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Do we all know? I currently weigh 270lbs (and climbing) and I * Don't consume soda or sugary drinks of any kind * Go on 3 mile walks 3-4x weekly * Have s

Do we all know? I currently weigh 270lbs (and climbing) and I * Don't consume soda or sugary drinks of any kind * Go on 3 mile walks 3-4x weekly * Have switched to soylent 100% of meals to make calorie counting dead simple * Recently cut out alcohol too And yet pounds are adding on not coming off. I've been gaining about 10-15lbs a year every year since I hit 30 after being at a stable weight of 170lbs for all of my teens and 20s and none of the adjustments I've made have had ANY impact on it what-so-ever. So maybe its not just "eat less, fatty". Maybe there is something else going on?

piva00 10y ago
So drop more calories, you are still eating above what you are expending. Like I said in another comment: our bodies aren't supernatural things that ignore thermodynamics, it's impossible for your body to create fat without spare energy consumed. I have dropped weight only through calories counting, I've done cycles of bulk/cut while weightlifting, dropping weight boils down to "calories in -> calories out", we might not have a very good model of this, we might be overlooking a multitude of variables that control energy expenditure but we can't create fat from nowhere, we need to consume and have spare energy to store it. It's not easy but it is simple. Again: I'm not saying our models for calculating TDEE or how energy restriction affects our body completely but if you are expending more calories than you are eating you are going to consume fat to create energy. Try this: drop how many calories you are eating by another 100~200kcal/day for a week, see if the trend changes (a moving average works). If not, drop another 100~200kcal/day and watch for a week. Being STRICT is the "not easy" part.
atopuzov 10y ago
Have you tried keto? Works for me™
mjfl 10y ago
Fat is approximately 3500 calories per pound. If you are gaining 15 pounds per year you are overeating by 3500x15/365 calories per day. If you would like to instead lose 30 pounds per year, reduce your caloric intake per day by 3500x15/365x3 = 432 calories/day.
- falcolas 10y ago
  Once you cutout the obvious high calorie culprits like sugar, 400 calories is a pretty decent sized, healthy meal. Cutting out a meal a day is really hard to do. Hunger sucks, and had a lot of negative impacts on the rest of your day.
  - mjfl 10y ago
    Yes, losing 30 pounds in a year will involve skipping about 1 meal per day and is not easy at all actually.
    - akurnids 10y ago
      (Anecdotally) It gets easier as time goes on, and you can use intermittent fasting [1] to halve the amount of days with restriction and still maintain a net loss. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13825676 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13825676
    - sn9 10y ago
      Or you could just eat more low calorie and nutrient dense vegetables to be satiated at a lower calorie count.
kittiepryde 10y ago
If that's accurate, you need to go see a doctor very soon. Something is likely very wrong.
smogcutter 10y ago
Consider seeing a doctor or dietician (not a "nutritionist".) All else being equal if you consume fewer calories than you burn you'll lose weight, end of story. So if your weight is staying the same... sounds worth finding out if all else isn't equal. Probably also worth consulting a professional before replacing 100% of your diet with soylent.
- prostoalex 10y ago
  > if you consume fewer calories than you burn you'll lose weight, end of story You can control the input in that equation, but on the output the body is quick to go into calorie preservation state any time the balance goes negative. Lack of energy, irritability, mid-day fatigue, general weakness, mild headaches - the list goes on. In an ideal world everyone runs marathons while sustaining themselves on water and celery sticks. In reality maintaining consistent caloric deficit while trying to remain a functional member of the society is challenging.
revelation 10y ago
Well, are you calorie counting and have been for a while? If you are not losing over a span of months, you are probably not burning as much as you estimate to do.
matthewmacleod 10y ago
Perhaps unfortunately, the human body cannot ignore physics - weight gain does ultimately come down to "you are consuming more calories than you are expending"! You're right that "eat less, fatty" is not a helpful message. That's actually the key point in these discussions - we do know how to avoid weight gain in the abstract sense (consume less than you burn), but the implementation of that is what's difficult. Different foods have different effects on metabolism; it's difficult to count calories accurately; people often overestimate the calories that exercise burns and underestimate their consumption. It's made more difficult by sedentary lifestyles, prepared foods, and so on. If you are gaining a pound a month consuming nothing but soylent, then you're consuming too much of it. There's no way around that fact. But the point is that it's not a failing on your part - it just demonstrates how difficult it is in practice to control one's own lifestyle.
- prostoalex 10y ago
  > weight gain does ultimately come down to "you are consuming more calories than you are expending" That is incorrect, but it does help sell gym memerships. Moreover, expending more calories via exercise typically leads to weight gain, according to emprirical studies (and anecdotal look around gym's elliptical machines next time you're in one) https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/exercising-but-gaining-weight/ https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/exercising-but-gai... Fat accummulation (and disposal) are governed by insulin, whose production is triggered by sugars and other carbohydrates. Confusingly, consuming a high-fat, low-protein and zero-carbohydrate diet will also lead to a severe decrease in calories (as it's pretty hard to overdose on olives, coconut oil or lardo), but it's nevertheless a correlation.
  - piva00 10y ago
    No, that's not incorrect. By thermodynamics it's impossible you are gaining weight by not consuming more calories than what you are spending, you don't absorb this energy out of thin air or radiation, you've eaten it, not used and your body has stored it. It can be that our models for calculating TDEE, etc. are wrong and not accounting for a multitude of factors that might affect energy expenditure but still, it boils down to calories in -> calories out in the most simplistic level.
ramchip 10y ago
Either you need to tweak your calorie limit down (it's above what your body needs for maintenance, which varies from person to person), or you're forgetting to count some items. It may be hard to limit calories without feeling hungry on a mostly soylent diet. Salad and veggies make it easier because they're low on calories, but still have a lot of bulk which helps stave off hunger.
buzzybee 10y ago
It could be a number of things: * Your gut biome might need a "reset". Sometimes people experience extended weight gain after antibiotics because they ended up with a different, less effective biome. (Soylent might also contribute to this issue.) * Another health issue changed your digestive process * You're losing muscle mass, making it easier to gain fat * You're sleeping more poorly or are more stressed Calorie counting really isn't sufficient to know what's going on with weight changes. The factors are numerous.
lacampbell 10y ago
I'd honestly experiment with fasting and skipping meals. I think you're just conditioned to eat way too many calories. A day fast is really not that bad IMO. I used to do them every sunday and found it a really effective tool to get from "obese" to "overweight" (BMI). Got much less effective as I approached "normal" though.
Merad 10y ago
I'll be the last to say that weight management is easy - I've fought the battle my whole life - but if you eat less calories than your body burns, you will lose weight. The hard part is doing it consistently over the long run. Things I would ask, are (I'm not necessarily asking you to answer, just think about the answers): * Are you actually tracking your calories with something like MyFitnessPal? What's your calorie intake? * Are you tracking honestly? Especially if/when you have a bad day, or cheat day, or whatever you want to call it. * Are you tracking accurately? If you aren't using a scale or measuring cup, the answer is probably no. Most people severely underestimate the size of their portions.
Aloha 10y ago
Have your thyroid checked.
sn9 10y ago
If calorie counting is dead simple for you, then that must mean you know precisely how much you're consuming. If you're gaining 10-15lbs per year, then you know how much you're overconsuming. An annual gain of 15 lbs * 3500 Calories per pound of fat is about 150 Calories per day over your TDEE. Reduce your daily caloric intake by 250-500 Calories and you should see weight loss over the long term. If not, and you actually do know exactly how many calories you're consuming and have been tracking your weight to see how it changes, then you need to see a physician.

piva00 10y ago

So drop more calories, you are still eating above what you are expending. Like I said in another comment: our bodies aren't supernatural things that ignore thermodynamics, it's impossible for your body to create fat without spare energy consumed. I have dropped weight only through calories counting, I've done cycles of bulk/cut while weightlifting, dropping weight boils down to "calories in -> calories out", we might not have a very good model of this, we might be overlooking a multitude of variables that control energy expenditure but we can't create fat from nowhere, we need to consume and have spare energy to store it. It's not easy but it is simple. Again: I'm not saying our models for calculating TDEE or how energy restriction affects our body completely but if you are expending more calories than you are eating you are going to consume fat to create energy. Try this: drop how many calories you are eating by another 100~200kcal/day for a week, see if the trend changes (a moving average works). If not, drop another 100~200kcal/day and watch for a week. Being STRICT is the "not easy" part.

atopuzov 10y ago

Have you tried keto? Works for me™

mjfl 10y ago

Fat is approximately 3500 calories per pound. If you are gaining 15 pounds per year you are overeating by 3500x15/365 calories per day. If you would like to instead lose 30 pounds per year, reduce your caloric intake per day by 3500x15/365x3 = 432 calories/day.

falcolas 10y ago
Once you cutout the obvious high calorie culprits like sugar, 400 calories is a pretty decent sized, healthy meal. Cutting out a meal a day is really hard to do. Hunger sucks, and had a lot of negative impacts on the rest of your day.
- mjfl 10y ago
  Yes, losing 30 pounds in a year will involve skipping about 1 meal per day and is not easy at all actually.
  - akurnids 10y ago
    (Anecdotally) It gets easier as time goes on, and you can use intermittent fasting [1] to halve the amount of days with restriction and still maintain a net loss. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13825676 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13825676
  - sn9 10y ago
    Or you could just eat more low calorie and nutrient dense vegetables to be satiated at a lower calorie count.

kittiepryde 10y ago

If that's accurate, you need to go see a doctor very soon. Something is likely very wrong.

smogcutter 10y ago

Consider seeing a doctor or dietician (not a "nutritionist".) All else being equal if you consume fewer calories than you burn you'll lose weight, end of story. So if your weight is staying the same... sounds worth finding out if all else isn't equal. Probably also worth consulting a professional before replacing 100% of your diet with soylent.

prostoalex 10y ago
> if you consume fewer calories than you burn you'll lose weight, end of story You can control the input in that equation, but on the output the body is quick to go into calorie preservation state any time the balance goes negative. Lack of energy, irritability, mid-day fatigue, general weakness, mild headaches - the list goes on. In an ideal world everyone runs marathons while sustaining themselves on water and celery sticks. In reality maintaining consistent caloric deficit while trying to remain a functional member of the society is challenging.

revelation 10y ago

Well, are you calorie counting and have been for a while? If you are not losing over a span of months, you are probably not burning as much as you estimate to do.

matthewmacleod 10y ago

Perhaps unfortunately, the human body cannot ignore physics - weight gain does ultimately come down to "you are consuming more calories than you are expending"! You're right that "eat less, fatty" is not a helpful message. That's actually the key point in these discussions - we do know how to avoid weight gain in the abstract sense (consume less than you burn), but the implementation of that is what's difficult. Different foods have different effects on metabolism; it's difficult to count calories accurately; people often overestimate the calories that exercise burns and underestimate their consumption. It's made more difficult by sedentary lifestyles, prepared foods, and so on. If you are gaining a pound a month consuming nothing but soylent, then you're consuming too much of it. There's no way around that fact. But the point is that it's not a failing on your part - it just demonstrates how difficult it is in practice to control one's own lifestyle.

prostoalex 10y ago
> weight gain does ultimately come down to "you are consuming more calories than you are expending" That is incorrect, but it does help sell gym memerships. Moreover, expending more calories via exercise typically leads to weight gain, according to emprirical studies (and anecdotal look around gym's elliptical machines next time you're in one) https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/exercising-but-gaining-weight/ https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/exercising-but-gai... Fat accummulation (and disposal) are governed by insulin, whose production is triggered by sugars and other carbohydrates. Confusingly, consuming a high-fat, low-protein and zero-carbohydrate diet will also lead to a severe decrease in calories (as it's pretty hard to overdose on olives, coconut oil or lardo), but it's nevertheless a correlation.
- piva00 10y ago
  No, that's not incorrect. By thermodynamics it's impossible you are gaining weight by not consuming more calories than what you are spending, you don't absorb this energy out of thin air or radiation, you've eaten it, not used and your body has stored it. It can be that our models for calculating TDEE, etc. are wrong and not accounting for a multitude of factors that might affect energy expenditure but still, it boils down to calories in -> calories out in the most simplistic level.

ramchip 10y ago

Either you need to tweak your calorie limit down (it's above what your body needs for maintenance, which varies from person to person), or you're forgetting to count some items. It may be hard to limit calories without feeling hungry on a mostly soylent diet. Salad and veggies make it easier because they're low on calories, but still have a lot of bulk which helps stave off hunger.

buzzybee 10y ago

It could be a number of things: * Your gut biome might need a "reset". Sometimes people experience extended weight gain after antibiotics because they ended up with a different, less effective biome. (Soylent might also contribute to this issue.) * Another health issue changed your digestive process * You're losing muscle mass, making it easier to gain fat * You're sleeping more poorly or are more stressed Calorie counting really isn't sufficient to know what's going on with weight changes. The factors are numerous.

lacampbell 10y ago

I'd honestly experiment with fasting and skipping meals. I think you're just conditioned to eat way too many calories. A day fast is really not that bad IMO. I used to do them every sunday and found it a really effective tool to get from "obese" to "overweight" (BMI). Got much less effective as I approached "normal" though.

Merad 10y ago

I'll be the last to say that weight management is easy - I've fought the battle my whole life - but if you eat less calories than your body burns, you will lose weight. The hard part is doing it consistently over the long run. Things I would ask, are (I'm not necessarily asking you to answer, just think about the answers): * Are you actually tracking your calories with something like MyFitnessPal? What's your calorie intake? * Are you tracking honestly? Especially if/when you have a bad day, or cheat day, or whatever you want to call it. * Are you tracking accurately? If you aren't using a scale or measuring cup, the answer is probably no. Most people severely underestimate the size of their portions.

Aloha 10y ago

Have your thyroid checked.

sn9 10y ago

If calorie counting is dead simple for you, then that must mean you know precisely how much you're consuming. If you're gaining 10-15lbs per year, then you know how much you're overconsuming. An annual gain of 15 lbs * 3500 Calories per pound of fat is about 150 Calories per day over your TDEE. Reduce your daily caloric intake by 250-500 Calories and you should see weight loss over the long term. If not, and you actually do know exactly how many calories you're consuming and have been tracking your weight to see how it changes, then you need to see a physician.