Well this is depressing...

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  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,565 Member
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    Ah! I hadn't even noticed that! No, I actually eat a lot less than that -- it's telling me "current intake is 2721" but I'm eating 1400. When I adjust it it says I'll lose 50 in the next year. I'll accept that. :)

    weight loss is never linear.
    If done correctly you can lose weight faster even at higher levels.

    The trick to to run optimally as opposed to cutting cals too deeply and bottoming out hormonally.
  • Anna800
    Anna800 Posts: 637 Member
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    repeated studies have shown that many people who begin an exercise program lose little or no weight. Some gain.

    Actually this makes sense to me. You know how MFP tells you to eat more when you exercise, well people who exercise eat more, but too much more and think it's ok since they exercise. Someone I barely know at the gym told me my workouts were really paying off because I looked great, I told her it's not the workouts, it's the calorie counting. My workouts haven't changed and I see the same people coming to my gym for months who haven't lost a lb.

    All the article says is that most people are able to be fat if they eat poorly. It says very little about the study that shows, there are a lot of variables at play, so I can't take the findings as fact. For me I follow the philosophy that if I eat every 2 hours and lift weights my metabolism will stay up, I don't know if people in that study did that.

    I once was 46 lbs heavier and during that time I remember eating a whole box of mac and cheese and still be hungry afterwards. Today I get full after eating half a box, I literally can't eat more. That means my stomach is smaller and that stops me from eating more so I don't have to panic about ballooning up again.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,287 Member
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    I stumbled upon this truth last year. I went on my "go to diet" the six week body makeover..and lost more easily and steady without my rigorous exercise that I did before when I dieted.

    Along with this; I saw a doctor on the Dr. Oz show who delivered this kind of news about losing weight. In his research he found it was diet that made people lose weight..and that exercising actually derailed them. He said exercise made them more hungry and they fell off plan. He did say, however, that exercise was key in people maintaining their weight or keeping it off. that his studies showed that.

    I believe him.
  • PrncessBre
    PrncessBre Posts: 444 Member
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    Bump to read later
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    That calculator lacks MANY variables... let me see if I can dig up the government one that is FAR superior... someone else just recently linked it today actually...
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    BAM... here we go...

    http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    further depression can be found in studies that show reduced calorie expenditure during exercise after weight loss, by about 10%. At least 10% of not much isn't a lot.

    http://www.clinsci.org/cs/105/0089/cs1050089.htm
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    it's telling me "current intake is 2721" but I'm eating 1400
    The 2721 is what they think your TDEE is to start with, so if you're eating 1400 you have a 1321 deficit already.
  • Martina_Who
    Martina_Who Posts: 172 Member
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    Bump
  • LovingLisa2012
    LovingLisa2012 Posts: 802 Member
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    Are you eating the same amount of calories that the calculator is giving you?

    It is telling me I eat 2500 a day and if I reduce that to 2000 I will lose 20 lbs in 12 months.

    it says I am currently eating 3,000 calories a day (not true) .. I used to eat 3,000 calories a day and was over 300 pounds ...

    eat at a deficit and the pounds will come off :)
  • invictus8
    invictus8 Posts: 258 Member
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    Dieting is much better for weight loss than steady-state cardiovascular exercise. There's some evidence that lean body mass -- in particular, gaining a higher percentage of muscle mass -- can increase one's metabolism. The article ignores the importance of fat composition!
  • ksutte
    ksutte Posts: 76 Member
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    bump
  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
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    Eat right, get activity regularly and you'll see a decrease. Honestly, I think sometimes all these studies complicate weight loss.

    The article presents an interesting theory, but it isn't fact, just a study.
  • ittybittypixie
    ittybittypixie Posts: 25
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    Please don''t be depressed, you are working hard and you should be proud!
    Also, for weight loss/maintenance to be sustainable its reasonable to expect it to take about as long to lose the extra weight as it did to gain it. Being at a good weight means you have to make good choices every day for the rest of your life, and your body will thank you for it! :)
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    Haha, Java won't run the applet for me to see what the big deal is. :laugh:
  • sylvuz323
    sylvuz323 Posts: 468 Member
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    Microsoft isn't letting me access the calculator either...darn. But I definitely believe there is truth to the article. When I first changed to a healthier lifestyle, I dropped 30 lbs in about 3-4 month but then it took me almost a full year to drop another 30 lbs.
  • 2012asv
    2012asv Posts: 702 Member
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    Interesting article. So why is this depressing? Basically it's just reiterating what we already know which is the only way to "lose" weight is by creating a calorie deficit. What I took from that was even if you are super active you still need to maintain a healthy diet.

    And for someone who's working hard and already lost nearly 50 lbs I highly doubt it will take several years for you to drop the remaining 50!
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    I read about this study the other day -- this article explains it well. Click on the link in the second-to-last paragraph to see a revised weight loss calculator based on this study. Very depressing, but good to know. (If it's true and accurate)

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

    I understand the title was probably meant to be a turn of phrase, but I think it highlights an important point. There's a difference between being unsatisfied with your weight and having your weight (or lack of timely weight loss) be "depressing."

    For me, making the most of my time here involves trying not to let negative feelings (like depression, poor body image, etc) act as motivators for me. It's not always easy. In fact, I'm not terribly good at it, but it's something I try to remind myself of.

    So, relating this to being frustrated at slow weight loss, focus on the awesomeness of your achievements when you can and let that be your motivation for more, instead of focusing on how long a goal may or may not take.
  • leilatwo
    leilatwo Posts: 4 Member
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    I think this means that you should not eat back your exercise calories.
  • tuffytuffy1
    tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
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    Well, this explains alot!!! I put my starting weight in there and I am actually just about where this tool says I should/would be. I guess I am proof that this is pretty accurate.

    Thank you for that idea! I did the same thing, and it said I would lose 18 pounds the first year; and that is pretty spot on as a matter of fact! Very interesting. It says I will lose 17 pounds over the next 12 months to get to my goal weight.

    I have been here for 14 months, and this is a lifestyle for me, not a diet. I don't care that it took me an entire year to lose 17 pounds, they are gone and they are staying off.

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