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I definitely see that as true. I am one of those who, with an average daily body temperature below 97 and a wake up temp in the 95's does not burn a lot of calories. Very efficient. Can be quite comfortable in an 80 degrree room.
I still have succeeded at loosing 58lbs so far but it has only been by excercising hard for about an hour a day (based on the gym equipment burning around 500 calories a session) and eating around 1200-1300 calories a day. But with this routine, if I go up to eating 1500 or stall on excercise, I gain again. I never ate more than 2000 calories a day and the thyroid tests are all normal and I don't really have other symptoms of low thyroid.
You know people like me do not want pity but we do want people to realize we did not always get there hiding in their closets eating big macs and bags of chips. So a little more understand and a little less revulsion would be nice. I have simply adjusted my attitude to realize I am a "survivor type" that could probably handle famine quite well. But then we have to figure out how to manage living in such a body..........It is what it is and it takes what it takes. Sometimes you have to rise above the odds.
Congrats on the weight loss.
But, I want to clarify that I was talking about the author's position that "calories don't matter." I do understand that there are statistical anomalies out there (otherwise, we wouldn't have the word anomalies) that make someone have low MR.
BTW, you said you had thyroid exams done. Did you just have the TSH test done, or did you do the whole spectrum (T3, T4,TSH, etc.)? Because many times, doctors only do TSH and it doesn't tell the whole story. This happened to my neighbor after she had kids and she just couldn't tell why she would gain weight so easily. Doc only did TSH and they came back normal, but she had no T4.
I definitely wouldn't make the assumption that you aren't trying (most people who do try to loose weight make an effort). Most folks just don't know what's really going in and coming out, and then you have a few with thyroid, and then you just have a few that make you scratch your head (however, these make interesting case studies and are more desirable to research doctors than normies and thyroid folks, LOL). I wouldn't say someone isn't trying unless I was their doctor looking at their charts.
BTW, you said you had thyroid exams done. Did you just have the TSH test done, or did you do the whole spectrum (T3, T4,TSH, etc.)? Because many times, doctors only do TSH and it doesn't tell the whole story. This happened to my neighbor after she had kids and she just couldn't tell why she would gain weight so easily. Doc only did TSH and they came back normal, but she had no T4. .
TSH, T4 - Most doctors refuse to test Free T3 which is the clincher for many of us as they don't acknowledge a possibility of a defect in the T4 to T3 conversion - thie includes the American thyroid association. There are a few visionaries out there that believe you should dose based on symptoms, not just the TSH/T4 test.
But I have chased that rainbow's end for so many years that I have to move on. There are ways to get T3 but it is too dangerous a system to muck with without medical help. But I guess the point I was making was that there is a spectrum of body temperatures and these are correlated to metabolic rates and an engine that is burning more fuel runs hotter.
It's clear that RunninginCircles is in the carbs don't count school of nutritional persuasion. That's fine, I respect that. For those who have read Taubes' book or know obese friends/coworkers or diabetics who invaribly consume a diet high in simple sugars and simple carbohydrates hold a differing point of view.
The number of people who have lost weight and maintained their weight loss while following a low carb way of eating such as the South Beach Diet is enormous...including myself. And I'd tried calorie restricted diets (and high in complex carbs and low fat) combined with daily exercise to little avail.
For me, and many others, the proof is in the pudding so to speak, not in the lab trying to support a theory that fails where the rubber meets the road. I'll stick with weight loss and low incidences of diabetes and heart disease that occur with a simple carb-restricted diet that includes healthy fats.
I am eating about 50% carbs, 25% fat, 25% protein. Carbs are primarily of the complext type but I do average about 35 grams of simple carbs a day and working to drop that. It is hard to kill the simple carbs and maintain adequate potassium intake.
Some people are "fast burners" and some not. I don't think calories in/energy out is the same for everyone. I don't think overweight people are necessarily eating more than thinner people either--not always. But, prob. more carbs, salt and food that lowers their metabolic rate. Biochemistry is complex and not a simple equation. And, thyroid is a factor, esp. as women get older.
I was always blessed to be able to eat whatever I wanted when younger. As I get older, I have to watch my carbs. If I eat bread, at all, I can gain weight easily. Or sweets. So, I curtail them and eat mostly lean protein, low fat and complex carbs, but modestly.
It's clear that RunninginCircles is in the carbs don't count school of nutritional persuasion. That's fine, I respect that. For those who have read Taubes' book or know obese friends/coworkers or diabetics who invaribly consume a diet high in simple sugars and simple carbohydrates hold a differing point of view.
The number of people who have lost weight and maintained their weight loss while following a low carb way of eating such as the South Beach Diet is enormous...including myself. And I'd tried calorie restricted diets (and high in complex carbs and low fat) combined with daily exercise to little avail.
For me, and many others, the proof is in the pudding so to speak, not in the lab trying to support a theory that fails where the rubber meets the road. I'll stick with weight loss and low incidences of diabetes and heart disease that occur with a simple carb-restricted diet that includes healthy fats.
Thermodynamics are scientific LAWS which means they are observations. Energy is always conserved. This isn't an opinion or theory, it is actual fact. If you are importing less potential energy (food calories) and you expend a sum of kinetic and heat energy greater than that, that energy has to come from somewhere. It can't be created. So it comes from fat stores, muscle and other lean tissue. Now, I have already stated that there are anomalies and differences in metabolic rates. I haven't disputed any of that. Grannynancy, for example, is a prime example: her body temperature is lower meaning she is expending less heat energy, thus she has an overall lower metabolic rate. I totally accept that, and other factors which would contribute (lower lean mass, thyroid conditions, etc.). However, it doesn't mean calories don't matter (which is the ONLY point I was arguing...). It means the amount of energy it takes to move one's body is lower, which means it will take a lower amount of daily calories to reach the point of excess.
I don't think the argument is that calories don't matter at all, it's that in the grand scheme of things, counting calories doesn't matter.
You see, when a person's diet consists mainly of vegetables, healthy fats, quality protein, fruit, nuts & seeds, and limits or eliminates processed flour, grains & sugar, a person generally is sated for a longer period of time and therefore does not consume nearly as many calories as someone on a low-fat, high carb diet (not talking about someone deliberately restricting their calories). Eating this way also does not take nearly as much food to make a person feel full.
Someone used to eating excessive amounts of processed grains, flour and sugar will be used to having to literally stuff themselves so that they physically feel full, so they need to adjust to feeling satisfied when they are actually no longer hungry instead of using the "my stomach actually FEELS full" to gauge fullness.
Instead of using a "study", experiment on yourself. Instead of thinking of it as "low-carb", try eating only vegetables, quality protein, fruit, nuts, seeds and healthy fats for a week and log in your calories each day. You might surprise yourself at what you find.
My experience: Since 1997, most of the time I have followed the Atkins thing pretty closely. Lots of porksteaks, ribeyes, eggs and bacon every morning, real cream in my coffee--tons of fat and protein.
This helped me get to a decent weight after 20 years of mildl obesity (5'8", 235 pounds down to 180-185).
My blood pressure is 115 over 78, cholesterol just peachy, never sick.
I don't think the argument is that calories don't matter at all, it's that in the grand scheme of things, counting calories doesn't matter.
You see, when a person's diet consists mainly of vegetables, healthy fats, quality protein, fruit, nuts & seeds, and limits or eliminates processed flour, grains & sugar, a person generally is sated for a longer period of time and therefore does not consume nearly as many calories as someone on a low-fat, high carb diet (not talking about someone deliberately restricting their calories). Eating this way also does not take nearly as much food to make a person feel full.
Someone used to eating excessive amounts of processed grains, flour and sugar will be used to having to literally stuff themselves so that they physically feel full, so they need to adjust to feeling satisfied when they are actually no longer hungry instead of using the "my stomach actually FEELS full" to gauge fullness.
Instead of using a "study", experiment on yourself. Instead of thinking of it as "low-carb", try eating only vegetables, quality protein, fruit, nuts, seeds and healthy fats for a week and log in your calories each day. You might surprise yourself at what you find.
I actually do agree with that premise. However, Dr. Taube has state "calories don't matter" which violates thermodynamics. However, I do agree that eating whole grains and fats make one feel fuller and thus make them eat less.
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