More than one way to skin a cat
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lmf1012
Posts: 402 Member
Some of the recent posts on here regarding different diets and approaches got me thinking. Not to mention the many posts on attitude, discipline, motivation, and willpower.
I think we can all agree that the "secret" to losing fat is to create a calorie deficit over a period of time. Seems simple enough, right? Ah.. but what is simple is most definitely NOT easy, at least for the vast majority of us.
While I think it can be beneficial to have an attitude of perseverance and some good old fashioned discipline, I think the real key is to find what makes us each tick. For me, MFP and CICO works because I love tracking, weighing, and counting and finding ways to maximize the "value" of my daily calories. For every one of me, there are probably 10 who hate tracking and counting!
For others, they find IF, Keto, or other way of eating to be their primary focus. Some prefer more structure that includes lists of foods to eat or even purchase plan foods. Some focus more on food, some on exercise, while others prefer a mix of the two to create the deficit. And the list goes on and on.
I wonder if there might be better tools or resources that could help people find the approach that suits them best since I see so many get frustrated that their diet is not working for them. I would argue it is less likely a true lack of willpower or discipline and way more likely the plan they are trying to follow is just not a good fit for them.
I think we can all agree that the "secret" to losing fat is to create a calorie deficit over a period of time. Seems simple enough, right? Ah.. but what is simple is most definitely NOT easy, at least for the vast majority of us.
While I think it can be beneficial to have an attitude of perseverance and some good old fashioned discipline, I think the real key is to find what makes us each tick. For me, MFP and CICO works because I love tracking, weighing, and counting and finding ways to maximize the "value" of my daily calories. For every one of me, there are probably 10 who hate tracking and counting!
For others, they find IF, Keto, or other way of eating to be their primary focus. Some prefer more structure that includes lists of foods to eat or even purchase plan foods. Some focus more on food, some on exercise, while others prefer a mix of the two to create the deficit. And the list goes on and on.
I wonder if there might be better tools or resources that could help people find the approach that suits them best since I see so many get frustrated that their diet is not working for them. I would argue it is less likely a true lack of willpower or discipline and way more likely the plan they are trying to follow is just not a good fit for them.
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Replies
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But there's really only one way to lose weight.
Eat less.4 -
cmriverside wrote: »But there's really only one way to lose weight.
Eat less.
No, it's eat fewer calories than you burn. How people manage that, on the other hand, may involve moderation, abstaining from certain foods, volume eating, or-
There's a lot of options to get there. Figuring out how your psychology works to make that work for you is important.12 -
Simple but not easy —> that’s the piece that seems to be missing when people are starting out.2
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The cat brought me a bird because he knows I can't catch them myself. Technically it's a calorie negative food for him because he didn't get to eat it.8
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I agree, I think your method of calorie reduction should go with your natural tendency. So for me, I like to eat regularly. So I split up my calories, watch my portions etc. My husband tends towards IF, in that he doesn't often eat breakfast or even lunch but then eats LOADS towards the end of the day. If he wanted to lose weight then he just needs to consider what he eats in that window.
Some people do well on the Atkins diet because they like to eat a lot of meat. As someone who never really liked meat that much even before going plant-based, I knew that wasn't the diet for me.
A flow chart could work well, I'm sure one exists already somewhere !0 -
We should lose that old expression altogether. It was created at a time where animal abuse was a lot more common and less frowned upon.7
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MikePfirrman wrote: »We should lose that old expression altogether. It was created at a time where animal abuse was a lot more common and less frowned upon.
That's valid.2 -
MikePfirrman wrote: »We should lose that old expression altogether. It was created at a time where animal abuse was a lot more common and less frowned upon.
That's valid.
I'm guilty of using it too on occasion. Just the cat lover in me coming out. Sorry. I grew up in a poorer area where cat abuse wasn't that uncommon. One time I found a stray in our rental garage (that was never used) tied up with a chain and left to starve. We found it before it died. Horrible memory. So the saying was literally derived from when people saw cats as a nuisance and would regularly kill them.3 -
Personally, I have found that the biggest mistake of all was "going on a diet". That presupposes that once you have reached your goal or given up in misery you go back to "normal" when "normal" is what got you to the wrong weight in the first place. Much though I hate the concept of a new normal (because Covid has ruined it for any other purpose) it is nevertheless necessary to find a way of eating that actually works long term.6
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NorthCascades wrote: »The cat brought me a bird because he knows I can't catch them myself. Technically it's a calorie negative food for him because he didn't get to eat it.
Our cat loves my partner more and only brings him birds. And mice. And snakes.2 -
MikePfirrman wrote: »We should lose that old expression altogether. It was created at a time where animal abuse was a lot more common and less frowned upon.
Yes, I use "many ways up the mountain."4 -
NorthCascades wrote: »The cat brought me a bird because he knows I can't catch them myself. Technically it's a calorie negative food for him because he didn't get to eat it.
So, what you're saying is if we do all our own hunting, chasing, fishing of our food but don't eat it......?
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kshama2001 wrote: »MikePfirrman wrote: »We should lose that old expression altogether. It was created at a time where animal abuse was a lot more common and less frowned upon.
Yes, I use "many ways up the mountain."
I like that saying. But do admit to using 'skin the cat' at least once a year. To me, it's just a saying. Anybody who knows me knows how I feel about animal abuse, etc.
But OP, I do think you've got a good idea. If we could easily find what way of doing things would work best for us in the beginning, a lot of us could save so much money bypassing all the money-grabbing schemes that sound oh-so-good but don't work a bit. Find the right way to do it the first time instead of spending years and years doing it wrong, but then maybe we, ourselves, have to be in the right place mentally to accomplish our goals.1 -
I believe part of the problem is the myriad of poor diet advice and misinformation that is all over media. My tv regularly tells me “it’s not my fault that I can’t lose weight, it’s insulin resistance or my setpoint”. My radio blasts out “get infrared body wraps or take herbal supplements to balance my hormones to lose weight”. The internet and forums are full of spurious diets with anecdotal evidence.
I feel blessed that I stumbled upon this site with so many knowledgeable people on the forums. But most people never find their way here. They start out with poor information and their odds of success aren’t the greatest.4 -
NorthCascades wrote: »The cat brought me a bird because he knows I can't catch them myself. Technically it's a calorie negative food for him because he didn't get to eat it.
So, what you're saying is if we do all our own hunting, chasing, fishing of our food but don't eat it......?
That sounds tiring. Does burn calories for sure but leaves us malnourished.🙂1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »The cat brought me a bird because he knows I can't catch them myself. Technically it's a calorie negative food for him because he didn't get to eat it.
So, what you're saying is if we do all our own hunting, chasing, fishing of our food but don't eat it......?
I burn an awful lot of calories growing low calorie food...
And inedible flowers!4
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