Daydreaming while waiting impatiently!

[tortoise]

I once rented a house with an electric water heater in an area with high cost for electricity. I cut the breaker off after baths and dishes. The water stayed hot enough to last the next day and I flipped the breaker back on before baths and dishes. It cut $30 off a month!

Thats a good idea! It wouldnt be difficult at all. Other than making a new habit 😅 Thank you!

 

[tortoise]

I'm working on managing my weight (proxy for body fat) again. I have Lipedema which is a progressive fat tissue disorder. The only way to prevent progression is to not have excess body fat. My doctor told me "never gain weight" between the Lipedema and joint hypermobility. :sigh:

Losing weight has been hard, or maybe I should say I've learned what doesnt work?
1) when calculating your energy needs, never include excess fat in your body weight. You can calculate your lean weight and add an appropriate percent body fat. My lean weight would be 90 - 100# and then add 10% body fat (thats low for women but I'm dealing with Lipedema). That puts my weight for purpose of calculating energy needs at 110#. Them most generous energy calculator says I use 1,200 calories per day, while most are around 1,000 calories. If I did not adjust my calculation for lean weight, the calculators would give me 1,800 to 2,000.

2) An appropriate calorie deficit is 500. Notice if you skip step 1 and just do step 2, you're probably going to have excess energy intake. Since I have low lean mass, low resting energy requirement, my calorie intake for weight loss is 500 - 700 calories per day. Sounds craazy, but it matches with my notes from the times I've lost weight successfully.

3) Insulin is everything. If you are eating grains, sugars, fruits, your body goes into starvation mode. You will be miserable, cold, sluggish, hungry, have intense cravings, uncontrollable urges to eat, and your weight will rebound even if you never stop your diet.

You dont have to eat keto, but low carb and high fat is important. Eliminate any foods that dont make your body feel good. If you are keeping carbs and insulin in check, you will have less or no hunger, no cravings, feel warm, be energetic and alert.

4) When you eat matters. Eat your food in as few hours as possible, so your insulin can be low for more hours. I need 22 to 23 hours of fasting per day for consistent weight loss. When I am done losing and need to maintain this will be 18 to 20 hours of fasting (and my body will regulate hunger and activity so I wont need to keep track of calorie intake)

5) exercise is important, but does very little for weight loss. Dont punish yourself with exercise.

 

[tortoise]

My goal now is to lose 20 pounds in December.

Edit: I tried to write succinctly, but it came out inaccurate. When I started in November it was 20# exactly. I lost 9# in November before getting derailed by ear infection and regaining a few. My goal *in* December is 15#. As of this edit, 11.6# remain in 24 days.


Its a bit of a stretch - I started beginning of November but had to pause while healing from that ear infection I had. If I stay consistent with what works for me, it's possible. I re-started yesterday and lost 1.8 pounds. I typically lose 0.6 to 1.2 pounds per day. I aim for 5 days losing then 1 or 2 maintaining, and repeat.

 

[flowerbug]

I once rented a house with an electric water heater in an area with high cost for electricity. I cut the breaker off after baths and dishes. The water stayed hot enough to last the next day and I flipped the breaker back on before baths and dishes. It cut $30 off a month!

better yet, cut the breaker before the shower and dishes and then the thing isn't running to heat up water you won't use.

when i had more of that kind of concern i would turn the breaker off before i took a shower and then go away for a few days. i never like leaving the water or the breaker on when i go away for long because sometimes things do leak or break.

here with the two of us i can't do such things often and i'm not away so that doesn't figure.

 

[flowerbug]

20lbs in a single month would be incredibly excessive and very hard as that would mean that somehow you have to burn or your body has to convert and excrete that much CO2 and other waste products. 3500 calories per lb is the measurement often quoted.

20x3500=70,000 calories and as someone with mobility issues i don't see how you'd be able to realistically burn that many extra calories a month.

for me 70,000 calories is close to two months of total food consumption in the winter.

realistically, the first few days of many diets are reducing body weight because of water and very rarely due to actual changes in fat/muscle.

salts intake is also important to monitor.

my own advice to people who are dieting is to first find their calorie needs under a few different activity levels and then have them adjust their diet to fit those levels and then gradually change a few other things to increase the calorie burn rate (and add more fiber to the diet) but keep their diet steady. 100 calorie difference a day should reduce your actual body weight by about 1lb per month. if you are building muscle you may trade fat for muscle and see no change at all but you will eventually notice being slimmer and also feeling better.

 

[tortoise]

20lbs in a single month would be incredibly excessive and very hard as that would mean that somehow you have to burn or your body has to convert and excrete that much CO2 and other waste products. 3500 calories per lb is the measurement often quoted.

20x3500=70,000 calories and as someone with mobility issues i don't see how you'd be able to realistically burn that many extra calories a month.

for me 70,000 calories is close to two months of total food consumption in the winter.

realistically, the first few days of many diets are reducing body weight because of water and very rarely due to actual changes in fat/muscle.

salts intake is also important to monitor.

my own advice to people who are dieting is to first find their calorie needs under a few different activity levels and then have them adjust their diet to fit those levels and then gradually change a few other things to increase the calorie burn rate (and add more fiber to the diet) but keep their diet steady. 100 calorie difference a day should reduce your actual body weight by about 1lb per month. if you are building muscle you may trade fat for muscle and see no change at all but you will eventually notice being slimmer and also feeling better.

I prefer to just get it over with already! It's not meant to be sustainable. Fasting changes how our bodies respond hormonally to food, which is why this works so well. The arguments against losing weight quickly are regarding rebound (which doesn't happen with fasting/low carb other than restoring lost fluid), and not getting adequate nutrition (which isn't so much a concern when it's short term).

Even when I don't reduce carbs so I'm not losing water weight, I still lose quickly at first and less per day for about 5 days. That's when I refeed a bit more and then start over. I also tend to have edema like when I miss my antihistamine (that reduces vascular leakage) and if I eat foods that don't agree with me. Flushing all that out helps a lot, and I don't regain it unless I'm neglecting nutrition and missing doses of medication.

I don't factor exercise into it. Most days I use <100 calories for activity, but 1,000 - 1,200 calories for body functions. If I really wanted to accelerate weight loss, I could add exercise first thing in the morning when my body has used up its reserves and must use body fat to fuel the activity. I'm not sure I want to work that hard at it.

I know this is quite backwards from what we're taught in the USA. Here's a physician who is using these strategies to treat his patients (who are obese and have diabetes). I was aware of his strategies, but this explanation was a "light bulb moment" for me.

 

[tortoise]

I have disappointing news to report. Our print electric bill arrived. We didn't actually use less power. The bill was less because the rate dropped. Bummer! It's still a kick in the pants to do better.

I have CFL bulbs in use in random places and LED bulbs sitting unused in the basement. I should make sure all the lights and lamps in use have LED bulbs!

 

[FarmerJamie]

I prefer to just get it over with already! It's not meant to be sustainable. Fasting changes how our bodies respond hormonally to food, which is why this works so well. The arguments against losing weight quickly are regarding rebound (which doesn't happen with fasting/low carb other than restoring lost fluid), and not getting adequate nutrition (which isn't so much a concern when it's short term).

Even when I don't reduce carbs so I'm not losing water weight, I still lose quickly at first and less per day for about 5 days. That's when I refeed a bit more and then start over. I also tend to have edema like when I miss my antihistamine (that reduces vascular leakage) and if I eat foods that don't agree with me. Flushing all that out helps a lot, and I don't regain it unless I'm neglecting nutrition and missing doses of medication.

I don't factor exercise into it. Most days I use <100 calories for activity, but 1,000 - 1,200 calories for body functions. If I really wanted to accelerate weight loss, I could add exercise first thing in the morning when my body has used up its reserves and must use body fat to fuel the activity. I'm not sure I want to work that hard at it.

I know this is quite backwards from what we're taught in the USA. Here's a physician who is using these strategies to treat his patients (who are obese and have diabetes). I was aware of his strategies, but this explanation was a "light bulb moment" for me.

Yes, the video is good. Tortoise, if you are on FB, I can connect you with a good low carb group, Pm me if you are interested. Lots of folks in there with unique conditions, too. Focusing on carbs, not calories helped me drop 50 pounds. I did 15 pounds the first month, but I was starting at 275, so its all relative. Still trying to drop 20 more, but I eased up on the strictness. My bad

 

[tortoise]

Yes, the video is good. Tortoise, if you are on FB, I can connect you with a good low carb group, Pm me if you are interested. Lots of folks in there with unique conditions, too. Focusing on carbs, not calories helped me drop 50 pounds. I did 15 pounds the first month, but I was starting at 275, so its all relative. Still trying to drop 20 more, but I eased up on the strictness. My bad

Congrats! 50 is a lot!! Never too late to restart! Would you please share the FB group? I would like to join when I'm ready to maintain.

 

[tortoise]

I forgot to share with @flowerbug and anyone who isnt familiar with new nutrition science, re: sodium.

Sodium retention is hormonally controlled, and the most significant hormone for this is insulin. Higher insulin = sodium retention. People who reduce carb consumption by LCHF, keto, or fasting may need to double sodium intake just to maintain normal blood volume.

I am reminded of this today because I messed up. Yesterday I ate keto and fasted from 10 a.m. through the rest of the day. I added salt to my food, but it wasnt enough. I felt great all day, but woke up with low blood volume symptoms. (I'm extra sensitive to this because POTS affects 2 of the other hormones involved in sodium/fluid regulation).

But, armed with science, I have no problem coping. Increasing carbs will get my body to retain sodium, and fluid to get me to normal functioning. I had a big, beautiful orange for breakfast. After an hour or so I will have a salty snack and a big drink and between the sugar induced insulin, sodium, and fluid, my blood volume will normalize. 👍

I made a mental note that what I ate yesterday was not enough carbs for me to avoid an increase in POTS symptoms.

Yesterday a.m. 138.8. Yesterday evening 139.2. This morning 138.0. 🎉 my soft goal is 125. I have been that weight in the past so I know it is healthy/reasonable for me. From there I may continue to see if I can get rid of Lipedema fat which is very resistant to being lost. The only treatments for reducing Lipedema fat are fasting like I'm doing or liposuction. Left untreated, Lipedema becomes increasingly painful and limits mobility. Mine is becoming painful enough to cause problems with sleeping and snuggling my kids (I have it in my arms too)