My best friend doesnt believe in CICO
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laurenebargar wrote: »So the title says it all. My best friend doesn't believe in CICO. I only told them recently that I started losing weight ( I told them once I was 15 lbs down) we went for a hike the other day, and then were walking back to their house, we stopped for ice cream. I had a ton of calories left so I got a flavor I actually wanted rather than just frozen yogurt. She was shocked and told me i'd never lose weight if im eating ice cream, and that our hike didnt count as exercise because we weren't in a gym (we burned over 1000 calories according to my fitbit!) I explained to her what MFP is all about it, and CICO and she said I was "getting obsessive" with calories I need to stop focusing on that, and eat only healthy foods and go to the gym for an hour every day, dont pay attention to calories. Im shocked that she would have such a strong opinion on it, shes a science major so I assumed something simple like CICO would make sense to her, you need to burn more calories than your body is taking in. Finally I explained I could eat one scoop of ice cream every day, even if thats all I ate, and I was in calorie deficit I would lose weight, she simply just said no you would gain weight and be terribly unhealthy. I agree you wouldnt be healthy, but you would still lose weight. That was it, she said after she didnt want to talk about it anymore. What do you guys think? I know CICO works, its been working for me, and so many other people on MFP. Why do people think CICO wont work??
People intentionally misunderstand for the purpose of arguing and feeling superior.
Is she smaller than you or was she the same size as you before you started losing weight? When I lost the weight years ago, I lost most of my friends. For many of them, I was that fat friend they hauled around to make themselves look better by contrast, when I lost the weight, I no longer fit into the role they had for me. I lost the friends who were the same size as me as they were angry that I was making progress and they just weren't ready to do that at the time.
People really don't like to see people they know being successful. Even people who are your friends really don't want to see your life improve unless their life is currently improving. It's just human nature. My thin friends tried to sabotage me every step of the way; they were furious when I had finally lost enough weight to date in the same circles and then they tried to trash my reputation. It can be impossible to keep some friends when the relationship roles change.
It's easier to give them some space now and make some new friends. You can probably be friends with her again at some point, but, right now she is hoping to sabotage. A science major knows better. Though, realistically, she probably doesn't even realize that's what she's doing. She's patting herself on the back for the helpful advice she's given.. lol
People pretty much just suck.
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Dammit my cycle ride today wasn't exercise as it wasn't in a gym.....
Your friend has some very strange beliefs.
Come on everyone knows the only way to lose weight cycling is to do it on a stationary bike at the gym facing a brick wall while flogging your own back for good measure
Occasionally as a treat you can watch dr oz while you cycle39 -
I have been counting calories and am almost at 50 lbs lost, and I too eat ice cream almost everyday. I think people don't believe in the simplicity of CICO. People are stubborn. Good news is that WE know it works, so keep on keeping on girl.3
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It's probably worse than a milkshake since most frozen yogurt has more sugar than a high-quality ice cream.PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »I just laugh at the idea that people assume that frozen yogurt is healthier than ice cream.
My sister has a friend who says she makes smoothies with yogurt for her super healthy breakfast. Asked what kind of yogurt, she replied "frozen yogurt." Guuuuuuuurl that's a milkshake. You're having milkshakes for breakfast.
I find when the ice cream's first ingredient is real cream, there's minimal sugar in it. Not so with frozen yogurts.
People are still sold on the "low-fat" being healthy craze regardless of calories or sugar content.
Let's be honest ... *real*, full-fat ice cream tastes better and is more-satisfying than yogurt. Yeah. Nom.5 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »What I find weird is that she thinks hiking isn't exercise and you can only exercise in a gym.
This. ^^^
I guess it's because they consider gym exercise as 'purposeful' whereas hiking is 'just walking around.' <insert eye-rolly here.>
What is amusing, though, is one hour of just walking around burns *way* more calories than the same hour spent in a gym lifting weights, getting all sweaty and feeling self-righteous.
I had a huge debate when I cleaned for 6 hrs (walked the equivalent of about 4 miles or more in the process) and was told it didnt count by some users on MFP. lol. Some agreed with me others didnt and no one would budge. Also I average 11000 steps per day right now and my weight loss has been great so I will stick to if youre moving, youre exercising!5 -
PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »I just laugh at the idea that people assume that frozen yogurt is healthier than ice cream.
My sister has a friend who says she makes smoothies with yogurt for her super healthy breakfast. Asked what kind of yogurt, she replied "frozen yogurt." Guuuuuuuurl that's a milkshake. You're having milkshakes for breakfast.
Lol! Article I just read says fro-yo often has less fat but more sugar than regular ice cream. Plus: "Fat can slow the body’s digestion of sugar, meaning you’ll feel more satisfied and won’t experience a blood sugar spike like you might with a swirl of sweetened yogurt, says Rumsey. She notes that many fro-yo brands also add sugar substitutes that could cause digestive issues like bloating or cramping." Ice cream it is! lol. But I actually eat low calories ice cream anyway... I like it. Not saying its any healthier. But honestly I dont think either one is particularly unhealthy. I think you could have a scoop of ice cream a day and still be healthy.1 -
Verity1111 wrote: »I had a huge debate when I cleaned for 6 hrs (walked the equivalent of about 4 miles or more in the process) and was told it didnt count by some users on MFP. lol. Some agreed with me others didnt and no one would budge. Also I average 11000 steps per day right now and my weight loss has been great so I will stick to if youre moving, youre exercising!
On my Monday workouts I run/walk to the park & back as it's only about 1.8k from my flat. If I do it at a run my Garmin clocks it at 162 kCal. If I walk at a quick pace (which I do anyway) it's 143. It's almost not worth the effort of going faster.
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People who don't understand CICO don't WANT to understand it. Why? Because it puts responsibility in their corner and if they are overweight, it's because they don't understand that they are eating more calories than they need too. Even if they were eating "healthy".
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TeacupsAndToning wrote: »People who don't understand CICO don't WANT to understand it. Why? Because it puts responsibility in their corner and if they are overweight, it's because they don't understand that they are eating more calories than they need too. Even if they were eating "healthy".
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I think people also have this idea that CICO is really difficult to follow because it forces you to pay attention to how much you're eating.
They'd much rather just eat "healthy" foods instead of actual calorie tracking.
Also, there's the ever present allure of the "hack" that will allow you to eat all you want as long as it's the secret formula to being thin.
Everyone is convinced it exists, whether they admit it or not. Acknowledging the truth of CICO is giving up belief in that hack. It's like coming to grips with Santa not being real.
Or was I really the only one who was that delusional?14 -
People who don't understand CICO don't WANT to understand it. Why? Because it puts responsibility in their corner and if they are overweight, it's because they don't understand that they are eating more calories than they need too. Even if they were eating "healthy".
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I know I was so guilty of this. I would insist that it couldn't be what I was eating because I 'didn't eat much.' I actually would get mad when people would say I was eating more than I thought.
Turns out they were right.
Sometimes I feel like we need little buttons that say, "CICO Worked For Me."10 -
What I find weird is that she thinks hiking isn't exercise and you can only exercise in a gym.
I found that odd as well, but also, everyone should take the Fitbit calorie burn with a grain of salt. They are reported to be highly inaccurate (kinda like some of the cardio machines at the gym).0 -
kcastagnoli wrote: »What I find weird is that she thinks hiking isn't exercise and you can only exercise in a gym.
I found that odd as well, but also, everyone should take the Fitbit calorie burn with a grain of salt. They are reported to be highly inaccurate (kinda like some of the cardio machines at the gym).
Not to be contrarian, but my Fitbit is pretty darned accurate. I took the time to calibrate it and make adjustments against real world data and can now rely on it.
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »TeacupsAndToning wrote: »People who don't understand CICO don't WANT to understand it. Why? Because it puts responsibility in their corner and if they are overweight, it's because they don't understand that they are eating more calories than they need too. Even if they were eating "healthy".
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Everyone is convinced it exists, whether they admit it or not. Acknowledging the truth of CICO is giving up belief in that hack. It's like coming to grips with Santa not being real.
Wait, what??0 -
I spent years lodging with a couple that were both extremely obese (I'd known the male half for years before he married). I would bring up the concept of of CICO to him and he would usually brush it off with breezy "oh there's more to it than that" excuses, usually while grating about 300g of mature cheddar onto half a kilo of pasta.
His wife was years younger than me, only in her late 20's. Yet she could barely climb the stairs. It's actually really depressing to watch people in that state, 3 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »kcastagnoli wrote: »What I find weird is that she thinks hiking isn't exercise and you can only exercise in a gym.
I found that odd as well, but also, everyone should take the Fitbit calorie burn with a grain of salt. They are reported to be highly inaccurate (kinda like some of the cardio machines at the gym).
Not to be contrarian, but my Fitbit is pretty darned accurate. I took the time to calibrate it and make adjustments against real world data and can now rely on it.
That's great that yours is accurate with some calibrating. Here is a recent article that I was thinking of regarding my post:
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/05/24/529839681/fitness-trackers-good-at-measuring-heart-rate-not-so-good-at-measuring-calories
And this is the scientific report the article is based on:
http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/7/2/3
And I do love Fitbit no matter what!
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kcastagnoli wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »kcastagnoli wrote: »What I find weird is that she thinks hiking isn't exercise and you can only exercise in a gym.
I found that odd as well, but also, everyone should take the Fitbit calorie burn with a grain of salt. They are reported to be highly inaccurate (kinda like some of the cardio machines at the gym).
Not to be contrarian, but my Fitbit is pretty darned accurate. I took the time to calibrate it and make adjustments against real world data and can now rely on it.
That's great that yours is accurate with some calibrating. Here is a recent article that I was thinking of regarding my post:
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/05/24/529839681/fitness-trackers-good-at-measuring-heart-rate-not-so-good-at-measuring-calories
And this is the scientific report the article is based on:
http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/7/2/3
And I do love Fitbit no matter what!
One of the problems I saw with a really quick look at the study (I'm rushing off here to go cook dinner so don't have time to do anything in depth) was in the methodology of the study itself vs. how I know how using a Fitbit works.
The device needs time to get to know you before it's accurate.
It seems from a quick glance that they just popped these people into a lab and threw up to four devices at a time onto them and expected accuracy from a cold reading.
That's not how they work.
Now perhaps my quick speed reading missed something, and if it did, I apologize.10 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »kcastagnoli wrote: »What I find weird is that she thinks hiking isn't exercise and you can only exercise in a gym.
I found that odd as well, but also, everyone should take the Fitbit calorie burn with a grain of salt. They are reported to be highly inaccurate (kinda like some of the cardio machines at the gym).
Not to be contrarian, but my Fitbit is pretty darned accurate. I took the time to calibrate it and make adjustments against real world data and can now rely on it.
Accurate for me too, and I agree part of it is understanding how it works, what it's good at measuring, and what to expect when using it in conjunction with MFP. I lost the weight I set out to lose and am currently maintaining while trusting the numbers from FitBit.
Also on a more relevant point to the OP - does your friend understand that CICO doesn't mean counting calories? It's a fundamental energy balance that governs all of us, whether you are employing the principles of CICO to lose, maintain, or gain weight... they apply to everyone. Sort of like gravity. I'd check to make sure you and your friend are on the same page with the basic definition... and then get into the debate of how it's possible to eat ice cream, lose weight, AND be healthy.4 -
My Fitbit is also very accurate for me.... I have been wearing it for 3 years and I gain/lose/maintain right on schedule. I don't think they are intended to calculate burns for specific activities but moreso overall level of activity. Fitbits can be very misunderstood.
OP, since what you are doing keep doing you! Next time she comments on what you eating, tell her you are eating what works for you and leave it at that.4 -
and watch out for gym trainers who say "walking out side wont do you as good as being in the gym" they most like want to sell you trainer sessions = $$$$$11
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