So exercising and eating right to lose weight is a hoax?

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  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    17 pounds in two months and you're complaining... I think the only thing that isn't working right is your expectations.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    So you can eat a good balanced diet, never go hungry, lose weight and feel better than ever. How exactly is this depressing?
  • elliesem
    elliesem Posts: 2
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    If you're eating the same calories and foods and doing the same work outs and routines, you are probably seeing a steady result.
    But once your body hits a plateau it all stops.
    You gotta change up the work outs and diets- variation.
    If you run 5 miles a day for a month, 5 miles a day isn't gonna cut it anymore. Your body gets used to it.
    Try to vary your workouts- alternate days of different cardio and strength workouts.
    Lift weights to build lean muscle and boost your metabolism AND burn fat.
    If you run, try indoor cycling. If you don't do either of those, look for a different cardio.
    Variation. Keep your body constantly changing.
  • NatalieWinning
    NatalieWinning Posts: 999 Member
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    It's not magic, or fast. So it's not exciting. But it works in the long run. If you aren't in it for the long run, you aren't really here for the boring slow progress that lasts for the long run. Healthy does sound boring. Thats why there are shows like Dr. Oz and weight loss programs or drug solutions like on TV. Thats where the money is. Those people will be back and back and back for more for the next time around. I'm not having any more next time arounds.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    Keep moving foward buttercup!

    So far what is working for me is portion control, more veggies, more water, and moving a little more. I've got a lot further to go than you, so I'm going to need tons of patience too.

    Do what works for you. If it's working great. If it's not revaluate and try something else. You get a life time to experiment. Try to make it as healthy as possible. Dont spend too much times arguing on the forums if there was a 100% answer for weight loss none of us would be fat.
  • Flintbeats810
    Flintbeats810 Posts: 84 Member
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    this is all i KNOW since i lived it. And i realize that not everyone will have the same results as me.

    I've lost 79 pounds in 6 months

    I cook everyday and its either chicken fish or turkey. sometimes steak but in appropriate portions alng with veggies

    I drink plenty of water

    I do 1 hour of cardio a day (two 30 min sessions) plus i work out regulally

    Its a fact that when you add more lean muscle you will burn fat more efficently but I don't think its a necessity to lose weight. Plenty of people do it with cardio alone and then pick up the weights when they reach thier goal weight. I just chose to arrive at my goal weight looking toned at the same time.

    I think most importantly people need to realize where they are getting their nutrition from exactly. (which upsets me about MFP cause i only see the chart on iphone and ipad (not sure about android) and not on the desktop version.)But people are so surprised when they see that they are under their calorie goal but then look at the % break down pie chart thats on the other devices and see that while under there calorie goal they barely took in any protien and that most of what they ate ,although under their goal, if from crabs and fat; mostly fat sometimes.

    Everyone is different and there are so many factors involved that for somone to come in here and say "this is the way it needs to be done or you won't see results" is asinine. I've defied some "logic" by losing what i lost in 6 months. I even have a cheat day every sunday as a reward to myself for having a great week. (i wonder how much weight i would have lost with out the cheat day). I'm just saying find what works best for you. Everything isn't always by the book exact science. I think we can all agree on eat healthy, eat the appropriate amount and the appropriate amount of calories and excersise, wether P90X,ZUMBA,INSANITY,GOLDS GYM, YOUR BASEMENT, YOUR HOUSE, WALKING/RUNNING OUTSIDE, then in most cases you will see results and even thats not guarnteed. But one things is guarnteed is that doing nothing will result in just that.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    Exercise, while important for health, is only a small part of weight loss. Many people overestimate how much they're burning and underestimate how much they're eating.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    This is what a hoax looks like I guess:

    haox.jpg

    Sure you left out the magic pills, raspberry keytones, and green coffee beans to make it look like eating a moderate deficit did all the work. :laugh:
  • almc170
    almc170 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    17 pounds in two months and you're complaining... I think the only thing that isn't working right is your expectations.
    This.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    This is what a hoax looks like I guess:

    haox.jpg

    Sure you left out the magic pills, raspberry keytones, and green coffee beans to make it look like eating a moderate deficit did all the work. :laugh:

    Shhh you're giving away my secrets. I'm not ready to release the magic formula as a supplement yet.
  • ACSL3
    ACSL3 Posts: 623 Member
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    This is what a hoax looks like I guess:

    haox.jpg
    Where is this from?

    That's my past month. It's a little screwy in the beginning because I was pretty dehydrated, but the trend is clear.

    I could be wrong but I think she meant what website. The top looks like fitbit (dark green = calories burned; light green = calories eaten) and the bottom is trend weight. www.fitbit.com and www.trendweight.com
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    This is what a hoax looks like I guess:

    haox.jpg
    Where is this from?

    That's my past month. It's a little screwy in the beginning because I was pretty dehydrated, but the trend is clear.

    I could be wrong but I think she meant what website. The top looks like fitbit (dark green = calories burned; light green = calories eaten) and the bottom is trend weight. www.fitbit.com and www.trendweight.com

    Oh! Yes, you are correct on both counts.
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
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    If you run 5 miles a day for a month, 5 miles a day isn't gonna cut it anymore. Your body gets used to it.

    This can't possibly be true. Isn't burning calories just burning calories, no matter how you do it? What does it mean, "your body gets used to it"? If this were true, I'd have to be running marathons every day by the time I lost all the weight I have to lose.

    I get that using different muscles and stretching your body to do new things is going to make your workouts more interesting and more motivating, and it's good for you generally, but if I ever get to the point where I'm running 5 miles a day and it's not enough to help me lose weight and/or maintain (depending on my calorie intake), I will know I'm in hell. HELL.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    If you run 5 miles a day for a month, 5 miles a day isn't gonna cut it anymore. Your body gets used to it.

    This can't possibly be true. Isn't burning calories just burning calories, no matter how you do it? What does it mean, "your body gets used to it"? If this were true, I'd have to be running marathons every day by the time I lost all the weight I have to lose.

    I get that using different muscles and stretching your body to do new things is going to make your workouts more interesting and more motivating, and it's good for you generally, but if I ever get to the point where I'm running 5 miles a day and it's not enough to help me lose weight and/or maintain (depending on my calorie intake), I will know I'm in hell. HELL.

    if she means calorie burn, then that's completely wrong.

    if she means increases in cardiovascular fitness, then she's probably partially right.

    they are different things.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    If you run 5 miles a day for a month, 5 miles a day isn't gonna cut it anymore. Your body gets used to it.

    This can't possibly be true. Isn't burning calories just burning calories, no matter how you do it? What does it mean, "your body gets used to it"? If this were true, I'd have to be running marathons every day by the time I lost all the weight I have to lose.

    I get that using different muscles and stretching your body to do new things is going to make your workouts more interesting and more motivating, and it's good for you generally, but if I ever get to the point where I'm running 5 miles a day and it's not enough to help me lose weight and/or maintain (depending on my calorie intake), I will know I'm in hell. HELL.

    It's not true. 5 miles a day burns the same number of calories whether you're in shape or out of shape, assuming your technique doesn't change significantly.

    People think that if you're working harder, you're burning more calories. That's not true. I am burning the same number of calories per minute at the beginning of a 5 mph jog, when my heart rate is 75 bpm, as I am 30 minutes later when my heart rate is 135 bpm and I'm drenched in sweat.

    Physical exertion is not directly related to energy consumed.

    The reason you feel like you're doing less work after a month of training at the same speed is that your heart and blood vessels are getting better at delivering oxygen to your body tissues. It's not because your tissues are actually consuming less oxygen.

    And, by the way, oxygen consumption *is* directly related to calories burned. For every liter of oxygen your body consumes, you have burned 5 calories.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Yup, the thousands of people losing weight on this site alone are clearly a part of a huge hoax. It's a massive conspiracy!
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    Worked for me! I almost always ate all of my calories on non exercise days and on exercise days I ate my exercise calories. No problems. No real "plateaus" either. Trust the process.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    You can eat only the healthiest foods and still eat too many calories. It isn't about cutting out all junk. It's about a calorie deficit. Unless there is something physically wrong with you (thyroid or something else), it will work.

    Yes. This. And also, even people with thyroid issues can lose weight.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    That chart was inspiring, so I had to look at my own. Notice that on Feb 22 I started eating a 1000 calorie a day surplus, which is where the green lines cross over. It's also where my weight started going back up and I gained two pounds this week. It works for weight loss, weight gain, and maintaining a weight.

    ETA: also notice I burned 6000 more than I ate and lost approx one pound overall, and that the losses/gains are consistent with the timing and size of my deficit. Given the potential inaccuracy in the estimates that's pretty good that it came out that close!

    calsincalsout.png


    The thing about eating various foods but at the same calorie count is that while the calorie deficit will produce weight loss, the finer point is that you can get better results if you lose weight while eating a well-balanced diet of foods that contain plenty of vitamins and minerals etc, versus the results you will get eating twinkies and crisco. Ultimately the goal is to increase your health so your choices of foods (especially in the most extreme examples, LOL) can make a difference in that respect.

    So while cals in/out is technically all that's needed to lose weight, it's not all that's needed to 'optimize' your health. :)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    You've been posting about a plateau for a few days. You say your started your diet two months ago. Dropping from 205 to 194 is a lot of weight very quickly. Unless you are needing to lose 100+ pounds, that's not a healthy weight loss rate.

    11 pounds in eight weeks sounds pretty reasonable to me ...

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