"The most important thing you can do to lose weight"
Orphia
Posts: 7,097 Member
In addition to our own @SideSteel 's helpful thread on logging accurately ( http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1 ) comes James Fell with another educational and helpful article.
http://www.bodyforwife.com/the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-lose-weight/
QUOTE:
There are as many ways to lose weight as there are calories on the McDonalds menu. The reality is that anything that creates a caloric deficit is going to lead to weight loss. Any diet and/or fitness regimen that has you burning more calories than you consume = you, weighing less.
[...]
But maybe it’s just all your metabolism’s fault.
Here’s a video you may wish to watch, starting at the 18:15 mark.
http://www.documentarytube.com/videos/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-losing-weight
It tells the tale of actor Debbie Chazen who reports that: “I’ve been big all my life.” She says she eats a healthy diet and stays active, and explains her weight by saying, “I believe I must be one of those people who has a slow metabolism.” She says she is “eating well, doing lots of exercise,” so it must be her metabolism, right?
And so in the video they have an expert test her metabolic rate. The results? A perfectly normal metabolic rate for someone of her size. “Almost spot on” was the term used. So why is Debbie obese? Why can’t she lose weight? (Note: there are medical conditions that can affect weight gain such as hypothyroidism and Cushing’s syndrome. Medication can also be a culprit.)
The researchers got her to keep a food diary to gain understanding. They wanted to find out if she was “eating more than the 2,000 calories per day recommended for the average woman of her age and height.” But beyond the food diary, the researchers decided to spy on Debbie as well using a scientific method called “doubly-labeled water” to get an accurate measurement of not only how many calories she consumes, but how much she burns.
The first four days of the reporting of food intake was a video diary. Here are the results:
She was off by almost a factor of three.
The next five days were done via a written diary, which the documentary asserts allows people to be more thorough, but still she underreported her caloric intake by 43%. The video then asserts that this is common, as on average people underreport their food intake by as much as 50%.
[...]
As someone who is very opposed to fat shaming of any kind, please don’t take this as such. I understand that this can be construed as me saying, “Stop sucking at math, fatty,” but that’s not what I’m trying to communicate. The majority of the planet is bad at tracking caloric intake and burn. REALLY bad at it, so don’t feel as though it’s a personal failing if you’re part of this majority.
Accurate tracking is a tough skill to learn, especially in an environment where we’re constantly surrounded by hyper-yummy junk food, machines doing most of our work for us, and fancy, interesting things on electronic screens that lead us to sit for hours on end.
So, after reading all this, what is this “most important thing” you can do to lose weight and keep it off? The answer is not an easy one to accept or to implement, and before telling you I must remind you that there are myriad methods in which to create a sustained caloric deficit. There are lots of diets and lots of ways to engage in more physical activity to burn more calories. But through all of this, to lose weight, you must do this one thing:
You must be honest with yourself.
Brutally honest.
[...]
==========================
The link to the article again:
http://www.bodyforwife.com/the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-lose-weight/
The video (start at 18:15):
http://www.documentarytube.com/videos/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-losing-weight
How cool is "doubly labelled water"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubly_labeled_water
Someone could make a killing selling kits that can do those tests at home.
Click bait title + EVIDENCES for the win!
http://www.bodyforwife.com/the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-lose-weight/
QUOTE:
There are as many ways to lose weight as there are calories on the McDonalds menu. The reality is that anything that creates a caloric deficit is going to lead to weight loss. Any diet and/or fitness regimen that has you burning more calories than you consume = you, weighing less.
[...]
But maybe it’s just all your metabolism’s fault.
Here’s a video you may wish to watch, starting at the 18:15 mark.
http://www.documentarytube.com/videos/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-losing-weight
It tells the tale of actor Debbie Chazen who reports that: “I’ve been big all my life.” She says she eats a healthy diet and stays active, and explains her weight by saying, “I believe I must be one of those people who has a slow metabolism.” She says she is “eating well, doing lots of exercise,” so it must be her metabolism, right?
And so in the video they have an expert test her metabolic rate. The results? A perfectly normal metabolic rate for someone of her size. “Almost spot on” was the term used. So why is Debbie obese? Why can’t she lose weight? (Note: there are medical conditions that can affect weight gain such as hypothyroidism and Cushing’s syndrome. Medication can also be a culprit.)
The researchers got her to keep a food diary to gain understanding. They wanted to find out if she was “eating more than the 2,000 calories per day recommended for the average woman of her age and height.” But beyond the food diary, the researchers decided to spy on Debbie as well using a scientific method called “doubly-labeled water” to get an accurate measurement of not only how many calories she consumes, but how much she burns.
The first four days of the reporting of food intake was a video diary. Here are the results:
- Debbie’s reporting: “about 1,100 calories” a day.
- Reality as per the doubly-labeled water: 3,000 calories a day.
She was off by almost a factor of three.
The next five days were done via a written diary, which the documentary asserts allows people to be more thorough, but still she underreported her caloric intake by 43%. The video then asserts that this is common, as on average people underreport their food intake by as much as 50%.
[...]
As someone who is very opposed to fat shaming of any kind, please don’t take this as such. I understand that this can be construed as me saying, “Stop sucking at math, fatty,” but that’s not what I’m trying to communicate. The majority of the planet is bad at tracking caloric intake and burn. REALLY bad at it, so don’t feel as though it’s a personal failing if you’re part of this majority.
Accurate tracking is a tough skill to learn, especially in an environment where we’re constantly surrounded by hyper-yummy junk food, machines doing most of our work for us, and fancy, interesting things on electronic screens that lead us to sit for hours on end.
So, after reading all this, what is this “most important thing” you can do to lose weight and keep it off? The answer is not an easy one to accept or to implement, and before telling you I must remind you that there are myriad methods in which to create a sustained caloric deficit. There are lots of diets and lots of ways to engage in more physical activity to burn more calories. But through all of this, to lose weight, you must do this one thing:
You must be honest with yourself.
Brutally honest.
[...]
==========================
The link to the article again:
http://www.bodyforwife.com/the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-lose-weight/
The video (start at 18:15):
http://www.documentarytube.com/videos/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-losing-weight
How cool is "doubly labelled water"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubly_labeled_water
Someone could make a killing selling kits that can do those tests at home.
Click bait title + EVIDENCES for the win!
112
Replies
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Bumping, as this is a message that needs to get out there.14
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There was a time in my past (okay, probably still a little now, too) when I would've loved a doubly-labelled water metabolic test. Don't get me wrong, I'm not delusionally thinking I'm one of the .0000005%** of the population that actually has a metabolic malfunction. I would've just wanted someone to tell me for sure that yes, I am normal. I can do this by eating less and moving more. Success is as close as I want to make it.
That would've really set off a motivational spark for me.
**a totally-real Internet statistic. [/sarcasm]25 -
Great points! I've seen similar articles and stats and even people who are keeping a food diary can be off by 30%! The whole "slow metabolism" thing has been repeated over and over so often and people believe it. They feel like they aren't eating a lot, they record their food and it justifies their belief, so they must have a slow metabolism. Accurately measuring and recording intake can help people learn if they truly have metabolism issues or not, and MFP is great, but the database allows for people to even weigh their food and still record it wrong because so many entries are wrong, wrong, wrong.
I was talking to someone about my DD who just turned 9 the other day. I mentioned her weight and they said "Oh, well, some people just have a slower metabolism". I corrected them immediately. No, she doesn't have a slow metabolism - she eats more than a lot of full grown women can and is at a healthy weight for her height and gaining weight appropriately. She's muscular and not over fat and plays competitive sports. She is very likely going to be like me and be one of the lucky women who can consume a large number of calories to maintain her weight. My younger DD is not built in the same way and although she is very muscular with little body fat, she will never have the muscle mass that older DD has and will never be able to eat the way that older DD does. It doesn't mean that she has a slow metabolism, either, it just means that she doens't need as much food to maintain her weight because her healthy weight will naturally be lower than older DDs is.10 -
Yay you posted it
Agree with it
And love the video ...everyone should watch that
So want to do the doubly-labelled water ...cos I'm a geek :bigsmile:8 -
I tried explaining this to my friend who told me she wanted to give up sugar to lose weight. I told her forgot about sugar its calories calories calories, but she got mad and wouldn't listen. Why would you listen to someone whose lost 56lb anyway?58
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Yay for geeks!
I'm glad others are geeking out at this. I thought it was very cool. For the sciences.2 -
That is all quite awesome!
I don't think it's a bad-at-math thing, or even and outright lying thing, I think most humans stink at estimating. Sizes of things and some ppl (myself included) can eat mindlessly, and literally forget what you've eaten!17 -
Thanks for the informative post!
That is so true!
Before my weight loss journey, I remember speaking to this very nice and smiley girl while volunteering at our local soup kitchen - I asked her if she wanted to share a vegan chocolate dessert as we volunteers are allowed to eat whatever we wanted in there as sort of an appreciation thing (the soup kitchen was a vegan volunteer community co-op run by some amazing people with the most amazing food). She recoiled suddenly, the smile disappeared from her face just as quick and she uttered "OH no...I'm scared of putting any food in my mouth!"
Before anyone judges her she wasn't anorexic or had any eating disorder. Just a slim built, cheery girl with a big heart. I guess that was her way of coping with uni life back then. I never understood why anyone would work at a place surrounded by yummy food they could eat at will, but later as I lost weight I started developing the very same mentality of surrounding myself with food I couldn't bring myself to eat.
That really left an impression on me I guess. Control and awareness of one's food intake and the amount of energy we expend in burning that off is so important in losing weight and keeping it down. Sometimes I guess people just find it easier to not put the food in their mouth rather than risk the above problem.17 -
Oooh! I love doubly labeled water studies! Here's a few other ones by BBC-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTr1JUvEiUU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGLwzbvx4S4 5 -
Wow, thankyou, @rainbowbow !
Those were great additions to the topic!
Oh, dear, the last lady! I'm afraid I laughed at her before sighing at her denial.4 -
Wow, thankyou, @rainbowbow !
Those were great additions to the topic!
Oh, dear, the last lady! I'm afraid I laughed at her before sighing at her denial.
I know. But i always love watching the food science and diet related BBC studies. I find it so interesting! 1 -
Really interesting! Thanks for posting.1
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Thanks for sharing this. I ❤️ James Fell.
I was reading this this morning.1 -
So want to do the doubly-labelled water ...cos I'm a geek :bigsmile:
@rabbitjb I just found a place in the UK that does the testing!
http://www.iso-analytical.co.uk/energy_expenditure.html
But you have to contact them for a price quote, so I don't know the cost. No pressure, though. Just something to keep in mind.3 -
It's too bad that the only people who will read this are those who already know what the problem is.
Kidding yourself about how much you're eating is so self-destructive and pointless14 -
So want to do the doubly-labelled water ...cos I'm a geek :bigsmile:
@rabbitjb I just found a place in the UK that does the testing!
http://www.iso-analytical.co.uk/energy_expenditure.html
But you have to contact them for a price quote, so I don't know the cost. No pressure, though. Just something to keep in mind.
Something like $300, just for the water. I looked it up.1 -
crazyjerseygirl wrote: »That is all quite awesome!
I don't think it's a bad-at-math thing, or even and outright lying thing, I think most humans stink at estimating. Sizes of things and some ppl (myself included) can eat mindlessly, and literally forget what you've eaten!
And it's not even estimating, as in saying "a serving is a 'handful' so here's my handful". For me it was doing things like measuring "3 T of cashews" using an actual tablespoon. When I switched to weighing those cashews on a food scale I realized how inaccurate it was to measure out something like nuts with a spoon. lol. Same goes for "one-half cup of cereal" or anything like that.
14 -
Hence the importance of using a food scale.
JMO.4 -
Food scale ftw...I cant get over how quickly calories add up things as common as a spoon of peanut butter...that pb&j sammich might be only 400 calories...but it's also might be 800...ridiculous hahaha7
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I missed this the first time around. Bumping now because it's a really useful reminder!1
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Absolutely loved reading this post! Thank you!1
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Bump!1
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diannethegeek wrote: »I missed this the first time around. Bumping now because it's a really useful reminder!
Thanks, @diannethegeek and everyone! It's good to be reminded of it myself.0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »Oooh! I love doubly labeled water studies! Here's a few other ones by BBC-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGLwzbvx4S4
OMG ...how did she form that conclusion from what she was told?
This video is so MFP worthy3 -
rainbowbow wrote: »Oooh! I love doubly labeled water studies! Here's a few other ones by BBC-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGLwzbvx4S4
OMG ...how did she form that conclusion from what she was told?
This video is so MFP worthy
Yep! Glad someone got some enjoyment out of it. 3 -
Not only did I enjoy it I am already quoting you in another thread 1
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This reminds me of the British tv show secret eaters.
It doesn't include double labeled water or metabolic rate testing, but rather tracks actual food consumption.
It tracks people who claim to only eat 1000-2000 calories but are unable to lose weight. They put up cameras in their houses so they can see how much they eat, plus let PI's track them (without) their knowledge to see if and when they get fasfood and takeout.
It really under scribes the fact that people often under estimate their calorie consumption. Many of the people on that show eat 3000 calories easily, with the occasional 6000 calories after sunday family lunch/dinner.8 -
Great post!
I've already bookmarked this thread so I can quote it later1
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