From: nadel@aero.org (M.H. Nadel)
Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: Tired of it
Date: 24 Jul 92 22:37:13 GMT
Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA

In article <acNFoB1w164w@cybernet.cse.fau.edu> murray.bbs@cybernet.cse.fau.edu writes:
>After being on every conceivable diet all my life, I am sick and 
>disgusted with the entire field of nutrition. I have been to weight 
>watchers and diet workshop innumerable times, and a;lways walked away 
>sensing that the instructors weren't too bright and just finished losing 
>weight a few weeks ago.
>How can anyone pay any attention to them as they clearly know so little 
>and they do forget themselves at times. I remember once that I lost about 
>10 pounds in one week and being heavily congratulated by the instructor 
>when she should have chastized me instead.
>Does anything work? 


I think you have to define what you mean by "working" to answer that question.

If you've always been heavy, it is unlikely that you can ever maintain a
weight as low as current societal standards assume is desirable.  You can,
however, maintain a weight consistent with optimal health if you are willing
to take time to make changes to your lifestyle.

The goal should be optimizing how your body functions, not some number on a
scale or clothing size or even percentage body fat (though the latter is a
bit more realistic).  We have a tendency to get obsessed with these numbers
at the risk of putting ourselves out of touch with our bodies.

I define progress as:
Not feeling fatigued constantly
Feeling happy with the way my body moves
Not having a desire to binge
etc.

For me, binging is directly related to not eating regularly enough.  My
ideas about nutrition are very conservative - Jane Brody vs. whatever
the latest diet book out is.  If you have a specific craving, satisfy it, but
most of the time one should eat high quality (low fat, high in complex
carbohydrates, sufficient fiber, etc.) food. I used to believe that if I
ate what I wanted, I would live on corn chips and chocolate, but I've learned 
that I really feel best if I have a hearty bowl of lentil soup and some 
good crusty bread for supper instead.

(Incidentally, a quick lentil soup can be made by cooking lentils and onions
in water or stock until the lentils are tender and seasoning with pepper and
ground cloves.  The cloves part sounds weird but tastes great - even my mother
likes this!  And it's fat free, takes only about a half hour to 45 minutes,
which is pretty quick for soup.)

I would suggest going out and getting the book _Making Peace With Food_ by
Susan Kano.  There are a number of other books that deal with the same 
material but I like the workbook format, she seems to be more up to date
with the scientific background (e.g. setpoint theory) and she's more
encouraging about nutrition and exercise, while most of the other books seem
to assume this will pull together for people on its own.  

Miriam Nadel
-- 
Taureaux piscine is the only sport I have ever encountered that has only one 
rule: If you and the bull are in the pool at the same time, you win."
							- Calvin Trillin
nadel@aerospace.aero.org
Newsgroups: alt.support.diet