The way people think.
suziecue20
Posts: 567 Member
When talking to friends my OH has mentioned that I am on a weight loss diet and has said he is eating the same dinners as me. They have then said 'but what are you having for dinner'? and he replied that the meals I cook are very tasty and varied and that he is enjoying "my" diet. He's told them I cook 'real meals' but just adapt them to make them healthier. The friends have reacted with 'how can that be a weight loss diet? They have no inkling of CICO and have not twigged that I obviously eat a much smaller portion of food than he does (he doesn't need to lose weight).
Going by the reactions we have encountered I suspect that loads of people think that to lose weight you have to starve yourself and eat nothing but lettuce and the odd tomato for a treat, or be on a 'fad' diet. Does anybody else think this is the way the majority of people think about dieting?
Going by the reactions we have encountered I suspect that loads of people think that to lose weight you have to starve yourself and eat nothing but lettuce and the odd tomato for a treat, or be on a 'fad' diet. Does anybody else think this is the way the majority of people think about dieting?
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A lot of people here on MFP have said that they really had no clue how weight gain and weight loss worked. I've kind of informally polled people in person and everyone I've talked to has understood that it's related to calories. They may not know how many they need or how many are in their French fries, but they all seem to know how it works.
I don't know about most people. There is a huge discrepancy between MFP and people I've talked to, so it's hard for me to guess how many people never heard about weight and calories.0 -
First, I don't diet, I have a lifestyle change.
YES, the majority of people think there is a magic pill or something drastic has to go on for weight loss to occur.0 -
I suppose so. But I also know that everyone I know past the age of 30 who is at a weight/fitness level they are happy with spends a little bit of time/effort in their life toward it. So it isn't just people who are trying to actively "lose". It's just more noticeable if you're one of those.0
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There is a certain logic to it.
Most of the people I encounter who have those notions also think they can lose 60lbs in month. So I guess if one's expectations are that out of whack, subsisting on lettuce makes sense.0 -
what's wrong with lettuce and tomatoes?0
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most people are fairly ignorant of general nutrition...if you ask most people what a calorie is, they will just stare at you blankly. the diet and fitness industry at large don't do them any favors either...0
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Or Cesar dressing (or my homemade balsamic vinegar dressing instead)suziecue20 wrote: »0 -
You can count me in as one of the ignorant clueless folks that didn't know what they were doing and thought there had to be some magic onion or something that would poof the fat away. Then I came here, learned how much I should be eating and adjusted my portion size and started walking. The weight started coming off and I said, "It really can't be that simple, can it?"
Then I learned that it's that simple.
Why that was so hard for me and seems to be so hard for some people is certainly perplexing but with all the "miracle" foods and fad diets and marketing going on, it's really no wonder. 0 -
suziecue20 wrote: »
BOOM!0 -
suziecue20 wrote: »When talking to friends my OH has mentioned that I am on a weight loss diet and has said he is eating the same dinners as me. They have then said 'but what are you having for dinner'? and he replied that the meals I cook are very tasty and varied and that he is enjoying "my" diet. He's told them I cook 'real meals' but just adapt them to make them healthier. The friends have reacted with 'how can that be a weight loss diet? They have no inkling of CICO and have not twigged that I obviously eat a much smaller portion of food than he does (he doesn't need to lose weight).
Going by the reactions we have encountered I suspect that loads of people think that to lose weight you have to starve yourself and eat nothing but lettuce and the odd tomato for a treat, or be on a 'fad' diet. Does anybody else think this is the way the majority of people think about dieting?
I don't know about majority, but a whole lot of people, yeah.
So many assume I've done something special or ask what "program" I'm on. I just eat my usual balanced meals but watch portion size and calories more and have cut out most snacking. (So basically like you, it sounds like.)
Before I ever made an effort to lose weight I understood it had to do with calories, but I didn't have any sense of how many calories I was eating or how easy it would be to cut down on them a lot without feeling deprived and while still eating normal meals -- I think that's what lots of people miss. (Lots also seem to think there's some magic to food combinations or some such, though.)0 -
I'm cutting, and my boyfriend is bulking. We eat pretty much the same meals in the evening but either I have less or I substitute things. I'm nearly always under my 1200 cals. No need for rabbit food!0
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I used to have that mentality though. When I was a teenager, I thought if I wasn't hungry all of the time, it wasn't a good enough diet. Of course that bought me some success - quickly fleeting success that probably did more harm than good.
Then, one day I decided that I wasn't going to keep dieting like that. I was just going to move a little more and stop eating until I was uncomfortably full. That actually bought me my first 20lbs loss. Then, I cut back a little more and moved a little better - there went the next 20.
Now, after 90 lbs, I am having to eat a LOT less than I was, but I still don't have the hunger issues people seem to think you have to have in order to lose a significant amount of weight. I'm not sure if it's because I finally educated myself on how much food I actually needed (TDEE) and was able to "taper down" my quantity appropriately with that new information, or if it's just because I'm eating smarter (less calorie-dense foods and a good balance of macros).
It's kind of awesome to finally have it fall into place.0 -
They have been misled into believing they have to go on strange, faddish diets to lose weight.
People do kind of know about portion control & the food pyramid etc., but I think they think it's just "blah blah blah more PSA stuff, boring" that doesn't have anything to do with either 1) the secret magic trick to those faddish diets or 2) their reality at work, home, etc. I think they feel a "balanced, nutritious, portion-controlled diet" is just lala land for them, makes them feel guilty. I think a lot of people hate "salads" and want to keep eating however much of whatever they're eating.
AND although they probably have a vague notion of "you need 2000 calories" I think they also radically underestimate how many calories the things they consume have. They either don't check or are misled by those misleading numbers on packages etc. Or the nutritional info is "available on the website", in a PDF, which is a pain to read on the phone. I think calorie counts need to be right up in people's faces at the time they order their meals at restaurants. Right on the menu, right next to the price.
And I think info on packaged food needs to bear some relationship to how that food is packaged, and to realistic serving sizes (which is also influenced by how that food is packaged)0 -
The people around me, mainly the ILs and extended members, believe I don't eat sweets of any kind anymore and that's how I lost weight. If they push me for my "secret" and I tell them I use a food scale, they treat me like I have an ED.0
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »First, I don't diet, I have a lifestyle change.
YES, the majority of people think there is a magic pill or something drastic has to go on for weight loss to occur.
that. i have friends who see me eat out and eat what i do, and drink and are like ' you cant do that - youre on a diet' - the hell i can't! watch me! LOLOL0 -
The people around me, mainly the ILs and extended members, believe I don't eat sweets of any kind anymore and that's how I lost weight. If they push me for my "secret" and I tell them I use a food scale, they treat me like I have an ED.
Yeah, using a food scale makes people think you're obsessive etc.
(Again though, if nutritional info were more honest and more usable/accessible, and unavoidable, a scale would be less important.)0 -
Many people think they are a special snowflake, too. My mother has watched me lose weight while eating "regular" food. But she'll tell me that she can't count calories because then she has to "starve" to lose anything.0
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There's a ton of misinformation out there. I fell for a lot of it.
My sister has said, "Gosh, I bet you haven't had potato chips in forever." And I shrug, "Um, I think yesterday."0 -
a few years ago i kinda thought dieting included given up lots of food choices and eating salads, low fat foods, etc.. other than diet programs, its what i saw most trying to do to lose weight. And than i signed up my hubby on mfp, who refused to eat diet foods (as he called it) and i watched him lose 32lbs in three months while eating pizza, burgers, cookies, his daily cheese puffs addiction, etc. and not doing any exercising.. it became clear that some portion control and most important keeping track & meeting only your daily calorie intake goal is a big part of losing weight and maintaining your weight later on too.0
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I really haven't found nutritional information difficult to access or use and don't think a food scale is necessary. I've lost and maintained easily without a food scale.
I do like my food scale, but mainly because if I am going to log I find it more pleasurable not to have to estimate.0 -
My coworkers think I don't enjoy sweet treats or anything with fat. If they knew that 40% of my macros is dedicated to fat...0
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Oh, they also think I work out like a maniac. Hahahahahahaha0
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Many people think they are a special snowflake, too. My mother has watched me lose weight while eating "regular" food. But she'll tell me that she can't count calories because then she has to "starve" to lose anything.
Yeah, this is really common IME too.
Or people just have messed up ideas about what they should eat and think counting calories would be unpleasant. My mom thinks pork chops are a "fattening" food and generally buys into the low fat thing even now.0 -
I had a sort of understanding of it all, but the numbers/mechanics of weight loss and what that actually looks like in the day to day were foreign to me. I think if I had known how fun the meal planning, weighing of food, graphing, etc. would be for my OCD-inclined mind, I'd have jumped on the train far sooner. I'm really in love with how capable we are in cultivating the body we want by better understanding the tools available to us.
It's difficult, I think, when a person has not lived with or been close to a person who has lost weight in a healthy/sustainable way. It's just hard to imagine the simplicity and concreteness of it. Coming from a family that includes lots of obese people, where weight management, nutrition, and fitness were never top of mind, I am just now developing the skills to think and talk about weight goals in in a constructive, empowered way. I wish I had been able to do this earlier in life.
To me, weight loss seemed like a unicorn rite of passage--something that happens to people when they are 'strong' and able to forsake their desires or something. I am super glad to have tried and stuck to a reasonable, home designed meal plan long enough to believe in the process. It's been really cool to learn more and branch out in my eating as I've embraced more aspects of a healthy lifestyle.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I really haven't found nutritional information difficult to access or use
You haven't, but you're familiar with the whole shebang, and highly motivated to do it, etc.
So am I, and I still find it a pain to read some of the tiny print on those PDFs on my Android phone. Even when it's not, I'm motivated to find it, so taking that extra step isn't a big deal. But just that extra step might inhibit people who aren't motivated at all from bothering, whereas just glancing at the menu might bring it home that their 3pm coffee is like 1/4th of what their daily intake needs to be.
Some people might not care anyway, but I think there's some proportion of people for whom that would make a difference.
Also, often, nutritional info isn't available at restaurants, and staff don't know how to make reasonable guesses at it. I can, because I've been counting for years (and weighing, using measuring cups - so I'm pretty good about estimating volumes, after all that practice). But most people who don't do those things have a hard time with it.
We have way too many cognitive biases (eg underestimating portions) to make monitoring intake intuitive, and I think anything that removes barriers to a clear understanding of food values is worthwhile.0 -
I think it has to do with misperceptions about weight gain/loss. People don't monitor their weight and gain weight over a period of time. They know that overeating is bad, but they don't realize how much they are over-eating, or forget about all the little extras that cause the calories to add up. They know regular activity is good, but they think they are more active than they are, or forget about how often they skip the gym. The pounds creep on, and they're surprised by how much they have gained.
Now comes the weight loss, and "desperate times call for desperate measures." And they have to be desperate measures - after all, they weren't eating that much and they got plenty of exercise when the weight was going on, so clearly drastic efforts must be made to get this weight off. They crash diet to get the weight off, then later end up in right where they started.
I know people make fun of "time limit" diets or exercise programs, but there is wisdom behind why programs like that are created. People respond well to schedules, time limits, and deadlines. It's tangible, so they can follow it. Think about the other tasks in our lives that are pretty much always going to be there - dishes or laundry - we usually think of them as a daily or weekly chore, or break them down even further so there is a clear beginning and end (breakfast dishes, washing one load per day). It's reassuring to be "done." I think this is why people will take drastic measures for weight loss, and why the cycle continues.0 -
These message boards along with a few real life experiences with people have convinced me that western civilization has completely lost the basic human function of how to eat. It's quite a sad sign for the human race.0
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These message boards along with a few real life experiences with people have convinced me that western civilization has completely lost the basic human function of how to eat. It's quite a sad sign for the human race.
Do you really think that? Is that really what you encounter in your day-to-day life? I'm seriously asking (and removing the "internet forum" aspect)
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