Article: a doctor busts the biggest weight loss myths 😋
koalathebear
Posts: 236 Member
https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/diet/a-doctor-busts-the-biggest-weight-loss-myths/news-story/c88636d0db13c28de7bd97cf9deb1b86
He doesn't think counting calories works? Huh?
He doesn't think counting calories works? Huh?
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Replies
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He has tiny good nuggets of advice but CICO is literally science? The only way you lose fat is at a caloric deficit.
Maybe he meant that the act of actually counting and logging is, in his opinion, unsustainable. There are plenty of people who don't count calories and still lose weight...but they're still eating at a deficit lol8 -
The article seemed to have cut out half
Of what he meant to say. I feel like he had
More to say but they shortenes it for the article.
He does have a point that CICO can become tireseome. We have seen threads on these forums where people have said I’m sick of counting calories. I think there’s the huge issue of we have so much ready made food that it can look healthy but be insane on calorie and we don’t know that. Some people are just naturally good at controlling food intake without counting calories and that’s true. Some have faster metabolism some just work out well or have a physical life what they eat doesn’t make them fat.
If there was a way we could moderate eating without counting calories or least stop restaurants going crazy on portion control I think could really help.
I spent years eating ‘well’ like veggies meat etc. but I still got fat. Why? I was eating too much of it. If I’d portioned it better and noticed calorie I needed vs what I was putting on, I probably wouldn’t have gotten fat.
Anyway off my soapbox. There’s no one size fits all approach but CICO has really showed me how to portion control my food and manage how much I eat.5 -
He's not a physician.. in case anyone was misled by the title "Doctor".
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Cherimoose wrote: »He's not a physician.. in case anyone was misled by the title "Doctor".
I looked him up. He’s a obesity researcher at University of Sydney. It’s a high end uni.
He technicallyis a dr he does have a PHD.
Doesn’t mean he’s credible though.
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koalathebear wrote: »https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/diet/a-doctor-busts-the-biggest-weight-loss-myths/news-story/c88636d0db13c28de7bd97cf9deb1b86
He doesn't think counting calories works? Huh?
I am not sure that this particular article was worth clicking on, even to comment.
If the article is representative of the web site as a whole, then the web site is not worth clicking on.
A lot of stuff on the internet is not worth clicking on.
I could write the same article for you:
PAV8888 busts diet myths for you:
"Most diets don't work for most people", said PAV8888.
There you go. Mine is of slightly higher quality and I didn't even have to quote anyone other than myself.24 -
Did the video say anything the article did not? I was expecting to see what he did recommend but it just ended. Very poorly done.1
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I may be wrong but it would not surprise me if the writer of the blog cherry picked things the doctor had said to suit an agenda, mainly because the article itself is so incomplete.6
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I agree. It was really jarring. Hardly made sense.Lillymoo01 wrote: »I may be wrong but it would not surprise me if the writer of the blog cherry picked things the doctor had said to suit an agenda, mainly because the article itself is so incomplete.
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Seriously: my friend's high school kids could have written this for an assignment they didn't want to interrupt their chat session for.
If it was intended to be a serious article it needs some extra words to create sentences with content, meaning, a thesis or argument or something!!!
Here is a same level article about dog weight gain, only a little bit more coherent!
Dogs who pounce on mice dirty bulk, said Skylar the dog.
Skylar likes to run, said Skylar.
Bloody paws and limps are bad for running, said Skylar
Catching and eating mice adds calories and quality nutrients to a dog's diet according to researchers at a local animal shelter.
Dog's who pounce on mice and hit rebar end up injured, said distraught dog owner.
Eating mice is fun; but pouncing on rebar sucks *kitten's*, said Skylar.
Mouse hunting is guaranteed to make your dog fat according to local sources.
The end.
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Yeah, I only got as far as 'www.bodyandsoul." before wrote off the chance of getting any useful information from that article once.4
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Proof that you can find anything on the internet, voicing an opinion. Doesn’t make it true. There are many MD’s that give bad advice about dieting. Having a doctorate doesn’t necessarily mean you are qualified to give advice on dieting successfully. Counting calories does work for many of us, and eating less calories than your body burns is the only way you lose weight, how you get there can differ.5
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This is probably where the information comes from:
https://sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/news-and-events/2019/05/06/dr-nick-fuller-5-reasons-diets-don-t-work-and-what-to-do-instead.html
If I didn't have to pay for it, I might like reading his entire book so I could see the "science" behind what he says. I'm not ruling it out (what he says).
He does have his doctorate in nutrition as well as being an obesity researcher. It seems his answer is an interval diet. Looks like you do CICO for a time, lose weight, then maintain for a time, then CICO it again. He's advocating for a slow weight loss with breaks in between to "trick" your body out of some evolutionary behaviors.2 -
bluesheeponahill wrote: »The article seemed to have cut out half
Of what he meant to say. I feel like he had
More to say but they shortenes it for the article.
He does have a point that CICO can become tireseome. We have seen threads on these forums where people have said I’m sick of counting calories. I think there’s the huge issue of we have so much ready made food that it can look healthy but be insane on calorie and we don’t know that. Some people are just naturally good at controlling food intake without counting calories and that’s true. Some have faster metabolism some just work out well or have a physical life what they eat doesn’t make them fat.
If there was a way we could moderate eating without counting calories or least stop restaurants going crazy on portion control I think could really help.
I spent years eating ‘well’ like veggies meat etc. but I still got fat. Why? I was eating too much of it. If I’d portioned it better and noticed calorie I needed vs what I was putting on, I probably wouldn’t have gotten fat.
Anyway off my soapbox. There’s no one size fits all approach but CICO has really showed me how to portion control my food and manage how much I eat.
Which part? Eating or living and moving? CICO is not a diet or a method it is an energy equation.
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Yes, a diet based on a small cut off tdee followed by a diet break (I note that 2kg a month is just over 1lb a week, or just over a 500 Cal cut) could be both sustainable and generate minimal AT and hormonal changes.
That may well be what the researcher says in other documents. And could be an effective weight loss strategy.
But that is not info found in the original article.5 -
Yes, a diet based on a small cut off tdee followed by a diet break (I note that 2kg a month is just over 1lb a week, or just over a 500 Cal cut) could be both sustainable and generate minimal AT and hormonal changes.
That may well be what the researcher says in other documents. And could be an effective weight loss strategy.
But that is not info found in the original article.
Of course not. I really get tired of all the irresponsible journalism and "fluff" handed out. How many people click on this kind of stuff and just give up? I know most people would never go on a further search to see what the guy really has to say and why he believes what he believes.3 -
koalathebear wrote: »https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/diet/a-doctor-busts-the-biggest-weight-loss-myths/news-story/c88636d0db13c28de7bd97cf9deb1b86
He doesn't think counting calories works? Huh?
Does he say it doesn't work, or isn't necessary? It does work, but isn't necessary. As long as you are in a deficit you will lose weight, whether you count the cals or not.
Many people in their responses here seem to be confusing counting calories with CICO.
CICO is just energy balance that your body does itself, counting calories is just that, counting what you eat and burn.6 -
I sure would hate to be quoted as badly as Nick Fuller was (unless the guy really says things like sugars are "the very foods that are preventative for your health.") But I agree, the article was poorly written and should have included the things that people should try instead.2
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Yes, a diet based on a small cut off tdee followed by a diet break (I note that 2kg a month is just over 1lb a week, or just over a 500 Cal cut) could be both sustainable and generate minimal AT and hormonal changes.
That may well be what the researcher says in other documents. And could be an effective weight loss strategy.
But that is not info found in the original article.
Quite possibly true.
Of course that is a problem with what the author of the article says, not what the doctor says.
So, all the 'doctors don't give good advice etc' comments should maybe read 'article writers don't convey accurately what doctors say'
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koalathebear wrote: »https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/diet/a-doctor-busts-the-biggest-weight-loss-myths/news-story/c88636d0db13c28de7bd97cf9deb1b86
He doesn't think counting calories works? Huh?
Does he say it doesn't work, or isn't necessary? It does work, but isn't necessary. As long as you are in a deficit you will lose weight, whether you count the cals or not.
Many people in their responses here seem to be confusing counting calories with CICO.
CICO is just energy balance that your body does itself, counting calories is just that, counting what you eat and burn.
This is what he says in the link that I posted.
And calorie counting is a complete waste of time. Not all calories are equal, meaning we don’t absorb all the energy from some foods such as nuts and vegetables, and weight loss is not as simple as calories in versus calories out.
This, of course, was from another article. I'd actually like to read his book to see more details about why he feels that way. If you read his point of view on his own website, it sounds more like he believes somewhat in CICO but going off into maintenance for a bit and then going back on. But it does seem like he believes that some foods don't CICO like others, specifically nuts. He's a researcher on obesity so I'd love to see his data backing that up.2 -
koalathebear wrote: »https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/diet/a-doctor-busts-the-biggest-weight-loss-myths/news-story/c88636d0db13c28de7bd97cf9deb1b86
He doesn't think counting calories works? Huh?
Does he say it doesn't work, or isn't necessary? It does work, but isn't necessary. As long as you are in a deficit you will lose weight, whether you count the cals or not.
Many people in their responses here seem to be confusing counting calories with CICO.
CICO is just energy balance that your body does itself, counting calories is just that, counting what you eat and burn.
This. The article does not say CICO doesn't work. He just questions whether counting calories works. I think the snippet in the article is wrong, but I wouldn't say he is wrong as I doubt the article linked is actually what he's said. Seems to be a poor translation.
CICO <> calorie counting.2 -
koalathebear wrote: »He doesn't think counting calories works? Huh?
I know somebody who failed to lose weight by counting calories, and then lose a bunch of weight on some weird diet his trainer dreamed up for him. When he told me this, I said "you were willing to break the don't go over your calories rule, but you weren't willing to break the rules your trainer gave you?" He thought about it for a second and agreed.
You can be in a calorie deficit without counting them.
For a lot of people, counting is very useful. But not for everybody.
I don't know if that's what the guy was getting at, based on comments in this thread I didn't read the article.4 -
Eat less, move more. Summary of sny successful weight loss plan.4
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There you go.
Hey did you see there was this guy on the internet that wrote 'most diets don't work' that is pretty controversial!
@PAV8888
There was this other page I saw with the top five diets to try this summer: https://health.com/weight-loss/best-diets-2019
PS. I literally typed 'top five diets to try this summer' into google and this was the first result. TL:DR
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He's not saying CICO is false or that calorie logging doesn't work. He's just saying calorie counting can be unsustainable, which is true for many people.
Almost anyone can do a CICO + calorie logging diet for 3-4 weeks. When the pounds lost per week slow down and cravings for old comfort, high-calorie foods kick in, a lot of people fall off the wagon. It's hard to stay motivated and plugged in unless you find a food and exercise groove you really enjoy, and a tool such as MFP to help you stay on track.
The article is poorly written. Like a lot of "Everything the experts told you is wrong" diatribes, it attempts to slant things in such a way that all prior expert advice will seem flawed to support its main thesis. But the data point he used, this doctor fellow, didn't say anything particularly objectionable. There is a sustainability issue with calorie counting for many people; if there weren't, there would be no other types of diets. Personally, I enjoy food and exercise tracking and find it very motivating; nothing else has ever worked for me.4 -
koalathebear wrote: »https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/diet/a-doctor-busts-the-biggest-weight-loss-myths/news-story/c88636d0db13c28de7bd97cf9deb1b86
He doesn't think counting calories works? Huh?
Does he say it doesn't work, or isn't necessary? It does work, but isn't necessary. As long as you are in a deficit you will lose weight, whether you count the cals or not.
Many people in their responses here seem to be confusing counting calories with CICO.
CICO is just energy balance that your body does itself, counting calories is just that, counting what you eat and burn.
This is what he says in the link that I posted.
And calorie counting is a complete waste of time. Not all calories are equal, meaning we don’t absorb all the energy from some foods such as nuts and vegetables, and weight loss is not as simple as calories in versus calories out.
This, of course, was from another article. I'd actually like to read his book to see more details about why he feels that way. If you read his point of view on his own website, it sounds more like he believes somewhat in CICO but going off into maintenance for a bit and then going back on. But it does seem like he believes that some foods don't CICO like others, specifically nuts. He's a researcher on obesity so I'd love to see his data backing that up.
Nuts don't quite absorb at 100% of stated calories depending on individuals (and of course this extends to other items for various individuals; but seems to be more widespread when it comes to nuts).
It is another example of you "can't count calories" because the values can be off.
Neglects that unbiased errors are not cumulative. Neglects that you don't need ACCURATE in order to achieve CONSISTENT. Confounds different issues (accuracy of measurement with utility of measurement). Seems a bit weird for an academic to base their attempt to invalidate CICO on that point only.
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I don’t necessarily think the doctor is wrong, as far as it goes, but singling out one type of dieting for weight loss seems unfair.
Any program (including calorie counting) works for weight loss, as long as you consume less calories than your body burns. With statistics showing over 80% of people gaining back weight they lost within 5 years, no matter what program they followed, it stands to reason that the underlying issue is maintaining the weight loss, not how you lost the weight. Just my opinion, that counting calories, all foods in moderation and portion control, can be a good transition to maintaining a healthy weight for life, as long as you stick with it. No transitioning certain foods when you reach your goal. Just eat the same amount of calories your body burns to maintain a healthy weight. Clearly not an easy task for most of us.3 -
He's not saying CICO is false or that calorie logging doesn't work. He's just saying calorie counting can be unsustainable, which is true for many people.
Logging intake can be easy or hard. If you are living alone, logging is relatively easy. Kinda annoying, but tolerable (for me). For those people who share a household, kitchen and meal times with other people, it can be difficult or almost impossible. Especially if someone else has control of what is bought, cooked or eaten.
If I were sharing meals with other people, I wouldn't bother. Just go by hunger signals, guesstimating and frequent weighing.2 -
I didn't mean I was advocating the article when I posted it. I know there are literally millions of articles about dieting and weight loss and pros and cons of various schools of thought.
I think the thing that I was surprised about was that he criticised a bunch of faddish things - which is normal, if you read thefitnesschef, he does that all the time - it's just unusual to see articles like this bagging out calorie counting when weight loss is all about that. Sure it doesn't work if you don't do it properly, but fundamentally it is about calories in and out and it's the boring and simple albeit still difficult and hard work way to lose weight - so I was a little surprised to see it show up in the 'look how controversial I'm being because I'm sledging fad dieting techniques'. Usually the whole: "Keep an eye on what you're consuming vs what you're burning" line doesn't even show up in articles like this.3 -
This is one of those "lite" articles which can be whipped up in minutes.3
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