The myth I will power & eat less move more...

crunchybubblez

http://www.fitocracy.com/knowledge/the-myth-of-willpower-and-eat-less-move-more/

Thoughts?

bajoyba

I agree that a positive feedback cycle is absolutely necessary to be successful in weight loss and fitness. Most people are unlikely to stick with something that requires effort if they don't see results. I also agree that a lot of people oversimplify the idea of "eat less move more" and don't take the time to educate themselves about exercise and nutrition.

But I don't agree that "eat less move more" is a myth or a dogma. "Eat less move more" is the basic science behind weight loss. It's not "hardcore" at all. It's a simple concept, and that's what I find so motivating about it. Of course you still have to put in the time and the effort, and the positive feedback still needs to be there, but ultimately, eating less and moving more is how it works. "Eat less move more" doesn't say you have to starve yourself, give up foods that you love, or kill yourself at the gym. It just says that if you eat at a small to moderate caloric deficit and become a little more active in your daily life, you'll be taking steps in the right direction and seeing progress toward your ultimate goal.

ninerbuff

Hmm, eat less move more seems to work in countries other than the US.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

magerum

If you believe willpower is a myth, just give up.

jwdieter

Bottom line is eating less and/or moving more, resulting in a caloric deficit.

If people need a positive feedback loop to accomplish that, ok.

aakaakaak

If you don't like what you're doing you will quit. Maybe not tomorrow, or the next day, but if you don't like it and you don't see results you will have no motivation to continue. A positive feedback loop helps to fuel and reinforce motivation.

Eat less, move more translation - Increasing your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and increasing your caloric intake to the point where your TDEE is greater than your intake is the root of weight loss. If you are taking in fewer calories than you burn you are losing weight. (fudge for temporary water/glycogen retention)

peggymdellinger

You know... I think this may be a big part of why the EM2WL and myfitnesspal.com combination work so well. We are able to eat (IIFYM), not give up most of the stuff we like to eat (in moderation), and we have a support network.

delicious_cocktail

Sigh. He says that the importance of willpower is mythical.

Then he says "The only way to succeed at fitness is to create a positive feedback loop."

Curious how one does that without sticking to it long enough to see positive results in the first place.

I did not like the article.

ElikaCousland

Eat less move more might annoy people in it's simplicity, but I find it comforting. It takes this insurmountably difficult task and boils it down into something so easy that there's no room for misinterpretation. If I eat less and move more, I will lose weight. It's science. End of story.

I think people make it more difficult than it needs to be because that justifies them if they fail.

SrJoben

If you believe willpower is a myth, just give up.

You didn't even read the article did you?

It doesn't even claim that willpower doesn't exist. It says that it takes effort to use willpower. Which makes it a terrible way to accomplish a long-term goal like remaining fit for the rest of your life.

Sigh. He says that the importance of willpower is mythical.

Then he says "The only way to succeed at fitness is to create a positive feedback loop."

Curious how one does that without sticking to it long enough to see positive results in the first place.

I did not like the article.

And you've somehow managed to come up with what you think is an objection, even though that exact thing is explicitly mentioned in the article:

Willpower will help you make the decision to start a program, and it will help you keep going if you don’t see results at the start.

Willpower will not bring you success.

That’s because willpower is a finite resource. No amount of willpower alone will make you get up every morning to run if you hate running.

DragonSquatter

Eat less move more might annoy people in it's simplicity, but I find it comforting. It takes this insurmountably difficult task and boils it down into something so easy that there's no room for misinterpretation. If I eat less and move more, I will lose weight. It's science. End of story.

I think people make it more difficult than it needs to be because that justifies them if they fail.

^ THIS... entirely this...

delicious_cocktail

If you believe willpower is a myth, just give up.

You didn't even read the article did you?

It doesn't even claim that willpower doesn't exist. It says that it takes effort to use willpower. Which makes it a terrible way to accomplish a long-term goal like remaining fit for the rest of your life.

Sigh. He says that the importance of willpower is mythical.

Then he says "The only way to succeed at fitness is to create a positive feedback loop."

Curious how one does that without sticking to it long enough to see positive results in the first place.

I did not like the article.

And you've somehow managed to come up with what you think is an objection, even though that exact thing is explicitly mentioned in the arti disgusting, they are scary too. I also have a fear that when I flush a public toilet it will explode and spew nasty *kitten* water all over me. I have actually had nightmares about being trapped in a porta potty and I can't get out.

Ok, enough of my odd topics for tonight. I'm going to bed!

What's your weird fear??cle:

Willpower will help you make the decision to start a program, and it will help you keep going if you don’t see results at the start.

Willpower will not bring you success.

That’s because willpower is a finite resource. No amount of willpower alone will make you get up every morning to run if you hate running.

Yes, I didn't scrutinize the article for long enough to see the author backtrack. Makes me wish I hadn't wasted the short time I did spend reading his philosophy.

ngyoung

Hmm, eat less move more seems to work in countries other than the US.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Unfortunately the majority of the world is catching up to the US.

aakaakaak

Hmm, eat less move more seems to work in countries other than the US.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Unfortunately the majority of the world is catching up to the US.

They are?

EAT FASTER 'MURICANS!

ninerbuff

Hmm, eat less move more seems to work in countries other than the US.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Unfortunately the majority of the world is catching up to the US.

I wouldn't say catching up. Maybe more noticed. I do believe that Mexico is now considered the fattest country, but islands like Tonga and Samoa have long had obese people on them for years.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

astartig

the writer sounds like a bitter cynical nerd without any real clue of what he's talking about and assuming everyone else is like him.

DopeItUp

He's got tons of great points that I agree with 100%.

Willpower will not bring you success.

That’s because willpower is a finite resource. No amount of willpower alone will make you get up every morning to run if you hate running.

Definitely. Willpower can only get you far. This is why I encourage people to find an activity that they ENJOY. So many threads on here are "what's the best machine for weight loss/cardio/toning/blah blah blah". It doesn't matter. Even if there WERE a "best" exercise (and there isn't, it all depends on your goals), it wouldn't matter because if you hate it, you won't do it for very long. Willpower will get you to try it a few times (at most) and then give up.

Hate running? Then don’t run. Don’t like giving up pizza? Then figure out a way to fit it into your diet. Don’t like salads? Then don’t eat them.

Definitely. I don't like salads, so I don't eat them. Running doesn't interest me in the least bit, so I don't even bother with it. I eat pizza, cheeseburgers, fried chicken, whatever. None of this has hindered my fitness goals or my fat loss goals. You just have to find a way to make it work.

You see, The Biggest Loser gives people the perception that exercising until you vomit, starving yourself, and being hardcore are all necessary means to fitness success.

Yup, that show does more to harm the general population's perceptions about fitness/weight loss than anything. Extreme diets, extreme workout plans, extreme dehydration for weigh-ins, etc. None of this stuff is a requirement or even admirable. It makes weight loss look extremely difficult/painful AND is also gives people the false impression that they can shed ridiculous amounts of weight every week (10lbs+ a week? Riiight). It's a reality show, that's all. Not even a good one.

So yes, losing weight and getting into better shape really is as simple as "eat less, move more" but SUSTAINING the weight loss and the fitness improvements will require the individual to find a meal/fitness plan that works for them and that they can live with. That's the hard part. Simply restricting diet and dragging yourself to the gym won't work long term unless you're enjoying yourself or at least enjoying the results. That's why so many people fail.

Qskim

I liked the article. I've always said will power is over-rated. It'll get you past the cookie jar the first time but if you go past a second time then you asked for it..so either plan for two cookies or remove the jar. I thought that was his point.

On the eat less, more more - I interpreted him as not necessarily arguing this wasn't valid but people's interpretation of it was flawed. This is why he refers to the disservice that biggest loser does to a simple idea. Most people see eat less and move more and go to extremes with it. Then you see them joining MFP and they weigh 300lbs, eating at a large deficit, complaining they are hungry, exercise their whole allowance away and finally give up because what they were doing was unsustainable for them. Yes eat less, move more but sometimes it's far better for some to change habits, be it food or exercise and get the result of eating less and moving more without overthinking it.

I can relate to this article. I always have a feedback loop going on somewhere. It helps me eat less or it helps me move more.

Mr_Excitement

I agree that a positive feedback cycle is absolutely necessary to be successful in weight loss and fitness. Most people are unlikely to stick with something that requires effort if they don't see results. I also agree that a lot of people oversimplify the idea of "eat less move more" and don't take the time to educate themselves about exercise and nutrition.

But I don't agree that "eat less move more" is a myth or a dogma. "Eat less move more" is the basic science behind weight loss. It's not "hardcore" at all. It's a simple concept, and that's what I find so motivating about it. Of course you still have to put in the time and the effort, and the positive feedback still needs to be there, but ultimately, eating less and moving more is how it works. "Eat less move more" doesn't say you have to starve yourself, give up foods that you love, or kill yourself at the gym. It just says that if you eat at a small to moderate caloric deficit and become a little more active in your daily life, you'll be taking steps in the right direction and seeing progress toward your ultimate goal.

This. Eating less and moving more is how you establish that positive feedback loop.

People fail at weight loss because they don't realize how much they eat, and they lie to themselves about how much they eat.

ashleyisgreat

He's got tons of great points that I agree with 100%.

Willpower will not bring you success.

That’s because willpower is a finite resource. No amount of willpower alone will make you get up every morning to run if you hate running.

Definitely. Willpower can only get you far. This is why I encourage people to find an activity that they ENJOY. So many threads on here are "what's the best machine for weight loss/cardio/toning/blah blah blah". It doesn't matter. Even if there WERE a "best" exercise (and there isn't, it all depends on your goals), it wouldn't matter because if you hate it, you won't do it for very long. Willpower will get you to try it a few times (at most) and then give up.

Hate running? Then don’t run. Don’t like giving up pizza? Then figure out a way to fit it into your diet. Don’t like salads? Then don’t eat them.

Definitely. I don't like salads, so I don't eat them. Running doesn't interest me in the least bit, so I don't even bother with it. I eat pizza, cheeseburgers, fried chicken, whatever. None of this has hindered my fitness goals or my fat loss goals. You just have to find a way to make it work.

You see, The Biggest Loser gives people the perception that exercising until you vomit, starving yourself, and being hardcore are all necessary means to fitness success.

Yup, that show does more to harm the general population's perceptions about fitness/weight loss than anything. Extreme diets, extreme workout plans, extreme dehydration for weigh-ins, etc. None of this stuff is a requirement or even admirable. It makes weight loss look extremely difficult/painful AND is also gives people the false impression that they can shed ridiculous amounts of weight every week (10lbs+ a week? Riiight). It's a reality show, that's all. Not even a good one.

So yes, losing weight and getting into better shape really is as simple as "eat less, move more" but SUSTAINING the weight loss and the fitness improvements will require the individual to find a meal/fitness plan that works for them and that they can live with. That's the hard part. Simply restricting diet and dragging yourself to the gym won't work long term unless you're enjoying yourself or at least enjoying the results. That's why so many people fail.

Yeah, this. I was all ready to be annoyed by the article, but then the author made a bunch of valid points. Good advice in there for beginners, especially.

ashleyisgreat

The basic point is that there is not enough willpower in the world to make me eat 1200 calories a day and to run 2 miles in the morning (which would be way more than I could do at this point), but that I don't need to do extreme things like that in the first place. Make it easier on yourself, create sustainable lifestyle habits, and you're golden. No need to rely on willpower if you just don't force yourself to do (or not do) things. Don't expect Biggest Loser-style weight loss because it's just not sustainable.