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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?

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Replies

  • curiouskate
    curiouskate Posts: 36 Member
    I never listened when people told me the dire statistics until I became one. I used to get mad at the suggestion, in fact. And remember that "20% success rate" includes anyone who kept off 10% of their weight loss. Heck, by that standard I won! But I don't consider gaining back 90% of what I lost success at all. I doubt many people would.

    I know this is a futile effort because people generally never think bad things could happen to them, but I just wish I personally had been more humble and less arrogant in the past. It stings to eat those words, it really does. I remember getting real mad at this one woman who said she regained because her child died. I feel so bad about that now- wish I could apologize to her. But I did not understand how it happens. Now I do, from watching all my WL friends and myself.

    Also there's nothing special about MFP. People have been calorie counting for decades, it's just that now there's an app. Weight Watchers is basically calorie counting and it has the same dismal long term success rate of anything.

    You seem determined to quash any and all optimism or determination to try.

    That's my issue with you.

    If you think this is my first rodeo, you're mistaken.

    I've been dieting off and on since I was 13. I'm going to be 55 in a few weeks. I've lost and regained weight before.

    I've been that statistic you're so enamored with.

    I know other posters, a couple of them posting in this thread have also been that statistic. All of us are making it work this time around and really, who are you to come traipsing in trying to rain doom and gloom all over us? Why project so? Why not turn around and learn and just have at it and pull yourself together and learn from what went wrong last time?

    One of the things I've learned coming to MFP is learning from my past mistakes and moving forward with determinism.

    Great. I wish you awesome luck.
  • curiouskate
    curiouskate Posts: 36 Member
    I never listened when people told me the dire statistics until I became one. I used to get mad at the suggestion, in fact. And remember that "20% success rate" includes anyone who kept off 10% of their weight loss. Heck, by that standard I won! But I don't consider gaining back 90% of what I lost success at all. I doubt many people would.

    I know this is a futile effort because people generally never think bad things could happen to them, but I just wish I personally had been more humble and less arrogant in the past. It stings to eat those words, it really does. I remember getting real mad at this one woman who said she regained because her child died. I feel so bad about that now- wish I could apologize to her. But I did not understand how it happens. Now I do, from watching all my WL friends and myself.

    Also there's nothing special about MFP. People have been calorie counting for decades, it's just that now there's an app. Weight Watchers is basically calorie counting and it has the same dismal long term success rate of anything.

    You seem determined to quash any and all optimism or determination to try.

    That's my issue with you.

    If you think this is my first rodeo, you're mistaken.

    I've been dieting off and on since I was 13. I'm going to be 55 in a few weeks. I've lost and regained weight before.

    I've been that statistic you're so enamored with.

    I know other posters, a couple of them posting in this thread have also been that statistic. All of us are making it work this time around and really, who are you to come traipsing in trying to rain doom and gloom all over us? Why project so? Why not turn around and learn and just have at it and pull yourself together and learn from what went wrong last time?

    One of the things I've learned coming to MFP is learning from my past mistakes and moving forward with determinism.

    Great. I wish you awesome luck.

    I too don't really understand your vociferous need to point out how doomed people are who try to lose weight. How many people don't know that? And how many would be easily discouraged if that's all they ever heard?

    The thread is for "unpopular opinions" is it not? Clearly mine is one.

    I honestly do wish everyone good luck.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    WakkoW wrote: »
    Okay. I think this one may be unpopular, but every woman I know well enough to discuss weight management with, actively thinks about and works at maintaining a healthy weight. They may never have been classified as "overweight" simply because they stopped/reversed the weight gain when their pants start to get too tight.

    It may look easy to an outsider, but it isn't. It is absolutely crazy to think that once you achieve a certain weight you can coast and ride easy. It is a lifetime of taking care of yourself and prioritizing your health.

    While I'm sure there are healthy weight people who absolutely never think about it, I think they are the unicorns. They might not obsess about it as much and simply eat less when they feel the extra pounds coming on.

    This was my late mother-in-law. She was a notorious sweet eater, but I always knew when she was dieting when she would turn down dessert. She'd mention that her pants were tight and that would be that for a few weeks, then she'd eat dessert again.

  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    lynn6241 wrote: »
    I haven't voiced this before because it is very non MFP of me

    I believe you can lose weight safely and get all the nutrition required on a VLC (800-900 calories) diet by eating the right (i.e. healthy) foods and cutting out "junk".

    I would very much like to see a day in a diary where all nutritional needs are met at that level of calories without supplementation.
  • HeliumIsNoble
    HeliumIsNoble Posts: 1,213 Member
    @GottaBurnEmAll I haven't noticed you being smug! Not at all.
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I think asking people not to be smug about their current success, and to have compassion for others, is fair enough. Indeed, it's a lesson I learnt in other areas of my life long since, and however well my weight loss goes, I am never going to sniff in contempt at others' poorer success.

    I agree with this, but I didn't notice people NOT being compassionate for others in this current discussion (in others, sure).
    That's about it. No-one participating in this latest discussion is being conceited.

    But as a more general thing, weight loss and conversation about weight loss is like any other subject- sometimes people get a bit big-headed, and do say things that... reveal a lack of emotional intelligence and... understanding how complex life can be. Again, not a dig at anyone right here, but it seems a reasonable thing to contribute to an Unpopular Opinions thread.

    I'd have phrased it differently though; I think "Sometimes people are right kittens about their success, and they will realise it when their past arrogance comes and bites them in the *kitten*" is quicker to type.
  • HeliumIsNoble
    HeliumIsNoble Posts: 1,213 Member
    MFP censors that?!
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Why would they? It's the glass 3/4 empty point of view. Most would rather hear abut the 1/4 glass full.

    this isn't my kind of issue, but to me it's more like 'what's the point of hearing the 3/4 one?' that one goes nowhere even if it is true. it's like me hearing that xty percent of women diagnosed with r.a. by age y will have z-percent lower life expectancy, or whatever it is.

    if that turns out to be true about me, then it's going to do that without help from me. there's no reason for me to pay any attention to it. it's a dead topic. the fact that in the meantime i can do a, b, and c is simply more interesting and it's the place my attention goes to.

    i think the original poster on this topic was making a statement about her own baselines for credibility though. which isn't directly related to whether or not a specific person is going to end up in the empty glass or the one that's part full.

  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited August 2017
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    lynn6241 wrote: »
    I haven't voiced this before because it is very non MFP of me

    I believe you can lose weight safely and get all the nutrition required on a VLC (800-900 calories) diet by eating the right (i.e. healthy) foods and cutting out "junk".

    I would very much like to see a day in a diary where all nutritional needs are met at that level of calories without supplementation.

    I'm almost tempted to play around with mocking up a day's diary to see if it's possible.


    But nah.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    lynn6241 wrote: »
    I haven't voiced this before because it is very non MFP of me

    I believe you can lose weight safely and get all the nutrition required on a VLC (800-900 calories) diet by eating the right (i.e. healthy) foods and cutting out "junk".

    I would very much like to see a day in a diary where all nutritional needs are met at that level of calories without supplementation.

    I'm almost tempted to play around with mocking up a day's diary to see if it's possible.


    But nah.

    I was tempted too. Seems to be an exercise in futility and frustration though.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited August 2017
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    lynn6241 wrote: »
    I haven't voiced this before because it is very non MFP of me

    I believe you can lose weight safely and get all the nutrition required on a VLC (800-900 calories) diet by eating the right (i.e. healthy) foods and cutting out "junk".

    I would very much like to see a day in a diary where all nutritional needs are met at that level of calories without supplementation.

    I'm almost tempted to play around with mocking up a day's diary to see if it's possible.


    But nah.

    I have seen one person who did very, very well nutritionally on (IIRC) 1000-1100. Better than most others in my friend feed who were a similar size but eating probably half again as many calories. Every bleepin' calorie counted. I can't remember for sure if it was without protein powder, but I'm certain that that was not a major component. Not losing excessively fast, either.

    There are a lot of people, among the diaries I've looked at, eating sufficient calories to get good nutrition, but not actually getting it: Too little protein even by USDA/WHO standards, too little veg/fruit (often next to none), sometimes too little fat as well. It seems somewhat common.

    Neither is a great plan. Which is worse? I suspect the ultra-low calories with good nutrition would get more push-back around here than the adequate calories with kinda crummy nutrition.

    I've noticed that too. Many times by people who say they are hitting their macro/calorie goals and including ice cream, booze, cookies, etc. but no where near the recommended fruits and veggies.
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