weight loss takes effort?

[johndela1]

I've always been someone with low body fat. About 5 years ago (I'm 37 now) I gained about 10 lbs of fat. I was shocked. Anyhow, I went on the wai diet and walked a lot. I didnt' loose any weight. I took a few weeks to actually fast off and on. I lost my weight and have gone back to my normal wai eating (eating with no limit). I havn't gained it back (4 months has passed). I walk with my dog but my main exercise is weight liting. I do just the opposite of what is recommended here and do all compound moves. Like olympic style lifts and pullups or even muscles ups (go from a pullup to a dip then up from there).

I dont' know how relevant my exercise is just thought I'd mention it.

anyhow, I'm thinking (from my expierience) that to lose weight you must radically cut calories till you get where you want, then go about eating wai style (no addictive stuff).

I just never saw weight comming off till I got extreme and made a focused effort.

my weight also (now and before I lost the weight) never changes

I mean I can seem to eat a lot or hardly anything (but not fast) and my weight wont go up or down.

This doesn't make sense from what I know.

[avalon]

John wrote:

my weight also (now and before I lost the weight) never changes

I mean I can seem to eat a lot or hardly anything (but not fast) and my weight wont go up or down.

This doesn't make sense from what I know.

Not sure I understand you. For you did gain the ten pounds. You mean once you gained it you stayed the same no matter how much you ate? Were you working out at the time of your weight gain?

I couldn't eat the recommended amount of fruits and lose weight. I did lose a lot though, following the Sample plus very few munchies. Sadly, recently I'd been gaining some back, nearly 17 pounds! Gladly, Intermittent Fasting has helped me lose 12 of that. And now I can eat pretty much however much fruit I want on my high calorie days, then restrict on low days. I'm not sure if I'll keep doing this, but I have to say, it's great not to have to worry about how much I'm eating- even if it's just every other day.

Best wishes,
Avalon

[johndela1]

Yes, the initial gain.

I also didn't mention that I gained the 10 lbs when I was really sick. I was sick for about two months. I was semi bed ridden and was staying at my parents house. During that time ate a lot of junk food and was laying around all day.


I'm sure If I wanted to I could gain weight. I mean if I where to go eat pancakes with tons of butter and syrups 10 times a day, I'm sure I'd gain weight.

But with regards to losing, it seems that if I eat what I want I dont' gain or lose but if I cut my calories slightly to the point where I feel a bit deprived, I still don't lose. I'm just saying it took a massive effort to actually get back to my desired weight.

[RRM]

I walk with my dog but my main exercise is weight liting. I do just the opposite of what is recommended here and do all compound moves. Like olympic style lifts and pullups or even muscles ups (go from a pullup to a dip then up from there).

That is not the opposite to what is recommended, at all.

...to lose weight you must radically cut calories till you get where you want... I can seem to eat a lot or hardly anything (but not fast) and my weight wont go up or down...

Eating 'hardly anything' = 'radically cutting calories', whereas the latter gets you where you want, but the former does not?
That doesnt make sense indeed.

with regards to losing, it seems that if I eat what I want I dont' gain or lose

This diet is NOT about eating what you want. Its about learning to listen to your body's energy requirements.
Thats different.
So, yes, it takes effort, but not by using 'force', but to listen (and the latter is much harder when opioid peptides and beta-carbolines are involved).

[johndela1]

Eating what I want is be what I need, if I am eating wai foods and am not following addictive chemicals, right?. By saying what I want I mean to not feel hungry.

I thought the recommendation was not to do intense weight training using big compound moves like squating or clean and jerk, but rather isolating small muslces? I do intense activity followed by long (3 minute) rests.


My bottom line is that in my expierince, I dont' seem to be able to loose weight slowly but seem to need to really cut caloires. I know that cutting calories a small amount over large time is the same thing, but I have expierenced days where I feel hungry all the time and don't lose weight. I can't say I measure the food and was scientific about it, so I don't claim to much about any validity. But what I seem to be seeing is not what I'd expect.

[RRM]

Eating what I want is be what I need, if I am eating wai foods and am not following addictive chemicals, right?. By saying what I want I mean to not feel hungry.

Feeling hungry may have different causes; nutrient intake, 'stomach hunger' (the extend of stomach stretching you are used to) and actual need for energy.
That is why we are always very much stressing to learn to listen to the actual energy needs of your body. It may be the hardest part of this diet.

I thought the recommendation was not to do intense weight training using big compound moves like squating or clean and jerk, but rather isolating small muslces?

Very much depending on what you want.
If you want to increase (or maintain great) muscle mass, such big compound moves will help you indeed. If you just want to be slim, they will not, at all. If you just want to be ripped with no pumped up muscles, isolation exercises are very helpful.

My bottom line is that in my expierince, I dont' seem to be able to loose weight slowly but seem to need to really cut caloires.

If you succeed in learning to listen to your body's actual energy needs for energy, you will loose fat slowly and effortlessly.
Simply cutting calories will get you where you want very fast, but readily ends up in a jojo effect, because you will be fighting against your body. And then the degree of success depends on your willpower, and will remain so.

I have expierenced days where I feel hungry all the time and don't lose weight.

Loosing weight is not measured in days.
And stomach hunger is not a good guideline.

what I seem to be seeing is not what I'd expect.

On this diet you shouldnt expect to see a correlation between weightloss and food intake within the margin of a week (or 2).
Its about learning to constantly (24/7) listen to your actual needs for energy. Once you manage to do so, then you will gradually loose weight effortlessly.

[johndela1]

I agree with you about what you are saying about different ways to exercise. My exercise goals are none of the above exactly. They are simply to be strong as to not get hurt doing day to day tasks and to be quick. I mainly focus on olympic lifting. Many people may see that as the same as increased muslce mass, but muslce size doesn't directly correspond to strength.


So if my stomach feels empty and I feel the need to eat strongly, based on that, but wait and come to find that the hunger goes away completely and I am not lacking energy, does that mean I really wasn't hungry?

I guess I should just ask if hunger and need for food are the same thing. From what I am thinking now, they are not.

[RRM]

So if my stomach feels empty and I feel the need to eat strongly, based on that, but wait and come to find that the hunger goes away completely and I am not lacking energy, does that mean I really wasn't hungry?

Not necessarily. When you ignore your energy needs, specific hormones are secreted that 'make your forget about it' and allow you to go on. Only after a while you will be 'reminded' again.

I guess I should just ask if hunger and need for food are the same thing. From what I am thinking now, they are not.

They are not indeed; not if we are talking about 'stomach hunger'.
The need for food is the need to replenish directly available energy. This is not absolute at all, since the body is perfectly capable of coping with a lack of direct energy (by making available stored energy).
The idea is that it is best to keep your blood sugar as stable as you can.

[Tulip]

anyhow, I'm thinking (from my expierience) that to lose weight you must radically cut calories till you get where you want, then go about eating wai style (no addictive stuff).

Did you mean at the same time, or first cut calories for a few months or so and then start eating more again? Because the latter caused weight gain for me.

[johndela1]

anyhow, I'm thinking (from my expierience) that to lose weight you must radically cut calories till you get where you want, then go about eating wai style (no addictive stuff).

Did you mean at the same time, or first cut calories for a few months or so and then start eating more again? Because the latter caused weight gain for me.

I mean, I had to cut calories, almost fast. Lose a few pounds, then go back to eating %100 wai (all raw fish, yolks, fruit, nuts) and I dont' gain back any weight.

[RRM]

I had to cut calories, almost fast. Lose a few pounds, then go back to eating %100 wai

You didnt have to. You chose to.
But its not the Wai way. We recommend against drastically cutting calories.
The Wai diet is about getting in tune with your energy needs, not to (temporarily) ignore them.

[johndela1]

I had to cut calories, almost fast. Lose a few pounds, then go back to eating %100 wai

You didnt have to. You chose to.
But its not the Wai way. We recommend against drastically cutting calories.
The Wai diet is about getting in tune with your energy needs, not to (temporarily) ignore them.

When I said I had to, I meant that in my expiereince, that is what it took me to lose my body fat that I wanted to.

I tried cutting calories daily but had no results. For what ever reason (my own fault). When I choose to fast for 12-20 hours a few days in a row (I alternated days), I got almost immediate results.

I have used the words 'had to' because that is the only way I was able to get the results I wanted. That's all I meant.

I don't consider eating two meals a day on alternating days a drastic reduction in calories. I understand that my body store calories. I do agree that in the short term it is drastic. I mean if I did that every day it would be a drastic diet, but to miss a days food (or less) is something that I think the body can easily handle.

I don't advocate fasts. To be more specific, by fasts I mean going with out any calories for days at a time. (but I do have doubts about this belief after ready alot of literature on fasting, just not enough doubts to change my opinion)