Part I
Forgive the layout and content of this post; I'm rushing at work so hope this makes sense.
I semi-fixed it for you.
Can you clarify this? I mean, if low leptin levels slow down energy expenditure, how can you not then have a slower metabolism that refuses to burn off fat unless really taxed at ultra low calorie levels? This is the crux of what I find so confusing.
Hmmmm, read what I said again. It’s really not confusing…. to me it seems like you are thinking to deeply into it.
I said metabolism slows, but not below you're deficit, in so that your deficit becomes a surplus.
This means that if you're maintenance intake is 2500 calories and you've been consuming 1500, your metabolism is certainly going to downregulate due to various mechanisms. But your maintenance intake is not going to fall below 1500 without a change in body mass.
The largest drop in metabolic rate ever reported was between 30-40%, and this was after weeks and weeks of extreme starvation under strict research settings and massive amounts of fat loss in short periods of time in lean men, relatively speaking.
Can I clarify this?
Look at all the research. If you think this isn't true or you've found something suggesting otherwise, I'd love to see it as it has slipped by some people who research this sort of thing for a living.
But if they're dealing with leptin resistance, then why shouldn't they be worrying about suffering from the starvation effects of the hormonal fluctuations?
Now you’re talking about an entirely different scenario, Leptin resistance. And it’s not really about hormonal fluctuations. The previous scenario was. With Leptin Resistance though, you simply have an over-saturation of Leptin; too much.
In this situation what's the cure Claudia? It's not in some magic meal frequency or diet plan and that's what I'm trying to stress.
The cure, only one we know of today, is losing the fat.
Lose fat ---> Lower Leptin ---> Increase Leptin sensitivity
Losing the fat is a function of being in a caloric deficit, plain and simply.
Leptin resistance in fat people may cause bumps in the road such as hunger pangs and the like. But the bottom line is, if they are in a deficit, the fat will come off. So the trick becomes finding ways to ward off the starvation characteristics such as hungers and maintain the caloric deficit.
Your author suggests 3 meals with no snacks, if I'm not mistaken. And it's working for you.... I'm sincerely happy Claudia!!!
I think it's great.
But the fact of the matter is on paper, fat loss is devastatingly simple. The difficulty comes in with the
implementation: it's a matter of willpower and finding
what works for different people.
Marketing, on the other hand, makes money by confusing people. Simple doesn't sell; and this is why I don't pull my information from the bookshelves of Borders or the like, as I've said to you before.
Fat loss is devastatingly simple b/c all it takes is said caloric deficit. But the *plans* that maintain said deficit over an appreciable period of time directly leading to fat loss are numerous!
You'll find some fat people that are able to create a deficit and ride that deficit all the way to their desired weight, of course adjusting for body size. And this deficit can come in a multitude of packages…. some eating 3 meals per day, some eating 8. Whatever works FOR THEM in minimizing the hunger. Food selection is equally important in my experience.
You'll find others who can't remain consistent to save their lives. You, your author, and any researcher at the moment can’t put their fingers on the exact Why. The reason for this, most likely, is that there are multiple Whys. There is much debate as to how much of poor diet-maintenance is physiological (such as hormones) and how much is behavioral.
But back to that black/white thinking…. there’s really no way that you can differentiate the two.
Your author likes to claim it's 3 meals per day with no snacks that will solve this. It has for you, right…. Even though by looks of you I wouldn't say Leptin resistance is your problem.
There's a lot of research that suggests otherwise showing that more frequent eating helps control appetite, among other benefits, fat or skinny.
I'm not bashing, I simply think it's ironic.
Add to this the relatively large amount of overweight/obese people I've helped in my time leads me to believe that more often than not, frequent feedings are best in terms of controlling satiety.
Does that mean I'm right and you are wrong, or vice versa. Of course not.
Remember that while there may be more than one road to a goal, most would prefer to take the one that has the least bumps and travels the shortest distance. And the road that does this isn't going to be the same for each person.
Many get caught up in black/white thinking once they start delving into these topics. "Leptin resistance is bad and it can make your weight loss stop." Or, "You must eat like This if you are going to control your Leptin!" I'm not saying you are suggesting this.... but many do after reading a blurb about it or some non-scientific piece.
It's not so cut and dry at all.
We know the primary way to reduce Leptin is to lose fat.
We know to lose fat we need a caloric deficit.
So basically, any way that you can think of to help someone consistently eat less energy will work. And again, this will be unique from person to person.