Hello all! One thing I wanted to ask - Iris, you said you hit a plateau for 3 months. I don't understand how our bodies can do this to us! It's so unfair. I was wondering - do you think this would happen to people who don't have a weight problem? I don't mean to go down the whole slow metabolism/big bones excuse route, but do you ever wonder if those of us prone to getting big are maybe at some kind of metabolic disadvantage as far as weight loss is concerned? I think my body must have been built to survive famine, which must have been useful for cave men, but is less helpful in modern society!
That's an interesting question, DR! I really don't know how much of a role genetics play... I think there was a fascinating programme on the bbc a while back where a group of naturally skinny people were part of a study where they radically overate for a few weeks to see what would happen to them - most gained weight (albeit a small amount) but a couple didn't gain at all, and all seemed to return to their natural skinniness very quickly after they resumed their normal eating habits.
The programme made the same point you did, that a big bulk of us are descended from genetic survivors - those who could pile on the weight in times of plenty and last through the famines when they struck. I suppose we can't just switch off that urge to make digestive hay while the sun shines - it's just that here in the west we're generally so blessed that in food terms it never rains. There's an orgy for the tastebuds on every street corner!
Maybe we're mainly fighting good old-fashioned greed. Bit of an ugly word, I know, but I think it's true in my case. I love food, love eating, love cooking, love the whole sensual side of flavours and textures and scent and variety. I'm a glutton, that's just me! Even now I know that technically I do overeat and I'm still greedy - it's just that I do it with stuff like pineapple and raspberries these days, rather than the choccy!
Plateaus are strange things, but I do think they can be broken. You know, I think there's maybe a psychological barrier in a lot of cases - it's not just a physical thing, the fact that your weight loss has stalled is usually linked to some reluctance or fear to change the eating plan that was working well for you before the plateau. I think that mindset can lead to the body just getting too accustomed to your daily diet. Our bodies are so efficient, after all, they're remarkable engines that will make the very most out of what they're given, and fight every step of the way to keep us protected against illness and famine. So maybe the big enemy, in terms of weight loss, can be too much routine. Getting stuck in a rut. I know that's what happened to me. I was comfortable with what I was eating, never felt hungry, had let my portion sizes gradually creep up, and felt a bit panicked by the idea of having to change my habits to get things moving again.
But I got tired of feeling stuck so I sat down and had a very reluctant look at what I was eating. I admitted to myself that I was hooked on sugary cereal for breakfast - the old coco pops! I'd get a sugar hit first thing, then get hungry soon after, and most days I'd graze on 5 or 6 Alpen light cereal bars. Sugar again. Nowhere near as bad as my former chocoholic binging patterns, but I was still hooked on sugar, and eating mostly carbs at the expense of filling protein.
Incidentally (and I'm terribly sorry for babbling here - I know I get carried away!) there was a great article in last week's New Scientist about how not all calories are created equal, because the body expends more energy to digest protein and fibre, as opposed to easily burned sugars. So it might look like a tin of sardines is hefty in the calorie line when compared to an inviting toasted crumpet, but it boosts your metabolism and digesting it requires greater energy, so it's a lot more calorifically economical than the bready treats, if that makes sense. Same goes for fibrous veggies and fruit.
I ended up getting over the plateau by varying things up a bit. Kippers and other oily fish for breakfast some days, less processed treats, even more fruit, weetabix and wholegrain cereals low in sugar instead of the kiddies' types, and I tried changing the times I ate at, and varying the calories I had each day - 1600 on monday, 1200 on tuesday, 1500 on wednesday - that kind of thing. I found I had to actually eat more calories in order to kick my metabolism back into business - but those extra calories came mostly from increased protein consumption.
I do think you're right - we're fighting a very basic primeval urge to hang on to the protective fat that we have, and that urge can manifest itself in getting emotionally dependent on a fixed eating routine. You worry that you might lose control if you have to change things, and mentally you make a lot of rational-sounding excuses as to why you shouldn't, but I think it's basically the body fighting hard to keep you eating the same things because it's got used to handling them and knows it can protectively maintain your weight if you continue eating them. It can be a bit scary just how much control the old body can exert over the mind without you even realising it!