Healthy Weight Loss

[ruffryder]

Originally Posted by girl_dee

Ruff,

i was under the impression, and i may be totally wrong here, but the only time you need protein shakes is if you aren't able to eat at all, or work out a LOT. Otherwise they bulk you up and not in a good way.

Like i say i may be wrong but that's always been my understanding.

Also, *supplements* are designed to replace something. The best way is to get our Vitamins and minerals from real food. They are also finding that vitamins and supplements are so full of bad stuff they don't outweigh the good in them.

Protein shakes are good for a meal in some people's diets. I'm not talking about every meal. For those that work out a LOT, there is whey protein. Protein does help maintain muscle mass, but it also helps to cut out fat from the body. There are some shakes and snacks that have protein in them, minus the whey or muscle building ingredients. Protein in a snack and shake is also good for those that do not eat meats. High protein diets help a person lose weight and keep metabolism up by preserving muscle mass and resting energy used. Protein keeps one fuller longer. Other foods that are good for this are peanut butter, nuts, eggs, meats, beans, and dairy products. Protein a person needs depends on age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate the minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in pounds by .37. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person should eat 92 grams. Of course if you engage in endurance exercises or are a runner you should consume more and if you are into heavy strength training, even more. In a review of the research, the National Academy of Sciences reported that the only known danger from high-protein diets is for individuals with kidney disease. After careful study, they recommend that 10 percent to 35 percent of daily calories come from protein. They point out that increased protein could be helpful in treating obesity. There is also accumulating evidence that extra protein may help prevent osteoporosis.

[girl_dee]

Thanks Ruff!



Right now i am feeling a great need to just detox. The LR and New Orleans trip, eating on the road for 2 straight weeks really set me back. i feel lethargic and bloated.

Today is day one and i am struggling with breaking the habit of munching. i am not used to working all day and not being able to munch away whenever i feel like it. Several times today out of habit i went to grab something to munch.i am also in the process of moving myself out of the kitchen, which is where we all hang out to spending more time in the Rec room or one of our bedrooms, it's amazing when you try to break a habit how much you realize how bad it was!

So i popped a piece of gum in my mouth and came to see you all!

Pinkie please keep up posted on D!

[Sun]

Hey All,

Today is a carb craving day for real and I am wondering if my lack of sleep has anything to do with this. I did Yoga and worked out and still feel the urge to eat carbs and not the good ones. Bread, pasta..ugh. Maybe its a comfort food thing and not physical at all.

Anyway I am going to go for a long walk and swim later and burn some energy, but I really need to eat more protein to cut the carb craving. That always works for me but for the last few days I am not interested in protein very much. Just eggs and even eggs are just boring me to death right now. lol.

[girl_dee]

Sometimes that gets me Sun.

Quite a few times i could eat a bowl of Cheerios then a sandwhich, like a bread sandwich!

Then i felt a migraine coming on, i believe if you are craving something your body is saying * i need this*

i know when i want chocolate it's aways around that time of the month. Sugar cravings i feel is when i my sugar is dropping.

i've read that a craving only lasts 10 min. For 10 min do something else, today i tested that and it's true! instead of munching i vacuumed the floor... craving passed!

Tonite i'm pan searing fish with smashed cauliflower and a salad.

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by ruffryder

Protein shakes are good for a meal in some people's diets. I'm not talking about every meal. For those that work out a LOT, there is whey protein. Protein does help maintain muscle mass, but it also helps to cut out fat from the body. There are some shakes and snacks that have protein in them, minus the whey or muscle building ingredients. Protein in a snack and shake is also good for those that do not eat meats. High protein diets help a person lose weight and keep metabolism up by preserving muscle mass and resting energy used. Protein keeps one fuller longer. Other foods that are good for this are peanut butter, nuts, eggs, meats, beans, and dairy products. Protein a person needs depends on age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate the minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in pounds by .37. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person should eat 92 grams. Of course if you engage in endurance exercises or are a runner you should consume more and if you are into heavy strength training, even more. In a review of the research, the National Academy of Sciences reported that the only known danger from high-protein diets is for individuals with kidney disease. After careful study, they recommend that 10 percent to 35 percent of daily calories come from protein. They point out that increased protein could be helpful in treating obesity. There is also accumulating evidence that extra protein may help prevent osteoporosis.

Hey Ruff,

You've got me curious, could you link to that NAS paper? I couldn't find it right off. I'd also like to see the source material for the "standard method used by nutritionists to estimate the minimum daily protein requirement", wondering if it is tied to the RDA numbers I've seen recently that had some questions in it for me.

The reason is that when I was looking at overall energy intake (calories) I found some diet guidelines that were based on long standing well known equations. When I dug into those equations, they too were weight based. What I found digging around was that they were devised for 'healthy' weight individuals (surface area based) and because of this they were not linear in application. Unfortunately, I found that most, okay all, of the popular tracking software used these non-linear equations in a linear way. Easy enough to adjust once understood and very effective (after modified), but erroneous out of the box.

I know what has worked for me to get where I am, but I am looking to improve further. I am fiddling with my own protein intake levels right now, and revising sources for it with my usual experiment on self model. I am looking at the underlying logic for some of these recommendations I am seeing in different places and would like to look at this one too. Thanks.

[PearlsNLace]

Protein is great, really.

BUT.

No way would I recommend ANYONE, (non professional body builder type) not even a 500 pound person, to consume 90 grams of protein on a daily basis. That would put a lot of excess demand on your kidneys.

I am 250+, I keep my protien between 60-70 grams, and my carbs less than 15 per serving. It keeps me off the sugar highs and lows and I am not craving food all the time. Its a kind of freedom I have never known before.

[Kelt]

Well, I have answered one of my own questions which of course just generates more of them.

I found this article by the CDC that talks about the protein requirement as outlined by the RDA.

This is part of it:

****************************

How much protein do I need?
Maybe you've wondered how much protein you need each day. In general, it's recommended that 10–35% of your daily calories come from protein. Below are the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for different age groups.2

Recommended Dietary Allowance for Protein
Grams of protein
needed each day
Children ages 1 – 3 13
Children ages 4 – 8 19
Children ages 9 – 13 34
Girls ages 14 – 18 46
Boys ages 14 – 18 52
Women ages 19 – 70+ 46
Men ages 19 – 70+ 56





Here are examples of amounts of protein in food:
1 cup of milk has 8 grams of protein
A 3-ounce piece of meat has about 21 grams of protein
1 cup of dry beans has about 16 grams of protein
An 8-ounce container of yogurt has about 11 grams of protein
Added together, just these four sources would meet the protein needs of an adult male (56 grams). This doesn't count all the other foods that add smaller amounts of protein to his diet.

Rather than just focusing on your protein needs, choose an overall healthy eating plan that provides the protein you need as well as other nutrients.

**************************

The part I don't understand is why these recommendations are so incomplete. It does state 10-35% of dietary calories, it does not have any consideration for activity levels or any differentiation for quality of proteins.

While I understand that a unit of protein in a unit of protein as a macronutrient. I am surprised that there is no mention of micronutrient content. (vitamins, minerals, fiber, trace elements) low fat animal proteins seem to be the most efficient at bulk quantity delivery of just protein but I can't help but notice how different sources make me feel.

When it comes to weight based recommendations, I still hope to find that resource, I can only wonder about my own needs. I have been both >250+ and <150. According to this chart my needs are no different, which would support the thinking that it is lean tissue based. That would make sense to me, but nowhere is it stated.

But, if we go by just weight based recommendations it does not account for how much of my body is lean vs fat, or what my activity levels are. A person 6' tall at 250 has more lean body weight than I would at 5'4" and I would think need marginally more protein to maintain it.

There is also the question of activity; theoretically running (per hour) burns more calories than weight lifting, yet the weight lifting creates more of a need for protein for tissue repair. Of course exceptions can be found for everything.

For myself, I seem to have settled in at around 70g per day while being very active and it works for me for now. I am looking at increasing the proportion of proteins obtained from plant sources to improve my micronutrient profile, this may lead to revising my overall protein intake downward. Hmmm, as always, more questions than answers.

Like anything else, I guess we can use the guidelines as a starting point, and adjust it for the performance it gives us as individuals.

[MissItalianDiva]

The protein debate between physicians,nutritionist and others has always been a confusing thing. I know for me considering my activity level and my bodys personal preferences/eating choices I need the higher protein content. I personally drink 3 23 gram whey protein isolate shakes a day but keep my overall protein intake at about 100 grams along with 130 ounces of water to flush.

I can only chime in and say what I was told by a nutritionist which I have found some backing to but not much. I was told to consume 1 gram of protein per ideal body weight. I personally am not about to consume 120 is grams of protein because frankly I do not eat meat and have a hard enough time getting the protein I currently get so there is no room for the extra 20. I keep my sugars under 20 for the day my carbs around 30 and don't really count calories but I know I am not really getting enough which is why I take in so much protein.

For me I have to keep this balance if I alter I lose too much and end up tired. I am not trying to lose weight just maintain my current and keep lean muscle so perhaps my needs are a bit different and that may be why this works for me.

[Elijah]

Okay confession time, I recently lost about 45 pounds from Jan of this year until Aug and then My sugar addiction came back with a vengeance, I have since put back on about 10 pds of what I lost. I am in a panic about stopping this progression and reversing it, since I still need lose about another 100 pds to be at MY target weight. Any ideas on how to halt this sugar addiction?

[girl_dee]

Elijah i am on day two, it ain't easy!

Congrats on your weight loss!

Don't buy junk or get near it. i am at the office
Right now and i wanna dive into the candy and junk!

blah! For me gum helps

i can do this, you can too !!!!

[Sun]

Originally Posted by ElijahRene

Okay confession time, I recently lost about 45 pounds from Jan of this year until Aug and then My sugar addiction came back with a vengeance, I have since put back on about 10 pds of what I lost. I am in a panic about stopping this progression and reversing it, since I still need lose about another 100 pds to be at MY target weight. Any ideas on how to halt this sugar addiction?

Elijah,

I am in a similar situation where I lost 41 lbs since April and have just started having massive carb cravings again and for me I can point to two things.

1. Change: This is month 3 of a big life change and I have some time to slow down and not be racing around for 18 hours a day going nor am I working in a super hot environment that helped me to burn fat as long as I ate well. So my body needs to adjust to a slower pace. Next week I am back to the super hot work environment and I guarantee my appetite will shift again.

2. Storing for the winter: My belief is that our body has an ancient and innate wisdom to store calories for the winter. I just went from cold northeast to hot dry desert so I am sure that my body is confused. lol. So my work is to eat lighter, warmer foods that keep me hydrated all day long.

Dehydration is the enemy. Stay well hydrated and every body system will work better.

Much like MissItalianDiva, I need a lot of protein for my active life. When I drop off the protein intake my body craves more carbs. Similarly, when I crave carbs and consume protein, the carb craving vanishes. Not easy to wrap my mind around always. For example if I really want to eat bread and I have a piece of fish or a few slices of turkey, I have to bypass what my brain is telling me to eat and do what I know is best for my body.