over", especially not a week after you finished your period.

I run your data through the BMI calculator (age 18, just a guess), and the result is 20.6.

I think it will be VERY hard to lose weight from such a healthy weight. If you absolutely must, better try to exercise more. And for Pete's sake, don't go below 1300. If you gain eating as little as that, your metabolism is seriously scr3wed. Lalabanana has given you great advice.

ETA: okay, I looked through your other posts. I think your problems started when you first took any action. In other words, you were fine as long as you were not obsessing about calories and stuff. You are 24. A petite young woman who actually managed to lose her period once already as a result of overdoing dieting and exercise. Take a long, hard look at this, and decide if it's worth your while or not. My take would be, no, it is not. You will have to live with and in this body for the next couple of decades, so you'd better take good care of it.

Restore your metabolism to a healthy level by eating your maintenance calories (or whatever makes you full without counting, as in the good ole days), and take regular exercise, but nothing extreme! Drink plenty of water and get good sleep. Do this without stepping on the scale for a month. Yep, a month. You can't expect a miracle to happen overnight, you've been doing this for too long.

I second the healthy choices suggestion. Another thing: if you are stressed, your body craves carbs, especially sugar - mine sure does! The best way to avoid binging on chocolate and bagels and bread and candy and cookies is to have lots of fruit at home. Apples are especially good, very filling, with just enough sugar to tide you over.

Also, get out of the house as much as possible. Study in the library instead of at home. Take frequent walking breaks, take up crochet or knitting as a hobby to keep your hands busy. Yoga/stretching is also helpful.

What else works for me - stop dieting when you are stressed. Seriously, just try to concentrate on establishing a normal eating pattern with healthy choices and reasonable portion sizes, but don't have a 500 calorie deficit. Calorie reduction only makes stress worse, and you need to address the reason why you gained which is stress-eating.

Original Post by laura42:

I just read somewhere that it really doesn't matter when you have your meals as long as the calories ingested are less than expended calories.  I think it was on WebMD.  That being said, if you are experiencing more success by having your last meal before 6, you should continue doing what works best for you.

 I have heard about this, too. But, in my experience, people burn calories at different rates at different parts of the day. My metabolism (and hunger levels) are HIGH in the morning, and whatever I eat seems half of what I eat in the evening. I also loose much more weight if I don't eat after 5 or 6 pm and go to bed at 10 pm. (Not to mention sleep better, I cannot sleep on a full stomach.)

I think the calories in-calories out theory is a bit flawed in this respect, since it doesn't take into account the ideosyncretic variations in calorie burning (metabolism) at different parts of the day/in different seasons/times of the month. Such variations do occur, and if we get to know our own bodies properly, we can use them to our advantage. 

Original Post by aasil:

but praying for someone who isn't "close to god" isn't being respectful of their beliefs either. 

 If the praying is done within earshot of the atheist person, than I can see how it can be disrespectful of the atheist person's beliefs - er, lack of beliefs I guess you meant.

But how on earth can it be disrespectful to pray for someone silently? Are we as "tolerant" as to be critical about and irritated by the mental activities, thoughts, and quiet prayers of others?? I call that very narrow minded and aggressive, far more aggressive than a prayer uttered quietly and with good intentions for a fellow human being.

Period back after what? In other words, what made your period go away? ED, stress, illness? Gynecological problem?

If there is no medical reason for taking pills etc. (no hormonal imbalance etc.), and your period ceased because of malnutrition or stress, it might take anywhere between 3-12 months to come back, depending on your age, weiht, and on how long you did not get your period. Plenty of nourishing food, lots of rest (physical and mental relaxation) will help. The first step is always to make sure that the condition which caused your period to go away is eliminated, be it an ED or an ED mindset. (I'm not saying you have an ED, just an example! I don't know why you don't get your period.)

I am confused - what makes you think that a "detox" diet could be of any benefit in such a situation? Why would anyone need to "detox" in order to drink less?

Getting rid of a drinking habit (of any habit, really) requires a lot of willpower. Add a couple of days of not taking any nourishment and giving yourself the runs with "cleansing powders" and whatnot, and you are headed for a catastrophe.

Now as for "detoxing" your mind - that is, taking a few hours/days/weeks to rethink why you drink in the first place, why you want to quit, and how you are going to do it - now that I believe is highly commendable. Keep your body healthy so that it can detox itself (liver, kidneys, skin etc.) but "clean out" your mind and thinking. That is what I am trying to do with my stress eating habit and it does work. It takes time, but it works.

Original Post by ct89:

i just want to be healthy (: if anyone could help me id really appreciate it !!

Want to be healthy? Forget about calorie counting, get some exercise every day, eat healthy food and eat as much as it takes for you to feel satisfied, and enjoy life.

Thank goodness you stopped at 108! Even at 5'2", that's a low weight, and if you are 14 your body has a lot of changing and growing to do. Don't mess with it - you can do some serious damage (esp. to your bones and monthly cycle) if you restrict your calories now.

Original Post by roj47:

Without breakfast you inevitably become hungary and require a snack.

 Talking about countries... :) I guess you meant "hungry"?  (sorry couldn't resist... you Brits get things wrong too!)

PS: I'm not American, put your gun down!

Original Post by legaleli:

Is it possible that breakfast is sacred the same way our televisions are, and our cars, and all those other things we "can't do without"?  Maybe we just don't want to give it up because we love to consume.  Maybe the "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" cry came from companies who realized that gluttony is best promoted from the time the alarm clock goes off.

I still can't see what your problem is (I can guess but that would be off-topic... :)

Breakfast is not "sacred", food as such is not "sacred". People eat it because they need it. I am hungry, therefore I eat. That is not gluttony, that's common sense and the basic instinct of self-preservation. Trust me, I know the difference, if you don't that's your issue.

Would you give up the meal you are hungry for during the day? You do have meals later in the day don't you? Would you say "lunch/dinner/supper" is useless, stop eating it?

The meal you eat without being hungry is useless. Everything else is useful and necessary. Case closed.

Original Post by rgn0622:

Eating is my problem. I can't stop. I'm addicted to food, any type of food. I love healthy food, veggies, whole wheats, fruits but I also love chocolate and ice cream and hamburgers and french fries and since the latter is more readily available, I'll attack it when my mind says its hungry even if my body is not. I desperately try to eat healthy and stop eating around 8 o'clock at night but when I'm studying at 12am my body goes...okay, time to feed me and there's nothing available I go into food withdrawal. I can't function, I can't focus, all I can think about is eating.

Right now I don't really care about losing weight. I care about getting over my addiction. I was hoping that by forcing myself to eat only certain foods I would slowly lose the cravings for things that are bad for me.

 It is not addiction to eat when you are hungry. If you are still up at midnight studying, eat. Just make sure you have plenty of healthy options at arm's reach.

Your problem is not, as far as I can see, food addiction, but a bad plan. You should schedule your meals according to your daily activities - why establish 8 pm as the cut-off point when you are studying at night? You can eat at night, just make sure that you have small and low-cal snacks rather than full meals.

You are frustrated because you want to restrict your calories, but your body can't handle it at this point. Why not accept it and just establish a sensible, healthy eating plan which does not send your body into frenzy? Why not do that for 21 days?