What is your secret?
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grinch031, I think it's excellent that you have lost 15 lbs by identifying your Achilles heal (carbs), and cutting it out. I hope you can sustain this forever and live a healthy and prosperous life. And if for some reason you cannot sustain it, I hope you find a balance that you can sustain.
Please be aware, however, that your particular situation is an outlier. You are in the minority. It sucks that you had this additional handicap for whatever reason, but I'm glad you overcame it.
I don't think I'm an outlier at all. Hundreds of thousands of years humanity prove that counting calories is not important. That is because they didn't know what the hell a calorie was until people started gaining weight because of agricultural advancements.
They aren't gaining weight because of agricultural advancements (specifically, refined processed carbs, for example)... they''re gaining because they (meaning we, as in myself included) live sedentary lifestyles and eat a surplus of readily available food.
Your logic seems to imply that the basic math of calorie deficit only works because we are aware of the concept.... which is really neat, if you wanna get all science-babble about string theory or something... but that's just not the way it works.
Why don't you stop counting calories, and try hunting and farming, and then running from your predators, and see how it goes. You'll lose weight, but it won't have anything to do with processed foods.0 -
I just recently learned about negative calorie foods, their are foods that only have a small amount of calories so the body basicaly burns up the calories digesting them leaving you with a calorie deficit I think it's called thermogenetic or something like that. this is the list of food I found when I googled negative calorie foods:
Apple
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cranberries
Grapefruit
Honeydew
Limes
Lemon
Mango
Orange
Papaya
Peach
Pineapple
Raspberries
Strawberries
Tangerines
Tomato
Watermelon
I can't wait to try this myself! good luck0 -
I'm starting to think that success comes by not listening to most of the people on these boards. So many people sprout misinformation, convinced that it is fact (are you listening grinch?)
On the point you have been making, I think there is certainly a lot of merit in listening to your body and taking the time to understand what it does/does not respond well to. If you want to eat like a caveman, great. But please do not spout this as THE way to lose weight or be healthier. On that note, if you are against counting calories, wtf are you even here?
There are a number of people who are consumed by the 'current' way of eating (high sat fat, calorie dense low nutritional value foods). By allowing people to record their foods, this site empowers people. It shows them what they are eating, and in turn how to learn for themselves what they should and should not be consuming.
So there's the secret folks... hang on, there was no secret, just me bashing on someone... oh well, ummm, I'll say the secret is... empower yourself. Do some research on your own, use the tools and knowledge at your disposal through MFP, and don't do any fad that you won't be able to maintain for the long haul... wow, that was insightful...
I'm here to share my experiences in unwanted weight gain and the battle to lose it, same as anybody. I'm not against tracking foods, nutrients, or even calories. I just have a major disagreement with the philosophy often used to manage weight loss. Thats all.
Let's not single me out. People are saying as fact that the key is to weight loss is to manually create a caloric deficit. I happen to have a strong opinion against that. So why is only my side wrong but theirs isn't? There is no definitive proof that either is fact.0 -
This lovely thread is turning into a misinformation trainwreck of epic proportions.0
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Some funny replies.
There are no secrets that I know of. If there was, I would write a book about it and it would no longer be a secret.
"Hard work" of course is the key as others have said.
However, to me there is one key, important ingredient that comes before others.
Something that could mean the difference between remaining a fatty, packing on even more weight or taking charge to transform your life around and shedding the kilos/pounds.
I call it..... (drumroll)....
The "pivotal" * moment.
*There are many different words for this: some call it "the aha moment", others call it "the time of realisation" or just plain "D'oh"
It's that point of time when you become so disgusted with what you are doing or where you at, that you have no choice but to mentally commit yourself to a change of lifestyle. This pivotal moment could be something serious such a health scare (the doc tells you lose weight or you will die). Or it could be simply a smaller but important trigger such as eating a particularly very high calorie loaded meal or realising that you are at your heaviest ever weight.
Its ONLY when you have such a pivotal moment (imho) and you are prepared to make real, permanent lifestyle changes that you will have the self-motivation to change your life.
You see, without such a pivotal moment, you probably won't bother to lose weight (or if you do, your efforts will be short lived). You need to WANT to do this for yourself. Yes, you can draw inspiration from others, but at the end its about what YOU want.0 -
I just recently learned about negative calorie foods, their are foods that only have a small amount of calories so the body basicaly burns up the calories digesting them leaving you with a calorie deficit I think it's called thermogenetic or something like that. this is the list of food I found when I googled negative calorie foods:
Apple
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cranberries
Grapefruit
Honeydew
Limes
Lemon
Mango
Orange
Papaya
Peach
Pineapple
Raspberries
Strawberries
Tangerines
Tomato
Watermelon
I can't wait to try this myself! good luck
Hi! I think you're probably new to MFP .... but just as an FYI, negative calorie foods are a myth. These will do no more to aid in your weight loss Steve Perry than any other fruit or vegetable. I know there's a FAQ thread about it around here somewhere, so I'll go find it.0 -
is this really true? lol0
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grinch031, I think it's excellent that you have lost 15 lbs by identifying your Achilles heal (carbs), and cutting it out. I hope you can sustain this forever and live a healthy and prosperous life. And if for some reason you cannot sustain it, I hope you find a balance that you can sustain.
Please be aware, however, that your particular situation is an outlier. You are in the minority. It sucks that you had this additional handicap for whatever reason, but I'm glad you overcame it.
I don't think I'm an outlier at all. Hundreds of thousands of years humanity prove that counting calories is not important. That is because they didn't know what the hell a calorie was until people started gaining weight because of agricultural advancements.
You're right. Counting calories is not important, nor is it necessary for long term success. (But just a reminder that the main purpose of this website is for calorie tracking).
I lost most of my weight without counting a single calorie. I had no clue wtf TDEE or BMR meant or why one would use an HRM. At some point I decided that I wanted to get very lean, so I came here to lose the last 10-15 lbs. I wanted to dial it all in. I was already fit and healthy. I just wanted to go further. I got hooked on the obsessive tracking, I admit it.
I haven't been tracking for the past month or two. I'm on a gain cycle and I know I can intuitively eat in surplus with adequate protein and achieve my bulk. In a few weeks time I will start calorie counting again because I want to get ripped. It's not necessary in life to be ripped, but it's just something I want.
Anyway, that's all besides the point. The point is we're on a calorie counting website. Calorie counting works. Some people with extremely fucked up diets and lifestyles can use calorie counting as a set of sort of "training wheels", and start to develop good life habits. These people may or may not choose to continue to count calories for the rest of their lives. It's up to each individual.
But again, let me reiterate that this is a calorie counting website. And this is the thread talking about the "secret" to weight loss ON A CALORIE COUNTING WEBSITE.
There are other ways, but that's to discuss somewhere else. I don't go on Harley Davidson forums and tell them their motorcycles suck. Harley Riders succeed at motorcycling just as well as Ducati and Honda riders.
Calorie counting is not a necessary condition for sustained weight loss; but it's a sufficient condition. This is not to say that it's the only method that works.0 -
I just recently learned about negative calorie foods, their are foods that only have a small amount of calories so the body basicaly burns up the calories digesting them leaving you with a calorie deficit I think it's called thermogenetic or something like that. this is the list of food I found when I googled negative calorie foods:
I can't wait to try this myself! good luck
... a complete myth, please dont gorge yourself on these foods alone!0 -
Well, I did NOT remove whatever cave men don't eat.
You admit you eat a surplus, then fault the simple math of calories in vs calories out?The only tip worth noting is to eat at a calorie deficit and exercise. And that's no secret at all. Yet so many ignore it and keep seeking more complicated and misguided approaches.
So why do over 90% of people who attempt to follow this tip fail?
Because they don't stick with it. They give up. They have a bad day, turn it into a bad week, decide to start again "next month", etc. I tried for years to lose weight but it wasn't until I kept at it for several months that I finally succeeded.
This is the kind of response that frustrates me. Its as if the willpower to eat less is trivial.
I have an addiction to refined carbs. If I eat pizza for dinner, I will eat 3-4 slices and then be good for an hour or two. Then I feel the need to eat 2 more slices. So I end up eating 6 pieces at 350 pieces a pop after already eating 1500+ calories during the early part of the day. So I eat 3500 calories or more for all I know and don't burn that much. I have no willpower.
Yet at the same time, I exercise like a maniac. I am a long distance runner, and I will head to my gym at 9pm, do 30-45 mins of lifting and run 6-8 miles on the treadmill. I will do this 3-4 times a week and GAIN WEIGHT. My body wants to be overweight. The more I workout, the more I eat as long as I always have a caloric surplus, my body is happy.
Why do I have the willpower to work my tail off at the gym, but I don't have the willpower to put down a slice of pizza. Come on, there is something wrong with this picture.
For many people with a weight problem, moderation doesn't exist. I don't believe in portion control at all, but I do believe in cheat days, but the less frequent the better.
That's what's wrong with the picture.
Either do or don't do, but again, the process is not what failed; you failed.
And I have as well on this road to peak fitness.
You are seeking some key to staying motivated, and that's a whole different discussion.
I have an answer for that as well.
To see this through, look deep inside and answer for yourself:
Why do I want to be fit?
And attach great pleasure to that as you set this goal.
And then answer for yourself this:
Why don't I want to be fat?
Attach great pain to all the reasons you do not want to be fat.
Few people can actually do this which is why most people fail.
This is the key to internal motivation.
Why is it that a simple point just flies over people's heads. The point is CALORIE INTAKE IS NOT ABOUT WILLPOWER AT ALL. It is FULLY CONTROLLED BY THE BODY. The body either gets it right, or it doesn't. If you try to defeat the caloric needs of your body, you will FAIL. You might success for a week, for a month, for a year, but in the end you will fail.
The body MUST know how to regulate its own caloric intake. I stopped being a failure as soon as I removed unnatural highly carbohydrate-dense foods. Foods that a caveman would never have eaten.
I eat all the things denied Neanderthal Man, and like you, created a calorie deficit.
And we both lost weight.
Hey, again, the key is simple. You did what worked for you, and I did what worked for me.
We both created a deficit and lost weight.
Don't complicate things.
And congratulations on your success by the way!0 -
They aren't gaining weight because of agricultural advancements (specifically, refined processed carbs, for example)... they''re gaining because they (meaning we, as in myself included) live sedentary lifestyles and eat a surplus of readily available food.
Your logic seems to imply that the basic math of calorie deficit only works because we are aware of the concept.... which is really neat, if you wanna get all science-babble about string theory or something... but that's just not the way it works.
Why don't you stop counting calories, and try hunting and farming, and then running from your predators, and see how it goes. You'll lose weight, but it won't have anything to do with processed foods.
This doesn't explain why there are so many people who are naturally skinny and don't feel the need to overeat despite the readily available food. Is it because they are psychologically superior to the rest of us? According to the logic here, they are. No, more likely they are genetically superior and can adapt better to an unnatural diet without gaining weight.
I agree that readily available food has begun the obesity epidemic by giving people the ability to become dependent on unhealthy foods that ruin the body's metabolism. It doesn't change the fact that we can do something about it by simply using the knowledge we gain to avoid eating the foods that we know are bad. But if people want to continue to believe that psychologically trying to defeat the body's hunger is a better, more effective approach, then fine, whatever.0 -
I keep my cat litter box in the kitchen. Nothing takes a craving away like an unburied cat turd.0
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They aren't gaining weight because of agricultural advancements (specifically, refined processed carbs, for example)... they''re gaining because they (meaning we, as in myself included) live sedentary lifestyles and eat a surplus of readily available food.
Your logic seems to imply that the basic math of calorie deficit only works because we are aware of the concept.... which is really neat, if you wanna get all science-babble about string theory or something... but that's just not the way it works.
Why don't you stop counting calories, and try hunting and farming, and then running from your predators, and see how it goes. You'll lose weight, but it won't have anything to do with processed foods.
This doesn't explain why there are so many people who are naturally skinny and don't feel the need to overeat despite the readily available food. Is it because they are psychologically superior to the rest of us? According to the logic here, they are. No, more likely they are genetically superior and can adapt better to an unnatural diet without gaining weight.
I agree that readily available food has begun the obesity epidemic by giving people the ability to become dependent on unhealthy foods that ruin the body's metabolism. It doesn't change the fact that we can do something about it by simply using the knowledge we gain to avoid eating the foods that we know are bad. But if people want to continue to believe that psychologically trying to defeat the body's hunger is a better, more effective approach, then fine, whatever.
There are a lot of studies about why some people do not overeat, and there are MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY reasons for it.
You, my friend, are talking everyone in circles and arguing nothing, at this point.0 -
grinch031, I think it's excellent that you have lost 15 lbs by identifying your Achilles heal (carbs), and cutting it out. I hope you can sustain this forever and live a healthy and prosperous life. And if for some reason you cannot sustain it, I hope you find a balance that you can sustain.
Please be aware, however, that your particular situation is an outlier. You are in the minority. It sucks that you had this additional handicap for whatever reason, but I'm glad you overcame it.
I don't think I'm an outlier at all. Hundreds of thousands of years humanity prove that counting calories is not important. That is because they didn't know what the hell a calorie was until people started gaining weight because of agricultural advancements.
You're right. Counting calories is not important, nor is it necessary for long term success. (But just a reminder that the main purpose of this website is for calorie tracking).
I lost most of my weight without counting a single calorie. I had no clue wtf TDEE or BMR meant or why one would use an HRM. At some point I decided that I wanted to get very lean, so I came here to lose the last 10-15 lbs. I wanted to dial it all in. I was already fit and healthy. I just wanted to go further. I got hooked on the obsessive tracking, I admit it.
I haven't been tracking for the past month or two. I'm on a gain cycle and I know I can intuitively eat in surplus with adequate protein and achieve my bulk. In a few weeks time I will start calorie counting again because I want to get ripped. It's not necessary in life to be ripped, but it's just something I want.
Anyway, that's all besides the point. The point is we're on a calorie counting website. Calorie counting works. Some people with extremely fucked up diets and lifestyles can use calorie counting as a set of sort of "training wheels", and start to develop good life habits. These people may or may not choose to continue to count calories for the rest of their lives. It's up to each individual.
But again, let me reiterate that this is a calorie counting website. And this is the thread talking about the "secret" to weight loss ON A CALORIE COUNTING WEBSITE.
There are other ways, but that's to discuss somewhere else. I don't go on Harley Davidson forums and tell them their motorcycles suck. Harley Riders succeed at motorcycling just as well as Ducati and Honda riders.
Calorie counting is not a necessary condition for sustained weight loss; but it's a sufficient condition. This is not to say that it's the only method that works.
I don't object to tracking calories because they give you good information to see what your body is doing.
And if you want to say my comments are unwelcome because they go against the notion of counting calories, that's fine. I guess I found this place not for that purpose, but because it has a forum to discuss weight loss. My mistake for choosing the wrong forum then.0 -
I thought this was a thread about myths and urban legends. But now I see that it's actually about fairy tales.0
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Work hard, eat right.
And make Pine Cone Bird Feeders.
:flowerforyou:0 -
Bruce Willis was dead the whole movie.0
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Bruce Willis was dead the whole movie.
SPOILER ALERT.0 -
Bruce Willis was dead the whole movie.
Way to give away Die Hard...0 -
Bruce Willis was dead the whole movie.
Way to give away Die Hard...
And every other Bruce Willis movie...0
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