Losing weight is SIMPLE not complicated

crisanderson27

There it is. Its that easy. *snaps fingers* LOOKIE THERE! Im skinny now! :noway:

Ummm, it really IS that simple and easy. It was for me, because I was driven, and I exercised self-control. It takes TIME, but it's not HARD.

^^^^

Again, well said.

taso42

The amount of people who think the OP was trolling or sarcastic is sadly very telling.

To the rest of us, cheers. :drinker:

AntWrig

Want to know the secret to losing weight or gaining weight?
Here it is:

Find out what your daily caloric maintenance level is. (This is the amount of calories your body burns in a day without any exercise)
This is how fast your metabolism is. myfitnesspal has a decent calculator for this but it usually takes a week or two of experimenting with how much you intake to know your true caloric maintenance level.

For example, it said my maintenance level was 2800 calories a day. After a few weeks of trying to gain weight unsuccessfully, I found my level was more around 3000 calories a day so I adjusted my diet.

If you want to lose weight, first, start with eating 100 or 200 calories less than that amount every day for a week. Weigh yourself after a week and see your results. No change? (because the online calculator maybe didn't get it right) adjust and see what happens the next week.

That's it! Also, know that it does not matter what you eat when it comes to losing weight. You can eat Mcdonalds every day and still lose weight if you eat below your maintenance level. Of course you don't want to eat Mcdonald's everyday because you want to lose weight AND be healthy! two different things!

And you don't address the real problem. The mental aspect behind it all. Take your 1st (and last I hope) and be gone.

You're right, I did not talk about the mental aspect but that's not what the post is about. There are other aspects, but I was just really cutting it down to the simplicity of it all, the simple biology of it. From your picture, I can tell you know I'm right. Oh and another thing, this most definitely will not be my last post. Cheers!

Nah, you're right. I had posted something a long the same lines and I was flamed to all hell. Welcome to the boards.

Kitship

This is not the case for everyone. No matter what calories I eat if my carbs creep up a little all weight loss stops. 1500 calories + 150 carbs... Equals 6 months long frustrating plateau. 1500 cals at 120 carbs lose around 2lbs a week...

Everyone Is different. Please don't label everyone as the same. It is messages like this one that had me believing I was doing everything right and I didn't know why I wasn't losing... It stopped me changing things up!

Not saying my way is the right way for everyone, because everyone is different. I honestly believe if it was just calories in vs calories out there wouldn't be so many obese people. Also along the line of 86lbs lost what works for me has changed a few times along the way... There is always readjusting to find out what will not work for YOU!

Please stop putting out these blanket messages. There might be some people sticking to what your saying and it's not working like it didn't for me... My message to people is to find out what works for you... This will take time and patience but is possible. Play with the micronutrients.

I also believe when you change something you should wait 4 weeks to see if it has worked as your body may freak out the first week or 2 and gain or not lose.

If it's calories in vs calories out your very lucky... So stay with that... If your not so lucky then I want you people to know there is hope by playing with your macros!

Thank you.

^This.

crisanderson27

This is not the case for everyone. No matter what calories I eat if my carbs creep up a little all weight loss stops. 1500 calories + 150 carbs... Equals 6 months long frustrating plateau. 1500 cals at 120 carbs lose around 2lbs a week...

Everyone Is different. Please don't label everyone as the same. It is messages like this one that had me believing I was doing everything right and I didn't know why I wasn't losing... It stopped me changing things up!

Not saying my way is the right way for everyone, because everyone is different. I honestly believe if it was just calories in vs calories out there wouldn't be so many obese people. Also along the line of 86lbs lost what works for me has changed a few times along the way... There is always readjusting to find out what will not work for YOU!

Please stop putting out these blanket messages. There might be some people sticking to what your saying and it's not working like it didn't for me... My message to people is to find out what works for you... This will take time and patience but is possible. Play with the micronutrients.

I also believe when you change something you should wait 4 weeks to see if it has worked as your body may freak out the first week or 2 and gain or not lose.

If it's calories in vs calories out your very lucky... So stay with that... If your not so lucky then I want you people to know there is hope by playing with your macros!

Thank you.

^This.

Even if what you're saying is true. ..consider my next question carefully:

Do you believe that when a stoplight is red, you stop...and when its green...you go?

InnerFatGirl

It's simple in theory, but hard in practise. Like a lot of things, really.

ki4yxo

Sodium?

what about it?

If I ate at McDonalds everyday, I'd be back on blood
pressure medication.

FredDoyle

This is not the case for everyone. No matter what calories I eat if my carbs creep up a little all weight loss stops. 1500 calories + 150 carbs... Equals 6 months long frustrating plateau. 1500 cals at 120 carbs lose around 2lbs a week...

Everyone Is different. Please don't label everyone as the same. It is messages like this one that had me believing I was doing everything right and I didn't know why I wasn't losing... It stopped me changing things up!

Not saying my way is the right way for everyone, because everyone is different. I honestly believe if it was just calories in vs calories out there wouldn't be so many obese people. Also along the line of 86lbs lost what works for me has changed a few times along the way... There is always readjusting to find out what will not work for YOU!

Please stop putting out these blanket messages. There might be some people sticking to what your saying and it's not working like it didn't for me... My message to people is to find out what works for you... This will take time and patience but is possible. Play with the micronutrients.

I also believe when you change something you should wait 4 weeks to see if it has worked as your body may freak out the first week or 2 and gain or not lose.

If it's calories in vs calories out your very lucky... So stay with that... If your not so lucky then I want you people to know there is hope by playing with your macros!

Thank you.

^This.

Even if what you're saying is true. ..consider my next question carefully:

Do you believe that when a stoplight is red, you stop...and when its green...you go?

The answer is yes for the majority of cases. You can confound ANY situation with outliers, so that is just semantics.

LiftAllThePizzas

It's a wonder how the medical profession can do anything at all, since EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. LOL.

Everyone is the same. Get over it.

If we were all molecular clones of each other, that would mean something. If we were all the same then practicing medicine would be much simpler, and clinical drug trials wouldn't ever require more than one test subject.

The idea that "calories in" equals the number of calories that you swallow is an oversimplification, and the number of calories "out" is also not as simple as you expect it to be. Things such as lactose intolerance and one body being more or less efficient at absorbing, storing, or utilizing specific nutrients, can confound either or both sides of your equation. Fats and carbohydrates and proteins are not just three molecules, they are huge classes of molecules which have certain properties in common but also quite a bit of differences in the way they behave in the same body, as well as across different bodies.

Also, losing weight is not an end in itself but a means to an end. People do it because they want to be healthier and/or happier. If your body is not satiated unless you eat enough calories to maintain a morbidly obese body weight, you may be left with the choice between being fat, or feeling like you are starving all the time. It's pointless to "lose weight" if the result is worse than being fat. And cutting calories alone might not lead to better health, depending on what you are eating to achieve your weight loss.

Not everyone likes the same foods either, and not everyone stops being hungry after the same exact amount of caloric intake. So for any individual it is not simply a matter of eating smaller portions until you have a calorie deficit. The reason they were eating more and got fat was because that's what it took to satisfy them, so eating less just produces constant hunger. Again, is it better to be fat and sometimes inconvenienced by it, or torture yourself to be thin and miserable 24/7?

Instead of simply accepting the above as the only two options, by adjusting which types of foods one eats and in what amounts, an individual might find a solution that allows them to stay healthy and happy without constant hunger. I definitely noticed a difference between how hungry I am on a USDA standard 300 carb, 2000 calorie a day diet (which maintains my weight at 200+ pounds) and 100-120 carb, 2000 calorie a day which leaves me satisfied and keeps my weight at a healthy level.

So, if your goal is to maintain a specific weight with absolutely no regard for any other factor such as happiness or good health or not being hungry for the rest of your life, then by all means do stick to the simplistic suggestion of the OP. But if your goal is to find a healthy lifestyle that you actually enjoy, then you might want to try different variations on where your calories come from and which types of foods you eat, and see what works best for you.

titi4j

I think it's slightly more complex than this....

especially for those with underlying conditions both phyiscal (glandular/hormonal) and mental

Well said!!! Also, medications that may be required to treat mental conditions can cause weight gain so it's a constant struggle.

TheRealParisLove

The real question is "How many calories does a person need a day?"

The answer requires some pretty advanced knowledge of algebra or possibly even calculus to get a number that is even remotely close.

Do you really think so? TDEE calculators are good for a ballpark, then trial and error (ie monitoring weight vs calorie input over a few weeks or months) will give you your maintenance level pretty easily. No higher math required.

My point is that 100-200 calories is a ballpark figure. That is a single slice of bread or a single banana. How do you even know if you are remotely close to being over/under your calorie consumption? Unless you have had your own personal VO2 max calculated recently, have had an accurate measurement of your LBM, know how well you body uses glucose in what quantities and under what conditions.

Also, the body uses energy sources differently, creating a different metabolic rate depending on the exact foods consumed. Exercising in the morning vs exercising in the evening will effect how many calories you burn overall throughout the day.

I wish the math were simple, as I flunked out of calculus 3 times before I just gave up. I'd probably be losing weight a lot faster than half a pound a month on average, too, if it was as easy as the OP suggests.

twinketta

Want to know the secret to losing weight or gaining weight?
Here it is:

Find out what your daily caloric maintenance level is. (This is the amount of calories your body burns in a day without any exercise)
This is how fast your metabolism is. myfitnesspal has a decent calculator for this but it usually takes a week or two of experimenting with how much you intake to know your true caloric maintenance level.

For example, it said my maintenance level was 2800 calories a day. After a few weeks of trying to gain weight unsuccessfully, I found my level was more around 3000 calories a day so I adjusted my diet.

If you want to lose weight, first, start with eating 100 or 200 calories less than that amount every day for a week. Weigh yourself after a week and see your results. No change? (because the online calculator maybe didn't get it right) adjust and see what happens the next week.

That's it! Also, know that it does not matter what you eat when it comes to losing weight. You can eat Mcdonalds every day and still lose weight if you eat below your maintenance level. Of course you don't want to eat Mcdonald's everyday because you want to lose weight AND be healthy! two different things!

Well done to you for your first post on a subjective matter and you have put it across really well.

Some of the people already know this information, and I am not berating you for your post. Some people also have exercise problems and eating disorders also so everything is not, sadly, so black and white.

All the people here that are trying to lose weight do not fall under the same category of calories.

leonardjohnes

lol, well it is true. losing weight is simple not complicated http://pinterest.com/pin/267612402829438243/