From: jsl+@pitt.edu (John S Lundberg)
Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: Plateaus
Date: 28 Sep 92 15:47:30 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh

In article <1992Sep28.141958.9562@inmet.camb.inmet.com> mazur@inmet.camb.inmet.com (Beth Mazur) writes:
>The 12 calorie/pound/day number is just a useful metric; so is the
>number of calories per mile (your weight * 2/3).  To find out any one
>individual's numbers requires a considerable investment...

This is basically what I was trying to say--the math Peter presented
is just an estimate, albeit a useful one.  I still maintain my skepticism
about the 4716 daily calories needed to maintain a weight of 393 lbs but
that's just skepticism and not an argument.

>So, if you say you don't get 12 cals/lb at your current weight, I believe
>you (although you might want to try keeping an accurate food diary--
>weighing and measuring things--to be sure).  

I have been keeping an accurate food diary and rely on packaging information
for my estimates.  About 99% of the time, if it doesn't have a number
stamped on its package, I don't eat it (exception: fruits such as apples).

>Looking at the numbers (however generic) 
>makes it crystal clear how important exercise is for women.

Another conclusion that's crystal clear for me is that for women as
well as for everyone that one must be committed to long term change.
For me this means years.  The daily effects, particularly as one
approaches an ideal weight, may become almost indetectable.  It doesn't
matter.  What matters is long term behavior.  

I think women face a whole range of problems in weight loss that
are different than those faced by men.  For starters, I think many
women are striving toward a body image that may be realistic for
a 15 year old female but not for a 25 year old female.  I was
shocked one day to discover a woman I know using Ultra Slim Fast.
To me she looks thin (and I mean *thin*) yet she still wanted to
lose 3 lbs by  next Thursday or something ridiculous like that.
This phenomenon is beyond my capacity to understand.  There is
a penalty in society for overweight men but I believe that the 
penalty is more severe for overweight women.  And so on.  This is.
of course, well-trod ground for feminists.

Another point which I think worth making is that being healthy is
more important than any other effects of weight loss and that maintaining
an ideal weight is just one component of achieving a healthy lifestyle.
I want to lose weight but I also want to change my basic eating habits
so that when I reach my goal I reach for an apple instead of the phone
to call Dominos and go out for a walk instead of watching TV.  Ideally,
a healthy lifestyle becomes a habit, like overeating used to be a
habit.  Years pass.  Voila, change.  But dwelling on effects that
occur over the short term (how many kcal can I burn today?) strikes me
as possibly too frustrating.  I guess one has to be aware of these
effects but still take a long view.  Psychology of weight loss may
be as important as the physiology of weight loss yet most attention
seems to get focused on the physiology.  Exercise, for me, contributes
to my motivation to stick to the program: its psychological effects
may outweigh its physiological effects. 

From what I've read, people who take a long time to lose weight are
most likely to be successful at keeping it off.  Note that this does
NOT mean that I am claiming that fast programs such as HMR aren't
effective for some highly-motivated people.  People in our culture
are very NOW-oriented; they want instant results.  In my previous
efforts I'd become frustrated and unhappy when things didn't seem
to be going as quickly as I wanted them to go.   Somehow I've managed
to accept that (a) this is going to take time, (b) I'll never achieve
certain things (I'll never be a 'day at the beach' for instance).  But
I have made progress since June and feel that my approach is one that
I can live with comfortably for the rest of my life.  So I say today,
anyway.  Let's see if I can keep it up for years...
-- 
John Lundberg  
jsl@unix.cis.pitt.edu