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How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

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Re: How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

#91

Post by enraged_camel »

moron4hire wrote: post #88

If losing fat were as easy as "calories in = calories out", then more people would do it. While it is strictly true, the problem is that you we don't understand the exact equations for both calories in and calories out, and we often don't have control over the parameters. What will you do about you gut flora, which can alter just how efficiently calories in concerts to calories out? There are many and powerful issues…

>>If losing fat were as easy as "calories in = calories out", then more people would do it.

It is simple, not easy. Do not confuse the two.

Re: How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

#93

Post by crusso »

carbocation wrote: post #85
crusso wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another user already posted this link. Here's tons of evidence and someone wondering why we've ignored that evidence for so long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6vpFV6Wkl4

Not even Gary Taubes denies thermodynamics, and a link to a youtube video does not justify vitriol.

I didn't say that I or Taubes denied thermodynamics. You're spinning. I said that the caloric intake explanation of weight gain is "noise" in this discussion. It's useless. Taube even covers why it's a useless statement in the provided link.

Secondly, I disagree with your assessment of anything I said as "vitriol". If it's vitriol to call someone's statement ignorant or point out that they're committing the very act they're complaining about through that ignorance, then I would claim that you're confusing "vitriol" with "directness".

Re: How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

#94

Post by moron4hire »

enraged_camel wrote: post #91
moron4hire wrote: post #88

If losing fat were as easy as "calories in = calories out", then more people would do it. While it is strictly true, the problem is that you we don't understand the exact equations for both calories in and calories out, and we often don't have control over the parameters. What will you do about you gut flora, which can alter just how efficiently calories in concerts to calories out? There are many and powerful issues…

>>If losing fat were as easy as "calories in = calories out", then more people would do it. It is simple , not easy. Do not confuse the two.

Bite me, Poindexter.

Re: How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

#95

Post by encoderer »

codyb wrote: post #46
TelmoMenezes wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. You lose weight by eating less calories than your body uses. (As a corollary, you almost definitely consume more calories than you think you do. Get a calorie-counting app.) If this is true, why don't we become incredibly fat or skinny over time? It would require incredible precision to maintain weight. But a lot of people seem to be able to do it with no effort... The reason why this is not true is simple: our…

Also a 1000 calories of sugar are going to do far different things to your body than a 1000 calories of protein. That's why focusing on calories always seemed to be the wrong metric to me.

If you mean "far different things" relating to weight gain or loss, I completely, completely disagree.

In terms of weight gain or loss, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. That's why there are fad diets that have and do work for people that each cut different things. Low carbs in one. Low protein in another. The Cookie Diet for chrissakes. They work because the common thread between them is caloric restriction.

Now, if you consume nothing but 2000 calories of Ice Cream every day, you will surely develop some nutritional issues. And yes that totally will affect your overall health. But that's something different than what the GP was discussing (though that may well have been your entire point which is fair.)

One interesting thing I picked up from a Pollan talk on NPR (but have not yet read the underlying research myself) is that there is some evidence that in one way all calories are not the same: The mechanics of digestion is affected by the texture and composition of the food. So 100 calories of crunch granola seems to be metabolized differently than 100 calories of soft chewy brownie. But the affect here is how many calories are extracted from the input.

My source for this is a lot of reading and my own personal experiences going from 6'2, 210 and flabby to 170 and toned, cutting down from 36" waist to 32", from XL shirts to Medium in the process. I did this primarily over 14 months and did quite a bit of experimentation in there (Fruit cleanses, Juice cleanses, egg white protein supplements -- as i'm not a fan of protein powders), and for the 6 months since, as I've maintained weight and increased muscle tone.

The composition of my diet has changed but the pattern has held the same and I believe the pattern is what has had the most effect for me. Without realizing it, I devised a diet that other people call "intermittent fasting." I consume, literally, 95% of my calories in 6 hours between 2PM and 8PM (when I have my lunch, dinner and dessert). I had no idea that this was a "thing" and not just something peculiar to myself. It works beautifully for me. I gym in the morning 3 days a week. I feel healthy and skinny and look good in tight clothing and finally, finally at age 30 feel good about myself physically.

Re: How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

#96

Post by enraged_camel »

jmduke wrote: post #32

There's a massive signal-to-noise issue in the fitness world, particularly because there's so much value to be made just by making some noise. For anyone reading this post and inspired to lose weight, I recommend you keep the following basic tenets in mind when researching a plan/regimen: 1. You lose weight by eating less calories than your body uses. (As a corollary, you almost definitely consume more calories than…

>>There's a massive signal-to-noise issue in the fitness world, particularly because there's so much value to be made just by making some noise.

>>For anyone reading this post and inspired to lose weight, I recommend you keep the following basic tenets in mind when researching a plan/regimen...

--

There is something important to point out here, which is that the basic tenets you listed are simple, but they are not easy. If they were, everyone would follow them.

Most people don't actually want to lose weight. Rather, they want to already have lost weight. So they look for shortcuts that will get them there. That is why there is such a massive signal-to-noise issue in the fitness world. Fad diets and magic pills are invented because people are willing to pay for them.

People are fat because eating is a big part of their lives. They eat several huge meals everyday, plus snacks, and often times when they are eating one meal they are dreaming about and planning their next one. On top of this, food has become a "social currency" for them. Being able to cook delicious, unhealthy food at a family BBQ is seen as an admirable skill, and bringing a box of donuts to the office in the morning is seen as a way to score points with coworkers.

In order to lose weight they need to reverse that and make exercising and not eating an equally big part of their lives. They need to count calories, watch what they eat, do heavy workouts at the gym (none of this lift-pink-dumbbells or walk-on-the-treadmill-while-texting-friends bullshit), strictly regulate their sleep and wake-up times, and more. It is NOT supposed to be easy. It is supposed to be HARD. And as with all hard endeavors, success is a matter of discipline. Unfortunately most people don't have that.

Re: How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

#97

Post by tunesmith »

TelmoMenezes wrote: post #42
jmduke wrote: post #32

There's a massive signal-to-noise issue in the fitness world, particularly because there's so much value to be made just by making some noise. For anyone reading this post and inspired to lose weight, I recommend you keep the following basic tenets in mind when researching a plan/regimen: 1. You lose weight by eating less calories than your body uses. (As a corollary, you almost definitely consume more calories than…

> 1. You lose weight by eating less calories than your body uses. (As a corollary, you almost definitely consume more calories than you think you do. Get a calorie-counting app.) If this is true, why don't we become incredibly fat or skinny over time? It would require incredible precision to maintain weight. But a lot of people seem to be able to do it with no effort... The reason why this is not true is simple: our…

Because, the amount of calories your body uses is affected by your metabolism level, which is in turn affected by what you put into your body, and when you put them in. Metabolism is also affected by physical activity, but physical activity is not the only thing that affects metabolism. Finally, genetics can also affect your metabolism.

Re: How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

#98

Post by dirtyvagabond »

shanev wrote: post #86

Despite the sensationalist headline, the author knew exactly what he was doing. He basically did a paleo diet, and references a bunch of books that are popular in the community. Mark's Daily Apple features a success story like this every Friday: http://www.marksdailyapple.com .

Agreed. I found the author's account inspiring, and I immediately recognized his overall outline as a basic paleo diet. I started down a paleo path fairly recently, hoping to lose a few pounds. I surprised myself by realizing after about a week that I was feeling so much better physically, I wasn't very concerned anymore about a relatively few extra pounds.

FWIW, it was the "Latest in Paleo" podcast that inspired me to try a paleo approach to life. It's one of the overall best podcasts I've had the pleasure of subscribing to: http://www.latestinpaleo.com/podcast/

I wish Dion all the best with making his success long term!

Re: How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

#99

Post by marcosdumay »

ef4 wrote: post #71
eshvk wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. You lose weight by eating less calories than your body uses. (As a corollary, you almost definitely consume more calories than you think you do. Get a calorie-counting app.) True. For those who find it a pain to use one, I recommend sticking with it for a few months at least initially. After a while, your mind gets attuned to the idea of how much food is enough for you to be satiated. So don't obsess about getti…

> For those who find it a pain to use [a calorie-counting app], I recommend sticking with it for a few months at least initially. After a while, your mind gets attuned to the idea of how much food is enough for you to be satiated. But satiation is a built-in feature of your body. A healthy human body counts calories automatically, and governs appetite and metabolism appropriately to keep body weight in a narrow targe…

Yes, it's prostetic. The problem is exactly that satiation doesn't work well enough, thus some people need a cybernetic add-on, just like some people need glasses.

Satiation seems to always lag when people age and their metabolism gets slower. It can also be trained for allowing more or less eating before it fires a signal. And a consequence is that you can train it to make it correct again, but it requires a conscient intervention.

Re: How I have lost over 100 pounds and don’t know how

#100

Post by readme »

smackmybishop wrote: post #74
readme wrote: post #55

>I am annoyed at myself for letting me get to be ~300 pounds in the first place (the main point about that is that I let myself get that unhealthy, to a point where I increased my risk of death, which was irresponsible given the fact that I have family and friends) Though I would feel worse about it if you did not have friends, either way becoming unhealthy is irresponsible because it causes a public burden. If you d…

What the fuck?

I did not think it would be a popular comment. However, I should clarify: I mean unhealthy by choice: e.g. intentional overeating, drug use, alcoholism, etc.
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