Is it this simple?
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The answer to your question is not simple.
It really depends on the individual.
If you take a young, relatively healthy person, who just eats too much and plays too many video games, and tell them to simply eat at a X amount of calorie deficit, and go hit the gym a few days a week- if they comply, they will lose weight.
We have seen the numerous success stories of the guys who were eating 15-20K cals a day, drinking tons of beer, sitting on the couch watching football, and one day decided to make a change and lost 200-300 pounds in a year or two.
For THEM, it really is all about simply eating less food and moving around a bit.
But what about the numerous 50 yr old ladies who are menopausal, or premenopausal, have PCOS (which is WAY more common than people on here want to admit), and are Diabetic or pre-Diabetic? They are most likely eating way less than 2k cals a day, even if they are 100 lbs overweight. Many of them are very active at their job, and taking care of their house, husbands, kids, or even grandkids, and don't have the time and resources to go to the gym, but can get in a walk on their lunchbreak, or before work. They are struggling with the stresses of their lives. They are staying within their calorie limits, but the only way they seem to lose ANY weight is to restrict to 1200-1400 cals a day, and after a while, that stops working.
When they dare ask for advice on the forums, they get people telling them they are eating too little, or that they are lying about how much they are eating.They get tons of people in their 20s and 30s bragging about how they can eat so many calories and the weight just falls off. So no one is a special snowflake, and they must be doing something wrong. They usually end up frustrated after months of plateauing, and give up.
Or they end up eating at lower than 1200 to lose the weight, and can't say that on the forums because they will get reported.
Many of them, thru trial and error, find that different foods give them different results on the scale, and in their health.
For many people, simple, processed carbs actually do cause them to not lose weight at what should be an appropriate calorie deficit. They find that they can be more satiated, have more energy, and consistently lose weight at a moderate rate, if they do cut out sugar, processed grains, or even grains altogether, and eat more healthy fats and proteins, with lots of high fiber veggies.
More people have a sensitivity to gluten, then any of us realize, and many have seen a great improvement in their health and energy by cutting it out, which aids in being more active and helps stay within their calorie goals.
Some recent numbers I have heard are that we are reaching 30% of the population that are Diabetic or preDiabetic, possibly even more than that. Around 20% of women have PCOS, where they do not process carbs and sugar in the same way as one without PCOS. That number is getting higher and higher as well, as the population in general gets heavier.
For some people, it is easier to have a definite plan to follow, because they have no nutrition education and don't understand how they should eat. So it is easier if someone tells them what to do. This can work for some, but if they are going to keep the weight off, they really need to be educated on nutrition. But for the interim, this will work to get some weight off, and help their self esteem and motivation to keep going.
Most people who are severely overweight, have a problem with moderating certain foods. For them, cutting those foods out for awhile may be the answer for them. Once they have lost some weight and feel more in control, they may be able to add those foods back in moderation.
So yeah, I understand that some people may get confused by all the various diet plans and give up. But you know, those are the people who are not going to stick with ANY calorie restriction, because they don't have the motivation to do what they need to do to lose the weight. They want a quick fix, a magic pill, or a magic cleanse that will do the work for them, and make them lose 100 pounds in 2 months.
For those who are struggling and doing what they think is right, but still not losing the weight- they might need to eat in a different way than just CICO, and we as a weight loss/fitness community, need to offer them all the education that we have learned by our own experiences, and accept that we are NOT all the same when it comes to diet and nutritional needs.0 -
So if the answer to losing weight is to eat within a deficit, why do so many people opt for such radical diets?
Because people can't believe it is as simple as 3rd grade math...also human propensity to over complicate anything and everything...also, big money in the diet and fitness industry selling bull ****.
Outside of medical conditions, this is just 3rd grade math.0 -
It is that simple. I totally believe that.
I'm going to prove it to myself starting today.0 -
Is losing weight really as simple as a calorie deficit?
Simple, yes.
Easy, not necessarily.0 -
Body composition wise it doesn't matter what you eat, processed or not but from a health perspective I'm in the boat that it does matter.
It's no coincidence that the rises in cancer etc correlate with the increase of the Western Diet, which is truly terrible!
An awesome book on it is 'In Defence of Food' I'd recommend everybody to read it, at least once!
Lots of studies done also on, for example, aborigines that health has deteriorated when they've moved away from places where they ate natural food and started consuming processed food. Simply moving them back to their native places had positive affects on their health. Makes sense. We evolved and our enzymes evolved to get the nutrition out of foods. This took hundreds of years! We evolved to consume natural things as that's all there was.
Why make white bread. Take all the folic acid, all the good stuff out of it by removing the grain? Then look on the back of a loaf of breads ingredients and they've gone and added folic acid to it! Lol. Why?!
That's another study done to. How the rich, back in the day didn't like the colour of granary bread so engineered it so that the grain was removed, taking with it all the goodness. These rich people got ill, lack of folic acid etc. What got them better? Eating foods high in folic acid again.
Eat natural, if you can. If you can't try a little but it's not the end of the world but we did evolve to live off the fat of the land, not to eat processed stuff. Our body is playing catch up.
Food synergy is another one... breast milk babies ALWAYS do better than bottle fed. Do they know exactly what is in breast milk? Yes, can they engineer a powder that rivals it? No! Why? Food synergy... vitamin solubility... loads of things.
Food is more than a breakdown of it's macro and micro nutrients... from a health perspective, at least. Body composition wise, eat what you like, but don't expect to be healthy.
My gripe though with paleo is basically this:
http://tryandstaypositive.wordpress.com/2014/05/11/the-problem-with-paleo-part-1/0 -
It is that simple. I totally believe that.
I'm going to prove it to myself starting today.
Good for you. Check back in with us in a few months and let us know how it is going!0 -
Bravo DebbieLyn63! I appreciate your response soooooo much. CICO may work for some, it may even work for most. But it certainly is not true for all. Thanks for reminding me why I tend to stay off of the community side. Glad I popped over here this morning to see your response - I'm signing off now so I can keep working on figuring out what works for ME.0
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In a word, Yup.
I still can't believe the success I have been having by just tracking what I eat. Weighing and measuring everything I put in my mouth (with some exceptions when eating out).
I try to eat more fruits and veggies and protein to keep me full. I make my meals from scratch whenever possible. I also eat snacks regularly. Heck, last night my dinner was comprised entirely of snacks - goldfish crackers, pita chips, string cheese and carrots. I haven't cut a single thing out of my diet, just reduced size and frequency.
I exercise a bit, should do more, but mainly through working in my yard and garden at this time of year. Toting bags of soil and spreading mulch is a work out.
Have I had weeks that I haven't lost anything, yes. But the trend is down so I am happy. Slow and steady wins the race.0 -
http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
Excellent article. Thank you for sharing.
Nobody wants to hear that they are eating too much. It is easier to believe that you are eating the wrong foods at the wrong time or in the wrong combination. That way it isn't your fault. I know for sure that if I am not losing or even gaining and it is not water retention that it is totally my fault for eating too much. It is harsh but true.0 -
I would recommend with calories in calories out that you research increase metabolism because as you lose weight you have to eat less and less to maintain weight. It will make a difference to be able to eat like your old weight with your smaller weight.0
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Bravo DebbieLyn63! I appreciate your response soooooo much. CICO may work for some, it may even work for most. But it certainly is not true for all. Thanks for reminding me why I tend to stay off of the community side. Glad I popped over here this morning to see your response - I'm signing off now so I can keep working on figuring out what works for ME.
I just don't get it.
Anyone who doesn't believe calorie counting works probably shouldn't be using a calorie counting website. That's literally why we're here. So when someone says it doesn't work, it doesn't make everyone else a bully for disagreeing.
If I went to some Disney fan site, and said the Disney characters were stupid and I didn't understand why anyone liked them, would the people there be mean bullies for disagreeing with me? No. That is trolling.
I know there are people who don't believe in calorie counting. People clinging to the idea that every human body is so completely unique that no program can possibly target their special needs. Fine, I get that. I just don't understand why they use a calorie counting site to argue that calorie counting doesn't work. And then are suprised at the reaction...
He is just a lost cause or he has medical issues. Either way still lost.0 -
Is losing weight really as simple as a calorie deficit?
Yes.
You can create the deficit with or without exercise. I am in the camp of opinions that support the notion that it is a heck of a lot easier to create a caloric deficit using exercise. Especially if you like to eat (and who doesn't?). The more you exercise, the more you get to eat...0 -
People trolling my post about paleo; I mentioned it because its basically a natural food diet. I don't follow a paleo diet, I like the convenience of supplements too much and I would need to eat so much meat to meet my protein goals every day that it would turn into a part time job.
My point was to show me somebody gaining weight eating mostly veggies, you will have a hard time. The gist is just to stick to the produce isle. Not a bad concept. And I'm sorry, but we truly aren't evolved to deal with some of the crap they put in processed foods. I have pretty bad digestive issues, and if you ask any gastro, they will tell you the digestive system is the least evolved of our organs.
I'm not trolling. I said you were wrong. And you continued right at it.
No one needs to get all their food from the produce aisle. That's another bad idea. There's a wide variety of food out there that people can and should enjoy. Not just vegetables.
YOU have digestive issues. Sorry for that, but that's a special issue that you deal with. That does not mean that all humans lack the evolutionary capability to digest foods. The vast majority of us are fine.
Also my favorite part is after touting the paleo diet you admit you don't even follow it. At least when I say eating foods in moderation works I actually stand by my words.
It seems you like you are just looking to pick a fight. I'm obviously not touting the diet if I don't even follow it. Its promoting an extreme. Notice the word "mostly" in my post -_-. The point was that not eating foods with empty calories leads to good weight loss results. Imagine that.0 -
People trolling my post about paleo; I mentioned it because its basically a natural food diet. I don't follow a paleo diet, I like the convenience of supplements too much and I would need to eat so much meat to meet my protein goals every day that it would turn into a part time job.
My point was to show me somebody gaining weight eating mostly veggies, you will have a hard time. The gist is just to stick to the produce isle. Not a bad concept. And I'm sorry, but we truly aren't evolved to deal with some of the crap they put in processed foods. I have pretty bad digestive issues, and if you ask any gastro, they will tell you the digestive system is the least evolved of our organs.
I'm not trolling. I said you were wrong. And you continued right at it.
No one needs to get all their food from the produce aisle. That's another bad idea. There's a wide variety of food out there that people can and should enjoy. Not just vegetables.
YOU have digestive issues. Sorry for that, but that's a special issue that you deal with. That does not mean that all humans lack the evolutionary capability to digest foods. The vast majority of us are fine.
Also my favorite part is after touting the paleo diet you admit you don't even follow it. At least when I say eating foods in moderation works I actually stand by my words.
It seems you like you are just looking to pick a fight. I'm obviously not touting the diet if I don't even follow it. Its promoting an extreme. Notice the word "mostly" in my post -_-. The point was that not eating foods with empty calories leads to good weight loss results. Imagine that.
My empty calorie pizza is so good though. Now I eat it in real moderation. And when I eat it's always combo with a long workout.0 -
Is losing weight really as simple as a calorie deficit?
Yes.
You can create the deficit with or without exercise. I am in the camp of opinions that support the notion that it is a heck of a lot easier to create a caloric deficit using exercise. Especially if you like to eat (and who doesn't?). The more you exercise, the more you get to eat...
Eat more exercise more is a very good way to keep your metabolism in check.0 -
But what about the numerous 50 yr old ladies who are menopausal, or premenopausal, have PCOS (which is WAY more common than people on here want to admit), and are Diabetic or pre-Diabetic? They are most likely eating way less than 2k cals a day, even if they are 100 lbs overweight. Many of them are very active at their job, and taking care of their house, husbands, kids, or even grandkids, and don't have the time and resources to go to the gym, but can get in a walk on their lunchbreak, or before work. They are struggling with the stresses of their lives. They are staying within their calorie limits, but the only way they seem to lose ANY weight is to restrict to 1200-1400 cals a day, and after a while, that stops working.
I don't have PCOS and am not pre or any other kind of diabetic, but I am 56, female and 10+ years post menopausal. Do these things make it harder to lose than when I was in my 20s or 30s? Yep. Do they make it impossible? Nope. While the level of calorie deficit will vary according to age, sex, medical issue or activity level, there is a level that will work for everyone barring a severe metabolic disorder. If 1200-1400 of accurately counted calories leads to no weight loss, then they are quite simply not at a deficit. If that level puts someone in a deficit, they will lose weight even if it's slower than they'd like.0 -
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Yes! I've been slacking in the "healthy" foods department lately, but still eating at a deficit. Guess what, I'm still losing.
Sure eating more vegetable etc will be healthier, but strictly for weightloss calories in vs calories out.
Now ladies do keep in mind. The 2000 cal daily you see on the packages does not work for most of us. I simply don't have a deficit if I eat that much and don't do some sort of exercise.0 -
So if the answer to losing weight is to eat within a deficit, why do so many people opt for such radical diets?
Because a lot of those radical diets advertise a big loss in a short amount of time. Why count calories and lose at a reasonable rate when an "expert" is telling you that you can easily drop X pounds in X days?0 -
In my experience, yeah, it really is about eating less and trying for more healthy foods, but still having treats in moderation. I've done atkins and isagenix, lost a few lbs/inches without working out much, but it wasn't sustainable. So then for a about 8 months I became a gym rat! running for the first time in my life and taking crossfit classes. I got toned and lost inches, but never any real weight. This past time, I started with my diet. I cut out all the crap for 2 weeks. No added sugar, low carb, more veggies and fruit and lots of lean protein. I lost 7 lbs in two weeks! So slowly I started exercising again and I have steadily lost weight, toned my body, lost inches and FEEL amazing. It works for me and I think for many, many others. That being said, it's not easy. But you do get better at it with practice and results are worth it.0
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See? Diet myths everywhere.
Our bodies don't need an evolutionary change to eat processed foods. People do it on a daily basis and the body has no problem processing it. But you gotta sell Paleo books somehow...
People trolling my post about paleo; I mentioned it because its basically a natural food diet. I don't follow a paleo diet, I like the convenience of supplements too much and I would need to eat so much meat to meet my protein goals every day that it would turn into a part time job.
My point was to show me somebody gaining weight eating mostly veggies, you will have a hard time. The gist is just to stick to the produce isle. Not a bad concept. And I'm sorry, but we truly aren't evolved to deal with some of the crap they put in processed foods. I have pretty bad digestive issues, and if you ask any gastro, they will tell you the digestive system is the least evolved of our organs.
Paleo is a low carb diet disguised as a "natural food" diet. Our bodies retain more water when we eat carbs. People who follow low carb diets in a calorie deficit lose more weight faster than if they just ate at a deficit, but they gain the water weight back as soon as they reintroduce carbs.0 -
So if the answer to losing weight is to eat within a deficit, why do so many people opt for such radical diets
I believe people opt for the various trendy "diet of the day" is that if they fail at weight loss, they can blame the diet. (I'm special; Adkins/paloe/primal/South Beach/et al didn't work for me). That is much easier on the ego and self esteem than to admit that I failed at weight loss because I have no self control, discipline and commitment required to eat less than before and/or move more than before, thus creating a deficit.
NAILED IT. I tried Weight Watchers, South Beach, paleo and the like. But I eventually got bored with the food and I skimped on exercise, so I didn't see results. And I convinced myself that I was a special snowflake who just couldn't lose weight. Plus, women always have a harder time losing weight, right?
Then I decided to just suck it up and count calories and increase my activity level. The weight came off slowly but surely. I've lost about 26 pounds now and am working on the next 20. I'm in a healthy BMI range and I did it myself, no special diet books. It really is that simple. Eat less and exercise--though you can simply eat less and create a caloric deficit that way, the exercise helps with overall fitness and you feel a heck of a lot better. More muscles, too.0 -
Does a simple calorie deficit not work for everyone? I understand if there are health issues (insulin resistance, diabetes etc) why low carb may be best. But for the majority of people, is it really necessary to go to such "extremes"? And if not, why do we?
A simple calorie deficit does work for most people. But the psychology of weight loss is an important factor for many. Foods high in fast digesting carbs (overly processed grains and sugars) can trigger hunger that some find very hard to control. The same is often true of high fat salty snacks for others. So, they choose to eliminate these things to make weight loss easier.
What is "simple" to one is not necessarily simple to another.0 -
As a society we are inherently incapable of taking responsibility for anything these days. Always looking to shift the blame on someone/something.. We say things like "It's not MY fault I can't lose weight because:
- I have no time to work out
- I have kids/partner who like to eat sweets
- I am weighing everything..except...
- I'm doing EVERYTHING right
We think.. It CAN'T be so simple because - I - can't do it... Well.. it IS.
It's hard to get past when people tell you that you're doing it wrong, or eating more then you think. And you think you 'must' be special. Not so.. I'm guilty, I think everyone on this journey at some point will question it, but usually (for me at least) when I tighten up, stop slacking and re-commit to making sure that I AM doing what I need to do, I start losing again. It's easier to blame 'the diet' instead of blaming your own lack of discipline / will power.0 -
Food synergy is another one... breast milk babies ALWAYS do better than bottle fed. Do they know exactly what is in breast milk? Yes, can they engineer a powder that rivals it? No! Why? Food synergy... vitamin solubility... loads of things.
I have to take issue with the "babies always do better on breast milk." That is not true across the board. There are many possible factors. My SIL has breastfed all of her children, and they have difficulty putting on weight and have mulitple food allergies and health issues. Would they be worse on formula? Who knows. But my children have been formula fed due to my health issues, and they are all healthy and never had growth issues. In fact, my third child would have gotten sick and died if I had tried to breastfed--at the time I had zero carnitine in my system, thanks to years of a vegan diet, and carnitine is only available in mother's milk if the mother has it in her system, or in formula, where the companies add L-carnitine. So formula saved his life. Because babies in utero receive carnitine from their mothers' diet, he didn't have any, and I didn't have any to give him.
Whether to formula feed or breasfeed is a very personal decision that should be left up to parents and the child's doctor, if applicable. Whether a child thrives on breast milk or formula is dependent on so many other factors, so let's not generalize.
Sorry for the thread hijack, people! Go about your business.0 -
Worked for me perfectly
People are used to thinking (including my family) that if you are on a 'diet' (despise this word) you have to cut out all the good stuff - it becomes annoying. Nobody can live like that. Patience is the hardest thing but as you're changing your lifestyle, might as well get used to it and it becomes an everyday thing. It's also best to talk to people who have managed to keep the weight off as I think that's personally the main thing, I don't really want to get advice from someone who put it back on. I'm trying to be that person and know my triggers but still trying to improve and work on myself.0 -
Losing weight is about calorie deficit - if you restricted your diet to JUST ice-cream, as long as you were eating fewer calories in ice-cream than your body needed you'd lose weight.
Being healthy however...that's a whole different kettle of fish and there's plenty of slim people out there who have really crappy diets and, whilst not overweight, are storing up all sorts of other health issues for themselves.0 -
Losing weight is about calorie deficit - if you restricted your diet to JUST ice-cream, as long as you were eating fewer calories in ice-cream than your body needed you'd lose weight.
Being healthy however...that's a whole different kettle of fish and there's plenty of slim people out there who have really crappy diets and, whilst not overweight, are storing up all sorts of other health issues for themselves.
Perfect answer.0 -
I definitely have come to believe it's as simple as a calorie deficit. Still, because of the quick-fix mindset, it's hard not to think "I shouldn't be eating this" when I consume something that's not a stereotypical diet food. C'mon brain, get with the program! I find myself stuck in the "good food vs. bad food" mindset.0
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