The Fat Trap - New Data About Obesity

DENALI2017

Read this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Does knowing and understanding this new data about post - weight loss headwinds help or hurt your desire to succeed?

Fani2003

OK, I am like halfway through the article and had to stop.

Um, he had them eat 500-550 calories ONLY per day and is SHOCKED why they GAINED weight after they left his program. REALLY???

..extreme low-calorie diet, which consisted of special shakes called Optifast and two cups of low-starch vegetables, totaling just 500 to 550 calories a day for eight weeks. Ten weeks in, the dieters lost an average of 30 pounds.

At that point, the 34 patients who remained stopped dieting and began working to maintain the new lower weight....But despite the effort, they slowly began to put on weight. After a year, the patients already had regained an average of 11 of the pounds they struggled so hard to lose.

AnvilHead

Neither. The whole article reads to me like the author is fat, has no self-discipline and is selectively looking for excuses to maker her feel better about herself. Plenty of people have successfully lost weight and kept it off.

janalayn

If you are on a diet .. you are going to gain the weight back when you go off the diet. I am not on a diet - I am changing my lifestyle and I do not intend to change it back.

Bentley2718

Note that this study is far from conclusive. But, the results discussed in the NYT article are consistent with what I have experienced. I lost about 100 pounds, and maintained that weight loss for about 2 years, then regained about 20 pounds. During my maintenance period (and now as well), I found that I was constantly hungry, and somewhat obsessed with food, in a way that I was not when I was fat. I will say that it is comforting to know that what I have experienced may have a biological explanation.

Goal_Line

If you are on a diet .. you are going to gain the weight back when you go off the diet. I am not on a diet - I am changing my lifestyle and I do not intend to change it back.

Here! Here!

Railr0aderTony

I just know that it will be a battle for the rest of my life and I am fine with that. Thank God For MFP

Fani2003

If you are on a diet .. you are going to gain the weight back when you go off the diet. I am not on a diet - I am changing my lifestyle and I do not intend to change it back.

^^^^THIS

anna0478

I did the extremely low calorie deal a couple years ago 700-800 per day, and exercised like crazy 5 days per week. I lost 30 pounds in three months. Unfortunately, I could not sustain that and gained it all back plus some. Seems like some crazy crash diet to me.

DENALI2017

Well, that was one controlled study among others. Deeper into the article, it discussed the tracking of the calorie burn for people both pre and post weight loss. Ultimately, the theory is that individuals who gained serious weight and then lost, are slight less efficient at burning calories than individuals that maintain a constant healthy weight throughout their life. The conclusion was that this information (which may or may not be accurate as it depends on the individual) should help people who realize the difficulty in maintaining weight. Kind of an "always be vigilant" idea.

Either way, the real question is will this data be shown to be accurate and will this information help or hinder people in their "maintenance stage?"

LordBezoar

The key here is that these people have learned NOTHING about how to eat day to day. Yes, doing an extreme diet will help you to drop pounds quickly, but we all know what happens with an extreme diet--and that is what they are talking about here. People generally want to be skinny and still eat their baconators and 1lb hamburgers and whatever else and still keep the weight off. Some people can do this, others of us cannot and never will be able to. DW and I have completely changed our eating and exercise habits, but we still eat real food--In fact, I would say that we are eating more real food now than we ever have in our lives.

I guess that the summary of my response is an emphatic no, it definitely does not change my position or my success possibilities. I am doing this in a sustainable, long term manner that will allow me to keep the weight off and still live a normal life.

marnijojo

There is probably some truth to the biological and pshyiological (spelling?) changes in people that lose weight that add to the challenges of maintaining the weight loss; however, I found encouragement in the section about the Weight Loss Registry people. One person was quoted saying that she will always need to be 'aware' of food and I think that is very true, it will be a battle that I will wage every day of my life. And it is well worth the effort.

AnvilHead

The key here is that these people have learned NOTHING about how to eat day to day...

Exactly. Some people lose their weight through extreme calorie restriction (with or without vigorous exercise programs), then when they get to their goal weight they figure "it's all good!" and resume their former eating habits and sedentary lifestyle. The result is predictable.

I speak from first-hand experience. I lost 40 pounds in 12 weeks on the Atkins diet about 12 years ago. When I resumed my former eating habits (which would probably not be considered 'normal' - I have the capacity for HUGE calorie intake) and sitting on my butt all day, I gained the weight back within less than a year. I don't blame anybody or anything but myself for it.

WonderKP

very interesting...all I can say is that I'm grateful I've always been 'naturally' at a healthy weight. And yes, I agree with what other people are saying... when you 'diet' to loose weight, that 'diet' is not temporary...it must become your way of life. hence, crash diets never work for long.

liviic

This article was ridiculous. Are there genetic factors that play a part in weight gain/loss? Absolutely. My boyfriend eats like a pig, never exercises, and remains thin while I have a pint of ice cream now and then and pick up weight immediately. Some people even have medical issues which can lead to weight gain (thyroid, diabetes, etc.). Does that mean I can't lose weight and keep it off? Absolutely not!

If we look at the types of food we consume, it is easy to see why Americans are obese. Look at the calories of most dishes in restaurants, not to mention portion size! If an average and healthy calorie consumption for most people is 2,000 calories a day (according to the FDA), and one eats a 2100 calorie meal (my favorite dish and side salad at BJs Restaurant/Brewery), then there will inevitably be an overconsumption of calories that day. Portion sizes, processed food, hormones and antibiotics, pesticides...these all contribute to a change in how the body reacts to food.

In the end, it does come down to less and better food and more exercise. In this nation people exercise less today that they ever did. Most people have sedentary or light manual labor jobs. The amount of energy expended by Americans today than in the past has decreased significantly, which is why we need gyms to exercise instead of doing losing weight through churning butter or hunting down buffalo.

It is absolutely a lifestyle change, and maintenance does require viligance, like in every other aspect of life.

yarwell

So the study cited shows a weight loss average 13.5kg in 10 weeks followed by a regain of 5.5 leaving them 8kg better off after a year. 0.33 lbs/week.

Shame they didn't measure the food intake behind the regain, they were unable to explain it in terms of the things they measured :-

"There were no significant correlations between weight regain (as a percentage of initial weight loss)
and fasting or 4-hour area under the curve (AUC) values for hormones or VAS appetite ratings at
week 10. There were also no significant correlations between week 0-10 changes in hormone and
VAS measures and weight regain percentage."

So the measured challenges don't explain the weight regain with any statistical significance.

There was a slightly obvious but still vague correlation between regain and food attitude :-

" A stepwise regression analysis using
Akaike information criterion (AIC) chose only VAS scores “urge to eat” and “preoccupation with
thoughts of food”, although neither was statistically significant (both p > 0.1)."

beauty2323

If you are on a diet .. you are going to gain the weight back when you go off the diet. I am not on a diet - I am changing my lifestyle and I do not intend to change it back.

^^^^THIS

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mfpcopine

Neither. The whole article reads to me like the author is fat, has no self-discipline and is selectively looking for excuses to maker her feel better about herself. Plenty of people have successfully lost weight and kept it off.

Even though I usually like the author's writing, that was my conclusion. This article is almost seven months old, btw.

My personal belief that I should never get overweight because it would be difficult to lose the pounds was definitely confirmed.

Sabine_Stroehm

If you are on a diet .. you are going to gain the weight back when you go off the diet. I am not on a diet - I am changing my lifestyle and I do not intend to change it back.

^^^^THIS

THIS +1

_AllieCat_

If you are on a diet .. you are going to gain the weight back when you go off the diet. I am not on a diet - I am changing my lifestyle and I do not intend to change it back.

AMEN! This is the difference between people who gain it all back, and those who can maintain. If you're eating 550 calories a day, yes your body is going to be screwed up and try it's hardest to put the weight back on.

Captain_Tightpants

Nothing new here. We've known for decades that extreme cal deficits lead to weight regain. The stats are unequivocal on it - 95% "failure" in the US.

Which is why mfp advocates a gentle cal deficit, a steady weight loss of no more than 2lbs per week, and sustainable lifestyle changes instead of "dieting".

If you go back to the way you were originally eating after dieting, the weight comes back and brings friends along for the ride too. Success=lifetime change, so be careful that you enjoy the changes you are making.

Akious

There are so many things wrong with that study, its laughable.

sheeler301

I was thinking the same thing and stopped pretty much reading it not much after seeing that part.

OK, I am like halfway through the article and had to stop.

Um, he had them eat 500-550 calories ONLY per day and is SHOCKED why they GAINED weight after they left his program. REALLY???

..extreme low-calorie diet, which consisted of special shakes called Optifast and two cups of low-starch vegetables, totaling just 500 to 550 calories a day for eight weeks. Ten weeks in, the dieters lost an average of 30 pounds.

At that point, the 34 patients who remained stopped dieting and began working to maintain the new lower weight....But despite the effort, they slowly began to put on weight. After a year, the patients already had regained an average of 11 of the pounds they struggled so hard to lose.

yarwell

Nothing new here. We've known for decades that extreme cal deficits lead to weight regain. The stats are unequivocal on it - 95% "failure" in the US.

The 95% failure is general across all diets though, isn't it ? Researchers use high deficits to get measurable and significant changes in a time scale they can afford (and the subjects can adhere to).

Anyone link me to a study that shows regain as a function of deficit ?

PittShkr

*kitten* Trap!

RockaholicMama

I'm not dieting. This isn't some fad. It's an entire life style change or eating the way I should.

TexanThom

WOW!! That was one long line of BS.

krisiepoo

Note that this study is far from conclusive. But, the results discussed in the NYT article are consistent with what I have experienced. I lost about 100 pounds, and maintained that weight loss for about 2 years, then regained about 20 pounds. During my maintenance period (and now as well), I found that I was constantly hungry, and somewhat obsessed with food, in a way that I was not when I was fat. I will say that it is comforting to know that what I have experienced may have a biological explanation.

when I was/am fat prior to my lifestyle change I didn't obsess about food because I at whatever I wanted

janeite1990

Yes, all these studies are messed up. BUT, I still enjoyed reading it. I agree about lifestyle change versus diet. I also agree about the quality of the calories people consumed in these studies. Slow and steady wins. Starvation diets will fail. Eat real food that is healthy and exercise as hard as you can. That's about it, right?

JoeSzup

So let me get this straight... if you starve yourself, then start eating a whole bunch of calories... you put on weight?!?! Say it ain't so Batman! Did you notice the trend of the study? Starve the participants, then give them lots of food, but LIMIT their workouts? Hmmm... wonder if that had anything to do with it. I see no data on metabolic rates (something that can easily be measured in a laboratory setting), and I see a lot of generalities.

Also, the whole "very few success stories" part was a buncha hogwash. Read that section. Notice a pattern? Those who maintained their weight loss, still record calories and still work out. Really? DUH! How are you going to maintain a balance between what you burn, with what you consume, if you don't track? (comment notwithstanding those who have true medical weight problems)

Remember ladies and gentlemen, don't believe everything you read on the internet. Find what works FOR YOU, and the fark with everyone else.

Ticktockman

That whole article could be summed up in two sentences:

1. Losing a lot of weight and keeping it off is difficult (though not impossible) for a variety of poorly understood biological reasons.
2. Keeping weight off for the long term requires constant caution and vigilance.

My own past experience has shown that it's incredibly easy to gain weight back after losing it. I have to accept that being careful about what I eat, and how much I exercise, will be something I need to do for the rest of my life.