The Truth?

MrCoolGrim

I have been in and out of this site for several years and each time I read these posts I don't know whether to laugh or cry. To me, losing weight or gaining weight is not about diets or what I drink or eat. It's more of a lifestyle change and you have to work hard to maintain it. But one thing I have learned, besides people having a medical condition, is it's all boils down to calories in and calories out. You can eat what ever you want , besides body builders in order to gain or lose weight as long as your calories are in check. Is this the truth? I think so. It just pains me to see so many people starving themselves on fad diets and thinking if they drink only green tea that they will miraculously have the body of a super model. I just wanted to write this because it has been on my mind for awhile. I don't mean any disrespect, I just wanted to start a thread to see what others think. Thank you

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

MrCoolGrim wrote: »

I have been in and out of this site for several years and each time I read these posts I don't know whether to laugh or cry. To me, losing weight or gaining weight is not about diets or what I drink or eat. It's more of a lifestyle change and you have to work hard to maintain it. But one thing I have learned, besides people having a medical condition, is it's all boils down to calories in and calories out. You can eat what ever you want , besides body builders in order to gain or lose weight as long as your calories are in check. Is this the truth? I think so. It just pains me to see so many people starving themselves on fad diets and thinking if they drink only green tea that they will miraculously have the body of a super model. I just wanted to write this because it has been on my mind for awhile. I don't mean any disrespect, I just wanted to start a thread to see what others think. Thank you

It's the truth, even for body builders.

GlorianasTears

I don't know tho cause some people's thyroids botch how much they can lose or gain like I did a strict 800 calorie diet and I still felt I didn't lose as much as a normal person would (I do not recommend 800 cal diets) so sometimes the things u eat make a big difference and your nutrient intake is very important ❤

megs_1985

Your 100% right. Of course medical conditions like hypothyroid or others will change the equation a bit but a normal adult with no medical conditions then it is simply CICO. Of course this doesn't mean you can eat like crap and be healthy even if you lose weight. People also need to learn nutrition. I wish it was a required class in high school.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

GlorianasTears wrote: »

I don't know tho cause some people's thyroids botch how much they can lose or gain like I did a strict 800 calorie diet and I still felt I didn't lose as much as a normal person would (I do not recommend 800 cal diets) so sometimes the things u eat make a big difference and your nutrient intake is very important ❤

Thyroid issues don't change the fact that you need to eat less than you burn for weight loss.

It may slightly be less than the standard 3500 calories = 1lb but not by much.

Nutrients weren't mentioned in your opening post, that is a whole different ball game to calories and weight loss.

RoxieDawn

MrCoolGrim wrote: »

I have been in and out of this site for several years and each time I read these posts I don't know whether to laugh or cry. To me, losing weight or gaining weight is not about diets or what I drink or eat. It's more of a lifestyle change and you have to work hard to maintain it. But one thing I have learned, besides people having a medical condition, is it's all boils down to calories in and calories out. You can eat what ever you want , besides body builders in order to gain or lose weight as long as your calories are in check. Is this the truth? I think so. It just pains me to see so many people starving themselves on fad diets and thinking if they drink only green tea that they will miraculously have the body of a super model. I just wanted to write this because it has been on my mind for awhile. I don't mean any disrespect, I just wanted to start a thread to see what others think. Thank you

Body builders are not excluded from this. Just because I am currently in weight gain does not permit me to eat anything and everything I want to, it has to be controlled just like losing/maintaining.

But I agree with the rest of your post.. CICO.

jemhh

GlorianasTears wrote: »

I don't know tho cause some people's thyroids botch how much they can lose or gain like I did a strict 800 calorie diet and I still felt I didn't lose as much as a normal person would (I do not recommend 800 cal diets) so sometimes the things u eat make a big difference and your nutrient intake is very important ❤

He specifically stated that he wasn't talking about people with medical problems.

I agree that weight loss is a matter of calories. Overall long term health improvement is another story. I think it is folly to overlook the fact that a majority of people who end up heavily overweight and obese make poor diet choices beyond merely eating too many calories.

I agree that it takes work to maintain weight loss. For many of us, making good choices in that respect will take a lifetime of work. Losing weight does not necessarily change your default mindset or desire to whatever is the healthiest course of action.

raindawg

For weight loss/gain it boils down to CICO. For overall health you need to monitor "what" you are eating also. I think people miss the distinction of someone talking about weight loss versus health when discussing the merits of CICO. I'm a big CICO believer.

Christine_72

As mentioned, it really does boil down to CI v CO. But for compliance and satiety for me, macros also play a significant role in how easy it is to lose weight.
Not being constantly hungry makes this weight loss ordeal much more sustainable/manageable, and for that i had to tweak my macros and choose the foods i eat wisely.

psuLemon

While i agree with most of what you say, i always giggle when i hear lifestyle change... its no different and no more successful than following a diet; which is a fancy term for how you eat.

Machka9

psuLemon wrote: »

While i agree with most of what you say, i always giggle when i hear lifestyle change... its no different and no more successful than following a diet; which is a fancy term for how you eat.

Yeah, I'm not fond of the whole "lifestyle change" phrase to describe eating.

For me, a lifestyle change is things like moving to a different country, getting a different job, living with different things than you're used to ... a whole life style change.

Altering what I eat is just a diet adjustment ... it's actually quite a minor thing.

And in fact, making the diet adjustment, and keeping it just a minor thing and in the background while I went through a life style change helped me lose my weight!

In other words ... I started university, working toward a Master's while still working fulltime. My focus was on juggling the work and the university and trying to do well at my course work. Adjusting my diet so that I ate certain things at certain times was such a relief. I didn't have to think about or focus on food at all. Instead I could focus on what was important to me.

When I finished that first course, I had dropped 15 kg.

WinoGelato

raindawg wrote: »

For weight loss/gain it boils down to CICO. For overall health you need to monitor "what" you are eating also. I think people miss the distinction of someone talking about weight loss versus health when discussing the merits of CICO. I'm a big CICO believer.

This is all true, and I'm also being nitpicky with my piggy backing on your post - but for many people - tremendous health benefits are achieved simply by losing weight. I advocate for a balance of nutrition, satiety and enjoyment within a calorie appropriate goal - but for many people, simply losing weight regardless of nutrition has marked improvements in health markers.

I also think, after being an active participant in these boards for several years now - that many people find long term success looking at this as an evolution, not a revolution. The people that go balls to the walls off the bat -whether it be with too aggressive of a calorie goal, or too focused on having to eat a certain way (clean/no sugar/no white carbs/etc) are often the ones that flame out early. The people who make small changes and build on them over time (first focus on understanding your current calorie intake, then set a deficit, then look at whether you are struggling with hunger, then eat more satiating foods, then look at macro nutrients, then look at micronutrients with a similar approach toward exercise) are usually the ones who achieve goals, are successful in maintenance AND stick around to help others.

Again - not disagreeing with your post - just expounding a bit.