Why Dieting is the Worst Way to Lose Weight

ndj1979

part of what i took from it is that you think calorie deficit is downplayed around here.

you could not be further from the truth. i see the simplicity of deficit brought up time after time after time when people arent losing...usually with a "yes, it really is that simple" at the end.

I have to agree with her, it feels like every damn thread the same "you need to eat more to lose weight" crowd shows up. There are, of course, lots of folks who get it, but they usually succeed quickly (imagine that!) and move off of MFP.

There are days I'm convinced people over-complicate this stuff just so they have a built in excuse to fail...

the eat more to lose more crowd seems to be comprised of those who have plateaued after extremely low calorie deficits..

I know every thread I come across everyone is always saying "calories in vs calories out" is really that simple...

ajaxe432

:glasses:

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Yeah, I don't need validation from strangers on the Internet. Or anyone, for that matter. I do get plenty in real life though, but don't take my word for it, just assume I'm lying. It actually makes zero difference to me. :drinker:

Lady... your hair, make-up and outfit are atrocious. Whoever is telling you that you look amazing is a damn liar. On a serious note, quit making excuses for not working out and throw some iron around. You'll look and feel much better than you already claim to be.

This is going to be a good one!!! Hoping everyone has their popcorn:glasses:

ndj1979

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Yeah, I don't need validation from strangers on the Internet. Or anyone, for that matter. I do get plenty in real life though, but don't take my word for it, just assume I'm lying. It actually makes zero difference to me. :drinker:

consider it assumed and confirmed.

fbmandy55

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Also claims to be old but argues like a 20 year old.

ndj1979

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Yeah, I don't need validation from strangers on the Internet. Or anyone, for that matter. I do get plenty in real life though, but don't take my word for it, just assume I'm lying. It actually makes zero difference to me. :drinker:

oh, and if you do not need validation then why even bring it up in the first place?

Siansonea

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Yeah, I don't need validation from strangers on the Internet. Or anyone, for that matter. I do get plenty in real life though, but don't take my word for it, just assume I'm lying. It actually makes zero difference to me. :drinker:

Lady... your hair, make-up and outfit are atrocious. Whoever is telling you that you look amazing is a damn liar. On a serious note, quit making excuses for not working out and throw some iron around. You'll look and feel much better than you already claim to be.

Do they make iron shuriken? I'd be glad to throw those around. And why does everybody hate on my green hair? I can't help it I was born with green hair. :bigsmile:

californiabella

I like how he clarifies that 'The word "diet" was supposed to simply describe the way a person eats.' That is how I have always thought of a "diet". Shame its meaning has become so obscure

QFT

JakiDee

The article is being pointlessly pedantic. If you are watching/tracking what you eat - which the article advocates - then you are dieting, no matter what else you call it, even if that what-else is "nutrition program".

Agreed!

Siansonea

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Yeah, I don't need validation from strangers on the Internet. Or anyone, for that matter. I do get plenty in real life though, but don't take my word for it, just assume I'm lying. It actually makes zero difference to me. :drinker:

oh, and if you do not need validation then why even bring it up in the first place?

Exempli gratia. To illustrate a point. Do I have to draw you a picture? :huh:

VoodooAborisha

eh, if I eat until I am full, I stay fat/get fatter. If I stay hungry for a period of time, over several months, I get thinner.

My dad was in the Olympics for greco-roman wrestling, and coached both wrestling and football at the University of Alabama and Chattanooga; was a professional football player and wrestler for over 30 years.

I asked him what exercise to do to get thin, and he said there was only one:

"Push away from the table."

Siansonea

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Also claims to be old but argues like a 20 year old.

Nah. Most 20-year-olds are much more deferential than I would ever be. :drinker:

awtume9

This whole thing....I just..... I can't even

I think this is forumspeak for "I don't agree but I don't have an intelligent counterargument but I know others agree with me so I'll just throw in my two cents to be part of their group. Because I like them and they have muscley avatars and high post counts and pretty hair."

Ok, that was rude, but if you don't have anything to add, why post some feigned speechlessness? I guess it's better than the *sigh* of 'If only they knew how stupid they are".

Awww, I think someone needs a hug :flowerforyou:

rabblerabble

My mother asked me a few days ago if I was still dieting and I told I wasn't on a diet but rather had chosen to live a new and healthier way of life.

besaro

its great when you can find evidence to support your beliefs.

fbmandy55

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Also claims to be old but argues like a 20 year old.

Nah. Most 20-year-olds are much more deferential than I would ever be. :drinker:

By the way, 44 isn't old enough to say it's too late in the game to get in shape!

Siansonea

its great when you can find evidence to support your beliefs.

It's better when you can dispense with belief altogether, and just let the evidence take you to factual conclusions. :drinker:

WendyTerry420

Ultimately, some people are too large to weight train. Cutting calories has to be done by everyone who's goal is to cut before they build muscle. While the article makes some strong points, there are people who are taking years off their life by eating too much food.

Nonsense. No one is too large to get fit!

Siansonea

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Also claims to be old but argues like a 20 year old.

Nah. Most 20-year-olds are much more deferential than I would ever be. :drinker:

By the way, 44 isn't old enough to say it's too late in the game to get in shape!

Who says it is? :huh:

ndj1979

Ah, more gymrat/"nutrition" evangelism. Fail. :huh:

I lost weight through a calorie deficit, eating "dirty" food, with ZERO exercise, and I look amazing. So this author can take a flying leap. :smokin:

looks amazing but no profile pic posted...hmmmmm

Yeah, I don't need validation from strangers on the Internet. Or anyone, for that matter. I do get plenty in real life though, but don't take my word for it, just assume I'm lying. It actually makes zero difference to me. :drinker:

oh, and if you do not need validation then why even bring it up in the first place?

Exempli gratia. To illustrate a point. Do I have to draw you a picture? :huh:

well I doubt your claims...actually I am calling BS...so feel free to prove me wrong..

tigerblue

I'm sure you do look amazing but did you ever wonder if and how much LBM you sacrificed in the process if you didn't track it?

Well, since there's less of me to cart around, I don't really need as much "LBM" to do that carting around, now do I? And you're acting like it's a foregone conclusion that I'm "skinny fat"—whatever that's supposed to mean. I am able to walk, talk, and do everything else just as well as I could before I lost weight, so if I lost a bit of muscle mass in the process, I don't miss it. :drinker:

what about things further down the line?

osteoporosis?

I'm already pretty far down the line, I'm old as f__. So far so good, I think genetics plays a much larger role than anything else in that regard. Plus, I eat plenty or protein and fat 'n such in all the junk food I throw down my gullet, so I don't think I need to worry. :bigsmile:

I um. ok then. it honestly scares me that you give out as much advice as you do. I have no problem with your diet and exercise habits (or lack thereof), but the fact that you encourage others to follow the same practices is alarming. best of luck to you though.

Oh, alarming, is it? Well, not as alarming as telling someone who is not losing weight to just eat more calories until they start losing (hint: if you're not losing weight, the problem isn't that you're eating too few calories, it's that you're not counting input and output properly, but whatever, details, right?).

Here's the thing. Not everyone who sets out to lose weight is a chipper, perky little dynamo with willpower to spare, who is eager to make a suite of drastic lifestyle changes all at once. Some of us have really demanding jobs and social lives that don't really make a lot of room for a complete diet overhaul, a stringent workout regimen, and oh, by the way, if you can spare a few moments to track your calories and eat at a deficit it might help. The calorie deficit is pooh-poohed, downplayed, marginalized and dismissed around here, but it is literally the ONLY thing you HAVE to do in order to LOSE WEIGHT. I know this, because it's the ONLY thing I did. And I'm a half pound away from my goal weight.

Yeah, exercise is fine for health or whatever. Fitness, strength, all that jazz. But that's really not about losing weight. I mean, I seem to have lost weight as rapidly as any gymrat around here, and I feel perfectly fine. If I wanted to, now that I'm close to maintenance, I could start to introduce a little exercise into my life, and I might try yoga or something. But that's a separate goal from losing weight, and I figured that it would be better to accomplish one feat before tackling another. And honestly, I don't think I need a whole heck of a lot of toning, I'm pretty fortunate that my everyday activity keeps me at least somewhat toned.

So yeah, judge us lazy calorie counters all you want. We're laughing all the way to the scale. :drinker:

I am not judging here, but would like to speak as one with experience (I have been here for 4 years now!)

I will always be a calorie counter. And I believe that "eat more to lose" is a relative concept, and does not mean that everyone can eat a lot, just more than very lo cals. For me personally eating more to lose means eating 1400 calories a day instead of 1000. But I am petite and small boned and dont weigh a lot. Many of you out there probably have more lean mass than I have total mass!

Not judging here, but Sonea might want to listen to the "sadder wiser girl" that I am now! I peeked at your profile, and although I have no idea about your size and weight, we are of a similar age, and I would expect that you will be experiencing some of the same things I have, in a few years if not now!

Anyway, I am a ""deficit girl". I truly believe that calories in-calories out is the bottom line. I lost over 40 lbs here several years ago simply eating at a deficit. I DID exercise. Mostly medium cardio, although I added running after I dropped the weight. I logged my exercise and ate my calories back just as MFP suggests. It worked like a charm! I added a haphazard strength plan (mostly just on days I could not run because of weather or schedule). So the deficit does work, and in fact we have to have a deficit to lose.

Here is where I wish I had considered a few other things. After maintaining my 40+ lbs loss for about a year, the weight started creeping back (about 12 lbs in all). Now I am having to bust my butt doing all kinds of exercise, both strength and cardio, and eating at a deficit, and instead of the weight coming off as before, I have plateaued. Recently (after almost 2 years of gain/plateau) I have started losing very very very slowly again. about 0.25 a week. Even though I show a decent deficit. I am thrilled to be losing again at all, and plan to continue after the holidays (maintenance only over the holidays).

I really believe that if I had paid more attention to lean body mass and retaining and building muscle I would not be having nearly as much trouble maintaining my loss.

So, just a word of warning to consider from someone who has been there.