I just don't get it

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html

This New York Times article on the Biggest Loser Show gives you a good perspective on how severely limiting your calories does not work.

I think there's at least one other factor, sometimes, besides eating more than they think: I think some report that they are "eating 1200" because they truly think of themselves as doing so (and maybe even are weighing/tracking carefully).

But some of those, when asked to open their food log, turn out to have a fair number of blank or partial days.

I think some of those have their goal set so low that they fall into over-eating, followed by extreme guilt and denial (because they know they're good people, and they're trying so hard to "be good", giving up all foods they enjoy, cooking separate meals for the family, doing exercise they find unpleasant, etc. ) The guilt-laden overeating episodes are wiping out their deficits. But they're trying so hard . . . they feel like that pain & stress should be achieving something.

Compassion, folks . . . I've seen it work.

I've seen MFP old hands kindly, empathetically talk people off that low-cal ledge, convince them that reality-TV fueled loss-rate expectations are dangerous, get them to increase calories eaten to a sensible deficit level, start eating in a way that actually works in their lives, and learn to be active in more fun and practical ways.

Sometimes, because I've been here a while, I've seen those "failed" people come back in a few weeks/months & report back that the new routine is a great success, or I spot them in other threads reporting success, and helping other new peoole along. So touching!

I just love the kind, patient MFP old hands.

Also:

• Don't forget the influence of age. Calculators, including MFP's, say my sedentary maintenance, at age 61, is in the 1500s-ish for even some weights well into the overweight BMI zone. A 300-ish daily deficit will show up on the scale very slowly - much more slowly than folks expect given reality TV's massive loss examples - especially in a context where newly added exercise (or TOM) add some water weight. At a tiny deficit, it could take over a month to see clear results in that case.
  
• Years of yo-yo dieting, for some, have consequences: Reduced TDEE. "Starvation mode" is bunk. "Adaptive Thermogenesis" is real.
  http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/reduced-metabolism-tdee-beyond-expected-from-weight-loss-616251 (bonus in that blog: hints about how to avoid it).
  
• The NEAT/TDEE calculators just provide estimates based on statistical averages from large-group studies. Most people are close to those averages (i.e., there's a fairly small standard deviation, in statistical terms). But a very small percentage - about 5% - of people can be up to several hundred calories different from those estimates, in either direction. The ones who must eat less are much more likely to post here looking for help. Around here, we tend to cheer the people who can eat more than expected, and disbelieve/disparage those who must eat less.
  https://examine.com/nutrition/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people/

Edited: typos

kam3190 wrote: »

Why are there always people in the forum that make comments like ;

I'm eating 1200 Cals and working out for an hour and not losing weight.

I'm 300 lbs and can only lose at 1100 Cals.

How is this even feasible or possible. Last year I lost 35 lbs at 3 lbs a week eating 1800 calories a day. With two weekly walks. Starting weight 252. And 5ft 6 in. I don't even feel like a majorly active person. Are people really just that much in denial about how much they eat or am I just that much more active than I realize?

It isn't feasible or possible, but in many cases a necessary step in the psychological process of dealing with stress - denial.

Many people realize full well what the underlying issue is and this comes across in these posts by what facts are omitted. Statements tend to be vague and dramatic - e.g. "I eat under 1200 cals/day and work out 3 hours at the gym", but diary is closed, no mention of any of the points that matter - starting weight, goal weight, caloric intake, caloric output, etc. It's a focus on all the points that hold little to no relevance.

It takes a multitude of responses and there is no one "correct" response. Each person is going to react differently - some will prefer directness, others indirect, some logical, others empathetic.

When I see posts like this I think "you're focusing on the wrong issues", but years of programming from the diet industry is difficult to take on and they do a damn good job of convincing people that weight management is harder than it is. If the poster becomes defensive there's not much you can do. They simply aren't ready to move on. Some will and it's those posts I love to see - the "wake-up" posts where you really see people on the path to success.

kokonani wrote: »

1200 Cal is too little even for smaller people. I don't know how people keep up their energy daily on 1200.. couldn't and won't do it!

Good for you. You don't have to do it.

For me, 5'1 100-105lbs 63yo, 1200 is MFP maintenance when sedentary, not even to lose.
That isn't what I eat but the number was quite accurate when I started maintenance 7 years ago.

1200 is headlined so much in mags etc that a lot of women come here and override the MFP recommendations and do 1200 to lose fast. All those lose 10 lbs and lose 5in off your waist in a week headlines are selling a myth too many women buy into.

Cheers, h.

kokonani wrote: »

1200 Cal is too little even for smaller people. I don't know how people keep up their energy daily on 1200.. couldn't and won't do it!

Not for this shorty. At 4'11 there is no way I would have lost weight if I ate much more than 1200. I did however hate it which meant more exercise to enable more food.

i think there's definitely some shenanigans that goes on with some people either they don't want to admit to themselves the amount of food they eat or they simply don't know how much calories are in things they eat. I have a friend who's larger (taller and weight wise) than me, and almost 15 years younger and she swears she only loses weight when she eats 1000 calories a day. I'm like does that include the bottle of wine you drink every day? LOL

Watch some Butter Bob videos. First one is "Butter makes your pants fall off". Then watch his one about exercise. Exercise and weight loss are two different things. It is not just CICO. Also watch/listen to as much as you can to Dr. Jason Fung about metabolic syndrome, fasting, and all the studies about weight loss and why what doctors have been saying about calorie reduction and hi carb low fat diets do not works. It is all about insulin resistance. It has nothing to do with willpower or exercise. Try Keto and you will not be hungry anymore.

chriscros63 wrote: »

Watch some Butter Bob videos. First one is "Butter makes your pants fall off". Then watch his one about exercise. Exercise and weight loss are two different things. It is not just CICO. Also watch/listen to as much as you can to Dr. Jason Fung about metabolic syndrome, fasting, and all the studies about weight loss and why what doctors have been saying about calorie reduction and hi carb low fat diets do not works. It is all about insulin resistance. It has nothing to do with willpower or exercise. Try Keto and you will not be hungry anymore.

Yeah, calorie reduction doesn't work, and all the people posting success stories are paid spokespersons.