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How carefully were you tracking calorie intake? It's notoriously difficult and I simply don't believe you ate 1500-2000 calories at 340lbs and didn't lose weigh

How carefully were you tracking calorie intake? It's notoriously difficult and I simply don't believe you ate 1500-2000 calories at 340lbs and didn't lose weight (not that you need to convince me). In any case, congrats on the achievement!

DiabloD3 11y ago
It is very difficult to track calories if you don't eat exact portion sizes listed on boxes. I calculated what I used to eat, and what I eat now, based on things I regularly ate. I figured I'd have to be off somewhere around 1000+ calories in my calculations to have lost as much weight as I did during the start of that year. I have had this conversation with people before, and the only thing that would have probably helped here is measuring calories being flushed down the toiled, something that is difficult, expensive, and not really worth it outside of actual scientific studies. Also, I went from being habitually tired, not sleeping well, and also diagnosed with pre-diabetus, to being full of energy, having a much better mood, sleeping well, and having a sharper mind. Weight loss alone doesn't explain this, my change in diet alone doesn't explain this, but both together increasing and stabilizing my energy levels seems to explain this.
- david-given 11y ago
  Don't underestimate the psychologic effects. A few years back I lost about 20kg in six to nine months --- by eating less and better, mostly --- and plotting my weight on the graph and watching the slow but steady downward trend was always a big mood-lifter. And feeling better leads to a positive reinforcement loop; feeling good about yourself leads you (well, it works on me, at least) to do more things that make you feel better about yourself.
PhasmaFelis 11y ago
There are lab rats (whose hormones/genetics have been fucked with) that can literally die of starvation while remaining nearly spherical with excess fat. When their food is removed, their bodies ignore the stored fat and strictly cannibalize muscle and other tissues until the rat dies. Being fat is much more complicated than calories in minus calories burned.
- CPLX 11y ago
  > There are lab rats (whose hormones/genetics have been fucked with) that can literally die of starvation while remaining nearly spherical with excess fat. I bet there aren't. You'll need to cite that claim.
  - DiabloD3 11y ago
    Eh, he might actually be right. I seem to remember seeing a study saying something like that, but I can't find it after my contractual maximum of 5 minutes of Googling.
  - PhasmaFelis 11y ago
    Here you go: https://books.google.com/books?id=XPJdM9POXGAC&pg=PA366&lpg=PA366&source=bl&ots=kC1PX2T5fx&sig=IGBH6Zej-JUKDf7Leih51lsOnnQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBmoVChMIprbRg_-hyAIVw9CACh1C1gK6#v=onepage&q&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=XPJdM9POXGAC&pg=PA366&lpg=... > They will consume the protein in their muscles and organs rather than surrender the fat in their adipose tissue. [...] They lost 60 percent of their body fat before they died of starvation, but still had five times as much body fat as lean mice that were allowed to eat as much as they desired.

DiabloD3 11y ago

It is very difficult to track calories if you don't eat exact portion sizes listed on boxes. I calculated what I used to eat, and what I eat now, based on things I regularly ate. I figured I'd have to be off somewhere around 1000+ calories in my calculations to have lost as much weight as I did during the start of that year. I have had this conversation with people before, and the only thing that would have probably helped here is measuring calories being flushed down the toiled, something that is difficult, expensive, and not really worth it outside of actual scientific studies. Also, I went from being habitually tired, not sleeping well, and also diagnosed with pre-diabetus, to being full of energy, having a much better mood, sleeping well, and having a sharper mind. Weight loss alone doesn't explain this, my change in diet alone doesn't explain this, but both together increasing and stabilizing my energy levels seems to explain this.

david-given 11y ago
Don't underestimate the psychologic effects. A few years back I lost about 20kg in six to nine months --- by eating less and better, mostly --- and plotting my weight on the graph and watching the slow but steady downward trend was always a big mood-lifter. And feeling better leads to a positive reinforcement loop; feeling good about yourself leads you (well, it works on me, at least) to do more things that make you feel better about yourself.

PhasmaFelis 11y ago

There are lab rats (whose hormones/genetics have been fucked with) that can literally die of starvation while remaining nearly spherical with excess fat. When their food is removed, their bodies ignore the stored fat and strictly cannibalize muscle and other tissues until the rat dies. Being fat is much more complicated than calories in minus calories burned.

CPLX 11y ago
> There are lab rats (whose hormones/genetics have been fucked with) that can literally die of starvation while remaining nearly spherical with excess fat. I bet there aren't. You'll need to cite that claim.
- DiabloD3 11y ago
  Eh, he might actually be right. I seem to remember seeing a study saying something like that, but I can't find it after my contractual maximum of 5 minutes of Googling.
- PhasmaFelis 11y ago
  Here you go: https://books.google.com/books?id=XPJdM9POXGAC&pg=PA366&lpg=PA366&source=bl&ots=kC1PX2T5fx&sig=IGBH6Zej-JUKDf7Leih51lsOnnQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBmoVChMIprbRg_-hyAIVw9CACh1C1gK6#v=onepage&q&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=XPJdM9POXGAC&pg=PA366&lpg=... > They will consume the protein in their muscles and organs rather than surrender the fat in their adipose tissue. [...] They lost 60 percent of their body fat before they died of starvation, but still had five times as much body fat as lean mice that were allowed to eat as much as they desired.