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Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

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Re: Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

#51

Post by huehue »

nemasu wrote: post #28
laichzeit0 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea why people are voting you down. It must be out of pure utter ignorance with no practical experience in trying to do this. As someone who weight lifts naturally what you said is factually correct viz. (a) it is as easy as counting calories and eating at a deficit. (b) it's difficult to eat at a deficit and keep muscle mass because you're essentially low on fuel and your body has to burn something for en…

I didn't down vote, but saying that losing weight is easy is like saying playing the piano is easy. In reality, they are indeed both easy, but you need determination and time.

As a concept it's easy. It's just that some people can't lay down the muffins.

Re: Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

#52

Post by FK506 »

The article did not link to the sources. It doesn't take a lot of factors into account. They did not mention that much of the long term research is based on low fat diets that were popular some time ago. I suspect much of the research was done in order to prove fad dieting did not work this is important for SoCal and scientific reasons but not really an indication that all hope is lost. It is only recently that we have started doing the basic research to really see what is good for you and it is amazing how many mistaken.

More recent studies involving low carb diets are encouraging. There is also encouraging research directly relating the number of servings of fresh fruit and vegetables to mortality. This article is more properly referenced and based on more resent research.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-weight-f...

Re: Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

#53

Post by erikb »

If 5% of people make the change it means it is possible and very normal. I believe in everything in life only 1-10% of people are as willing and able to make the change. Look at people who really learn a very foreign language well (and I'm not talking about Spanish speakers learning Portugese or something like that). Look at people who are able to move from one career path to another after realizing the first choice they took with 20 won't sustain a family. etc.

Change is hard. But the people who already did change one thing in their life are very able to change their health/obesity as well.

Re: Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

#54

Post by codeshaman »

boronine wrote: post #45
codeshaman wrote: post #40

"We are biological machines" I tend to disagree with this definition. The function of a body might look like a 'machine', but that machine is made of trillions of small living beings (cells), all having the same properties as the larger organism - they need to breathe, eat and drink, they age and they multiply and each cell is a very specialised 'machine' in itself. So if you want to call the body a 'machine', then c…

> The obesity epidemic (and also cancers, cardiovascular diseases and many many other 'modern' health issues) are the consequence of humans tinkering with nature and our bodies. Cancers, cardiovascular diseases etc. are the consequence of humans living long enough to develop them, thanks to modern medicine (tinkering with nature and our bodies).

You mean the epidemic of people dying from heart attacks or strokes at 30 or the obesity in children is something to brag about ?

The advancement in medicine is remarkable - the elimination of most infectious diseases, the ER capabilities, etc, but we are taking medicine too far.

Medicine is brilliant at 'fixing' things, but now we have fixes for every possible unpleasant feeling in our bodies and that is taking it too far. I don't have the statistics now, but my guess is that most of the pills taken by people are taken to relieve symptoms (like headaches or fever) and they are usually totally unnecessary.

Re: Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

#55

Post by will_work4tears »

klepra wrote: post #11

Just losing weight is fairly easy. Keeping low body-fat % while maintaining decent amount of muscle is what is really challenging.

I disagree with losing weight being easy. It's easy in "theory," and if you only have 10-20lbs to lose it's pretty straightforward.

Enter human psychology, "real life" (stress, kids, a job, social life, etc), and the fact that maybe you have 80lbs to lose. That, at a healthy pace, can take a full year to lose. Or 80 weeks (nearly a year and a half) if you go one pound a week. That's a long time to stick to a "diet."

That's why most people need to focus on a lifestyle change. A Diet implies short term in most people's mind, and that's why most people revert. Yay, I lost 80lbs, now let's start eating donuts for breakfast, McDonalds for lunch, and pizza for dinner again. It's trivial to gain weight. It's harder, much harder, to lose it.

FWIW, I'm a weightlifter. I've been as much as 50lbs overweight, lost that weight and kept it off for many years. I've also gone through the bodybuilding "bulking/cutting" cycle that was popular for so long (and maybe still is, I don't do that anymore), so I'm quite familiar with gaining 20-30lbs and cutting down again in cycles. So I know weightloss is straightforward and simple, but I totally disagree that it's easy.

Re: Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

#56

Post by will_work4tears »

laichzeit0 wrote: post #26
klepra wrote: post #11

Just losing weight is fairly easy. Keeping low body-fat % while maintaining decent amount of muscle is what is really challenging.

I have no idea why people are voting you down. It must be out of pure utter ignorance with no practical experience in trying to do this. As someone who weight lifts naturally what you said is factually correct viz. (a) it is as easy as counting calories and eating at a deficit. (b) it's difficult to eat at a deficit and keep muscle mass because you're essentially low on fuel and your body has to burn something for en…

It's simple. Not easy, IMO. I have quite a bit experience with it and it still can be a challenge, and it is drop dead easy to gain weight.

See my post above. I have experience both in weightlifting and losing weight (not a whole lot, but 50lbs, which isn't something to sneeze at).

If you actually have experience losing significant weight and you think it's a cakewalk, I think I'd accuse you of being disingenuous.

Re: Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

#57

Post by recursion1133 »

There is psychological difficulty in changing your eating habits. If your actions have resulted in obesity, then the difficulty to change to be losing weight will be higher. So, psychologically it may be of a difficulty high enough to be considered infeasible, still not impossible.

Re: Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

#58

Post by achille2 »

DanBC wrote: post #47
achille2 wrote: post #14

I must say that I've been the 5-2 diet (intermittent fasting) for nearly two years and It has worked for me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5:2_diet

http://www.homeopathyworkedforme.org/ > In 2010, H:MC21 organised a lobby of over 250 homeopaths and patients, and handed in to No. 10 Downing Street a letter and the declaration "Homeopathy Worked for Me" signed by 28,112 people.

There's no hocus pocus in Intermittent Fasting. Eating less === less calories ingested.

The difference that keeps IF sustainable long term is the freedom to eat, and on fasting days there's the hope for tomorrow.

There are lots of health benefits to IF as well: Dietary restriction has been shown to have several health benefits including increased insulin sensitivity, stress resistance, reduced morbidity, and increased life span

> http://www.pnas.org/content/100/10/6216.full.pdf

Re: Obesity research confirms long-term weight loss almost impossible

#59

Post by aidenn0 »

nemasu wrote: post #27
CJefferson wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of research has demonstrated that most crack addicts (and alcohol addicts, and nicotine addicts) who try to quit relapse. I thought that was an accepted part of science. Why do you think it sounds kinda off?

It's off because something that is impossible denotes some sort of 'law of nature' that cannot be avoided, where as in reality it's more brain/willpower related.

yes "impossible" denotes some sort of 'law of nature' that cannot be avoided, and "almost impossible" doesn't.
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