Way Too Fat     

I've hit another base camp / plateau. I am 11 pounds lighter than when I started. My biggest loss came on the week that I exercised most. It could be that leptin for weight loss acts in much the same way as steroids do for muscle gain. You don't pop a pill and lose weight. What leptin may do is make exercise more effective and calorie burn more pronounced.

tags : leptin 5-HTP

A friend of mine started talking 5-HTP. Here is what he has had to say:
here's some of my observations of 5-HTP.

Mental: It has changed my mood dramatically, as if a veil had suddenly
been lifted from my eyes. Everything seems to be in sharp focus, and
I'm a bit more hyper than I used to be -- the first night I had trouble
falling asleep the effect was so dramatic. I did suffer from a mild
headache on the frst night, but that quickly passed.

Appetite: While I still get ravenously hungry, I am finding that it
takes less food at a sitting to sate my hunger, and I am not tempted to
overeat to excess. I am not keeping track of weight as you are, but am
primarily taking the 5-HTP for its effect on my susceptability to
depression. I note these changes for your study, but I can tell that
the increased energy is definately burning more calories than I did
before. The extreme hunger probably offsets any gains made in the
caloric burning dep't though.

I would like to give you nothing but good news, but that isn't the case this week. I am up 6 pounds from last week (e.g. after three weeks: net loss 5 lbs.). In my "defense" I think I threw off my weight by have salty food on prior day, but I am going to leave that to the jury.

Two weeks into using 5-HTP and things are good.
My digestion issues have settled down to a dull roar. I came into this with a lot of IBS issues. If nothing else, I am having fewer IBS issues, which I may be able to attribute to a better diet or less food seiging my system.
My sleep levels and mood remain good. I have thrown off a control aspect by purposely getting up earlier to synchronize with my family's routine. Nevertheless, I am doing okay on this front.
I am no longer as hungry. In my last report, I found I was hungry all the time, but able to ignore the impulse to eat. I have to attribute this to smaller portions allowing my stomach to shrink in size. As I said in another post, stomach size is a factor in Ghrelin production that spurs the hunger sensation.
Best part of all: since last Sunday, I have lost 11 pounds. I have not skipped a meal in the last week. In fact, on Friday, I had fish'n'chips for dinner. I have been physically more active, but that may be a side effect of feeling like I have the energy to exercise. I started my diet a year ago, I lost 40 lbs. and then stalled out. I think I hit a base camp. Now, I'm out of the camp and continuing my descent. If I hit a wall in 30-40 lbs, I will repeat the process: establish a base camp, hunker down, wait for my metabolism to reset, and start the descent again.

Seven days ago, I started taking 5-HTP. Here's my first report:
For the first few days, I had afternoon headaches. They have mostly passed.
I noticed that my mood is more stable. That is supposed to be the primary effect of 5-HTP-- as a supplement that aids emotion and mood. From a dieting perspective, if mood can get factored out of dieting, mood induced food choices can get factored out.
The next effect: hunger and saiety. Since starting 5-HTP, I have been more hungry, but I eat much less often. Snacking is out of the picture. If I'm three hours late for a meal, that's not a big deal. When I eat, I never wish for seconds. So, on the saiety front it's a win. On hunger front: not so much.
A friend once said, "We're just big, walking chemistry sets."
The big question: have I lost weight? Yes, I have lost a couple of pounds.
So, we'll see how things are next week.

Like the song says: "For every thing there is a time." If your weight loss and self-esteem are in any way tied in any way, when you weigh can be as important a what you weigh.

Do:
First thing in the morning after your first trip to the washroom. This is the most accurate weigh in you'll get. If you want a good gauge of your current weight.
Before exercise: Again, this is close to accurate.
When you're not depressed: If you're in a bad mood, the last thing you need is an excuse to slide on your diet.

Don't:
After a large meal-- or large glass of water: All you'll be doing is weighing the food you ingested. Water has zero calories, but a liter of water weighs over 2lbs.
After exercise: Your workout will have left you dehydryated. Your weigh in will not so much show you how many calories you've burned, as how much water you've left in the gym.
Weigh in everyday: Your weight can fluctuate. I weighed my fit little daughter. She came in at 52lbs.; the next day: 50lbs.. Two pounds of swing on a 50lb girl. Choose two days of the week thaty are generally good days. Make those your two weigh in days and skip the other five days.

Remember:
Friday's indulgence is Monday's flab: Even though you get the sugar/insulin benefit from eating soon after you eat, excess calories and missing calories cruise around your body for upwards of two days. In other words, if you have a double cheeseburger then weigh in and see little change, you might think you've dodged the bullet. Wrong. By the same token: exercise will strip off water right away, but lost calories and lost fat will take a couple of days to make their way out of your body. So, if you sweat off half a litre, then drink that back, you'll think you did nothing for your weight loss. Give it some time.
+/- 1%: If your weight can swing randomly 1%, you have to factor in that when you weigh in. If you weigh 200lbs-- a +/- 2lbs is a 1% swing. If you weigh 300lbs-- a +/- 3lbs is a 1% swing. When you cheer because you lost two pounds, remember the +/- 1% rule.

tags: dieting, obesity