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I've lost weight at separate times in my life doing: 1) Low carb 2) Caloric restriction (CICO) On both I lost weight. On CICO I still ate "less healthy" foods

by kup0 8y ago

I've lost weight at separate times in my life doing: 1) Low carb 2) Caloric restriction (CICO) On both I lost weight. On CICO I still ate "less healthy" foods (processed, breads, fast food, desserts) quite often but kept within a certain calorie range. Neither weight loss involved exercise. I'm convinced #1 was just a fancy way to acheive #2. Were there separate benefits to #2? Yes (less cravings) but not enough to convince me to go back to it. Low carb is too difficult to stick to for me personally, have tried it numerous times (no need to give me advice on how to make it work for me, I'm losing weight on CICO right now and fine with that!) Why would both work if CICO is bunk?

Delmania 8y ago
You answered your own question, the cravings. People who only do CICO with junk food will lose some weight, but a good number of people who do that don't have the will power to overcome the cravings and they regain all their weight. However, if I'm not mistaken, you've lost weight, gained, and lost it back again, right? The so-called yo-yo effect, another harbinger of people who only do CICO. The vast majority of people who lose weight regain it back within 5 years. As someone who kept it off for a decade and only started gaining it back when I start taking my resistance training a lot more seriously, I can say that if I only did CICO, I would not have kept it off. The only way to take off weight and keep it off for long periods of time is to change what you eat, get regular exercise, and know this is something you will be doing for the rest of your life.
- kup0 8y ago
  I have yo-yo'd, but I've done low carb more than I have CICO, and low carb is not sustainable at all for me- while day to day cravings went down, overall "hunger" feeling went up. Low carb made almost every meal feel unsatisfying. I have meals with more carbs now that are much more satisfying, while still losing weight. Low carb caused me to want to cheat, eat carbs again, etc. CICO has been the easiest to "stick with", I can fulfill my cravings without regaining, because I'm not truly cutting anything out, just having less. When I want unhealthy snacks, instead of eating a bag of doritos, a fudge round, and a swiss roll, I have just the doritos and that's it. Moderation is key. I got to the point where I was basically bingeing food and not caring, which is a bad spot to be in. The only reason I fell off of CICO once before was absolutely a decision on my part to "screw it, gonna eat what I want and however much I want because I love food, life is short" and really had nothing to do with regular here-and-there cravings. It was a conscious choice of food over health, as bad as that is. Before I made that choice, under CICO, I lost 40 pounds and kept that 40 pounds off with no problem, super easy to maintain. Yes, I will admit that CICO causes me occasionally to choose a healthier food, because they're much less calorie dense- but day-to-day I still have bread, pasta, fruit, and sometimes dessert. I just add in some good, less dense things along the way, and overall eat less, while still enjoying it all. Seems to work. I guess time will tell, eh? :)
lenocinor 8y ago
This also happens with me. I'm definitely capable (and have a couple of times in the past) of losing weight long-term (longer than a few years) by continuing to eat less healthy food, but less. I've eaten those foods all my life, in fact, and never been at all overweight. You can achieve significant, sustainable weight loss on a less healthy diet. The trick that gets people, I imagine, is that you really can't eat very much of it all, especially as I've gotten older. You have to be willing to eat rather small portions, and rather infrequently.
- kup0 8y ago
  I do imagine it will get harder to deal with the "density" of processed food as I get more fit and closer to ideal weight, because calorie dense foods will hit the limit rather quickly. Thankfully, I like plenty of non-dense foods too and can adjust the balance without cutting any desirable foods completely

by kup0 8y ago

Delmania 8y ago

You answered your own question, the cravings. People who only do CICO with junk food will lose some weight, but a good number of people who do that don't have the will power to overcome the cravings and they regain all their weight. However, if I'm not mistaken, you've lost weight, gained, and lost it back again, right? The so-called yo-yo effect, another harbinger of people who only do CICO. The vast majority of people who lose weight regain it back within 5 years. As someone who kept it off for a decade and only started gaining it back when I start taking my resistance training a lot more seriously, I can say that if I only did CICO, I would not have kept it off. The only way to take off weight and keep it off for long periods of time is to change what you eat, get regular exercise, and know this is something you will be doing for the rest of your life.

kup0 8y ago
I have yo-yo'd, but I've done low carb more than I have CICO, and low carb is not sustainable at all for me- while day to day cravings went down, overall "hunger" feeling went up. Low carb made almost every meal feel unsatisfying. I have meals with more carbs now that are much more satisfying, while still losing weight. Low carb caused me to want to cheat, eat carbs again, etc. CICO has been the easiest to "stick with", I can fulfill my cravings without regaining, because I'm not truly cutting anything out, just having less. When I want unhealthy snacks, instead of eating a bag of doritos, a fudge round, and a swiss roll, I have just the doritos and that's it. Moderation is key. I got to the point where I was basically bingeing food and not caring, which is a bad spot to be in. The only reason I fell off of CICO once before was absolutely a decision on my part to "screw it, gonna eat what I want and however much I want because I love food, life is short" and really had nothing to do with regular here-and-there cravings. It was a conscious choice of food over health, as bad as that is. Before I made that choice, under CICO, I lost 40 pounds and kept that 40 pounds off with no problem, super easy to maintain. Yes, I will admit that CICO causes me occasionally to choose a healthier food, because they're much less calorie dense- but day-to-day I still have bread, pasta, fruit, and sometimes dessert. I just add in some good, less dense things along the way, and overall eat less, while still enjoying it all. Seems to work. I guess time will tell, eh? :)

lenocinor 8y ago

This also happens with me. I'm definitely capable (and have a couple of times in the past) of losing weight long-term (longer than a few years) by continuing to eat less healthy food, but less. I've eaten those foods all my life, in fact, and never been at all overweight. You can achieve significant, sustainable weight loss on a less healthy diet. The trick that gets people, I imagine, is that you really can't eat very much of it all, especially as I've gotten older. You have to be willing to eat rather small portions, and rather infrequently.

kup0 8y ago
I do imagine it will get harder to deal with the "density" of processed food as I get more fit and closer to ideal weight, because calorie dense foods will hit the limit rather quickly. Thankfully, I like plenty of non-dense foods too and can adjust the balance without cutting any desirable foods completely