I was planning on writing on something else, but then the message I received for my previous post got me thinking about a very serious problem.
You might have read (or not) some of the previous posts on what NOT to do to lose weight. I am underlining it each time because from there to becoming an anorectic or a bulimic is not a long way.
I have seen plenty of cases, especially in my teens. I had a classmate whose best friend was naturally skinny. The pressure was too much for her, it seems, and from 115-120 pounds she got to 95-100. The thing is that she didn't get there by being on a proper and healthy diet, but she got there by eating normally and then putting two fingers into her throat and emptying her stomach.
A friend I had was not fat, but she was a bit more roundish, because that's how mother nature made her forms look. At home she was overeating lots of times as well. And then she was following a very struct diet and losing in between 10-15 pounds in two-three weeks. Then, in no time, she was putting everything back on. Her mind was so screwed after a holiday we had that when she came home she couldn't stop herself eating anything and everything. Would you eat fish with chocolate? She was. And many other weird things. She craved food so badly, she couldn't stop herself. And do you know what that was? The lack of food she put herself through. The lack of vitamins and minerals.
This is not a joke. This happens. It mostly happens with insecure people, or with teenagers. When you are 14-20, you can control your appetite better. So well you control it, that you get yourself in trouble.
Bulimia
According to theFreeDictionary, bulimia is "an eating disorder, common especially among young women of normal or nearly normal weight, that is characterized by episodic binge eating and followed by feelings of guilt, depression, and self-condemnation. It is often associated with measures taken to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, dieting, or fasting".
I recognize half of the issues (the first part) because I could eat forever before my period. I do control myself however, or I prepare myself for this occasion by buying lots of fruits and vegetables and cereals or diet cereal bars. Even so I feel guilty eating. But I try to exercise and drink penty of tea and I also know that these cravings will be over the moment my period comes. I also know that these pounds will also come off then.
Anorexia
According to Wikipedia, anorexia is "an eating disorder characterized by low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Individuals with anorexia often control body weight by voluntary starvation, purging, vomiting, excessive exercise, or other weight control measures, such as diet pills or diuretic drugs".
I do have an obsessive fear of gaining weight but I am happy with that. If you lose the fear, you are in trouble. Especially when you have a tendency to put on weight. I don't think that the fear of putting on weight is something negative, as long as you know how to deal with it. Excessive exercise - well, you have to tell me what excessive means. Because I don't think that exercising for 1 hour a day or two is excessive. Unless you exhaust yourself each time. The others are a problem though. Puking, starvation, purging, laxatives - they are the sure way to putting on weight later on.
When you think about doing any of the above in order to lose weight, think of this: you will get better or you will die. It's very easy. And you will get better either by yourself, and you will end up destroying your metabolism, or someone else will take action and put you into a hospital, and then you will get well again. Which still means that you have ruined your metabolism.
So, look at it the way you want, but if you are taking this way or you find yourself on it, stop before it gets to late. This will NOT get you slimmer, but sick and in trouble with fighting off pounds for the rest of your life.
If you are not on a strict diet, and you are only planning to reduce the number of calories, and you are allowed or you allow yourself to have sweets now and then, you have to know that some sweets are better than others.
Chocolate is a definite 'no'. Even if it based on artificial sweetner, the cocoa found in it is very rich in calories. Also, since it stimulates endorphins, and maybe due to other factors as well, it is addictive. How do you explain that the brain craves most chocolate and not other sweets?
The safest sweets are ice-cream and sweets based on fruits.
Ice-cream is rich in Calcium so, to the negative side, we do have a positive one as well: rich in Calcium, mineral that improves metabolism. What it actually does is it helps transform the fat deposits into energy. If you try the light ice-cream (for example Magnum Light), even better.
Let's talk about the fruits now. There are plenty of sweets that you can create based on fruits, and in many cases you don't even need to add any kind of sugar. For example, you can always bake an apple or cherry strudel. Peaches and apricots are also naturally sweet, and if the dough is thin you can have many for less calories. Any fruits almost can make wonderful tarts or pies or strudels.
Yuppers... I've seen two friends that I haven't seen in a while and individually they've told me that I had lost weight.
Obviously, that makes me feel good. Because You cannot always tell, you know? So when people tell you that you feel better. :)
I've started jogging (like stepping in a way) in the house for about 20-30 mins. It makes you lose that extra water. Then I usually have 2 cups of hot tea - usually one cup of green tea and then one of Earl Grey (both without sugar because I never have my tea or coffee with any kind of sugar - in my view, sugar ruins the taste of tea and coffee). The next morning the scale went down one pound, even though I am right before my period and I retain water like crazy, and even though I ate.
Oh, unfortunately I couldn't follow very strictly my diet, but I have used some elements of it now and then. So even though I haven't lost as much as I wanted - since I did not follow the guidelines - I have lost about 2-3 pounds again. Maybe more, but since like I have said I am before my period, I cannot tell. At the moment I am a bit swollen and I will be even more. But I will get to see what really happened after my period is over.
I talked about this before, but now let's go more deeply into it.
Those who have been on this diet claim that they had lost about 8 pounds in one week. Lucky are those who love cabbage soup. I am not one of them.
Honesyly, the only cabbage I like is the pickled one. And that one only made the Romanian way.
Anyway, if you choose cabbage - and you should - then you ought to be in mind that the best cabbage (like the Chinese one) is when it is cooked only for 5-10 minutes, so it remains crisp. If you have realized, all Chinese dishes use crisp vegetables, unlike most European or American recipes.
Cabbage Soup Recipe
2 onions, chopped 3 tomatoes, chopped (you can add tomato juice as well, but not ONLY tomato joice) 1 small head cabbage, shredded 2-3 carrots, cut into cubes or shredded 2 green bellpeppers, thinly sliced 1-2 cubes of bouillon or beefstock (your choice)
1 stalk celery, slices
optional: hot pepper, sliced salt - make sure the cubes weren't ALSO salty pepper
Optional spices : they make the difference between fad food and fab food - parsley, garlic, basil, paprika, and thyme.
You are supposed to eat this day in and day out and nothing else. No sugar, no alcohol, no bread. Just cabbage soup, unsweetened tea, and black coffee.
If you have managed to lose weight, we would love to hear from you.
It does not have to be long or elaborated - you are not writing a novel, but a diary entry for others to see.
Tell us how much you have lost and how you did it. Help others by giving them free advice. :)
If you want to see your 'confession' here, drop me an email. (You can find my email address by clicking on See My Complete Profile link on the right sidebar).
Birth Control Pills, Weight Gain, and Water Retention
Yes. Birth control pills can cause you to gain weight and have trouble losing it.
What's responsible for it? Mostly estrogen. Estrogen is the primary female sex hormones. The more estrogen a pill has, the higher of chance to put on weight and retain fluid.
Estrogen increases the insulin level. That means, as Ihave already explained in previous posts, resistance to weight loss.
My best friend started putting on weight the moment she started taking the pills. Well, sometimes it is necessary to take them (regulates periods and other problems women might have), but sometimes it is better not to. If you care about your health and birth control, try the normal condom.
Some people are even allergic to pills: strong headaches, crazy appetite, nausea, dizziness, constipation. The list can go on. The good part is supposed to be related to some cancers.
Now lots of studies show that women do not put on weight because of the birth control pills. However, the case studies on real people among ourselves show the opposite. Besides, the negative aspects of estrogen are always there, and as long as the pills contain estrogen, I don't see how they cannot cause weight gain.
I am going to write about this because many people asked about the grapefruit diet.
Remember what I have been telling you about the insulin levels in your blood? That if they are not kept under control you cannot lose weight, or you lose weight much harder. Well, according to Dr. Ken Fujioka at the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic, grapefruit regulates the blood in your sugar.
Anyway, what you should do if you don't want to go on a strict diet, is try to take out sugar and alcohol and reduce bread and oil intake, don't over-eat and have half a grapefruit after every meal.
I mean if you eat healthy and you add the grapefruit, that should do the trick: you should start losing pounds in 3-4 days.
The diet however focuses on lots of proteins from boiled eggs, chicken, and beef and asks you to eat grapefruit after your meals.
If you want to know what I have to say: I doubt this is healthy. I honestly believe you will feel tired and bad and that your metabolism will slow down and that the moment you will stop dieting you will be putting on double weight.
But hey, if you want to try it at your own risk... it guarantees 19-20 pounds in two weeks. To me it is worse than starvation. And those 20 pounds probably would only come off really fat people, who would have a horrible time following this diet anyway...
What's worse? You cannot substitute any food. And you certainly cannot have any kind of alcohol or sweets. In other words, you eat only what is on the list and nothing more and you drink 2 liters of water every day.
Day 1 Breakfast: as much black coffee as you want Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs and boiled spinach with little salt (you can have as much spinach as you want) Dinner: 1 large grilled steak (beef) with lettuce and celery (as much lettuce and salary as you want)
Day 2 B: as much black coffee as you want L: 1 large grilled steak (beef),lettuce, and fruits (as much lettuce and fruits as you want) D: cooked ham, as much as you want
Day 3 B: as much black coffee as you want, one small roll of black bread or rye bread L: 2 hard boiled eggs, lettuce, tomatoes (lettuce and tomatoes, as much as you want) D: cooked ham and lettuce (as much lettuce as you want)
Day 4 B: as much black coffee as you want, one small roll of black bread or rye bread L: 1 hard boiled egg, carrots of any kind, and Swiss cheese D: plain low fat yogurt and fruits
Day 5 B: as much black coffee as you want, raw carrots with lemon L: boiled white fish (or steamed), and as many tomatoes as you want D: 1 large grilled steak (beef) with lettuce (as much lettuce as you want)
Day 6 B: as much black coffee as you want, one small roll of black bread or rye bread L: grilled chicken, as much as you want D: 2 hard boiled eggs and as many carrots as you want
Day 7 B: Tea with lemon L: 1 grilled beef steak and any quantity of one kind of fruit D: anything as much as you want
When the seven days are over, you start over again.
Yes, I have to do it. No more slow dieting. This has already helped me lose 5 pounds lately, but now it's time to attack seriously.
On the 20th of July I will be going to the seaside and I cannot go with my 127 pounds. I am disgusted by myself. I felt bad even when I was 110 pounds so now I feel awful.
Basically I will try to be realistic. I will not be able to reach 110 pounds in less than two weeks. But I might be able to reach 114 pounds. So how will I manage to lose almost 15 pounds in such a short period without going crazy?
Obviously, I need a plan.
First, I visited this page to convert calories into pounds. I hope it is accurate.
After the conversion I found out that for 114 pounds the normal intake of food is 1300 calories. No matter what, I cannot eat more than this. Actually, I will be more dramatic and drop this 1300 calories to 1200 per day.
What I need to eat every day:
one onion
one or two lemons
plenty of yogurt with 2-3% fat (if you like the one with 1% fat or fat free, be my guest)
one-two tablets antioxidants
go on with drinking 2-3 liters of water
Lemons and onions because they contain a lot of iodine and that increases the chance of weight loss. Yogurt contains Calcium - which does the same. Plus it gives you energy, protects your stomach from hunger and fills you up. Yes to antioxidants for energy and because they contain certain substances that can stimulate the growth hormone, essential in losing weight as an adult.
What goes out of my diet:
sugar of any kind (brown sugar, fructose, honey, etc.)
reduce fruits and completely eliminate bananas and any fruits with high fructose
wheat of any sort (but I will keep in the starches in a small amount - rice and potatoes)
beans and peas
pops or natural juices of any sort because they contain conservants
caffeine (because it stimulates appetite and has a negative impact on your hunger and the level of sugar in your blood)
reduce oils to minimum
meat and chicken (which I am not eating anyway): replace with white fish
no alcohol, for it slows down metabolism
What I need to do to lose 15 pounds in two weeks:
Winsor pilates for the lower body (15 mins every evening before bed, to stimulate the hormones);
go to bed at 11pm latest (because this is the hour when the hormones are at work) and sleep at least 8 hours per night;
use the Cellulite Serum from The Body Shop every day twice (morning and evening);
massage legs for 10 minutes;
10 minutes extra exercise for upper body and abs;
continue walking to subway every day (twice, 30-40 minutes in total);
if watching TV, do stepping;
Scottish showers for 5-10 minutes;
use the stairs, not the elevator at work.
If I follow the lines above and I eat no more than 1200-1300 calories a day then I should be losing fast.
Why am I not lucky? Because my timing is wrong: my period is to come during this time and my appetite is growing. So is my frustration. So keeping it under control will be a lot harder than the diet. Plus, losing weight might not be very visible since before and during period women tend to retain a lot of water.
I am going to reply to some of the questions that I have seen.
Does afternoon nap make you fatter?
It depends. If you eat a lot and then you sleep, yes it does. If you sleep right away or have some fruits before the nap - no, it doesn't. Actually, afternoon nap will keep you looking young. It will also help you lose weight because a fast metabvolism can happen only when you are not 'exhausted'.
How can I lose weight without giving up chocolate?
Well, you don't have to give up chocolate entirely. I suppose you can buy chocolate which uses artificial sweetner, not sugar. Anyway, be careful because: one, artifical sweetner is not healthy; two, chocolate has a lot of calories also due to the high content of cocoa. Cocoa does have a lot of calories.
Can you lose weight without eating any wheat, dairy, or sugar?
I would suggest for a healthy diet less sugar, oil, and wheat. Keep the dairies in. They can actually contribute to weight loss.
Is it bad drinking Dr Pepper when you starve yourself?
Yes, yes, yes!!! I cannot stress that enough. It's bad for your stomach; it's bad because in increases your appetite because of the sugar and the caffeine. One can of Dr Pepper has 160 calories. What is worse? In USA they use high fructose corn syrup, not sugar.
Losing weight and staying healthy is easy, when you care. Forget famishing yourself: there are other ways.
Since I was 15 I've been obsessed with healthy diets, losing weight, sports, and everything included. I read books after books and I collected articles on staying fit and healthy. Even now, 12 years later, I am still reading everything I find on the subject.
I will share with you, step by step, everything I know. Free advice.
About Me
Name: Andreea Home: Bucharest, Romania About Me: Post graduate student, happily married, who has found the perfect job in a perfect company. :) See my complete profile
