A side thread off of the 5000 calorie day thread...

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Replies

  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
    I think the OPs confusion isn't with the advice the successful people give. She wonders how they got successful if they eat so badly. I think some of you are answering this, but in a roundabout way.
    The thing is: The people who are most supportive and give the best advice probably have been at this for a long time. That's how they got knowledgeable. They now have things under control and can afford an indulgence now and then. For them, bacon is not such a big deal anymore, and it shouldn't be.
    But, that is why what seems like a contradiction really isn't.

    No, not quite. If I'm reading you right you think that these people "afford an indulgence" NOW that they are at goal, or close to. But that isn't what they are saying. They are saying they did this and STILL achieved goal. They got successful while not eliminating the foods they love and crave, just making it fit into their macros.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    if someone would have told me to eat whatever i want in moderation when i first started losing weight i would have failed miserably.......i was as strict as you could be the first 6 months which engrained the habit of eating clean and healthy then loosened up from there to integrating my favorite unhealthy options into my diet on occasional basis...i think telling someone who has 100 lbs to lose that you should eat whatever you want in moderation is irresponsible. by the way i lost my first 40 lbs by not touching a weight and only doing cardio and eating 1200 cals a day...and by looking at my pics you can see i shouldnt have done this because the cardio ate away all my muscles when i went into "starvation mode"

    I see what you are saying, but most of us are not saying to eat whatever you want in moderation whenever you want!

    we are saying meet your macro goals first, then leave a small amount for something enjoyable.
  • Krys_140
    Krys_140 Posts: 648 Member
    if someone would have told me to eat whatever i want in moderation when i first started losing weight i would have failed miserably.......i was as strict as you could be the first 6 months which engrained the habit of eating clean and healthy then loosened up from there to integrating my favorite unhealthy options into my diet on occasional basis...i think telling someone who has 100 lbs to lose that you should eat whatever you want in moderation is irresponsible. by the way i lost my first 40 lbs by not touching a weight and only doing cardio and eating 1200 cals a day...and by looking at my pics you can see i shouldnt have done this because the cardio ate away all my muscles when i went into "starvation mode"
    And if I had started off with such a strict diet, I would have rage quit. It's not irresponsible - it worked for me, and it's worked for others. It's just different from what you decided would work for you. Congrats on your losses.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    A. We don't eat 5000 calories a day all the time. Some people do it as a refeed, some people do it to celebrate reaching a certain milestone, and some people simply realize one indulgent day is not going to undo weeks, months, or even years of hard work.

    B. That thread was started by a woman who had a specific reason for wanting to eat 5000 calories in a day, and she was asking for suggestions on what to eat. She was not asking for opinions on whether or not she SHOULD eat 5000 calories in a day.
    Most average people aren't putting in the workouts that these ripped people obviously do that make eating like that and looking like THAT possible.

    Then those people should maybe get off their *kitten* and stop being so average. If you want to eat like a boss and look like a boss, you have to train like one, too.
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    You're making it sound like those people are so extraordinary and spend hours and hours in the gym. They're still normal people, they just have discipline and are consistently working hard while still enjoying life.

    Some of those 'normal folks' you're talking about have trouble sticking with a diet precisely because it's so strict.

    But please, continue talking about them like they're freaks of nature, it's helping your point.

    All this right here. I spend 60 mins working out 3x per week and 15-30 mins working out on 3 other days. It's not exactly superhuman to get in 45 mins of exercise 6 days per week. I don't even run. So yes, please stop acting like people that get in shape are from a different planet or something. A lot of the "super shape" people have 'before' photos that would blow your mind with how out of shape they were when they began.

    I ask you a counter question: Since it's known that most people fall off the diet wagon because it's too restrictive and they end up missing their favorite foods, what is so wrong with telling them that they can lose weight while continuing to eat things they enjoy? So many threads here are "OMGZ I BINGED THIS WEEKEND AND ATES A DONUT SO NOW I WANT TO GIVE UP." And we're like, "Meh, whats wrong with donuts, don't panic, eat your normal calorie deficit today and you'll be fine."

    In one corner I see a bunch of people achieving incredible results without stressing out, having a good time, telling jokes, and making post after post trying to help people. In the other corner, I see a bunch of people stressing out about invisible nutritional boogeymen, panicking if they don't have access to "clean" foods, having anxiety attacks about eating a company functions and family holidays, and continually dropping from the site because they had two days of fast food so they quit everything.

    I know which corner I want to stand in. How bout you?

    This is excellent!

    Most of the successful people on this site have developed a healthy relationship with "all" foods. They understand that it isn't the particular foods that are making people fat, but the amount of particular foods that are making people fat.

    Build your diet around your life not your life around your diet.
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
    if someone would have told me to eat whatever i want in moderation when i first started losing weight i would have failed miserably.......i was as strict as you could be the first 6 months which engrained the habit of eating clean and healthy then loosened up from there to integrating my favorite unhealthy options into my diet on occasional basis...i think telling someone who has 100 lbs to lose that you should eat whatever you want in moderation is irresponsible. by the way i lost my first 40 lbs by not touching a weight and only doing cardio and eating 1200 cals a day...and by looking at my pics you can see i shouldnt have done this because the cardio ate away all my muscles when i went into "starvation mode"

    I guarantee you that you would be much larger and further ahead had you NOT eaten 1200 cal and cardio'd yourself to death...... you are just now rebuilding what your body consumed
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Without reading through all the responses (I did read the OP), here are my thoughts:

    First, I wish I had a time machine to go forward 20 or 30 years into the future and see how those people eating dirty yet sporting six packs are doing. Seriously. Then, I'd like to take a peek at myself and some of the other clean eaters here and see how we compare.

    Because I have heard so many stories of people who had great physiques in their younger years who are suffering from all kinds of degenerative (and preventable!) diseases, who have a beer belly and are totally out of shape.

    I believe that you can get away with eating dirty for a while. I did for a summer--ate at Taco Bell almost every lunch, but I was walking a good portion of the day and lost weight. However, that's not something I could do now in my 30's after having 3 children. And most people can't walk as much as I did to keep the calories down.

    In hindsight, I'm in the second best shape of my life right now, minus the weight I need to lose. The first best shape would be when I was doing P90X when I got pregnant with my 3rd. And my goal is that by the next pregnancy (I kind of feel like we'll have another one), I want to be in even better shape than that! MFP is helping me do that. :happy:

    Most of the people responding to this, in support of eating what you want, are in their mid 30's and 40's. Just sayin'.
  • ILoveTheBrowns
    ILoveTheBrowns Posts: 661 Member
    if someone would have told me to eat whatever i want in moderation when i first started losing weight i would have failed miserably.......i was as strict as you could be the first 6 months which engrained the habit of eating clean and healthy then loosened up from there to integrating my favorite unhealthy options into my diet on occasional basis...i think telling someone who has 100 lbs to lose that you should eat whatever you want in moderation is irresponsible. by the way i lost my first 40 lbs by not touching a weight and only doing cardio and eating 1200 cals a day...and by looking at my pics you can see i shouldnt have done this because the cardio ate away all my muscles when i went into "starvation mode"

    I guarantee you that you would be much larger and further ahead had you NOT eaten 1200 cal and cardio'd yourself to death...... you are just now rebuilding what your body consumed



    i started 11/2010.......ive looked the way i look now for the last 15 months
  • I cant eat my 1200 calorie a day that my doctor has me on. How can u eat 5,000 calories. I need help in eating the calories I'm suppose to eat. Any ideas on how I can eat the calories I am supposed to eat in a day?
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    I think the message that gets lost is this:

    You can eat ANYTHING as long as you PLAN for it within your calories.

    The question that most often brings out the "I eat whatever I want" responses is usually coming from someone new to "dieting", who for whatever reason believes that they have to eat healthier in order to lose weight. They start off their new lifestyle by severely restricting their diet to things they may not enjoy, and eliminate things they have always loved eating, out of some misguided notion that this is the way it has to be.

    And, the results of such a major change in habits are typically immediate success, followed fairly quickly by failure to continue following the new "diet" because it's too restrictive, too big of a change too quickly, and not nearly enjoyable enough to keep up. That's how you end up with "cheat days", "binges" and other backsliding.

    Those of us who've had some measure of success by simply eating in moderation tend to want to spread the word that it can be done this way, and that it is much easier to keep up with because it requires a LOT less will power than a 100% change in diet would.

    For those individuals who wish to eat healthier, I say there is nothing wrong with that. Just do it gradually. Changing your eating habits is just like changing any other habit. It requires practice, will power, and constant attention. If you change everything about how you eat, it requires that much more of all three, and is unsustainable for most people (not all people, but most).

    quoted for brilliance.
    :drinker:
  • ILoveTheBrowns
    ILoveTheBrowns Posts: 661 Member
    if someone would have told me to eat whatever i want in moderation when i first started losing weight i would have failed miserably.......i was as strict as you could be the first 6 months which engrained the habit of eating clean and healthy then loosened up from there to integrating my favorite unhealthy options into my diet on occasional basis...i think telling someone who has 100 lbs to lose that you should eat whatever you want in moderation is irresponsible. by the way i lost my first 40 lbs by not touching a weight and only doing cardio and eating 1200 cals a day...and by looking at my pics you can see i shouldnt have done this because the cardio ate away all my muscles when i went into "starvation mode"

    Most important part of any diet is adherence, the more strict the diet, the less adherence has been shown to be. So it'd prob be irresponsible not to promote the most flexible way of dieting.


    i understand it works for some i jsut feel a majority of people starting out cant handle the responisibility....i feel it equates telling a guy whos trying to kick smoking that its ok to smoke every now and then just dont overdue......some people could quit that way....most would go right back to smoking a pack a day
  • kitka82
    kitka82 Posts: 350 Member
    I believe that you can get away with eating dirty for a while. I did for a summer--ate at Taco Bell almost every lunch, but I was walking a good portion of the day and lost weight. However, that's not something I could do now in my 30's after having 3 children. And most people can't walk as much as I did to keep the calories down.

    Ugh Taco Bell is a weight loss plan in itself. Every time I eat that crap I spend the whole next day regretting it.

    Anyway. I lost over 60 pounds eating less of whatever I wanted. I ate fast food, red meat, ice cream, and 100 calorie packs. I ate sugar free fudgsicles every day lol. That's not ALL I ate though. And I did drink water.

    I eat a bit differently now. Less 100 calorie packs. More whole foods. Still whatever I want. Lucky for me I like veggies and fruits and now eggs. The point is that you don't need to eat a certain way to lose weight, as long as you are eating at a caloric deficit.

    Show me someone who lost weight without drinking any water, and we'll talk.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    Without reading through all the responses (I did read the OP), here are my thoughts:

    First, I wish I had a time machine to go forward 20 or 30 years into the future and see how those people eating dirty yet sporting six packs are doing. Seriously. Then, I'd like to take a peek at myself and some of the other clean eaters here and see how we compare.

    Because I have heard so many stories of people who had great physiques in their younger years who are suffering from all kinds of degenerative (and preventable!) diseases, who have a beer belly and are totally out of shape.

    I believe that you can get away with eating dirty for a while. I did for a summer--ate at Taco Bell almost every lunch, but I was walking a good portion of the day and lost weight. However, that's not something I could do now in my 30's after having 3 children. And most people can't walk as much as I did to keep the calories down.

    In hindsight, I'm in the second best shape of my life right now, minus the weight I need to lose. The first best shape would be when I was doing P90X when I got pregnant with my 3rd. And my goal is that by the next pregnancy (I kind of feel like we'll have another one), I want to be in even better shape than that! MFP is helping me do that. :happy:

    Most of the people responding to this, in support of eating what you want, are in their mid 30's and 40's. Just sayin'.

    41 here.

    33110506_7742.jpg
  • SweetestLibby
    SweetestLibby Posts: 607 Member
    if someone would have told me to eat whatever i want in moderation when i first started losing weight i would have failed miserably.......i was as strict as you could be the first 6 months which engrained the habit of eating clean and healthy then loosened up from there to integrating my favorite unhealthy options into my diet on occasional basis...i think telling someone who has 100 lbs to lose that you should eat whatever you want in moderation is irresponsible. by the way i lost my first 40 lbs by not touching a weight and only doing cardio and eating 1200 cals a day...and by looking at my pics you can see i shouldnt have done this because the cardio ate away all my muscles when i went into "starvation mode"
    And if I had started off with such a strict diet, I would have rage quit. It's not irresponsible - it worked for me, and it's worked for others. It's just different from what you decided would work for you. Congrats on your losses.

    I think that the difference is understanding what "moderation" is for you. I dieted several times with the strict mindset and ended up raging, quiting, and binging. Once I learned what my "moderation" was I was able to do it and stick with it.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    i think most of the people making the posts you are talking about have mentioned moderation and they probably assume we are all adults and have a bit of common sense.

    you obviously know not to eat 5000 cals a day if you have had to sign up to this site in the first place.
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
    To me, counting calories and losing body fat is kind of separate from my desire to eat a healthy, organic, fresh diet.
  • majope
    majope Posts: 1,325 Member
    Without reading through all the responses (I did read the OP), here are my thoughts:

    First, I wish I had a time machine to go forward 20 or 30 years into the future and see how those people eating dirty yet sporting six packs are doing. Seriously. Then, I'd like to take a peek at myself and some of the other clean eaters here and see how we compare.

    Because I have heard so many stories of people who had great physiques in their younger years who are suffering from all kinds of degenerative (and preventable!) diseases, who have a beer belly and are totally out of shape.

    I believe that you can get away with eating dirty for a while. I did for a summer--ate at Taco Bell almost every lunch, but I was walking a good portion of the day and lost weight. However, that's not something I could do now in my 30's after having 3 children. And most people can't walk as much as I did to keep the calories down.

    In hindsight, I'm in the second best shape of my life right now, minus the weight I need to lose. The first best shape would be when I was doing P90X when I got pregnant with my 3rd. And my goal is that by the next pregnancy (I kind of feel like we'll have another one), I want to be in even better shape than that! MFP is helping me do that. :happy:

    Most of the people responding to this, in support of eating what you want, are in their mid 30's and 40's. Just sayin'.

    41 here.
    49 here. No superpowers, no genetic freak. Active (runner) but not a gym rat. 200 pounds back at Christmas, 2010. 159 today, 7 pounds to goal weight.

    Open diary.

    6092675_7327.jpg6092675_9827.jpg

    Edited for date typo.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    I cant eat my 1200 calorie a day that my doctor has me on. How can u eat 5,000 calories. I need help in eating the calories I'm suppose to eat. Any ideas on how I can eat the calories I am supposed to eat in a day?

    How'd you become over weight if you can't eat 1200 calories a day?
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
    It's much better to put in the work necessary to learn how to have a healthy attitude towards food. The more restrictive your diet is, the less sustainable it is in the long term. Learn to eat in such a way that you can not only enjoy food, but enjoy it for the rest of your life without agonizing over it. If we'd all learned to balance it out the same way the successful people referenced here have, there'd be far fewer of us in need of a place like this.

    To all the reasonable people in this thread:
    tumblr_mlzmkjMCAJ1rihvv9o1_500.gif
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    I know which corner I want to stand in. How bout you?
    Yea, I'm with this guy.

    I'm standing over her with Dave and Lea.

    Totally, totally, totally want to stand in this corner!

    I'm standing here with Ges...

    Look, to me, it's like this: I lift three times a week and do C25K three times a week. On my rest day I still do "stuff" like walking the dogs, gardening, etc. You have to put fuel in the car if you want to go somewhere. If I meet my macros and get all my good stuff in, if I want wine, sunflower seeds, or even FRENCH FRIES, I am going to have them. It's that simple.

    Cutting out all of my favorite stuff is not sustainable. Not at all for me. I want to be happy while I experience this lifestyle; not be miserable...

    So I hope there is room for one more in the happy corner. :bigsmile: <-- happy me

    ETA: I don't spend two hours in the gym. I lift for 45-60 minutes and Couch to 5K 30-40 minutes...I don't abandon anyone, neglect anyone, or shirk my responsibilities. :drinker: My bubble baths last longer than the majority of my workouts.
  • homerjspartan
    homerjspartan Posts: 1,893 Member
    I'm going go out on a limb here and assume the OP's ticker isn't similar to mine.


    Please, OP, keep telling me what I'm doing wrong. I obviously have no clue what I'm doing.

    First, that shirt does NOT go with those pants. Next your hair, OMG woman...srsly..... let's not even get into your choice of movies.... sorry, Edward and Jacob are not real vampires... and what kind of name is Renesmee. Need I go on?????

    PS - congrats on the whole losing 140 lbs... bla bla blah


    As for the rest of this thread - 4 words -

    MOD
    URR
    AYE
    SHUNN
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    You're making it sound like those people are so extraordinary and spend hours and hours in the gym. They're still normal people, they just have discipline and are consistently working hard while still enjoying life.

    Some of those 'normal folks' you're talking about have trouble sticking with a diet precisely because it's so strict.

    But please, continue talking about them like they're freaks of nature, it's helping your point.

    All this right here. I spend 60 mins working out 3x per week and 15-30 mins working out on 3 other days. It's not exactly superhuman to get in 45 mins of exercise 6 days per week. I don't even run. So yes, please stop acting like people that get in shape are from a different planet or something. A lot of the "super shape" people have 'before' photos that would blow your mind with how out of shape they were when they began.

    I ask you a counter question: Since it's known that most people fall off the diet wagon because it's too restrictive and they end up missing their favorite foods, what is so wrong with telling them that they can lose weight while continuing to eat things they enjoy? So many threads here are "OMGZ I BINGED THIS WEEKEND AND ATES A DONUT SO NOW I WANT TO GIVE UP." And we're like, "Meh, whats wrong with donuts, don't panic, eat your normal calorie deficit today and you'll be fine."

    In one corner I see a bunch of people achieving incredible results without stressing out, having a good time, telling jokes, and making post after post trying to help people. In the other corner, I see a bunch of people stressing out about invisible nutritional boogeymen, panicking if they don't have access to "clean" foods, having anxiety attacks about eating a company functions and family holidays, and continually dropping from the site because they had two days of fast food so they quit everything.

    I know which corner I want to stand in. How bout you?

    Yup! I work hard weight training 3x a week for 90 minutes or so each time and I eat what I want so long as it fits in my macros (I mostly care about protein intake and let the rest fall where it may). I knew I could never succeed if I deprived myself of every food I loved so I eat them in moderation.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    You're making it sound like those people are so extraordinary and spend hours and hours in the gym. They're still normal people, they just have discipline and are consistently working hard while still enjoying life.

    Some of those 'normal folks' you're talking about have trouble sticking with a diet precisely because it's so strict.

    But please, continue talking about them like they're freaks of nature, it's helping your point.

    All this right here. I spend 60 mins working out 3x per week and 15-30 mins working out on 3 other days. It's not exactly superhuman to get in 45 mins of exercise 6 days per week. I don't even run. So yes, please stop acting like people that get in shape are from a different planet or something. A lot of the "super shape" people have 'before' photos that would blow your mind with how out of shape they were when they began.

    I ask you a counter question: Since it's known that most people fall off the diet wagon because it's too restrictive and they end up missing their favorite foods, what is so wrong with telling them that they can lose weight while continuing to eat things they enjoy? So many threads here are "OMGZ I BINGED THIS WEEKEND AND ATES A DONUT SO NOW I WANT TO GIVE UP." And we're like, "Meh, whats wrong with donuts, don't panic, eat your normal calorie deficit today and you'll be fine."

    In one corner I see a bunch of people achieving incredible results without stressing out, having a good time, telling jokes, and making post after post trying to help people. In the other corner, I see a bunch of people stressing out about invisible nutritional boogeymen, panicking if they don't have access to "clean" foods, having anxiety attacks about eating a company functions and family holidays, and continually dropping from the site because they had two days of fast food so they quit everything.

    I know which corner I want to stand in. How bout you?

    Is there any room left in this corner for my beer-swilling carcass?
  • _chiaroscuro
    _chiaroscuro Posts: 1,340 Member
    i understand it works for some i jsut feel a majority of people starting out cant handle the responisibility...

    Others assume the majority can. And that right there is the source of so much debate on MFP, two groups with totally different assumptions about what people are capable of.
  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
    Without reading through all the responses (I did read the OP), here are my thoughts:

    First, I wish I had a time machine to go forward 20 or 30 years into the future and see how those people eating dirty yet sporting six packs are doing. Seriously. Then, I'd like to take a peek at myself and some of the other clean eaters here and see how we compare.

    Because I have heard so many stories of people who had great physiques in their younger years who are suffering from all kinds of degenerative (and preventable!) diseases, who have a beer belly and are totally out of shape.

    I believe that you can get away with eating dirty for a while. I did for a summer--ate at Taco Bell almost every lunch, but I was walking a good portion of the day and lost weight. However, that's not something I could do now in my 30's after having 3 children. And most people can't walk as much as I did to keep the calories down.

    In hindsight, I'm in the second best shape of my life right now, minus the weight I need to lose. The first best shape would be when I was doing P90X when I got pregnant with my 3rd. And my goal is that by the next pregnancy (I kind of feel like we'll have another one), I want to be in even better shape than that! MFP is helping me do that. :happy:

    Most of the people responding to this, in support of eating what you want, are in their mid 30's and 40's. Just sayin'.

    QFT!!
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    Totally agree. Not everyone has two hours a day to spend at the gym. Not everyone can just abandon their children and go for a 10 mile run. Many of these folks just refuse to understand that it does take work to achieve the kind of calorie expenditure required to be able to eat massive quantities of junk and still look like Johnny Bravo or who ever. This is accumulated over TIME and no one is going to look like they were chiseled from marble in a month unless they didn't have that far to go to start with. This is SUPPOSED to be a good place to get help, advice, support and such, but honestly I have been belittled more about my weight, my actual weight loss etc... HERE than I have been in my personal life. I think it all boils down to ego in here. The biggest egos are the ones in here inflicting themselves on others. I have weeded most of them out and hit the ignore button on them so I simply don't have to watch as they rip people apart just to make them selves feel even bigger.

    You say this as you judge others as irresponsible parents who leave their children to strive for the selfish goals of being shredded.

    You are completely wrong in your thought process. It doesn't take hours upon hours to burn fat. Eat at a deficit. Eat mostly nutritious foods and, IF, you have some room left or have budgeted for it, treat yourself to something you enjoy. Also, exercise can consist of 45 minutes 3 times per week to achieve these goals.
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    It seriously does not matter what you eat when losing weight, as long as you've met your dietary needs... (this also goes into consideration that you don't have a high cholesterol etc)

    If you'd like, look up Matthew Ogus (youtube or on facebook) .. he eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants. It simply does not matter.

    941643_631061013587970_1012056815_n.jpg (I hope this picture shows here) he eats sweets and other 'unhealthy' foods..

    Please note that I nor him condone any decisions you make regarding diet, especially if you're silly enough to eat gunk when you have terrible health.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Totally agree. Not everyone has two hours a day to spend at the gym. Not everyone can just abandon their children and go for a 10 mile run. Many of these folks just refuse to understand that it does take work to achieve the kind of calorie expenditure required to be able to eat massive quantities of junk and still look like Johnny Bravo or who ever. This is accumulated over TIME and no one is going to look like they were chiseled from marble in a month unless they didn't have that far to go to start with. This is SUPPOSED to be a good place to get help, advice, support and such, but honestly I have been belittled more about my weight, my actual weight loss etc... HERE than I have been in my personal life. I think it all boils down to ego in here. The biggest egos are the ones in here inflicting themselves on others. I have weeded most of them out and hit the ignore button on them so I simply don't have to watch as they rip people apart just to make them selves feel even bigger.

    Huh?

    Who is spending two hours a day in the gym? I've read far more accounts of people eating closer to 1200 calories and preaching the strict "clean" approach spending that kind of time in the gym (albeit, not sustained long-term) than I have of the other crowd. And most of them don't run 10 miles. Many of them don't run at all.

    And...

    *sigh*

    ...never mind. I'm done.

    I wish you nothing but success in all your fitness and health goals. You got this! :flowerforyou: - ©2013
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    If you'd like, look up Matthew Ogus (youtube or on facebook) .. he eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants. It simply does not matter.

    He does, but he also states that you can eat whatever you want just not as much as you want. Important to point that part out for the purposes of this discussion.
  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
    Most average people aren't putting in the workouts that these ripped people obviously do that make eating like that and looking like THAT possible.
    You're making it sound like those people are so extraordinary and spend hours and hours in the gym. They're still normal people, they just have discipline and are consistently working hard while still enjoying life.

    Some of those 'normal folks' you're talking about have trouble sticking with a diet precisely because it's so strict.

    But please, continue talking about them like they're freaks of nature, it's helping your point.

    All this right here. I spend 60 mins working out 3x per week and 15-30 mins working out on 3 other days. It's not exactly superhuman to get in 45 mins of exercise 6 days per week. I don't even run. So yes, please stop acting like people that get in shape are from a different planet or something. A lot of the "super shape" people have 'before' photos that would blow your mind with how out of shape they were when they began.

    I ask you a counter question: Since it's known that most people fall off the diet wagon because it's too restrictive and they end up missing their favorite foods, what is so wrong with telling them that they can lose weight while continuing to eat things they enjoy? So many threads here are "OMGZ I BINGED THIS WEEKEND AND ATES A DONUT SO NOW I WANT TO GIVE UP." And we're like, "Meh, whats wrong with donuts, don't panic, eat your normal calorie deficit today and you'll be fine."

    In one corner I see a bunch of people achieving incredible results without stressing out, having a good time, telling jokes, and making post after post trying to help people. In the other corner, I see a bunch of people stressing out about invisible nutritional boogeymen, panicking if they don't have access to "clean" foods, having anxiety attacks about eating a company functions and family holidays, and continually dropping from the site because they had two days of fast food so they quit everything.

    I know which corner I want to stand in. How bout you?

    Yup! I work hard weight training 3x a week for 90 minutes or so each time and I eat what I want so long as it fits in my macros (I mostly care about protein intake and let the rest fall where it may). I knew I could never succeed if I deprived myself of every food I loved so I eat them in moderation.
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    I was killing myself 6 days a week doing insanity and P90X (an hour and a half, minimum, every time!). Ain't nobody got time for that!! I was also depriving myself of my favorite foods and was miserable. I packed it back on quick when I "fell off the wagon"

    Now I weight train 3x a week (I might up it to 4 for fun, cause I ENJOY it!) and am in and out of the gym in an hour. Plus, I get to enjoy good food! Less time working out, more food, what's not to be happy about?