Losing Weight is NOT that simple..imo..

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Replies

  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    nvsmomketo wrote: »
    It does partially come down to manners. For example, if someone is in front of you do you just say "move" or "excuse me please"? If someone's weight loss is stalled (and half a dozen people haven't already replied with the same advice) do you say "CICO" or " Are you sure you are eating at a calorie deficit? Sometimes using a food scale can help you make sure you aren't accidentally eating more than you think."? I know which ones i would respond to better.

    But if you're the one asking the question, you don't get to direct the manner in which it's answered. Take the information presented, use it or throw it away - that's up to you. You can't get worked up because you didn't like the 'tone' of the response - just be grateful someone cared enough to try to help.

    Tone matters. I question whether some of the people who respond...not referring to anybody in this thread...are actually trying to help. I think there really are a few who just like to take any opportunity to talk down to somebody else, and these forums give them an easy way to do it. I also think there are a few who care much more about trying to be funny and posting the cutest cat gif than they do about trying to help the OP. Hijacking someone's thread when they ask for help is not helpful.

    Tone is entirely on the recipients side of written communication...

    ^^^I just typed that in my best robot voice - did that come through?

    DANGIT. I was totally reading you as a chirpy bird! #butthurt

  • suvmom03103
    suvmom03103 Posts: 18 Member
    Hi there, Although I am very new here and just beginning my weight loss journey and I have a goal to loose close to 200lb.

    I have noticed with making sure my calorie count is on target is I have been searching individual items when I have an idea of what I want to eat. If my items are too fatty, too sugary, salty.. then I try to think of an alternative choice. I have had a problem with sodium intake (too high) even though I am using "low salt" items.

    I am not used to making individual meals so what I found that is VERY helpful is if you use the "my recipe section" on here.

    It really helps you to create what you want, and it calculates the actual calories, fats..etc for you based upon your ingredients you are using for your recipe.

    Once you have all your ingredients together it will calculate everything for you for each serving. You also can save your recipe and if changes are made it is easy to adjust you as you go.

    I have been strictly sticking to the formula template on MFP. My physician recommended this program to help me in my journey. I have only been on here a few days but I am loving the site.

    In the past I have used journals before but I was never able to truly calculate the actual caloric contents exactly which made me tend to overeat far more than what I thought I was actually eating.

    My physician also told me that he read an article that tested 2 groups of people about the content of food they were eating. People who used a site like this vs. a hand written one or just using a spreadsheet program. Overall people whom used a spreadsheet ate more than 30% more than they actually thought they were eating. The people who used a site like this lost far more weight.


    Good luck on your journey !!!!!!!
  • ElJefeChief
    ElJefeChief Posts: 650 Member
    I've lost 40lbs about, so what I'm doing is working for me, I'm not complaining. But I get frustrated when I see a forums response like "Just eat less calories than you're burning...are you sure you're weighing accurately?" This seems patronizing, and also is flawed in a couple ways.
    First, it's really difficult to just know how many calories you're burning..I don't have a butt stamp indicating that number, or even an owners manual, so the best I've got is taking blood tests and running fitness experiments (which simply isn't practical for an average person), OR using an online calculator/guestimator, which let's be honest, has a HUGE margin of error. Some sites I have a 2500 TDE, some say 3500..
    Secondly, its really difficult to just know how many calories you're eating..Have you googled "food label accuracy"? That stuff can often be 20%-40% wrong..not even to mention that some things just cant be calculated accurately..ie. one steak from a package could be hugely more caloric-ly dense simply due to a higher fat content.
    My point is, even if you follow all the right steps, you could easily have an over estimated TDE (by no fault of your own), and eat far underestimated calories (by no fault of your own), and simply not lose weight. Thus "just eat less than you burn" is fairly useless.
    If I had any advice to offer to people struggling, I'd say it's all about trial and error, which can be frustratingly slow. You gotta try something, whether its working out more, or trying to stay under a certain amount-ish of calories, and see how that goes for a few weeks. If that doesn't work, change it up, and try again. Patience has been my biggest struggle but probably my greatest ally during the last few months, and I know that once you find your groove you're gonna kick your fitness goals right in the somewhat large *kitten*. Rant over..

    No method is 100% accurate short of putting all of us in a hospital, radiotagging our food and the oxygen we breathe, and putting us under constant surveillance. I don't think that means that cueing people who complain of poor outcomes to try to improve the accuracy of their estimates is a bad thing - it seems like a reasonable suggestion, IMHO.

    I find the whole calorie counting thing kind of interesting. I went into it with two assumptions - 1) the act of logging everything I eat will yield weight loss benefits in and of itself, regardless of whether I'm particularly accurate about weighing or measuring it, and 2) it's extremely easy to systematically underestimate one's caloric intake, no matter how accurate one tries to be when one measures.

    In my case, I haven't been particularly accurate about weighing or measuring my food. I've occasionally used a cup measure when I remembered, but otherwise I've been going off food labels, and just plain eyeballing. And I've done a fairly good job with a highly aggressively rate of loss - even though my starting weight wasn't that high (I was decently overweight, but not obese when I began this), which theoretically should make my weight loss more difficult (always easier to lose when one has a lot more weight to begin with).

    Several things I think have worked for me. Regarding assumption #1 - I think logging food is a weight loss tool in and of itself. It's a tool to increase awareness of one's intake, which tends to short-circuit (for most of us) the pattern of unconscious eating a grazing throughout the day. Regarding #2 - I made sure to always have a practice of constantly OVERestimating what I eat, in order to counteract the persistent human tendency to overeat whenever possible (evolutionary drive to store calories to deal with the next famine).

    Weight loss, IMHO, is never easy - but I think it is indeed quite simple, and I think it's probably useful for many of us to get CICO hammered into our heads because there's a lot of misinformation and what they call "fatlogic" out there, which mystifies the whole process of weight loss and dieting (e.g., it's my genetics, my thyroid, my condishuns, etc).

    Anyways, interesting thread.

  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    klmnumbers wrote: »
    nvsmomketo wrote: »
    .

    When I first started the forum I was quite surprised by the responses too. It was all about CICO, which I agree is the root of weight control whether it is loss maintenance or gaining, but it felt as though there was only one acceptable way to do it and that was through moderation, or IIFYM to a lesser degree. There seems to be very little respect for other ways of eating like veganism, LCHF, vegetarianism, keto diet, or even reducing processed foods or sugars.

    If someone asks for dietary advice or just support for their way of eating, a common response is "why are you doing this if it isn't medically needed?" or what the OP is doing wrong in their opinion, or "humour" that is often at the OP's expense. Responses too frequently do not to answer the question. IMO.

    I have to say that I find the bolded part to be very true. In fact, I posted something not too terribly long ago asking for recommendations on dairy free milk and yogurt substitutes. Within the post itself I explained that I have Celiac's Disease and have been GF for 3 years, but I've been symptomatic lately. And a common reason for that with Celiac's is eating too much dairy due to the difficulty in digestion. As such, I was looking to cut dairy.

    Even with that caveat, multiple people popped in to tell me not to eat substitutes and just drink 'regular' milk.

    It can be very frustrating and disheartening to use these forums sometimes. While I agree that the basic tenet of CICO is correct and works (It has for me!), I think some people need to remember that weight loss is very complicated for some people and often digs into emotional things. Being overly dismissive (even if you are providing helpful information) and rude to people who are just trying to start out making a change can throw a lot of people off track. Make them think 'why bother?'

    And I know some people are probably thinking right now - if a little forum banter is going to throw you off, then you're never going to lose weight, etc. But why provide more obstacles for people who are trying to do this.

    Focus the vitriol on people providing completely incorrect advice or being rude. Take a little more tact with people genuinely looking for advice.

    Uhm... I just had a look over your thread because I couldn't believe that happened and that's not what happened in your thread.
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  • klmnumbers
    klmnumbers Posts: 213 Member
    edited July 2015
    Uhm... I just had a look over your thread because I couldn't believe that happened and that's not what happened in your thread.

    I don't really want to get into an argument, but two people did, in fact, tell me to either eat nothing at all or to eat "real" dairy. One apologized, which I appreciated. I posted asking for suggestions for dairy substitutes. I did get good recommendations (rocking some almond breeze unsweetened in my coffee as we speak). But my point remains, for me, that it is frustrating to make a post and have people come in telling you to not do what you are asking for advice for at all.

  • ashypashy7
    ashypashy7 Posts: 50 Member
    I've lost 149 lbs in total using CICO and it's really not too hard. Maybe because I still have 70-90 lbs to go so my margin of error is slightly bigger than someone whom has only a few pounds to lose. That being said, so long as your accounting for error in your calories or the workout calories you earn then it's really not a huge deal. I used to think weight loss was so hard and complicated and I could never do it, or never be as fit as I want to be. Really, just being mindful of what you consume and moving your body is all there is too it. And to be honest, most people that say they aren't losing weight, are not using food scales or logging correctly, I feel they know that but they still want something to blame, ie your not eating enough calories to lose weight.

    A few times I've been all "I'm doing everything right but not losing weight" then I have to ask myself, am I really. Often times, I stopped logging everything, started taking big bites of food that add up, ect.

    Helpful or not. And maybe a few people aren't super nice and are fairly condescending when they say it, but weight loss IS CICO.
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  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    ashypashy7 wrote: »
    I've lost 149 lbs in total using CICO and it's really not too hard. Maybe because I still have 70-90 lbs to go so my margin of error is slightly bigger than someone whom has only a few pounds to lose. That being said, so long as your accounting for error in your calories or the workout calories you earn then it's really not a huge deal. I used to think weight loss was so hard and complicated and I could never do it, or never be as fit as I want to be. Really, just being mindful of what you consume and moving your body is all there is too it. And to be honest, most people that say they aren't losing weight, are not using food scales or logging correctly, I feel they know that but they still want something to blame, ie your not eating enough calories to lose weight.

    A few times I've been all "I'm doing everything right but not losing weight" then I have to ask myself, am I really. Often times, I stopped logging everything, started taking big bites of food that add up, ect.

    Helpful or not. And maybe a few people aren't super nice and are fairly condescending when they say it, but weight loss IS CICO.

    Wow . . . wonderful success! Congratulations.

    I 100% agree with your post. That said, having lost 67 pounds and with 3 to go, CICO still isn't that hard. By now, I've kind of figured out how accurate MFP is with exercise burns. My biggest stumbling block is the frequency with which I eat at maintenance. I've also had a couple times where I've found myself grabbing unlogged bites and lost more slowly than I "should" have. For me, figuring out CICO isn't hard at all--the mental stuff sometimes is.
  • ariamythe
    ariamythe Posts: 130 Member
    Just thought I'd drop this in here, since it's an example of the kind of thing being debated here.

    Can you spot the not helpful responses in this thread?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited July 2015
    ariamythe wrote: »
    Just thought I'd drop this in here, since it's an example of the kind of thing being debated here.

    Can you spot the not helpful responses in this thread?

    I cannot see a single unhelpful response in the 11 responses to that thread if I'm truly honest..although the very first response is wrong

    Can you? I'd really like you to point out which ones you deem not helpful @ariamythe

    And what does that say about the perceptions of the reader clouding their understanding and appreciation of what is going on in that thread

    Black box theory of personal communications rules!
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited July 2015
    klmnumbers wrote: »
    Uhm... I just had a look over your thread because I couldn't believe that happened and that's not what happened in your thread.

    I don't really want to get into an argument, but two people did, in fact, tell me to either eat nothing at all or to eat "real" dairy. One apologized, which I appreciated. But my point remains that I posted asking for suggestions for dairy substitutes. I did get good recommendations (rocking some almond breeze unsweetened in my coffee as we speak). But my point remains, for me, that is is frustrating to make a post and have people come in telling you to not do what you are asking for advice for at all.

    I actually remember that thread, and it unfolded as you described. (You were the OP so maybe couldn't see it, but it was even funny, from a distance. Obviously though, people post because they have problems to solve, not because they hope to provide a space for absurdist humour.)

    I think people are sometimes quite forceful in their comments because whatever approach they're advocating is the one they feel worked for them. Hard for new people to appreciate that, though.

    And yeah, it is frustrating when people don't read the question. I think it's partly because lots of people are on their phones. I sometimes skim responses, myself :/ I do also think a few are to the point of being trolly or baiting about it. I find it tiresome and unhelpful when people veer away from the particular question and turn it into the same old debate (which usually sets up a false dichotomy, imo - very often, those offering concrete dietary suggestions are knowingly working under CICO, just offering the tactics that worked for them). I usually mention how I try to deal with satiety, because without addressing that, there's no way I could meet my target, and it's at least possible the poster is similar, so why not offer what worked for me? They can take or leave it if it doesn't make sense for them, but I'd feel I wasn't being helpful if I didn't mention it. Which I guess is what most people do, regardless of their approach.

    The thing I think I find most annoying is the suggestion that attending to food choices to manage satiety is somehow a cheat, as though it's a failure of "willpower". Because I think "willpower" is beside the point - weight management is the goal, and I'm for whatever works. For some people what works IS looking at food quality.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    ariamythe wrote: »
    Just thought I'd drop this in here, since it's an example of the kind of thing being debated here.

    Can you spot the not helpful responses in this thread?

    I can't and I posted twice in that thread. I even provided a link of another very helpful thread that helps me stay on my journey.
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  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    There are lots of condescending comments to new people on MFP.

    The whole CICO is one very simple aspect of food

    It ignores all of the other aspects of nutrition

    I ate a crappy diet. Eating less of a crappy diet is not the best health option. That is why my dr sent me to a nutritionist.

    I don't think many people want to just lose weight with no regard to learning how to eat a balanced diet.

    Maybe some do, not sure why but that is their choice.

    I'm glad I had worked with a nutritionist and trainer before getting to MFP.

    The point is to understand the first step. Calorie restriction. That puts you on the road to rejecting large calorie loads (ONE cookie is 300 calories?! NOT worth it! *munches carrots*)

    CICO isn't ABOUT -health-, it's just the science behind weight loss. When people ask about weight loss, that is the answer they get.

    Actually, pretty much any question is answered with CICO, which is part of the problem.

    Want advice on eating healthier diet? You'll get a ridiculous argument that food is food and CICO is all that matters.

    Ask a question about a plateau? The answer is CICO and you must not be accurately tracking intake.

    It'd be amusing if it weren't so actively unhelpful to those seeking assistance.

    If you have better advice, we're all ears... pardon me if I don't hold my breath.

    If you think that spouting off CICO as the final answer to either of the example questions in my post, there's no discussion worth having.

    Some of us prefer to realize that nuance and personal circumstance play a large role in success. If someone wants to give low carb a try or reduce their sugar intake, who are you to demean that decision?

    CICO isn't being denied, only the derisive and unhelpful way in which it is used to belittle any approach that adds other, more personal variables.

    CICO includes low carb, or low sugar, or whatever other route people want to take to achieve a deficit.

    Yet every post that references "clean eating" will eventually be closed/deleted because it devolves into a tired debate about how CICO is all that matters and foods are completely equal outside of individual dietary context. Doesn't seem very accepting of alternate approaches.
    Just like every post that references IIFYM or flexible dieting. Because jumping in to tell people they can't live on 100% donuts and ice cream is reasonable acceptance of alternate approaches, right?

    The difference is, the "clean eaters" often say you "should" eat that way and not doing so isn't "healthy," whereas someone with a more flexible-dieting approach says you can eat clean, but you don't have to.

    Tell me, who's more likely do derail a thread with "no, you shouldn't eat that way"? "Don't have to" is almost always relevant. "Shouldn't" almost never is.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Second, even if the labels can be that far off, they almost never are. And stuff like steaks will even out over time.

    I never get why everyone ignores the fact that they can be off in both directions. People assume every inaccuracy is an underestimate. So unless there is some compelling reason to believe that a significant majority of food labels are all too low, you can expect the variations to even out in the long term.



    Right, except I worked for a bottling company, and I know for a fact they intentinally pack more, because they have to have AT LEAST as much in the container as it says, or they will get in trouble. The opposite does not apply.
    I'm not talking about volume, I'm talking about nutritional information, including calories. Are you saying that manufacturers intentionally understate macros per serving?

    I'm saying that labels don't always skew such that you will systematically overeat over time if you weigh your servings and use the nutrition info on the label.

    Yeah, there's probably more of Product X in the package than the package says, because the opposite is legally risky while giving more than expected typically isn't. That doesn't mean that the nutritional info per serving is systematically skewed in a single direction.

  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    FitFroglet wrote: »
    nvsmomketo wrote: »
    It does partially come down to manners. For example, if someone is in front of you do you just say "move" or "excuse me please"? If someone's weight loss is stalled (and half a dozen people haven't already replied with the same advice) do you say "CICO" or " Are you sure you are eating at a calorie deficit? Sometimes using a food scale can help you make sure you aren't accidentally eating more than you think."? I know which ones i would respond to better.

    I'm not sure I've been reading the same forum as everyone else.
    I don't see people respond "CICO" I see people ask:
    • Are you weighing your food?
    • Are you logging everything you eat and drink?
    • Are you eating back all of your exercise calories? (sometimes accompanied by "How are you measuring your burn?")
    • How long have you been trying for? (sometimes accompanied by an explanation that weight-loss isn't linear)
    • Is exercise new to you? (usually accompanied by an explanation that the body might store more water when you start exercising but that this will level out in the long run)

    They try to work out what part of CICO isn't quite right for the person seeking help then guide them to a better way.

    50% of the time the OP responds with "I measure everything! I'm doing everything right! How dare you suggest that I'm not!!!!!" People cannot help someone who refuses to listen.

    I've found the forum to be a very useful place to lurk and it's taught me a lot.
    In answer to the OP, weight-loss is incredibly straightforward and also one of the most difficult things you'll do.

    I agree that "CICO" isn't a useful response in and of itself but what I tend to see is people helping the OP identify what part of CICO they're getting wrong (or indeed, "you appear to be doing it right, have patience, it will work out") which is incredibly useful.

    I didn't make my thoughts clear enough. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to imply that all responders say CICO or something rude, but there is a minority of vocal people who will go on and on about CICO when the original post may not have even been asking about that - often WOE threads. A response to a question about vegetarianism might be met with a response of " Why? CICO is all you need." A question about how to cut added sugars from their diet might be answered with, "Why? CICO is all you need." Not always, or even most of the time but enough to be quite noticeable to newbies like me.

    I am oversimplifying it there, but I do feel that a minority of responders tend to go on about that. It really only needs to be said once....for most people.

    The majority of posts are usually helpful and polite.... well, threads about cutting sugars and carbs is often another story. People do seem to have really strong feelings about carb intake, and negative feelings about reducing them.

    This thread might make some people think about how they respond; many posts from yesterday seemed more thoughtfully worded (to me). I think it is just a good idea to try to be thoughtful and kind in our responses. I need to work on it too. I have had a couple of threads where I started to get snarky when I was feeling belittled and ganged up on (and yes I realize that might not have been people's intent, but I sincerely doubt it for a select few). I'm to the point where if I find a post that has to do with low carb, I immediately refer them to another forum because I have usually correctly predicted the type of reception they will have on the MFP boards.... I realize that does not have to do with CICO but mentioned it because it still has to do with manners.

    I realize very little will change from all of this, but the small change that I hope may come of this is that some people will think twice before hitting "post reply". I'll try to.

    Best wishes.
  • accidentalpancake
    accidentalpancake Posts: 484 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    ariamythe wrote: »
    Just thought I'd drop this in here, since it's an example of the kind of thing being debated here.

    Can you spot the not helpful responses in this thread?

    I cannot see a single unhelpful response in the 11 responses to that thread if I'm truly honest..although the very first response is wrong

    Can you?

    And what does that say about the perceptions of the reader clouding their understanding and appreciation of what is going on in that thread

    Black box theory of personal communications rules!

    I'd agree that there were some helpful responses in there, but there were also several of the variety that are being discussed here.

    Some indicated that she wasn't logging correctly or that she was eating too much, with no indication of either in the OP. While this is not necessarily wrong, there was no follow up or attempt to gather more information.

    Some denied the idea of a "set point", which is fine as a personal belief, but is clearly worthy of addressing for the OP.
  • ariamythe
    ariamythe Posts: 130 Member
    edited July 2015
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    ariamythe wrote: »
    Just thought I'd drop this in here, since it's an example of the kind of thing being debated here.

    Can you spot the not helpful responses in this thread?

    I cannot see a single unhelpful response in the 11 responses to that thread if I'm truly honest..although the very first response is wrong

    Can you?

    Yes, I see some that are completely unhelpful and terse: "You eat less" and "Eat less food," full-stop-end-of-post. Well no sugar, Sherlock. She clearly is aware, since she has lost weight in the past and works out regularly. She's come asking for experiences and advice in breaking out of a slump, and gets something that comes across as condescending and dismissive. There *are* some good responses in there, but also some that seem to be people going "JFC, why don't people listen, let me say it ONE MORE TIME ... "

    There's two components to a successful communication. One of them is content; but the other is presentation (tone, style, etc.). IMO those responses fail on both counts.
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  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Since we're doing examples, here's a perfect one of a cooperative OP who may not have got advise on the WOE she wanted, but got the weight loss stalling help she needed:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10214226/military-diet/p1

    And I'm starting to realize that when people say dozens of posters just respond with "CICO", they may not literally mean CICO is all that was said, but maybe just post after post referencing a caloric deficit, even though they were expecting or might have been interested in more. Maybe?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited July 2015
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    ariamythe wrote: »
    Just thought I'd drop this in here, since it's an example of the kind of thing being debated here.

    Can you spot the not helpful responses in this thread?

    I cannot see a single unhelpful response in the 11 responses to that thread if I'm truly honest..although the very first response is wrong

    Can you?

    And what does that say about the perceptions of the reader clouding their understanding and appreciation of what is going on in that thread

    Black box theory of personal communications rules!

    I'd agree that there were some helpful responses in there, but there were also several of the variety that are being discussed here.

    Some indicated that she wasn't logging correctly or that she was eating too much, with no indication of either in the OP. While this is not necessarily wrong, there was no follow up or attempt to gather more information.

    Some denied the idea of a "set point", which is fine as a personal belief, but is clearly worthy of addressing for the OP.
    ariamythe wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    ariamythe wrote: »
    Just thought I'd drop this in here, since it's an example of the kind of thing being debated here.

    Can you spot the not helpful responses in this thread?

    I cannot see a single unhelpful response in the 11 responses to that thread if I'm truly honest..although the very first response is wrong

    Can you?

    Yes, I see some that are completely unhelpful and terse: "You eat less" and "Eat less food," full-stop-end-of-post. Well no sugar, Sherlock. She clearly is aware, since she has lost weight in the past and works out regularly. She's come asking for experiences and advice in breaking out of a slump, and gets something that comes across as condescending and dismissive. There *are* some good responses in there, but also some that seem to be people going "JFC, why don't people listen, let me say it ONE MORE TIME ... "

    There's two components to a successful communication. One of them is content; but the other is presentation (tone, style, etc.). IMO those responses fail on both counts.


    And this is the problem that we constantly battle with on here. There are clearly people who think that providing a clear,short answer is unhelpful. And there are those who don't

    It was exactly those types of answers that made me think "what am I missing, it looks so easy" so I looked into it, without getting my knickers in a twist and found a way that worked for me

    I ate fewer calories
    I read research that debunked theories like set weight
    I focused on my logging to make sure it was an accurate an estimate as it could be ...and I double checked against the reality of my body

    The reason someone isn't losing weight is always down to the timeframe or the fact they are eating at the maintenance level...always, yes even with medical conditions...

    Tone is in the recipients mind. Always.

    I've said it before, and I'll say it again...read all responses in the muppet voice of your choosing ..and stop feeling insulted by direct responses ..they are as helpful as the overly wordy touchy-feely can be to many
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    ariamythe wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    ariamythe wrote: »
    Just thought I'd drop this in here, since it's an example of the kind of thing being debated here.

    Can you spot the not helpful responses in this thread?

    I cannot see a single unhelpful response in the 11 responses to that thread if I'm truly honest..although the very first response is wrong

    Can you?

    Yes, I see some that are completely unhelpful and terse: "You eat less" and "Eat less food," full-stop-end-of-post. Well no sugar, Sherlock. She clearly is aware, since she has lost weight in the past and works out regularly. She's come asking for experiences and advice in breaking out of a slump, and gets something that comes across as condescending and dismissive. There *are* some good responses in there, but also some that seem to be people going "JFC, why don't people listen, let me say it ONE MORE TIME ... "

    There's two components to a successful communication. One of them is content; but the other is presentation (tone, style, etc.). IMO those responses fail on both counts.

    What would be your take away, here? Basically if you don't have more than one sentence to share, don't bother posting?

    For me, those comments all fell under the category of simple but not easy. If the OP wants more advise on how to eat less, she can ask in a follow up question. That'll at least show she's committed to responding to posts, providing follow up information and would be willing to take the advice before everyone each types up a dissertation

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited July 2015
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    Since we're doing examples, here's a perfect one of a cooperative OP who may not have got advise on the WOE she wanted, but got the weight loss stalling help she needed:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10214226/military-diet/p1

    And I'm starting to realize that when people say dozens of posters just respond with "CICO", they may not literally mean CICO is all that was said, but maybe just post after post referencing a caloric deficit, even though they were expecting or might have been interested in more. Maybe?

    I think perhaps you're right

    I think people want the media-style / marketing lead industry standard of overly complicating a direct and easy response so it gives you something to buy into

    Because really it must be more difficult...because if it isn't that means I'm not a victim, I'm to blame for my own unhappiness in my own body

    I always knew why I was overweight...I ate too much and was chronically lazy ...I wanted an easy answer or a reason for it.

    Took me 30 years to find that the easy answer for me was stop eating so much (but you can still have everything you enjoy) and move more

  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
    I thought this post got like...deleted or something? crazy its still going
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    it wasn't going it was dead for a week.
    But you brought it up again
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