Is weight loss simple maths or more?

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  • HappyStack
    HappyStack Posts: 802 Member
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    It's far more. Not least because calorie counting within itself isn't entirely accurate to begin with.

    The body undergoes massive hormonal and metabolic changes through various stages of weight loss as a method of self-preservation more than anything. A simple calories in vs calories out method won't work through all of these stages; the final stage being the 'maintenance' stage, where the majority of people who put weight back on begin the awful process of faltering because of an increased emotional response to food & nutrition.

    You can "diet" your way down to your goal weight by deprivation and using nutritional quick-fixes, but the end result is always the same.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Google "twinkie diet" and you'll have your answer.

    In the absence of a metabolic disorder it comes down to calories in calories out for weight loss, optimal health is a different matter.
  • r121567
    r121567 Posts: 23 Member
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    I recently watched a news report about how not all calories are the same. The food industry is really pushing these 100 calorie packaged snacks but JUNK is still JUNK regardless of how it is packaged.

    The study compared three basic diet types, LOW CARB (aka Atkins), LOW FAT, and GLYCEMIC INDEX BASED (aka South Beach or NutraSystem). Based on the same number of calories per day the most successful diet was the GLYCEMIC INDEX. Lean proteins & good carbs is the way to go!

    I need a diet that I can live with long term - one that fits into real life. Exactly how long can you be satisfied living on a diet of salad? I am finding that it is fairly easy to make good choices even when eating out. All restaurants are offering better choices now - smaller portion steaks, sweet potatoes instead of white potato, grilled veggies, the option of ordering with or without sauces. No need to blow your diet because you are having dinner out with friends. No need to be the obvious "dieter" in the group either. Sharing meals really helps with portion control.

    I have lost weight in the past in very unhealthy ways - a pickle diet for example. Yes, I lost weight, a lot of weight but I was very ill afterward. Deficient in most vitamins & very anemic. I tried a nearly no fat diet living on mostly sugary cereal & candy orange slices but I feared eating in front of people and felt seriously guilty if I ate a "normal" meal. Lost weight then too but my skin just hung on my body. Strangers who saw me daily at the post office where asking if I was sick.

    I don't want to just loose weight, I want to be healthy. I want to look healthy. I want to have muscle tone and good color. I want to do it RIGHT this time! I don't want to stop dieting and re-gain. I want a lifestyle change that I can live with FOREVER!
  • VirtuousVal
    VirtuousVal Posts: 138 Member
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    Does it matter for what, weight loss? No. It matters for satiety and for general health. Weight loss IS simple math. Eating more filling foods that have less calories can go a long way in racking up many days of deficits, in terms of making it not feel like a big deprivation thing. But if you can do it on Twinkies, that works, too.
    It's more. Different things work for different people. What works for me might not work for you even if the math says it should. So you find something that works & keep at it until it doesn't.
    If you got by math, they say people who consume 200g of carbs a day will be fat. I eat high carb & I've lost 50lbs.
    Just do what works for u. And yes, u can eat whatever u want & still lose weight as long as u have a cal deficit. That part is math. But don't expect to get abs or anything of the sort while u eat crap.

    Yes it does matter. This is probably the 1000th post which states your diet doesn't matter as long as you are under your calorie goal.

    What on earth is wrong with you people? This is the reason why most of you don't lose weight.

    Your body has two types of fat, one is visceral and subcutaneous. Visceral is the lovely stuff that deposits around the stomach in men and around the thights and backside in women. This is controlled by calories and exercise which should help reduce the amount of visceral fat your body stores.

    Secondly, which is what most of you are oblivious to, is subcutaneous. This is the fatty deposits around your internal organs that you can't see, doesn't make your jeans tight or your backside look big. This is controlled by the type of food you eat. In simple terms, eating pizza and cheeseburgers will not also add to the visceral fat mass of your body as unused calories but the fat deposits build up inside your body as subcutaneous which causes more damage and also adds to your overall weight.

    Visceral fat is deposited within your torso around organs and you need an MRI scanner or the like to see it. While a lot of it will push out your belly, it's within the muscle wall :

    vi1sceral-fat1.jpg
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    ****BUMP****

    Thanks for the explanation~~~

    Elephantbutt.gif
  • southjenny
    southjenny Posts: 7 Member
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    Thank you every one for your comments I know it's been asks lots of time but I have tired so many diets over the years you do wonder and I have lost my way. So I want to really understand it as I want to do things right this time.

    Thank you
    Jenny

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