i am not losing weight
- Thread starter Skyler45
- Start date
The problem with that is almost all research is initiated and paid for by pharmacuetical companies looking to get rich off of fat sick people.
There's just not enough money to be made by telling people to eat their veggies, get off sugar, enough with all the sauce already, no fast food, water instead of soda, eliminate toxins, and get some exercise. Plus people don't really want to hear that anyway, they just want to take a pill or have a surgery that magically makes it all better.
Which makes you wonder: why is it that despite all the Billions, perhaps Trillions, of Dollars spent on diet research, that we don't have basic facts about dieting readily available.
All we are doing is giving opinions, and we shouldn't have to.
Kremmen
You are totally correct. It is kind of weird that so much misinformation, and so many urban myths, are floating around on this subject and widely believed.
Anyone who wants solid information on nutrition can go to the web sites of any number of reputable bodies. Instead, we get food nutter web sites being quoted. Why?
You are totally correct. It is kind of weird that so much misinformation, and so many urban myths, are floating around on this subject and widely believed.
Anyone who wants solid information on nutrition can go to the web sites of any number of reputable bodies. Instead, we get food nutter web sites being quoted. Why?
For those saying it takes a superhuman effort to slim down, I say not a chance. I've done it many times in the past just through disciplined eating, and if you combine disciplined eating with hard exercise, the pounds melt away almost dangerously fast. The math doesn't lie when it comes to minimal calories your body needs to burn to survive, and how fast you'll lose weight if you get less calories than your metabolic rate.
I was in my worst shape almost 10 years ago and have never gotten close to that since, but I have tried crash dieting in the past and it just takes too much discipline to sustain, so for much of those 10 years I've felt I could still stand to lose another 20lbs or so and haven't been able to make much progress on that or sustain it since. Then over the last few years I let myself go a bit further and started to feel too chubby around the edges as a result, so in August last year I made some big changes to my lifestyle.
Since then I've lost a substantial amount of weight, at a rate of roughly ~5lbs a month. At times I took a bit of a break and just focussed on sustaining what I had lost, I also gained back a few lbs during the holiday eating season, etc. On the whole, I've been pretty focussed and if you just try to keep some consistency, it doesn't seem to be that difficult. If I feel guilty about eating too much one day, I don't try to starve myself the next day to make up for it, I just try to tighten my discipline over the next few days to compensate. Every time I slip up, I keep my patience and feel great a few days later, because then I know at the end I'm still slimmer than I was right before the slipup, still heading downwards on the scale.
Overestimate your calories rather than underestimate. It's real easy to do the latter and miss all the hidden fat & carbs packed into the food. If you overestimate a bit, then you leave yourself a nice margin for error and don't have to feel guilty if you come up near your estimated metabolic rate. Plus it doesn't make losing weight seem any harder than it actually is, you don't fool yourself over how many calories you're saving. Also don't freak out about body weight on a given day, that changes every time you have a drink or use the loo. Weekly averages and such are the only things to pay much attention to, and it's best to do them under consistent conditions (i.e. right after waking up and using afforementioned loo). If you get too fixated on your day-to-day weight, you'll get all excited when you appear to lose a few lbs from not eating or drinking much, then you'll go to a couple of parties, eat a bunch of cake and drink lots of wine, and you'll think you put on 10 lbs as a result.
As for the dietary requirements, I only have 3 things I've paid any attention to:
1) Total number of calories
2) The need to get some basic variety in my nutrition to match my body's needs
3) Does it taste good and leave me with a decent feeling of satisfaction
I've been eating plenty of rich, fatty and sugary foods, Chinese-style shrimp deep fried in peanut butter sauce being one of my particular favourite "dietary" staples but far from the only one. As long as on the whole I'm finding some way to manage my calories. If I'm craving something greasy and succulent, I'll plan it in advance and cut back on other meals to make some room. Small adjustments like having a salad instead of a sandwich for lunch or being extra careful to avoid any snacks before or after, that's usually all I need to accomodate whatever I'm craving. Anything is ok in moderation, as they say. I mostly just watch my calories, and walk about 30-45 mins a day. I've had my stretches of exercising in the past, but I haven't seriously hit the gym in far too long and will be doing so shortly. For now though, it's just all about living in a well-planned city that's pleasant and convenient to walk around.
As a final piece of my personal advice, I don't recommend shunning the foods you crave altogether, I think that's actually not a good idea at all. Try to cut back on the unhealthy stuff and save it more for special occasions, but if you throw out everything you love and try to eat like a Yogi master, you're going to have serious problems with that willpower thing. I used to try shortcuts like Lean Cuisine TV dinners and all that, in the end I would usually find myself eating multiple portions of the stuff and feeling even less satisfied than I was before my insulin started flowing. Anyhoo, for my own part I'm getting within eyesight of my overall target now, and I'm pretty confident I will be able to see my abs come this August, something I haven't really been able to do since I was a kid.
I was in my worst shape almost 10 years ago and have never gotten close to that since, but I have tried crash dieting in the past and it just takes too much discipline to sustain, so for much of those 10 years I've felt I could still stand to lose another 20lbs or so and haven't been able to make much progress on that or sustain it since. Then over the last few years I let myself go a bit further and started to feel too chubby around the edges as a result, so in August last year I made some big changes to my lifestyle.
Since then I've lost a substantial amount of weight, at a rate of roughly ~5lbs a month. At times I took a bit of a break and just focussed on sustaining what I had lost, I also gained back a few lbs during the holiday eating season, etc. On the whole, I've been pretty focussed and if you just try to keep some consistency, it doesn't seem to be that difficult. If I feel guilty about eating too much one day, I don't try to starve myself the next day to make up for it, I just try to tighten my discipline over the next few days to compensate. Every time I slip up, I keep my patience and feel great a few days later, because then I know at the end I'm still slimmer than I was right before the slipup, still heading downwards on the scale.
Overestimate your calories rather than underestimate. It's real easy to do the latter and miss all the hidden fat & carbs packed into the food. If you overestimate a bit, then you leave yourself a nice margin for error and don't have to feel guilty if you come up near your estimated metabolic rate. Plus it doesn't make losing weight seem any harder than it actually is, you don't fool yourself over how many calories you're saving. Also don't freak out about body weight on a given day, that changes every time you have a drink or use the loo. Weekly averages and such are the only things to pay much attention to, and it's best to do them under consistent conditions (i.e. right after waking up and using afforementioned loo). If you get too fixated on your day-to-day weight, you'll get all excited when you appear to lose a few lbs from not eating or drinking much, then you'll go to a couple of parties, eat a bunch of cake and drink lots of wine, and you'll think you put on 10 lbs as a result.
As for the dietary requirements, I only have 3 things I've paid any attention to:
1) Total number of calories
2) The need to get some basic variety in my nutrition to match my body's needs
3) Does it taste good and leave me with a decent feeling of satisfaction
I've been eating plenty of rich, fatty and sugary foods, Chinese-style shrimp deep fried in peanut butter sauce being one of my particular favourite "dietary" staples but far from the only one. As long as on the whole I'm finding some way to manage my calories. If I'm craving something greasy and succulent, I'll plan it in advance and cut back on other meals to make some room. Small adjustments like having a salad instead of a sandwich for lunch or being extra careful to avoid any snacks before or after, that's usually all I need to accomodate whatever I'm craving. Anything is ok in moderation, as they say. I mostly just watch my calories, and walk about 30-45 mins a day. I've had my stretches of exercising in the past, but I haven't seriously hit the gym in far too long and will be doing so shortly. For now though, it's just all about living in a well-planned city that's pleasant and convenient to walk around.
As a final piece of my personal advice, I don't recommend shunning the foods you crave altogether, I think that's actually not a good idea at all. Try to cut back on the unhealthy stuff and save it more for special occasions, but if you throw out everything you love and try to eat like a Yogi master, you're going to have serious problems with that willpower thing. I used to try shortcuts like Lean Cuisine TV dinners and all that, in the end I would usually find myself eating multiple portions of the stuff and feeling even less satisfied than I was before my insulin started flowing. Anyhoo, for my own part I'm getting within eyesight of my overall target now, and I'm pretty confident I will be able to see my abs come this August, something I haven't really been able to do since I was a kid.
Bork
Let me repeat something I have already said several times. It is not weight loss that is the issue. It is keeping it off.
Losing weight is relatively easy. It just takes food discipline for a month or two. Most people can do that. The problem is the simple fact that for 95% of people who lose weight, it all (and frequently a lot more) goes back onto your frame within 5 years.
One of the most unhealthy things you can do is "yo yo" weight control. Losing weight, and then putting it on. Losing it again and putting it on again. And this is what 95% of people focused on losing weight end up doing. It is bad for your heart, and ends up reducing life span.
Instead, focus on good health. Eat a good balanced diet, with lots of fruit and vege, close to zero 'takeout' food, and with reduced saturated fat, salt and and refined starch. Do not starve yourself. Eat the amount needed to satisfy your appetite, without excess. Get into regular healthy exercise, of a type that you can keep up for life. This may or may not result in weight loss. That is not the point. The point is good health.
Let me repeat something I have already said several times. It is not weight loss that is the issue. It is keeping it off.
Losing weight is relatively easy. It just takes food discipline for a month or two. Most people can do that. The problem is the simple fact that for 95% of people who lose weight, it all (and frequently a lot more) goes back onto your frame within 5 years.
One of the most unhealthy things you can do is "yo yo" weight control. Losing weight, and then putting it on. Losing it again and putting it on again. And this is what 95% of people focused on losing weight end up doing. It is bad for your heart, and ends up reducing life span.
Instead, focus on good health. Eat a good balanced diet, with lots of fruit and vege, close to zero 'takeout' food, and with reduced saturated fat, salt and and refined starch. Do not starve yourself. Eat the amount needed to satisfy your appetite, without excess. Get into regular healthy exercise, of a type that you can keep up for life. This may or may not result in weight loss. That is not the point. The point is good health.
Well I'm about 5'11" and have sustained in the range of 185 lbs for the last 10 years. I think I've been very successful in keeping the bulk off what I was before that, but as I say, I've had trouble going down another 20lbs or so and, on the rare occasions where I've gotten close, it was too hard to sustain and I ended up yoyo-ing right back up. So I'll agree with you partially.
I've been getting tons of takeout food for years and my weight hasn't exploded as a result. I'm down to 175lbs now and targetting 160lbs before seeing if I need to go further (I don't want anyone thinking I've become anorexic and trying some sort of intervention on me). I've been sustaining my current lifestyle for ~8 months now, it feels like it's actually getting easier all the time, and once I can go on maintenance and add a few hundred calories per day, I don't see why it would be difficult to keep.
None of the doctors I've ever spoken to have said 5lbs a month is excessive, it's an overall rate I've successfully sustained since August, and I've done it much, much, much quicker in the past. I think what I've been doing this time around has been vastly easier than trying to deprive myself. Even with the big weight drop I underwent 10 years ago, I was still eating drunken midnight snack food and hitting the restaurants and greasy cafeterias with all my dorm buddies. I just watched how much all my thinner friends were eating and when, kept up a decently active lifestyle, and tried to match what they were doing.
Bork
Based on the information you gave me (5'11'' and 175 lbs), you have a BMI of between 24 and 25. In other words, you are in the 'normal' range. Losing extra weight is not needed. Just a good balanced diet and regular exercise.
I have a BMI of 28, which makes me overweight, but less than obese. As long as I keep fit, and eat a good balanced diet, also no problem.
Based on the information you gave me (5'11'' and 175 lbs), you have a BMI of between 24 and 25. In other words, you are in the 'normal' range. Losing extra weight is not needed. Just a good balanced diet and regular exercise.
I have a BMI of 28, which makes me overweight, but less than obese. As long as I keep fit, and eat a good balanced diet, also no problem.
if you're overweight, you are not fit. the strain alone of carrying extra weight in the form of fat is destructive to your body.
and do we really need scientific studies to tell us that sitting on our asses all day, and sucking up chicken nuggets drenched in ranch dressing and sugar laden soda is unhealthy? aren't we all just one giant experiment? can't we just take a look in the mirror, or a look around us? come on...not everything is rocket science.
Lori
Yes, we do need scientific studies. Your statement that being overweight means you are not fit is a clear indication that incorrect material is readily believed if there is not suitable scientific testing.
Fit fatties are not a contradiction of terms. Sure, a heavily overweight person aint gonna win any marathons, but that is not what 'fit' means. Fit means a body working well, with good muscle mass, good heart function, and good lung function. It is shown by low 'bad' cholesterol, normal blood pressure, and low resting pulse, as well as performance on a treadmill and similar tests.
And where did I suggest we should sit on our asses all day soaking up calories? My recommendation is to eat a good balanced diet and get regular exercise.
Yes, we do need scientific studies. Your statement that being overweight means you are not fit is a clear indication that incorrect material is readily believed if there is not suitable scientific testing.
Fit fatties are not a contradiction of terms. Sure, a heavily overweight person aint gonna win any marathons, but that is not what 'fit' means. Fit means a body working well, with good muscle mass, good heart function, and good lung function. It is shown by low 'bad' cholesterol, normal blood pressure, and low resting pulse, as well as performance on a treadmill and similar tests.
And where did I suggest we should sit on our asses all day soaking up calories? My recommendation is to eat a good balanced diet and get regular exercise.
Maybe because they don't want to hear the answer.
If calories in minus calories out is >1, the excess will be stored as fat.
And Vice Versa.
Ye canny change the laws of physiques.
Have you ever seen the amount that skinny people eat?
It's pitiful.
I knew a woman at work, who was very thin.
She claimed she ate like a horse, but her lunch was two small sandwiches.
A fat person would have snuffled them up as a starter.
Its recommended that we eat frequent small meals, a portion size of no larger than your fist, every few hours. In comparison to what is normal, especially here in the states, served in chain restaurants and such.
Recommended by who, small meal vendors?
What size meals and what frequency is an interesting question. There are various schools of thought, but little good scientific data. If a naive study is carried out, and many have been, it can be shown that three square meals a day is best. However, there is a major flaw in these studies. That is that they are carried out on people who are already acclimated to three square meals a day, and such things as sugar and insulin balance are adapted to that regimen.
There is the widespread popular belief that a large breakfast, medium lunch and small dinner is best. I have never actually seen good empirical evidence to support that opinion.
And there is the theory that the 'neolithic' pattern of eating is best. That is : to eat lots of small snacks and few large meals. Supposedly replicating what our ancestors ate, and were adapted to. The problem with that logic is that we really do not know the eating pattern our ancestors followed. We are just guessing. Also : where are the empirical studies to 'prove ' it?
This debate is characterised by a lack of good scientific, empirically derived data. As I said, such studies have been carried out tend to be somewhat suspect in their design.
My own opinion (which is very likely to be wrong, since it is just an opinion) is that humans are highly adaptable, and whatever eating pattern we adjust to becomes 'right' for us.
There is the widespread popular belief that a large breakfast, medium lunch and small dinner is best. I have never actually seen good empirical evidence to support that opinion.
And there is the theory that the 'neolithic' pattern of eating is best. That is : to eat lots of small snacks and few large meals. Supposedly replicating what our ancestors ate, and were adapted to. The problem with that logic is that we really do not know the eating pattern our ancestors followed. We are just guessing. Also : where are the empirical studies to 'prove ' it?
This debate is characterised by a lack of good scientific, empirically derived data. As I said, such studies have been carried out tend to be somewhat suspect in their design.
My own opinion (which is very likely to be wrong, since it is just an opinion) is that humans are highly adaptable, and whatever eating pattern we adjust to becomes 'right' for us.
According to the BMI chart I looked up, a "normal" weight for my height ranges between 140lbs and 180lbs. I'm pretty sure the definition of "normal" is slanted to accomodate the excessive eating and sedentary lifestyles so common these days. For example, Britney Spears might still be classified as "normal" in the west, but she was looking pretty jiggly last time I saw her on TV. I'm targetting 160lbs for now, I'm very confident I'll be there within a few months, but what really matters to me is whether I can see my abs properly. If you don't have 6-pack abs however big or small, it means you've got excess fat on your stomach and it's not at all unhealthy to try trimming that down.
As most of us know by now, your muscles don't get their energy directly from the fat surrounding them, so if you want to trim fat around your belly or somewhere else, the only effective way to do it is to slim down on the whole. Crunches and situps will make your abs stronger but they still won't be toned, because they'll still have layers of fat surrounding them. Carefully controlling stress levels and nutrition can help make your body store less fat in the stomach and more fat elsewhere, but it's much easier and faster for most people to just get their body fat indices down on the whole.
I've read that there are people out there whose bodies lack the enzymes to digest certain starches and such, so i.e. there are a minority of people out there who can eat copious amounts of certain breads and never gain an ounce. Still, I'd personally prefer being able to get nutritional value out of anything I eat, and use mental discipline to control my health in situations where there's too much food on the table.
But yeah, once I started watching the "lucky" skinny people around me, I realized I had been too much of a porker in my younger days. I stopped drinking a litre of Coke every day and switched to the diet stuff, that made a huge difference all on its own (yes I know diet isn't considered the best choice either, although most of the things people say about it come out of the wrong orifice). Even the ones who claimed to eat like a pig, there were plenty of times they would have their meal and I'd think it was just an appetizer, also there were plenty of times when they wouldn't eat anything at all because they were too busy boozing or whatever.
If you can live with a bunch of skinny people, do what they do, eat nothing they don't eat, and exercise as they exercise, and you still haven't started to look skinny like them, then there's probably either a serious medical issue going on, or you're not being diligent enough about duplicating their example.
I doubt there's any evidence indicating that your metabolism will skyrocket if you eat 5 small meals a day. I couldn't see the effect burning more than a few hundred extra calories at most- if your body just ups and burns an extra 1000 calories a day without running around and lifting weights, you're going to feel unbelievably overheated, because that's pretty much where all the extra energy would go. I think the primary logic behind eating many small meals a day is that it helps to control and reduce your appetite. Just like they say take your time with eating, your body takes a while to inform the brain that it's had enough.
Bork
I would recommend against trying to lose any extra. If you follow my earlier advice, and concentrate on healthy living - good balanced diet and regular exercise, your weight should stabilise at what it should be. Excessive dieting is frequently followed by 'rebound' weight gain. This is exceedingly unhealthy, and puts unacceptable stress on the heart.
Good healthy balanced diet means no sugary things like coca cola (except the diet variety) and no excessively fatty foods, like McDonald's fries.
I suggest at least 3 kinds of raw fruit each day, and at least 3 kinds of vegetable - cooked without fat. A little low fat animal protein. Nuts without too much salt. High fibre cereals and root vegetables - again without fat. Do not leave yourself hungry. But do not over-eat either.
A little fat, a little salt, and a little sugar is all you should permit yourself.
Along with regular exercise, this should be all you need for your long term health and weight goals.
I would recommend against trying to lose any extra. If you follow my earlier advice, and concentrate on healthy living - good balanced diet and regular exercise, your weight should stabilise at what it should be. Excessive dieting is frequently followed by 'rebound' weight gain. This is exceedingly unhealthy, and puts unacceptable stress on the heart.
Good healthy balanced diet means no sugary things like coca cola (except the diet variety) and no excessively fatty foods, like McDonald's fries.
I suggest at least 3 kinds of raw fruit each day, and at least 3 kinds of vegetable - cooked without fat. A little low fat animal protein. Nuts without too much salt. High fibre cereals and root vegetables - again without fat. Do not leave yourself hungry. But do not over-eat either.
A little fat, a little salt, and a little sugar is all you should permit yourself.
Along with regular exercise, this should be all you need for your long term health and weight goals.
Well, all I can say is that in the end, net calories seem to be the deciding factor in whether I gain or lose weight. Too many nuts, fruits, dairy, starches and pasta, etc. would prevent me from losing weight and even help me to gain it, and it would be more about appetite than what my body "wants to weigh". I've incorporated more salads and veggies into my diet, and I tend to reserve chips, chocolate bars and candies for only the most serious cravings. The dishes I get with beef, chicken, pork etc. are more for taste now rather than just filling me up. Sometimes I'll splurge and get some ice cream or a milkshake, but whenever I do that, I'll treat it as a meal in itself, and I try to avoid doing it too often simply because fact my body doesn't always crave it and won't always be satiated by it.
I've found in my own experience that trying to shun the things I like altogether just makes me even hungrier and less satisfied, and I get more calories in the end as a result. I try to sense what my body/psyche wants, and then to choose a meal that will meet those needs without going to excess and without exceeding my caloric goals. Maybe my body naturally does want to carry a bit of excess weight, wouldn't surprise me at all. If this were medieval times or caveman times, it would be good to have a bit of spare fat on the tummy for hard times. These days, where all manner of food is practically shoved in your face wherever you go, our instincts can often mislead us as to what we really need. And there's going to be subjective disagreement anyway- I usually seem to be in competition with mostly slender, "good looking" guys and muscle-bound jocks for the women I'm attracted to, so my perspective has probably been irreparably skewed by modern expectations.
I've found in my own experience that trying to shun the things I like altogether just makes me even hungrier and less satisfied, and I get more calories in the end as a result. I try to sense what my body/psyche wants, and then to choose a meal that will meet those needs without going to excess and without exceeding my caloric goals. Maybe my body naturally does want to carry a bit of excess weight, wouldn't surprise me at all. If this were medieval times or caveman times, it would be good to have a bit of spare fat on the tummy for hard times. These days, where all manner of food is practically shoved in your face wherever you go, our instincts can often mislead us as to what we really need. And there's going to be subjective disagreement anyway- I usually seem to be in competition with mostly slender, "good looking" guys and muscle-bound jocks for the women I'm attracted to, so my perspective has probably been irreparably skewed by modern expectations.
Fraggle Rocker
Staff member
So you're actually seeking a shallow woman who cares primarily about physical appearance???