Rethink your desire to lose weight..

[mrchibbs]

Being fat is terrible, i've lost like 50 pounds and already feel way better. Still got like 40 more pounds to go and i'd cut down to 1500 calories if i had to.

Of course, there is a difference between obesity and being a little fat. If you had 50 pounds (and more) to lose, then clearly was a problem for your health.

Once people get in the ranges of being 20-30lbs over their ideal weight, it's probably safer not to restrict calories so much but to focus on other factors which cause the body to stay overweight. Endotoxin, poor microbiome, adrenal excess, toxins in adipose tissues, liver sluggishness are all factors which cause adipogenesis.

Cutting calories that low is a recipe for disaster IMO, I've seen it happen several times with people in my life. It's very stressful and just about everyone bounces back to higher calories afterwards.

 

[mrchibbs]

Agreed - I feel best when Im thick - I feel a lot more resistant to stress and all around feel like a nicer person when I am thick - when I am skinny/scrawny I feel more like I'm more exposed to stress for lack of a better word and that I'm just more of a d*** of a person not sure how I would explain it.

I notice for girls too I like talking to girls with a little bit of weight on them - they tend to be very nice personality-wise, down-to-earth, and laid back - also seem to be resistant to stress - the skinny girls I meet generally tend to be more of the stuck-up/arrogant types

I think of course as some users will bring up if one is too fat I think one might be concerned about the estrogenic effects form holding on to too much fat but overall I feel x100 better when I have a bit of weight on me and people seem to like me better when I am thick - times in my life where I was skinny were generally when my health was declining/in shambles

I concur, the healthiest (and prettiest) girls I've seen have this sort of natural hip fat and body proportions. With men fat should be evenly spread, if it gets into the hips like women that's a telltale sign of estrogen dominance and/or deficiency of gonadal hormones (testosterone, progesterone etc.).

I also resonate with your thoughts about feeling more resilient to stress with a little bit of fat as opposed to being totally thin. Of course in theory a person without stress and with an optimal environment wouldn't have much fat storage because that is probably an epigenetic process activated by an inadequate environment.

 

[mrchibbs]

Let's not forget that if we have been consuming those foods which add body fat as saturated and monounsaturated fat and have been staying away from an excess of environmental toxins, the fat on our body is thousands of fairly pure calories just waiting to be used for a "cloudy day."

By the same token, adipose tissues are also a reservoir of toxins and for many individuals weight loss can bring about metabolic stress. My father experienced it last year. He smoked, ate PUFA laden fast foods and countless toxins for 40 years. He then lost 40+ lbs at the age of 60 over the course of a few months. He did it by intense training and undereating. Sure enough, he promptly started to experience signs of severe hypothyroidism (ice cold hands, lethargy etc.) whereas he had always had a very high metabolic rate and body temperature. He also developed diabetes.

That's why I think Ray is so careful about people wanting to lose weight and having an approach of losing like 1lbs a week. It's a process where you basically have to activate lipolysis and start mobilizing inflammatory fats and stored toxins. This is a severe shock to the system and basically floods and poisons the tissues. At the extreme, like Ray said, fasting is basically a 100% PUFA diet for many people. For individuals who have experienced chronic stress and have suboptimal environments, weight loss can make things a lot worse. It's a protective adaptation in many ways. Of course if you're 40, 50 or 100lbs overweight, that's too much.

 

[michael94]

100 kg of pure, nonperishable fat in the form of fancy coconut oil in half litre glass jars from the local shop costs half a months salary. Calories are really not that hard to come by. Being fat is also not a sign of health as you can tell from looking at the world, unless your definition of health is "doesn't have a serious wasting disease".

Very astutely put. If things break down so much to the point where you are depending on your fat stores you would be better off with the agency and fitness that comes with being less overweight.

 

[superhappy]

I just wanna be lean like I was when I was 15. Used to play on the trampoline everyday and used to run around the living room doing back flips on the sofa. If I tried to do that now i'd probably break something cuz of all this fat holding me back.

About the 1500 calorie thing, ray peat said it would be alright to cut down to 1000 calories short term to lose some fat.

View: https://youtu.be/3fVx5yk73t4?t=6839

 

[Kris]

Of course, there is a difference between obesity and being a little fat. If you had 50 pounds (and more) to lose, then clearly was a problem for your health.

Once people get in the ranges of being 20-30lbs over their ideal weight, it's probably safer not to restrict calories so much but to focus on other factors which cause the body to stay overweight. Endotoxin, poor microbiome, adrenal excess, toxins in adipose tissues, liver sluggishness are all factors which cause adipogenesis.

Cutting calories that low is a recipe for disaster IMO, I've seen it happen several times with people in my life. It's very stressful and just about everyone bounces back to higher calories afterwards.

I guess it all depends on a person. I have been eating PUFA free diet for years, and do not experience fasting as stressful. Neither the calorie restriction. In the past I was into fasting, like doing 21 days colonics irrigations, and I don't think that this is a healthy approach. But fasting one day a week has been recommended by many religious or meditative traditions as promoting health since ever. I still do it from time to time, or stay only on fruits for a day or two. I really feel the same, meaning that my body is feeling great or normal. Even RP mentioned somewhere that rats on lower calorie diet, or fasting for some time, increased their longevity. The fact is the people just eat too much. Maybe they need so much calories because they live in stress, i don't know, or they just love eating.

 

[RealNeat]

Very astutely put. If things break down so much to the point where you are depending on your fat stores you would be better off with the agency and fitness that comes with being less overweight.

Your body will start to break down fat stores at calories below maintenance... it's not like it sits down and has a huge fat meal. It trickles little by little, it's a supplement to the diet, things have rarely ever gotten to the point where one ONLY relies on fat stores, like hibernating, or a Christopher McCandless type situation.

 

[RealNeat]

I just wanna be lean like I was when I was 15. Used to play on the trampoline everyday and used to run around the living room doing back flips on the sofa. If I tried to do that now i'd probably break something cuz of all this fat holding me back.

About the 1500 calorie thing, ray peat said it would be alright to cut down to 1000 calories short term to lose some fat.

View: https://youtu.be/3fVx5yk73t4?t=6839

Yes I would never suggest carrying so much weight that one is essentially immobile or unable to at least sprint or run when needed. Fat is such a rich source of calories that even just being slightly overweight is like having an extra shelf of food.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Valid points, in general I agree. I think some forms of weight, in the right places, especially on women, can be very attractive.

Like I said, this is a post that's meant for a certain context. An otherwise healthy person losing weight in trying times is akin to burning money imo.

I agree with you that having good fat in the right places is a healthy thing ESPECIALLY in older aged people.