Dieting = Craving BAD foods

amandaygriffin

The problem is that it is human nature to hope for a panacea. There really isn't one, the issue for most of us is our relationship with food. I got the size I am by eating for comfort or boredom, for most of us, the desire to overeat is usually related to emotion. (Obviously not for everyone, but it sounds like in your case OP, you have a similar situation to me that sometimes it's not really about being hungry, but about 'wanting' food)

I completely agree with you! I 'want' a certain type of food and I feel if I give into eating it, I have done bad. I definitely feel like my relationship with food is a love/hate relationship. :mad:

jonnythan

I have noticed different trends, which is why I'd never presume that my experience was representative of ALL MFP users without actually investigating it in some way. To me just seems like an incredible amount of hubris.

What trends have you noticed? I'm genuinely curious.

And BTW, I've been very very clear that I'm not speaking of "ALL MFP users." I'm speaking very specifically about a specific subset of MFP users: those who have demonstrated consistent long-term success.

Either way, I wouldn't suspect to know about ALL the MFP users that have demonstrated consistent long-term success.

Neither would I, which is why I didn't make any statements about ALL of them. I spoke about a trend I observed among many of them.

You keep insisting I'm talking about "All" of something. I'm not, and I've reiterated that point repeatedly. I think the only reason you could be consistently failing to understand it is because you have decided not to understand it.

parkscs

For someone who usually backs up his positions reasonably well, I've never understood why you insist on arguing that your personal observations of the MFP forums are somehow conclusive of which diets work in the long term. The MFP forum is a tiny community in the grand scheme of things and of the people that use MFP, only a small percentage even post on the forums. Who you personally know that's lost significant weight is almost certainly an even smaller community. In terms of overall success rates, any personally observed patterns in such tiny communities are essentially meaningless.

If you hang out in paleo circles, you'll find plenty of "paleo success stories." That certainly doesn't mean paleo is the end-all be-all diet or the key to long-term success (although I'm sure there are some paleo people following the same faulty logic that believe it is). The same goes for keto circles, where you can find people who have been on keto for 5 or even 10 years and are in phenomenal shape. However, all that means is some people were able to use these diets as tools to improve their health and body fat levels; it says absolutely nothing about the long-term success or failure other people will have on these diets.

There are studies out there on long-term success in weight loss and some have highlighted certain characteristics successful people tend to have. However, none of them suggest a silver bullet when it comes to success and, frankly, all of them are pretty consistent when it comes to painting a bleak picture of long-term success statistics. If IIFYM really is that silver bullet that leads to success, I'm sort of surprised that no one in the medical community has discovered that in these studies.

It'd be one thing to suggest your personal experiences indicate that IIFYM is at least one option for long-term success, as it's been shown to work at least for some people. But suggesting that your limited personal observations and your lack of knowledge about people having long-term success on other diets somehow means that IIFYM in and of itself has a higher chance of long-term success than other diets? You're drawing conclusions the data simply doesn't support. It's akin to saying "all my friends and the guys on the Ford forums drive Fords and rarely have maintenance problems, thus you should buy a Ford if you want a problem-free car."

leggup

I am of the mindset that you can eat all of the bad foods and still lose weight. It's about having a piece of cake, not the whole cake. It's about carefully logging those foods and building in additional exercise and better eating for the rest of the day.

Tonight, I am going to have 3 pieces of a chocolate bar. I want to eat chocolate, so I will. I know that those 3 pieces will be 69 calories. The entire bar would be 414 calories. I won't eat the entire bar because big bites don't taste better than small ones. I will get to enjoy more of the chocolate tomorrow since I am not going to house the entire thing today.

Get a pizza. Eat once slice a day and you have lunch for a week and an extra slice for your husband.

The only willpower you're lacking is the ability to see a solution that includes 'bad' food. Portion control is easy once you make yourself accountable for every calorie. There is no reason to banish 'bad' food. The real world will present you with 'bad' food at every turn. Why not enjoy life? Have some cake.

mayeast

Try 5:2 diet for two days you have 500 cals the other 5 days eat what you want. Your body starts to change it's cravings itself and knowing you can have whatever the following day isn't as hard as leaving it out forever. In the early days you will go to bed craving something and when you wake up you won't want it. I have lost 2 1/2 stone in a year and believe me have eaten two full size pizzas on a pub night.

jonnythan

For someone who usually backs up his positions reasonably well, I've never understood why you insist on arguing that your personal observations of the MFP forums are somehow conclusive of which diets work in the long term. The MFP forum is a tiny community in the grand scheme of things and of the people that use MFP, only a small percentage even post on the forums. Who you personally know that's lost significant weight is almost certainly an even smaller community. In terms of overall success rates, any personally observed patterns in such tiny communities are essentially meaningless.

If you hang out in paleo circles, you'll find plenty of "paleo success stories." That certainly doesn't mean paleo is the end-all be-all diet or the key to long-term success (although I'm sure there are some paleo people following the same faulty logic that believe it is). The same goes for keto circles, where you can find people who have been on keto for 5 or even 10 years and are in phenomenal shape. However, all that means is some people were able to use these diets as tools to improve their health and body fat levels; it says absolutely nothing about the long-term success or failure other people will have on these diets.

There are studies out there on long-term success in weight loss and some have highlighted certain characteristics successful people tend to have. However, none of them suggest a silver bullet when it comes to success and, frankly, all of them are pretty consistent when it comes to painting a bleak picture of long-term success statistics. If IIFYM really is that silver bullet that leads to success, I'm sort of surprised that no one in the medical community has discovered that in these studies.

It'd be one thing to suggest your personal experiences indicate that IIFYM is at least one option for long-term success, as it's been shown to work at least for some people. But suggesting that your limited personal observations and your lack of knowledge about people having long-term success on other diets somehow means that IIFYM in and of itself has a higher chance of long-term success than other diets? You're drawing conclusions the data simply doesn't support. It's akin to saying "all my friends and the guys on the Ford forums drive Fords and rarely have maintenance problems, thus you should buy a Ford if you want a problem-free car."

The thing is that IIFYM removes many of the barriers I consistently observe.

Ultimately, the "silver bullet" to weight loss and maintenance is the discipline to be compliant in calorie intake long-term. How one gets there doesn't matter. It's my opinion, based on the sum of experience, observation, and data that an approach that doesn't demonize any particular foods or nutrients, and doesn't tell you that you have to eat or avoid anything in particular, removes the most significant mental and physical barriers and sets one up for the greatest chance of success.

IIFYM isn't a silver bullet. It's discipline that is the silver bullet. It's simply to eat less than you have been eating, one way or another.

lindsey1979

I have noticed different trends, which is why I'd never presume that my experience was representative of ALL MFP users without actually investigating it in some way. To me just seems like an incredible amount of hubris.

What trends have you noticed? I'm genuinely curious.

And BTW, I've been very very clear that I'm not speaking of "ALL MFP users." I'm speaking very specifically about a specific subset of MFP users: those who have demonstrated consistent long-term success.

Either way, I wouldn't suspect to know about ALL the MFP users that have demonstrated consistent long-term success.

Neither would I, which is why I didn't make any statements about ALL of them. I spoke about a trend I observed among many of them.

You keep insisting I'm talking about "All" of something. I'm not, and I've reiterated that point repeatedly. I think the only reason you could be consistently failing to understand it is because you have decided not to understand it.

Dude, Jonny you said: "It's not just coincidence that they represent a large portion of the members who have found long-term success" , "If someone compiled numbers, however, I'm fairly confident that you'd see a distinct trend" and "Yes, it is based on my personal observation that a large portion of MFP members who have found long-term success follow an IIFYM style."

In order to know whether they represent a large portion or there is a "distinct trend", you have to have a reference point about what is the whole -- to know whether it's 8% or 80%, you have to have an understanding of the total population or the representation of the trend you're describing.

wheird

For someone who usually backs up his positions reasonably well, I've never understood why you insist on arguing that your personal observations of the MFP forums are somehow conclusive of which diets work in the long term. The MFP forum is a tiny community in the grand scheme of things and of the people that use MFP, only a small percentage even post on the forums. Who you personally know that's lost significant weight is almost certainly an even smaller community. In terms of overall success rates, any personally observed patterns in such tiny communities are essentially meaningless.

If you hang out in paleo circles, you'll find plenty of "paleo success stories." That certainly doesn't mean paleo is the end-all be-all diet or the key to long-term success (although I'm sure there are some paleo people following the same faulty logic that believe it is). The same goes for keto circles, where you can find people who have been on keto for 5 or even 10 years and are in phenomenal shape. However, all that means is some people were able to use these diets as tools to improve their health and body fat levels; it says absolutely nothing about the long-term success or failure other people will have on these diets.

There are studies out there on long-term success in weight loss and some have highlighted certain characteristics successful people tend to have. However, none of them suggest a silver bullet when it comes to success and, frankly, all of them are pretty consistent when it comes to painting a bleak picture of long-term success statistics. If IIFYM really is that silver bullet that leads to success, I'm sort of surprised that no one in the medical community has discovered that in these studies.

It'd be one thing to suggest your personal experiences indicate that IIFYM is at least one option for long-term success, as it's been shown to work at least for some people. But suggesting that your limited personal observations and your lack of knowledge about people having long-term success on other diets somehow means that IIFYM in and of itself has a higher chance of long-term success than other diets? You're drawing conclusions the data simply doesn't support. It's akin to saying "all my friends and the guys on the Ford forums drive Fords and rarely have maintenance problems, thus you should buy a Ford if you want a problem-free car."

Great post!

But most people arguing againsy fad diets are arguing against the claim that one has to adhere to a certain philosophy in order to lose weight or be healthy.

lindsey1979

For someone who usually backs up his positions reasonably well, I've never understood why you insist on arguing that your personal observations of the MFP forums are somehow conclusive of which diets work in the long term. The MFP forum is a tiny community in the grand scheme of things and of the people that use MFP, only a small percentage even post on the forums. Who you personally know that's lost significant weight is almost certainly an even smaller community. In terms of overall success rates, any personally observed patterns in such tiny communities are essentially meaningless.

If you hang out in paleo circles, you'll find plenty of "paleo success stories." That certainly doesn't mean paleo is the end-all be-all diet or the key to long-term success (although I'm sure there are some paleo people following the same faulty logic that believe it is). The same goes for keto circles, where you can find people who have been on keto for 5 or even 10 years and are in phenomenal shape. However, all that means is some people were able to use these diets as tools to improve their health and body fat levels; it says absolutely nothing about the long-term success or failure other people will have on these diets.

There are studies out there on long-term success in weight loss and some have highlighted certain characteristics successful people tend to have. However, none of them suggest a silver bullet when it comes to success and, frankly, all of them are pretty consistent when it comes to painting a bleak picture of long-term success statistics. If IIFYM really is that silver bullet that leads to success, I'm sort of surprised that no one in the medical community has discovered that in these studies.

It'd be one thing to suggest your personal experiences indicate that IIFYM is at least one option for long-term success, as it's been shown to work at least for some people. But suggesting that your limited personal observations and your lack of knowledge about people having long-term success on other diets somehow means that IIFYM in and of itself has a higher chance of long-term success than other diets? You're drawing conclusions the data simply doesn't support. It's akin to saying "all my friends and the guys on the Ford forums drive Fords and rarely have maintenance problems, thus you should buy a Ford if you want a problem-free car."

Thank you.

jonnythan

I have noticed different trends, which is why I'd never presume that my experience was representative of ALL MFP users without actually investigating it in some way. To me just seems like an incredible amount of hubris.

What trends have you noticed? I'm genuinely curious.

And BTW, I've been very very clear that I'm not speaking of "ALL MFP users." I'm speaking very specifically about a specific subset of MFP users: those who have demonstrated consistent long-term success.

Either way, I wouldn't suspect to know about ALL the MFP users that have demonstrated consistent long-term success.

Neither would I, which is why I didn't make any statements about ALL of them. I spoke about a trend I observed among many of them.

You keep insisting I'm talking about "All" of something. I'm not, and I've reiterated that point repeatedly. I think the only reason you could be consistently failing to understand it is because you have decided not to understand it.

Dude, Jonny you said: "It's not just coincidence that they represent a large portion of the members who have found long-term success" , "If someone compiled numbers, however, I'm fairly confident that you'd see a distinct trend" and "Yes, it is based on my personal observation that a large portion of MFP members who have found long-term success follow an IIFYM style."

In order to know whether they represent a large portion or there is a "distinct trend", you have to have a reference point about what is the whole -- to know whether it's 8% or 80%, you have to have an understanding of the total population or the representation of the trend you're describing.

I don't know whether it's 8% or 80%. Derp.

lindsey1979

For someone who usually backs up his positions reasonably well, I've never understood why you insist on arguing that your personal observations of the MFP forums are somehow conclusive of which diets work in the long term. The MFP forum is a tiny community in the grand scheme of things and of the people that use MFP, only a small percentage even post on the forums. Who you personally know that's lost significant weight is almost certainly an even smaller community. In terms of overall success rates, any personally observed patterns in such tiny communities are essentially meaningless.

If you hang out in paleo circles, you'll find plenty of "paleo success stories." That certainly doesn't mean paleo is the end-all be-all diet or the key to long-term success (although I'm sure there are some paleo people following the same faulty logic that believe it is). The same goes for keto circles, where you can find people who have been on keto for 5 or even 10 years and are in phenomenal shape. However, all that means is some people were able to use these diets as tools to improve their health and body fat levels; it says absolutely nothing about the long-term success or failure other people will have on these diets.

There are studies out there on long-term success in weight loss and some have highlighted certain characteristics successful people tend to have. However, none of them suggest a silver bullet when it comes to success and, frankly, all of them are pretty consistent when it comes to painting a bleak picture of long-term success statistics. If IIFYM really is that silver bullet that leads to success, I'm sort of surprised that no one in the medical community has discovered that in these studies.

It'd be one thing to suggest your personal experiences indicate that IIFYM is at least one option for long-term success, as it's been shown to work at least for some people. But suggesting that your limited personal observations and your lack of knowledge about people having long-term success on other diets somehow means that IIFYM in and of itself has a higher chance of long-term success than other diets? You're drawing conclusions the data simply doesn't support. It's akin to saying "all my friends and the guys on the Ford forums drive Fords and rarely have maintenance problems, thus you should buy a Ford if you want a problem-free car."

Great post!

But most people arguing againsy fad diets are arguing against the claim that one has to adhere to a certain philosophy in order to lose weight or be healthy.

That's not been my experience. Most of which I've seen of those arguing against fad diets are arguing it in direct opposition to IIFYM. That somehow IIFYM is the end-all-be-all. Very few that I've seen this with have said, "hey, it's a different but still legitimate path to the same goal." (though some have) Now, granted, my experience with this is limited mostly to Paleo/Primal and keto threads and those may get worse treatment than other plans out there -- south beach, weight watchers, etc.

Many people have come on there and say how it's not necessary and how moderation is best. I agree with that statement as a general rule of it not being necessary, I just disagree with that the idea that it may not be best for some people or isn't a legitimate path to success as well.

wheird

For someone who usually backs up his positions reasonably well, I've never understood why you insist on arguing that your personal observations of the MFP forums are somehow conclusive of which diets work in the long term. The MFP forum is a tiny community in the grand scheme of things and of the people that use MFP, only a small percentage even post on the forums. Who you personally know that's lost significant weight is almost certainly an even smaller community. In terms of overall success rates, any personally observed patterns in such tiny communities are essentially meaningless.

If you hang out in paleo circles, you'll find plenty of "paleo success stories." That certainly doesn't mean paleo is the end-all be-all diet or the key to long-term success (although I'm sure there are some paleo people following the same faulty logic that believe it is). The same goes for keto circles, where you can find people who have been on keto for 5 or even 10 years and are in phenomenal shape. However, all that means is some people were able to use these diets as tools to improve their health and body fat levels; it says absolutely nothing about the long-term success or failure other people will have on these diets.

There are studies out there on long-term success in weight loss and some have highlighted certain characteristics successful people tend to have. However, none of them suggest a silver bullet when it comes to success and, frankly, all of them are pretty consistent when it comes to painting a bleak picture of long-term success statistics. If IIFYM really is that silver bullet that leads to success, I'm sort of surprised that no one in the medical community has discovered that in these studies.

It'd be one thing to suggest your personal experiences indicate that IIFYM is at least one option for long-term success, as it's been shown to work at least for some people. But suggesting that your limited personal observations and your lack of knowledge about people having long-term success on other diets somehow means that IIFYM in and of itself has a higher chance of long-term success than other diets? You're drawing conclusions the data simply doesn't support. It's akin to saying "all my friends and the guys on the Ford forums drive Fords and rarely have maintenance problems, thus you should buy a Ford if you want a problem-free car."

Great post!

But most people arguing againsy fad diets are arguing against the claim that one has to adhere to a certain philosophy in order to lose weight or be healthy.

That's not been my experience. Most of which I've seen of those arguing against fad diets are arguing it in direct opposition to IIFYM. That somehow IIFYM is the end-all-be-all. Very few that I've seen this with have said, "hey, it's a different but still legitimate path to the same goal." (though some have) Now, granted, my experience with this is limited mostly to Paleo/Primal and keto threads and those may get worse treatment than other plans out there -- south beach, weight watchers, etc.

Many people have come on there and say how it's not necessary and how moderation is best. I agree with that statement as a general rule of it not being necessary, I just disagree with that the idea that it may not be best for some people or isn't a legitimate path to success as well.

I have often said that the most important part of your eating philosophy is that it is sustainable for you. And when I go into keto/Paleo threads, I just try to set the record straight that one is not necessarily better than the other. "You have to cut carbs to lose weight!" isnt a philosophy as much as it is an ignorant statement without context, so I usually try to provide the context along with my personal feelings. Which is mainly that moderation is ideal.

And the people that cry "Just do IIFYM!!!" without context can be equally annoying.

amandaygriffin

I recommend a book called "Diet Rehab." I'm reading it now and it's explaining why I've been addicted to food all my life. According to the author some people are low in serotonin and some in dopamine and that's what makes us crave high fat and sugary foods. It has nothing to do with "willpower" and everything to do with our brains. This makes sense to me as I have a tendency to be addicted to EVERYTHING. I'm seven years sobers as an alcoholic and as soon as I stopped drinking I turned to my other favorite drug of choice--food-- and gained over seventy pounds. I'm not saying this applies to you but it just made me feel good to read because it allowed me to stop beating myself over my inability to use my willpower to stop binge eating and just know that like my other struggles it would take a one day at a time approach and to give myself a break. The author is not big on counting calories, however, and I don't feel the need to do everything he says, but it's given me a new way to look at my issues. Thought this might help you.

Congrats on being sober! I will definitely have to check out this book you speak of! Thanks!

amandaygriffin

Does anyone else have the problem that when you are trying your best to eat healthier, make better choices, and move more that it's like your body/mind is fighting you?

I feel like I have NO control over what my body craves and wants. I get tired of telling myself that I can't have pizza, hamburgers, french fries, etc and I give in. My husband says it's because I don't have the willpower or the "want to", but I feel defeated EVERYTIME I make a lifestyle change and I don't stick with it.

I've tried the "food swaps" and while some of them are reasonable and delicious, most of them leave me wanting the real thing. Example: I made Spinach and Feta pizza on whole wheat crust instead of Three Meat pizza. While the taste was delicious, I still wanted meat.. and lots of it!

your husband is mean lol geez

I look at it like this
since im VERY lazy... clearly (i have like 150lbs to lose)
I too am craving pizza or enchiladas taquitos quesadillas etc
Pizza one slice is like 300+ calories (i'd usually eat 4 = 1200 calories)
Enchiladas can range from 1000 to maybe 1500 calories
taquitos idk but i havent looked it up I just assume fried tortilla smothered in guac and cheese wont be good lol
quesadilla is like 1000 calories at like del taco or a mexi place

in my mind if im eating all those calories say the pizza 1200 max then i need to get it off which means an enormous amount of exercise to cancel out the fact that I just ate like a beast
so in my mind... why waste all those calories just so i have to punish myself later? or also to feel AWFUL in the form of stomach pains and god knows what in the bathroom
also if im going to work out i want that to futher myself in weight loss not just so i can not gain

make sense?

Complete sense! I completely agree with you. I have a sedentary lifestyle because I work as a Technical Support rep and sit at a desk all day. I am trying to incorporate more moving into my daily lifestyle. I have been walking a little bit, but I am about to go hardcore in the gym! I think if I combine all of y'all's advice, eat all foods (good and *bad*) in moderation, watch my sugar intake, and move a lot more, I think I will see a bigger improvement!

Thanks again everyone!

lindsey1979

For someone who usually backs up his positions reasonably well, I've never understood why you insist on arguing that your personal observations of the MFP forums are somehow conclusive of which diets work in the long term. The MFP forum is a tiny community in the grand scheme of things and of the people that use MFP, only a small percentage even post on the forums. Who you personally know that's lost significant weight is almost certainly an even smaller community. In terms of overall success rates, any personally observed patterns in such tiny communities are essentially meaningless.

If you hang out in paleo circles, you'll find plenty of "paleo success stories." That certainly doesn't mean paleo is the end-all be-all diet or the key to long-term success (although I'm sure there are some paleo people following the same faulty logic that believe it is). The same goes for keto circles, where you can find people who have been on keto for 5 or even 10 years and are in phenomenal shape. However, all that means is some people were able to use these diets as tools to improve their health and body fat levels; it says absolutely nothing about the long-term success or failure other people will have on these diets.

There are studies out there on long-term success in weight loss and some have highlighted certain characteristics successful people tend to have. However, none of them suggest a silver bullet when it comes to success and, frankly, all of them are pretty consistent when it comes to painting a bleak picture of long-term success statistics. If IIFYM really is that silver bullet that leads to success, I'm sort of surprised that no one in the medical community has discovered that in these studies.

It'd be one thing to suggest your personal experiences indicate that IIFYM is at least one option for long-term success, as it's been shown to work at least for some people. But suggesting that your limited personal observations and your lack of knowledge about people having long-term success on other diets somehow means that IIFYM in and of itself has a higher chance of long-term success than other diets? You're drawing conclusions the data simply doesn't support. It's akin to saying "all my friends and the guys on the Ford forums drive Fords and rarely have maintenance problems, thus you should buy a Ford if you want a problem-free car."

Great post!

But most people arguing againsy fad diets are arguing against the claim that one has to adhere to a certain philosophy in order to lose weight or be healthy.

That's not been my experience. Most of which I've seen of those arguing against fad diets are arguing it in direct opposition to IIFYM. That somehow IIFYM is the end-all-be-all. Very few that I've seen this with have said, "hey, it's a different but still legitimate path to the same goal." (though some have) Now, granted, my experience with this is limited mostly to Paleo/Primal and keto threads and those may get worse treatment than other plans out there -- south beach, weight watchers, etc.

Many people have come on there and say how it's not necessary and how moderation is best. I agree with that statement as a general rule of it not being necessary, I just disagree with that the idea that it may not be best for some people or isn't a legitimate path to success as well.

I have often said that the most important part of your eating philosophy is that it is sustainable for you. And when I go into keto/Paleo threads, I just try to set the record straight that one is not necessarily better than the other. "You have to cut carbs to lose weight!" isnt a philosophy as much as it is an ignorant statement without context, so I usually try to provide the context along with my personal feelings. Which is mainly that moderation is ideal.

And the people that cry "Just do IIFYM!!!" without context can be equally annoying.

Agreed. I just personally haven't seen any Paleo/Primal people make those claims in threads. Not saying they don't exist, but I've personally never seen them.

amandaygriffin

If you're craving a meat and cheese pizza, don't make yourself a spinach and feta one.
That's lame.
Either make a healthy meat and cheese pizza on your whole wheat crust, or buy a lean cuisine personal sized pizza. I think they are around 350 cals.

I understand you think it's lame, but I was trying to do better for not only myself, but my family.

rachaelbmh

Great tips on this thread so far! I agree with what lots of others said - eat those things that come up as cravings, just in smaller amounts. Deprivation & dieting = not fun. Eat well most of the time and don't feel bad when you indulge a little bit here and there. Just try not to swing from dieting to bingeing and you'll be working towards your goals, no problem.

lizziebeth1028

Does anyone else have the problem that when you are trying your best to eat healthier, make better choices, and move more that it's like your body/mind is fighting you?

I feel like I have NO control over what my body craves and wants. I get tired of telling myself that I can't have pizza, hamburgers, french fries, etc and I give in. My husband says it's because I don't have the willpower or the "want to", but I feel defeated EVERYTIME I make a lifestyle change and I don't stick with it.

I've tried the "food swaps" and while some of them are reasonable and delicious, most of them leave me wanting the real thing. Example: I made Spinach and Feta pizza on whole wheat crust instead of Three Meat pizza. While the taste was delicious, I still wanted meat.. and lots of it!

'Diets' don't work. Enjoy the foods you like in MODERATION.

wheird

For someone who usually backs up his positions reasonably well, I've never understood why you insist on arguing that your personal observations of the MFP forums are somehow conclusive of which diets work in the long term. The MFP forum is a tiny community in the grand scheme of things and of the people that use MFP, only a small percentage even post on the forums. Who you personally know that's lost significant weight is almost certainly an even smaller community. In terms of overall success rates, any personally observed patterns in such tiny communities are essentially meaningless.

If you hang out in paleo circles, you'll find plenty of "paleo success stories." That certainly doesn't mean paleo is the end-all be-all diet or the key to long-term success (although I'm sure there are some paleo people following the same faulty logic that believe it is). The same goes for keto circles, where you can find people who have been on keto for 5 or even 10 years and are in phenomenal shape. However, all that means is some people were able to use these diets as tools to improve their health and body fat levels; it says absolutely nothing about the long-term success or failure other people will have on these diets.

There are studies out there on long-term success in weight loss and some have highlighted certain characteristics successful people tend to have. However, none of them suggest a silver bullet when it comes to success and, frankly, all of them are pretty consistent when it comes to painting a bleak picture of long-term success statistics. If IIFYM really is that silver bullet that leads to success, I'm sort of surprised that no one in the medical community has discovered that in these studies.

It'd be one thing to suggest your personal experiences indicate that IIFYM is at least one option for long-term success, as it's been shown to work at least for some people. But suggesting that your limited personal observations and your lack of knowledge about people having long-term success on other diets somehow means that IIFYM in and of itself has a higher chance of long-term success than other diets? You're drawing conclusions the data simply doesn't support. It's akin to saying "all my friends and the guys on the Ford forums drive Fords and rarely have maintenance problems, thus you should buy a Ford if you want a problem-free car."

Great post!

But most people arguing againsy fad diets are arguing against the claim that one has to adhere to a certain philosophy in order to lose weight or be healthy.

That's not been my experience. Most of which I've seen of those arguing against fad diets are arguing it in direct opposition to IIFYM. That somehow IIFYM is the end-all-be-all. Very few that I've seen this with have said, "hey, it's a different but still legitimate path to the same goal." (though some have) Now, granted, my experience with this is limited mostly to Paleo/Primal and keto threads and those may get worse treatment than other plans out there -- south beach, weight watchers, etc.

Many people have come on there and say how it's not necessary and how moderation is best. I agree with that statement as a general rule of it not being necessary, I just disagree with that the idea that it may not be best for some people or isn't a legitimate path to success as well.

I have often said that the most important part of your eating philosophy is that it is sustainable for you. And when I go into keto/Paleo threads, I just try to set the record straight that one is not necessarily better than the other. "You have to cut carbs to lose weight!" isnt a philosophy as much as it is an ignorant statement without context, so I usually try to provide the context along with my personal feelings. Which is mainly that moderation is ideal.

And the people that cry "Just do IIFYM!!!" without context can be equally annoying.

Agreed. I just personally haven't seen any Paleo/Primal people make those claims in threads. Not saying they don't exist, but I've personally never seen them.

I have seen countless instances of Paleo pushers claiming it is how you lose weight and the healthiest.

megsmom2

There are no bad foods. There is only inappropriate portioning. If you're counting your calories relentlessly and accurately...you can have anything you're craving and fit it into your day. Not all of it you may want, or be used to eating...but still...you can have it. Its all in how you juggle your numbers. But you have to be careful, and consistent and very honest with yourself.