tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2421007530617008911.post7864108392495983228..comments2023-10-01T08:43:13.346-04:00Comments on New Me: A Fresh Start: Musings on MetabolismUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2421007530617008911.post-24284581043413010362010-12-30T01:35:09.758-05:002010-12-30T01:35:09.758-05:00I found peace on this issue when I reconciled myse...I found peace on this issue when I reconciled myself to the reality that life is simply unfair on this front. One man's "restriction" is another man's "healthy number of calories." One of the problems with all of the number generators out there telling you what your BMR is if you are X in height, X in weight and of X age is that they make people believe that we can all be lumped into averages and that these numbers apply to us. Clearly, it does not work that way.<br /><br />I don't look at the future as a lifetime of caloric restriction so much as a lifetime of operating within whatever values work for my body (where I neither gain nor lose weight once I reach my healthy target weight). This is not restriction *for me*, it is the value my body requires. <br /><br />It is hard not to see my possible future lot as one in which I'm deprived more than other people because I have spent so much of my life extracting pleasure and emotional value from food. Food is, after all, an important source of pleasure for humans and a cultural focal point. It's value aside from mere energy and nutrition is not to be dismissed. However, the volume is the important point. I can still enjoy a small piece of cake, a bite of chocolate or two or three potato chips. I don't have to give it all up, I only have to give up high volume.<br /><br />So, I think we need to reconcile the fact that life is not fair in this way and some people can have much more food pleasure than others. This isn't some injustice, but merely random biology, and we all get hit with random biological unfairness (like I have a congenital spinal condition, you have your arthritis and joint issues). It would, of course, be helpful if the attitude toward people with weight issues were less punitive and more understanding. If people didn't think we were fat, lazy pigs for being overweight and recognized that we have to choose a more restricted path than them for the same result, this unfairness could be dealt with with more patience and understanding. <br /><br />The thing that has really helped me come to terms with this and accept it very peacefully is that role of the genetic dice that makes me fat more easily than other people also rolled in my favor in a variety of other ways. I have intelligence, insight, and talent. Other people didn't get the same high roles on these factors. So, it's all pretty unequal, and I should be grateful that at least some things have really gone to my benefit even though the food and weight issue dramatically has not.screaming fatgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09556199963917842135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2421007530617008911.post-11051113946875331182010-12-27T17:11:31.190-05:002010-12-27T17:11:31.190-05:00Ah Rebecca! I always look forward to your comments...Ah Rebecca! I always look forward to your comments--so perceptive and wise. Thank you!<br /><br />I intentionally phrased my final words as questions. There doesn't seem to be any definitive answer on metabolism and weight loss. I did a lot of reading and really couldn't seem to put together anything coherent from all the scholarly articles I came upon.<br /><br />You are so right with respect to the other factors that perhaps serve to slow down metabolism, in particular stress. But then we must ask ourselves, why do some people gain weight under extremely stressful conditions while others waste away?<br /><br />Questions seem to beget even more questions.<br /><br />My husband went back to university for a Master's degree several years ago. During one of his classes, he put up his hand and said to the prof, "Professor X. I have a question," to which his prof responded, "I too have many questions."NewMehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11172571318565002724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2421007530617008911.post-82910672037302166452010-12-27T15:38:41.349-05:002010-12-27T15:38:41.349-05:00This is a complicated issue, even though many of u...This is a complicated issue, even though many of us might wish it were simple. I'm glad you approach it with an attitude of curiosity rather than judgement. Metabolism is complex, with many determinants and influences. Ongoing lack of adequate sleep, chronic stress, depression, and inactivity related to sedentary work can all contribute to metabolic resistance. Studies of people who suffered from anorexia or food insecurity show that metabolism slows with long term caloric restriction but eventually returns to previous levels. In general. But there are few definitive studies from which to draw sound conclusions! Whether we are restricting to lose weight or researching weight loss, or trying to understand the links between health and weight, we all seem to be feeling our way in the dark. <br /><br />My life is a kind of science experiement. For several years I was unable to lose weight. That was during a time of extreme stress, including chronic sleep deprivation (which turned into chronic insomnia) and enforced swallowing of cultural bullsh*t (indoctrination into our US health care system during college). Since graduating, entering menopause, becoming poor and increasingly disabled, losing health insurance, experiencing major life changes beyond what I thought was even a possibility, I have continued to lose weight. What is different? <br /><br />Mostly, I now have time to sleep (not always easy) and my mind is free. I am not jumping through hoops on command (to earn grades) and behaving in culturally sanctioned ways that I know in my heart are dysfunctional, unethical and crazy-making. Thus, the struggle I face now involves a different kind of stress. As hard as my life is today, I realize now that oppression of the mind is the worst kind of stress there is--at least for me. It causes my body to hunker down and defend itself, and that includes a slower metabolism, decreased immune function, and an increased impulses to eat, all of which contributed to my body's resistance to weight loss. <br /><br />RebeccaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com