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why cant some people realise that to lose weight i i have to be in a calorie deficit??

trulyhealy
trulyhealy Posts: 240 Member
i was arguing with a grown woman who’s done slimming world and lost weight and we had an argument about how you need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight and she wasn’t having it.

she was like well i lose weight while eating in a surplus!! well you clearly weren’t in a surplus and how would you know if you were if you don’t count calories??

i tried explaining calories in bc calories out she was like “well i’m on slimming world and we don’t use that”

it made me SO mad like what’s not clicking
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Replies

  • trulyhealy
    trulyhealy Posts: 240 Member
    Things I don't discuss with acquaintances:

    Politics

    Religion

    Covid19

    Abortion

    Gun Control

    Weight loss and everything that goes along with it

    she’s not an acquaintance we talk about weight loss a lot and i thought she would understand the facts since she’s lost weight
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,907 Member
    Well now you know. :)
  • lalepepper
    lalepepper Posts: 447 Member
    I hear you. I've run in to a lot of this myself. I think a lot of it comes down to it seems too "simple" to people. The reality is that counting is hard to do correctly, day in, day out, for long enough to make a meaningful loss.

    I don't think the average person has much of a concept of what a calorie is, beyond the food label. If you don't have a strong understanding of how the biology of metabolism works, calories can be really mysterious and confusing. The idea of more food vs. more calories can be hard to grasp, as we typically first look at volume/weight as an easy indicator of quantity, though it can be very deceiving.

    I think Ann above hit the nail on the head. If folks aren't using calorie counting and seeing its effects first hand, they are a lot less likely to accept that it works. There is also SO MUCH bad information out there about diet and weight loss. If someone already has misconceptions, you are starting from a disadvantaged point. You are in a position to not only correct their misunderstandings, but are also often implying that what other people they trust (often more than you) have told them is true. Cognitive biases make changing these opinions very difficult to do.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    If she was firm in her beliefs there was no point in arguing with her.

    you’re right but like it’s just so annoying

    I agree. I have so many relatives who claim they cant lose weight and "counting calories doesn't work". Only (insert random diet trend that ultimately works by lowering calories) works for a few weeks I lose a ton then nothing and I give up!

    They cant seem to grasp the concept. Or the concept that these "diets" cause a lot of water and bulk weight loss in the beginning then are frustrated when they start having a NORMAL 1lb loss a week and give up.

    Saw this the other day and did a *facepalm*... lots of comments on it too with people believing that different timing of IF will somehow target different areas of fat. :|6aahojp304xz.jpeg
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I try not to get involved or push if it's someone I know. If they ask me what I do and how I'm able to eat what I eat I will explain it. If they challenge me or disagree, I drop it. I'd rather not start a fight.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,449 Member
    I think it might be because these commercial diets like Slimming World lead people to think that there is some sort of magic to the diet itself, rather than it being essentially a method of calorie reduction. People talk about it being the diet where you can eat endless pasta or a whole chicken at a sitting, when really the rules just discourage people from eating too much. (Who goes to boil up some pasta for a snack when they've got an apple right there? Instead of calories for the non-free foods, they have points (which are based on calories).

    It's based on calorie reduction through types of food (low-fat food from a list, generally has to be cooked) and portion size (fill 1/3 plate with low-cal veg and the rest with food from a list), and calorie counting for the points.

    I think it would be easy for somebody to think they were eating in a surplus because it looks like there's no calorie counting, and I know people sometimes say they are eating more (because they are having to eat more low-cal veg, and low-fat foods, so there is more bulk).
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,297 Member
    Some of us need to repair our bodies before they will conform. me for 1 so some can and do have medical issues which make weight loss impossible.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,297 Member
    I suppose those of you who disagree know much better than my medical advisers.........................................
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,443 Member
    edited August 2020
    Unfortunately, we live in a world where a group of people think the earth is flat, they think a global pandemic is a big hoax, they think paid actors staged the Sandy Hook tragedy, and a laundry list of other beliefs that are objectively stupid.

    And so it's no surprise that people don't understand energy balance.

    Ginga Ninja, aka The Head Potato, is that you?!?