60 yrs and up
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I cannot speak for others, but I can say what worked and continues to work for me: I chose foods and an eating pattern that leaves me with as little hunger as possible while accepting that hunger is, for me, unavoidable and constant. I am now 61 and have gone from 127 kg to 65.2 kg (this afternoon). That means I am milligramming closer to the final goal, which is my (as of yet unknown) ideal weight.Anewme2023 wrote: »Hi everyone. I’d like to join your group. I’m new but not new, been on MFP before. Have decided to come back so I can track myself and get healthier. I’m in my mid 60’s and was told by my Dr. that my blood pressure is high as is my blood sugar. I’ve been given 3 months to get this under control or I’ll have to go on meds. I’m 5’2” and weigh 247 lb’s. It’s time for me to get serious! My problem is there are so many different “ways to eat” and it gets really confusing. How did y’all decide which way of eating to go with?3 -
Anewme2023 wrote: »Hi everyone. I’d like to join your group. I’m new but not new, been on MFP before. Have decided to come back so I can track myself and get healthier. I’m in my mid 60’s and was told by my Dr. that my blood pressure is high as is my blood sugar. I’ve been given 3 months to get this under control or I’ll have to go on meds. I’m 5’2” and weigh 247 lb’s. It’s time for me to get serious! My problem is there are so many different “ways to eat” and it gets really confusing. How did y’all decide which way of eating to go with?
Different people do best with different methods. IMO, it's key to be willing to try an approach, stick with it for a fair trial (4-6 weeks, usually), then assess. If it didn't work - or didn't stick for that time period - don't give up, just try something else. Patience and persistence pay off.
What I did was start logging my eating as completely as I could, the reviewed my food diary every day or two to find foods that seemed like they "cost" too many calories for my assessment of their filling-ness, tastiness, convenience, nutrition. Those were candidates to reduce or replace in my routine eating habits. Just keeping up this kind of approach, I gradually remodeled my eating habits toward calorie-appropriate, nutritious, practical eating, using foods I personally enjoy.
There are more details about that kind of approach here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1
It's not the only way, won't be perfect for everyone, but it worked well for me - I lost from class 1 obese to a healthy weight in just under a year at age 59-60, and have been at a healthy weight for around 7 years since (now age 67). With the weight loss, my high blood pressure and high cholesterol became solidly normal, and my arthritis pain/discomfort decreased in both degree and frequency, among other excellent side effects.
Don't be afraid to try a method, see how you feel about it . . . keep it if you like it, try something else if you don't. Weight management is just a sequence of opportunities to experiment, self-analyze, and adjust until we get the results we want.
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Thank you for your response. I know I need to cut way back on sugar, so guess I’ll start there. Congratulations on your weight loss. I’ve set mini goals for myself, the first one is to get out of the 240’s.BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
I cannot speak for others, but I can say what worked and continues to work for me: I chose foods and an eating pattern that leaves me with as little hunger as possible while accepting that hunger is, for me, unavoidable and constant. I am now 61 and have gone from 127 kg to 65.2 kg (this afternoon). That means I am milligramming closer to the final goal, which is my (as of yet unknown) ideal weight.Anewme2023 wrote: »Hi everyone. I’d like to join your group. I’m new but not new, been on MFP before. Have decided to come back so I can track myself and get healthier. I’m in my mid 60’s and was told by my Dr. that my blood pressure is high as is my blood sugar. I’ve been given 3 months to get this under control or I’ll have to go on meds. I’m 5’2” and weigh 247 lb’s. It’s time for me to get serious! My problem is there are so many different “ways to eat” and it gets really confusing. How did y’all decide which way of eating to go with?
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Anewme2023 wrote: »Hi everyone. I’d like to join your group. I’m new but not new, been on MFP before. Have decided to come back so I can track myself and get healthier. I’m in my mid 60’s and was told by my Dr. that my blood pressure is high as is my blood sugar. I’ve been given 3 months to get this under control or I’ll have to go on meds. I’m 5’2” and weigh 247 lb’s. It’s time for me to get serious! My problem is there are so many different “ways to eat” and it gets really confusing. How did y’all decide which way of eating to go with?
Different people do best with different methods. IMO, it's key to be willing to try an approach, stick with it for a fair trial (4-6 weeks, usually), then assess. If it didn't work - or didn't stick for that time period - don't give up, just try something else. Patience and persistence pay off.
What I did was start logging my eating as completely as I could, the reviewed my food diary every day or two to find foods that seemed like they "cost" too many calories for my assessment of their filling-ness, tastiness, convenience, nutrition. Those were candidates to reduce or replace in my routine eating habits. Just keeping up this kind of approach, I gradually remodeled my eating habits toward calorie-appropriate, nutritious, practical eating, using foods I personally enjoy.
There are more details about that kind of approach here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1
It's not the only way, won't be perfect for everyone, but it worked well for me - I lost from class 1 obese to a healthy weight in just under a year at age 59-60, and have been at a healthy weight for around 7 years since (now age 67). With the weight loss, my high blood pressure and high cholesterol became solidly normal, and my arthritis pain/discomfort decreased in both degree and frequency, among other excellent side effects.
Don't be afraid to try a method, see how you feel about it . . . keep it if you like it, try something else if you don't. Weight management is just a sequence of opportunities to experiment, self-analyze, and adjust until we get the results we want.
Thank you for your input. I found your article very enlightening. I know I need to cut back on sugar to get my blood sugar down and I heard low carb is also good for that. My daughter suggest cutting back on salt (sodium) for the high blood pressure. MFP has me set at losing 1 lb a week with 5000 calories with 50% of that being carbs. Seems to be a little high to me. I’m actually leaning towards low carb without the high fat and see how that goes.0 -
@Anewme2023 You may want to re-check your numbers. I know that for me, to lose 1 pound a week, I can only eat 1200 calories. Even if I set my activity level to "very active" I'm still only allotted 1800 calories. So yes, 5000 calories sounds awfully high.1
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How did y’all decide which way of eating to go with?
I'm 68 (well, 69 next month) and like you, was confused about where to start. First, I've managed to lose 31 pounds in 3.5 months. Second, I had a few personal "rules" before I began: (1) I wouldn't eat anything I didn't like; (2) I would eat something each day that I really liked; and, (3) I wouldn't put a plan in place that I wasn't willing to stay with for the rest of my life.
Most important step to begin was to log all my food here in MFP. Completely and accurately. That requires a food scale, because it was important to understand portion size and realize what I thought I knew I really didn't! MFP offers a huge database, and I recommend selecting the entries with the green check mark, as they've been verified. I also entered custom foods, meals and recipes...time-consuming but only once!
Then, like an onion, I began peeling away foods, literally stripping them from my pantry and refrigerator and eating: packaged/processed foods, sugars, sugary drinks, pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, crackers, chips, cookies. By logging what I ate and watching the scale, it became clear very quickly what needed to happen.
Next I began adding in foods: protein 3 times a day, about 20-30 grams each meal: chicken mostly but also lean beef and pork, plus lots of roasted veggies. I discovered skyr, a type of yogurt from Iceland made with nonfat milk that's high in protein but low in carbs and calories...and is a wonderful base for a dessert! My favorite is vanilla + a few sprinkles of sugarfree chocolate pudding mix + sugarfree whipped topping. I also discovered flavorful low cal/carb condiments like salsa, mustards, etc.
Then, I was able to use MFP to pre-plan a week's worth of meals using the foods/dishes/recipes I knew were working for me, so that I had "a track to run on" which allowed for variations and surprises...as long as I accurately tracked them and then understood what I saw/didn't see on the scale.
Speaking of which, for me I found that I benefited from weighing on Thursdays and Sundays, because each time period felt like a manageable chunk of time in which to both stay focused on a short term goal + see results from my efforts.
I also began adding daily exercise of some kind: at first, 10-15 minute walks, building up each week, some combination of adding more walks per day and adding 5-10 minutes. I tried to climb a flight of stairs each day. When I became just a bit more fit from the walking, I added gym time (senior discounts!) on a bike, treadmill, or elliptical...again, 10 minutes and increasing slowly.
I gifted myself the gear I needed: scale, food scale, walking shoes, socks, iWatch, a hot/cold knee wrap. I also built in "rewards" for myself but ONLY for my efforts: if I worked my activity plan and logged all my food for two weeks, then I would get a foot massage, etc. My January challenge is to "close my rings" on my iWatch every day: 500 Move calories, 75 Exercise minutes, 12 Stands.
Regarding the diet that I discovered worked for me: target is 50 grams of carbs per day plus 90 grams lean protein, eating in an 8-hour window ending no later than 5:00pm, plus lots of water! I learned from my doctor recently that as we age our bodies don't use protein or water as efficiently, so we need more.
Between Thanksgiving and New Year's I still managed to lose 5 pounds, and was able to sail thru the holidays by using the 3-bite dessert rule: first bite is "Hello!", second bite is"Yum!", and third bite is "Goodbye Now". Because I decided ahead of time to enjoy family holiday meals, I wasn't surprised at what the scale told me. However, I also thought ahead of time about what I most wanted to eat, and didn't waste calories on the rest.
Hope any of this helps!
Start anywhere, keep at it, track what you're doing and what's working for you. You can do this!4 -
ridiculous59 wrote: »@Anewme2023 You may want to re-check your numbers. I know that for me, to lose 1 pound a week, I can only eat 1200 calories. Even if I set my activity level to "very active" I'm still only allotted 1800 calories. So yes, 5000 calories sounds awfully high.
I rechecked my numbers, it’s set at 1500 NOT 5000. I don’t know what I was thinking lol.4 -
Thank you. It was no big deal. Given what I have suffered before, my last 30+ kg were a walk in the park, even if my hunger remains constantly present.Anewme2023 wrote: »
Thank you for your response. I know I need to cut way back on sugar, so guess I’ll start there. Congratulations on your weight loss. I’ve set mini goals for myself, the first one is to get out of the 240’s.BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
I cannot speak for others, but I can say what worked and continues to work for me: I chose foods and an eating pattern that leaves me with as little hunger as possible while accepting that hunger is, for me, unavoidable and constant. I am now 61 and have gone from 127 kg to 65.2 kg (this afternoon). That means I am milligramming closer to the final goal, which is my (as of yet unknown) ideal weight.Anewme2023 wrote: »Hi everyone. I’d like to join your group. I’m new but not new, been on MFP before. Have decided to come back so I can track myself and get healthier. I’m in my mid 60’s and was told by my Dr. that my blood pressure is high as is my blood sugar. I’ve been given 3 months to get this under control or I’ll have to go on meds. I’m 5’2” and weigh 247 lb’s. It’s time for me to get serious! My problem is there are so many different “ways to eat” and it gets really confusing. How did y’all decide which way of eating to go with?
I think you are following a good path: eliminating sugar is/should be as easy as it gets. Take the low-hanging fruit first and when that stops to have an effect, you can always move on to more demanding strategies.
Keep it up. You can do it.
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5000 calories seems incredibly high. I think it would be wise to double check everything. Something seems wrong.Anewme2023 wrote: »Anewme2023 wrote: »Hi everyone. I’d like to join your group. I’m new but not new, been on MFP before. Have decided to come back so I can track myself and get healthier. I’m in my mid 60’s and was told by my Dr. that my blood pressure is high as is my blood sugar. I’ve been given 3 months to get this under control or I’ll have to go on meds. I’m 5’2” and weigh 247 lb’s. It’s time for me to get serious! My problem is there are so many different “ways to eat” and it gets really confusing. How did y’all decide which way of eating to go with?
Different people do best with different methods. IMO, it's key to be willing to try an approach, stick with it for a fair trial (4-6 weeks, usually), then assess. If it didn't work - or didn't stick for that time period - don't give up, just try something else. Patience and persistence pay off.
What I did was start logging my eating as completely as I could, the reviewed my food diary every day or two to find foods that seemed like they "cost" too many calories for my assessment of their filling-ness, tastiness, convenience, nutrition. Those were candidates to reduce or replace in my routine eating habits. Just keeping up this kind of approach, I gradually remodeled my eating habits toward calorie-appropriate, nutritious, practical eating, using foods I personally enjoy.
There are more details about that kind of approach here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1
It's not the only way, won't be perfect for everyone, but it worked well for me - I lost from class 1 obese to a healthy weight in just under a year at age 59-60, and have been at a healthy weight for around 7 years since (now age 67). With the weight loss, my high blood pressure and high cholesterol became solidly normal, and my arthritis pain/discomfort decreased in both degree and frequency, among other excellent side effects.
Don't be afraid to try a method, see how you feel about it . . . keep it if you like it, try something else if you don't. Weight management is just a sequence of opportunities to experiment, self-analyze, and adjust until we get the results we want.
Thank you for your input. I found your article very enlightening. I know I need to cut back on sugar to get my blood sugar down and I heard low carb is also good for that. My daughter suggest cutting back on salt (sodium) for the high blood pressure. MFP has me set at losing 1 lb a week with 5000 calories with 50% of that being carbs. Seems to be a little high to me. I’m actually leaning towards low carb without the high fat and see how that goes.
As for sugar and low carb, take into account that sugar is carb, and that all carb eventually converts into sugar. So, lowering your sugar intake is good, and depending on your situation, lowering carbs in general might be a good idea as well. However, don't forget that fibre is also a family of carbs and it is quite beneficial, which is why we normally talk about net carb, essentially total carb minus fibre minus sugar alcohols.
As for salt, almost everyone takes in too much of it. I reduced that dramatically by eliminating bread and have had an intake of well below 1 g of sodium a day for almost a year by also eliminating cheese and salted nuts. It had no effect on my blood pressure, but salt is not particularly good news anyway, and given the way I eat, I would have to add it intentionally, which is something I am not inclined to do. I don't miss it anymore at all.1 -
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Hi. I’m hoping to improve some of my habits. Improving strength, balance, flexibility is what I hope to achieve. During the past two years I’ve been more sedentary and I’ve gained weight. My blood pressure is a bit high. Losing about 35 pounds is a goal. I wish everyone one here a healthy year. ~ Marie in Canada. Age 665
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Anewme2023 wrote: »Anewme2023 wrote: »Hi everyone. I’d like to join your group. I’m new but not new, been on MFP before. Have decided to come back so I can track myself and get healthier. I’m in my mid 60’s and was told by my Dr. that my blood pressure is high as is my blood sugar. I’ve been given 3 months to get this under control or I’ll have to go on meds. I’m 5’2” and weigh 247 lb’s. It’s time for me to get serious! My problem is there are so many different “ways to eat” and it gets really confusing. How did y’all decide which way of eating to go with?
Different people do best with different methods. IMO, it's key to be willing to try an approach, stick with it for a fair trial (4-6 weeks, usually), then assess. If it didn't work - or didn't stick for that time period - don't give up, just try something else. Patience and persistence pay off.
What I did was start logging my eating as completely as I could, the reviewed my food diary every day or two to find foods that seemed like they "cost" too many calories for my assessment of their filling-ness, tastiness, convenience, nutrition. Those were candidates to reduce or replace in my routine eating habits. Just keeping up this kind of approach, I gradually remodeled my eating habits toward calorie-appropriate, nutritious, practical eating, using foods I personally enjoy.
There are more details about that kind of approach here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1
It's not the only way, won't be perfect for everyone, but it worked well for me - I lost from class 1 obese to a healthy weight in just under a year at age 59-60, and have been at a healthy weight for around 7 years since (now age 67). With the weight loss, my high blood pressure and high cholesterol became solidly normal, and my arthritis pain/discomfort decreased in both degree and frequency, among other excellent side effects.
Don't be afraid to try a method, see how you feel about it . . . keep it if you like it, try something else if you don't. Weight management is just a sequence of opportunities to experiment, self-analyze, and adjust until we get the results we want.
Thank you for your input. I found your article very enlightening. I know I need to cut back on sugar to get my blood sugar down and I heard low carb is also good for that. My daughter suggest cutting back on salt (sodium) for the high blood pressure. MFP has me set at losing 1 lb a week with 5000 calories with 50% of that being carbs. Seems to be a little high to me. I’m actually leaning towards low carb without the high fat and see how that goes.
I understand that you will need to manage carbs (and sugars as a subset of carbs), since you have high blood sugar. But I'm wondering about low carb without high(-ish) fat? Your macronutrient variables are protein, carbs and fats. If carbs are low, and fats are low . . . you're eating unusually high protein. Protein is important for us as we age, but extra high protein? Is that sustainable for you?
Fats are important, even though they're calorie dense. I struggle to get enough fats in my eating sometimes - not just my most intuitive pattern. But if I don't get enough, I have issues with things like smooth digestive throughput (constipation happens, to put it bluntly). There are many foods that are full of healthy fats, like cold-water fish (for Omega-3 fats), nuts, nut butters, avocados, olive oil and more. Obviously, it's important to watch the portions, because fats are calorie dense. But low carb, low fat, high protein may not be ideal, either.
There's not just one true way to success, but I'd encourage you to consider whether extremely high protein (as implied by combining low fat/low carb) is ideal for you.2 -
I needed to address my weight which was creeping up in my 40's and 50's which I also saw an increase in gut problems, my blood sugar was creeping up, never coming down and the arthritis was getting worse over that time as well and a few other issues. I was fairly active at this time and being a good Canadian, played hockey twice a week, which I still do and also coached minor hockey, did a lot of trail hiking and cross country skiing, Canada gets lots of snow lol, and at this time did callisthenic exercises mostly from home and now I weight train twice a week. I've always been pretty thin until this time and at 6'1" I was generally in and around 175 lbs. Then beginning in my late 30's the weight started to creep up which eventually reached 245 lbs with a single time going over 250. Now I'm 183 as of yesterday.
I'll be 70 in two months and have managed to maintain my weight and vastly improve my health for the last 12 years by reducing mostly processed foods and basically eliminating pretty much all ultra processed foods, although I do indulge a few times a year, mostly for celebratory events. This reduced my carb consumption automatically which eventually led me to the low carb lifestyle I enjoy today. My health has improved greatly and my gut issues completely disappeared as did my arthritis and I went from inching closer to pre diabetes to a 4.3 score for my A1C and monitored through my Dr. and testing my insulin response to a glucose test, never went up past 125, which if someone isn't familiar, is a good thing.
Yeah, the low fat diet didn't work well for me and it appears the vast majority either, which is still recommended to this day, mind boggling actually. Now, I'm generally under 100g's of carbs a day and obviously consuming animal protein, mostly beef and "wild" game like venison, duck, bison and seafood, quit a bit actually and consume what many here would be, too many eggs. My fats are the ones found in the carcass's of the meat I eat and I use olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, duck fat and butter. Dairy, I don't consume milk but kefir and cheese is on my menu. I don't count calories and eat until I feel satisfied and if I find my cloths fit a little tighter, I eat a little less. I check periodically out of curiosity and I'm consuming around 3000-3500 calories a day. Cheers everyone and hope everyone has a good year.
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I’ve been using MFP on and off for several years. I need to lose some of this extra weight once and for all so I can feel & look better & fit back into my old clothes & be able to kayak and walk & hike again.
My goal is to lose between 40-50 lbs. Since I have so much weight to lose it feels overwhelming & I fear I will lose my motivation again. I’m hoping being part of this group will help keep me on track.3 -
Realizing you want to lose weight is a great start. Don’t let the overall goal intimidate you. Set some achievable intermediate goals of both the scale and non scale variety. Check in with this group frequently. Lots of support here. After all, we’re all in this together. 😄👍😄4
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Since I have so much weight to lose it feels overwhelming & I fear I will lose my motivation again.
I felt that way for years. What has worked for me these past months is to envision a ladder I'm trying to climb down, and each rung is a weight that starts with a different number. I found it's really motivating to me, and seems like "doable" chunks of time/effort, to focus on leaving a weight range forever. So far I've said goodbye to the 220s, 210s, 200s, 190s...and and I'm approaching mid-180s today. 10-lb increments like this, or even smaller (ending in a 0 or 5?) help many people on MFP. When I started, my first goal was 1 lb!5 -
@momzilla11 I totally agree. I needed to look at my weight loss in 10 pound increments. That made it more manageable for me because if I looked at the whole thing (to lose 90 pounds), I would have felt crushed. Also, I would have had to wait a long time to celebrate if my only goal was to reach 142 pounds. But if I broke it down into 10 pound markers, then each new "decade" was achievable and then worthy of celebrating.7
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I have no idea about this vast majority. It may well be true, and it may not be. Maybe you could point us to a credible source? I can say that I am following a rather low-fat diet and it works great for me.neanderthin wrote: »Yeah, the low fat diet didn't work well for me and it appears the vast majority either, which is still recommended to this day, mind boggling actually.
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Hello, good luck to all. A few things that have added to my weight loss success. Down 22 lbs since Feb 2021. Food scale on my counter is a MUST. Skinnytaste website for delicious recipes. Weekly I meal plan, shop and prep. Water, water and more water. Logging my exercise in a pretty journal is a MUST. Work out 1hr 15 min 5x weekly. Weekends off. Rarely drink alcohol. Sounds daunting but, it works for me.5
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BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
I have no idea about this vast majority. It may well be true, and it may not be. Maybe you could point us to a credible source? I can say that I am following a rather low-fat diet and it works great for me.neanderthin wrote: »Yeah, the low fat diet didn't work well for me and it appears the vast majority either, which is still recommended to this day, mind boggling actually.
It's been low fat since the introduction of the food pyramids begun. In 2020 fat was reduced further to as low as 25% and with protein around 15% that's a 55-60% carb diet, which hasn't basically changed much. Carb consumption in the 50's, 60's and 70's was in the low 40's and the obesity rate was in the area of 13% which resulted in a reduction of fat consumption going fwd and was coined the low fat era, maybe your not American, I don't know. I believe the EU is even lower, I heard as low as 15% fat, not sure though. My inference was that obesity has risen steadily since these introductions and I stand corrected it's not the vast majority because obesity in America is slightly below 50% but I have confidence that the USDA will continue to recommend these guidelines so I suspect these numbers to keep increasing as they've been doing for the last 30 years. Cheers.
EDIT: If overweight persons are included then the stats show 76% of the population is either overweight or obese. Stats are on the CDC website.
https://cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-adult-17-18/obesity-adult.htm#table12 -
@ridiculous59. Another beautiful winter picture! Looks like the dogs are keeping him good company. It's so bright and clear there!1
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Hello to all the newbies here! I know how overwhelming needing to lose a lot of weight is. But I want to encourage you by letting you know it can be done. I am 70 years old and have lost around 100 lbs so far. It really does help mentally to break it down into smaller goals as others have mentioned. This website is wonderful for support and information. Read the community posts and the advice of those who have lost and maintained their loss for years. Get a food scale and weigh all your food. That is one of the most important tips I have received here. It is eye opening sometimes to realize how off your calorie estimates have been. Log everything. Every bite. Be consistent and you will get there.6
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The problem you are pointing out is correct. Low fat does not work. But then, neither does low carb or even low protein. The only thing that works is low(er) energy, and in that context, percentages don't matter.neanderthin wrote: »BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
I have no idea about this vast majority. It may well be true, and it may not be. Maybe you could point us to a credible source? I can say that I am following a rather low-fat diet and it works great for me.neanderthin wrote: »Yeah, the low fat diet didn't work well for me and it appears the vast majority either, which is still recommended to this day, mind boggling actually.
It's been low fat since the introduction of the food pyramids begun. In 2020 fat was reduced further to as low as 25% and with protein around 15% that's a 55-60% carb diet, which hasn't basically changed much. Carb consumption in the 50's, 60's and 70's was in the low 40's and the obesity rate was in the area of 13% which resulted in a reduction of fat consumption going fwd and was coined the low fat era, maybe your not American, I don't know. I believe the EU is even lower, I heard as low as 15% fat, not sure though. My inference was that obesity has risen steadily since these introductions and I stand corrected it's not the vast majority because obesity in America is slightly below 50% but I have confidence that the USDA will continue to recommend these guidelines so I suspect these numbers to keep increasing as they've been doing for the last 30 years. Cheers.
EDIT: If overweight persons are included then the stats show 76% of the population is either overweight or obese. Stats are on the CDC website.
https://cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-adult-17-18/obesity-adult.htm#table1
That is the problem with "low fat": it has never been about that. Lowering fat intake is quite obviously the easiest way to lower one's energy intake, but then oversimplifying that into "low fat" is simply wrong. That is not the fault of the dietitians (as a group) or any other medical profession, but of the attempt to simplify a fact down to a point where it becomes a joke.
I am following a low fat diet, but that is in the context in which it is supposed to be used: lowering overall energy intake.
One fun detail (for me) is that, when I went to med school, there was a suspicion that while fat has the highest energy content of the macronutrients, its metabolism could be so energy consuming, that the extra energy did not really matter. That is something that was disproved only later. Fat really does give us the highest energy per gramme.
As for the obesity problem, the US *seems* to have peaked by now, but other countries are most definitely still on the rise and regardless of that, obesity and overweight are a problem, indeed.
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Congratulations on your weight loss. 100 lbs is a good result. Once you get to that stage, you may begin to say with some confidence that you know what you are doing and that it works. You don't lose a 100 lbs by trickery. You really lose it.Hello to all the newbies here! I know how overwhelming needing to lose a lot of weight is. But I want to encourage you by letting you know it can be done. I am 70 years old and have lost around 100 lbs so far. It really does help mentally to break it down into smaller goals as others have mentioned. This website is wonderful for support and information. Read the community posts and the advice of those who have lost and maintained their loss for years. Get a food scale and weigh all your food. That is one of the most important tips I have received here. It is eye opening sometimes to realize how off your calorie estimates have been. Log everything. Every bite. Be consistent and you will get there.
As for the food scale, I totally agree. Weigh your food. Know how much energy you ingest before ingesting it. I would add a good personal scale to that. I have a mechanical medical scale and besides my food scale it is arguably the best investment I have ever made.2 -
BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
The problem you are pointing out is correct. Low fat does not work. But then, neither does low carb or even low protein. The only thing that works is low(er) energy, and in that context, percentages don't matter.neanderthin wrote: »BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
I have no idea about this vast majority. It may well be true, and it may not be. Maybe you could point us to a credible source? I can say that I am following a rather low-fat diet and it works great for me.neanderthin wrote: »Yeah, the low fat diet didn't work well for me and it appears the vast majority either, which is still recommended to this day, mind boggling actually.
It's been low fat since the introduction of the food pyramids begun. In 2020 fat was reduced further to as low as 25% and with protein around 15% that's a 55-60% carb diet, which hasn't basically changed much. Carb consumption in the 50's, 60's and 70's was in the low 40's and the obesity rate was in the area of 13% which resulted in a reduction of fat consumption going fwd and was coined the low fat era, maybe your not American, I don't know. I believe the EU is even lower, I heard as low as 15% fat, not sure though. My inference was that obesity has risen steadily since these introductions and I stand corrected it's not the vast majority because obesity in America is slightly below 50% but I have confidence that the USDA will continue to recommend these guidelines so I suspect these numbers to keep increasing as they've been doing for the last 30 years. Cheers.
EDIT: If overweight persons are included then the stats show 76% of the population is either overweight or obese. Stats are on the CDC website.
https://cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-adult-17-18/obesity-adult.htm#table1
What your purposing is food has no influence on weight loss only calories.....where have I heard that before, oh right, from people trying to lose weight.1 -
How do I join this group of 60 yr old?1
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That would be a meaningful claim if it were possible to get energy through something else than food. We cannot load up by sticking our fingers in a power outlet, by photosynthesis, ingesting plutonium or by any other non-food-related energy source . It just isn't. It is, however, perfectly possible to get a very low-fat diet and still gain weight because one is ingesting too much of it. For weight loss, energy trumps macros. That is just the way it is. It is also, sadly, something I have had to learn the hard way, now some forty years ago.neanderthin wrote: »BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
The problem you are pointing out is correct. Low fat does not work. But then, neither does low carb or even low protein. The only thing that works is low(er) energy, and in that context, percentages don't matter.neanderthin wrote: »BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
I have no idea about this vast majority. It may well be true, and it may not be. Maybe you could point us to a credible source? I can say that I am following a rather low-fat diet and it works great for me.neanderthin wrote: »Yeah, the low fat diet didn't work well for me and it appears the vast majority either, which is still recommended to this day, mind boggling actually.
It's been low fat since the introduction of the food pyramids begun. In 2020 fat was reduced further to as low as 25% and with protein around 15% that's a 55-60% carb diet, which hasn't basically changed much. Carb consumption in the 50's, 60's and 70's was in the low 40's and the obesity rate was in the area of 13% which resulted in a reduction of fat consumption going fwd and was coined the low fat era, maybe your not American, I don't know. I believe the EU is even lower, I heard as low as 15% fat, not sure though. My inference was that obesity has risen steadily since these introductions and I stand corrected it's not the vast majority because obesity in America is slightly below 50% but I have confidence that the USDA will continue to recommend these guidelines so I suspect these numbers to keep increasing as they've been doing for the last 30 years. Cheers.
EDIT: If overweight persons are included then the stats show 76% of the population is either overweight or obese. Stats are on the CDC website.
https://cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-adult-17-18/obesity-adult.htm#table1
What your purposing is food has no influence on weight loss only calories.....where have I heard that before, oh right, from people trying to lose weight.
You could even gain weight feasting only on fibre... although that would be really hypothetical in practice because you are likely to die from a bezoar long before you get enough energy that way, but there is no fundamental reason why you couldn't. Fibre isn't usually mentioned as an energy source, but it is. In my opinion, even though it is a carb, it should be put into its own category because it differs so dramatically from the other carbs.
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Hello all and welcome to the newbies! We don't usually have long debates on this thread, but we do share our thoughts, experiences, challenges and successes quite freely so please chime in anytime!
There are some real success stories that post here often, and then there are some wannabes (like me!) that post regularly too.🙃
I joined MFP Aug 2021 and had pretty good success in 2021 - 2022 saw me lose slowly until September and then gradually gain, with a flourish during the last 2 weeks of December that pretty much wiped out my 2022 losses! Grrr! 🤨
Older and wiser (presumably), I am still down a few lbs year over year, and about 35 since my start in 2021 but dang it, I have a long ways to go - like another 100 - so I am really feeling like 2023 is going to be my year to really put another dent into my excess.😉
And I cannot claim ignorance alas for my recent lack of progress, I have a ton of "diet" knowledge & experience, having been off & on the weight-loss wagon since giving birth to my children in the 80s! But what's different this time is I am never giving up and restarting ever again. I will persevere and put up with all my shenanigans & stubborn ways until I am fit & at a healthy weight. That is the promise I made to myself in August 2021 and I am here for the long haul and hope you will come walk alongside me with the same commitment. 😁😇10 -
Respectful debates are good!!! It's often a way to learn new ideas, which keeps us from being stagnant (aka old fuddy duddies haha). But I seem to remember that there is a way to make them available to the debaters, but not everyone else. @AnnPT77 do you remember that little trick?1
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