Can you keep it off? scary article

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  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    That actually wasn't scary at all. It was a pathetic victim-mentality article written by someone who never bothered to change her THINKING.

    :love:

    This. Not to mention the fact that this woman claims that almost all of those who are formerly obese have to basically starve themselves to stay thin. I know plenty of people who lost a lot of weight with a reasonable deficit and a good amount of exercise, and they happily maintain on a regular amount of calories. Maybe she should get her thyroid checked, or something. That or she's lying...

    and all she has to do is take the first step of recognizing that her success or failure is solely dependent on herself and not anything or anybody else, and then she can actually tackle the weight loss in the proper way. she just doesn't know that once she takes that step, she's on her way to changing her lifestyle and losing the weight once and for all.
  • eidc
    eidc Posts: 79 Member
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    I don't think it's impossible but for me it's not working. I eat anywhere from 600 to 1800 calories a day (sometimes more, at weekends, sometimes less) and exercise 7 days a week, 45 minutes minimum, 2 hours max and do not lose weight. I gain muscle but barely lose fat. You would think I was tiny now, but I'm 5'5.5, 127lb's and 21.2% bf. I can't lose weight and if I eat more or exercise less I gain. It's horrible :/ I hope no one else gets stuck in this rut.
  • eidc
    eidc Posts: 79 Member
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    I don't think it's impossible but for me it's not working. I eat anywhere from 600 to 1800 calories a day (sometimes more, at weekends, sometimes less) and exercise 7 days a week, 45 minutes minimum, 2 hours max and do not lose weight. I gain muscle but barely lose fat. You would think I was tiny now, but I'm 5'5.5, 127lb's and 21.2% bf. I can't lose weight and if I eat more or exercise less I gain. It's horrible :/ I hope no one else gets stuck in this rut.
    You don't need to lose any weight!!
  • thathockeychick23
    thathockeychick23 Posts: 87
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    I just don't see what's scary about this article. In fact, I think this woman is a bit off. Everything that was mentioned I wanted to yell NOOO don't do that. Restricting caloric intake that much is a killer, and won't help at all. The mentality is the scary thing. That needs to change. Weight loss and fitness have to be more than just what it is, it needs to be a life style change. That was something I never really understood until this time around. The weight has come off and is staying off.
  • kiachu
    kiachu Posts: 409 Member
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    people get fat because they stuff their faces and don't exercise. i got fat because i stuffed my face and didn't exercise. it was my fault... nobody else's. until these people (like the lady who wrote that article) accept personal responsibility for the choices they've made in their lives to get where they are, i don't see how they can ever change.

    fortunately, most people on this site understand this point and they stop looking for somebody or something else to blame and they start changing their lifestyle. but some people will never have that "lightbulb going on over their head" moment and will seek excuse after excuse after excuse to justify their failures. that's not a good way to spend the rest of one's life, in my humble opinion.

    These people are stuck and apparently, so are you a little bit. In some wrong-thinking. You've got it partly right, but you haven't asked enough questions. In particular, the question "WHY? are they stuffing their faces and not exercising?" You have to understand the reason in order to make it stop. The assumption that they're all just pigs is a load of pigsh and an easy answer that absolves everyone of responsibility and civility towards each other and keeps everyone stuck in the same catch 22.

    The REASON is because people are ingesting boatloads of toxins and crap from their so-called 'food'. When we do this, our body has no choice but to create fat cells to house the toxins and keep them away from the internal organs. Until we STOP eating the toxic 'food', we will be forever fighting fat, cravings and weight re-gain. Eating fewer toxins is not the same as eliminating them altogether.

    SOLUTION: 1) Accept that you cannot eat whatever you want whenever you want [grow up] 2) Accept that you are what you eat 3) Get Mad at all the misinformation that's out there and the confusion it has caused you...sometimes for decades [go ahead and blame someone, but don't let it paralyze you] 4) Take Action and do your homework. Research and choose to eat a 70-80% plant-based, raw diet, or variation thereof that suits you, eliminating all the toxins that you were formerly ingesting. 5) Watch the pounds melt miraculously away 6) inform others and don't get discouraged when they inform you that you are cray cray. 7) never give up.

    Hollycat:flowerforyou:

    I don't eat raw or plant based and ate a bunch of crap the majority of my life and still do and I have no obesity fat problem.

    Not that simple.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    Life is too short to hate living that much.

    One more reason to love EM2WL.......VLCD do not work long term
  • WickedPixie1
    WickedPixie1 Posts: 111 Member
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    The one thing I'm seeing consistently in the Times article and the original one is really low calorie consumption before they hit maintenance. It's basically starving a body, then feeding it again. No wonder these people are struggling and regaining...it seems they are being set up to fail with a rapid loss then a consistent feed. There doesn't seem to be any time for the body to adapt to all the changes it's going through.

    Kudos to the tortoise comment!! Well said, that is exactly it!

    Taking time to lose what took time to gain and getting yourself in the right mindset...exercise consistently, healthy changes and choices rather than a diet. Keeping yourself accountable and not blaming others for your slips or failures is the only way this is going to work long term.
    And yes, constantly logging numbers and being aware of what goes in and what's burned off might be what you have to do for the rest of your life if you want to be healthier...but I don't see that as a bad thing (PITA maybe), especially if you have children. I see it as a way of teaching them there are consequences for the things we do and it helps them become more aware of the choices they face...healthy vs unhealthy. It also teaches them about goals and what it might take to achieve them.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    That actually wasn't scary at all. It was a pathetic victim-mentality article written by someone who never bothered to change her THINKING.

    :love:

    This. Not to mention the fact that this woman claims that almost all of those who are formerly obese have to basically starve themselves to stay thin. I know plenty of people who lost a lot of weight with a reasonable deficit and a good amount of exercise, and they happily maintain on a regular amount of calories. Maybe she should get her thyroid checked, or something. That or she's lying...

    Yes---she probably did real damage to her metabolism by being on the VLCD. From what I have seen and experienced, the key is a changed relationship to food and activity. I have always HATED exercising. And I was a simple carb/sugar addict (I LOVED fresh Italian bread). The key to not only keeping body fat off but losing it in the first place is to eat about 500 calories less than you need (per day) and to increase your activity level by an equivalent amount of calories. MFP says that I will lose on 1700 cals per day but I find that the magic number for me is more like 1200 calories per day. At that level, I will lose about a pound a week, provided I restrict my carbs to less than 100 grams per day. (I am the only person I know who gained a lot of weight on a vegetarian diet---too many carbs.) The reason why I eat lower carb (I have eliminated wheat and sugar from my diet) is that I find that it is the best way to suppress the appetite and get rid of empty calories. I nourish my body well (I eat lots of vegetables and moderate fruit in addition to lean protein and one piece of organic whole rye bread per day). I have gouty arthritis so doing a lot of walking is out, but I go to the pool for aquatic exercise two to three times a week---I actually enjoy it. I have been able to get off my blood pressure meds and my blood sugar levels have come down to normal. I have lost 20 pounds over the last six months (five inches off my waist--woo hoo!) and I am feeling better than I have felt in a long while. I still have at least 40 more pounds to go, but I am confident that it will eventually come off and since I eliminated the foods that were making me fat (wheat and sugar), I am confident that the fat will not come back. I figure it will likely take me at least another year to lose the rest of the fat, but I'm not in any hurry. Rapid weight loss is the fastest way to ruin your health and regain the weight when you quit, which eventually becomes an irresistible force. (I should know---I have rapidly lost and regained that 60 pounds about three times already.) What we need are some docs who really understand the complexities of obesity. The newer research on the causes of obesity is encouraging. Researchers observed that many of the obese seemed to not know when to quit eating when they ate a lot of simple carbohydrates, but when they were put on lower carb diets (I'm not talking about very low carb diets) they not only lost weight but many of the disease markers like hypertension, high blood sugar etc. improved significantly.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    Ok, so one woman has a problem with her weight and dieting and therefore no one else will ever be able to lose weight and keep it off? And her experience HAS to apply to all of us because she has battled an ED and effectively spent most of her life starving herself and then getting surgery?

    Uh, that's not my story, so no.....I'm not worried about keeping it off.

    Good luck to her though. She should probably talk to someone about all her pent up anger.

    Edit to say that I also read the NY Times article and it's pretty much BS too - the people in the study in the beginning are just more proof of why a moderate calorie deficit is important. And the lady with the 135lb loss.....of course you have to stay vigilant after you lose weight. It makes no sense why anyone would think that you could not care about your intake anymore and expect to maintain.
  • fraser112
    fraser112 Posts: 405
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    So many people complain about how hard it is to lose weight, and how they just can't.. and blah blah blah. Honestly, stressing about it makes it worse.. and it's not rocket science.

    This is, i'd say, the key phrase here. We almost never talk about mental health and how it affects the body. In the future i think they'll find many more health-related issues are due directly to stress. Stress could even be the key difference between why some people lose weight more easily than others. Stress doesn't mean a person that works too hard, or whatever. Stress is simply how much YOU stress and how you deal (or get anxious, or depressed, or however your body/mind interprets stressful events and what makes YOU feel stressed).

    I'd be paying more attention to what is going on in your head and heart, that's where it all begins


    Yup exactly and this is why i think anti depressents should be used less. Just think alcohol / tobacco / anti depressents all short term solutions to relieve stress.

    If you look into studies done on things like magic mushrooms you see that instead of acting to relieve the sympton like the above drugs which mess with the brain in negative ways. They stop you feeling mostly i find.

    Magic mushrooms actually slow down the interaction between the parts of the brain allowing you to access your emotions in a raw form .

    No matter what you believe religions wise almost every group of humans has used them in some form. In the future i can see their use being standard practice but until then my 2 cents to take away:

    1. You are just an animal, everything that is your world is in your head. Just have a feel of the back of your head and think everything you've seen is just electrical signals, all your thoughts are just electrical path ways. If you believe in a soul or not does not matter the body is just a vehicle and its set up to survive a time that does not exist anymore.

    2. People need to learn to deal with their emotions because almost all depression is suppressed anger coming out. you need to break down the walls that have been created and rebuild your world if you want to be happy. Once you see the world as it is without all the bull forced down your neck you can be happy.
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
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    Just remember, the tortoise won.

    This. When I told my doctor that I was attempting to lose weight seriously, she told me that the ideal rate for long-term success is losing 4lbs. per month. PER MONTH! I laughed thinking "PFFFFT, no way! I want to lose 2lbs per week MINIMUM!"

    But 11 months later and I am still *only* 33lbs. down...however I fell off-track for a solid 2 months; binge eating, not exercising, spending days in bed (yay depression!) and the weight didn't come piling back on. I gained maybe 2-3lbs. I owe it all to slowly losing and keeping a good metabolism by making an effort to retain/build muscle mass.
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    I have lost weight exercising and eating at moderate deficit (200-300 kcal on avarage)
    it took forever. But now I don't have problem with keeping it off.
    I know that if I go back to eating Mcdonalds for lunch and family size bag of doritos for diner because I can't be bothered to cook and then follow it wih bunch of snacks I will regain, so I don't
    I continue eating high protein, plenty of veggies, make effort to cook my lunches and bring them to work, and have no problem maintaining eating on average 2300kcal per day. Eating 2300 kcal allows me to incorporate treats into my diet daily, but I make sure my main meals are healthy. It is as simple as this.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    Great and excellently written article. Thanks for sharing.
  • beverley_f
    beverley_f Posts: 31
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    Haha that sounds so wrong :P I know but the thing is, if I eat and exercise a 'normal' amount I gain weight. A decent amount of weight too... :/
  • beverley_f
    beverley_f Posts: 31
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    Aha thanks, but that's my inspiration! That was me at 112lb's (8st) and when I was happiest weight wise. But thanks :)
  • beverley_f
    beverley_f Posts: 31
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    How so? Just curious.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    I don't get what was scary about that article.

    It could just be entitled "Long term VLCDs are a bit rubbish".

    Maybe I should write an article with the snazzy heading "Suitable calorie deficits coupled with flexible dietary strategies, patience consistency and dietary adherence lead to long term weight regulation."

    Because that would be really popular....
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,962 Member
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    I'm glad you all read it and warned me not to.

    Also, I like that this thread devolved to magic mushrooms by page three. :laugh:
  • cherbapp
    cherbapp Posts: 322
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    There was nothing scary about the article. Actually I see what her mistakes have been and it helps me to know that I am going to be just fine. Forever.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
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    Everybody wants a quick fix.

    Nobody wants to put the work into actually fixing their relationship with food and their perspective on fitness. It's a LOT harder to do the latter than to just starve yourself skinny, but the people who keep the weight off for good do it the hard way.

    This article just makes me sad. There are a lot of people on here who are in the same mental boat as the author.

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