Naturally thin practice CR

[Guest amy100]

My name is Amy I am new to these forms. During my reading I read that if your BMI falls under 18.5 that might not be good, my BMI is naturally under 18.5 it's naturally in recent years a 16, it did speed up slightly with age my metabolism did.  At the end of my senior year of high school I weighed about 100 to 104 at 5'2 and a half I weigh 93 now, I for the longest time I have been maintain 90 to 95 pounds, but in September  got really stressed at dropped to 81 pounds.  But I was somewhat nervous because of how low that was so I started eating a bit more.  I am 30 now.  In recent years I have been eating close to 2000 calories a day,  but I would like to possibly cut own to 1500 to 1700 calories a day to practice calorie restriction. I really worry a lot about dying and I want to live as long as I possibly can.  I am open to lowering calories down to 1000 to 1400, but I want to start at 1500 to 1700 and see how that effects me first.

 

Another thing about me is I in recent years have become more concerned about wasting food, I view it if you can get by on less it is better for the world around you.

 

To me I am not sure how studies exactly work out as far as calorie restriction goes.  I assume they would have shown that it is the amount of calories that you restrict from at the beginning, I assume to maintain 100 I would have to eat 3000 so I might already be doing calorie restriction at 2000 but I don't feel hungry normally on a day to day bases so I assume I am not doing calorie restriction as to where I would find the benefits.

 

I think under 85 pounds would be very low because It is getting under a BMI of 15 for my height so I would want to be careful with that for the most part.  I don't see why as long as one is getting in all their nutrition one should set under 18.5 as the cut off because being slightly under that is not likely to be a problem, but or me I would be a bit worried about being to far under it mainly under a BMI of 15 or 14 if not 15.  I am somewhat open to seeing my weight go down to 80 but not really under that I would be concerned. When I was 81 pounds many at my work told me I was just naturally thin and everyone's body is different.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, I am naturally thin but really want to live as long as I can, I would like to practice modest calorie restriction but be careful with my weight at the same time.

 

Also my current resting heart rate is really high and I exercise , would restricting calories help lower it?  I walk around the house all day long never sitting still for every long at all I am pretty much on my feet all day long. Than I simply have been doing 20 to 30 minutes of cardio on a treadmill walking 4.5 to 4.7 minute miles on an incline of about 5 or 7 lately.  I do three weight lifting days a week combined with sit ups.  My resting heart rate when I had it checked last was 110 shocking I know, I felt defeated and cried because I felt like all my hard work for my health is not paying off. I feel in good shape on the treadmill my heart rate usually gets up to 150 or 160.  I can't run anymore because of my knee but years ago with running a couple years ago without running for a year I tried to run one mile as fast as I could and I believe I was able to get it down to 6 minutes 40 seconds on the treadmill my heart rate did get up high than but  I don't know how high.  I feel in good shape I have good energy I feel healthy, my fiancé says he hardly know anyone as healthy as me. But it's just my resting heart rate is so high, I heard if your heart rate is high at rest than you won't live as long.

 

Amy

[Guest amy100]

I actually think I am going to try eating a bit less, eating around 1000 to 1500 calories a day and continuing my normal exercise routine.  I still think calorie restriction should work for the naturally thin, but I am also not going to be obsessed with always eating the minimum but I do think eating less if your naturally thin will help pro-long one's life.

 

Amy

[James Cain]

My name is Amy I am new to these forms.

Hi Amy!

During my reading I read that if your BMI falls under 18.5 that might not be good, my BMI is naturally under 18.5 it's naturally in recent years a 16, it did speed up slightly with age my metabolism did.  At the end of my senior year of high school I weighed about 100 to 104 at 5'2 and a half I weigh 93 now, I for the longest time I have been maintain 90 to 95 pounds, but in September  got really stressed at dropped to 81 pounds.  But I was somewhat nervous because of how low that was so I started eating a bit more.  I am 30 now.  In recent years I have been eating close to 2000 calories a day,  but I would like to possibly cut own to 1500 to 1700 calories a day to practice calorie restriction. I really worry a lot about dying and I want to live as long as I possibly can.  I am open to lowering calories down to 1000 to 1400, but I want to start at 1500 to 1700 and see how that effects me first.

BMI is a good rough indicator of body composition for the general population, but if you are very tall or short, athletic, or elderly then it may not apply as well to indicate a "healthy" body composition. Many of us use BMI to track progress and to gauge a general degree of CR, with 18-19 being quite low compared our set-point BMI on an ad lib diet. If you are naturally thin then, and athletic (as you say below), then you may want to focus on other metrics to gauge the degree of CR you are achieving.

 

Ultimately you'll want to measure direct physiological outcomes of CR rather than just a change in body weight. Some people experience positive changes in their physiology without significant changes in body weight or composition, and some experience the opposite. Changes in body weight are not a direct goal of a CR diet, but are rather a consequence of the CR itself. Still, it is a good rough indicator of progress.

 

Specific outcomes to measure would be body temperature, resting heart rate or heart rate variability, various blood test values including IGF-1, TSH, insulin, glucose, HbA1c, lipids, and protein/albumin (among many others, depending on how deep you want to go with these), and (probably the most important for quality of life) even subjective tests such as cognitive sharpness and memory, energy levels throughout the day, and mood.

 

Another thing about me is I in recent years have become more concerned about wasting food, I view it if you can get by on less it is better for the world around you.

This is a great benefit of CR and consuming less in general, though it really depends on diet. Some practicing CR eat more food than they did previously because they consume more low-calorie vegetables and fruits.

To me I am not sure how studies exactly work out as far as calorie restriction goes.  I assume they would have shown that it is the amount of calories that you restrict from at the beginning, I assume to maintain 100 I would have to eat 3000 so I might already be doing calorie restriction at 2000 but I don't feel hungry normally on a day to day bases so I assume I am not doing calorie restriction as to where I would find the benefits.

You have the general idea right, but it's very difficult to determine actual %CR in humans because of individual genetic and lifestyle differences and often times unknown ad-lib set points. Most of the population is overweight or obese, and %CR is usually determined from the calorie intake to maintain a normal body weight. Most CR studies use genetically identical animals under controlled laboratory conditions. This is why getting blood work and tracking actual physiological outcomes is the best way to gauge CR success.

I think under 85 pounds would be very low because It is getting under a BMI of 15 for my height so I would want to be careful with that for the most part.  I don't see why as long as one is getting in all their nutrition one should set under 18.5 as the cut off because being slightly under that is not likely to be a problem, but or me I would be a bit worried about being to far under it mainly under a BMI of 15 or 14 if not 15.  I am somewhat open to seeing my weight go down to 80 but not really under that I would be concerned. When I was 81 pounds many at my work told me I was just naturally thin and everyone's body is different.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, I am naturally thin but really want to live as long as I can, I would like to practice modest calorie restriction but be careful with my weight at the same time.

Many CR practitioners dislike the extreme thinness they achieve with strict CR, though a few seem to maintain a bit more muscle and fat mass while achieving phsyiological benefits. I'd say that you could safely practice CR assuming blood work and medical supervision indicates a positive outcome, but the degree of acceptable thinness, and any social stigma that may follow, is a personal decision for you.

Also my current resting heart rate is really high and I exercise , would restricting calories help lower it?  I walk around the house all day long never sitting still for every long at all I am pretty much on my feet all day long. Than I simply have been doing 20 to 30 minutes of cardio on a treadmill walking 4.5 to 4.7 minute miles on an incline of about 5 or 7 lately.  I do three weight lifting days a week combined with sit ups.  My resting heart rate when I had it checked last was 110 shocking I know, I felt defeated and cried because I felt like all my hard work for my health is not paying off. I feel in good shape on the treadmill my heart rate usually gets up to 150 or 160.  I can't run anymore because of my knee but years ago with running a couple years ago without running for a year I tried to run one mile as fast as I could and I believe I was able to get it down to 6 minutes 40 seconds on the treadmill my heart rate did get up high than but  I don't know how high.  I feel in good shape I have good energy I feel healthy, my fiancé says he hardly know anyone as healthy as me. But it's just my resting heart rate is so high, I heard if your heart rate is high at rest than you won't live as long.

A resting heart rate of 110 seems abnormally high, but if you are otherwise healthy and an ECG shows no abnormalities then you may be fine. Still, that falls within tachycardia range, so you should get that checked out.

 

Exercise is essential to maintaining bone mineral density as you age, especially with strict CR. It's also beneficial for delaying sarcopenia, and CR actually helps here as well. That aside, excessive exercise that requires additional calorie intake may offset the benefits of CR, which depend on calorie intake itself rather than a given deficit. For example, maintaining a 500 kcal deficit eating 2000 kcal/day with light exercise will achieve more actual CR benefits than will maintaining the same 500 kcal deficit eating 3000 kcal/day with an additional 1000 kcal/day worth of exercise. Research supports this, but also shows that too little exercise isn't optimal either. Many successful CR practitioners do a lot of exercise, but still keep their calorie intake low, but they are careful to avoid doing so much that they are over-stressing their bodies by pushing their caloric deficit too low.

 

James

[amy100]

Thanks James what you have said I find helpful