Calorie Watching

[Guest guest]

Andy writes: So my current diet is not aimed at the CR of CRON; rather at the ON...I am currently in the "pre" stage of a CRON diet...I am still weight-lifting and doing cardio."

OK, so you are "watching" calories, not "restricting" them. (That's me for now.) I think that makes us CWONIEs (ewww...sorry about that), or "Calorie Watching with Optimal Nutrition and an Interest in Exercise."

I sense that quite a few of us are in the same boat. Calorie Restriction is facinating science, but for one reason or another, it isn't necessarily something we're all able and willing to do, at least for the time being. Calorie "Watching" is relatively sane and easy, and certainly a wiser course than the general population takes.

For what it's worth,

Suz

PS Andy did you opt-out of exercise entirely

[Guest guest]

--- In , " Suzanne Cart " <massuz@c...>

wrote:

Andy writes: So my current diet is not aimed at the CR of CRON;

rather at the ON...I am currently in the " pre " stage of a CRON

diet...I am still weight-lifting and doing cardio. "

> OK, so you are " watching " calories, not " restricting " them.

> (That's me for now.) I think that makes us CWONIEs (ewww...sorry

> about that), or " Calorie Watching with Optimal Nutrition and an

> Interest in Exercise. "

>

> I sense that quite a few of us are in the same boat. Calorie

> Restriction is facinating science, but for one reason or another,

> it isn't necessarily something we're all able and willing to do, at

> least for the time being. Calorie " Watching " is relatively sane

> and easy, and certainly a wiser course than the general population

> takes.

Dear Suz ~

I think that at this point calorie restriction is more a hypothesis

than a science, but perhaps we're splitting hairs.

I DO plan on restricting calories at some point. There is a strong

enough belief here that it can be valuable both from a health point

of view and a longevity one. But I am cautious about over doing it;

I don't want to walk around persistently hungry, cold, and deprived-

feeling all the time either. As Sheehan, the late-

cardiologist running-doctor-philosopher once said, " Each of us must

be an experiment of one. " So, for me, CR will happen when the

current weight-loss levels off for a month or more. And then, it

will be a slow, steady process (what Walford recommends).

> PS Andy did you opt-out of exercise entirely

Hmmm....I wonder where you got that impression from? Please reread

my post sent recently. I am working out six or more times per week

and I detail that in the post. If I suggested that I had stopped,

that was an error on my part. I like exercise for several reasons:

(1) it makes me FEEL good, regardless of whether it is weightlifting

or cardio; (2) the extra calories it burns allows me a bit more of a

margin on consuming a few more calories. I know, I know, this

involves a trade off in generating more free radicals, but recent

research has suggested that only " extremely strenuous " exercise

(which is variable; each person has his or her own limits) is what

weakens the immune system. More moderate, regular, consistent

exercise seems to strengthen the immune system and shore up the

entire body as well. It may produce some excess free radicals, but

the immune system, bolstered by the moderate exercise, appears to be

well-able to handle those free radicals. Very hard, strenuous,

demanding exercise (training for a marathon or the Tour de France for

example) significantly DEpresses the immune system and thus the free

radicals generated by that activity are not " taken care of " as neatly

as one would optimally want.