"The most important thing you can do to lose weight"

In addition to our own @SideSteel 's helpful thread on logging accurately ( http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1 ) comes James Fell with another educational and helpful article.

http://www.bodyforwife.com/the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-lose-weight/

QUOTE:

There are as many ways to lose weight as there are calories on the McDonalds menu. The reality is that anything that creates a caloric deficit is going to lead to weight loss. Any diet and/or fitness regimen that has you burning more calories than you consume = you, weighing less.

[...]

But maybe it’s just all your metabolism’s fault.

Here’s a video you may wish to watch, starting at the 18:15 mark.

http://www.documentarytube.com/videos/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-losing-weight

It tells the tale of actor Debbie Chazen who reports that: “I’ve been big all my life.” She says she eats a healthy diet and stays active, and explains her weight by saying, “I believe I must be one of those people who has a slow metabolism.” She says she is “eating well, doing lots of exercise,” so it must be her metabolism, right?

And so in the video they have an expert test her metabolic rate. The results? A perfectly normal metabolic rate for someone of her size. “Almost spot on” was the term used. So why is Debbie obese? Why can’t she lose weight? (Note: there are medical conditions that can affect weight gain such as hypothyroidism and Cushing’s syndrome. Medication can also be a culprit.)

The researchers got her to keep a food diary to gain understanding. They wanted to find out if she was “eating more than the 2,000 calories per day recommended for the average woman of her age and height.” But beyond the food diary, the researchers decided to spy on Debbie as well using a scientific method called “doubly-labeled water” to get an accurate measurement of not only how many calories she consumes, but how much she burns.

The first four days of the reporting of food intake was a video diary. Here are the results:

• Debbie’s reporting: “about 1,100 calories” a day.
• Reality as per the doubly-labeled water: 3,000 calories a day.

She was off by almost a factor of three.

The next five days were done via a written diary, which the documentary asserts allows people to be more thorough, but still she underreported her caloric intake by 43%. The video then asserts that this is common, as on average people underreport their food intake by as much as 50%.

[...]

As someone who is very opposed to fat shaming of any kind, please don’t take this as such. I understand that this can be construed as me saying, “Stop sucking at math, fatty,” but that’s not what I’m trying to communicate. The majority of the planet is bad at tracking caloric intake and burn. REALLY bad at it, so don’t feel as though it’s a personal failing if you’re part of this majority.

Accurate tracking is a tough skill to learn, especially in an environment where we’re constantly surrounded by hyper-yummy junk food, machines doing most of our work for us, and fancy, interesting things on electronic screens that lead us to sit for hours on end.

So, after reading all this, what is this “most important thing” you can do to lose weight and keep it off? The answer is not an easy one to accept or to implement, and before telling you I must remind you that there are myriad methods in which to create a sustained caloric deficit. There are lots of diets and lots of ways to engage in more physical activity to burn more calories. But through all of this, to lose weight, you must do this one thing:

You must be honest with yourself.

Brutally honest.

[...]

==========================

The link to the article again:

http://www.bodyforwife.com/the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-lose-weight/

The video (start at 18:15):

http://www.documentarytube.com/videos/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-losing-weight


How cool is "doubly labelled water"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubly_labeled_water
Someone could make a killing selling kits that can do those tests at home.

Click bait title + EVIDENCES for the win!