An argument with a person in shape = no way to win

Lesa_Sass

Sometimes walking away from an argument is more important than winning it.

Branstin

Just because he is thin doesn’t mean he knows the facts. Unfortunately, you will always encounter people who don’t know and aren’t willing to reprogram their way of thinking to fit the 21th Century.

jasonmh630

Yeah, until they realize I've lost almost 50 pounds by not worrying WHEN I eat and just focusing on a deficit.

twrobbel

I would have turned the tables on him and challenge him to eat 3000 calories a day during the times he clainms eating would be fine and see if he gains weight.

Commander_Keen

I recently got into an argument with my co-worker. He is young, 27, and in good shape. He basically eats rabbit food, which is fine. We got into a discussion and he started telling me that when you eat is more important than what you eat and the calories. He told me you should never eat before going to bed.(which has been dis-proven) Then he told me that intermittent fasting is bad because your metabolism slows to a halt throughout the day (which also has been greatly exaggerated)

I then went on my rant and explained to him that a calorie is a calorie and as long as you create a deficit each day, you are fine. I then asked him if I ate 3000 calories all day and stopped eating after 8pm vs 3000 calories but 1000 of it was right before going to bed he told me the latter is a lot worse.

I tried to explain to him that some things work differently for some people, and eating breakfast makes me hungry all day long. I tried to explain that weight loss is about simple math, calories in, calories out. etc. But as I was arguing both him and my other co-worker started looking at me funny. I knew what was going on.

You see, I am fat, and I could not possibly win this argument UNTIL I lose the weight right?

Just as my mind was thinking this, he said "then prove it."

Anyone else run into a no win situation like this? I mean, technically, the proof is right there, I am fat, he is thin. And even though he is thin for other reasons, it just is pointless to argue this.

So let me tell you the flaw that you are going to run into

You will find 50 people here on MFP that will agree with him and his style and all 50 people will have lost weight.
You will find 50 people here on MFP that will have lost weight with your style.
But I will tell you this.
"calorie is a calorie and as long as you create a deficit each day" that is not true.. here is why.
Take 1500 calories of fish, chicken, turkey + fruits and vegges vs pure corn oil.
What will the 1500 calories of protein & fruits and veggies do to your body.
What will the 1500 calories of oil do to your body.
How will the oil effect your body.

BinaryPulsar

I find that sometimes it is better just not to discuss all aspects, of all topics, with all people. It's ok to disagree with someone without needing to change them.

vismal

So let me tell you the flaw that you are going to run into

You will find 50 people here on MFP that will agree with him and his style and all 50 people will have lost weight.
You will find 50 people here on MFP that will have lost weight with your style.
But I will tell you this.
"calorie is a calorie and as long as you create a deficit each day" that is not true.. here is why.
Take 1500 calories of fish, chicken, turkey + fruits and vegges vs pure corn oil.
What will the 1500 calories of protein & fruits and veggies do to your body.
What will the 1500 calories of oil do to your body.
How will the oil effect your body.

Two main reasons why your argument is invalid. First, find me just one person on MFP who eats 1500 calories of oil and calls it a day. Please, just one person who chugged some oil and clicked the "complete this entry" button. People always make these asinine examples. They are not grounded in reality so why make them?

Second, if a calorie from the oil is "the approximate amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.", then what is a calorie from the protein, fruits or veggies? CALORIES ARE CALORIES, just like inches are inches, pints are pints, and metric tons are metric tons.

SezxyStef

I feel for you...

There are people all around me losing weight...family, friends and co workers and everyone has their own method...and they all seem to work for losing weight...

My thing is this...yes you can be an expert of losing weight...esp if you do and believe that sort of stuff...ie don't eat before bed, detox, cleanse, clean etc...

You will be an expert at losing because you will lose the same 10, 20 or 30lbs repeatedly, which btw I am currently watching most of them

I would rather not be an expert at weight loss...I want to be good at maintaining thanks.

edited for spelling (extra word)

jdhoward_101

You do realize why when you eat breakfast you are hungrier throughout the day right?

He said prove what you say works right. Well that is more motivation right?

Damn straight! You stick to your method and you show him!

AglaeaC

I wouldn't bother wasting my energy on such a pointless discussion. They don't matter and their opinions don't matter, when you look at your lifestyle change. You know what you know and believe in what you believe, the rest is irrelevant. Save your energy and use it on something more productive. Silence would have meant you won the argument.

rsclause

Like others have said, a calorie is a calorie. I also agree that you will be better served by eating calories that provide good nutrition vs eating a bag of Cheetos but I do not have a mathematical way to prove that, its just a gut feeling. I would come up with ways to trick my body into thinking it had an endless supply of food coming. I workout in the morning and then proceed to eat roughly every two hours. Big breakfast, an apple snack, a protein shake, lunch followed by some tree nuts and some cheese etc. The idea was to keep my metabolism up and limit hunger. Does this work? well in my mind yes but I will never really know for sure. I do know that it motivated me to lose weight. So I say do what gets you results and ignore the time of day theories just like the miracle pills and count calories to get a deficit. Throw in any thing else the keeps it interesting but the deficit is a must.

likitisplit

I recently got into an argument with my co-worker. He is young, 27, and in good shape. He basically eats rabbit food, which is fine. We got into a discussion and he started telling me that when you eat is more important than what you eat and the calories. He told me you should never eat before going to bed.(which has been dis-proven) Then he told me that intermittent fasting is bad because your metabolism slows to a halt throughout the day (which also has been greatly exaggerated)

I then went on my rant and explained to him that a calorie is a calorie and as long as you create a deficit each day, you are fine. I then asked him if I ate 3000 calories all day and stopped eating after 8pm vs 3000 calories but 1000 of it was right before going to bed he told me the latter is a lot worse.

I tried to explain to him that some things work differently for some people, and eating breakfast makes me hungry all day long. I tried to explain that weight loss is about simple math, calories in, calories out. etc. But as I was arguing both him and my other co-worker started looking at me funny. I knew what was going on.

You see, I am fat, and I could not possibly win this argument UNTIL I lose the weight right?

Just as my mind was thinking this, he said "then prove it."

Anyone else run into a no win situation like this? I mean, technically, the proof is right there, I am fat, he is thin. And even though he is thin for other reasons, it just is pointless to argue this.

I know, I know. You just have to prove you are right.

My husband made a big deal out of me still eating dark chocolate. 45 pounds later and he's admitted that my way works.

yopeeps025

I recently got into an argument with my co-worker. He is young, 27, and in good shape. He basically eats rabbit food, which is fine. We got into a discussion and he started telling me that when you eat is more important than what you eat and the calories. He told me you should never eat before going to bed.(which has been dis-proven) Then he told me that intermittent fasting is bad because your metabolism slows to a halt throughout the day (which also has been greatly exaggerated)

I then went on my rant and explained to him that a calorie is a calorie and as long as you create a deficit each day, you are fine. I then asked him if I ate 3000 calories all day and stopped eating after 8pm vs 3000 calories but 1000 of it was right before going to bed he told me the latter is a lot worse.

I tried to explain to him that some things work differently for some people, and eating breakfast makes me hungry all day long. I tried to explain that weight loss is about simple math, calories in, calories out. etc. But as I was arguing both him and my other co-worker started looking at me funny. I knew what was going on.

You see, I am fat, and I could not possibly win this argument UNTIL I lose the weight right?

Just as my mind was thinking this, he said "then prove it."

Anyone else run into a no win situation like this? I mean, technically, the proof is right there, I am fat, he is thin. And even though he is thin for other reasons, it just is pointless to argue this.

So let me tell you the flaw that you are going to run into

You will find 50 people here on MFP that will agree with him and his style and all 50 people will have lost weight.
You will find 50 people here on MFP that will have lost weight with your style.
But I will tell you this.
"calorie is a calorie and as long as you create a deficit each day" that is not true.. here is why.
Take 1500 calories of fish, chicken, turkey + fruits and vegges vs pure corn oil.
What will the 1500 calories of protein & fruits and veggies do to your body.
What will the 1500 calories of oil do to your body.
How will the oil effect your body.

What an awful example to prove calorie is not a calorie.

srslybritt

Meh, you just agree to disagree and part ways at that point. He's doing what works for him, and you're doing what's obviously working for you.

If he wants to eat "rabbit food," let him. All the more noms for you.

srslybritt

So let me tell you the flaw that you are going to run into

You will find 50 people here on MFP that will agree with him and his style and all 50 people will have lost weight.
You will find 50 people here on MFP that will have lost weight with your style.
But I will tell you this.
"calorie is a calorie and as long as you create a deficit each day" that is not true.. here is why.
Take 1500 calories of fish, chicken, turkey + fruits and vegges vs pure corn oil.
What will the 1500 calories of protein & fruits and veggies do to your body.
What will the 1500 calories of oil do to your body.
How will the oil effect your body.

Two main reasons why your argument is invalid. First, find me just one person on MFP who eats 1500 calories of oil and calls it a day. Please, just one person who chugged some oil and clicked the "complete this entry" button. People always make these asinine examples. They are not grounded in reality so why make them?

Second, if a calorie from the oil is "the approximate amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.", then what is a calorie from the protein, fruits or veggies? CALORIES ARE CALORIES, just like inches are inches, pints are pints, and metric tons are metric tons.

The bolded statement... My computer needed a bath anyway.

GGDaddy

I find that sometimes it is better just not to discuss all aspects, of all topics, with all people. It's ok to disagree with someone without needing to change them.

This. Who cares what somebody else thinks if you're losing the weight? Just keep losing the weight, never bring it up again, and let the results speak for themselves.

jasonmh630

So let me tell you the flaw that you are going to run into

You will find 50 people here on MFP that will agree with him and his style and all 50 people will have lost weight.
You will find 50 people here on MFP that will have lost weight with your style.
But I will tell you this.
"calorie is a calorie and as long as you create a deficit each day" that is not true.. here is why.
Take 1500 calories of fish, chicken, turkey + fruits and vegges vs pure corn oil.
What will the 1500 calories of protein & fruits and veggies do to your body.
What will the 1500 calories of oil do to your body.
How will the oil effect your body.

This is false. A calorie is a unit of measurement, meaning each individual calorie is just that... a calorie. That's like saying a meter is not a meter. For weight loss, all you need is a calorie deficit. Where those calories come from has ZERO bearing on weight loss. Now for overall health, it's a different story.

greengoddess0123

While most of what you said was correct, a calorie is not a calorie, the macro nutrients matter ALOT. And while eating that 1000 cals close to bed wont matter for weight loss too much that is 1000 calories less your body has to use throughout the other parts of the day.

A calorie is a unit of measurement. Saying all calories are not the same is like saying all inches are not the same. Sure macro nutrients are important but that doesn't mean that all calories are not the "the approximate amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius"

What do you think happens to those calories if you eat them before bed? They are either used as energy or stored as fuel. If you then don't eat calories for the first half of the next day (because you save calories for before bed again) what do you think the body will use for fuel. STORED ENERGY. Timing makes no difference whatsoever.

Hmmm... I dunno about this "all inches are the same" business. I've been with my husband for almost 15 years, so my memory may be a bit spotty, but I definitely remember not all inches being the same.

Now I'm picturing OP's friends defensively saying, "It's not the amount of calories you guys! It's totally the way you use them." :bigsmile: