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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

#81

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

RikNieu wrote: post #73
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

It was twinkies and other junk food: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/...

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

#82

Post by Chrupiter »

rho4 wrote: post #72
Chrupiter wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Upon reflection, you're probably partially correct too. There are other factors apart from the level of food in the stomach, and I'm not knowledgeable enough to make definitive statements. For example, the amount of fibre you ingest has an effect on how long you feel stuffed.

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

#83

Post by RikNieu »

giantDinosaur wrote: post #68
0x008 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, to give another point of view: I think it is pretty much understood, what is healthy and what is not and also what leads to weight loss and what doesn't. The problem is that people don't stick with it.

People not sticking with it is really an added point to the reality that calories in/out is a very poor model for losing weight, even if it is completely correct at a physical level.

Isn't that like saying doing exercise is a poor model for getting fit because people don't stick to it?

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

#84

Post by RikNieu »

etu wrote: post #79

So... I made some notes a while back: https://elis.nu/drafts/health/ It's the story of how I've lost ~50kg in two years on my own, then I didn't stop there. No professional help or private training or things like that. It's all about diet and hard training. No magic.

That's incredible, good work!

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

#85

Post by RikNieu »

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…

Kudos for keeping it off that long, that's incredible.

WRT the diet drinks, I know they're bad. I found I can get some pretty bad migraines if I drink them too often. I try to keep it for once or twice on the weekends though, as a small treat. But I'll try cutting them out completely and see what happens.

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

#87

Post by giantDinosaur »

RikNieu wrote: post #83
giantDinosaur wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People not sticking with it is really an added point to the reality that calories in/out is a very poor model for losing weight, even if it is completely correct at a physical level.

Isn't that like saying doing exercise is a poor model for getting fit because people don't stick to it?

It depends. Do you see losing weight as a purely physical phenomenon, or do you see it as one that's heavily influenced by psychology and other such factors? The actual physical act of losing weight i.e. reducing one's mass needs to be distinguished, in my opinion, from all the factors that actually go into that. If it turns out that in response to hunger that your brain secretes a hormone that makes you much more hungry than the average, the psychological aspect of losing weight has been compromised, even while the physical laws stay the same.

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

#88

Post by wombatmobile »

RikNieu wrote: post #85
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…

Kudos for keeping it off that long, that's incredible. WRT the diet drinks, I know they're bad. I found I can get some pretty bad migraines if I drink them too often. I try to keep it for once or twice on the weekends though, as a small treat. But I'll try cutting them out completely and see what happens.

Thanks! It is actually no effort, because the change to fresh foods away from processed foods and sugars makes me feel constantly sated, instead of cycling between hungry and full.

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

#89

Post by wombatmobile »

maqp wrote: post #77
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 amoun…

> I found small amount of grated parmigiano reggiano on top makes it incredibly enjoyable.

Thanks for the tip, maqp. I'll try that!

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

#90

Post by hyko »

RikNieu wrote: post #71
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.

Maybe change it to The only thing you need to know to successfully lose weight is that you’ll need discipline and commitment then :)

There are myriads of factors that prevent people from being able to reach and maintain a “healthy” weight long term, otherwise fixing the obesity crisis would be as simple as handing out an index card to everyone. Most diets ultimately fail (including calorie counting), and we still don’t completely understand why: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unexpected-clues-...

An autonomic process should not require one ounce of discipline and commitment, otherwise something has gone far wrong systemically.

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