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As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

riknieu.com

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Re: As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

#71

Post by RikNieu »

hyko wrote: post #45

The only thing you need to know to successfully lose weight is that you need to consume less calories than your body requires to maintain its current weight. That's it. I’m afraid this is BS. It’s from the “how to make a million dollars and pay no taxes” school of self improvement. Sure, to lose weight you have to consume fewer calories than you need to maintain your current weight. Understanding that tautology is no…

What part do people find difficult? For me it was simply discipline and commitment. That had nothing to do with how calories work.

Re: As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

#72

Post by rho4 »

Chrupiter wrote: post #55
rho4 wrote: post #37

I needed to simplify even more: Calorie counting doesn't work for me, I'm just not disciplined enough. I learned a shortcut, which might not work for others: I try to go a bit hungry. If I'm hungry, I'm in calorie deficit. I might even get a bit cold. Turns out I can just listen to the hunger feeling and know whether I'm currently losing or gaining weight. But walking past a bakery, inhaling the smell of fresh bread.…

> If I'm hungry, I'm in calorie deficit. That's actually not true. When your stomach has been empty for two hours, it begins contracting to sweep remaining food into the intestines. This rumbling is called 'borborygmus'. Cells in the stomach and intestine produce ghrelin, a hormone that triggers feelings of hunger. Src: https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/what-happens-in-... So, the body isn't so clever to re…

That is probably correct. I still do believe that being aware of my hunger feeling and learning to monitor it was the key to losing weight for me.

Re: As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

#73

Post by RikNieu »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #70
Jedd wrote: post #11

> First principles suggested I stop faffing around with diets that operate on clever narratives, assumptions and "magic" rules, and just look at what the science said. And the science was pretty consistent - calories matter above all else. I don't believe 'the science' is consistent about this at all. Tim Ferris cites lots of science when writing 'The Four Hour Body' a decade ago, and decades before that Atkins had a…

> not all calories are equal. Irrelevant. You can eat nothing but twinkies and still lose weight as long as you maintain a caloric deficit. Certain foods are going to make that easier and healthier, but that's orthogonal to the actual weight loss.

I remember reading about a professor who demonstrated this to his students by only eating McDonalds and losing a ton of weight.

Re: As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

#74

Post by RikNieu »

martinko wrote: post #14
Jedd wrote: post #11

> First principles suggested I stop faffing around with diets that operate on clever narratives, assumptions and "magic" rules, and just look at what the science said. And the science was pretty consistent - calories matter above all else. I don't believe 'the science' is consistent about this at all. Tim Ferris cites lots of science when writing 'The Four Hour Body' a decade ago, and decades before that Atkins had a…

Exactly. And to add, it may be easier to achieve a caloric deficit with some foods than with others. When I am on a ketogenic diet, I always eat to satiation but still manage to lose bodyfat.

Sure, like lean meats and veggies. It when you eat manufactured stuff or extremely fat cuts of meat when things go south.

Re: As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

#75

Post by RikNieu »

Jedd wrote: post #16
runawaybottle wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From my experience, progress is a good motivator to keep pushing it. When you start on low carb or something like Keto, you’ll get progress for sure. If you want more progress beyond that, you will simply not be able to deny that a calorie is a calorie. You have to reduce calories, period.

That was not my experience. In 2012 I followed the Four Hour Body approach - eat enough to never feel hungry after a meal, reduce carbs (beans & pulses, mainly) so it's not keto, drink more, avoid 'white things' (rice, flour, sugar), bump up your meal size to compensate for the absence of carbs, have one cheat day a week to keep you sane (eat as much as you like or whatever you like for lunch & dinner on that one day…

That's awesome results!

I did the slow carb diet too when the book came out, didn't work for me. Made me sick and lethargic. And I didn't lose any weight. To each his own, I guess

Re: As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

#76

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

loxs wrote: post #25

Are you joking? You are 1 month in and you already declared a victory? Wait at least for 2 years before that. So far I've lost 10-15kg 4 times before gaining them back. Every single time :)

I agree, 1 month is nothing in the weight management game. I lost about half my body weight (>150lbs) years ago and have been up and down in a 40lb range around there ever since. It's a constant fight against the parts of your mind that are concerned about starving to death and/or are addicted to food. It doesn't take much for them to start winning either, some extra stress and a slightly more relaxed approach to eating will sneak up on you.

Re: As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

#77

Post by maqp »

wombatmobile wrote: post #59

I went from 82kg down to 67kg and have kept it off for 4 years. I'm happier, more mentally stable, and more free in my thoughts. I agree with the main argument you make - measure what you eat, and decrease it, but not too rapidly, and stick with it. I agree with your main food recommendation of keeping it natural: "only vegetables, fruit, lean meats, eggs, all seasoned with herbs and salt only - not sauces and very l…

AFAIK it's just fructose in the absence of fiber that mostly goes into fat by default. Glucose is mostly stored as glycogen in muscle and liver, but excess glucose is also stored as fat. I fully agree with you wrt sweet foods, they don't make you satient. In general, avoid everything that has High Fructose Corn Syrup in it. It's one of the biggest contributors to the obesity epidemic of the US.

For eating large amounts of lettuce, I found small amount of grated parmigiano reggiano on top makes it incredibly enjoyable.

Re: As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

#78

Post by Chrupiter »

shaicoleman wrote: post #43

You need to wait 12-24 months before you can consider your diet a success. A caloric deficit doesn't work long term, as over time your metabolism slows down to match the caloric intake. "The key to long-lasting weight control is to control the main hormone responsible, which is insulin. Controlling insulin requires a change in our diet, which is composed of two factors — how high the insulin levels are after meals, a…

Thank you for this comment. I don't have weight problems, but I like to know how the body works in general. I can't believe I didn't know about the relation between insulin and weight. Indeed, people with type 1 diabetes tend to experience weight loss even if they eat normally, vice versa for people with type 2 diabetes.

Re: As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

#80

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

runawaybottle wrote: post #10

Sounds about right. Calories in, calories out. I have $7 digital scale that I measure food with. With consistency you eventually get to the point where you can eyeball 50g of rice, 125g of chicken, roughly a 250 calorie meal. There’s zero tricks to it, just measure and aim for 1500-1800 calories a day. Oh, and it’s going to suck, because it’s hard. I did 180 to 138 in 5ish months. Started with the Keto until I realiz…

> Oh, and it’s going to suck

This part doesn't get emphasized enough. People start down this road and at first it looks like losing weight is easy because they shed a few pounds right away, but most of it is water so they hit a wall and things get hard and they think they must be doing something wrong. They're not: it just sucks and there's no way out of that, not that it stops people from trying to sell them an easy way.

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