4 ms·

I hear these anecdotes in many forms, and in my experience the real shared causative factor is making a decision to change, and acting on it. I don't know if it

I hear these anecdotes in many forms, and in my experience the real shared causative factor is making a decision to change, and acting on it. I don't know if it matters what that change is, as long as it's healthy and changes the math of caloriesin - caloriesout. In other words, I wonder if it's the decision and willingness to make hard changes, rather than the specific nature of those changes, which is the real active ingredient in weight loss; I suspect so. Examples: Started walking. Started cycling. Cut out processed foods. Switched to a specific lifestyle diet. Took up some kind of sport. Cut out sugar/went Atkins/Keto/Paleo. I don't think there's a wrong way to break a series of bad habits and build new ones, and I think the hardest part is deciding to do it, and sticking with it.

aaron-lebo 9y ago
You're likely correct in most situations. Some people have major hormone imbalances that may prevent weight loss (or make it difficult), like the article suggests, but for most people it's as simple as eating healthier and exercising. It's not sexy, new, or fun, so people are always looking for the magic bullet. I'm a sugar bug, I can buy a bag of Reese's and eat the entire thing without problem. When I eat more sugar, I gain weight, when I eat less, I lose weight, and exercise obviously has its natural results.
ericabiz 9y ago
Here's an anecdote the other direction. One of our employees decided to cut out fast food completely. Total weight loss in over 6 months of doing this? 0 pounds. Why? Because his at-home diet was still full of sugar and carbs (and he admitted as much..."I'll never give up bread!") Meanwhile, I did a low-carb "lazy Keto" diet where all I did was keep carbs under 20g net per day. I continued to eat fast food at least a couple times a week (I ate a lot of burgers with no buns.) Total weight loss? 25 pounds over 8 months, and have kept it off. I started the diet December 1 of last year, so it's now been almost a year. It really is the carbs and sugar that do you in, no matter how organic or home-cooked/homemade those carbs may be.
- Evgeny 9y ago
  low-carb "lazy Keto" diet where all I did was keep carbs under 20g net per day Looks like a strict keto to me, anything under 30g net carbs per day will put you into ketosis.
- projektir 9y ago
  Another anecdote: I'm in the "I'll never give up bread!" camp; I have never been on any kind of specialized diet, and I have never been obese. At one point I wanted to lose 10 LB, and I just counted calories, and it worked, albeit slowly. Given that bread is a fairly old food, while the obesity problem seems recent, something seems off with the idea that we should all be on a keto diet.
  - jm2721 9y ago
    I think sugar is really what pushes societies from healthy and slightly stout to obese and diabetic, since those diseases are issues of insulin resistance. If you eat too much sugar, your insulin resistance will go through the roof because excess fructose (which makes up ~50% of sugar) leads to a fatty liver, which leads to insulin resistance. The liver is the only organ that can process fructose. Bread, on the other hand, will get metabolized into glucose (oversimplifying a bit here) and every muscle in your body can use glucose for energy, so it's a lot more evenly distributed. If you're in the "I'll never give up bread!" camp, I would encourage you to try and find sugar-free bread. I tried doing that, and let me tell you, it is extremely difficult. Even your healthy looking whole grain, multi-seed, organic superfood bread usually has a ton of sugar. But it can be done :)
- Fnoord 9y ago
  The million dollar question is: "Did you (w/your N=1) try the exact same calories as your keto diet, but then with more carbs?" No, you did not, and because it is hard to eat foods which adhere to the keto formula you lose weight on a keto diet. What people also fail to mention with their anecdotal evidence is their age and gender. It is relevant because young bodies and brains are still growing, increasing calorie demand compared to a middle age adult. > It really is the carbs and sugar that do you in, no matter how organic or home-cooked/homemade those carbs may be. It really is the calories that do you in, no matter what type of calories or how you restrict yourself otherwise. All the diets are just some kind of abacadabra (or facade or placebo effect if you will) to make you focused on your calories intake, for example with specific rules about having to avoid certain products or ingredients which make it difficult to follow so that e.g. the subject cannot snack in between meals. If you take in a lot less calories than the amount you require, you'll burn fat quicker. You'll lose weight quicker as well (although if you also start exercise, muscles weight more than fat). A lot more calories leads to building up fat quicker and gaining weight quicker. Both, eventually, until you are on the level of your calorie intake. It furthermore also stands to reason that something with sugar is more difficult to limit than keto products because the former is more tastier. From an evolutionary PoV it makes sense because the sugar from fruits was a quick way to give us energy. Furthermore, you should ask yourself whether the ingredients of the high carb food are needed. You'll find that you don't need them in the first place, possibly not in the amounts you eat them, but if you eat one cookie with the coffee in the evening that doesn't suddenly "ruin your health" because it is high on sugar. It doesn't "ruin your diet" either. The problem is that people cannot stick with one cookie in the evening with coffee. They snack far more, between meals. Yeah that adds up. Look on the packages and do the maths. All the bad stuff is on the packages as well, very convenient: saturated fat, sugar, and salt. What a coincidence that our governments demand this being listed!

aaron-lebo 9y ago

You're likely correct in most situations. Some people have major hormone imbalances that may prevent weight loss (or make it difficult), like the article suggests, but for most people it's as simple as eating healthier and exercising. It's not sexy, new, or fun, so people are always looking for the magic bullet. I'm a sugar bug, I can buy a bag of Reese's and eat the entire thing without problem. When I eat more sugar, I gain weight, when I eat less, I lose weight, and exercise obviously has its natural results.

ericabiz 9y ago

Here's an anecdote the other direction. One of our employees decided to cut out fast food completely. Total weight loss in over 6 months of doing this? 0 pounds. Why? Because his at-home diet was still full of sugar and carbs (and he admitted as much..."I'll never give up bread!") Meanwhile, I did a low-carb "lazy Keto" diet where all I did was keep carbs under 20g net per day. I continued to eat fast food at least a couple times a week (I ate a lot of burgers with no buns.) Total weight loss? 25 pounds over 8 months, and have kept it off. I started the diet December 1 of last year, so it's now been almost a year. It really is the carbs and sugar that do you in, no matter how organic or home-cooked/homemade those carbs may be.

Evgeny 9y ago
low-carb "lazy Keto" diet where all I did was keep carbs under 20g net per day Looks like a strict keto to me, anything under 30g net carbs per day will put you into ketosis.
projektir 9y ago
Another anecdote: I'm in the "I'll never give up bread!" camp; I have never been on any kind of specialized diet, and I have never been obese. At one point I wanted to lose 10 LB, and I just counted calories, and it worked, albeit slowly. Given that bread is a fairly old food, while the obesity problem seems recent, something seems off with the idea that we should all be on a keto diet.
- jm2721 9y ago
  I think sugar is really what pushes societies from healthy and slightly stout to obese and diabetic, since those diseases are issues of insulin resistance. If you eat too much sugar, your insulin resistance will go through the roof because excess fructose (which makes up ~50% of sugar) leads to a fatty liver, which leads to insulin resistance. The liver is the only organ that can process fructose. Bread, on the other hand, will get metabolized into glucose (oversimplifying a bit here) and every muscle in your body can use glucose for energy, so it's a lot more evenly distributed. If you're in the "I'll never give up bread!" camp, I would encourage you to try and find sugar-free bread. I tried doing that, and let me tell you, it is extremely difficult. Even your healthy looking whole grain, multi-seed, organic superfood bread usually has a ton of sugar. But it can be done :)
Fnoord 9y ago
The million dollar question is: "Did you (w/your N=1) try the exact same calories as your keto diet, but then with more carbs?" No, you did not, and because it is hard to eat foods which adhere to the keto formula you lose weight on a keto diet. What people also fail to mention with their anecdotal evidence is their age and gender. It is relevant because young bodies and brains are still growing, increasing calorie demand compared to a middle age adult. > It really is the carbs and sugar that do you in, no matter how organic or home-cooked/homemade those carbs may be. It really is the calories that do you in, no matter what type of calories or how you restrict yourself otherwise. All the diets are just some kind of abacadabra (or facade or placebo effect if you will) to make you focused on your calories intake, for example with specific rules about having to avoid certain products or ingredients which make it difficult to follow so that e.g. the subject cannot snack in between meals. If you take in a lot less calories than the amount you require, you'll burn fat quicker. You'll lose weight quicker as well (although if you also start exercise, muscles weight more than fat). A lot more calories leads to building up fat quicker and gaining weight quicker. Both, eventually, until you are on the level of your calorie intake. It furthermore also stands to reason that something with sugar is more difficult to limit than keto products because the former is more tastier. From an evolutionary PoV it makes sense because the sugar from fruits was a quick way to give us energy. Furthermore, you should ask yourself whether the ingredients of the high carb food are needed. You'll find that you don't need them in the first place, possibly not in the amounts you eat them, but if you eat one cookie with the coffee in the evening that doesn't suddenly "ruin your health" because it is high on sugar. It doesn't "ruin your diet" either. The problem is that people cannot stick with one cookie in the evening with coffee. They snack far more, between meals. Yeah that adds up. Look on the packages and do the maths. All the bad stuff is on the packages as well, very convenient: saturated fat, sugar, and salt. What a coincidence that our governments demand this being listed!