Do diets work?

Lounmoun wrote: »

What a long strange thread. Read the whole thing in one sitting.
I don't want onion rings on my burger.

I think any diet could work for weight loss if it causes the person to eat fewer calories. A lot of diet plans don't talk about calories and set up a person to lose a lot of weight fast. They severley restrict and eventually a person finds it hard to stick with. The dieter often blames themself and repeats the cycle with other very restrictive plans.
I think calorie counting tends to work more consistantly and be more sustainable long term because people are eating what is right for them personally.
I think if more people were aware of #1 how many calories they really need and #2 how many calories they consume then they would have a better shot at maintaining a healthy weight.

I'm hung up on the barbecue sauce. I haaaaaaaate commercial barbecue sauce.

estherdragonbat wrote: »

I just need to know that I can have an indulgence. Most of the time, I don't actually have it, but just knowing that if I want to, I can walk into Baskin-Robbins and grab a scoop of the flavor of the month if I want it, yes even if it's one of the 'full-fat premium 320 calories per scoop' flavors, and still lose weight helps me stick to it.

Yep!

quiksylver296 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

estherdragonbat wrote: »

I just need to know that I can have an indulgence. Most of the time, I don't actually have it, but just knowing that if I want to, I can walk into Baskin-Robbins and grab a scoop of the flavor of the month if I want it, yes even if it's one of the 'full-fat premium 320 calories per scoop' flavors, and still lose weight helps me stick to it.

Exactly. I don't even wind up eating the majority of the things I crave, but I know I *could* and that makes all the difference between now and the restrictive diet plans I tried to follow in the past.

It's much easier for me to tell myself "Not now, maybe tomorrow" than it is for me to say "No, you don't eat that ever."

And yep!

Yeppers! It's all a mind game, but it works

Pam934789975321 wrote: »

Of course diets work. Almost all of them. The key is sticking to one. Every diet I have ever stuck to has worked. Every diet I have not stuck to failed. So really, it wasn't the diet that failed, it was me.

Diets don't do anything, they work if you are able to stick at a deficit and they don't work when you overeat. Just because you do keto, Intermittent fasting, Paleo diet or whatever diet is out there, none of them guarantee any success....Can they work??? Yes as long as your at a deficit, but do not count on the diet to the work for you. They are just tools, the only guarantee is when you track your calories and you can pinpoint where you need to be at for a deficit. The diet is only a tool for you to feel the least miserable during your fat loss journey. Too many people focus too much on the diet part when they should worry about finding out what is their maintenance and how many calories they should eat daily to lose weight at a reasonable pace. Once you have that number, then you focus on what diet will help you achieve your goal.

Irishman1970 wrote: »

brittyn3 wrote: »

It sucks to watch someone try so hard to run up hill with a 50 pound rock dragging behind them when all they need to do and cut the rope and they will be much more successful

It sucks to watch someone try so hard to convince others that their way is the right way when all they need to do is worry about themselves and stop trying so hard to change other people. I am convinced that Irishman with no profile picture is just a troll who came here to see how many threads he can hijack. He spends an awful lot of his time on the discussion boards attempting to get people to argue with him. I could be completely wrong but I truly think he is a lonely, sad individual who only feels good about himself when he is attempting to make others look inferior.

@slossia

I know everyone said it before, but I feel like saying it again, I've been losing 1lb steadily every week and a half or so, I eat less than I need for maintenance (not so little less, just a 300 calories deficit) and work out 5-6 days of the week and walk more, so the eating less/walking more does work. I think eating fats is good and necessary tho, I do not consume meat or dairy but that's cos I'm an ethical vegan not cos I think weird stuff about them.

So, yes, eat properly and you'll see results, I also track my macros with the app, it's a very useful app and the forum is also interesting.

paperpudding wrote: »

JBApplebee wrote: »

Diets don't work, lifestyle changes do. We don't diet & exercise, we eat & train! Maybe it's me being not-picky, but diets are temporary, and once you get off of them, you need to know how to eat to avoid getting back what you've lost.

Yes that just seems nit picky semantics to me.

Yes of course if one eats at a calorie deficit "aka diets" for a temporary time and then reverts to old way of eating the weight will go back on.

But whether I long term diet ( ie eat maintenance calories) and exercise or eat and train - or in fact do no exercise at all and eat maintenance calories accordingly - I will not put it back on.

I'm targeting a 250 cal deficit right now. That, to me, is a "diet". When I'm done my "diet" I'll eat at estimated maintenance. Same foods just a little more of it.

Just how I look at it.

If they create a calorie deficit then yes. Often times they are not sustainable for the long term and people end up gaining the weight back.

Well again depends what you mean by 'diet' - agreed, a short term gimmicky diet doesnt work long term.

A long term sensible eating plan - aka 'diet' certainly can.

Doesnt need to be proposed by a dietician - just needs to be long term sustainable balanced calorie-appropriate eating plan - aka diet