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John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

jgc.org

11–20 of 51 posts

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#11
post #5

>And, boy, was I hungry at first. After a while I wasn't hungry any more... That's the real secret, and it could use some expansion. Isn't that where 99% of dieters fail? Why were you able to overcome your hunger when so many people find that an impossible challenge? People have a great deal of difficulty overcoming that feeling of hunger -- realizing that just because they feel something, they don't have to act on i…

I usually see an encouraging initial weight loss followed by a slow climb back up after a period of stability. The article contains some advice on how he eats less - smaller meals not fewer and eat slowly. I think that could work. I'd like to see how long he's kept the weight off for.

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#12
post #7

how did this get 5 votes so quickly when almost everything else on the new page has a single vote? is this an example of "friends" voting together?

Surely it could not have been genuine interest in the article, right?

well, it could be, but it doesn't seem like the usual kind of link for here [edit: for example, when i posted, almost all comments - including one now deleted - were negative]. on the other hand, it seems that it's a popular user so perhaps people are simply interested. it's also possible that it got to the front page with just a couple of early votes and then took off (a post of my own just behaved as strangely, which has made me think that is likely).

on the other hand, the pile of downvotes before anyone makes any kind of attempt to explain, tends to confirm the worst.

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#14
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely it could not have been genuine interest in the article, right?

well, it could be, but it doesn't seem like the usual kind of link for here [edit: for example, when i posted, almost all comments - including one now deleted - were negative]. on the other hand, it seems that it's a popular user so perhaps people are simply interested. it's also possible that it got to the front page with just a couple of early votes and then took off (a post of my own just behaved as strangely, whi…

The pile of downvotes is quite likely a stab at the naysayery you displayed in disregarding an interesting article under the ASSUMPTION that someone did not truthfully obtain their votes

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#15
post #5

>And, boy, was I hungry at first. After a while I wasn't hungry any more... That's the real secret, and it could use some expansion. Isn't that where 99% of dieters fail? Why were you able to overcome your hunger when so many people find that an impossible challenge? People have a great deal of difficulty overcoming that feeling of hunger -- realizing that just because they feel something, they don't have to act on i…

I also read the Hacker's Diet, but I went to a doctor-controlled diet, and lost about 34 pounds so far (15 kg), in two months (not 6 months).

It's fairly similar to what John advocates actually :) - it's eating WAY less, slower, and mostly vegetables (the main thing about this diet was that the clinic provides the food so you can't overeat).

And yes, I was very hungry at first, what I did was drink lots of soup (the instant-soup type, there are some "light" versions by Knorr over here), and yoghurt (also "light").

I didn't eliminate sodas, I replaced them with diet versions (doctor said they were OK for diet purposes).

PD: as another poster said, NO SUGARS, no flour (that means no bread, etc.. . that part is hard!) and no butter and other dairies except for yoghurt.

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#16
post #5

>And, boy, was I hungry at first. After a while I wasn't hungry any more... That's the real secret, and it could use some expansion. Isn't that where 99% of dieters fail? Why were you able to overcome your hunger when so many people find that an impossible challenge? People have a great deal of difficulty overcoming that feeling of hunger -- realizing that just because they feel something, they don't have to act on i…

The Atkin's theory, which I believe has been largely substantiated, is that carbohydrates (sugar, HFCS) do not satisfy hunger, they tend to trigger hunger.

John cut out the sugar and his hunger dropped. FWIIW, my experience was the same and there are many others who echo this.

See "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" (UCSF lecture) which goes into detail on the metabolism of carbohydrates, especially HFCS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM and discussed on HN: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1006980

One of many references: http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/riskfactors/a/lofatlocarb_2...

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#17
I've just started the cutting phase of my weightlifting diet. I'm eating healthily but at about 500 kcal per day less than my resting metabolic rate (2500 kcal down from 3000 kcal).

It's not so much the hunger I have problems with but the tiredness. I can still concentrate well on my work, but social situations seem to be a lot harder! I guess I feel a bit more grumpy than usual.

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#18
I don't know why we need 'amazing diet secrets' at all; it seems to me that, barring metabolic disorders, most of it is just "Do something, anything, about your diet".

I pursued the following program for a semester: 1 meal a day (a sizable, but not huge, dinner at the end of the day --often McDonald's), and a 2/3 mile walk. I lost 15 kg, from over 80 kg to just over 65 kg, in the semester, and a few of those kilograms went away already in the first week --talk about instant gratification.

When that drop was done, I went back to 2 meals a day but kept up the walking (although essentially no other regular exercise). I basically eat what I feel like, although, after a semester of eating 1 meal a day, what I feel like eating is much less than it used to be. I have been a bit over 60 kg for about 3 years now.

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