I'm curious to know what others think about this article...

I think it's stupid. It's totally wrong as it's basically saying "all diets are pointless, no matter what you put in your body you will never change your health, so don't bother" and basic science tells us otherwise.

I think what the article is TRYING (but failing miserably) to say, is that a lot of people who lose weight don't have the willpower (or for some reason stop trying) to keep up the healthy eating and exercise and keep the weight off, which is probably true.

Yeah, take it with a pinch of salt. I've had friends who weighed over 300 lbs and lost half of their weight through diet and exercise over a period of time. They inspire me, and through them, I believe losing a significant amount of weight is very possible. Persistence pays. All the best.

I read it and I do agree, sadly.

The thing is, it's taken me a year to get from morbidly obese to a normal BMI. People go in with false expectations that losing weight can be done fast - this is due, in part to the claims 'lose weight fast' of the dieting industry.

Also, I found it got exponentially harder to lose weight as time went by. It was a cinch to get from morbidly obese to obese: All I had to do was eat a little less and move a little more. I found I had to work harder - walk further each week, make healthier choice with my food - to get from obese to just overweight.

Overweight to a normal BMI has been hard. It was sheer bl**dy-mindedness that got me here and I'm only *just* there - I have another 8 pounds or so to get to the middle of the normal BMI range.

It would've been easy to give up once I was only a little bit overweight. I very nearly did. I looked much better, was loving the compliments I was getting, could fit into high street clothes. Why bother trying to drop one more or maybe two more dress sizes when I'd lost 5 stone already AND I'm now only losing maybe half a pound a week? It's just not as motivating as the pounds and pounds I lost at the start or even the one or two pounds a week I was losing several months ago!

I've had to change my reasons - change all sorts of things really - to stay on the weight loss path! I'm now doing it really to set a good example to my kids - to show them what a healthy lifestyle looks like so they don't encounter my weight problems later in life. I'm doing it because I get a buzz out of exercise and seeing the tiny change - more defined shoulders has been the latest change. I've stopped weighing myself weekly - even fortnightly. There's no point. I still fit into my size 14's - which are now dropping off, and know even if I've not lost weight I'm getting fitter, stronger and leaner.

If you are really dead set you can do this (AND YOU CAN!!!!) then get stuck in for the long haul and you'll win in the end

what a load of complete rubbish ,,its laughable ,,,,,yeah for sure a lot of people put weight back on ,,but its no medical or dna thing ,,we get fat because we live sedentary lives & eat too much ,,, no rocket science there ,,,with the right info & determination its easy to lose weight ,,,,but yeah sure just as easy to put it back on !!! its learning that the whole pkt of biscuits ,the slices of cake -the crisps the mcdonalds & take away the fizzy pop etc etc is going to pile on the pounds ,,its about healthy lifestyle ,,do it & stick to it & there is no way to put the weight back on ,,,,,there is no such thing as im big boned ,i have the fat gene ,blah blah ,,yes our bones do toughen up & build exta mass when we are obese for an amount of time ,,this is the extra weight we carry & the fact our bones need to be denser to hold the weight up ,,,,fat gene ,,nope ,,,fat thinking yep ,,if your used to & have been brought up on crap & fat then its all you know ,,we teach ourselves all through our lives new skills new proffessions etc so same with food ,,its re education on what we should eat ,,doesnt take long to lose the need for fattie crap & realise that veg fruit & lean meats are tasty & nice ,,,,,,our bodies all work the same & is a finely tuned machine ,,just some of us unfortunatly abuse it & give it the wrong fuel ,,in turn this produces our bods to not work as well & get fat ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
stupid article & written by a stupid person with zero scientific or medical backup

News media science reporting is usually suspect (trust me on this... I'm a journo).

However, I don't think diets work - if you treat them as a something that you do only until you lose the weight, before going back to exactly the same lifestyle and habits that made you gain the weight in the first place.

If you continue to eat well and be active, you'll retain your healthy weight.

I'd also like to emphasise *your* healthy weight. I'm an advocate of health at every size - my priority is for my body to be an efficient and healthy machine that does all the fun stuff I want from it, like climbing, dancing and running. I don't set much store by BMI and care even less for cultural values of "beauty", but I love the feeling that comes with being a capable athlete and a well-maintained human being.

I think what alot of the people bashing the article are missing is the fact that they are saying "Diets don't work!" and thats VERY TRUE.

They aren't talking about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, they aren't talking about exercise.

If you want to lose and keep it off, you can't have an ending to your journey.

The truth of the article is that people who lose weight through dieting, but do nothing to address the reasons why they over-ate to begin with will probably gain it back. That IS true. I am a life long dieter and re-gainer. Each time swearing I won't put the weight back on. This time, I am once again hopeful that I will be able to not only take it off, but keep it off because I have made other changes in my life. For me... and I am stressing for me, I'm not pointing fingers... I needed to work on the reasons I medicated myself with food. They don't call it comfort food for nothin'! It has taken my lifetime to work through this stuff and now, I feel I am really ready to come out of my fat shell and face the world. In a way, I'm so glad it isn't an instant transformation, because I have time to ease into it, but at the end, I will not only be healthier physically, but mentally as well. The article doesn't say why people will regain... maybe the author just doesn't know... Anyway, I wish all of you the best on this journey! Keep moving forward!