This really gets confusing

Amryfal

i honestly think that some people will try anything/believe anything in order to try and make the weight loss FASTER NOW!!

the poster who said "create a sustainable deficit" - yes. that's the real trick. no particular food will sabotage you; some form of exercise is good, but heck, i'm not the best at working out, i do what i can when i can and leave it at that; sodium will cause water retention but it's temporary, you didn't put on two pounds of fat overnight; eating at a horribly restrictive/unhealthy deficit will only cause problems long-term.

granted there are other health reasons for avoiding sodium and certain foods, and for exercise, but losing weight in and of itself is really that simple.

that, and not defeating yourself by getting frustrated that it's slow and sustainable. (i struggle with that, but after a year of slow and mostly steady, i know it works and i keep reminding myself that it takes time.)

***ETA: because while i was typing, some posters added info about medical conditions, i will say that the above is true IF there aren't underlying medical problems that force a different kind of diet. that really falls under other health concerns, for me, but that isn't true for everyone.

Articeluvsmemphis

It really is common sense, it's the actually doing it thing that gets hard for some people. I hate the phrase "everything doesn't work for everybody"

umm yeah it pretty much does, i had a lot of success without using MFP and a lot with using MFP as well.

you eat less than you've been eating, track it (i'm not strict on every single bite as calorie counting is an estimate anyway)

you find an activity you enjoy and do it

drink water

and that's it. the mental aspect you have to take care of. it's frustrating but that's all the formula is, stick to it=results

BigGuy47

I hate the phrase "everything doesn't work for everybody"

umm yeah it pretty much does,

Ummm no.

What about people with metabolic issues (diabetes, etc.) ? ?
What about people with Celiacs?
What about people with IBS?
etc, etc. etc.

Should they all eat the same thing as everybody else ?

Cokamo

It doesn't have to be confusing, complicated or frustrating. If it is those things, you'll quit because you'll get tired of it. Here is the simplicity I use in my approach. I do journal my food and aim for budgeting my food within my calorie goal. I aim to exercise 3-5 times a week. I do strength to build muscle and shape my body and I cardio to increase endurance and burn extra calories. I aim for foods that give more larger portions for smaller calorie amounts. If you eat 100 calories, for instance, you can have a couple pieces of fruit, a bag of 100 calorie popcorn, or a small piece of chocolate...see the difference? Mostly, I avoid the chocolate, but I have it occasionally if I want it. If I have an event where food is rich, I try to reduce another day and/or ramp up the exercise to compensate. I don't eat a lot of prepackaged/processed meals (no Lean Cuisines/Healthy Choices for me) but shoot for real food. I eat with my family, I may have a smaller portion, alter a recipe or offset with a salad. I aim to reduce refined carbs and sugar...whole grains and good proteins.

I say "I aim" because this is real life. Nothing will be perfect and if I screw up or just want something out of the norm, I'll have it if I decide to but I'll balance it another way. For me, this is about sustainability. I've lost 45 pounds over the past year which is certainly not going to win any races, but I can live like this. It's reasonable and moderate. I can expect this of myself without burning out.

Whatever you decide on, be reasonable with yourself. Make a few small changes at a time and build on them. Keeping track of what you are eating and learning how many calories are in your foods can be very enlightening. Once you understand that, you can make better choices. Don't try to go too fast. If you feel too deprived, you will quit. Don't quit. You'll feel so much better and in 6 months to a year, you'll look back and be amazed. Good luck!!

brandon17013

I feel that weight training and eating enough to lose around a lb a week is best approach. When lifting weights don't get all hung up in BS workout plans. Starting out, I would suggest just doing an upper and lower split. That way you can easily make time to hit the gym at least 2x a week. Lift weight that you can do 10-15 reps with and don't over do it. Use basic, simple movements... don't worry about all the balance ball, bungee cord crap. Keep it simple and enjoyable. Track all the food you put in your mouth (good and bad) and keep within your target calories. Eating greens helps fill you up when dieting ;-) Other than that... enjoy the process or you won't stick with it, and don't get down on yourself too hard if you go out and hog it up occassionally w/family or friends. And when you hit a plateau... don't stress about it. Keep doing what you are supposed to. Remember that your body will fight to stay the way it is... but that means that staying healthy is easier once you get there!

Sidesteal

I hate the phrase "everything doesn't work for everybody"

umm yeah it pretty much does,

Ummm no.

What about people with metabolic issues (diabetes, etc.) ? ?
What about people with Celiacs?
What about people with IBS?
etc, etc. etc.

Should they all eat the same thing as everybody else ?

No, but they all need to create an energy deficit.

JudySwims

About three years ago I lost 25lbs and have kept if off. One trick that I still use to stay on track is this:

Come out of the weekend at the same weight you went into it.

Because weekends are such a downfall for me (and probably others) I aim to stay at same weight on Monday morning that I was on Friday morning. During the week I focused on losing and weekend I just aimed to maintain.

mommaPeach72

For me, the forums are basically entertainment. No one knows my body the way that I do. I will research different diets or diet ideas for myself so that I'm not relying on a bunch of people who may or may not know a lick of what they are talking about. Find some friends who you will trust to support you, and keep on keeping on!! Good luck Sweetie!! :flowerforyou:

TravisBurns

I do my best to keep it simple. I don't try and find all these fancy foods or any specific diet.
I do a simple lifting and cardio routine.
I Cut out all soda and only have water with an occasional powerade zero, and simply moderate the *kitten* food I intake and track what I eat.
Keep within a deficit, keep your macros in check for your body weight and you'll see results.
Im too stupid for complicated *kitten*

nxd10

Good start - track everything.

Two more things . . .

Stay under your net calories
The less processed the food, the more likely it will be healthy and help you lose weight.

korygilliam

First off, good luck on your journey!

My main things I have learned from medical journals or personal experience-
1-Don't believe statements in the forums as gospel and don't pass them on as such, unless you have read studies re: it.
2-The more weight you have to lose, the more of a deficit you can run daily (i.e. if have 200 lbs to lose, can run on 800 net calories a day. If have 50 to lose, shouldn't be less than 1150-1300, depending on your body of course)
3-If I didn't eat my exercise calories back then I wouldn't lose (I would sometimes gain) weight
4-If my net dropped less than 1100 cals, then I wouldn't lose and I would typically gain until I got back over 1300 cals.
5-Water-Don't remember if was a Harvard or Mayo Clinic statement that stated that you need (10) 8 oz glasses of fluids. The main complaint for soda is that it has caffeine and it will 'dehydrate you'. The study showed that people who typically drink caffinated products have adjusted to the caffeine and it causes a minimal (if any) dehydration effect.
6-Yes, fruits and veggies are good for you due to fiber and vitamins, but they aren't required. I hate them both, so I take a multivitamin and eat higher dietary fiber cereal/granola bars (really like Kashi go lean cereal and their granola bars...good for protein too)
7-MUST keep track in your food diary
8-It is ultimately cals in vs cals out. The different cals you put in makes a difference on how full you will feel and for how long. Many studies have debunked the low fat diet due to hormonal effects causing hunger as well as needing the fat...but try to pick items with unsaturated fats (those have been shown to improve health)
9-I like to do average daily net for the week, as opposed to fretting over each individual day. (meaning-I want my daily net cals for WEEK to be 1480. So if I eat 800 cals on Tuesday, I have 600 extra calories on Saturday. This makes it feel less like dieting and I no longer have to give myself a 'cheat day'. This is a lifestyle change and you shouldn't have to 'cheat' to meet your lifestyle. (apparently this is similar to what weight watchers does for their 'flex points' system, but I have never read on it)
10-Exercise become increasingly important as you get closer to your goal. It also allows you to eat more food, but make sure you are tracking your calories burned thru a reputable heart monitor, not just the displays on the equipment or the auto-tally on the MFP page.
11-Start strength training as soon as possible (I failed at this, I prefer cardio). Building muscle may increase your number on the scale, but it makes maintaining and losing weight easier. Muscle burns calories at rest, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.

I think that is enough for now...I need to get ready for the day. Guess I will post this here and in main forum, lol

texastango

... confusing to the point of creating doubt. Doubt that what I am doing is the "right" thing.

Reading a lot of forum posts it sure seems like a very large amount of people are not successful at losing weight, which flies in the face of the posts that it is simply "calories in, calories out" .... then the posts that "you have to exercise"... "have to drink water" ... "watch out for sodium" ... "have to raise metabolism"... "you are in starvation mode"...

AAaaagghhh!! :sad:

Here's what I believe so far

(1) I have to track my food... every bite. I can see where it would be very easy to eat too much unless I track it.

... that's it. That is all I know for sure at this point.

Has anyone ever broke all of this down to simple instructions that work for nearly all people??

It does get frustrating to go through the hunger and change nearly everything I am doing and not see a weight loss... even half a pound would be very encouraging.

Your thoughts?

I do have some advice and I'm going to summerize it here. PM me if you want more information. I can reference it if you want.

1. Weight loss - restrict calories below your current intake - about on average 500 a day for a pound of fat loss.
2. Track everything in the beginning. You're right...you'll be surprise at how fast they add up.
3. Exercise - despite what many think - has been shown recently NOT to really increase your REE (resting energy expenditure) or RMR - resting metabolic rate....you'll burn calories for sure....but if you are dieting new evidence suggests you won't increase your REE. Indeed...it seems you won't even burn as many calories as your HRM or machine says you'll burn. Sad. But no worries...use exercise to get heart healthy.
4. Use carbs as fuel. Take them in during exercise only if the exercise is prolonged (over 45 min). approx 30 - 60 grams an hour if doing 1 - 3 hours of exercise.
5. Dieting will make you lose fat....but you will lose muscle too. That's not a good thing. Add some resistance training to your routine - you might not see the scale move as much....but your appearance and health will be better.
6. Fat intake - fat is an essential and important energy source. 20+ percent of energy of Olympic Atheletes come from fat. Make sure you ingest heart healthy fats high in Monounsaturated or Polyunsaturated (esp omega three) fats. Since the 1990s the American Diet has gone from 40 percent fat content on average to 33 percent. Yet the number of obese people has increased by nearly 20 percent. Getting rid of fat in the diet didn't help. It's both calorie restriction and the types of fat that are important. Don't replace removal of fat from the diet with simple carbs. Go to better carbs/complext for with better Glycemic Load numbers.
7. Find more economical ways to get the nutrition you need. Combine low calories highly nutritious foods you like to get both the benefit of low cal and high amounts of the micro and macro ingredients you need.
8. Just realize that if you are going to work out a lot..your body needs energy to do it well. You get that energy from those terrible words -carbs and fat. Know what you need and when you need it. Use that food as fuel.
9. Ask lots of questions and don't be satisfied till you get a good answer. Read.
10. Have fun. Most importantly make it a game for yourself. Learn along the way. Don't try and do everything at once. This forum was a good start.

Thanks for asking!

One example of how I've changed: Dinner last night - Alaskan Salmon backed topped with a spinach artechoke topping made from Canola Mayo - high in monounsaturated fat - Olive and Lemon Vinegrette - and it was delish!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/dieting-vs-exercise-for-weight-loss/

Amryfal

One example of how I've changed: Dinner last night - Alaskan Salmon backed topped with a spinach artechoke topping made from Canola Mayo - high in monounsaturated fat - Olive and Lemon Vinegrette - and it was delish!

just gotta say YUM.

abcmom03

<snip in interest of space>I'm not going to give you any advice but this ... stop reading the forums.

ummmm, talk about confusing...you're here and posting....so, I'm confused.

Confusing to me also !!!!

popzork

I'll offer a simple suggestion. Ditch the processed foods. Period.

It took me a long time to do it, but now I very rarely eat processed anything and although the weight isn't falling off, it is steadily coming off.

By reducing the amount of processed foods you ingest, your total calories will be lowered, your sodium and sugar amounts will be lowered. Your tastes will change. Your sleep will improve, as will your energy levels, thereby increasing your desire to exercise more. Your cravings for junk will diminish GREATLY, and that also leads to lower calorie intake.

I can go on and on about the benefits I've seen, and I'm not going to tell you it was a breeze. But it is so worth it!

Added benefit - when I do eat something processed now, I feel lousy, which reinforces my desire not to eat it again.

Woodmangler

I'll offer a simple suggestion. Ditch the processed foods. Period.

Working on it!

Thanks. I am going to make this a goal, but I can see it wont be a simple thing.

BigGuy47

...they all need to create an energy deficit.

Agreed. For the sake of clarity it should be said, "An energy deficit works for everybody".

"Everything doesn't work for everybody" is in fact correct. Think about what "Everything" might mean to someone reading these forums:

To do "everything" you read about on the MFP boards you would need to:
- Go Paleo (because carbs are killing all of us)
- Consume massive quantities of Apple Cider Vinegar
- Get plenty of Green Coffee bean extract
- Always eat in the morning
- Never eat in the morning
- Eat six meals a day
- Eat whenever you want
- Don't eat after 7pm
- Never drink Diet soda
- Drink Shakeology
- Eat according to blood type
- Daily dose of Raspberry Ketones
- Don't eat fruit
- Eat lots of fruit
- Do cardio only
- Only do strength training (because cardio "eats" muscles)

* This is the short list.

The OP is right, the sheer volume of random information being thrown at the reader is confusing.

_Mimi_

[/quote]

Teach me how to eat and lose weight, and I will teach you how to ignore forum posts :laugh:
[/quote]
LMAO! This is why I you! :smooched:

cmriverside

BigGuy47 :laugh: Love the Forum Confusion list.

It's so true, when I first started the contradicting info pretty much overwhelmed me.

Now I just stay *around* the same calories, eat almost all whole foods, stay away from added sugars as much as possible, get some exercise, and call it good.

Biggest thing for me was to keep it simple.

My mantras, "Move and your heart will follow." and "You only need so much food."

rileysowner

My thoughts are that people over-complicate their plan and are far too restrictive.

You need to create a sustainable energy deficit. This is a necessity.

This. Just follow the guidelines of this sight. You can't fail if you do that....if you're honest in logging your food, measuring and counting accurately. Develop good habits that you'll keep the rest of your life. And lift weights.

I would agree with this. The more complicated a person makes it, the more they start eliminating certain food not because of a diagnosed sensitivity or allergy to them, the more likely they will fail at simply counting what they eat versus what they burn. Simply tracking my food it the thing that has worked for me. Use this site as it is suppose to be used, read the pinned topics that explain that, and you will lose unless you have some metabolic illness like diabetes or the like.