The real key to losing weight is Metabolism!!

jennifershoo

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tigersword

...that you can always find a study to support the theory you believe to be true.

This is especially true of epidemiology studies and that is part of the problem. Many people look to these studies as definitive, and by design, they are not. A hard scientific study, on the other hand, may be -- if properly designed.

You know all those stories about how "this is bad for you" and then ten years later they say, "oops, maybe it's good for you"? Those typically are the result of misinterpreted epidemiological studies -- drawing a conclusion where none should be drawn.

I've pointed out (IIRC) four studies refuting the point. I have yet to see a study (non-epidemiological) supporting the OP's contention. If anyone would post one I'd be happy to look at it.

...

Here's a thought experiment.

Imagine consuming 2400 Calories in a day equally in 3 meals -- 800 Cals/meal.

Now, imagine eating those same Calories over 6 meals -- 400 Cals/meal.

The hypothetical is that the 6 400 Cal meals boosts metabolism more than the 3 800 Cals/meal.

Now, imagine eating 24 100 Cal meals.

Take it to the extreme: imagine being on an IV drip putting a steady stream of 1.666 Cals/minute into your body.

Does anyone think that doing this will be hugely more beneficial to the metabolism than eating 3 meals a day? If 6 is better than three, wouldn't continuous feeding boost the metabolism immensely? If the former is true but the latter is not, why not?

Love the thought experiment. I like to take a different approach on what I like to call the "wackiness" of the idea of constantly eating every couple hours while trying to burn fat. The human body ALWAYS burns food for energy when there is food to be digested, and then burns fat during fasting periods. If you eat constantly throughout the day, your body is always burning food for fuel all throughout the day, and never burns any fat. Isn't the entire point of trying to lose weight to burn fat? So why do people continuously force feed themselves constant, small meals that never allow their body to enter fat burning mode?

It just doesn't make logical sense to me. I want my body to be in fat burning mode as often as possible, which means eating fewer meals, spaced much farther apart, to allow the shift into fat burning mode. Keeping yourself constantly fed does the exact opposite.

And yes, I know the body burns fat throughout the night, but don't you want it to burn even more fat during the day, also?

littlepinkhearts

bumppity bump bump

SalishSea

Wow! You look great in your picture! So healthy! You are obviously doing what works for you.

Thanks for taking the time to post your suggestion. I try to learn as much as I can about weight loss and use what I think will work for me. It is interesting that the same thing does not work for every human body.

For me... I found drinking lots of water does help to curb my hunger.
For me...I found eating small frequent meals isn't as helpful as eating large portions of low calorie foods 3-4ish x a day.
For me...I found not eating breakfast but instead having coffee with real heavy cream works better ...for me.
For me...I found pre-planning meals is crucial to my weight loss.

I read the entire thread and appreciated both sides of the discussion. I don't think posters were especially rude. Just a difference of opinion.

BTW...mfp has been amazing for my weight loss. I love this site!

1Timothy4v8

Thank you for sharing this, yea I was way to dehadrated before I started drinking more and I feel so much better, my head no longer feels swolon my skin is soft and so many other things, I think people just like to be agumenitive,

JennieAL

Wow! I'm shocked at all the negative posts! This is consistant with all the doctors, nutritionists and physical trainers that I have ever discussed it with. This is how I've lost my weight and how I will continue to live my life.

Thank you for posting - I'm sure there are SOME open minded people that are looking for suggestions.

This! I'd love to know how many of all the "there really is no starvation mode"-posters are actually doctors or scientists...

By this logic, I guess I ought to be Thomas Edison or Henry Woodward in order to flick on my light switch....

Scientific journal articles are published and the general public can benefit from them.

Also, open-minded people are generally the ones not desperately clinging to conventional wisdom in order to preserve status quo.

JennieAL

Thank you for the post on what works for you, great suggestions. I am not sure why people get so serious on these post, when its just suggestions geez!

Some people get "serious" here because they would like to know what actually works and what doesn't. Not all suggestions are good, or accurate. Spewing nonsense is fine for those who want to bumble their way through life... some of us are actually wanting to use the time we have on earth efficiently.

JennieAL

Guess i like broscience then. Call me old fashioned, show me a six pack, tell me how you got it. Good enough for me.

<

---

It was a dark and stormy evening and my car battery had just died. I managed to pull over alongside the highway where, in the pouring rain, I walked for miles on end -- just looking for civilization. After several hours, with mud covering my sneakers and matted down hair, I finally saw light in the distance. I got closer and closer and realized it was some sort of diner.

Finally I arrived. The smell of greasy meat hit me in the face when I opened the door and I immediately sat down on one of the old, beaten stools. A curly-haired lady in her 50's took my order.

"I'd like a bacon cheeseburger with a side of french fries".

No sooner did the word "fries" escape my mouth when a shadow was cast over my body. A man was now standing over me. A big, big burly man. He had to be 6'10 and covered in hair, with a bone in his nose and a large club. He looked rather caveman-like.

In a gruff voice, he muttered:

"OOGA OOGA. Potato NO PALEO"











And I've had a six pack ever since.

:flowerforyou:

EmilyLStuart

I changed my life style 2 years ago and most of the changes I did are listed here. I've lost almost 80 pounds. That's enough proof to me that this stuff works.

Maybe not all of it works for everybody. But all of us have to find what's best for us and make it happen for ourselves.

Good tips dude.

Lozze

I get why people are trying to do here but these ideas can be helpful to people. The idea that people will not benefit or be harmed by eating breakfast, drinking more water or any of the other advice doesn't make sense to me.

You don't have to follow this advice to lose weight. But it won't hurt you and might help some people.

kit8kat

Great post! Thank you for the tips :-)

auranda

bump

jc46

Bump

calgirl43228

The real key to losing weight is expending more calories than you consume. It's The First Law of Thermodynamics: calories in = calories out + accumulation. If you burn more calories than you consume, your body will draw the calories it needs from your fat stores and you will lose weight. It doesn't matter what you eat or when you eat it from day to day. It's calories in and calories out. When you're moving, your body burns calories at a higher rate. When you sit down or sleep, your body returns to its base metabolic rate. If you want to know what really worked for the first poster, take everything in his post that is related to consuming less calories and burning more calories, and discard the rest. You'll then have what really led to his fine physique. All the rest is the "red hat": magical thinking and superstition that defy the First Law of Thermodynamics.

Fit_Canuck

The real key to losing weight is expending more calories than you consume. It's The First Law of Thermodynamics: calories in = calories out + accumulation. If you burn more calories than you consume, your body will draw the calories it needs from your fat stores and you will lose weight. It doesn't matter what you eat or when you eat it from day to day. It's calories in and calories out. When you're moving, your body burns calories at a higher rate. When you sit down or sleep, your body returns to its base metabolic rate. If you want to know what really worked for the first poster, take everything in his post that is related to consuming less calories and burning more calories, and discard the rest. You'll then have what really led to his fine physique. All the rest is the "red hat": magical thinking and superstition that defy the First Law of Thermodynamics.

If it were really that easy then you could just fire all the personal trainers and nutritionists in the world. Way to boil down the complicate subject of nutrition and body mechanics down to Burn More than you Consume.

Your forgetting that your body doesn't immediately go to your fat stores right away.

mjgregg12

Had to weigh in here...(sorry for the pun) but my nutritionist said that the all day eating is NOT good, that your body needs time between meals to process the food you take in at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

2.) Frequency of Eating:

The typical American diet is to skip breakfast, grab a decent lunch, over-eat at supper and snack at night. BAD IDEA!! To promote your body's metabolism, you should eat 5-6-7 times small meals per day. [/quote]

And while we're on it, MFP really needs to stop telling people to only eat 1200 calories, that's starvation mode.

Fit_Canuck

Had to weigh in here...(sorry for the pun) but my nutritionist said that the all day eating is NOT good, that your body needs time between meals to process the food you take in at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

2.) Frequency of Eating:

The typical American diet is to skip breakfast, grab a decent lunch, over-eat at supper and snack at night. BAD IDEA!! To promote your body's metabolism, you should eat 5-6-7 times small meals per day.

And while we're on it, MFP really needs to stop telling people to only eat 1200 calories, that's starvation mode.

Agreed, I know know why everyone is obsessed with this arbitrary 1200 calorie number they need on the screen. They need to get themselves tested to determine their personal caloric needs.

tigersword

It's not MFP's fault everyone sets their profile to the maximum weight loss it allows. The problem isn't MFP telling people to eat so little, it's people trying to rush to lose weight, instead of taking the time to do it the healthy way.

Also, it's not MFP's fault that these same people ignore the exercise calories that they should be eating.

calgirl43228

"If it were really that easy then you could just fire all the personal trainers and nutritionists in the world. Way to boil down the complicate subject of nutrition and body mechanics down to Burn More than you Consume."

What I described is not easy, but it's not complicated either.. If it were easy to burn more calories than you consume, we'd all be slim. We wouldn't be pumping billions of dollars into the weight loss, nutrition, exercise industry that's built around people looking for a magic solution to their weight problems. The real personal trainers and nutritionists are saying exactly what I said. Eat Less. Exercise More. All the rest is red hats. There would be no profit for the hacks, promoting a bunch of junk nutrition and physiology if we'd all just face the facts: we're not going to weigh less unless we put down the fork and get up off of the couch.

Fit_Canuck

"If it were really that easy then you could just fire all the personal trainers and nutritionists in the world. Way to boil down the complicate subject of nutrition and body mechanics down to Burn More than you Consume."

What I described is not easy, but it's not complicated either.. If it were easy to burn more calories than you consume, we'd all be slim. We wouldn't be pumping billions of dollars into the weight loss, nutrition, exercise industry that's built around people looking for a magic solution to their weight problems. The real personal trainers and nutritionists are saying exactly what I said. Eat Less. Exercise More. All the rest is red hats. There would be no profit for the hacks, promoting a bunch of junk nutrition and physiology if we'd all just face the facts: we're not going to weigh less unless we put down the fork and get up off of the couch.

Actually the ones I've met certainly don't put it in such simplistic terms. You need to ingest a certain number of calories over your BMR and do some good exercise to lose weight in the long term safely and in a healthy manner. I've actually been eating substantially more than I ever have and I am still losing weight because I've finally learned that it not about simply eating less and exercising more, it's about giving your body the proper nutrition levels and then exercising in the correct way.

UsedToBeHusky

It's not MFP's fault everyone sets their profile to the maximum weight loss it allows. The problem isn't MFP telling people to eat so little, it's people trying to rush to lose weight, instead of taking the time to do it the healthy way.

Also, it's not MFP's fault that these same people ignore the exercise calories that they should be eating.

So now this has turned into an exercise calorie thread...

Dude, obese people lose weight faster and draw upon fat stores more readily than muscle. It is safe to net calories below "MFP's guidelines". The obese and morbidly obese have no choice but to lose weight quickly. Some are in serious medical need of rapid weight loss now. If MFP really wanted people to follow just their guidelines, then they would not allow you the option of modifying your goals. MFP isn't a diet. It is a tool. That tool can be used however someone sees fit. Sure, there are some that will abuse the tool for unhealthy weight loss. But that doesn't mean that anyone who opts not to follow the guideline has an eating disorder. Good grief!!

big_dog8

Excellent info. This for sharing!

calgirl43228

The reason you're losing weight is you're expending more calories than you consume. Any other explanation defies the laws of physics.

Fit_Canuck

The reason you're losing weight is you're expending more calories than you consume. Any other explanation defies the laws of physics.

Again your over simplifying the science of nutrition. You've proved your point, yes Burning more Calories than you consume means an eventual drop in weight but the real questions are

1) Is it a healthy way of doing it
2) Are you losing the weight from the right areas.

mangozulu

Excellent post! You hit all of the generally accepted scientific concepts (a couple of studies that appear to prove something otherwise mean very little except to say that more research needs to be done) and managed to keep it relatively simple. Thank you:)

IronmanPanda

The reason you're losing weight is you're expending more calories than you consume. Any other explanation defies the laws of physics.

Again your over simplifying the science of nutrition. You've proved your point, yes Burning more Calories than you consume means an eventual drop in weight but the real questions are

1) Is it a healthy way of doing it
2) Are you losing the weight from the right areas.

I didn't realize you could choose where you lost weight from? How does one spot reduce?

mangozulu

The reason you're losing weight is you're expending more calories than you consume. Any other explanation defies the laws of physics.

Ditto:)

Fit_Canuck

The reason you're losing weight is you're expending more calories than you consume. Any other explanation defies the laws of physics.

Again your over simplifying the science of nutrition. You've proved your point, yes Burning more Calories than you consume means an eventual drop in weight but the real questions are

1) Is it a healthy way of doing it
2) Are you losing the weight from the right areas.

I didn't realize you could choose where you lost weight from? How does one spot reduce?

I have never said you spot reduce, but are you losing it from fat stores or converting muscle to fuel a calorie deficit.

wickedcricket

wow- some ppl are just MEAN. Thank you for the post and info. And everything I've read says water IS vital. Every doctor I've ever talked to said if you feel thirsty YOU'RE ALREADY DEHYDRATED.

I would bet anything the poster who drinks only when thirsty is dehydrated. And here's the thing - it's difficult to drink TOO much water but VERY easy to not drink enough. I'd rather error on the side of caution. Dehydration is NO JOKE.
Also, MANY people feel hungry when they are REALLY thirsty. I drink water all day long - when I feel hungry, I know it's hunger & not thirst, but I'll have a drink anyway, just to make sure. I have a BIG drink right before bed and FIRST THING in the morning.
If you drink a glass of water in the morning, you'll be surprised how thirsty you WERE without realizing it.

This man is ONLY trying to help. WHY would he waste HIS time with mis-information? And who are YOU people who are shooting him down!? are YOU nutrionists?
eat or don't eat- drink or don't drink. NO excuse for being rude to other posters.

dino0726

Hi ask4itall - I'm new to the forum. I agree with all of the good advise you gave. Just wanted to add too that how people eat is important too. I have to remind myself that eating slower is better than scarfing down your food. Helps the body realize when it is full.