Is it really just calories in calories out?

cmriverside

cheryldumais wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

lauracups3149 wrote: »

No. Hormones play a huge part and anyone who woes isn't struggling in menopause.

Really? I could've sworn I was menopausal while losing 50+ pounds in less than a year at age 59-60. Also hypothyroid.

As we get older, we tend to be less active in daily life, and we tend to lose muscle mass. They can become a negative down-spiral. Both of those things also lower our calorie needs, to the detriment of our weight management. But both of those are also under our influence, at least to some extent.

It's always more effective, IMO, to focus on the parts of a situation we can influence/control (like calorie intake, daily-life activity, and exercise), and stop giving mindshare to the things we can't (like hormones, "food pushing friends", the evil food corporations, or whatever other uncontrollable bugaboos may be present).

Me too. I lost 100 pounds hypothyroid and menopausal. 59 - 61.

+3

At age 54, post menopausal and on thyroid meds I lost 70+ pounds pretty much right on schedule by logging food and exercise on this site.

garystrickland357

AnvilHead wrote: »

You make the same mistake virtually every "a calorie is not a calorie" person does. You confuse energy balance with nutrition. Not the same thing.

A calorie is a unit of measure. A mile is a mile, whether you walk it, run it, drive it, fly over it or crawl it. Whether it's uphill, downhill, on a paved highway or a mountain trail. Whether it's -30 degrees or 130 degrees. Whether you're barefoot, in shoes, or on roller skates. If you travel a mile under any of those conditions, it's still a mile. Calories are like that too.

This. Look y'all - the energy in a gallon of gasoline can be measured in calories. One gallon of gasoline contains around 31,000 calories - that how much potential gasoline has for doing work. The way the energy is stored - in what molecules - is a different question. That's where the nutrition discussion is relevant.

CICO is a simplification of the energy balance equation your body follows. Our bodies are heat engines not dissimilar to an automobile. No one would argue that you can get more or less energy out of gasoline than it contains. Are all autos equally efficient? No? Neither are all humans equally efficient depending on many factors.

That doesn't change the general equation.

Yes. CICO - it's just that simple. I've lost 75 pounds because my input has been less than my output. Now I'm beginning maintenance - I have to balance input vs output. It's that simple. Don't confuse simple with easy though...

earlnabby

lauracups3149 wrote: »

No. Hormones play a huge part and anyone who woes isn't struggling in menopause.

10 years post menopause here and losing weight is easier than it ever was. Minimal hormone fluctuations so I no longer get bloating, cravings, mood swings, or cramps that can cause issues when working out.