Heard a statistic that basically nobody can truly lose weight, is it BS?
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Trestjerner wrote: »An overweight and very negative friend told me today that, I shouldn't bother trying to lose weight because only 3% manage to keep the weight of and the rest will gain it all back and then some. That statistic sounded...less then credible to me, but she couldn't give me any evidence for it except to point me towards a fat acceptance blog.
My question; Is the statistic as BS as it sounds like? Where does it come from and how can I debunk it for her?
You could be among the 3%.
Your friend is likely scared and ignorant. She wants to believe it is impossible for anyone so she won't have to try.This board is full of people who have lost weight and are maintaining.
I've lost weight before and gained. I did stupid diets. I thought it was hard until I just started watching my calorie intake.
It is worth trying to get to a healthy weight and stay there. I've lost more this year than I ever have and I feel much better. I still have 30 lbs to go but I have more energy. I can breathe better. I can walk farther. I am not in pain. I can touch my toes. If I reach my goal and then gain weight in 5 years then I will have had 5 years of better health and quality of life.
I think people who are succesful long term don't do extreme diets and exercise plans that they can't maintain. Just approach it with a reasonable goal of say 1 lb a week and be patient.3 -
Trestjerner wrote: »An overweight and very negative friend told me today that, I shouldn't bother trying to lose weight because only 3% manage to keep the weight of and the rest will gain it all back and then some. That statistic sounded...less then credible to me, but she couldn't give me any evidence for it except to point me towards a fat acceptance blog.
My question; Is the statistic as BS as it sounds like? Where does it come from and how can I debunk it for her?
If you're not doing a lifestyle change, instead you are doing a crash diet or whatever, then there is probably a good chance you will gain it all back. It's all about consistency and making changes that are sustainable! Your friend sounds like a negative nancy and is only taking into account "fad dieters" and not people who are changing their lifestyles and making healthy changes in both fitness and nutrition.0 -
People who use these statistic to not even attempt to lose weight just seem silly, if it wasn't this statistic it would be another excuse.
So freaking what if you regain the weight.
Another lesser known statistic, 100% of people die. Better not even bother attempt to live.
2 weeks, 2 years or 2 decades at goal weight seems better than 100% of your time overweight/obese.10 -
kshama2001 wrote: »About half the people who maintained a substantial weight loss for more than a year had done it on their own, they found. This suggests that many people have found ways to lose weight and keep it off, but have never been counted in formal studies.
I think this is a key point. We really don't know.
Beyond that, I am someone who once lost, maintained for 5 years (long enough that I could have been considered a success story) and then regained. Does that mean I'm sorry I bothered? Not at all, as I would have been fatter still if I hadn't done it, and -- more significantly -- I learned from doing it the first time that it was possible, not that hard (even somewhat pleasurable if you do it right), and worth doing. There are reasons I regained (and I hope I've learned from them well enough to avoid it this time), but they didn't nullify the positives from losing and maintaining as a fit, healthy-weight person for some time, and they really made me so much more confident this time that I would be successful.
If I am someone who has a tendency to go up in weight if not vigilant, so be it. I just need to learn to be vigilant and take steps if my weight starts to go up again. (So for me this means weighing myself and not making the scale into something to be feared, but merely a source of data.)4 -
I've read that the success rate of weight loss is less than stopping smoking (something like 7%). I haven't had a smoke in 10 years, so I think I can keep my 163# off.
IMO, it's about making a commitment to a WoE (way of eating) you can do the rest of your life. For me, that's weighing and measuring my food and being moderately active.
This. Exactly! (10 years smoke free here too!)0 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »I've read that the success rate of weight loss is less than stopping smoking (something like 7%). I haven't had a smoke in 10 years, so I think I can keep my 163# off.
IMO, it's about making a commitment to a WoE (way of eating) you can do the rest of your life. For me, that's weighing and measuring my food and being moderately active.
This. Exactly! (10 years smoke free here too!)
14 years smoke free. Looks like people on MFP could be the statistical outliers!0 -
I like to tell myself that the statistics only refer to people who have already attempted weight loss in the past. They do nothing to predict the future for those only starting today. People using MFP could be the beginning of a new trend and I really genuinely believe that could be true.
The first time I lost weight 10 years ago (and put it back on again plus more) I was utterly surrounded by people ignorant about health.....people who felt that a mildly overweight version of me was "too thin" and that orange juice sweetened with buckets of sugar was ultra healthy. People who thought that you could eat mountains of food without putting on weight just so long as none of that food contained fat. People who would hand me an 800 calorie energy bar and insist that it would help me lose weight. People, obese people, who genuinely believed they needed to consume MORE energy in their breakfast cereal to feel better. People who thought diets where you literally eat nothing could lead to sustainable long term weight loss. People who thought "The Biggest Loser" looked like a fantastic way to lose weight long term. People who just accepted weight gain as something that had to happen when you get older......
...Yes these people still exist, but they diminish by the day. I hear CICO in these forums like an obsessive mantra. It can be annoying at times and a little relentless but at least it's based on science! Not a single person uttered the phrase CICO to me 10 years ago.....The tide is turning.
The second time I lost weight 5 years ago I actually had a couple of people further along than me to seek advice from. My doctor had constructive suggestions as to how I could continue to lose weight and even 5 years ago the discussions I had with friends and work colleagues about my weight loss suddenly contained more fact than fiction (though not entirely free of fiction)....people are now far more willing to believe new science than old wives tales. Things are getting better.
I don't think success rate is going to stay at 3% for too much longer.1 -
Unfortunately the outlook is bleak. If in fact as quoted in this article 75% of the population of the united states suffers from a weight problem, it clearly can't be the case that many people are successful at losing weight. As almost every overweight person has at one time or another tried to lose the weight, it must be the case that there are many ineffective weight loss programs.
I myself had lost 85 lbs and regained it. I know exactly why I regained it and it's quite sad: I regained because I got overconfident. Losing the weight had been so easy that I was thinking "I got this", "no problem", and let myself have a little slip here and a little slip there until whoops ... big slip.
This time, I agree with the other article quoted on this thread: constant vigilance. Since the alternative is to die sooner, constant vigilance it'll have to be.
Osric
P.S. I wanted to be the one to say that 100% of people die so why bother, but someone beat me to it.
[edit for legend: grey = grossly obese; dark color = obese; light color = overweight; notice how all the shift in obesity seems to hit the xxxl buckets...]1 -
Trestjerner wrote: »An overweight and very negative friend told me today that, I shouldn't bother trying to lose weight because only 3% manage to keep the weight of and the rest will gain it all back and then some. That statistic sounded...less then credible to me, but she couldn't give me any evidence for it except to point me towards a fat acceptance blog.
My question; Is the statistic as BS as it sounds like? Where does it come from and how can I debunk it for her?
it's a statistic and overall, it's pretty accurate...only about 5% or so of people keep weight off...that doesn't mean you shouldn't try and that doesn't mean you have to be a statistic. the problem people have is that they put overwhelming focus on losing weight and reaching some arbitrary number...they talk a good talk about making a lifestyle change, but really don't have a clue what that means. they reach this arbitrary number and they feel as though they've reached the finish line...they've failed to really develop healthful habits that are sustainable into perpetuity...they go back to "normal" failing to realize that there has to be a new normal.
people reach this arbitrary number and they just go back to doing the things that made them fat in the first place...they don't continue to live a healthful lifestyle...after all, they lost the weight and they're "done". they fail to realize that they've just started. if people put more emphasis on overall health and well being and fitness and doing the things that healthy and fit people do then there wouldn't be such an issue. you can't go back...eating well and regular exercise are the lifestyle that everyone goes on so much about...not logging or low carbing or this or that...good livin' is the lifestyle and weight management is simply a bi-product of good livin'
I've maintained over two years...i don't log...i do pretty much the same stuff i did when i was losing. I eat very healthfully...i exercise regularly...i eat out on special occasions and when it's more, I overwhelmingly try to make the best decision possible. i practice self control and portion control. i monitor my weight regularly. I'm all about healthy and wellness and doing the things that perpetuate that...that is my new normal and it is a far cry different than where I was 3 years ago. I have an understanding that there is no finish line...there is no end...what I do, I do into perpetuity.
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i would stop being friends with that person....2
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To me it all boils down to whether or not you will do what it takes to keep it off. Most people I know who have lost it all and gained it back hit their goal and then simply went back to what made them gain in the first place. If you comprehend what made you lose it/gain it in the first place its being dedicated to the process to keep it off. Its a choice, not a cant situation.0
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disasterman wrote: »My favorite thought from the link PeachyCarol posted: "... if a meta-analysis of randomized trials of weight management fails to show long term success with weight management does it mean the people in the included trials failed to maintain their interventions, or does it mean that the interventions were too crappy to be sustainable in the first place?". And I agree with the writer in strongly suspecting the latter. I think for those who make the effort to truly change their lifestyle and become informed about fitness and nutrition enough to be adept at estimating portion sizes, monitoring calories and macros, and avoiding fads and quick fixes the success factor will be much higher.
Exactly. Which is to the point of why I hate the statistics on this. If you lump crappy interventions in with solid efforts and people making a solid effort look at the skewed data as predictive of their chance of success? It's just not right.
We really need to consider just what made up the 95% of people who regained their weight, how they lost it in the first place, and not take the statistic at face value as predictive of anything.
All that ultimately matters is what result YOU get. Learn what you can from the people who've had long-term success with the National Weight Control Registry and emulate them. Look at the statistics from the other side.
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It's all already been said in posts above. I've done the rapid loss and pack back on too. My current weight loss stint though has been suuuuuuper slow (I'm into my 8th month now and have only lost 5-6 kilos), but I'm not doing starve myself dieting and am doing all the right exercises. Even though I've not lost tonnes of kilos I've packed on some muscle and the odd weeks where I have blowouts don't result in massive weight gains. Still got a few kilos to go.
So yeah - if you go about your weight loss in a good way - healthy foods, realistic deficit and good exercise, it should work.
However - if you get to your goal weight and go "yeay! I can now go back to sitting on my *kitten* and eating a whole cake with 2L coke to wash it down and a bag of chips on the side" - there is no way in hell you will stay where you want to be. I tend to do that - about 3 weeks ago I made the 62 kilo mark - got so excited and happy that I rewarded myself with food. (yeah I know - bad me - and it's not like I even needed to due to hunger - it's just habits...) Guess what? back to 63 kilos and have to lose it again! Habits are a pain in the *kitten* to change.
It's a lifestyle change. Not a diet.2 -
disasterman wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »I've read that the success rate of weight loss is less than stopping smoking (something like 7%). I haven't had a smoke in 10 years, so I think I can keep my 163# off.
IMO, it's about making a commitment to a WoE (way of eating) you can do the rest of your life. For me, that's weighing and measuring my food and being moderately active.
This. Exactly! (10 years smoke free here too!)
14 years smoke free. Looks like people on MFP could be the statistical outliers!
25 years smoke free!
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PeachyCarol wrote: »I like the idea of the disease model of obesity because it addresses the idea that it's a chronic issue that needs ongoing management. The formerly obese will always need to manage their disease through some sort of watchfulness.
As usual, @PeachyCarol has a wise comment. I think most people who lose weight and then regain it do so because they think of weight loss as a temporary change to their lifestyle, and they don't make the long-term changes, along with reflexive monitoring of behavior, that would allow them to keep it off. That was certainly my case: I lost a lot of weight in my 20s, then regained it in my 30s when my lifestyle changed (less walking, more money, more stressful job, more driving places) but my eating habits didn't.
I have accepted the fact that I will need to monitor my food intake and make sure it's commensurate with my calorie expenditure. It's not that hard, actually. It might not even involve calorie counting, though I'm continuing that for the present. The chapter "Perfect Weight Forever" in John Walker, The Hacker's Diet, explains how daily weigh-ins and some simple math provide an early warning system against significant weight regain.1 -
disasterman wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »I've read that the success rate of weight loss is less than stopping smoking (something like 7%). I haven't had a smoke in 10 years, so I think I can keep my 163# off.
IMO, it's about making a commitment to a WoE (way of eating) you can do the rest of your life. For me, that's weighing and measuring my food and being moderately active.
This. Exactly! (10 years smoke free here too!)
14 years smoke free. Looks like people on MFP could be the statistical outliers!
28 years smoke free. Does never smoking count?
With these statistics, what do hey count as attempting to lose weight.
To me things like 21 day fix, 30 day fix or what ever short term fix aren't attempting to lose weight if that's all your doing.
I'm sure some people count eating an apple a day for a week as a weightloss attempt.
Do we all have a coworker or friend who eats, 500 cals too much but drinks green tea or some other weightloss fad that doesn't work.
There seems to be weight loss attempts and then actual weightloss attempts where your looking long term, committing yourself, educating yourself.
I would like to see statistics on weightloss where they only include the more serious or committed people.2 -
What you heard doesn't matter. Get rid of that noise. Aim to create new data with your own success and change the statistics. ETA: hopefully your own success will get your friend to follow you.0
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So let's say that's an accurate number. 3% of people who lose weight don't gain it back. So what? Be one of the 3%.
ETA: oops.2 -
So what's the worst that could happen? You eat healthier and are more active for a while, even if its for a short time? Each day you make a change still counts for something. Think of it this way 100% of people who don't diet will continue to maintain their weight or gain vs. people who diet have a 5% chance of making a change. That's still better odds. Also, there is nothing that says you can't accept your body at all stages of your weight loss. It's not like a total win/lose situation.
I think a better question should be, do you really want to make a change, or do you just want a quick fix? I used to gain 5-10lbs a year once I became an adult from stress and bad habits. I lost enough weight to go from obese to healthy, and I've regained some. However I've at least cut down the majority of my bad habits, and it'll be a good long while before I regain "all of it", if I ever do. Sure I might not be perfect, but I've learned a lot from the process. Why not just give it a try, and instead of having expectations, just listen to your body and try to learn about yourself along the way.1
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