ReaderGirl3 Member

Well, for me it was. I didn't do anything except start eating at the correct calorie allotment for my weight loss goals and fast forward 50ish pounds lost, I have a flat stomach (my profile picture was taken a week ago, there's also a 'before' picture loaded in my profile area to give you an idea of what I used to look…

There's another person up thread who's claiming that he did.

It's crazy how off things can really be-measuring in grams will seriously be an eye opener!

This. OP, if you make your diary public we can take a peek at it and offer suggestions. Are you weighing all your food on a food scale, set to grams, or are you estimating/using ounces and cups etc/using wrong entries etc etc. That's the culprit more times than not.

I eat pizza several times a month (had it last night). Not a big deal.

When I finally had that 'ah ha' moment with portion sizes it really changed everything for me. It's so freeing to realize you can still eat all the foods you like, including eating out, and still be in control and lose/maintain your weight. You just have to be mindful of portion sizes and then fit everything into your…

Yep, usually 1-2 times a day.

It's already been said several times, but calories are a unit of energy. For weight loss you must be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. Macro composition does not matter for weight loss. Calories matter for weight loss. Calories. Calories. And yes, Calories. Peoples, this isn't that complicated :p

3 years into maintenance and I still have moments. I think it's something I'll deal with for the rest of my life.

I really like Kolata (author of article), and her book, Rethinking Thin, is a solid overview of the realities of weight loss and maintenance. It's one of the few that I actually recommend people read. Great article, thanks for sharing!

OP, you need to be more specific. What exactly do you mean when you say you've been 'dieting pretty consistently'? And it would help if you made your food diary public so we can get an idea of how much you're eating.

While I have no issues with artificial sweeteners, I do agree with you that if they're going to remove it from one part of their menu, and make a big publicity campaign out of it, then they should remove it from everything they serve. Otherwise it seems a bit hypocritical?

As for the whole 'clean' eating thing, I'll just leave this here ;) http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10337480/what-is-clean-eating/p1

My current favorite is Subways chicken bacon salad. The thing is huge! Besides the chicken and bacon I get spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, green and yellow peppers and black olives. And then I add my own light ranch dressing.

Here's the kicker - I improved all my health markers and have excellent blood work panels now, including getting a high glucose number stabilized into the 80s, and my diet is pretty much the opposite of the list in the OP. I've actually had a few of the hard core 'clean' eating advocates on MFP call me a liar, because they…

OP said she won't cook. So yeah ...

This. Something isn't adding up here. But yeah, go ahead and quit and see how that turns out for you :p

It's funny how two people can watch the same thing and come to two totally different conclusions. I've actually watched his lectures a few times, I've also read several books by other 'experts' who claim sugar is horrible for you. But none of them could actually prove to me that sugar is legitimately a concern, when it's…

Um, vegetarians have to cook too :p

She's also misunderstanding the legitimate ones. For example WHO recommends keeping ADDED sugars to 25 grams a day or less. That doesn't include sugar from fruits, vegetables and milk. And as a sidenote: I have 3 different kinds of chips in my cupboard right now-just checked and none of them have trans fat ;)

Sigh.... Yes, a calorie is a calorie: it's unit of energy. In order to lose weight you must eat at the correct calorie deficit for your weight loss goals. To maintain your weight you must eat at your maintenance level calories. And to gain weight you must eat at a calorie surplus over your maintenance levels. In terms of…

If you're trying to lose weight than you need to eat at the correct calorie deficit for your weight loss goals. If you're trying to maintain then you need to eat at your maintenance level calories. Weight has nothing to do with what kinds of foods you eat, it has to do with how many calories you're consuming.

At the time she told me to stop the fish oil (last spring), my total cholesterol was 150/HDL was 58/triglycerides were 49/LDL was 82. There's such a thing as too low of cholesterol causing issues, so she recommended that I quit the fish oil. Fast forward to the fall and new blood work put my total cholesterol at 167/HDL at…

Do you think your results are because of the program, or because you started eating at a calorie deficit and lost the extra weight? Genuinely curious, because my own experience saw similar results as you had (I lost over 50lbs though), and I didn't eat any special way/eliminate foods. I just focused on eating at the…

Nope. Eating over your maintenance level calories does that.

I ate out several times a week, and had no problem losing over 50lbs and improving every single health marker. Now I'm 3 years into maintenance and I still eat out several times a week. I still have excellent health markers and still maintaining the weight loss. In the past 72 hours I've eaten fast food 3 times and…

I'm not seeing the problem? I ate fast food several times a week during my weight loss phase. Still continue to eat fast food several times a week, now 3 years into maintenance. As long as you're staying within your calorie targets there's no reason to feel bad about enjoying a meal out.

Oh wow, those sounds amazing! No David's around me though :(

My own experience-never tracked or paid any attention to macros. Eating at the correct calorie deficit for my weight loss/maintenance goals is all I've focused on and that's worked out pretty great for me. I also only eat 2-3 times a day (which includes any snacking). I can't imagine having to force myself to eat 6 times a…

Thanks everyone, loving all of the responses so far! It's great to see how we're all so different-ages, guys/girls, weight loss histories, medical histories, etc etc. This really shows that no matter who you are, you CAN be successful not only at long term weight loss, but also better health!