Living the Lifestyle - Tues May 22

Calvin2008Brian

We meet here to explore, share, celebrate, and (sometimes) agonize over how we do (or don't) incorporate weight loss guidelines into our daily lives. "It's a lifestyle, not a diet" is easily and often said, but sometimes not so simply put into practice.

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Thread starters for May are:

Monday - Jimb376mfp (Jim)
Tuesday - Calvin2008Brian (Brian)
Wednesday - <open - jump in!>
Thursday - <open - don't be shy!>
Friday - Al_Howard (Al)

Topic: plenty of good reading here on the familiar topics of losing weight and maintaining a loss: https://www.self.com/story/i-lost-90-pounds-maintaining-that-weight-loss-was-harder

I'm strapped for time, so let me just throw that out there for now. I'll post a few thoughts later in the day.

Calvin2008Brian

ok ... a few quick thoughts.

The writer is "SciBabe," the nom de plume of Yvette d'Entremont. She writes and has a social media presence as a voice of science in opposition to "Food Babe" and others of that ilk who peddle junk science for profit. I like her style, and I usually find myself agreeing with her on the substantive issues.

I really love this piece, and will keep it for future reference (along with this one).

Two favorite takeaways:

(1) "Do what makes you want to keep working out, but remember, you don’t have to destroy yourself."

(2) The entirety of this paragraph: "Food is more important than fitness when it comes to losing weight. There’s a saying in the fitness world that you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. The fact that 98 percent of NCRW participants modified their food intake to keep weight off tells me that exercise alone—while important for respondents, as I mentioned above—is not the key to weight loss. In fact, a 2014 review found that while exercise is great for health, without caloric restriction, it won’t result in clinically significant weight loss. This is a reminder that the calories you eat really are key to a weight-loss effort. In fact, for some people exercise can actually make weight loss harder as it can cause us to overestimate how many calories we’ve actually burned."

Taken together, those takeaway points are my story. I was outrunning my poor diet choices for a long time. When I got injured and had to tail back my running, my strategy was exposed.

I'm working now on resetting my brain to accept that 1000s of running miles are not coming to the rescue again. I need to learn how to exercise within realistic parameters, and (especially) learn how to eat less in a sustainable manner. Getting there, I think.

Al_Howard

I agree, well written (which makes for easy reading). I like her addendum that not everything works for everybody.
I really need to find what works for me, and you need to find out what works for you.

minimyzeme

Four years in, my experience has several similarities. My "success" has definitely been driven more by less food (healthier choices) than exercise. Motivation to keep the weight off has been there but I can't take it for granted. It's a one-day-at-a-time thing for me, for sure. Oh, I too used to think a serving of Ben & Jerry's was the whole pint. Did that many times... Thanks for the article link @Calvin2008Brian !

88olds

I check into the Motivation & Support board every day. The “It’s Not Working” type post is a regular feature. 99% will say how hard they are exercising. Maybe 10% mention tracking everything.

It’s also pretty clear that 90% have their calories set for the most restricted eating that MFP will allow. Lots of needless misery.

The article- I don’t exercise anywhere near an hr per day. Never have on WW.