are people THAT naive??...... yes they are

ludogx87
ludogx87 Posts: 286 Member
edited November 10 in Motivation and Support
i have this friend, who last year done the lighter life / cambridge diet, - (for anyone who doesnt know about this, you eat ONLY shakes and soups and rapily lose weight)
she done it and lost about 3 stone in 2 months and looked fab, however as with "fake diets" once she stopped the weight piled back on and she is now heavier than her starting weight.

i tried to explain about counting calories and was shot down with - "nope, doesnt work"

so anyway now shes doing the slim fast diet, you drink 2 shakes a day and have a 600 calorie dinner and one 200 calorie snack. looked at the shakes and they work out as 250 cals each so technically she is consuming 1200 calories anyway.

she done this for diet 2 weeks and lost 5lbs then binged out and gained 3lbs and was really feeling down about it and so we had a chat

again tried to explain that calorie counting has to work and again was slapped away with "no, doesnt, av tried, cant be dealing with counting calories"

bit of a slap to the face when she knows iv lost 75lbs counting calories eh??

are some people really that naive that they think reducing your calories and watching your food intake doesnt help???

does anyone else have any friends like this????
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Replies

  • WhittRak
    WhittRak Posts: 567 Member
    It is kind of maddening. I am not one to talk about being healthy because I have over 125 lbs to lose. But I have lost the weight before, and it was through careful and healthy food choices, and portion control..PLUUUSSSSS exercise. That's all ya need I think. Diets are weird creatures, everyone wants to beat it with a stick. It really is that black and white.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    i have this friend, who last year done the lighter life diet, - (for anyone who doesnt know about this, you eat ONLY shakes and soups and rapily lose weight)
    she done it and lost about 3 stone in 2 months and looked fab, however as with "fake diets" once she stopped the weight piled back on and she is now heavier than her starting weight.

    i tried to explain about counting calories and was shot down with - "nope, doesnt work"

    so anyway now shes doing the slim fast diet, you drink 2 shakes a day and have a 600 calorie dinner and one 200 calorie snack. looked at the shakes and they work out as 250 cals each so technically she is consuming 1200 calories anyway.

    she done this for diet 2 weeks and lost 5lbs then binged out and gained 3lbs and was really feeling down about it and so we had a chat

    again tried to explain that calorie counting has to work and again was slapped away with "no, doesnt, av tried, cant be dealing with counting calories"

    bit of a slap to the face when she knows iv lost 75lbs counting calories eh??

    are some people really that naive that they think reducing your calories and watching your food intake doesnt help???

    does anyone else have any friends like this????
    Actually she is correct. You don't have to count calories at all. What is more important is your macros.

    I suggest you read this:

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981
  • She's not ready to work hard. The diets she's been doing are easy. People go through them like crazy trying to find one that will be that miracle diet. Not going to happen. She'll figure it out eventually.
  • ludogx87
    ludogx87 Posts: 286 Member
    i have this friend, who last year done the lighter life diet, - (for anyone who doesnt know about this, you eat ONLY shakes and soups and rapily lose weight)
    she done it and lost about 3 stone in 2 months and looked fab, however as with "fake diets" once she stopped the weight piled back on and she is now heavier than her starting weight.

    i tried to explain about counting calories and was shot down with - "nope, doesnt work"

    so anyway now shes doing the slim fast diet, you drink 2 shakes a day and have a 600 calorie dinner and one 200 calorie snack. looked at the shakes and they work out as 250 cals each so technically she is consuming 1200 calories anyway.

    she done this for diet 2 weeks and lost 5lbs then binged out and gained 3lbs and was really feeling down about it and so we had a chat

    again tried to explain that calorie counting has to work and again was slapped away with "no, doesnt, av tried, cant be dealing with counting calories"

    bit of a slap to the face when she knows iv lost 75lbs counting calories eh??

    are some people really that naive that they think reducing your calories and watching your food intake doesnt help???

    does anyone else have any friends like this????
    Actually she is correct. You don't have to count calories at all. What is more important is your macros.

    I suggest you read this:

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

    no what she says is that she cant count calories because its too hard and it doesnt work for her.
    when really shes not willing to try. she wants quick fix diets like lighter life where you drop a stone every 3 weeks
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    i have this friend, who last year done the lighter life diet, - (for anyone who doesnt know about this, you eat ONLY shakes and soups and rapily lose weight)
    she done it and lost about 3 stone in 2 months and looked fab, however as with "fake diets" once she stopped the weight piled back on and she is now heavier than her starting weight.

    i tried to explain about counting calories and was shot down with - "nope, doesnt work"

    so anyway now shes doing the slim fast diet, you drink 2 shakes a day and have a 600 calorie dinner and one 200 calorie snack. looked at the shakes and they work out as 250 cals each so technically she is consuming 1200 calories anyway.

    she done this for diet 2 weeks and lost 5lbs then binged out and gained 3lbs and was really feeling down about it and so we had a chat

    again tried to explain that calorie counting has to work and again was slapped away with "no, doesnt, av tried, cant be dealing with counting calories"

    bit of a slap to the face when she knows iv lost 75lbs counting calories eh??

    are some people really that naive that they think reducing your calories and watching your food intake doesnt help???

    does anyone else have any friends like this????
    Actually she is correct. You don't have to count calories at all. What is more important is your macros.

    I suggest you read this:

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

    no what she says is that she cant count calories because its too hard and it doesnt work for her.
    when really shes not willing to try. she wants quick fix diets like lighter life where you drop a stone every 3 weeks
    Whoops, I missed that part. Yeah... sorry. She needs to wake up.
  • MissYogapants
    MissYogapants Posts: 106 Member
    Aaargh, some people you just wanna slap in the face! Yes, people are that naive they think that counting calories doesn't work because they've "tried it" and it didn't work for them. Sometimes I think people are just rushing through different diets and failing them immediately just to believe that it's not a food issue for them, that it must be something with their body and it has nothing to do with what they eat.

    And, people are lazy and are often ignorant just so they don't have to do work to get what they want. I think some of those people just want excuses to say "I've tried every diet there is and nothing works so I'm just gonna eat whatever I want from now on", because that's the easier path to take.
  • PrincessLou71186
    PrincessLou71186 Posts: 741 Member
    People do them for a quick fix because they don't have the motivation to change their lifestyle.

    My MIL is doing the SlimFast Diet, I asked her what she was going to do once she finished, she queried what I meant so I said "When you stop the diet, are you going to watch your calorie intake or do what most people do and not pay think that once you've lost the weight it will stay lost?" Her response "I just won't stop it."

    Fact is, she's lazy and can't be bothered to get off her *kitten* and work, sees it as a quick fix.
  • neo200120018
    neo200120018 Posts: 106 Member
    those shakes are gross, people are just naive! I know lots of people that do atkins and lemon detox which just destroy ur muscle cells and a really unhealthy!!! The people doing these are Doctors and Nurses too!! So yes peopleare naive!
  • ♥ChUbByCoyLe♥
    ♥ChUbByCoyLe♥ Posts: 267 Member
    i have this friend, who last year done the lighter life diet, - (for anyone who doesnt know about this, you eat ONLY shakes and soups and rapily lose weight)
    she done it and lost about 3 stone in 2 months and looked fab, however as with "fake diets" once she stopped the weight piled back on and she is now heavier than her starting weight.

    i tried to explain about counting calories and was shot down with - "nope, doesnt work"

    so anyway now shes doing the slim fast diet, you drink 2 shakes a day and have a 600 calorie dinner and one 200 calorie snack. looked at the shakes and they work out as 250 cals each so technically she is consuming 1200 calories anyway.

    she done this for diet 2 weeks and lost 5lbs then binged out and gained 3lbs and was really feeling down about it and so we had a chat

    again tried to explain that calorie counting has to work and again was slapped away with "no, doesnt, av tried, cant be dealing with counting calories"

    bit of a slap to the face when she knows iv lost 75lbs counting calories eh??

    are some people really that naive that they think reducing your calories and watching your food intake doesnt help???

    does anyone else have any friends like this????

    I was one of those girls like your friend......i was always looking for a quick fix but you soon realise that it is only a quick fix.

    Don't become too frustrated with your friend.

    PS...you look fab....great work!!
  • ckmama
    ckmama Posts: 1,668 Member
    She's not naive, just lazy.

    I've totally been where she is before and fight the urge for the quick fix all the time. If my weight loss isn't instant or I don't "feel" thinner I get frustrated and think maybe I should do "slim fast" or fill in the blank.

    But I never do. Because I know how that works lose a little and gain back more. Been there done that, have the weight to prove it.

    You can do the same type of quick fix with calorie counting too if you aren't really following a healthy diet. I would let it go and not talk to her anymore about weight loss etc...
  • Inglebert
    Inglebert Posts: 34 Member
    Lighterlife and Slimfast are both calorie-limiting diets, as you've identified, and all she's doing is leaving it to someone else to count her calories. She's still been calorie-counting and it has worked for her.

    But there's no point arguing with her, she's not ready to take responsibility and to change the way she eats for ever.

    Not sure I am. That "for ever" is a scary thing.
  • emmiexjay
    emmiexjay Posts: 146 Member
    Yep! I had a nurse who was overweight telling me that i need to go on the lighter life or the slimfast diet. .now she's overweight and she also told me to cut out carbs.. no.. i wont cut out carbs.. i've lost nearly 45lbs had so many non scale victories i have lost count!
  • [/quote]
    Actually she is correct. You don't have to count calories at all. What is more important is your macros.

    I suggest you read this:

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981
    [/quote]

    Only half agree with you there. Macros are very important but it is the overall amount of calories you consume per day vs the amount you burn that determines your fat loss. Simple as that. So in effect, you cant control your macros without watching your calories.
  • RachelT14
    RachelT14 Posts: 266 Member
    Before i started logging on MFP i really believed calorie counting didnt work for me. I have never stuck to loosing weight for this long before. It doesnt feel like a chore, it isnt difficult and i am still amazed by continued weight and inch loss each week by doing something so simple.

    I think you have to be at the point where you really truely want to change things for the better that youa re determined to put in the effort and stick to it before you are prepared to do somehting like this, otherwise yo do just turn to the quick fixes, spend lots loose loads and then put it back on. You have tried to help your friend out but if she doesnt really want to help herself then nothing you say is going to help. You have done a great job be proud of that and if she doesnt want to try what you are suggesting more fool her.
  • kag1526
    kag1526 Posts: 210 Member
    Aaargh, some people you just wanna slap in the face! Yes, people are that naive they think that counting calories doesn't work because they've "tried it" and it didn't work for them. Sometimes I think people are just rushing through different diets and failing them immediately just to believe that it's not a food issue for them, that it must be something with their body and it has nothing to do with what they eat.

    And, people are lazy and are often ignorant just so they don't have to do work to get what they want. I think some of those people just want excuses to say "I've tried every diet there is and nothing works so I'm just gonna eat whatever I want from now on", because that's the easier path to take.

    I honestly think I did this for a while... I decided nothing worked and it was genetics since my whole family was fat.

    Then my sister lost her weight and now my whole family -1 was fat... Then I realized that when my mother got married at 19 she barely weighed 100 lbs... Wait this can't be genetic. but I still didn't do anything about it.

    Then my blood pressure that was always prehyper tension got worse and I started realizing that if I want kids I need to get this under control.

    I started on Dec 1st (proud of myself for not saying Id wait till after christmas) I have now lost 19 lbs, and even better for the last 3 weeks my blood pressure was normal. I get it checked again in about an hour (I do it weekly at work)...

    However I must say when I tried counting calories before I was doing it on paper, only looking at calories and if I forgot to do it right away wouldn't have the information. I also stopped eating fresh stuff since it didn't have labels... So this site was a huge help for that.
  • mudya
    mudya Posts: 128 Member
    I've stopped telling the people around me that I count calories, instead I just say, 'I'm really watching what I eat and its working for me'. You see when I tell some people I count calories their initial thought is 'Thats a bit over the top/obsessive'. But for those who are serious about losing weight, calorie counting is the way to go, and I tell those individuals about MFP. I did get my sister on to MFP after persuading her for months, and I know its one of the best decisions she has ever made!

    Why don't you sit your friend down alongside you and show her how MFP works, show her the forums, that may motivate her?
  • La1210
    La1210 Posts: 99 Member
    Yes, people are that naive. And I used to be one of them, out here trying all these diet schemes dropping major weight quickly only to regain more. I wanted that quick fix, didnt realize or want to accept that losing weight is about a healthy lifestyle consisting of counting calories/fat etc and exercising regularly. It's not about popping a pill or downing a shake because eventually you have to discontinue those methods then what? You go right back to your poor eating habits and unhealthy way of life and regain more weight. Since your friend doesn't want to listen, you can probably show her better than you can tell her. Continue to do your thing and drop pounds and finally she will get with the program. Good luck!
  • And then you get celebs like Pauline Quirk advertising Lighter Life by saying she is "doing away with fad diets like counting calories and points"
    Huh? :noway:
  • Eat less, move more. Tracking is key to achieving life style results. Permanent weight loss is hard work and I expect that I will spend the rest of my life tracking calories and getting on the scale. I've tried the others and they don't work long term. People are not committed to permanent weight loss. Yes they really are that naive!
  • Te2005
    Te2005 Posts: 173 Member
    I've had this convo so many times with people. The problem is, when diets end what are you left with? The same crappy eating habits you had when you started the diet. What works? A healthy lifestyle. Of course you are going to see results when you consume nothing but shakes, you are still shocking your body. One of our biggest problems when losing weight is we want to see a quick fix that doesn't mean any work on our part. So I drink two of these shakes, i'll lose weight and I don't have to work out?! SOLD! In a society of quick fixes and fast food its hard to get people to see the big picture. When people notice my weight loss (which is just 13 pounds, so it's not as easy to see yet) they want to know what i've done. When I tell them I eat healthy and worlout daily they look at me like I just grew a second head. You keep doing what you're doing, the proof is in the numbers and you're doing fantastic!
  • mixedfeelings
    mixedfeelings Posts: 904 Member
    I think for some people they find it easier for the calories to be counted for them but in her case she would be best to learn how to count calories rather than binging at the end. I wonder if she is not aware of calories at all, I mean it's easy to count calories when you are roughly aware of how many calories are in different items of food but to contemplate it when you aren't able to have a rough idea in your head of what you are consuming.

    She may just think there is some magic potion in the shakes and not that it's cutting her overall calorie consumption down.
  • rgrange
    rgrange Posts: 236 Member
    If people don't want to listen to me, I just tell them "Fine, enjoy being fat" and it's the end of it. Don't waste time getting mad with people that refuse to try.
  • sammycool1986
    sammycool1986 Posts: 74 Member
    I'm diabetic so can't do any of these silly fad diets, no carbs, no real food what kind of life is it?

    I love food I would rather count calories then deprive myself of the good stuff.

    One of my friends before her wedding did the cambridge diet as she hates any form of exercise and I just thought as soon as you nstop it will all go abck on!

    My weight loss may be slow but I feel a sense of achievement every time the scales go down or the measuring tape goes in that little bit more xxx
  • ludogx87
    ludogx87 Posts: 286 Member
    think its something like you put your body into "ketosis" where it then starts just using up fat intake as its not getting enough nutirents, but where does it end???

    also know some girls who do a "juice diet" where they consume less than 500 calories a day.... thats just dangerous
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    i have this friend, who last year done the lighter life diet, - (for anyone who doesnt know about this, you eat ONLY shakes and soups and rapily lose weight)
    she done it and lost about 3 stone in 2 months and looked fab, however as with "fake diets" once she stopped the weight piled back on and she is now heavier than her starting weight.

    i tried to explain about counting calories and was shot down with - "nope, doesnt work"

    so anyway now shes doing the slim fast diet, you drink 2 shakes a day and have a 600 calorie dinner and one 200 calorie snack. looked at the shakes and they work out as 250 cals each so technically she is consuming 1200 calories anyway.

    she done this for diet 2 weeks and lost 5lbs then binged out and gained 3lbs and was really feeling down about it and so we had a chat

    again tried to explain that calorie counting has to work and again was slapped away with "no, doesnt, av tried, cant be dealing with counting calories"

    bit of a slap to the face when she knows iv lost 75lbs counting calories eh??

    are some people really that naive that they think reducing your calories and watching your food intake doesnt help???

    does anyone else have any friends like this????
    Yes, or should I say "HAD" - I had a few friends like this.

    And yes, they're STILL FAT - :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    No, fatter!

    Like you I tried to explain, hoping reason would invade their senses, but no.
    They had to go their own way with similar results experienced by your fat, yoyo dieting friend.

    Finally, I just got to the point where I had lasting results, they did not and I began to rub their faces in it and just gloat over these absurd diet misfortunes openly.

    And today, I have new, fit friends who place optimal health above the fleeting pleasures of bad eating or crash diets.
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    People looking for the quick fix...
  • c3js80
    c3js80 Posts: 82 Member
    She's just not ready yet. I have a friend who thinks she's dieting by eating a taco salad.
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    She's not ready to work hard. The diets she's been doing are easy. People go through them like crazy trying to find one that will be that miracle diet. Not going to happen. She'll figure it out eventually.

    I agree. this year several exceedingly overweight people i know posted facebook statuses that they were on diets. I immediately commented great stuff, check out MFP too, gave them the link. They just WON'T. They won't even look at it. Its really weird. Here I am, I've noticely dropped a lot of weight and got fitter in the last year, they know that, and they don't want to know what helped me.

    I think they aren't really as serious about losing weight as they say. They like the idea of being slimmer, but don't like the idea of the hard work it entails. Its sad. A fat friend of mine did the cambridge diet, her mother has had gastric bypass and been in and out of hospital for good ness sake. Her mum is the same age as me! so she knows the risks. Now she's pregnant and back eating McD's. She'll be fatter than ever after the baby. She's only 25.

    They just don't really want to change. Maybe they never will. But it is frustrating!
  • Most people are of the Instant Gratification mindset....think "drive-through" mentality. When they ask "how did you do it?" How do you stay looking so good (fit)?" etc. They are really looking for a quick fix...you do this *insert diet plan*....begin on Monday and by Friday you'll look like a Rock Star!!!! and Not only that JUST ONE WEEK of dedication to this *pill* this *shake* this *cabbage leaf* will change your life and you will look like a Rock Star forever!!!!!
    When the answer is ...."I watch what I eat...make more healthy than unhealthy choices, control portions and limit "treats" Oh and I excercise 5-6 days a week".....you can literally see their face go ...."EWWWWW!" :huh: and then their excuses start...I don't have time to cook/shop/excercise......I dont think it is naivity as much as fickle and unwilling to make a "life change"....
  • PrincessMorticia
    PrincessMorticia Posts: 96 Member
    What I've noticed is that most people that are very overweight and want to lose weight tend to get into a state of denial. She's been fooling herself for quite a while, and she probably has convinced herself that food is what got her to be overweight, so food can't help her get out of it. If she knows you've lost so much weight by doing it, she's obviously subconsciously in denial. Just keep being supportive and mention it from time to time I suppose.
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