The real key to losing weight is Metabolism!!

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Great post! thanks for the information

There have been no scientifically proven benefits to drinking extra water when you're not thirsty.
There was a study done with two identical twins- one drank the daily reccomended amount of water every day for a month and the other just drank when she was thirsty. At the end of the month there were absolutely no health benefits for the woman who drank the extra water.
I'm willing to bet a lot of the people who say they started drinking extra water and felt better are experiencing a placebo effect.

Of course if you WANT to drink extra water I'm not saying that you shouldn't- but I just don't understand why a lot of people on MFP preach that its a fact that you should drink a specific amount of water every day.

Article if anyone wants proof/evidence: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=eight-glasses-water-per-day

I used to only drink water when thirsty and drank coffee the rest of the time... since I started hydrating properly, whether it has helped my weightloss or not, it has helped my skin TREMENDOUSLY. My elbows, knees, ankles, heels, and toe knuckles used to be horribly scaly and dry. I have no issues now, and I even stopped using lotion (I used to moisturize 3x a day or more trying to hydrate my skin). The hydration from within is cheaper and more effective... whether it helps my metabolism, I don't know... I don't care. My skin looks prettier. Also, My veins used to be sunken and were hard to catch when donating blood. Since I have started hydrating properly, my veins almost bulge and are very easily hit and I bleed my pint much quicker. I like not getting jabbed up by the phlebotomist, too--whether it helps my metabolism or not!

Well said!

all good advice - thanks for sharing. eating 5 times is my limit, 6 at a big push. don't worry about the others, some people just want to be skinny (calories in - calories out) not healthy.

don't know about the water study with the twins but try drinking the 2 - 4 litres a day, when u usually drink a whole lot less, and see how much better your face looks and you feel after a week - that's proof enough for me.

Thank you...I'm surprised how ugly some people have gotten over this post. It's crazy.

Regards...


David

Dear Posters,

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I find it so interesting that disagreeing, and for that matter citing actual clinical studies that show that some of the points you have made at the beginning are not essential to losing weight and have no effect on metabolism is see as being ugly. I have read the whole thread up to this point, and none of it has been ugly (unless the moderators have removed the ugly stuff).

What I am finding is that there are many people, many of them new here, who are taking the original post as what they MUST do to lose weight. That if they do that it will increase their metabolism. Sadly when people like Sidesteal and others give actual clinical studies to point out that while doing some of those things can be a choice, but does not have any effect on whether you lose weight or not, that is won't make that calorie deficit any more effective, they are simply ignored both by the original poster and pretty much everyone who agrees with him.

It has been all I can do to resist writing a long response that basically says the same things that others such as Sidesteal, Tigersword and others have said yet again. What is absolutely necessary is a moderate caloric deficit. How often you eat, whether you have a PB&J sandwich, whether you eat breakfast, and the like are only relevant in whether these things help you continue to maintain that deficit. Nothing more. Thus, they work because of the deficit.

For me that realization came after doing all the various "diets" out there. You know they all work, but they do so not because they are paleo, primal, atkins, zone or whatever other ones there are. They work because every single one of them establishes a caloric deficit. There is not an exception. The same is true for the "rules" posted originally here. Sure doing that will work, but not because you are eating breakfast, or 5 meals a day, or not mixing fat with carbs. It is because you are maintaining a moderate calorie deficit. That's it.

Baring certain medical problem, that is all that is needed for the vast majority out there. It is what help you maintain that.

For me a bunch of small meals leaves me hungry all the time. When I did that it was a constant struggle to not overeat or binge. Now eating all my calories in a 6-8 hour time span I am satisfied and feel full. It is when I stray from that that I am tempted to overeat. Do I say because of that everyone should do it. No. But some here would benefit from realizing that many of the points in the original post are completely extraneous to losing weight.

That is one of the advantages of scientific study, over time we learn what is important and what is not. Sadly, from what I see here many are not listening.

It's not broscience, it's Biology 101. Food equals fuel, and as long as you have food in your system being digested, you are not burning fat. Period. Eating constant small meals, and keeping your body in a fed state all day every day can create havoc on a hormonal level, as insulin stays high all the time (yes, eating constantly keeps insulin from spiking and crashing, as it stays continuously spiked

How do you explain my 63lbs lost then? I eat every couple of hours and have lost very consistently since I started this. I'm not diabetic, I don't even have IR anymore (confirmed by blood tests in Nov) I'm lifting weights and am a somewhat decent number for a beginner. Surely I have lost some fat in there?

I did a program a couple of years ago called SureSlim. They are advocates of three meals a day. I was to not eat for five hours at a time. I couldn't keep that up and fell off the wagon and gained.

There's no science to prove that constant eating works. There's none to prove it doesn't either. Like the endless debate over exercising in the morning or evening, it's whatever works best for the person doing it.

There's no science to prove that constant eating works. There's none to prove it doesn't either. Like the endless debate over exercising in the morning or evening, it's whatever works best for the person doing it.

Actually there are lots that prove frequency doesn't matter. I even believe many of them have been posted here already.

1 meal, 3 meals, 6 meals, it's all a matter of personal preference, but not the reason for weight loss. It might make it easier for you to stick to, but the fact that you ate less than previously and moved more than previously is the reason you lost weight.

spot on!

I can't believe this **** is still going.

11 more pages and it'll clear out forever!

Having read the entire thread, (Whew!)

I appreciate the detailed information everyone provided. Contrary to a number of posters, I found very little negativity, just posts hoping to better inform the OP (and the rest of us) with information they do understand. I've heard many of the myths thrown around the fitness and weight loss arena, and I'll admit it takes time to figure out which are "polkadot dresses" and "grass clippings".

I for one truly appreciate the work, detail and attitude of Sidesteal. Thanks for taking the time and sharing the details you have.

In the end, I'm convinced that the statement - "The real key to losing weight is Metabolism" - and some of the details in the original post - are flawed. No offence intended to the OP, I believe his approach has worked for him - In fact, from the websites I've looked at it appears this may be a business for him, and I suspect his advice - along with hard workouts, logging of food intake, etc. have been successful for many clients.

But, I think that today I found a way I can keep a few grass clippings out of my laundry as a result of reading this post.

I'm new here, and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from the dialogue. I've seen many many internet forums with far less polite conversation - Thanks Moderator - great job keeping the thread on topic. (I know, it's a thankless job sometimes.)

I'm a fan of the support forums here and I see a great number of people here who are positively inspirational, and are open to being friends and helping others - a nice place in the internet world (from my looking around so far) - but I do think critical dialogue and critical thinking are important - I want to have as much knowledge as I can, but I want that knowledge to be founded in facts and reality, not myth.

Thanks again for the discussion - always love when I can look back and see that I learned something today.

Agree with this. Appreciate science-based info to help me skip the grass-clippings and polka-dots. This journey is challenging enough without having to worry about whether I am slowing myself down by skipping breakfast or not combining food correctly.

Actually there are lots that prove frequency doesn't matter. I even believe many of them have been posted here already.

1 meal, 3 meals, 6 meals, it's all a matter of personal preference, but not the reason for weight loss. It might make it easier for you to stick to, but the fact that you ate less than previously and moved more than previously is the reason you lost weight.

Of course it is. I never said it wasn't. But eating frequently has helped me achieve that. I was responding to a specific post that stated people who eat that way won't lose weight. That is pure bunk.

I can't believe I am only reading this thread now. Thanks for the laugh OP



BROSCIENCE FTW!!!
('casuse real science just aint jacked enough)

http://www.iom.edu/Global/News Announcements/~/media/442A08B899F44DF9AAD083D86164C75B.ashx

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Thanks for sharing! Great advice