Answers to Common CR Questions

[Guest guest]

Below are answers to frequently asked questions that CRFolks

often ask, even experienced CRFolks. is approaching

her one year anniversary on CR.

wrote:

>

> Hi everyone! I've been practicing CR for about 10 months,

> and now that I'm beginning to see this as a lifelong thing ...

>

Hi -- and welcome!

> I just try to eat a lot of fish, beans, soy, and vegetables

> (I try to follow the nutritional advice from the books of

> Dr. Weil), and I eliminate things from my diet that don't

> have nutritional value.

That counts for a lot, but as many of us have discovered (myself

included), that can still easily lead to inadequate or (surprisingly)

EXCESSIVE intake of many nutrients. I strongly advise you to get some

nutrition software, such as " DWIDP " ( " Dr. Walford's Interactive

Dietary Planner " )

< http://www.walford.com/software.htm > -- no, the CR study is not a

cleverly disguised marketing scheme for Dr. Walford's software & books

) or Nutribase < http://www.nutribase.com > or the free, and now

fairly sophisticated, < http://www.nutritiondata.com >, which you use

online, to work out exactly how much you're getting of what.

>

> I supplement with Calcium + D, B-complex, E, and C. I

> consume around 1500 calories a day. My weight has dropped from 130

> to 110 (I'm 5', 4 " ) and these are my concerns:

>

> 1. Are there additional supplements I need?

>

There may be. The only way to know is to do a nutrition analysis. Also,

it appears that CR folk may need more of many nutrients than the AL

person: IMO, you'll want to target a total of ~1.5-2 RDAs of calcium,

zinc, protein, copper, and iron, and perhaps even of ALL nutrients.

>

> 2. When my body stops loosing fat, will I start to loose energy?

>

You shouldn't. If anything, my intuition is the reverse: when you think

about it, as long as you're still losing fat, you're still in negative

energy balance. When your body weight and activity is finally fully

supported by your energy intake, you stop losing weight.

>

> 3. Is there a point at which your weight drops so low that it

> becomes a signal that you're going too far, or do you just

> let your caloric intake be your guide and ignore the rest?

Most people start experiencing negative side effects of one kind or

another when their Caloric intake & /or BMI gets too low. However,

REGULAR LAB TESTS and working closely with your physician are also

crucially important.

>

> 4. What is the ideal number of calories for a reasonably active

> woman of my size who wants to maximize the benefits of CR?

>

The amount of weight loss/CR for which one should aim is a very

contentious point, and in my opinion is really a matter of personal

priorities. The animal studies suggest that the lower you push Calories

(up to the point of frank starvation), the longer they live. But no one

would -- or, I expect, CAN -- maintain so extreme a regimen. Basically,

it comes down to a combination of what you're willing to put up with

(appearance, hunger, quality of life, etc), how strongly motivated you

are by the promise of life extension, how convinced you are of CR's

efficacy and making sure via regular checkups & blood work that you

aren't doing anything harmful to yourself. There is no fixed,

external standard.

At a minimum, it usually takes 10-15% weight loss to induce

endocrinological changes consistent with CR, such as lowered steroid

levels, IGF1, and T3. But the effects of CR appear to me to be

continuous: ANY amount of CR leads to a proportional degree of

life extension.

-- Warren

[Guest guest]

's age is a critical component of the equation. If she is middle

aged or older, her regimen should be moderate.

on 4/10/2004 12:01 PM, Warren at warren.taylor@... wrote:

> Below are answers to frequently asked questions that CRFolks

> often ask, even experienced CRFolks. is approaching

> her one year anniversary on CR.

>