I guarantee you will gain it back if...

cmcollins001

testing

Didn't work. You broke the internet...thanks. :grumble:

PlayerHatinDogooder

I never speak in absolutes.

Well . . . that's too bad.

Whipppets

You know what works 100 percent of the time. Eat Healthy, Exercise and get enough sleep.

tehboxingkitteh

The problem with reality is that there are absolutes.

I think -273.15ºC begs to differ.

Big_Bad

A 90% chance does not imply that something WILL happen, but it does imply that it is very very likely to happen.

Fact is 90% of dieters regain the weight. But I myself am someone who has yo-yo'ed quite a bit and I know that it was crash diets that were the most temporary and long-term healthful eating with exercise has stuck.

Hormones work to maintain weight as do lots of mental games we play with ourselves.

I don't think that it's right for someone to tell you "yeah, you're going to gain the weight back" but I think it's a reasonable thing to be warned about and to be conscious of. I think it also keeps people who gain a little back on track without believing that they've completely failed and should give up completely for gaining some back. Maintenence is hard. There's a reason that in a world obsessed with weight loss there are still plenty of overweight/obese people.

LoraF83

The other is that I see many posters respond to the first response they get indicating they take it as being on authority like the MFP forum is the official support forum for getting your life back.

So, we should only answer/respond to the 2nd post? As long as it's not the first one it's ok?

whierd

Cool thread.

chunkydunk714

My dietician says only 5% of people who lose weight actually keep it off...all the others will gain it back eventually.

On that note, I do agree with you OP :flowerforyou:

brower47

I never speak in absolutes.

Well . . . that's too bad.

I said I never SPEAK in absolutes. I'll drink that s**t everyday... IIFYM.

BeachIron

I disagree to a large extent.

There are certain diets that are just dumb, and there are certain beliefs about health that are factually incorrect. There certainly is room for debate on a number of points, and plenty of room for "this works for me," but that takes understanding what is and what is not known about how the human body works. Much of what I see in the forums on a daily basis could be best described as derp.

55in13

The other is that I see many posters respond to the first response they get indicating they take it as being on authority like the MFP forum is the official support forum for getting your life back.

So, we should only answer/respond to the 2nd post? As long as it's not the first one it's ok?

You can do whatever you want. I was just pointing out that it is often the very first post someone makes here that elicits a reply that says they are doomed to failure. It's my opinion that this may not be accurate or helpful and may drive people away from the site and potentially make them feel despair about the whole idea. But it's just an opinion.

EDIT - to BeachIron, who posted while I did. Yes, there are some things factually incorrect. But I am specifically talking about how people come here having lost some weight and immediately be told they absolutely will gain it all back...

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

The other is that I see many posters respond to the first response they get indicating they take it as being on authority like the MFP forum is the official support forum for getting your life back.

So, we should only answer/respond to the 2nd post? As long as it's not the first one it's ok?

You can do whatever you want. I was just pointing out that it is often the very first post someone makes here that elicits a reply that says they are doomed to failure. It's my opinion that this may not be accurate or helpful and may drive people away from the site and potentially make them feel despair about the whole idea. But it's just an opinion.

EDIT - to BeachIron, who posted while I did. Yes, there are some things factually incorrect. But I am specifically talking about how people come here having lost some weight and immediately be told they absolutely will gain it all back...

If you are reading threads that say someone will absolutely gain the weight back, then you're reading these threads differently than I am.

What I see most often are people who are new to weight loss taking extreme approaches and people jumping in to help them avoid the mistakes that will cause them to fail. People aren't telling them they will fail. They are trying hard to show them how not to fail.

Yes, there are many different approaches that work, and many, many, many more that don't work.

A lot of people come to this site with over 100 pounds to lose. Frankly, I want them to start off on the right foot instead of trying some drastic VLCD, ineffective supplement, liquid diet, crash diet, etc. etc. Long-term, sustainable weight loss is only part of the equation. Nutrient balance, micronutrient absorption, body strength, cardiovascular health, and everything else that goes along with changing one's whole life also matter.

glovepuppet

A 90% chance does not imply that something WILL happen, but it does imply that it is very very likely to happen.

Fact is 90% of dieters regain the weight. But I myself am someone who has yo-yo'ed quite a bit and I know that it was crash diets that were the most temporary and long-term healthful eating with exercise has stuck.

Hormones work to maintain weight as do lots of mental games we play with ourselves.

I don't think that it's right for someone to tell you "yeah, you're going to gain the weight back" but I think it's a reasonable thing to be warned about and to be conscious of. I think it also keeps people who gain a little back on track without believing that they've completely failed and should give up completely for gaining some back. Maintenence is hard. There's a reason that in a world obsessed with weight loss there are still plenty of overweight/obese people.

just quoting the cleverness.

sandy_gee

I never speak in absolutes.

:drinker:

jofjltncb6

Is the TL;DR of this thread really that "crash diets occasionally work long(ish)-term, so people shouldn't ever speak out against them"?

auroranflash

CABBAGE DIET OR BUST.

55in13

Is the TL;DR of this thread really that "crash diets occasionally work long(ish)-term, so people shouldn't ever speak out against them"?

No. It is that people should not "guarantee you will gain it back" and it is an opinion that this discourages and/or angers people and is likely to do more harm than good.

brower47

The other is that I see many posters respond to the first response they get indicating they take it as being on authority like the MFP forum is the official support forum for getting your life back.

So, we should only answer/respond to the 2nd post? As long as it's not the first one it's ok?

You can do whatever you want. I was just pointing out that it is often the very first post someone makes here that elicits a reply that says they are doomed to failure. It's my opinion that this may not be accurate or helpful and may drive people away from the site and potentially make them feel despair about the whole idea. But it's just an opinion.

EDIT - to BeachIron, who posted while I did. Yes, there are some things factually incorrect. But I am specifically talking about how people come here having lost some weight and immediately be told they absolutely will gain it all back...

In that case, you needed to be more specific in your critique. Giving such a broad generalization makes it hard for anyone to know exactly what you were talking about and opens the entire thread up for unrelated side debates. Being concise in your original point will bring concise counterpoints.

spiffybarbarella1

I think that such topics discourage people from beginning a diet in the first place. However, it's important to know that keeping the weight off is often more difficult than losing it. It's important to break bad habits, form good ones, and keep an open mind when adopting strategies for over-coming plateaus. The problem with a lot of diets is that they work by a 'one-size fits all' approach. Knowledge about diet and exercise is constantly evolving and changing, for example it was long believed that 'a calorie is a calorie' but recent nutritional research is proving otherwise. If you want to lose weight AND keep it off you have to realize that what works for someone else might not work for you, what works for you might not work for someone else. Keep yourself informed and make positive lifestyle changes. Half of the battle is in your head: until you believe in yourself and believe that you can do it, you are doomed to failure before you even start. So, don't let the haters discourage you. And don't let "I guarantee you will gain it back if..." put you off.

brower47

CABBAGE DIET OR BUST.

That will never work... oh wait... that was an absolute. That will only work with .0000000000000001% of the participants. There, no more absolutes.

55in13

CABBAGE DIET OR BUST.

That was my go to for several years of mostly successful maintenance. I yoyoed between 170 and 185, mostly in the 170s, for about 20 years. For about the last 10 years of that period, I did the cabbage soup thing whenever I hit my upper limit. I am really not sure why I let it slip by a few years ago, but I did. I got far enough away from my goal that the quick fix would not get me back, then got discouraged and really let things slide. Was I doomed to that from the start? I don't think so. I did a crash to kick start my current loss but adjusted to healthier habits along the way. It will still be a transition to maintain, not just continuing to do what I do now. Having people tell me it absolutely will not work would not be really helpful, IMO.

EDIT - Just as an FYI, that weight range translates to a BMI range of 24.7 to 26.9 for me, which is the high end of normal to slightly overweight.

msjames1999

Well said...

LiftAllThePizzas

The other is that I see many posters respond to the first response they get indicating they take it as being on authority like the MFP forum is the official support forum for getting your life back.

People who do this are likely to already lack the critical thinking skills/capacity to do otherwise. Telling people to think for themselves only works for those of us who have the capability, and those of us who do, already do. So it's kind of a pointless thing to say.

BeachIron

The other is that I see many posters respond to the first response they get indicating they take it as being on authority like the MFP forum is the official support forum for getting your life back.

So, we should only answer/respond to the 2nd post? As long as it's not the first one it's ok?

You can do whatever you want. I was just pointing out that it is often the very first post someone makes here that elicits a reply that says they are doomed to failure. It's my opinion that this may not be accurate or helpful and may drive people away from the site and potentially make them feel despair about the whole idea. But it's just an opinion.

EDIT - to BeachIron, who posted while I did. Yes, there are some things factually incorrect. But I am specifically talking about how people come here having lost some weight and immediately be told they absolutely will gain it all back...

I tell you what, try a VLCD like HCG and let's put some money on the weight coming back. Better yet, let's do that with 100 people. Yes, there are no absolutes, a couple may keep it off, but there are bad decisions and a handful of people having some success when weighed against a massive number of failures doesn't exactly help the case. Is there a 100% chance of getting cancer if you smoke cigarettes? No. Is it wise to smoke cigarettes? No. Personally, I think telling someone they're going to get cancer or a number of other health issues if they smoke is the right approach. People don't listen to statistics. They listen to fear, and I think it's fair to use fear in certain cases.