"It's SIMPLE! Burn more than you consume!" (B.S.)

124678

Replies

  • mittyerica
    mittyerica Posts: 13
    I also call bull****. I am a big girl 265lbs. I work out 2 hours of Kickboxing (intense), 6-9 miles on the Elliptical and 90-145mins of weightlifting (moderate) a week...since February. Faithfully typing in EVERYTHING I eat or drink and that scale has not moved in three months. I am staying fit and eating well for the rest of my life, but dang cut a girl a break body.
  • BoydLabBuck
    BoydLabBuck Posts: 16 Member
    Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

    Get through that and tell me it's as simple as in & out.
  • sniperzzzz
    sniperzzzz Posts: 282 Member
    Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

    Get through that and tell me it's as simple as in & out.
    Waiting for Acg67 :laugh:
    OP i have nothing helpful to say as your diary is private, and i know nothing of your stats.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

    Get through that and tell me it's as simple as in & out.

    Other than the section on the lipid hypothesis, the rest is a bunch of garbage
  • cheesy_blasters
    cheesy_blasters Posts: 283 Member
    People have said in the same breath that it's that simple it's science then say your body has adapted and you should shake it up. Why? If it's as simple as burning more than I consume then wtf do I have to shake ANYthing up?

    In my experience a lot of people who do the same workout every day become used to it, it's routine. It's easier to slack a bit, not work as hard, not push yourself and then not burn as many calories.

    If you lift 5 pound weight everyday, eventually to get better results you'll need to do more reps, use bigger weights, something to increase the the results. Soon 5 pounds may not require the same amount of energy to lift that they used to.

    EDIT- sorry I saw someone posted the exact same thing while I was writing it.
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
    It's like talking to bricks. No wonder the diet industry makes billions of dollars a year!

    So many special snowflakes whose bodies break the laws of physics. Amazing! :grumble:
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I've been involved in a few of these classes as well, but that's just not me. I am consistently going as hard as I possibly can because I'm trying to keep the energy up. I wear a FitBit while I am doing Zumba and I am burning anywhere from 650 - 800 calories in a 1 hour period (according to the FitBit).

    Bingo.

    The FitBit by your motion sees you are moving just as much now as earlier.

    But your body has adapted and improved and your HR is probably not as high, even if you are sweating as much (bad indicator), or breathing as hard (slightly better indicator combined with HR level).

    You can reach a point where your ability to push the HR as high as it used to be just isn't there, your body has gotten efficient enough, it almost turns into sprints to obtain that higher level. And of course, sprints can't be maintained.

    As also mentioned, NEAT levels go down in studies of those with suppressed metabolism, or rather, it's not as suppressed as the other daily activities just adjust otherwise.

    Like you burn say 500 in a class, but because of being tired now, you sit on the couch longer than normal in the evening, missing out on 200 cal burn that might have otherwise occurred had you had energy to move around as much.
    So the net effect of the class on the day was only an extra 300 calories burned.

    Keep or increase other daily activity - that is where the real fat burn comes from anyway, normal daily activities that rely mainly on fat as energy source, and that is where majority of deficit comes from anyway. Exercise at your level is only probably 25% or less fat burn.
  • JaySpice
    JaySpice Posts: 326 Member
    Why? If it's as simple as burning more than I consume then wtf do I have to shake ANYthing up?

    Because the rate that you're burning has changed. As you adapt to an exercise you burn less calories doing it.

    It IS as simple as burning more than you eat. The hard part is that you have to know exactly how much you are burning and that will change over time.

    ...even so you still should be losing SOMETHING. If someone is eating at a deficit and their exercise is just creating more of a deficit why wouldn't they still lose weight just because their body adapted to the exercise?
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    basic law of thermodynamics always applies. How you burn or store calories, including body composition, varies.

    If you burn more energy than you consume, then energy will be harvested from available sources(adipose, muscle, whatever.) No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

    But that doesn't always mean you will lose weight. Weight loss/gain is not all about fat and muscle. You may lose fat or muscle and still not lose weight or inches if other factors are at play, the most common being water retention. People always say "it's just water weight" as if it's no big deal. But if a medical condition causes long term water retention you'll still be bigger and weigh more.
  • JaySpice
    JaySpice Posts: 326 Member
    It's like talking to bricks. No wonder the diet industry makes billions of dollars a year!

    So many special snowflakes whose bodies break the laws of physics. Amazing! :grumble:


    .....


    How long have you been trying to lose weight?
  • BoydLabBuck
    BoydLabBuck Posts: 16 Member
    Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

    Get through that and tell me it's as simple as in & out.

    Other than the section on the lipid hypothesis, the rest is a bunch of garbage

    ...says the skinny guy that's never had an issue with weight.

    Explain why study after study cited and reviewed is "a bunch of garbage."
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
    Why? If it's as simple as burning more than I consume then wtf do I have to shake ANYthing up?

    Because the rate that you're burning has changed. As you adapt to an exercise you burn less calories doing it.

    It IS as simple as burning more than you eat. The hard part is that you have to know exactly how much you are burning and that will change over time.

    ...even so you still should be losing SOMETHING. If someone is eating at a deficit and their exercise is just creating more of a deficit why wouldn't they still lose weight just because their body adapted to the exercise?

    Because as your body adapts and burns less calories than it used to doing the same activity, you may not be eating at a deficit anymore.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

    Get through that and tell me it's as simple as in & out.

    Other than the section on the lipid hypothesis, the rest is a bunch of garbage

    ^ This.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

    Get through that and tell me it's as simple as in & out.

    Other than the section on the lipid hypothesis, the rest is a bunch of garbage

    ...says the skinny guy that's never had an issue with weight.

    Explain why study after study cited and reviewed is "a bunch of garbage."

    Yup i've never been overweight, you got me there

    To start Taubes found a single study he found interesting (that the obese at as much if not less than the lean and yet were overweight) and then cherry picked studies to support, it must not be overeating that causes obesity. He failed to take into consideration that, that study that it relied on self reported intake, which the obese have been shown to consistently to underreport intake. He then makes the asinine that carrbs and only carbs are what make you fat because carbs and only carbs spike insulin (which is false btw)

    Shall we talk about it some more?
  • carld256
    carld256 Posts: 855 Member
    Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

    Get through that and tell me it's as simple as in & out.

    Taubes is a charlatan. You'd be better off eating his book than reading it.
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    OK, so that statement really chafes my nether-parts.

    It is so NOT that darn simple!

    I am a Zumba Instructor. I teach a 1 hour class at the MINIMUM of 3 times/week. On average I AM burning more calories than I consume and I am NOT losing weight anymore. I've been teaching about 6 classes/week for the past 2 weeks and haven't been eating any more or any less and I haven't gained or lost a SINGLE FRIGGING POUND!

    By the way, I'm NOT asking advice, because I can almost promise you for 20 different people at least 10 different answers. Not gonna help me, but thanks anyway. I simply wanted to point out that this statement gets thrown around so much and it's just blatantly NOT TRUE!

    UHUJ.jpg
  • MeliciousGibson
    MeliciousGibson Posts: 248 Member
    I've been involved in a few of these classes as well, but that's just not me. I am consistently going as hard as I possibly can because I'm trying to keep the energy up. I wear a FitBit while I am doing Zumba and I am burning anywhere from 650 - 800 calories in a 1 hour period (according to the FitBit).

    Two more bits of unsolicited advice, take it for what it's worth.

    I enjoyed the classes where the instructor took the time during the class to visit each participant and teach form than the "up front sweating it out" type class. If I wanted someone up in front of the class "keeping the energy levels up", I'd buy a DVD and do it at home, because it's cheaper. If I'm paying someone to keep me accountable, I want a trainer, not a live-action DVD. No criticism implied here, we all like different things.

    And FitBit is like everything else - based on averages. If I recall correctly, it does not have a heart rate monitor, so it assumes that each action/motion is a certain amount of calories, and as your muscles and body have adapted to Zumba you'll naturally burn fewer calories doing it.

    I teach facing the class - so that I can have eye contact with each and every person. If I see someone struggling with a move I can give extra pointers to help them "get it" (whereas an at-home DVD can't). If I see that the energy seems to be lacking I can change things up accordingly. I am NOT one of those people that stands with their back to the class and barks orders into the microphone for an hour! However, Zumba is not for everyone...

    Guess I'll have to break down and buy a HRM...
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    Bump
  • pookeyism
    pookeyism Posts: 84 Member
    OK, I wasn't going to post to this, but I can't bear it anymore. I understand biologics are complex systems that can be difficult to completely define...

    However, they can only "fool" the laws of physics for a short period of time. The 2nd law of thermodynamics (yeah, I said it) pretty much says that you can't gain weight unless you are burning less than you consume.

    Your body (and your measurement systems) can fool it for a week, maybe two, or longer if your measurements are off, but over time, if you burn more than you consume, you will lose weight until you are out of fat reserves, then die. (don't go that far!)

    For more info, look up the 2nd law of thermo and perpetual motion.

    Just is not so simple - you body can and will hold onto other things if for one of soooo many different reasons it determines (not to mean to make it sound like it is thinking about it) it needs to store building blocks - it is to basal to quote thermodynamics, and "be done".
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
    OK, so that statement really chafes my nether-parts.

    It is so NOT that darn simple!

    I am a Zumba Instructor. I teach a 1 hour class at the MINIMUM of 3 times/week. On average I AM burning more calories than I consume and I am NOT losing weight anymore. I've been teaching about 6 classes/week for the past 2 weeks and haven't been eating any more or any less and I haven't gained or lost a SINGLE FRIGGING POUND!

    By the way, I'm NOT asking advice, because I can almost promise you for 20 different people at least 10 different answers. Not gonna help me, but thanks anyway. I simply wanted to point out that this statement gets thrown around so much and it's just blatantly NOT TRUE!

    Ya, it pretty much is.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I don't watch my calories, and I still lose. I eat low carb.

    I lost most of my weight without counting calories. I don't eat low carb.
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    I wear a FitBit while I am doing Zumba and I am burning anywhere from 650 - 800 calories in a 1 hour period (according to the FitBit).

    Are you eating these calories back then? I have no idea what your calorie goals are but if you short yourself 650-800 calories for a day or two you should drop weight. I would challenge you to not eat back those calories for one or two days and see what happens? My guess is you're overestimating calories spent during exercise. I see that all the time here on MFP. I have my lifestyle as sedentary, don't count weight lifting calories burned and just add on 200 - 250 calories for 30 minutes of fairly intense cardio. I continue to lose weight easily by simply altering my calorie intake.

    If you fasted for one day (Not totally unhealthy) and just had water would you lose weight or just stay the same? I promise you would lose weight because it is physically impossible for you to stay the same. That will shock your system like nothing else if you have the will power to do it. You're not "stuck" you're just not at a defect on calories. People don't seem to want to hear this but it's true. Find the calorie input that is just under your required amount and stick with it. How do you know what that is? Start with the MFP estimates and tweak it down from there as necessary.

    While I'm tweaking my intake slightly to try to get my abs to show you guys can all just keep arguing about how many calories to increase to lose weight. Good luck.
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
    I've been involved in a few of these classes as well, but that's just not me. I am consistently going as hard as I possibly can because I'm trying to keep the energy up. I wear a FitBit while I am doing Zumba and I am burning anywhere from 650 - 800 calories in a 1 hour period (according to the FitBit).

    Two more bits of unsolicited advice, take it for what it's worth.

    I enjoyed the classes where the instructor took the time during the class to visit each participant and teach form than the "up front sweating it out" type class. If I wanted someone up in front of the class "keeping the energy levels up", I'd buy a DVD and do it at home, because it's cheaper. If I'm paying someone to keep me accountable, I want a trainer, not a live-action DVD. No criticism implied here, we all like different things.

    And FitBit is like everything else - based on averages. If I recall correctly, it does not have a heart rate monitor, so it assumes that each action/motion is a certain amount of calories, and as your muscles and body have adapted to Zumba you'll naturally burn fewer calories doing it.

    I teach facing the class - so that I can have eye contact with each and every person. If I see someone struggling with a move I can give extra pointers to help them "get it" (whereas an at-home DVD can't). If I see that the energy seems to be lacking I can change things up accordingly. I am NOT one of those people that stands with their back to the class and barks orders into the microphone for an hour! However, Zumba is not for everyone...

    Guess I'll have to break down and buy a HRM...

    An HRM is a GREAT idea!

    And hey, congratulate yourself on that next level of fitness. You aren't burning so much anymore because your body has gotten so good at it. :flowerforyou:
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

    Get through that and tell me it's as simple as in & out.

    Other than the section on the lipid hypothesis, the rest is a bunch of garbage

    ...says the skinny guy that's never had an issue with weight.

    Explain why study after study cited and reviewed is "a bunch of garbage."

    Actually I believe Acg used to be fat, but he can confirm/deny.

    Additionally, his physique has nothing to do with his understanding.

    Lastly, James Krieger does a great job (as usual) explaining some reasons why Taubes is basically wrong. I would recommend that you read this as a counter point, because it's easy to read a book that has some studies in it and think that the information is accurate.

    Please see here:
    http://weightology.net/?p=265
  • MeliciousGibson
    MeliciousGibson Posts: 248 Member
    It's like talking to bricks. No wonder the diet industry makes billions of dollars a year!

    So many special snowflakes whose bodies break the laws of physics. Amazing! :grumble:

    What an incredibly cruel and b*tchy thing to say!

    I'm certain that you've never had the uncouth urge to vent a single moment of your glorious and enviable life!

    Oh, how I wish I could be like you....

    ....alas, I'm just a mere brick.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

    Get through that and tell me it's as simple as in & out.

    Other than the section on the lipid hypothesis, the rest is a bunch of garbage

    ...says the skinny guy that's never had an issue with weight.

    Explain why study after study cited and reviewed is "a bunch of garbage."

    Actually I believe Acg used to be fat, but he can confirm/deny.

    Additionally, his physique has nothing to do with his understanding.

    Lastly, James Krieger does a great job (as usual) explaining some reasons why Taubes is basically wrong. I would recommend that you read this as a counter point, because it's easy to read a book that has some studies in it and think that the information is accurate.

    Please see here:
    http://weightology.net/?p=265

    I can tell by your avi you've never been fat, so i'm not clicking your link as you've been discounted for never having been fat
  • Justacoffeenut
    Justacoffeenut Posts: 3,749 Member
    I agree with ramgi. I think the lady just wanted to have a vent, whether her ideas about weight loss were correct or not. I don't think the sarcastic and unsupportive comments were what this site intended to promote. Instead of the frosty or downright nasty replies, surely someone could have just offered some support and said they hoped she found what was going wrong with her diet and fitness plan soon.
    Come on guys, don't you ever have days when you just need to get something off your chest and don't want advice?

    ^THIS!!!!!
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    OK, so that statement really chafes my nether-parts.

    It is so NOT that darn simple!

    I am a Zumba Instructor. I teach a 1 hour class at the MINIMUM of 3 times/week. On average I AM burning more calories than I consume and I am NOT losing weight anymore. I've been teaching about 6 classes/week for the past 2 weeks and haven't been eating any more or any less and I haven't gained or lost a SINGLE FRIGGING POUND!

    By the way, I'm NOT asking advice, because I can almost promise you for 20 different people at least 10 different answers. Not gonna help me, but thanks anyway. I simply wanted to point out that this statement gets thrown around so much and it's just blatantly NOT TRUE!

    Ok no advice!! But I will say from your pictures you look healthy and fabulously fit!! I know you would like to lose a few more pounds but when you are at goal weight or so close to goal weight those last couple pounds are the hardest to come off. I also read that you are a cancer survivor. That's so wonderful to hear!! Be happy with your health and don't be worried about a few pounds! Best wishes:flowerforyou:
  • carld256
    carld256 Posts: 855 Member
    I agree with ramgi. I think the lady just wanted to have a vent, whether her ideas about weight loss were correct or not. I don't think the sarcastic and unsupportive comments were what this site intended to promote. Instead of the frosty or downright nasty replies, surely someone could have just offered some support and said they hoped she found what was going wrong with her diet and fitness plan soon.
    Come on guys, don't you ever have days when you just need to get something off your chest and don't want advice?

    ^THIS!!!!!

    When you post something you know is controversial, and do it in a confrontational manner, then you can, and should, expect some serious blowback. Don't start a fire if you can't stand the heat.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    It's like talking to bricks. No wonder the diet industry makes billions of dollars a year!

    So many special snowflakes whose bodies break the laws of physics. Amazing! :grumble:

    What an incredibly cruel and b*tchy thing to say!

    I'm certain that you've never had the uncouth urge to vent a single moment of your glorious and enviable life!

    Oh, how I wish I could be like you....

    ....alas, I'm just a mere brick.

    Don't sweat it. Insults from someone that talks to bricks shouldn't be given much credit (and how could the poster know what talking to bricks is like unless they'd done it). :wink:
This discussion has been closed.