Restrictive eating effects on the already lean...

jl6er

New member
I am curious if "restricted eating" has less severe long term effects on ALREADY lean people, as opposed to those genetically overweight from the start....

In my case, Im 20 yrs old, and about a year ago, i got really depressed, was eating very little, and lost about 10 lbs on my already low weight of 135lb at the time. Im 5'8". Pretty much all of it was muscle. The depression and bad eating habits continued for about 5 months. Before, my bodyfat was around 6%. Now its 4-5% and im 10 pounds lighter. I am confident in these numbers, because I have had them meaured many times at my gym and bodyfat scales using bio-electrical impedance.

Anyway, 7 months later of eatingmpletely normal again (and plenty at that)...I havent gained back the 10lbs that I lost. Granted I havent weight trained at all either, but I was concerned that i destroyed my metabolism and was going to put on pounds of fat. Thats all I ever hear when "overweight" people go on diets. They loose like 20lbs and gain 25 back...hell, thats exactly what happened to my girlfriend unfortuantely. And she has always struggled with weight issues.

Is my case just that much different, because of the fact that I always have had a low bodyfat %? and really the main way Im going to make 'gains' is to eat waay above my needs and start lifting again?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Cause i dont have an explanation...
 
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your case is def different buddy. you sound like you have a fairly fast metabolisam and if I was you ...I would not worry about gaining fat.


this is what most likely happend to your gf:

from what my "limited understanding" is that if you do go on a "cleaner diet" and you lose weight you need to keep it off for a few months and let your metabolisam get used to the new weight.
If on the other hand you lose 10lb in one month and think you can go back to eating like you wehre before right after you shed it....of corse you will gain it back since your metabolism is on the survivial mode. Your body does not know that your next meal will be in 3 hrs therefor if you lose 20lb you need to keep it off for quite some time (6mo or so) for your body to accept this new change and also if you do go back to eating heftier do it in small increments. Don't just decide you look good and eat like you used to..obviously you where not happy with that in first place and its what made you diet....most people unfortunately do not keep the weight off due to the lack of motivation/willpower etc some like jerrod from subway do lol. gl
 
gogo4 said:
your case is def different buddy. you sound like you have a fairly fast metabolisam and if I was you ...I would not worry about gaining fat.


this is what most likely happend to your gf:

from what my "limited understanding" is that if you do go on a "cleaner diet" and you lose weight you need to keep it off for a few months and let your metabolisam get used to the new weight.
If on the other hand you lose 10lb in one month and think you can go back to eating like you wehre before right after you shed it....of corse you will gain it back since your metabolism is on the survivial mode. Your body does not know that your next meal will be in 3 hrs therefor if you lose 20lb you need to keep it off for quite some time (6mo or so) for your body to accept this new change and also if you do go back to eating heftier do it in small increments. Don't just decide you look good and eat like you used to..obviously you where not happy with that in first place and its what made you diet....most people unfortunately do not keep the weight off due to the lack of motivation/willpower etc some like jerrod from subway do lol. gl


Thanks for the response. I see what you are saying about the 6 month thing...its just strange because my girlfriend actually does have a very clean diet and sees a nutritionist. Hell...the nutritionist thinks that she should be eating MORE than she does. She still thinks her body may feel like its in that "starvation mode" that u described.

btw, as for me...i didnt "diet" I was a depressed about other things in my life...one of the effects of that depressive time happened to be me not eating normal amounts of food. I wouldnt mind being 10 pounds heavier again (if it was muscle.) I just expected to put on lbs of fat once I started eating normal again, but maybe my body just adjusted to the new weight...like u said.
 
I'm also 5'8, 28 years old. When younger, I've always been thin with very low bf at about 135 lbs. When I was about to get married, due to the stress and everything, I was eating very little and lost 10 lbs (went to 125!). One day I decided that I didn't want to be so small and skinny any more and started lifting and force feeding me. That was 20 months ago. I got to 185 and now I'm leaning back and got to 177 lbs.

So, in my experience, I say you can put on many lbs with eating and lifting.
 
jl6er said:
Thanks for the response. I see what you are saying about the 6 month thing...its just strange because my girlfriend actually does have a very clean diet and sees a nutritionist. Hell...the nutritionist thinks that she should be eating MORE than she does. She still thinks her body may feel like its in that "starvation mode" that u described.

btw, as for me...i didnt "diet" I was a depressed about other things in my life...one of the effects of that depressive time happened to be me not eating normal amounts of food. I wouldnt mind being 10 pounds heavier again (if it was muscle.) I just expected to put on lbs of fat once I started eating normal again, but maybe my body just adjusted to the new weight...like u said.
The nutritionist could be very right about your girlfriend. Alot of girls go through this. They don't eat enough and their body "clings" on to everything it can to function. If you don't pedal a bike it won't move. If you don't fuel your body properly it won't function and it won't burn fat.
 
you make a great point, MissMuscle...try telling my g/f that. She doesnt listen. She just always equates More Food = Fatter Body.
 
jl6er said:
you make a great point, MissMuscle...try telling my g/f that. She doesnt listen. She just always equates More Food = Fatter Body.
Haha!!!! Believe me......every girl including bodybuilders/figure/fitness competitors think that way at some point even if they know better! But it's definately NOT the case. :)

Tell your girlfriend to come and join up on here!!!! We need some more females!!!! :bikini: :agreed: :agreed:
 
Dude, you need to eat. There is no magic, if are consuming calories in excess you will gain weight (unless you have a medical condition or something). If you workout, a good amount of that will become muscle.

Don't worry about gaining a little fat. I would much rather be a chubby 200 than a shredded 125. At your weight it is very easy to put on size, at least that's what I found. From 150-200 took me only 1.5 years (no, I was not ripped but still, and I was 18 so I had my age on my side), try gaining weight naturally after 200 - it becomes more difficult.

Eat and train hard. Good luck.
 
jl6er said:
Anyway, 7 months later of eatingmpletely normal again (and plenty at that)...I havent gained back the 10lbs that I lost.

Your not eating plenty. If you were eating plenty you would have gained your weight up. Skinny people (no offence) seem to have some weird idea that they eat lion-like amounts of food, when really it's similar to a bird.

Like I posted above, if your eating enough your body has no choice but to gain weight.







...unless you have one of those African internal worms in your stomach that eat all your food before you do. Those things are fucked, they can be like 20 feet long and I think you have to shit them out or get surgery. But odds are you don't have that lol.
 
First of all I like to cal you a prick & a cocksucker for having such a fast metabolism!!
Fudgepacker too!

But you have a gift I would say eat 7 protein meals a day!!
1-2 shakes
and try
steak & chicken,lean beef,and eggs at least one of each per day double your favorite:)
I take 9lbs of grounded top round steak and make steak burgers with them!!
Eat real food..from the ground...potatoes,veggies fruits,and eat 3-4 ALmonds with every meal
My blood was tested last year for cholesterol and my bad is low but so is my good...that's BAD:(:( Still at risk for heart attack.
So I have 4-5 almonds with 3 meals a day and now am perfect getting the right fat.This helps lubes the joints so your tendons can help you lift more.
 
outlawtas2 said:
Your not eating plenty. If you were eating plenty you would have gained your weight up. Skinny people (no offence) seem to have some weird idea that they eat lion-like amounts of food, when really it's similar to a bird.

Like I posted above, if your eating enough your body has no choice but to gain weight.

I know what your saying about skinny people thinking they eat enormous amounts of food, when, often times they dont.

But I have very lean genetics in my family...and even when I was at my HEAVIEST of 135...it was a struggle to stay that high. I would have a huge dinner, go to the gym, then get a 32 oz or larger protien shake, drink that on the way home, and have like 3 bowls of cereal before i went to bed....i mean, I was constantly force feeding and it wasnt enjoyable. My stromach was always stuffed and bloatedSo, honestly, I am more comfortable the way that I eat now...like I said, its plenty for me to feel satisfied, but apparently not enough to get me to grow back to where I was... My body just doesnt like excess pounds I guess...for now at least. lol. Well, the first thing Ill start with is weight training again. And concentrate on getting more protein in at every meal...I admit to not paying enough attention to that.
 
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parrish said:
First of all I like to cal you a prick & a cocksucker for having such a fast metabolism!!
Fudgepacker too!

But you have a gift I would say eat 7 protein meals a day!!
1-2 shakes
and try
steak & chicken,lean beef,and eggs at least one of each per day double your favorite:)
I take 9lbs of grounded top round steak and make steak burgers with them!!
Eat real food..from the ground...potatoes,veggies fruits,and eat 3-4 ALmonds with every meal
My blood was tested last year for cholesterol and my bad is low but so is my good...that's BAD:(:( Still at risk for heart attack.
So I have 4-5 almonds with 3 meals a day and now am perfect getting the right fat.This helps lubes the joints so your tendons can help you lift more.

Well, I eat about a quarter container of nuts a day. I love them all...almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews (espec. honey roasted ones) lol.
I dont eat tons of meat, just what my family cooks for dinner...
Egg/vegtable omlets are often part of my breakfast. And I actually like oatmeal, so I have that a lot as well.


To give a rough idea on how much I can eat in one sitting WITHOUT feeling overly stuffed and uncomfortable....
Have u ever been to the Cheesecake Factory restuarant? They have the best food, imo...I go there like twice a week. I can eat the whol bread basket on my own, and my entire dinner...I usually order their Chicken Marsala w/ linguini. Or one of their other pasta dishes...alfredo/pesto sauces, etc. Most people consider them enough to feed an army. I dont.
Point is -you definitely wouldnt think I ate the way I do if u saw me.
 
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