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CICO is not the whole equation

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Replies

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    @Look_Its_Kriss you need to show your whiny coworkers the link Lemur posted, that ought to shut them up!
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  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
    edited March 2017
    Losing weight and keeping it off is far more about your relationship with food and being in control over hunger and cravings than CICO.

    1. Control: If we feel deprived, we will inevitable "fall off the wagon" and eat what we have been craving. Since this was not planned we will mentally detach ourselves and ignore our conscience because it's telling us to stop. Then, it often becomes an all out binge. To me personally, it almost felt like an out of body experience because I was not in control and the reality of the situation was too painful to acknowledge.

    2. Relationship: When we tell ourselves that certain foods are "bad", "junk", and "evil" and then want them or eat them, we then turn those labels back onto ourselves and we are now "bad", "junk", and "evil". The guilt and shame that comes from losing control, does far more damage to our health and goals than the calories we splurged on.

    These two truths are at the core of why I struggled with my weight for half of my life and how I was able to lose over 100 lbs and maintain and lose another 30 over the last dozen years.

    There most certainly is, more to losing weight than "eat less and exercise more".

  • tabletop_joe
    tabletop_joe Posts: 455 Member
    Maybe we can't agree on the equation because we're all looking for different sums. :p
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member



    annaskiski wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Russellb97 wrote: »
    Losing weight and keeping it off is far more about your relationship with food and being in control over hunger and cravings than CICO.

    CICO is how it works. Fixing your relationship with food, etc., is how you make sure you are where you want to be with CICO. If you seem them as incompatible things or opposed to each other, I think you are misunderstanding what people mean by CICO. It's not a type of diet.

    As for how to achieve CICO, what strategically will work, it differs depending on the person. There are some good tips that work for many, but there's no one-size-fits all.

    ^^^ This

    I'm baffled by how hard this is for people to understand.

    Yes! CICO is the basic black and white answer, of course, it is! I completely agree that ultimately losing weight comes done to the CICO formula.
    Yet if it was truly that simple, why are getting bigger and bigger? Why do 95% of us who lose weight gain it all back?

    Sometimes you have to be able to think a bit deeper than what's on the surface. If you only go as far as CICO, you'll fail to comprehend the complexity of why losing weight is so difficult. Understanding the "big picture" is how you can go from a lifetime of obesity to forever fit. That is what I accomplished. But, it only happened after I stopped sacrificing to the CICO god by trying to sweat and willpower my way to success.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    even a person like me with a metabolic disorder loses weight with CICO,I just have to find out how many calories I lose at, and how many I need to maintain. right now eating 1712 calories ,Im maintaining my weight.

    I lost weight counting calories though and thats what helped me. I lost some weight before coming here,started eating healthier and gained back half my weight. came here and starting counting calories and weighing my food and it came off and then some.

    In almost 5 years I have not gained any back except for water weight.so CICO works for even people with my health issue
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
    J72FIT wrote: »
    A thing can be simple in theory yet difficult in practice. CICO is a perfect example of this. In theory it is very simple, it is what it is. Achieving it on the other hand can prove very difficult for many.

    Exactly, thank you :smile:
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
    The difference between overweight people and non-overweight people is those who aren't trying to lose weight are not worried, stressed, frustrated, ashamed, or pre-occupied with what they are going to eat and when they will eat it. It's food controlling us or us controlling our food.

    Studies have shown that overweight people exercise more often than non-overweight and non-overweight people eat more junk for than those who are overweight.

    I'll tell you what, being free from the "diligence" and pre-occupation with food is almost as satisfying as losing 130 lbs.


  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    Russellb97 wrote: »


    annaskiski wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Russellb97 wrote: »
    Losing weight and keeping it off is far more about your relationship with food and being in control over hunger and cravings than CICO.

    CICO is how it works. Fixing your relationship with food, etc., is how you make sure you are where you want to be with CICO. If you seem them as incompatible things or opposed to each other, I think you are misunderstanding what people mean by CICO. It's not a type of diet.

    As for how to achieve CICO, what strategically will work, it differs depending on the person. There are some good tips that work for many, but there's no one-size-fits all.

    ^^^ This

    I'm baffled by how hard this is for people to understand.

    Yes! CICO is the basic black and white answer, of course, it is! I completely agree that ultimately losing weight comes done to the CICO formula.
    Yet if it was truly that simple, why are getting bigger and bigger? Why do 95% of us who lose weight gain it all back?

    Sometimes you have to be able to think a bit deeper than what's on the surface. If you only go as far as CICO, you'll fail to comprehend the complexity of why losing weight is so difficult. Understanding the "big picture" is how you can go from a lifetime of obesity to forever fit. That is what I accomplished. But, it only happened after I stopped sacrificing to the CICO god by trying to sweat and willpower my way to success.

    Simply put... fat loss is hard. Staying fit takes more energy than going out with friends or ordering in, while making good decisions consistently. Life tends to get in the way and people address it with food. But to be honest, not everyone has a bad relationship with food. This is why I lost 50 lbs and have kept it off. It's why for the past 4 or 5 years, despite my wife being a regular in the hospital, I have figured out how I can workout and eat right when I am not, to keep it off. Now, I am just working on the vanity pounds.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Russellb97 wrote: »
    The difference between overweight people and non-overweight people is those who aren't trying to lose weight are not worried, stressed, frustrated, ashamed, or pre-occupied with what they are going to eat and when they will eat it. It's food controlling us or us controlling our food.

    Studies have shown that overweight people exercise more often than non-overweight and non-overweight people eat more junk for than those who are overweight.

    I'll tell you what, being free from the "diligence" and pre-occupation with food is almost as satisfying as losing 130 lbs.


    I've met a lot of non over weight people through my life who were also pretty preoccupied with food.
    I mean if its not calories its something else.. an ingredient maybe.. a recent study about a food they eat often maybe.. Where it comes from, How its harvested or killed, cooking method used.. every person i talk to has their own issues with food regardless of weight..

    I was obsessed with food when i was stick thin too lol My calories in/calories out luckily matched up my whole life. It wasnt until i hit 40 that things went skewiff :cry:
  • Amy_QueenInTraining
    Amy_QueenInTraining Posts: 16 Member
    *following. (And my two cents: You are right, it is not the whole equation. Personally, sodium consumption, time of day I eat, and how I exercise all contribute to my weight)
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