Newbie Introduction/Questions (long)

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

I just found this group, and I must say, you seem to have much more

information than the other CRON resources I've found online. I'm going to give

a bit of information on the development of my eating habits before getting to my

questions, so you can really skip this first bit.

I first heard about Cron a few years ago, and was intrigued. A few years ago,

without really aiming for any particular diet, I started gradually modifying

what I

was eating. I was displeased with my weight, but was never really comfortable

letting that being a motivating factor in and of itself. But, even though I'm

mostly vegetarian (I eat seafood, and have a few exceptions each year built

into my system), my cholesterol got up to 239. At the time I was around 25,

and, given my family's history of heart disease, I considered that ample reason

to change my diet. I made changes slowly for a couple years, and then more

rapidly in 2001. When I started monitoring my intake more closely, I was eating

between 1100 and 1800 calories/day, and usually below 1400. Over the

course of 6 months, my weight went from a lifetime maximum of around 140

(I'd been in the 130s fora few years) to waivering around 122-125. I'm about

5'4.5 " .

Since then, there have been several periods where life got crazy and I resumed

eating junk for a while. Most recently, for about 3 months I ate rather

unhealthy

food some days, although still made some effort about half the time. Still, I

don't think my average caloric consumption went very high because my

appetite was low.

A few weeks ago, I recommitted to a healthy diet, and around two weeks ago

started keeping close track of my consumption on fitday.com. I am usually

eating between 800-1400 calories/day, almost always falling between 1000-

1100. Over the past 2-3 weeks, I've gone from 118 to 116 lbs. I am not

hungry, I am getting plenty of protein and EFAs, although I still need to tweak

my diet so that I don't need to supplement to get enough B vitamins, minerals,

and vitamin K. My diet is very rich in organic fruits and vegetables. My

friends

are concerned that I'm not eating enough, but I'm not very active at the moment

(although I plan on starting to exercise after my semester ends) and I think my

body would tell me if I wasn't getting enough food by making me hungry.

All this background is really to provide context for my questions.

First, I don't really seem to be able to do the gradual introduction of CR.

Once I

start trying to eat well, I add in veggies that are low cal and fill me up. In

a way

I guess I did more gradually adopt the healthy diet, but it has been by fits and

starts. There have been lengthy gaps. There will probably continue to be days

when I go out to eat and have whatever I want, regardless of calorie count. I

don't want to lose the benefits of CR by doing it this way. What do you think?

Second, does BMI figure into the goal weight at all? I do understand that

weight is just a guide, not a goal in and of itself. I also know how fuzzy the

whole set point determination is. But, I'd still like some feedback. I am small

boned, and my current BMI is 19.6. Until the middle of college, I waivered

between 106-116 naturally with absolutely no dieting. Then I went on a

medicine that shifted my metabolism even once I stopped taking it. My weight

creeped up to the 130's, and mostly stayed there for several years, but it never

felt comfortable. After I started eating well, my setpoint seemed to shift

again,

so I waivered mostly between 119-127, not going above that even during

periods of extended pigging out. If I use 125 as my setpoint, which seems

honest, then 25% below that is 93.75. That is pretty clearly ridiculous, isn't

it?

If I use 135 as my set point, that gives me 101.25 as a 25% reduction (yes, I

know that 10-25% is generally the goal, but I'm trying to figure out what would

most likely give the most benefits). That would leave me with a BMI of 17.1.

While that is certainly doable, it sounds like it might be overdoing it.

I know to some extent I just need to go by feel, but, in general, what BMI is

just

considered too low? There must be some objective lower cutoff. After all,

there are some people who just naturally are walking sticks. While changing

their nutrient intake and lowering their metabolism by reducing calories may

well be desireable, I doubt much further weight loss would be good for them.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I do have some other questions about

supplements and mineral absorption, but perhaps those are best left for

separate posts.

Thanks.