Low Carb Not working so well....

"Bob in CT" writes:

I've been wondering about this lately. How much does losing weight
really affect how happy you are? For me, I get happier just because
to lose weight, I have to exercise, and exercise makes me happier in
many ways.

I'd agree that exercise makes me feel better, at least after I get
used to it, so it's not all huffing and puffing and sore muscles. But
I also felt happy when I lost weight without exercise, and I felt like
crap when I was getting a lot of exercise and barely burning off all
the high-carb meals I was eating. I used to work on a farm, and it
went like this: hard, physical, sweaty labor all morning, then a lunch
laden with potatoes, corn, and other starches, then a 1-2 hour
nap/coma, then sluggishly back to work until I'd burned off lunch and
could get my brain working again. Huge amounts of exercise; not so
much happiness.

Some things about losing weight that make me happy, regardless of how
it happened:

* Tightening my belt and realizing I'm out of holes.

* Running into someone I haven't seen in a while, and being told how
much better I look. (Especially if she's pretty. :-))

* Walking up the stairs to my apartment and realizing I just *feel*
lighter somehow.

* Digging through my dresser for those clothes that were just a bit
too tight when someone gave them to me, and finding that they're
perfect now.

* Bending all the way down over a pool cue for a shot and still being
able to breathe normally.

However, I wonder about the toll on my body that it takes to do all
this stuff. Some days, like today, I'm exhausted from getting up
early to ride my bike. Then, I work all day, 'till about 7pm, go
home, and start the cycle again. I bike in an area where I'm
breathing exhaust fumes. I'm not sure that's too healthy,
considering that I can have troubles breathing sometimes after this
(a bit of wheezing).

My exercise this spring and summer has consisted of walking my dog
about a mile a day. My foot has started bothering me though, which is
one reason I'm getting a bike. My dog has a lot more energy than I
do, and if I try to walk her until she's worn out, I'll cripple
myself, and I'll never get anything else done. The bike will even the
playing field. Fortunately, I live in a small town, so no fumes to
speak of except when the school bus goes by.

Anyway, I wonder sometimes about whether I'd be happier just kicking
back and not worrying what I weigh.

That's what I'm doing now. Because of my blood sugar issues, I know
I'll have to be pretty low-carb for the rest of my life if I want to
be healthy. So I'm not looking at it as a diet with goals anymore,
and I'm ignoring the scale. I'm just eating low-carb, period. I know
that I'll lose weight -- maybe not that fast, since I eat as much as I
want whenever I'm hungry -- but I can tell by my breath that I'm
firmly in ketosis, so it's just a matter of time. The important
thing, though, is that I start undoing the damage I did to myself with
high levels of blood sugar and insulin over the years. In the
meantime, weight loss will be a happy side-effect.



--
Aaron -- 285/235/200 -- aaron.baugher.biz

On Thu, 07 Jun 2007 09:27:54 -0400, Aaron Baugher
wrote:

"Bob in CT" writes:

I've been wondering about this lately. How much does losing weight
really affect how happy you are? For me, I get happier just because
to lose weight, I have to exercise, and exercise makes me happier in
many ways.

I'd agree that exercise makes me feel better, at least after I get
used to it, so it's not all huffing and puffing and sore muscles. But
I also felt happy when I lost weight without exercise, and I felt like
crap when I was getting a lot of exercise and barely burning off all
the high-carb meals I was eating. I used to work on a farm, and it
went like this: hard, physical, sweaty labor all morning, then a lunch
laden with potatoes, corn, and other starches, then a 1-2 hour
nap/coma, then sluggishly back to work until I'd burned off lunch and
could get my brain working again. Huge amounts of exercise; not so
much happiness.

Some things about losing weight that make me happy, regardless of how
it happened:

* Tightening my belt and realizing I'm out of holes.

* Running into someone I haven't seen in a while, and being told how
much better I look. (Especially if she's pretty. :-))

* Walking up the stairs to my apartment and realizing I just *feel*
lighter somehow.

* Digging through my dresser for those clothes that were just a bit
too tight when someone gave them to me, and finding that they're
perfect now.

* Bending all the way down over a pool cue for a shot and still being
able to breathe normally.

Or bending down to put on your shoes, and not getting a massive belly in
the way.

However, I wonder about the toll on my body that it takes to do all
this stuff. Some days, like today, I'm exhausted from getting up
early to ride my bike. Then, I work all day, 'till about 7pm, go
home, and start the cycle again. I bike in an area where I'm
breathing exhaust fumes. I'm not sure that's too healthy,
considering that I can have troubles breathing sometimes after this
(a bit of wheezing).

My exercise this spring and summer has consisted of walking my dog
about a mile a day. My foot has started bothering me though, which is
one reason I'm getting a bike. My dog has a lot more energy than I
do, and if I try to walk her until she's worn out, I'll cripple
myself, and I'll never get anything else done. The bike will even the
playing field. Fortunately, I live in a small town, so no fumes to
speak of except when the school bus goes by.

Anyway, I wonder sometimes about whether I'd be happier just kicking
back and not worrying what I weigh.

That's what I'm doing now. Because of my blood sugar issues, I know
I'll have to be pretty low-carb for the rest of my life if I want to
be healthy. So I'm not looking at it as a diet with goals anymore,
and I'm ignoring the scale. I'm just eating low-carb, period. I know
that I'll lose weight -- maybe not that fast, since I eat as much as I
want whenever I'm hungry -- but I can tell by my breath that I'm
firmly in ketosis, so it's just a matter of time. The important
thing, though, is that I start undoing the damage I did to myself with
high levels of blood sugar and insulin over the years. In the
meantime, weight loss will be a happy side-effect.




The main reason I wonder about this is that people in other countries
aren't nearly obsessed with their weight.

--
Bob in CT

Bob in CT wrote:
:: The main reason I wonder about this is that people in other countries
:: aren't nearly obsessed with their weight.

How can you know that?

On Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:40:26 -0400, Roger Zoul
wrote:

Bob in CT wrote:
:: The main reason I wonder about this is that people in other countries
:: aren't nearly obsessed with their weight.

How can you know that?



Just by being there. Hearsay, also. I don't mean every country, as both
Australia and England are under the anti-saturated-fat campaign. Anyway,
upon rereading The Cholesterol Myths, he makes an argument that all of the
stress of having "high cholesterol" can actually cause more chance of
heart attack than the actual having high cholesterol. I wonder if the
same is true about weight. The stress of trying to lose weight (assuming
you're not too overweight) just to hit a BMI number (or whatever) might be
worse than the weight itself.

--
Bob in CT

On Jun 7, 8:27 am, Aaron Baugher wrote:
That's what I'm doing now. Because of my blood sugar issues, I know
I'll have to be pretty low-carb for the rest of my life if I want to
be healthy. So I'm not looking at it as a diet with goals anymore,
and I'm ignoring the scale. I'm just eating low-carb, period. I know
that I'll lose weight -- maybe not that fast, since I eat as much as I
want whenever I'm hungry -- but I can tell by my breath that I'm
firmly in ketosis, so it's just a matter of time. The important
thing, though, is that I start undoing the damage I did to myself with
high levels of blood sugar and insulin over the years. In the
meantime, weight loss will be a happy side-effect.

And this... is part of what I've never quite understood about this
newsgroup.

If you have been unsuccessful at low-fat or low-calorie dieting, and
low-carb works for you, you have insulin issues.

And if you have insulin issues... you're facing potential consequences
like permanent organ damage, heart disease, kidney disease,
amputation, impotence and premature death.

Diabetes isn't some MINOR freaking disease. Those of us prone to it
have *very* serious health issues WAY beyond whether we're fat or not.

So... I never quite "get" the freaking obsession with losing weight.
Of COURSE you lose weight on low-carb, and that's great.

Eating a diet of adequate protein, limited carbs (to whatever your
personal limits are) and sufficient fat is going to improve your
health and make you feel better. Especially with lotsa veggies!

But it's NOT A DIET. It's truly a way of life. If it works for you,
it HAS to be a way of life. Cause... high-carb is the way of death
for people with our types of metabolism.

But ya know, I can lose weight by having my foot amputated, and I'd
really rather not.

I'll REALLY lose weight the six months after I die... and I'm not
looking forward to it at ALL.