[Cactus]

My Name is Cactus,
I have practiced CR without knowing I was on the right track. Now I have found this Society through seeing it on shows like 60 minutes Oprah etc. I will try to contribute easy recipes and learn from members too.
My Husband told me he will help me to navigate on this site that's the only problem I need to learn how to use the site hope to post soon and communicate with you.
Thankyou,
Cactus Hope this posts I'm trying....

[paulgfoster]

Hello Cactus and welcome to the site. Im reasonably new here too so hopefully we can all learn from each other. Paul

[Cactus]

Thankyou, I started a thread,"CRSociety Say Your Piece!" Maybe for Newbies like us just to check in on each other daily weekly whatever to talk I did see you mentioned cronometer something like that on a thread I'll do that here in a minute thanks for the help. Cactus...

[keithsct]

Cassie, on 05 June 2012 - 01:16 AM, said:

Another newbie says hi!

I've just recently read about the research that lead to CR approach, and I'm quite intrigued. But I've got a few questions.

I've calculated my basal metabolism, which is 1120 cal without activity factor included, 1540 for light activity (gardening). So I'm confused, if CR refers to restricting calories to match my basal metabolism, or to those 1540 (which is pretty close to my regular intake anyway), or 20 to 40% off one of them (which one)?

Second, what do you think of erythritol? I would like to have some homemade sweets at least once a week (I can happily live without industrial sweets and snacks, but I don't want to totally give up on home-made desserts), but I want to avoid sugar.

Thanks,
Cassie

Hi Cassie, Basal metabolism is just an estimate from population averages. What you really want to know is your own "real metabolism" for your usual activity level when you were lean and healthy, then cut that by 20% - 40% (though 40% is very severe and not much fun). Each person has to go thru a trial and error process to find out what it is. Another gauge is BMI. On CRON many people manage to achieve a BMI between 18.5 and 22 and look good and feel healthy. Regardless of what calorie target you set, your body will come to an equilibrium and adjust by losing or gaining weight and raising or lowering metabolism. On CRON we try to turn down the metabolism and make that equilibrium point near the lower end of the range of stable body weights you could support.

If I were you, I'd save the homemade sweets and treats for special occasions and remove them from my regular diet. Usually they are low in nutrition and higher in calories and most importantly they are a constant temptation. Once a month is better than once a week.

Cheers,
Keith (3 yrs CR and counting...)

[keithsct]

Cassie, on 06 June 2012 - 12:17 AM, said:

Thanks Keith. So, if I understand you well, "real" metabolism includes activity, so it would be more around 1500-1600 for me, and then cut from that. I know it's just an approximation - what I want to do is eat as little as I can and as nutritious as I can, while still feeling healthy and happy. From the experimental stage of last two days, I think I can live quite happily on 1100-1200, but I will follow my body, too. I don't want to weigh every gram and be anxious about calculating everything strictly.

I've been reading a lot of CR-related sites in last few days, but didn't find much about experiences in the initial, adjustment stages - do people feel any weakness, or mood changes, or any other kind of unpleasant symptoms until the body adjusts to the new diet? (Some years back I tried fasting a few times... my, how my dreams were full od food!)

Cassie, The real metabolism definition doesn't include exercise, but does include daily activities like walking, eating, tooth brushing etc. Studies have shown that exercise doesn't increase max lifespan(it just squares off the curve a bit) whereas CRON does increase max lifespan. You should consider weighing and calculating every gram for the first several months to get into good habits, after which you can relax a bit. I've found that any changes take about 8 weeks for my body to adjust to and eliminate any cravings, so I make changes slowly and steady. If you're successful, then there's no hurry as you'll have lots of extra time to get it perfect. It's important to keep the diet balanced, otherwise you'll be extra hungry.