Fat loss: The Methods are Many, The Principles Few

zaph0d

Thanks for sharing, especially the excellently articulated quote you provided.

Elleinnz

Totally agree - I lost my first 120lbs just cutting calories and getting my butt off the couch.....Simple calories in vs calories out....

I now follow a Paleo lifestyle, and IF, but make very sure that I tell any person that want to friend me that this is not actually how I lost the majority of my weight!! The lifestyle change is because it works for me - I feel I am eating healthier - and feel better for it - but is not a silver bullet for weight loss - in fact - I have only lost 8kgs since I went Paleo - but part of that is that I have also reduced my deficit dramatically from what it was when I was very obese....

Lina4Lina

As a vegan, I agree. I don't like when people have magical thinking about their diet. Low carb seems to have this the most and I think it is due to the drastic water/glycogen loss that occurs at the beginning. You also see people pushing vegan diets thinking it magically results in weight loss, it does not. A lot of people lose weight initially because they cut off many sources of former high calorie foods and may even add in a lot more vegetables and other healthier foods.

Qskim

Bump cos I'm on phone n want to read on computer.

conniehv40

bump to read later!

DaveRCF

This should be required reading around here.

http://www.andrewgriffinfitness.com/fat-loss-the-methods-are-many-the-principles-few/

snip:

Where the confusion lies

Some popular methods en vogue these days are Low-carb diets, The Paleo Diet, and Intermittent Fasting, just to name a few. Now, these can also be looked at as “lifestyles” rather than diets but many people use them primarily as a way to lose fat. Also, I want to mention that these diets (as well most others) purport to have specific health benefits to those that adhere to them aside from losing fat. However, for the purpose of this article I am going to ignore those aspects, as it would require a far longer discussion as to the validity of the claims made.

Personally, I have no problem with individuals following any of the methods listed above if it allows them to successfully reach their goals. The issue I have is with the tendency of adherents to specific diets to almost uniformly assert that the reason why they lost fat was because they went low-carb, started following a paleo diet, or a vegetarian diet for that matter. Following the tenets of any of these three diets was not why you lost weight; it was simply the method by which you did so.

And as a secondary reading to this topic:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/all-diets-work-the-importance-of-calories.html

So true. calorie deficit = weight loss. Pure and simple. But any diet that promotes eating a ton of fruits and veggies along with protein has to be beneficial in the long haul. Getting your daily calories by eating a pint of ice cream and nothing else is probably not the way to go long-term.

I would also add that people need to tailor their approach to their goals, personality and lifestyle. It must be sustainable to work. There are many, many ways for us to meet our goals. Evangelists of one particular diet or another are likely those whose aforementioned traits clicked with the diet they are preaching about. Good for them, but not necessarily for others.

ndj1979

good article..enjoyed the read and so true...