Am I losing too much weight? Also diet vs. exercise question

[A Mad Swayentist]

RE: Hobbit-eating - are the breads and goodies everyone leaves around at work the sort of thing I should be avoiding? I've been pretty strict about that (and before I never was - I would totally take whatever folks had left to share in the office maybe 3 times a day).

[Beau82]

Ha, I have your DP's problem and my DH has your problem! I swear I've been having nothing but salad or raw veggies for lunch the last few weeks and I doubt I've lost any more than a pound or 2. Meanwhile my husband can have 2 or 3 days where he hasn't eaten much plus maybe a bit more activity and he looks like he's lost 4 or 5 pounds.

I've stopped tracking for that reason too. For instance, I make a pretty light version of Shepherds Pie but MFP would show it as hundreds of calories when I know it's not.

[Beau82]

RE: Hobbit-eating - are the breads and goodies everyone leaves around at work the sort of thing I should be avoiding? I've been pretty strict about that (and before I never was - I would totally take whatever folks had left to share in the office maybe 3 times a day).

Yes, probably. You want to avoid having little things every couple of hours. That's exactly how I ate when I conceived my boys. A brownie here, piece of toast there, an hour later some nuts, etc etc etc.

[A Mad Swayentist]

Thank you for your replies Beau82! I know a few couples who have the opposite problem of DH and I, where the DW can't look at food without gaining and has to put in tons of effort to lose, and the DH only has to skip a meal to have people worried about his weight loss. I've always been naturally "skinny" and kinda hated it, only because it was pure luck and I feel for people who have to struggle to lose or maintain ideal weight. Oh, and because it took a ton of bike riding and squats to even get a butt (seriously, my butt was so bony in high school that it was painful to sit). I'm hoping that I can increase DH's exercise and work on tweaking his diet further after I get a BFP...but that may be wishful thinking, if I end up having an exhausting pregnancy. I only want to help him lose weight because he says that's his ideal and because I want him to live a really long and healthy life (preferably while staying married to me). He's still the cutest, sweetest guy I ever married and still has the sexiest voice I know (weight gain or loss won't change that, thank goodness).

[atomic sagebrush]

I think I meant to answer this and then didn't.

Yes, the idea you have to only eat low nutrient foods on LE is a misconception. This is one of those "time machine" things that I'd probably rename if I'd known then what I know now. Avoid fortified foods and vitamins, and then beyond that, if you have a choice between two options and one isnutrient dense and the other is not then if all things are equal, pick the one that is less nutritious. But that doesn't mean you can never have higher nutrient options; after all, you'd have to eat a mountain of spinach before getting anything like the nutrients in a Big Mac!

I think adding in a bit of fat is a nice easy way to ensure you continue ovulating and to also get more "bang" for your calorie buck there in terms of adding cals in a way that doesn't leave you utterly stuffed.

Too many people cut back on fat too far. I actually upped the minimum fat from 25 g to 30 because too many people were stopping O on 25 g fat. Minimum 30 g and you guys have up to 60 to use if you need to.

[atomic sagebrush]

RE: Hobbit-eating - are the breads and goodies everyone leaves around at work the sort of thing I should be avoiding? I've been pretty strict about that (and before I never was - I would totally take whatever folks had left to share in the office maybe 3 times a day).

Hobbit eating refers to eating all day every day - breakfast, first breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, tea, etc and not what you're eating per se. So I'd avoid the nibbling but a lot of people can still have goodies as a part of LE Diet (esp if you're losing too fast.)

Geez I'm really sorry I never swung back to reply, always give me a bump if it goes beyond a week cause I open posts sometimes and then have to shut down and then it looks like I already replied.

[atomic sagebrush]

AMS, the interesting thing is that it can also switch as we get older - my hubs used to be rail thin and could eat whatever he wanted and never gains, now he can't lose weight and I just hang out at my average as long as I don't live on beer and birthday cake.