Losing weight: the bottom line
J72FIT
Posts: 6,002 Member
"Regardless of the nonsense you read in most diet books, losing weight is not fundamentally difficult. In my honest opinion, the last 30 years of research has told us all we really need to know about the topic. My grandmother knew how to lose weight before that but everybody knows that grandmothers know everything.
The bottom (and rather simple) line is that you have to adjust your food intake (or activity levels) so that you’re burning more calories than you take in. Over time, this causes you to lose weight (I’ll be making a distinction between weight and fat loss in the next chapter). That’s really it and I’ve joked that my job is to turn the idea “Eat less, exercise, and repeat forever” into a 300 page book. One of these days I’ll write/finish my magnum opus but for right now, this is what you get.
Even the books that tell you that you don’t have to count calories still ultimately trick you into eating less, by adjusting what you can eat (and sometimes when you can eat it). Low-carbohydrate, low-fat, the Zone, you name a diet and they are making you eat less food in the long run. There’s simply no way to escape that, no matter what magic they promise. Other weight loss approaches take the exercise route, get you burning more calories through activity under the assumption that you won’t just eat more to compensate (which tends to be a rather bad assumption most of the time). There’s really nothing magical to weight loss no matter what you want to believe."
–Lyle McDonald - A Guide to Flexible Dieting
The bottom (and rather simple) line is that you have to adjust your food intake (or activity levels) so that you’re burning more calories than you take in. Over time, this causes you to lose weight (I’ll be making a distinction between weight and fat loss in the next chapter). That’s really it and I’ve joked that my job is to turn the idea “Eat less, exercise, and repeat forever” into a 300 page book. One of these days I’ll write/finish my magnum opus but for right now, this is what you get.
Even the books that tell you that you don’t have to count calories still ultimately trick you into eating less, by adjusting what you can eat (and sometimes when you can eat it). Low-carbohydrate, low-fat, the Zone, you name a diet and they are making you eat less food in the long run. There’s simply no way to escape that, no matter what magic they promise. Other weight loss approaches take the exercise route, get you burning more calories through activity under the assumption that you won’t just eat more to compensate (which tends to be a rather bad assumption most of the time). There’s really nothing magical to weight loss no matter what you want to believe."
–Lyle McDonald - A Guide to Flexible Dieting
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Replies
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just bumping this.0
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bumping it again0
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Thanks for sharing.0
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It would seem magic is way more exciting to talk about... lol!0
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*Sob* I'm not a special snowflake?
BTW, when you make all those millions on "eat less ,lose weight" 300 page books, remember your friends on MFP.0 -
This brought a happy tear to my eye.0
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*bump*0
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This is so important for newcomers to know.0
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Ooooh this is going to make a lot of the diet industry upset.............................................
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Great quote! My favorite part was "losing weight is not fundamentally difficult". It made me think, losing weight is not fundamentally difficult, people are! I am truly enjoying eating well & exercising now, but I spent years before now fighting being healthy. Then, I would complain about being unhealthy. Then, I would feel bad. Then, I'd eat more. Then, I'd complain about being fat. Then, I'd feel bad, then I'd eat more...0
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Lyle macdonald gave me some great advice way back when that I really should have heeded:
Eat less you fat ****.
Move more you fat ****.
Lyle's kind of an *kitten*, but he's not wrong.
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Follow up quote...
"Eat less, exercise (or both), repeat forever. That’s the bottom line and the sooner you accept that the closer you’ll be too reaching your goal."
–Lyle McDonald - A Guide to Flexible Dieting0 -
Bumping this...0
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“Eat less, exercise, and repeat forever”
Love it!0 -
My doctor once said to me answer this question:
"will any diet work if you stick to it"
The answer is pretty much yes, if the diet has you eating less and burning more calories, YES it will. The real question is what diet can you stick with for the rest of your life? What eating combination and food and exercise will make you happy and skinny forever.
My daughter went vegan, not for weight reasons, but it really helped her health. Can she stick with it? yes she always preferred vegetables. Me could I go vegan, no my body will actually crave meat or eggs. I could never stick to it. So its not about just being on a diet or eating a certain way, its really about eating a certain way forever.0 -
what does bumping mean:?0
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Amen!0
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My doctor once said to me answer this question:
"will any diet work if you stick to it"
The answer is pretty much yes, if the diet has you eating less and burning more calories, YES it will. The real question is what diet can you stick with for the rest of your life? What eating combination and food and exercise will make you happy and skinny forever.
My daughter went vegan, not for weight reasons, but it really helped her health. Can she stick with it? yes she always preferred vegetables. Me could I go vegan, no my body will actually crave meat or eggs. I could never stick to it. So its not about just being on a diet or eating a certain way, its really about eating a certain way forever.
I think the key to this is changing our behavioral habits for the long term and not just the short term. The weight loss is the easy part. It's the maintenance that most people find challenging.0 -
what does bumping mean:?
In the olden days of the internet, bump stood for Bring Up My Post. Here at MFP it means that someone is replying to push the post back to the top of the message board or to save it to their topics to read later.0 -
Lyle, I was sent a link by someone for your for Training the Obese Beginner and I loved it. You have a way with words for sure and I love that you don't split hairs and you call a spade a spade. I am 270 pounds, I know how I got here, I know what I need to do to get to a different place...the reprograming of the brain...not as easy as the knowing part. Keep posting....Before I saw who wrote this post....I knew who wrote this post. LOL Love it. :laugh:0
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Lyle, I was sent a link by someone for your for Training the Obese Beginner and I loved it. You have a way with words for sure and I love that you don't split hairs and you call a spade a spade. I am 270 pounds, I know how I got here, I know what I need to do to get to a different place...the reprograming of the brain...not as easy as the knowing part. Keep posting....Before I saw who wrote this post....I knew who wrote this post. LOL Love it. :laugh:
OP was quoting Lyle. He's not actually here.0 -
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Lyle, I was sent a link by someone for your for Training the Obese Beginner and I loved it. You have a way with words for sure and I love that you don't split hairs and you call a spade a spade. I am 270 pounds, I know how I got here, I know what I need to do to get to a different place...the reprograming of the brain...not as easy as the knowing part. Keep posting....Before I saw who wrote this post....I knew who wrote this post. LOL Love it. :laugh:
OP was quoting Lyle. He's not actually here.
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But if Lyle's statement was true then eating nothing would be the quickest way to lose weight and we know that's not true. We also know that people who become obese literally have their brain chemistry altered and have reduced leptin levels when they lose weight. We also know that diabetes effects energy utilization so people with diabetes (and insulin resistance) don't lose weight as effectively.
Sure it's a bottom line, but in that regard you can drive your car with the parking brake on as long as you give it enough gas. Bottom line, yes. Effective? No.
Way to prove nothing by using extreme examples...0 -
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It isn't easy, but it isn't complicated.0
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But if Lyle's statement was true then eating nothing would be the quickest way to lose weight and we know that's not true. We also know that people who become obese literally have their brain chemistry altered and have reduced leptin levels when they lose weight. We also know that diabetes effects energy utilization so people with diabetes (and insulin resistance) don't lose weight as effectively.
Sure it's a bottom line, but in that regard you can drive your car with the parking brake on as long as you give it enough gas. Bottom line, yes. Effective? No.
Way to prove nothing by using extreme examples...
Way to refute something while providing nothing of value.
Extreme examples clearly illustrate the point and just like a car doesn't go from 0 - 60 instantly a diet doesn't go from an unhealthy extreme to a healthy moderation instantly either. There's a point in the middle between the complexity of extreme health examples and your normal unhealthy person. Quite frankly it clearly illustrates Lyle's point doesn't hold any water.
I could use extreme examples that aren't as pertinent such as sugar water, whey protein, and soybean oil to get all your macros. Obviously this diet will kill you from lack of nutrition. Point is there's a middle ground in there somewhere between all the "clean" hype and simply being a matter of calories. No where in Lyle's statement does it account for nutrition. Add in that most people who are obese are malnourished and Lyle's statement doesn't account for over half the people who really need to lose weight between the obese, diabetes, and malnourished alone.
If you would like you could read the book and not base your short sighted opinion on the quote that I chose to highlight.
Extreme examples illustrate nothing...0 -
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If you would like you could read the book and not base your short sighted opinion on the quote that I chose to highlight.
I've read several pieces of his work and as I've even highlighted to you in other threads, his information is sometimes erroneous such as his claims BMR has a causal relationship with gender and a pound of fat contains roughly 400g of adipose tissue. And yes I've read some excerpts from his book too and found the same thing.Extreme examples illustrate nothing...
My scientifically backed statements which show clear exceptions to the rules you simply label as "extreme" in order to ignore them. People who over simplify logic just tend to want to ignore obvious exceptions to their perceived universal rules.
Yes thank you, you're extreme examples really have helped. I now know not to drive my car with the parking brake on. Very helpful...0
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