Hi Michelle and Laura!
Hi Michelle and Laura, and all other bloggiefriends!
Just a quick note before I get back to writing grant applications.
Welcome! So glad you like the blog! And that you're not groaning at the constant chatter of a geeky fangirl in love. Personally, I think the love story is the most fun part, but I do love my eggwhites too!
Michelle wrote:
Hello April, I have been reading your post for a while now and have decided to give CR a try. You are very inspirational !!The problem is that I just don't know where to start. I am female, 32yrs old and currently weigh 107. I don't know how low I should take my calories since I don't want to drop too much too quickly. Do you have any ideas as to a good calorie goal to hit without losing too much too quick??ThanksMichelle
How tall are you Michelle? I'm guessing you're about my height, which is just under 5'2". Sounds like you're already quite thin, so your rate of weight loss should be slower than mine was. When I started, I was five pounds overweight at 137. I lost about five pounds a month in the beginning, which for you would mean you would waste away to nothing and that would defeat the purpose! What we really need to do is determine how many calories you're eating now, figure out where you're lacking essential nutrients, adjust your protein, fat, carb ratio to get you maximum strength, energy, and general happiness out of your calories, and then figure out how to gradually cut down the total number of cals. If you send me a couple of representative days of your current diet, I'll crunch them on my software and help you figure it out. You probably don't want to lose more than two pounds a month, maybe even less. I'll ask MR what he thinks. When he started CR, he was already thin. So you're probably more like him. You should also read, if you haven't yet, Dr. Roy Walford's _The Beyond 120 Year Diet_. It has some great basics. Two words of warning though: I found Walford's high carb, lowfat diet unsustainable at a low calorie level. That's why I went to more Zone-like ratios. Besides the fact that Little MR told me to and Tall MR was just so darned convincing in all his rantings on the subject. Also, I think Walford has a limited understanding of the different experiences women have on CR from men. His chapter on weight loss is an example: he outlines a linear pattern of weight loss, and women just don't work that way. We have tremendous shifts in our weight based on time of the month, exercise, how much we eat the night before. I have been known to weigh four pounds more at 7 pm than I did at 5 am. This is obviously none other than water weight. I'll blog more about women's issues soon, I promise. In the meantime, Walford gives great basics. Soon, a book by Brian Delaney, the president of the CR Society, and Lisa Walford, Roy's daughter and a long term CR practitioner and yoga teacher, should be coming out that promises to be very accessible and easy to use. I'll post the link to where you can order it as soon as it's published.
Laura wrote:
Hi April,I've been doing CR about a year and recently discovered your blog. I love your upbeat tone, practical tips on what to eat, and especially the great story of you and MR. Thanks so much for the recipes today.I am 5'2", 38 years old, and 108 lbs. I eat between 1100 and 1500 calories a day, following the zone approach. I love what CR has done for my appearance, and I like how much more alert I am with the Zone meals. I do sometimes find myself with low energy and hungry. Maybe in the future you could post how you deal with these issues (if they arise at all for you). Thanks again for sharing your experiences.Laura
Hi Laura! We are twins! My CR birthday is coming up on March 26! And yes, MR is going to make me a birthday dinner and no doubt put a birthday candle in a megamuffin or something like that. I've been giving a lot of thought to the low energy and hunger issues, as that is a danger as I take my calories a bit lower. What I always find helps me (disclaimer: as we all know, I am in love with a man who advocates a fairly high protein diet) is to eat more protein. When I'm hungry, a shot of eggwhites fixes me right up. Sometimes I substitute another meal of eggwhites for my usual cottage cheese just to up my protein if I'm feeling hungry, edgy, anxious or somehow under the weather. These days I also take a teaspoon of flax oil with my eggwhites, and you could throw in some chopped tomato or green pepper and salsa to get the carbs and Zone it. Are you feeling irritable when you feel low energy and hungry? Have you been losing weight lately? One of my CR brothers has told me that when he is losing weight, he feels weak and hungry. He is already very thin, as are you, so you might be experiencing the same thing. Send me a day or so of your basic diet and I'll see if I can come up with any ideas.
I love you guys!!! Writing this blog really is the most fun thing on earth. Thanks for coming back.
Okay, now back to raising the money to mobilize the scientists to put an end to the suffering of degenerative diseases associated with aging.
Just a quick note before I get back to writing grant applications.
Welcome! So glad you like the blog! And that you're not groaning at the constant chatter of a geeky fangirl in love. Personally, I think the love story is the most fun part, but I do love my eggwhites too!
Michelle wrote:
Hello April, I have been reading your post for a while now and have decided to give CR a try. You are very inspirational !!The problem is that I just don't know where to start. I am female, 32yrs old and currently weigh 107. I don't know how low I should take my calories since I don't want to drop too much too quickly. Do you have any ideas as to a good calorie goal to hit without losing too much too quick??ThanksMichelle
How tall are you Michelle? I'm guessing you're about my height, which is just under 5'2". Sounds like you're already quite thin, so your rate of weight loss should be slower than mine was. When I started, I was five pounds overweight at 137. I lost about five pounds a month in the beginning, which for you would mean you would waste away to nothing and that would defeat the purpose! What we really need to do is determine how many calories you're eating now, figure out where you're lacking essential nutrients, adjust your protein, fat, carb ratio to get you maximum strength, energy, and general happiness out of your calories, and then figure out how to gradually cut down the total number of cals. If you send me a couple of representative days of your current diet, I'll crunch them on my software and help you figure it out. You probably don't want to lose more than two pounds a month, maybe even less. I'll ask MR what he thinks. When he started CR, he was already thin. So you're probably more like him. You should also read, if you haven't yet, Dr. Roy Walford's _The Beyond 120 Year Diet_. It has some great basics. Two words of warning though: I found Walford's high carb, lowfat diet unsustainable at a low calorie level. That's why I went to more Zone-like ratios. Besides the fact that Little MR told me to and Tall MR was just so darned convincing in all his rantings on the subject. Also, I think Walford has a limited understanding of the different experiences women have on CR from men. His chapter on weight loss is an example: he outlines a linear pattern of weight loss, and women just don't work that way. We have tremendous shifts in our weight based on time of the month, exercise, how much we eat the night before. I have been known to weigh four pounds more at 7 pm than I did at 5 am. This is obviously none other than water weight. I'll blog more about women's issues soon, I promise. In the meantime, Walford gives great basics. Soon, a book by Brian Delaney, the president of the CR Society, and Lisa Walford, Roy's daughter and a long term CR practitioner and yoga teacher, should be coming out that promises to be very accessible and easy to use. I'll post the link to where you can order it as soon as it's published.
Laura wrote:
Hi April,I've been doing CR about a year and recently discovered your blog. I love your upbeat tone, practical tips on what to eat, and especially the great story of you and MR. Thanks so much for the recipes today.I am 5'2", 38 years old, and 108 lbs. I eat between 1100 and 1500 calories a day, following the zone approach. I love what CR has done for my appearance, and I like how much more alert I am with the Zone meals. I do sometimes find myself with low energy and hungry. Maybe in the future you could post how you deal with these issues (if they arise at all for you). Thanks again for sharing your experiences.Laura
Hi Laura! We are twins! My CR birthday is coming up on March 26! And yes, MR is going to make me a birthday dinner and no doubt put a birthday candle in a megamuffin or something like that. I've been giving a lot of thought to the low energy and hunger issues, as that is a danger as I take my calories a bit lower. What I always find helps me (disclaimer: as we all know, I am in love with a man who advocates a fairly high protein diet) is to eat more protein. When I'm hungry, a shot of eggwhites fixes me right up. Sometimes I substitute another meal of eggwhites for my usual cottage cheese just to up my protein if I'm feeling hungry, edgy, anxious or somehow under the weather. These days I also take a teaspoon of flax oil with my eggwhites, and you could throw in some chopped tomato or green pepper and salsa to get the carbs and Zone it. Are you feeling irritable when you feel low energy and hungry? Have you been losing weight lately? One of my CR brothers has told me that when he is losing weight, he feels weak and hungry. He is already very thin, as are you, so you might be experiencing the same thing. Send me a day or so of your basic diet and I'll see if I can come up with any ideas.
I love you guys!!! Writing this blog really is the most fun thing on earth. Thanks for coming back.
Okay, now back to raising the money to mobilize the scientists to put an end to the suffering of degenerative diseases associated with aging.
posted by April @ 12:53 PM
1 Comments:
At 2:27 PM,
Anonymous said…
April, you are so generous to offer to look at my typical day. Should I email you or post? If you prefer email, how do I send you an email (I don't see an address on the blog.) Thanks again, and I look forward to trying some new approaches.
Laura
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