[fast5] Re: New member, curious, welcomes feedback

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

[fast5] Re: New member, curious, welcomes feedback

Hi Helena-

Welcome to the group.

I noticed a couple of things about your comments that threw up a red flag for me.

1) You seem to put yourself under a large amount of scrutiny which sounds like it causes you large amounts of anxiety and stress. When a person is worrisome or nervous, the stress hormone cortisol is released. This hormone has the effect of locking fat cells and tearing down muscle. It's the "fight or flight" chemical that all bodybuilders dread because it causes us to lose muscle and gain fat. I'm not sure how you can do it, but you need to really find a therapist to help you with your anxiety... I say this with love as my wife suffers from anxiety and I know how it can affect one's life. You can get a handle on it and that would be step one.

2) I'm curious as to where you get a basal metabolic rate of 2700 calories? That's more than I need as a weight lifter who walks six miles a day! Most women can do well with 1200-1500 calories per day. Less if they're trying to lose weight. Fat doesn't require many calories to sustain it. So when you figure out your caloric needs you should use your LEAN bodyweight to get your numbers. At your height you should calculate calories based on LEAN bodyweight of maybe 120-140lbs - somewhere in that range.

If you are suffering from anxiety, I'd say the previous post about adrenal exhaustion may be spot on, combined with cortisol saturation it may be very difficult for you to lose weight. Another consideration is caffeine. Caffeine tends to raise insulin and cortisol levels.

I do wish you the most success in this endeavor. Fast-5 works like no other plan I've ever tried. If you stick with it, keep doing your low carb diet and try to get your anxiety down. I'm sure you'll be victorious. And we're always here to help if you need advice.

-Rick Stewart

--- In fast5@yahoogroups.com, "helena_hastingspress" <hastings.press@...> wrote:

> I'm eating between 1600 and 2100 calories a day. My basal resting rate is 2,700 (just to keep me alive, no exercise).
>