Shockingly, losing weight has to be one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. I simply don’t eat unless I’m really hungry and then I eat as little as possible (a couple crackers, for example). Most days I just have a couple crackers in the evening. It saves time and money and hassle (and makes it easy to eat healthy) and while I do get some weird looks from friends at restaurants, always being a fussy eater that’s nothing new. (Furthermore, there’s some evidence that not eating significantly prolongs lifespan.)
There’s not much more to say; food is even less a part of my life than it was before. I still plan to lose more weight and will provide further updates accordingly. Still, since many people seem to be interested in the topic (and in keeping with the theme of my blog), a diary of my three months follows.
The first thing I noticed was the burping. When losing weight, it seems you burp quite a bit. But even worse is the feeling of wanting to burp. The olive oil, it seems, has inflated my stomach with gas, making me desperately want to burp, but I can’t. In fact, it was so painful that I decided to stop taking the olive oil. I still ate less — it seems like once the olive oil lowered my set point, it was easy to keep things off from there. There were a couple days after eating lots where I would feel hungry for long periods of time and had to ignore it, but if I did that for a whole day, my set point went down, just like with the olive oil.
As I lost more weight I began to feel better. I’d look in the mirror and notice the fat that had disappeared from my chest, or when lying down I’d notice my legs were thinner. I felt like I had more energy. I felt happier. I felt more mobile, more able to move around and do things now that there was less of me. It felt wonderful.
One week I lost seven pounds in almost as many days and friends began to look at me with concern. But I didn’t mind; I thought it was great. I had started eating significantly less, hardly anything at all really. When I moved into this new apartment (just as I was starting the diet), I thought I would have a hard time finding novel places to eat each day. But it hasn’t been hard at all; I’ve hardly gone out to eat by myself once since I started the diet, except to treat myself to a food I already knew I loved.
Writing about a gastric bypass (a surgery in which the stomach is shrunk to help those who are extremely overweight lose weight) patient, surgeon Atul Gawande describes a sensation I found extremely familiar:
The newfound willpower allowed me to be more conscious about my diet. I started thinking about what foods I wanted to eat and researching the topic of nutrition. I read Walter Willett’s book about the results of his epidemiological nutrition studies and begun looking at the labels of boxes I ate. I begun ordering different things at restaurants when I did eat and buying different things at the supermarket. But most of all I found myself eating less.
When this proved not to be enough, I found myself exercising. I seemed to be more out-of-shape now than it did when I started — I suspect with all the weight loss I lost some other things too — but exercising was probably easier to find the motivation for now. I fixed up my watch and started timing myself, trying to make sure I lost the weight I wanted to; this, of course, after I already lost twenty pounds and had stopped eating almost entirely.
Losing weight had other effects too, some that saved further time. Although I feel I have more energy overall, I still get tired. Sometimes I just lie in bed thinking, when I feel little pops in my thighs as my body breaks into the fat it has stored up over the years to find energy to fuel me with. And at those moments I can only smile.
A couple questions -
First of all, and I don’t mean to be rude, how much did you initially weigh three months ago? Weight loss is relative. It’s a lot easier to lose 30lbs from 200 than it is from 170.
Also - typically when losing weight, one hits a plateau after the first 15 lbs. Is this what you found, and decided to push through it by exercising, or was that decision a result of your newfound focus on health?
Next, you said you’ve been burping a lot. Has your breath changed? Often rapid weight loss is indicitave of ketosis, even outside fad diets like Atkins, and the breath takes on a slightly alcohol-like smell. Have you noticed any of this?
The reason I’m asking so many niggling questions is because I’ve been performing similar studies to test the effectiveness of the Shangri-La diet over the past few months. Having successfully lost weight the old fashioned way, I decided to perform some experiments on set-point. These include - trying to raise set point, finding out which flavors contribute to the ‘flavored’ association, and the effects on nutrition, sleep, and muscle maintenance/growth.
Lastly, the popping in your thighs is not commonly reported, even with rapid weight loss. Have you heard of similar cases, perhaps in your studies of gastric bypass surgery patients?
posted by Ben W.
on July 26, 2006 #
Hi Aaron,
Fascinating read. Just wanted to mention the site I work for — thedailyplate.com. It’s a site to track calories by searching for the foods you eat each day. Might be an interesting way for you to monitor your intake of other elements (vitamins, minerals, etc) while you continue on your weight-control journey.
Best of luck!
-Lex
posted by Lex
on July 26, 2006 #
I find it a little bit revealing that you describe your new meal habits as “most days I just have a couple crackers in the evening,” and then quickly imply that this is an easy way to “eat healthy.”
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It seems exceedling unlikely that those crackers could provide balanced, healthy nutrition.
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But worse, it sounds like you’ve eliminated enjoyment of food from your life. Perhaps you didn’t enjoy it before, but that sounds like an unehealthy way to live.
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Congratulations on losing the weight, but it does appear slightly disorderish at first blink.
posted by Daniel Jalkut
on July 26, 2006 #
Are you seriously saying that all you eat some days is a few crackers? Did you really lose 7 pounds in 7 days?
This is definitely not normal, and maybe the “backlash” you are getting from people, especially from Doctors, is something you take a little more seriously. Think about it. A pound of fat represents about 4000 calories. So its basically impossible to lose a pound of fat in a day, unless you are running an ultramarathon or something. So the question is, what else are you losing? Some of it is probably water…
Also, your sentance “Part of this is probably just due to novelty: While “eat less” is standard advice for losing weight, because we all have set points no one is actually able to pull it off.” is just plain wrong. First of all, you have adopted the existence of the “set point” almost like a piece of religious dogma; second of all I know plenty of people who have lost weight without the benefit of the shangri-la diet. The most common way to lose weight that I’ve seen is to stop drinking soda. It is amazingly effective.
posted by Mark
on July 26, 2006 #
I’m glad you are feeling good, but 7 pounds in 7 days does sound a bit extreme. (From what I’ve read, 1-2 pounds a week is normally considered ‘safe’, but I do know there are doctor supervised diets that have faster weight loss).
Personally, the oil didn’t seem to do much for me (other than taste bad), but I didn’t buy the book, so I possibly wasn’t following the program correctly.
posted by Daniel J. Luke
on July 26, 2006 #
I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying eating less. I find that the edge of hunger often allows me to think more clearly and creatively as well. Too hungry, though, and my mind goes blank. I’ve always been skinny, never eating quite enough, people always telling me to bulk up a little bit. So this year I made a New Year’s Resolution to eat more and exercise more. And wow, it is a different experience. I used to never eat breakfast, and now I do most days. I used to feel like you did with that hamburger all the time — there was only so much I could eat — but now I feel like I have more flexibility in my eating habits. There are days when I don’t eat quite so much, and other days when I eat a lot more. I’m also exercising a lot more than I used to. The short version of all this is that there is something to be said for moderation (as the Greeks were fond of saying). Eat enough to keep your energy, exercise enough to keep the endorphins going, and when you move to much in one direction or the other do your best to swing yourself back to the middle.
posted by Chris
on July 26, 2006 #
That’s great!
One effect I notice (after losing 50 pounds from 200 to 150) is that when I show my driver’s license they always give me a second look.
My trick for exercising is to load my iPod with music I like & set up playlists specifically for working out.
posted by Mike Cohen
on July 26, 2006 #
Mark: The set point isn’t a Shangri-La idea; it seems to be pretty consensus among doctors, including the aforementioned Atul Gawande, who has written about it for the New Yorker and Slate. You’re welcome to dispute the studies; I’m simply using the idea, it isn’t dogma.
posted by Aaron Swartz
on July 26, 2006 #
So Aaron, how do you explain the people who lose weight without using the Shangri-La diet?
Are they unwittingly altering their set-points? If so, would you just say that anytime someone loses weight, they’ve altered their set-point (knowingly or not), and any time someone fails to lose weight, its because they didn’t alter their set-point? Cause that sounds pretty tautological to me.
Put another way, can you think of an empirical result that would disprove the set-point theory?
posted by Mark
on July 26, 2006 #
The set point is only about how you feel, not about what you actually do. In the case of food, the set point makes you hungry when you don’t eat enough. Of course, you can simply be hungry and not eat, irrespective of what your set point is. The same thing is true for exercise — you can be tired and still force yourself to run. Thus, even if the set point was 100% effective (which I certainly don’t claim) it wouldn’t mean that people can’t lose weight without adjusting it. It just means it’s difficult — something that strikes me as rather plain from the number of people who have failed to lose weight and keep it off.
posted by Aaron Swartz
on July 26, 2006 #
Aaron, if what your write above is true, I really urge you to get a check-up. As a matter of probabilities, it’s far more likely you do have something amiss, than that you have discovered the secret to painless weight loss.
No, I am not writing this because I am secretly jealous of your grand discovery. I am writing this because what you describe sounds alarming. What do you mean by “doctors think I’m sick”? I hope you’re being metaphorical in “I feel little pops in my thighs”, because otherwise, that sounds like a neurological symptom!
posted by Seth Finkelstein
on July 27, 2006 #
“As I lost more weight I began to feel better. I’d look in the mirror and notice the fat that had disappeared from my chest, or when lying down I’d notice my legs were thinner. I felt like I had more energy. I felt happier. I felt more mobile, more able to move around and do things now that there was less of me. It felt wonderful.”
I’ve been on the Shangri-la Diet as well, and those feelings are what makes it all come together for me.
I’m still in the 170s and only 5’5” though my waist is now down to 30” or so (it was amazing to buy my first 30/30 pants). I’ve been lifting weights the entire time and have been careful to get enough protien.
My target is 160, which is a perfect weight for me.
You hit a lot of things in your post, down to how some people will try to torpedo your weight loss.
Stay healthy, be careful not to give way to anorexia, and congrats. This was a great post and I’m glad to see the update.
posted by Stephen M (Ethesis)
on July 27, 2006 #
You seem to have an obsession with being thin and losing weight, rather than being healthy. Your description of losing a lot of weight in a week and not eating very healthily (people can only speculate with your crackers example, it would be helpful if you could list your actual diet for the last couple of weeks) alarms people, because your diet may allow you to feel less hungry but it does not change the basic laws of physics, chemistry, and biology: your body needs certain nutrients to function healthily. Your (and the last commenter’s) statements about thin people not wanting you to be like them (a dead giveaway that you’re obsessed with being thin) and fat people being jealous of your success make you sound like one of those people about to invest in a bridge in the middle of nowhere who when warned by his friends lashes out against them that they’re jealous that he’s found such a great investment. It’s obvious that you’re somewhat obsessive (with your statements about scratching yourself when you hear badly played music or other reactions to events in your life) and people are worried that you’re obsessively starving yourself, perhaps with the aid of this diet, without understanding the true effects on your health.
posted by Ajay
on July 27, 2006 #
Damned interesting and well written.
That popping in the thighs thing though, I’ve never heard of such a thing.
posted by Ethan Herdrick
on July 28, 2006 #
Aaron, the last three posts to your blog have been among your best: thoughtful, smart and heartfelt. My wife and I were talking about this one last night though… and while we’ve been reading up on the Shangri-La Diet since you started it and it sounds fascinating… this post was concerning. Do you regularly only eat crackers for an entire day? This line seems to offer those who worry some solace: “The newfound willpower allowed me to be more conscious about my diet. I started thinking about what foods I wanted to eat and researching the topic of nutrition.” But just before that you say you “hardly eat anything at all really” I find Ajay’s suggestion compelling “it would be helpful if you could list your actual diet for the last couple of weeks.”
You have been so forthcoming on your blog Aaron and you have made some of us concerned why don’t you tell us: exactly how much are you eating?
posted by Andy Schilling
on July 28, 2006 #
How about this first: you tell me why eating nothing is concerning.
posted by Aaron Swartz
on July 28, 2006 #
Why eating nothing is concerning:
Vitamin Deficiency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_deficiency)
Long-term vitamin deficiency can result in diseases such as xerophthalmia or night blindness, beriberi, pellagra, pernicious anemia, pernicious anemia, scurvy and rickets.
Weak bones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium)
“Calcium is essential for the normal growth and maintenance of bones and teeth, and calcium requirements must be met throughout life…Long-term calcium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, in which the bone deteriorates and there is an increased risk of fractures. Calcium needs can be met by eating or drinking at least three or four servings of dairy products daily.”
posted by Justin
on July 28, 2006 #
I’m careful to take a daily multivitamin.
posted by Aaron Swartz
on July 28, 2006 #
Do you trust your life to multivitamins? I don’t think even the most ardent advocates of multivitamins would support living off of them. Your question about why not eating is concerning evokes a head-slapping response. I hope there is someone around you who is physically able to watch out for you.
posted by Ajay
on July 28, 2006 #
How about this first: you tell me why eating nothing is concerning.-created by Aaron Swartz
I suppose that is fair. I’m no expert but my understanding is that your body takes in nutrients, breaks them down and uses them to create energy (ATP) and amino acids which are then used to build and maintain your organs, bones and various systems. These amino acids require vitamins and minerals to perform their tasks but a multi-vitamin is a supplement not a substitute for food in the first place. Breaking down stored fat can help maintain energy levels but is also no substitute for eating, merely a way to survive on less.
Though Ajay is rather crude with his “head-slapping response” he has a point. In his article “Self-experimentation as a source of new ideas: Ten examples about sleep, mood, health, and weight”
Dr. Seth Roberts put it this way: “Everyone needs to consume a certain amount of energy per day to fuel activity and metabolism.” To me, it seems obvious that eating nothing is not merely concerning but over any prolonged period, dangerous.
In another article “What Makes Food Fattening” Dr. Robert’s wrote “During a visit to Paris, my appetite vanished. I wanted to eat three meals per day, but had to force myself to eat even one. “
I suppose I would argue that lack of emphasis on nutrition in food substitutes is a weakness of Dr. Robert’s Shangri-la diet but these quotes illustrate that he seems to take it as an assumption. He forced himself to eat one meal a day because he believed it was necessary for his health.
Which brings us back to my question: do you? Do you eat everyday for your health? Your reluctance to answer this direct question, is, at the risk of sounding rude, beginning to sound like an answer in itself. I recognize that this really none of my, or anyone’s, business but you have made me concerned. So, as you suggested, I first told you why I thought it was important. Now, exactly how much are you eating?
posted by Andy Schilling
on July 28, 2006 #
Aaron,
two points. First, the popping in the thighs thing is a little disturbing.
Secondly, the body excretes 1 g of calcium a day and needs to absorb 1 g of calcium a day. The typical multivitamin contains less than a quarter of that requirement. As a growing young man you are depositing the calcium now (until your early thirties) that you will later need as an old man. You can take additional calcium supplements, which are typically on the same shelf as the multivitamins.
I don’t think the Shangri-La diet is a bad idea, in fact, I’ve been doing some literature review on the physiology behind it, and it doesn’t suck. Regardless, two crackers a day is not sustainable. You burn more than that laying motionless in a hospital bed. Do you know how they determined basal caloric need is about 2000 calories? By how much glucose they had to put in the IV drips of comatose patients in order for their bodies to maintain all the other normal physiologic functions. Also, hypocalcemia can cause delusions, heart murmurs, sudden cardiac arrest, osteoporosis, and the list goes on. I’m all for the eat less method, but two crackers is not healthy by any stretch. Seven pounds in as many days is also not healthy. Understanding there is some normal day to day variation, about 2 pounds a week is the usual recommendation from dietitians.
See my comment in your Basic Nutrition post above for further reading.
Niels Olson
Tulane School of Medicine
Class of 2009
posted by Niels Olson
on July 28, 2006 #
I too would like to see some of your personal data:
Starting weight
Current weight
Number of weeks on diet
Avg daily caloric and total fat intake
Estimated daily calorie usage
For me at least this would put your opinions in better perspective.
posted by Adam
on July 28, 2006 #
If you lost 7 lbs one week, and 20 lbs total in three months, you averaged 1.2 lbs per week the other 11 weeks, which isn’t particularly impressive. 20 lbs in three months isn’t impressive to begin with. I did that last summer by riding the Charles Loop every day and switching to diet soda.
You’re obviously eating something other than 2 crackers per day, or else you would have lost close to 50 lbs, not a mere 20. Since you are on Shangri-La, does this mean you are drinking a pint glass of olive oil per day in addition to your crackers?
I don’t think you’re working hard enough. Your thin friends are still snickering behind your back. I’d aim for one cracker for breakfast, a shot glass of oil for lunch, and another shot for dinner. If you can lose 40lbs in one month, it will be super impressive, and only then will you get the respect from thin people you desire.
posted by nicole richie
on July 31, 2006 #
I generally eat one full meal every other day. The other days I eat a couple slices of whole wheat bread and some soda or chips.
posted by Aaron Swartz
on July 31, 2006 #
Good.
posted by Andy Schilling
on August 1, 2006 #
Good.
posted by Andy Schilling
on August 1, 2006 #
I wanted to mention that the evidence for undereating extending your life is mostly from organisms that tend to fall on the “fast and quick” side of life; that is, they tend to depend on rapid, “cheap” reproduction. They also tend to have shorter life spans. So when they’re in environmentally unfavorable circumstances (e.g. low food) it makes a lot of sense to live longer. While in the long-life high-investment reproduction mode it’s better to stay on the same track, invest as much as you can in the kids that you have, and kick off on schedule so you’re one less mouth to feed.
The primate tests should tell us more about this, but they’re not done yet.
posted by Ethan Fremen
on August 3, 2006 #
there is nothing wrong in eating nothing sometimes. In-fact Fasting is the oldest procedure in many religions.
Fasting for religious and spiritual reasons has been a part of human custom since pre-history. It is mentioned in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testament, in the Mahabharata, in the Upanishads and in the Quran.
If we go back to stone age ..cave man may not be getting the food and nutrition everyday. As there were no super markets and drug store :-)
one more thing, body stores FAT for bad days only.
posted by Arvind
on August 9, 2006 #
Yes, these are the same people who would die at 27, great example.
posted by Ajay
on August 10, 2006 #
Aaron, I felt compelled to respond because I am a person who has recovered from an eating disorder. Everything that you described in your post I can relate to. It feels very good to lose weight and you almost get a high from it, but not eating at least 1200 calories a day is damaging to your health. Now that I am eating healthy, small meals(5 every day)and getting a moderate amount of exercise every day, I am actually thinner then before(I am 5’7” female and I weigh 123) and I have SO much more energy! I no longer feel I need to hide how little I eat from family and friends. Dietitian.com has some great information and resources (such as the healthy weight calculator). I am only writing this so that you can feel as happy and energetic as I am.
posted by Cheryl
on August 28, 2006 #
Hello there,
To lose weight is difficult, especially when in your “normal” work environment. Snacks and fatty food are everywhere. On Vacation it could go the same way, but there are Vacations where weight losing is possible. In theory in any giving situation you should be able to do it. Just drink 3 glasses of Water before each meal and restrain form speedy eating. Chew more frequent than you are used to and remain calm when a feeding frenzy approaches you.
Where to go? Well a warmer country gives you a head start, higher temperatures help to surpress the feeling of raw hunger. Then if keeping busy and away from fast food restaurants a second chance arises. One can eat healthy and learn how to acquire discipline, enough to keep on at home what you learned on Vacation. The more calories you burn and the lower your meals are the higher your chances to lose what you like least. :dizzy:
kind regards
Arnego2
weightlosingvacation.com
posted by arnego2
on September 24, 2006 #
Most people see me as fat for my age,but i think i’m okay atleast i’ve been tested normal but i try my best to lose weight and i can’t see any changes.what do you think i should do.
posted by Imisiayo Joseph
on November 4, 2006 #
Seriously. I agree with Ajay. You are bordering on anorexia, and while olive oil is good for the body, I wouldn’t suggest it as a substitution for a meal. Oil is oil is fat, there’s no change in that.
As for the point that an earlier commenter brought up: fasting. Yes people have fasted for years and yes they are still doing it now. But have you ever fasted yourself before? Religious Fasting is NOT starving yourself of food. When fasting, you typically eat a large meal in the early morning, then fast throughout the day for about 11-13 hours. [Usually from sunrise to sunset in equatorial regions] Following sunset, you would eat another meal.
When you fast in such a way, you DO lose weight, albeit not much. The reason is because you’ve given your body enough food in the morning to sustain all your physical activities throughout the day. You lose weight because you are doing something out of your normal eating routine and your body feels the need to use up stored sugar.
Another point I would like to mention is that you refer to losing weight as burning fats and calories. These terms are usually used in diets and many people believe that when they lose weight, they have lost fat.
Your body doesn’t lose fat that easily. When you need energy, your body burns glucose, a sugar you get from carbs. Too much carbs or sugar, and your body CONVERTS that glucose to another form [glycogen] and stores that. When you starve yourself, the body uses up these extra stores of glucose. When these stores of glucose are used up [which would mean you didn’t eat at all for a few days, though that varies on your physical activity], then the body turns to proteins and fats. This is why people who starve themselves lose muscle mass - proteins are used to repair and maintain tissue in the body. Thus your hunch of losing something else along with the weight is correct.
Muscle weighs twice as heavy as fat. This is probably why you feel you’ve lost so much weight. You’ve lost muscle mass. But not all of it, you’ve retained what you need to function properly. Aside from attacking proteins, the body also attacks fats. Now fats contain the most amount of energy compared to carbs and proteins. However, breaking down fats in the body tends to produce ketones, which are toxic to your body. [ketosis, as someone mentioned earlier] Ketosis can cause dehyrdration, nausea and in extreme cases can lead to gall-bladder diesease.
Of course, there are those who argue that the heart and kidneys prefer ketones to glucose, because ketones have more energy. However, we are all burning ketones at any one point in time, and what we burn is sufficient for these organs to use. You can’t have absolutely zero fat in your body. You die when that happens.
And if you continue to argue by saying that the brain likes ketones, well, it doesn’t. It is just merely capable of adapting to use about 50% of it’s energy intake on ketones. The brain STILL needs carbs.
And one more thing. Do you know how the body breaks down fats? It uses glucose. Your crackers definately are not providing enough for you to break down fats.
So, just how many crackers are you eating? And are you drinking soda? Or some other form of carb? Because really, if you had really been eating a measly helping of crackers everyday, you’d have lost much more then just 20 pounds in 3 months. Unless of course you were freakishly skinny to begin with, in which case you, would probably anorexic.
Your view of others and over reliance on multivitamins support that you probably have an eating disorder. Multivitamins aren’t that good either. Too much of a good thing can harm you. Iron poisoning, calcification of the liver and kidneys [where tissue becomes hard and unusable due to the build up of calcium] can all happen.
Btw, lose too much muscle, and your body will start to use your heart muscle as energy to survive, in which case, you die.
Go check yourself into the hospital. Your eating habits are way too unhealthy.
posted by zen
on December 10, 2006 #
heya,
i’m leah and just wanted to say how inspiring u r!!! Reading your blog was great it made me realise that i can lose weight easily if i want to and didnt listen to the people around me. So just aa question when is thew most effective time to take olive oil???
posted by leah
on December 13, 2006 #
great. now 13 year old girls who cant spell are turning anorexic because of this article
posted by mike
on December 18, 2006 #
I’m 15 actually and i can spell if i want to. I’m not anorexic i just wan to lose weight because i’m not happy as i am. That’s not a crime, people have the right to be fat so why people have the right to be thin??
posted by leah
on December 19, 2006 #
i went through sort of the same thing when i was around 16-17 years old… it worked for me.. although after a year and a half of eating one big meal a week and eat nothing for 3-4 days in between… i got a little strung out… and everytime i eat.. my mouth would have a burning feeling and i was shitting blood sometimes… i started to ignore it and now i have an ulcer from my stomach eating itself… bottom line is: it my work for a while but later on youll get tired of doing this to yourself… im now 20 and weigh 185 pounds as of feb.13th 2007 and im in the best shape of my life… i was incarcerated for 8 months and no one in cjc(jail) would even think of messing with me…. how? i ordered an extreme exercizing program called p90x… quit being lazy by not eating to lose weight…. start exercizing and lose weight the right way… in 4 months… i went from 215 pounds to 185 pounds… i feel like i can throw a car across the coors stadium,i cant, but i feel like i can… if you wanna lose weight and be a skinny lookin chihuahua and live weak… keep goin… but if you wanna take a walk in the park with your shirt off and look like an action hero(the guys that get the hot chicks)and land a girl as cute as halle berry.. then get some motivation to exercize…. women would rather have a man that can eat and carry her up to your room…not someone who just sits there and doesnt eat, and doesnt even have the energy to keep your pole up during the “finer moments”… i was just like you until i found the motivation to be better than anyone in the world and start exercizing… you got one body,onelife… keep it healthy,live long and best of all… prosper from it…….(get the hot chicks)….
good luck…ben
posted by ben
on February 17, 2007 #
Everyone has their own way of doing things, some right some wrong, good or bad, some in between…No one should judge anyone for what they think or feel or do even if you think against the idea itself. There are a lot of different methods for losing weight, not all healthy ways but for what ever each person decides to try its their right to do so and I assure you , no ones opinion, rude comment, remarks of dissatisfaction, or even true genuine concern is going to change what they are doing…You decided to read their experiances, you now have to cope with your actions and digest how it affected you without lashing out at the very thing you showed interest enough in to read. Im not saying I agree or dont with this persons method, but its their own, and as you may think one way or another on the stuff they present in blogs, or anywhere- please keep in mind you found them and you entered their existance uninvited. If you dont like what you read, STOP READING IT! There are those that will enjoy it deeply and relate and find it useful or interesting…Thats part of the american beauty boys & girls—— you have FREEDOM of self…
posted by Gira
on March 31, 2007 #
Oh Boy, this is the most bizarre thing I have EVER read regarding weight loss. It is common knowledge that “starving” ones self is unhealthy and eating a few crackers a day and a shot of olive oil is not a healthy way to lose weight. I lost 55 lbs so far, never ate a cracker or two, never drank a mug of oil. I did it by “portion control” thats right. Simple. Effective. I eat anything I want and everything from all the food groups each day but I watch my portions. If I want a burger and fries for dinner, I have it but I cut the size down. Look, it took me 18 months to lose the 55 lbs but I didn’t faint, feel hungry, starve, live off crackers and oil and I know my body remained healthy and sound. I learned to exercise (not freakishly either) but I feel great and I PRAY all the young girls reading your article who are bombarded with visual’s of super thin anorexic models every day and who listen to society when they say “guys dont like fat chicks” have the sense and intelligence to diet in a safe and healthy fashion regardless of the stupidity in our society today.
posted by Kelly
on October 31, 2007 #
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Comments
A couple questions -
First of all, and I don’t mean to be rude, how much did you initially weigh three months ago? Weight loss is relative. It’s a lot easier to lose 30lbs from 200 than it is from 170.
Also - typically when losing weight, one hits a plateau after the first 15 lbs. Is this what you found, and decided to push through it by exercising, or was that decision a result of your newfound focus on health?
Next, you said you’ve been burping a lot. Has your breath changed? Often rapid weight loss is indicitave of ketosis, even outside fad diets like Atkins, and the breath takes on a slightly alcohol-like smell. Have you noticed any of this?
The reason I’m asking so many niggling questions is because I’ve been performing similar studies to test the effectiveness of the Shangri-La diet over the past few months. Having successfully lost weight the old fashioned way, I decided to perform some experiments on set-point. These include - trying to raise set point, finding out which flavors contribute to the ‘flavored’ association, and the effects on nutrition, sleep, and muscle maintenance/growth.
Lastly, the popping in your thighs is not commonly reported, even with rapid weight loss. Have you heard of similar cases, perhaps in your studies of gastric bypass surgery patients?
posted by Ben W. on July 26, 2006 #
Hi Aaron,
Fascinating read. Just wanted to mention the site I work for — thedailyplate.com. It’s a site to track calories by searching for the foods you eat each day. Might be an interesting way for you to monitor your intake of other elements (vitamins, minerals, etc) while you continue on your weight-control journey.
Best of luck!
-Lex
posted by Lex on July 26, 2006 #
I find it a little bit revealing that you describe your new meal habits as “most days I just have a couple crackers in the evening,” and then quickly imply that this is an easy way to “eat healthy.”
<
p> It seems exceedling unlikely that those crackers could provide balanced, healthy nutrition.
<
p> But worse, it sounds like you’ve eliminated enjoyment of food from your life. Perhaps you didn’t enjoy it before, but that sounds like an unehealthy way to live.
<
p> Congratulations on losing the weight, but it does appear slightly disorderish at first blink.
posted by Daniel Jalkut on July 26, 2006 #
Are you seriously saying that all you eat some days is a few crackers? Did you really lose 7 pounds in 7 days?
This is definitely not normal, and maybe the “backlash” you are getting from people, especially from Doctors, is something you take a little more seriously. Think about it. A pound of fat represents about 4000 calories. So its basically impossible to lose a pound of fat in a day, unless you are running an ultramarathon or something. So the question is, what else are you losing? Some of it is probably water…
Also, your sentance “Part of this is probably just due to novelty: While “eat less” is standard advice for losing weight, because we all have set points no one is actually able to pull it off.” is just plain wrong. First of all, you have adopted the existence of the “set point” almost like a piece of religious dogma; second of all I know plenty of people who have lost weight without the benefit of the shangri-la diet. The most common way to lose weight that I’ve seen is to stop drinking soda. It is amazingly effective.
posted by Mark on July 26, 2006 #
I’m glad you are feeling good, but 7 pounds in 7 days does sound a bit extreme. (From what I’ve read, 1-2 pounds a week is normally considered ‘safe’, but I do know there are doctor supervised diets that have faster weight loss).
Personally, the oil didn’t seem to do much for me (other than taste bad), but I didn’t buy the book, so I possibly wasn’t following the program correctly.
posted by Daniel J. Luke on July 26, 2006 #
I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying eating less. I find that the edge of hunger often allows me to think more clearly and creatively as well. Too hungry, though, and my mind goes blank. I’ve always been skinny, never eating quite enough, people always telling me to bulk up a little bit. So this year I made a New Year’s Resolution to eat more and exercise more. And wow, it is a different experience. I used to never eat breakfast, and now I do most days. I used to feel like you did with that hamburger all the time — there was only so much I could eat — but now I feel like I have more flexibility in my eating habits. There are days when I don’t eat quite so much, and other days when I eat a lot more. I’m also exercising a lot more than I used to. The short version of all this is that there is something to be said for moderation (as the Greeks were fond of saying). Eat enough to keep your energy, exercise enough to keep the endorphins going, and when you move to much in one direction or the other do your best to swing yourself back to the middle.
posted by Chris on July 26, 2006 #
That’s great!
One effect I notice (after losing 50 pounds from 200 to 150) is that when I show my driver’s license they always give me a second look.
My trick for exercising is to load my iPod with music I like & set up playlists specifically for working out.
posted by Mike Cohen on July 26, 2006 #
Mark: The set point isn’t a Shangri-La idea; it seems to be pretty consensus among doctors, including the aforementioned Atul Gawande, who has written about it for the New Yorker and Slate. You’re welcome to dispute the studies; I’m simply using the idea, it isn’t dogma.
posted by Aaron Swartz on July 26, 2006 #
So Aaron, how do you explain the people who lose weight without using the Shangri-La diet?
Are they unwittingly altering their set-points? If so, would you just say that anytime someone loses weight, they’ve altered their set-point (knowingly or not), and any time someone fails to lose weight, its because they didn’t alter their set-point? Cause that sounds pretty tautological to me.
Put another way, can you think of an empirical result that would disprove the set-point theory?
posted by Mark on July 26, 2006 #
The set point is only about how you feel, not about what you actually do. In the case of food, the set point makes you hungry when you don’t eat enough. Of course, you can simply be hungry and not eat, irrespective of what your set point is. The same thing is true for exercise — you can be tired and still force yourself to run. Thus, even if the set point was 100% effective (which I certainly don’t claim) it wouldn’t mean that people can’t lose weight without adjusting it. It just means it’s difficult — something that strikes me as rather plain from the number of people who have failed to lose weight and keep it off.
posted by Aaron Swartz on July 26, 2006 #
Aaron, if what your write above is true, I really urge you to get a check-up. As a matter of probabilities, it’s far more likely you do have something amiss, than that you have discovered the secret to painless weight loss.
No, I am not writing this because I am secretly jealous of your grand discovery. I am writing this because what you describe sounds alarming. What do you mean by “doctors think I’m sick”? I hope you’re being metaphorical in “I feel little pops in my thighs”, because otherwise, that sounds like a neurological symptom!
posted by Seth Finkelstein on July 27, 2006 #
“As I lost more weight I began to feel better. I’d look in the mirror and notice the fat that had disappeared from my chest, or when lying down I’d notice my legs were thinner. I felt like I had more energy. I felt happier. I felt more mobile, more able to move around and do things now that there was less of me. It felt wonderful.”
I’ve been on the Shangri-la Diet as well, and those feelings are what makes it all come together for me.
I’m still in the 170s and only 5’5” though my waist is now down to 30” or so (it was amazing to buy my first 30/30 pants). I’ve been lifting weights the entire time and have been careful to get enough protien.
My target is 160, which is a perfect weight for me.
You hit a lot of things in your post, down to how some people will try to torpedo your weight loss.
Stay healthy, be careful not to give way to anorexia, and congrats. This was a great post and I’m glad to see the update.
posted by Stephen M (Ethesis) on July 27, 2006 #
You seem to have an obsession with being thin and losing weight, rather than being healthy. Your description of losing a lot of weight in a week and not eating very healthily (people can only speculate with your crackers example, it would be helpful if you could list your actual diet for the last couple of weeks) alarms people, because your diet may allow you to feel less hungry but it does not change the basic laws of physics, chemistry, and biology: your body needs certain nutrients to function healthily. Your (and the last commenter’s) statements about thin people not wanting you to be like them (a dead giveaway that you’re obsessed with being thin) and fat people being jealous of your success make you sound like one of those people about to invest in a bridge in the middle of nowhere who when warned by his friends lashes out against them that they’re jealous that he’s found such a great investment. It’s obvious that you’re somewhat obsessive (with your statements about scratching yourself when you hear badly played music or other reactions to events in your life) and people are worried that you’re obsessively starving yourself, perhaps with the aid of this diet, without understanding the true effects on your health.
posted by Ajay on July 27, 2006 #
Damned interesting and well written.
That popping in the thighs thing though, I’ve never heard of such a thing.
posted by Ethan Herdrick on July 28, 2006 #
Aaron, the last three posts to your blog have been among your best: thoughtful, smart and heartfelt. My wife and I were talking about this one last night though… and while we’ve been reading up on the Shangri-La Diet since you started it and it sounds fascinating… this post was concerning. Do you regularly only eat crackers for an entire day? This line seems to offer those who worry some solace: “The newfound willpower allowed me to be more conscious about my diet. I started thinking about what foods I wanted to eat and researching the topic of nutrition.” But just before that you say you “hardly eat anything at all really” I find Ajay’s suggestion compelling “it would be helpful if you could list your actual diet for the last couple of weeks.”
You have been so forthcoming on your blog Aaron and you have made some of us concerned why don’t you tell us: exactly how much are you eating?
posted by Andy Schilling on July 28, 2006 #
How about this first: you tell me why eating nothing is concerning.
posted by Aaron Swartz on July 28, 2006 #
Why eating nothing is concerning:
Vitamin Deficiency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_deficiency) Long-term vitamin deficiency can result in diseases such as xerophthalmia or night blindness, beriberi, pellagra, pernicious anemia, pernicious anemia, scurvy and rickets.
Weak bones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium) “Calcium is essential for the normal growth and maintenance of bones and teeth, and calcium requirements must be met throughout life…Long-term calcium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, in which the bone deteriorates and there is an increased risk of fractures. Calcium needs can be met by eating or drinking at least three or four servings of dairy products daily.”
posted by Justin on July 28, 2006 #
I’m careful to take a daily multivitamin.
posted by Aaron Swartz on July 28, 2006 #
Do you trust your life to multivitamins? I don’t think even the most ardent advocates of multivitamins would support living off of them. Your question about why not eating is concerning evokes a head-slapping response. I hope there is someone around you who is physically able to watch out for you.
posted by Ajay on July 28, 2006 #
How about this first: you tell me why eating nothing is concerning.-created by Aaron Swartz
I suppose that is fair. I’m no expert but my understanding is that your body takes in nutrients, breaks them down and uses them to create energy (ATP) and amino acids which are then used to build and maintain your organs, bones and various systems. These amino acids require vitamins and minerals to perform their tasks but a multi-vitamin is a supplement not a substitute for food in the first place. Breaking down stored fat can help maintain energy levels but is also no substitute for eating, merely a way to survive on less.
Though Ajay is rather crude with his “head-slapping response” he has a point. In his article “Self-experimentation as a source of new ideas: Ten examples about sleep, mood, health, and weight” Dr. Seth Roberts put it this way: “Everyone needs to consume a certain amount of energy per day to fuel activity and metabolism.” To me, it seems obvious that eating nothing is not merely concerning but over any prolonged period, dangerous.
In another article “What Makes Food Fattening” Dr. Robert’s wrote “During a visit to Paris, my appetite vanished. I wanted to eat three meals per day, but had to force myself to eat even one. “
I suppose I would argue that lack of emphasis on nutrition in food substitutes is a weakness of Dr. Robert’s Shangri-la diet but these quotes illustrate that he seems to take it as an assumption. He forced himself to eat one meal a day because he believed it was necessary for his health.
Which brings us back to my question: do you? Do you eat everyday for your health? Your reluctance to answer this direct question, is, at the risk of sounding rude, beginning to sound like an answer in itself. I recognize that this really none of my, or anyone’s, business but you have made me concerned. So, as you suggested, I first told you why I thought it was important. Now, exactly how much are you eating?
posted by Andy Schilling on July 28, 2006 #
Aaron,
two points. First, the popping in the thighs thing is a little disturbing.
Secondly, the body excretes 1 g of calcium a day and needs to absorb 1 g of calcium a day. The typical multivitamin contains less than a quarter of that requirement. As a growing young man you are depositing the calcium now (until your early thirties) that you will later need as an old man. You can take additional calcium supplements, which are typically on the same shelf as the multivitamins.
I don’t think the Shangri-La diet is a bad idea, in fact, I’ve been doing some literature review on the physiology behind it, and it doesn’t suck. Regardless, two crackers a day is not sustainable. You burn more than that laying motionless in a hospital bed. Do you know how they determined basal caloric need is about 2000 calories? By how much glucose they had to put in the IV drips of comatose patients in order for their bodies to maintain all the other normal physiologic functions. Also, hypocalcemia can cause delusions, heart murmurs, sudden cardiac arrest, osteoporosis, and the list goes on. I’m all for the eat less method, but two crackers is not healthy by any stretch. Seven pounds in as many days is also not healthy. Understanding there is some normal day to day variation, about 2 pounds a week is the usual recommendation from dietitians.
See my comment in your Basic Nutrition post above for further reading.
Niels Olson Tulane School of Medicine Class of 2009
posted by Niels Olson on July 28, 2006 #
I too would like to see some of your personal data:
Starting weight Current weight Number of weeks on diet Avg daily caloric and total fat intake Estimated daily calorie usage
For me at least this would put your opinions in better perspective.
posted by Adam on July 28, 2006 #
If you lost 7 lbs one week, and 20 lbs total in three months, you averaged 1.2 lbs per week the other 11 weeks, which isn’t particularly impressive. 20 lbs in three months isn’t impressive to begin with. I did that last summer by riding the Charles Loop every day and switching to diet soda.
You’re obviously eating something other than 2 crackers per day, or else you would have lost close to 50 lbs, not a mere 20. Since you are on Shangri-La, does this mean you are drinking a pint glass of olive oil per day in addition to your crackers?
I don’t think you’re working hard enough. Your thin friends are still snickering behind your back. I’d aim for one cracker for breakfast, a shot glass of oil for lunch, and another shot for dinner. If you can lose 40lbs in one month, it will be super impressive, and only then will you get the respect from thin people you desire.
posted by nicole richie on July 31, 2006 #
I generally eat one full meal every other day. The other days I eat a couple slices of whole wheat bread and some soda or chips.
posted by Aaron Swartz on July 31, 2006 #
Good.
posted by Andy Schilling on August 1, 2006 #
Good.
posted by Andy Schilling on August 1, 2006 #
I wanted to mention that the evidence for undereating extending your life is mostly from organisms that tend to fall on the “fast and quick” side of life; that is, they tend to depend on rapid, “cheap” reproduction. They also tend to have shorter life spans. So when they’re in environmentally unfavorable circumstances (e.g. low food) it makes a lot of sense to live longer. While in the long-life high-investment reproduction mode it’s better to stay on the same track, invest as much as you can in the kids that you have, and kick off on schedule so you’re one less mouth to feed.
The primate tests should tell us more about this, but they’re not done yet.
posted by Ethan Fremen on August 3, 2006 #
there is nothing wrong in eating nothing sometimes. In-fact Fasting is the oldest procedure in many religions.
Fasting for religious and spiritual reasons has been a part of human custom since pre-history. It is mentioned in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testament, in the Mahabharata, in the Upanishads and in the Quran.
If we go back to stone age ..cave man may not be getting the food and nutrition everyday. As there were no super markets and drug store :-)
one more thing, body stores FAT for bad days only.
posted by Arvind on August 9, 2006 #
Yes, these are the same people who would die at 27, great example.
posted by Ajay on August 10, 2006 #
Aaron, I felt compelled to respond because I am a person who has recovered from an eating disorder. Everything that you described in your post I can relate to. It feels very good to lose weight and you almost get a high from it, but not eating at least 1200 calories a day is damaging to your health. Now that I am eating healthy, small meals(5 every day)and getting a moderate amount of exercise every day, I am actually thinner then before(I am 5’7” female and I weigh 123) and I have SO much more energy! I no longer feel I need to hide how little I eat from family and friends. Dietitian.com has some great information and resources (such as the healthy weight calculator). I am only writing this so that you can feel as happy and energetic as I am.
posted by Cheryl on August 28, 2006 #
Hello there, To lose weight is difficult, especially when in your “normal” work environment. Snacks and fatty food are everywhere. On Vacation it could go the same way, but there are Vacations where weight losing is possible. In theory in any giving situation you should be able to do it. Just drink 3 glasses of Water before each meal and restrain form speedy eating. Chew more frequent than you are used to and remain calm when a feeding frenzy approaches you.
Where to go? Well a warmer country gives you a head start, higher temperatures help to surpress the feeling of raw hunger. Then if keeping busy and away from fast food restaurants a second chance arises. One can eat healthy and learn how to acquire discipline, enough to keep on at home what you learned on Vacation. The more calories you burn and the lower your meals are the higher your chances to lose what you like least. :dizzy:
kind regards Arnego2 weightlosingvacation.com
posted by arnego2 on September 24, 2006 #
How are you doing now?
posted by Stephen M (Ethesis) on October 7, 2006 #
Most people see me as fat for my age,but i think i’m okay atleast i’ve been tested normal but i try my best to lose weight and i can’t see any changes.what do you think i should do.
posted by Imisiayo Joseph on November 4, 2006 #
Seriously. I agree with Ajay. You are bordering on anorexia, and while olive oil is good for the body, I wouldn’t suggest it as a substitution for a meal. Oil is oil is fat, there’s no change in that.
As for the point that an earlier commenter brought up: fasting. Yes people have fasted for years and yes they are still doing it now. But have you ever fasted yourself before? Religious Fasting is NOT starving yourself of food. When fasting, you typically eat a large meal in the early morning, then fast throughout the day for about 11-13 hours. [Usually from sunrise to sunset in equatorial regions] Following sunset, you would eat another meal.
When you fast in such a way, you DO lose weight, albeit not much. The reason is because you’ve given your body enough food in the morning to sustain all your physical activities throughout the day. You lose weight because you are doing something out of your normal eating routine and your body feels the need to use up stored sugar.
Another point I would like to mention is that you refer to losing weight as burning fats and calories. These terms are usually used in diets and many people believe that when they lose weight, they have lost fat.
Your body doesn’t lose fat that easily. When you need energy, your body burns glucose, a sugar you get from carbs. Too much carbs or sugar, and your body CONVERTS that glucose to another form [glycogen] and stores that. When you starve yourself, the body uses up these extra stores of glucose. When these stores of glucose are used up [which would mean you didn’t eat at all for a few days, though that varies on your physical activity], then the body turns to proteins and fats. This is why people who starve themselves lose muscle mass - proteins are used to repair and maintain tissue in the body. Thus your hunch of losing something else along with the weight is correct.
Muscle weighs twice as heavy as fat. This is probably why you feel you’ve lost so much weight. You’ve lost muscle mass. But not all of it, you’ve retained what you need to function properly. Aside from attacking proteins, the body also attacks fats. Now fats contain the most amount of energy compared to carbs and proteins. However, breaking down fats in the body tends to produce ketones, which are toxic to your body. [ketosis, as someone mentioned earlier] Ketosis can cause dehyrdration, nausea and in extreme cases can lead to gall-bladder diesease.
Of course, there are those who argue that the heart and kidneys prefer ketones to glucose, because ketones have more energy. However, we are all burning ketones at any one point in time, and what we burn is sufficient for these organs to use. You can’t have absolutely zero fat in your body. You die when that happens.
And if you continue to argue by saying that the brain likes ketones, well, it doesn’t. It is just merely capable of adapting to use about 50% of it’s energy intake on ketones. The brain STILL needs carbs.
And one more thing. Do you know how the body breaks down fats? It uses glucose. Your crackers definately are not providing enough for you to break down fats.
So, just how many crackers are you eating? And are you drinking soda? Or some other form of carb? Because really, if you had really been eating a measly helping of crackers everyday, you’d have lost much more then just 20 pounds in 3 months. Unless of course you were freakishly skinny to begin with, in which case you, would probably anorexic.
Your view of others and over reliance on multivitamins support that you probably have an eating disorder. Multivitamins aren’t that good either. Too much of a good thing can harm you. Iron poisoning, calcification of the liver and kidneys [where tissue becomes hard and unusable due to the build up of calcium] can all happen.
Btw, lose too much muscle, and your body will start to use your heart muscle as energy to survive, in which case, you die.
Go check yourself into the hospital. Your eating habits are way too unhealthy.
posted by zen on December 10, 2006 #
heya, i’m leah and just wanted to say how inspiring u r!!! Reading your blog was great it made me realise that i can lose weight easily if i want to and didnt listen to the people around me. So just aa question when is thew most effective time to take olive oil???
posted by leah on December 13, 2006 #
great. now 13 year old girls who cant spell are turning anorexic because of this article
posted by mike on December 18, 2006 #
I’m 15 actually and i can spell if i want to. I’m not anorexic i just wan to lose weight because i’m not happy as i am. That’s not a crime, people have the right to be fat so why people have the right to be thin??
posted by leah on December 19, 2006 #
i went through sort of the same thing when i was around 16-17 years old… it worked for me.. although after a year and a half of eating one big meal a week and eat nothing for 3-4 days in between… i got a little strung out… and everytime i eat.. my mouth would have a burning feeling and i was shitting blood sometimes… i started to ignore it and now i have an ulcer from my stomach eating itself… bottom line is: it my work for a while but later on youll get tired of doing this to yourself… im now 20 and weigh 185 pounds as of feb.13th 2007 and im in the best shape of my life… i was incarcerated for 8 months and no one in cjc(jail) would even think of messing with me…. how? i ordered an extreme exercizing program called p90x… quit being lazy by not eating to lose weight…. start exercizing and lose weight the right way… in 4 months… i went from 215 pounds to 185 pounds… i feel like i can throw a car across the coors stadium,i cant, but i feel like i can… if you wanna lose weight and be a skinny lookin chihuahua and live weak… keep goin… but if you wanna take a walk in the park with your shirt off and look like an action hero(the guys that get the hot chicks)and land a girl as cute as halle berry.. then get some motivation to exercize…. women would rather have a man that can eat and carry her up to your room…not someone who just sits there and doesnt eat, and doesnt even have the energy to keep your pole up during the “finer moments”… i was just like you until i found the motivation to be better than anyone in the world and start exercizing… you got one body,onelife… keep it healthy,live long and best of all… prosper from it…….(get the hot chicks)…. good luck…ben
posted by ben on February 17, 2007 #
Everyone has their own way of doing things, some right some wrong, good or bad, some in between…No one should judge anyone for what they think or feel or do even if you think against the idea itself. There are a lot of different methods for losing weight, not all healthy ways but for what ever each person decides to try its their right to do so and I assure you , no ones opinion, rude comment, remarks of dissatisfaction, or even true genuine concern is going to change what they are doing…You decided to read their experiances, you now have to cope with your actions and digest how it affected you without lashing out at the very thing you showed interest enough in to read. Im not saying I agree or dont with this persons method, but its their own, and as you may think one way or another on the stuff they present in blogs, or anywhere- please keep in mind you found them and you entered their existance uninvited. If you dont like what you read, STOP READING IT! There are those that will enjoy it deeply and relate and find it useful or interesting…Thats part of the american beauty boys & girls—— you have FREEDOM of self…
posted by Gira on March 31, 2007 #
Oh Boy, this is the most bizarre thing I have EVER read regarding weight loss. It is common knowledge that “starving” ones self is unhealthy and eating a few crackers a day and a shot of olive oil is not a healthy way to lose weight. I lost 55 lbs so far, never ate a cracker or two, never drank a mug of oil. I did it by “portion control” thats right. Simple. Effective. I eat anything I want and everything from all the food groups each day but I watch my portions. If I want a burger and fries for dinner, I have it but I cut the size down. Look, it took me 18 months to lose the 55 lbs but I didn’t faint, feel hungry, starve, live off crackers and oil and I know my body remained healthy and sound. I learned to exercise (not freakishly either) but I feel great and I PRAY all the young girls reading your article who are bombarded with visual’s of super thin anorexic models every day and who listen to society when they say “guys dont like fat chicks” have the sense and intelligence to diet in a safe and healthy fashion regardless of the stupidity in our society today.
posted by Kelly on October 31, 2007 #
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