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What does it mean to lose weight in a SENSIBLE and SUSTAINABLE fashion?

NovusDies
NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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It occurs to me that we have never actually discussed this topic even though many of you probably saw me mention this as a requirement when I provided the LL link.

I think the specifics of the definition are going to be different for different people but here are the highlights of my thoughts and I, as always, welcome feedback.

Sensible

In a nutshell sensible means that a person is losing weight in a whole health fashion. Losing faster than recommended and risking the side effects of poor nutrition is not sensible. Overdoing exercise, excessive fasting, crash dieting, using get-thin quick internet/tabloid methods are other examples (not a comprehensive list) of things that are not sensible. This does not include "named" diets. I encourage anyone that is struggling to control their hunger to try ideas like low carb or intermittent fasting. Just know that they are tools and that a calorie deficit still drives weight loss. A diet is a fad if you decide to do it for the wrong reasons. It is a means of success if you try it and it makes your road easier. Easier does not mean the scale moves. Easier means that you struggle less.


Sustainable

Sustainable means that a person understands that weight loss alone is not the measure of a successful plan. I have lost some weight many times. I have done it in very terrible ways. I was one of the stupid people using that pharmaceutical that bound to fat to keep it from being digested and it often leaked out of your rear. I lost weight. It wasn't sustainable.

Simply put a sustainable plan is one that you can still (mostly) easily do on your bad days. If you can do it on your bad days you won't need that much motivation, willpower, or discipline to do it on your easy days. If everyday is a struggle and you need huge amounts of motivation and accountability you probably need to tweak your plan some more.

A sustainable plan is flexible and forgiving. It needs to bend in the right places because your life doesn't stop just because you choose to lose weight. You also don't stop being human and making mistakes when you start losing weight either.

Replies

  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 849 Member
    Sensible to me, means you can stand in the check out line at a grocery store anywhere and read the headlines on the magazines in the racks and chuckle to yourself on the outrageous promises on how to lose weight. That sound to good to be true, well because they are.

    I often go to Pinterest for recipes for low carb. And some of the things that people swear by on there. There should be a roll your eye button.
    I have tried a few wonky things in my day, totally can admit to that. The worst by far and was under so medical supervision Opti-Fast. Did bad, bad things to my liver enzymes took a long time to recover from that episode.

    So what I have finally learned sensible to me; is eating foods that appeal to me, dishes that I can prepare and do not have to buy a bunch of special foods. And not have to take ten different supplements because some celebrity is saying it is good for us to do so. Mostly likely they are not doing so either.

    Sustainable is simple find something that will be a way to eat that lasts long beyond the time of losing weight. And this is where for decades I have had issues. But this time I have really worked on behavior modification as to how I view food.
    People should get together to enjoy time spent with friends and family first. And food should be secondary. Where for so long it seems like it has been the reverse. Some people when I have explained this to them, they get it and like the idea. Others think I am stark raving mad. And I get that too.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    It occurs to me that we have never actually discussed this topic even though many of you probably saw me mention this as a requirement when I provided the LL link.

    I think the specifics of the definition are going to be different for different people but here are the highlights of my thoughts and I, as always, welcome feedback.

    Sensible

    In a nutshell sensible means that a person is losing weight in a whole health fashion. Losing faster than recommended and risking the side effects of poor nutrition is not sensible. Overdoing exercise, excessive fasting, crash dieting, using get-thin quick internet/tabloid methods are other examples (not a comprehensive list) of things that are not sensible. This does not include "named" diets. I encourage anyone that is struggling to control their hunger to try ideas like low carb or intermittent fasting. Just know that they are tools and that a calorie deficit still drives weight loss. A diet is a fad if you decide to do it for the wrong reasons. It is a means of success if you try it and it makes your road easier. Easier does not mean the scale moves. Easier means that you struggle less.


    Sustainable

    Sustainable means that a person understands that weight loss alone is not the measure of a successful plan. I have lost some weight many times. I have done it in very terrible ways. I was one of the stupid people using that pharmaceutical that bound to fat to keep it from being digested and it often leaked out of your rear. I lost weight. It wasn't sustainable.

    Simply put a sustainable plan is one that you can still (mostly) easily do on your bad days. If you can do it on your bad days you won't need that much motivation, willpower, or discipline to do it on your easy days. If everyday is a struggle and you need huge amounts of motivation and accountability you probably need to tweak your plan some more.

    A sustainable plan is flexible and forgiving. It needs to bend in the right places because your life doesn't stop just because you choose to lose weight. You also don't stop being human and making mistakes when you start losing weight either.

    I read this three times this morning!...I really needed this!
  • Jackie9003
    Jackie9003 Posts: 1,116 Member
    I think I need to go back to basics this lockdown has done me no good at all, it's been like an all inclusive holiday with all the food in the house.
    Snacks and alcohol have crept up, they were always there but they're in excess at the moment and very much off plan.
    I'm going to reset my weight on here too, I'm considerably up since my last low so it definitely isn't water weight..... :D
  • bobsburgersfan
    bobsburgersfan Posts: 6,464 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    Simply put a sustainable plan is one that you can still (mostly) easily do on your bad days. If you can do it on your bad days you won't need that much motivation, willpower, or discipline to do it on your easy days. If everyday is a struggle and you need huge amounts of motivation and accountability you probably need to tweak your plan some more.
    I'm glad this came back up to the top of the threads! I have never thought of sustainability quite in this sense, and I like it. I always think about "sustainability" in terms of "What method makes me not hate life?", because I know that I will have to do this for life if I want to lose all the weight and then maintain it.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I think most of us know how to lose weight...it’s the maintenance that will be the biggest challenge!...
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    I think most people THINK they know how to lose weight, but what they think is necessary has been predicated upon what they've learned from media, the diet industry over the years, fad gurus, and even the medical community, and much of what comes from those sources is misinformation at best, and outright false information at worst. and this is proven by the tiny percentage of people who lose the weight successfully and keep it off successfully.

    Look at what most people do when they start a diet plan: they think they have to sharply cut how much they are eating (doesn't matter that they only have 20 lbs to lose; they MUST eat less than 1200 calories a day - and I've even seen men doing that! And sadly, there are doctors who are telling this to their patients!). they think they can only eat "healthy" foods and sharply limit what they'll let themselves eat - in some cases, cutting out perfectly nutritious foods. they think they need to follow the latest fad, whether it be low fat, low carb, paleo, carnivore, vegan, whatever. They think they have to strong-arm their way through never eating pie or cake or cookies or a hamburger or soda until they finish their diet. They think they must start an extreme exercise program or spend an hour a day at the gym. And if you ask the average person who starts this, you'll find that they think they only need to do this until they lose the weight, they aren't thinking long term or true life-style change. So couple the extreme changes with the idea that its all temporary, and you have a recipe for failure right there.

    Sustainability is not something that is included in most diet plans, even though its a vital component to success. Now if I were a paranoid, suspicious-minded person, I'd say that the exclusion of sustainability is purposefully done by the diet industry because if people lost the weight and kept it off, they wouldn't need their services anymore :tongue:

    But in all cases, a person who truly wants to lose the weight and better their health needs to look at the long term picture and make adjustments they can live with in the long term.

  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I guess I meant that anyone can lose weight!...it’s keeping the weight off that is the challenge!...I have lost over 100 lbs three different times!...once counting 1200 calories a day, once on the infamous Phen Phen and once by not eating much at all except meat...I am looking forward to getting the weight off and keeping it off!...and keeping it off in a sustainable way!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    It occurs to me that we have never actually discussed this topic even though many of you probably saw me mention this as a requirement when I provided the LL link.

    I think the specifics of the definition are going to be different for different people but here are the highlights of my thoughts and I, as always, welcome feedback.

    Sensible

    In a nutshell sensible means that a person is losing weight in a whole health fashion. Losing faster than recommended and risking the side effects of poor nutrition is not sensible. Overdoing exercise, excessive fasting, crash dieting, using get-thin quick internet/tabloid methods are other examples (not a comprehensive list) of things that are not sensible. This does not include "named" diets. I encourage anyone that is struggling to control their hunger to try ideas like low carb or intermittent fasting. Just know that they are tools and that a calorie deficit still drives weight loss. A diet is a fad if you decide to do it for the wrong reasons. It is a means of success if you try it and it makes your road easier. Easier does not mean the scale moves. Easier means that you struggle less.


    Sustainable

    Sustainable means that a person understands that weight loss alone is not the measure of a successful plan. I have lost some weight many times. I have done it in very terrible ways. I was one of the stupid people using that pharmaceutical that bound to fat to keep it from being digested and it often leaked out of your rear. I lost weight. It wasn't sustainable.

    Simply put a sustainable plan is one that you can still (mostly) easily do on your bad days. If you can do it on your bad days you won't need that much motivation, willpower, or discipline to do it on your easy days. If everyday is a struggle and you need huge amounts of motivation and accountability you probably need to tweak your plan some more.

    A sustainable plan is flexible and forgiving. It needs to bend in the right places because your life doesn't stop just because you choose to lose weight. You also don't stop being human and making mistakes when you start losing weight either.
    NovusDies wrote: »
    It occurs to me that we have never actually discussed this topic even though many of you probably saw me mention this as a requirement when I provided the LL link.

    I think the specifics of the definition are going to be different for different people but here are the highlights of my thoughts and I, as always, welcome feedback.

    Sensible

    In a nutshell sensible means that a person is losing weight in a whole health fashion. Losing faster than recommended and risking the side effects of poor nutrition is not sensible. Overdoing exercise, excessive fasting, crash dieting, using get-thin quick internet/tabloid methods are other examples (not a comprehensive list) of things that are not sensible. This does not include "named" diets. I encourage anyone that is struggling to control their hunger to try ideas like low carb or intermittent fasting. Just know that they are tools and that a calorie deficit still drives weight loss. A diet is a fad if you decide to do it for the wrong reasons. It is a means of success if you try it and it makes your road easier. Easier does not mean the scale moves. Easier means that you struggle less.


    Sustainable

    Sustainable means that a person understands that weight loss alone is not the measure of a successful plan. I have lost some weight many times. I have done it in very terrible ways. I was one of the stupid people using that pharmaceutical that bound to fat to keep it from being digested and it often leaked out of your rear. I lost weight. It wasn't sustainable.

    Simply put a sustainable plan is one that you can still (mostly) easily do on your bad days. If you can do it on your bad days you won't need that much motivation, willpower, or discipline to do it on your easy days. If everyday is a struggle and you need huge amounts of motivation and accountability you probably need to tweak your plan some more.

    A sustainable plan is flexible and forgiving. It needs to bend in the right places because your life doesn't stop just because you choose to lose weight. You also don't stop being human and making mistakes when you start losing weight either.

    This is another great read for old and especially new members!
  • jlucas210
    jlucas210 Posts: 43 Member
    Agreed! Good reminders.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    jlucas210 wrote: »
    Agreed! Good reminders.

    There is a lot of good stuff in this post!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    It occurs to me that we have never actually discussed this topic even though many of you probably saw me mention this as a requirement when I provided the LL link.

    I think the specifics of the definition are going to be different for different people but here are the highlights of my thoughts and I, as always, welcome feedback.

    Sensible

    In a nutshell sensible means that a person is losing weight in a whole health fashion. Losing faster than recommended and risking the side effects of poor nutrition is not sensible. Overdoing exercise, excessive fasting, crash dieting, using get-thin quick internet/tabloid methods are other examples (not a comprehensive list) of things that are not sensible. This does not include "named" diets. I encourage anyone that is struggling to control their hunger to try ideas like low carb or intermittent fasting. Just know that they are tools and that a calorie deficit still drives weight loss. A diet is a fad if you decide to do it for the wrong reasons. It is a means of success if you try it and it makes your road easier. Easier does not mean the scale moves. Easier means that you struggle less.


    Sustainable

    Sustainable means that a person understands that weight loss alone is not the measure of a successful plan. I have lost some weight many times. I have done it in very terrible ways. I was one of the stupid people using that pharmaceutical that bound to fat to keep it from being digested and it often leaked out of your rear. I lost weight. It wasn't sustainable.

    Simply put a sustainable plan is one that you can still (mostly) easily do on your bad days. If you can do it on your bad days you won't need that much motivation, willpower, or discipline to do it on your easy days. If everyday is a struggle and you need huge amounts of motivation and accountability you probably need to tweak your plan some more.

    A sustainable plan is flexible and forgiving. It needs to bend in the right places because your life doesn't stop just because you choose to lose weight. You also don't stop being human and making mistakes when you start losing weight either.

    I often go back to our leaders original posts….if you haven’t done this, you are missing a lot of helpful and informative posts….this post is one of the ones I go back and read a lot!…maybe it will help some of you!
  • Yoolypr
    Yoolypr Posts: 3,298 Member
    Thank you Connie for finding this post. Lots of wisdom here. I think I’m pretty good doing sustainability. I can handle staying at my current weight fairly easily. But I still need to keep going to figure out how to lose a bit more without doing drastic changes to my life.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,253 Member
    No infinite amounts of wisdom here. And will try to come back to this once I get a chance with a bit more time. Obviously medications are both necessary and come with extra complications at times.

    I will quickly second three things Bella mentioned.

    Logging and general mindfulness/monitoring/continued engagement: you're still in the game and that's a win by itself

    There are times to push and there are times to just stay in the game. Don't over push success. And keep re evaluating how far you can try for incremental wins or at the least limit damage when at the other end.

    And yes the protein. Check your log entries for errors because sub 20g seems very low. But that is even verging below minimum recommendations which happened to be about half the currently considered weight loss recommendations (check out examine.com protein level articles. And you don't have to buy or subscribe anything to read them). Usually would aim for at the very least 0.6g per lb of your top of normal weight range. Assuming health issues don't preclude.
  • Janatki
    Janatki Posts: 730 Member
    Hi @Bella_Figura!
    I know you are right and need to stay in this slow mode….re exercise, have heard weight training helps to lessen the hunger hormone in some way and that is why I’m investing some time to it!
    Had another run in with a med car driver on my bike in the Village; no confidence in cycling at the mo!
    I cannot abide these sleep issues…. Going to see how it goes, but you may be right that just getting into logging and calories may be enough for now….

    My protein isn’t 20 gms - it’s 20% of my daily - doh! But still not up to 60 gms! Will think on that…
    I wish I could be as nutrient conscience as you are with my meals. Often am so snowed under at work, that I grab a sarnie, nutritious, but with little thought or planning and usually carbs are through the roof!

    This afty though, with your post resounding in took a leaf out of @AlexandraFindsHerself1971 and there is a slow cooked Bean Chilli and Veggi Fajita Bake awaiting to be portioned out for the Fridge and Freezer. Will take the strain out of working and sorting out suppers this week! Though now,I have succumed to a glass of Apothic Red at the local, refused the offer of a bag of crisps though!

    Your Instant Pot sounds amazing. I had a pressure cooker, which I used to cook Sunday Roast in,but that has gone to Pressure cooker heaven! I do have an Air Fryer though, will use it more as I am a cook who uses oils and this could help increase protein and reduce using them…. Found some recipes on an online blog - will try and get my protein up - Spiced Haloumi Bites sounds just gorgeous.

    Your sister sounds like she will be on the right track following your advice… my mantra needs to be “Slow and Steady Wins the Race, though I’d just would have like a few more pounds off by now, just for my vanity!

  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I love my air fryer!….chicken legs with a dry rub on them really turn out good and I love potatoes cooked in it!….one thing I do recommend is a good meat thermometer to use with it!
  • Janatki
    Janatki Posts: 730 Member
    Re thinking protein @PAV8888
    Do you rub your spuds with spices @conniewilkins56? Will give them a go!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    Janatki wrote: »
    Re thinking protein @PAV8888
    Do you rub your spuds with spices @conniewilkins56? Will give them a go!

    I spritz with olive oil and put a little coarse sea salt on them….390 about 25 minutes and then check every five minutes until done…..so good!
  • Goodgollygee
    Goodgollygee Posts: 102 Member
    Thank you for so much good info in this thread. For me, the biggie, this time around, seems to be losing it slowly enough and learning how to actually maintain each loss. I would love to lose weight much faster but in the past, that has only lead to regaining it all back again.

    I really, really want to keep the pounds I lose ....off....for good. So, I guess this falls into the sustainable side of things and perhaps, I'm even becoming a little more sensible about it. It has helped me to read here because suddenly I realize I am on the right track! I am doing my best to log my food and eat in a healthy, sustainable way, most of the time. I feel like I can do this for life, without suffering.

    Once I got it through my head that everything is a choice, it just felt easier somehow. It's not like I can't choose to eat unhealthy stuff, once in awhile, if I want to and that helps me to feel - not deprived. I have been consciously choosing, in a much more aware way, if that makes any sense. Perhaps that is part of the sensible stuff -- making more conscious choices?

    I seriously was a mindless eater, for much of my life. Whatever I wanted, most of the time, went in, without much thought at all. It was always afterward... when the guilt and the shame crept forward and the hopelessness took hold, that I thought about it all. Didn't stop me from repeating that behaviour, over and over, though.

    These days, I decide what I'm going to have and if it's not the healthiest food going, I thoroughly enjoy it and I do not feel bad about eating it. Then, I do my best to get right back on track, next meal. i no longer beat myself up. To me, this seems like... what "normal" people do? I dunno. Maybe I'm becoming a "normal" person, a little at a time? :D Is that sensible?
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,253 Member
    Sensible? Who knows: I have yet to find a normal person to ask them the question (once you dig in far enough!) :lol:

    But I'm all in for hamster 🐹 management! And boy do mine need some management from time to most of the time! :wink:

    Seems like a good plan to me; but it could well be an echo-chamber effect! :smiley:
  • luxia2020
    luxia2020 Posts: 55 Member
    I'm thrilled I caught sight of this thread! It provided some great insight as to why my previous attempts ended so miserably. Looking back at my vague memory of the journey (memory of a goldfish sometimes, I swear!), I realize it wasn't sustainable for me. AT. ALL. This time around, I'm determined to change things up! So, finally, taking the plunge to browsing through MFP's forum and finding this group has indeed been a godsend! There's so much information in here I wish I had paid attention to when I first tried to lose the fat!

    When I was younger, what was "good" food and what was "bad" food? Food is food. I can make shapes out of them and eat them at the same time! It was only wrong when I needed to see those dentists that give kids trauma and fear of dentists. To this day, I don't think I have an unhealthy relationship with food. I'm really thankful for that because I believe it's almost a sin not to enjoy the food. Life was used in exchange for my plate of food. So for me, being sensible has just always been about portion control. I would not claim to be even decently good at it because I probably wouldn't be here, to begin with. :D

    Sustainable... Now that's an entirely different story. Sometimes, I think our environments have made us too wired to "get as much done as fast as possible." From what I'm gathering so far, it seems that is just the antithesis to weight loss. "Slow and steady wins the race" is an overly used saying, but that adage seems to be the truth of the game. Just based on my own (limited) experience, sustainability means I shouldn't have to give something up for it. Instead, it should fit my busy schedule as it would with me lazing around. Which I'm now realizing is the crucial factor to keeping up with it for me. (Laziness is just in my bones, I swear. I applaud myself for getting out of bed most of the time. For something to be sustainable, I suppose it should be, "I want to do it because it's fun and I feel good doing so" versus "I should do it because I need to or there's a 'punishment' waiting for me if I don't." I'm starting to believe the punishment tactic is one of diminishing returns. Or maybe it's because of my culture that I'm just numb to it now. Either way, I guess it's time to cue in that creative juices to make things that don't seem fun/appetizing at first glance into something palpable and worthwhile.

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