Dieting updates?

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
Orthoexia
Thank you SWOT. I had not seen the youtube video but I looked up just now the term and read an article. I had not heard before of this diagnosis.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I think my preoccupation with my weight is bordering on the obsessive and I am worried about my diet, too. I am worried by how much beef I am consuming. In the last 4 months my consumption of beef has increased 6x. How in the world could that be healthy? I rarely ate much meat before.

I was going to try the WAHL's protocol that sounds very sound, good proteins and 9 cups of vegetables. But I am having trouble transitioning away from my current diet (meat.) This is for sure a red flag, I think. I read that a famous writer Michael Pollan believes the exact same thing as you do, that balanced, conscious, moderate eating, based upon meals, good food, and not excluding foods, or a hyper-focus on specific foods, per se, is the healthiest for mind, body and spirit. He critiques the Wahl protocol for the same reasons you do.

I have been meaning to go back to the nutritionist largely because I was concerned that I was going off the deep end. I am at a weight that is within a couple of pounds from what is considered ideal for my weight (I typed heart by mistake. Freudian slip). Not just within the normal range and BMI for my height. Near the ideal. I mean. That is so ridiculous, I feel ashamed. And I am old. I mean, how crazy is it to want to go back to a weight I had 12 years ago, that was 15 lbs less, just because I will fit into all of my size 8's? What kind of nutcase would risk their health, to go down a size?

I agree with you, SWOT. I think the Weight Watchers program is balanced and sane. It may be slow but it is not risky. I agree with you. The risks are both to body and to mind. I see that. I am going to go to Weight Watchers, and use their support not so much to lose weight, but to get back eating healthily. (This is not a paid advertisement.) Thank you, SWOT.
 
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Elsi

Well-Known Member
I recognize that to push myself to lose more weight is NOT self-care. Instead I will try to be where I am and be healthier. If weight comes off, so be it. If it does not, that is okay too. I want to accept myself.

Copa I’m glad to hear you say this. This is what I am striving for also. A focus on health and self acceptance.

I hadn’t jumped on this thread before because I know competing and over strict monitoring are not healthy for me when it comes to weight loss. I think you and I are alike in that we can get a bit over competitive with ourselves and others. We can slide into unhealthy obsessions.

Orthoexia is exactly what I see E still struggling with. Her healthy weight loss for the wedding has turned into an unhealthy obsession.

I think Pollan’s advice was ‘eat food, not too much, mostly plants.’ This seems sane and healthy to me.

I stick close to Wahls specifically because I am dealing with autoimmune issues and chronic nerve pain and it helps. I offer it up for anyone dealing with specific issues that it may help with. And I do think the focus on getting LOTS more vegetables in your diet is healthy for anyone. The vast majority of Americans don’t get nearly enough. That’s my main problem with keto, is I see people focus just on the protein side of the equation and neglect the plant-based fibers and nutrients our bodies need.

But getting obsessive is never good. I’ll eat a piece of birthday cake at a party, and throw the occasional goat cheese or Parmesan on something for flavor. I like the occasional glass of wine. Food should be a pleasure, not just fuel.

I aim for 90% most days and allow myself the occasional wild cheat. I just know from experience I will pay a price for those cheats in pain and brain fog for a couple of days. I’ve learned from trial and error what works best for my body, and so I stick with it because I want to feel good and stay mobile.

Even when I’m eating really well and not cheating my body doesn’t want to let me go back down to the weight I maintained in my younger years. And I’ve decided that’s ok. My partner loves me, my family loves me, and as a 50+ woman of average looks and proportions I’m pretty much invisible to everyone else. So who cares? Who do I need to impress out there?
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I am alarmed at how many people are food, body and exercise obsessed. I had not known that obsessing over "clean" eating and exercise was actually dangerous but I believe it goes hand in hand with eating disorders (I think the vlog mentioned this) .and they are NOT healthy;. It makes sense than one obsession can slip into another. Anorexia kills more people than any other mental illness.

I know of a young woman who is OBSESSED with both food and exercise to the point where i was told something like she thought of quitting her job because she couldnt run enough. The job took too many hours of her day. Her mother, who is eating disordered and carefully watches her diet even though she is way too thin, thinks it's normal. The young woman I believe no longer has a period. I know this is a part of running but....thats a lot of running. She is vegan and has a blog about that and her running. Her life is "out there." I have been to her blog a few times. Mostly about her exercising but alsoaabout food. Apparently she is also a dietician. Food, food, food. Even work is about food.

This I believe is classic orthexia or even a more serious food obsession. How can this be normal?

I dont get how anyone can think about food/body that much. There is more to life. Its one thing to be hurting yourself with obesity and wanting to get to a reasonable weight. It is another to be already skinny and still think of nothing but food and exercise and worrying about getting too fat if you let up at all. But many people do. People I have known. Or know.

This is a real danger in our society to woman of all ages. I would guess it usually starts young. Men are now getting this too.

One of the symptoms is that the way too skinny people feel superior to those who are not as emaciated as they are.

Our society rewards this particular mental illness but it kills and is just as much a mental illness as a mood disorder. In fact often depression is involved.

Off the soap box!
 
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Copabanana

Well-Known Member
Can you believe that somewhere in a post today I could not help myself but ask you SWOT how many pounds you lost this week? I am running around the forum looking for the post to take this question out. I knew when I was writing it that I was out of control. Sorry, SWOT. I will not ask you again about weight. And I am not going to post about it again. This is ridiculous.
 
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