Weight loss and metabolsm
GloriaBJN
Posts: 78 Member
People are saying weight loss is a simple equation. Less calories = weight loss, more carlories doesn't = weight loss. I think people are forgetting about how our metabolism can change during a diet (or going off), which affects weight loss or gain, and there seem to be media posts about revving up your metabolism for weight loss. I found my Apple Cider Vinegar pills, a natural weight loss supplement, and decided it wasn't yet time. I'd wait until I got "stuck" for no apparent reason.
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Let me save you some money. Getting stuck for no apparent reason usually means you're eating at maintenance. It could be because you're under estimating calories in and/or over estimating calories out.
The thing about metabalism is more because, as you lose weight, it takes less calories to keep you running. Barring how much exercise you get in, of course.
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"Less calories" is correct but incomplete. The full phrase is "less calories than you need to function". Let me elaborate: when you are trying to lose weight it is most likely because you are gaining weight. As a result, taking in less calories may slow down your weight gain, stop your weight gain or make you lose weight. While all are good, what you usually want is the latter. In order to achieve that, you must reduce your energy (measured in calories or joules) to below what you need in order to get your body to use its energy stores (a.k.a. fat)).People are saying weight loss is a simple equation. Less calories = weight loss, more carlories doesn't = weight loss. I think people are forgetting about how our metabolism can change during a diet (or going off), which affects weight loss or gain, and there seem to be media posts about revving up your metabolism for weight loss. I found my Apple Cider Vinegar pills, a natural weight loss supplement, and decided it wasn't yet time. I'd wait until I got "stuck" for no apparent reason.
Talking about weight loss, that is all you need.
The one (very slightly) complicating factor is that fat is not inactive ballast, but a genuine organ that needs energy to maintain itself. That means that the fatter you are, the more energy you need to stay alive. It also means that when you lose weight, you have to adjust your energy intake to compensate for that, i.e. lower it even further.
The sad fact about weight loss is that the easiest way to lose a lot of weight is to be very fat.
People don't like that and they have different ways to describe it, but that is the gist of it.
There are a few elements that make it a bit more complicated, but none - absolutely not a single one - change the fundamental reality: consume less than you need to stay alive and you will lose weight. Consume more than you need to stay alive and you will gain weight, unless you have a metabolic dysfunction that prevents you from properly digesting your food, but that would be a sign that something is wrong with you. Very few people get to experience this in practice. It would be an excellent reason to consult a doctor, a real one.
Apple Cider Vinegar will do nothing for your weight loss. At most, it will be so disgusting and/or burning that you will not want to eat for a few minutes. It is not worth the cost, and it is not "good" for you even if you take small enough quantities it is not likely to harm you. Worse: vinegar, all vinegar, including apple cider vinegar, contains energy. If you are increasing your energy intake by consuming it, you will have to compensate by eating (a tiny little bit, most likely) less of other, potentially far more nutritious foods.
In short: apple cider vinegar, unless you really like it, is useless quackery. Save your money, and eat something more nutritious instead, or simply add the few calories you save to your weight loss.
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Wise words. While there may be a metabolic effect, the very existence of that effect remains controversial, its genuine effects remain highy debated and if they exist at all, they are clearly very limited because there would be no debate if the effect was significant and while it is of scientific interest, it is just a distraction for those of us who want to lose weight. It is more productive to focus our attention on energy intake reduction in as heathful a manner as possible rather than waste our time and mental energy on figuring out potentially non-existant metabolic effects.The thing about metabolism is more because, as you lose weight, it takes less calories to keep you running. Barring how much exercise you get in, of course.
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People are saying weight loss is a simple equation. Less calories = weight loss, more carlories doesn't = weight loss. I think people are forgetting about how our metabolism can change during a diet (or going off), which affects weight loss or gain, and there seem to be media posts about revving up your metabolism for weight loss. I found my Apple Cider Vinegar pills, a natural weight loss supplement, and decided it wasn't yet time. I'd wait until I got "stuck" for no apparent reason.
I used to work for a company that sold these, and every other weight loss pill touted by snake-oil salesman Dr. Oz. Don't waste your money on more.5 -
Here's my favorite article on metabolism:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-increase-metabolism/3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »People are saying weight loss is a simple equation. Less calories = weight loss, more carlories doesn't = weight loss. I think people are forgetting about how our metabolism can change during a diet (or going off), which affects weight loss or gain, and there seem to be media posts about revving up your metabolism for weight loss. I found my Apple Cider Vinegar pills, a natural weight loss supplement, and decided it wasn't yet time. I'd wait until I got "stuck" for no apparent reason.
I used to work for a company that sold these, and every other weight loss pill touted by snake-oil salesman Dr. Oz. Don't waste your money on more.
I actually already have a bottle of these. I believe ACV lends to healthy gut flora.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »People are saying weight loss is a simple equation. Less calories = weight loss, more carlories doesn't = weight loss. I think people are forgetting about how our metabolism can change during a diet (or going off), which affects weight loss or gain, and there seem to be media posts about revving up your metabolism for weight loss. I found my Apple Cider Vinegar pills, a natural weight loss supplement, and decided it wasn't yet time. I'd wait until I got "stuck" for no apparent reason.
I used to work for a company that sold these, and every other weight loss pill touted by snake-oil salesman Dr. Oz. Don't waste your money on more.
I actually already have a bottle of these. I believe ACV lends to healthy gut flora.
Eating a wide variety of foods contributes more to healthy gut flora than any supplement that you can take.7 -
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It is a good article. The only thing I would change is that I would not add more protein but replace some food by proteinm since the net calorie availibility difference between carbs and protein is only about 30%. That said, it is not much either way, since it is not advisable to consume 500 g of protein or something foolish like that.kshama2001 wrote: »Here's my favorite article on metabolism:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-increase-metabolism/
Something similar is true for fibre, but despite the fact that the net calorie availability of fibre is far lower than that of protein, fibre is much less insisted upon for some reason. That puzzles me a bit since most foods that are high in fibre are very tasty.
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kshama2001 wrote: »Here's my favorite article on metabolism:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-increase-metabolism/
Thanks. It's a good read, and I appreciate the affirmation from other posters.0 -
Okay found it in your link kshama2001 https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-increase-metabolism/
"An adaptive component.
The thing is, both research and real world experience have shown that as we lose weight, a person’s metabolism slows down more than you’d predict based on the loss of weight alone. This extra amount of slowdown is adaptive thermogenesis, and it occurs as part of your body’s survival response to weight loss. You see, your body doesn’t know if you’re losing weight because you’re trying to get in better shape, or because you’re about to stave to death. So, your body responds accordingly by slowing your metabolic rate a little extra to conserve energy and hopefully keep you alive."...
"While we can’t quite prevent it, we can certainly minimize it. And one of the easiest ways of doing that is by minimizing how “in danger” of starvation your body thinks it is, which means NOT having an excessively large caloric deficit (caused by either eating too little, exercising too much, or a combination of both)… and instead keeping things more moderate."
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So, your body responds accordingly by slowing your metabolic rate a little extra to conserve energy and hopefully keep you alive."...
The key word here is "a little". I submit that it is not really worth paying much attention to. In most people it will never show up, and in those in whom it does, it is very limited, precisely the reason why the science isn't settled. It is also not a choice between having it and not having it. It is a choice between losing weight and not losing weight (or gaining weight). In comparison to the deleterious effect of overweight, those caused by this still largely hypothetical effect the choice is an easy one to make. It surely is better knowing about it, but we should not allow it to hinder the weight loss we need (unless we do not actually need that weight loss).
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It's also a good idea to have exercise in your program of weight loss, not for weight loss, but to ensure that muscle ISN'T a big part of the equation in the overall weight loss. People who just diet alone without exercise tend to have a faster slowdown in metabolic rate because some of their loss is muscle.
And as for Apple Cider vinegar.....................put it on your salad.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Okay found it in your link kshama2001 https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-increase-metabolism/
"An adaptive component.
The thing is, both research and real world experience have shown that as we lose weight, a person’s metabolism slows down more than you’d predict based on the loss of weight alone. This extra amount of slowdown is adaptive thermogenesis, and it occurs as part of your body’s survival response to weight loss. You see, your body doesn’t know if you’re losing weight because you’re trying to get in better shape, or because you’re about to stave to death. So, your body responds accordingly by slowing your metabolic rate a little extra to conserve energy and hopefully keep you alive."...
"While we can’t quite prevent it, we can certainly minimize it. And one of the easiest ways of doing that is by minimizing how “in danger” of starvation your body thinks it is, which means NOT having an excessively large caloric deficit (caused by either eating too little, exercising too much, or a combination of both)… and instead keeping things more moderate."
Yes, energy intake affects functional energy level, which affects RMR (a little), and affects NEAT (maybe a little more).
A simple equation does apply, though in a 'point in time' snapshot sense. Bodies are dynamic, not static - sure.
That all makes moderate loss rates more sensible than fast ones, though that's just one of the good reasons for most people to keep loss rate moderate.
ACV pills are irrelevant to fat loss or breaking weight stalls, unless through the placebo effect, which is surprisingly strong (and which some people don't realize can be physical, not just 'all in one's head').
ACV pills are relevant to gut microbiome only if they contain live cultures. Whether live-culture ACV accomplishes anything useful via gut microbiome is quite debatable.
There's lots of interesting research about our gut microbiome, but little settled science. That makes claims about gut microbiome a fertile field for supplement marketing.2
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