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The weight loss is not really what matters. anybody can lose weight. with a little education you can do it. the problem is doing it in a sustainable way and to

The weight loss is not really what matters. anybody can lose weight. with a little education you can do it. the problem is doing it in a sustainable way and to actually keep it off. the hardest part about weight loss is keeping it off. you have limited will power and unless you are willing to change the way you live your efforts are in vain. Sure it may make you feel good about yourself and your journey but it's doomed to fail. i'm going to repeat this: if you are not willing to adjust your lifestyle and consistently make the better choices when it comes to diet you will fail. also, weight loss in 90% kitchen, 10% gym. Do go to the gym, but if you are eating unhealthy it's not going to matter. LE: while we're on this subject. If there is one thing you can do today that will have a positive impact on you for the rest of your life is to stop eating sugar and refined carbs. If you only do one change to how you eat and you do this, in the long run, you'll be most successful than 95% of "dieters". Also keep in mind that this is a marathon, not a sprint.

atom-morgan 8y ago
> if you are not willing to adjust your lifestyle and consistently make the better choices when it comes to diet you will fail. This statement applies to anything in life you want to get better at.
- mirceal 8y ago
  yes. people don’t normally see it as getting better at eating. it’s a problem they’re solving.
- Fricken 8y ago
  If there's a pattern that I've noticed amongst the people in my life who struggle with their weight is that they all have an emotional relationship with food. They eat not to serve their metabolic needs but to serve their emotional needs. They say they are counting their calories, but they aren't being honest with themselves about it. They can't make clear headed diet decisions because their feelings are so wrapped up in the act of eating.
  - beaconstudios 8y ago
    100% this. I've been overweight to varying degrees for most of my life, but my weight has been at its lowest when I'm happy and highest when I have high stress or anxiety. Anxiety especially seems to lead to poor eating because you go into survival mode and stop being able to think long term, while loading up on food as if you were a hunter gatherer about to go through times of extreme food uncertainty.
jammygit 8y ago
Disappointing that the 100 studies neglected long term success so much that the author didn't have much to say about it after reading them all
nradov 8y ago
The common theme for many people who succeed in losing weight and keeping it off through making a sustained lifestyle change seems to be some form of "hitting bottom" experience. Sort of like the experience that some drug addicts go through before getting sober (although food isn't really addictive in the same way). For some it's a health scare like a heart attack or diabetes diagnosis. For others it's an embarrassing social incident like being unable to fit into an airline seat. But that's all anecdotal. It wouldn't be practical to codify "hitting bottom" experiences in a clinical study since they're so individualized.
- ImaCake 8y ago
  >although food isn't really addictive in the same way While broadly true, specific things such as sugar seem to be addictive in similar ways to drugs.
taurath 8y ago
Your comments while I agree with the correctness are incredibly disheartening and demotivating.
- zbentley 8y ago
  Not as disheartening or demotivating as dieting with a target body shape in mind, achieving it, rejoicing, and being right back where you were before the diet 6 months later. Source: it me.
  - taurath 8y ago
    Sure. It’s me as well but after 2-3 years.
- lawrenceyan 8y ago
  When you start eating less, you’re body adapts after consistent dosage, and you will no longer feel as hungry. The OP is wrong, as in the long term you’re quality of life that can be derived from food is no different. Yes, perhaps in the short term you will experience cravings/withdrawal, but this is temporary.
- mirceal 8y ago
  sorry. it's meant to be motivating. it's telling you in compressed form what you need to do to be successful
- fgandiya 8y ago
  I heard this perspective once. People struggle getting of cigarettes multiple times even after a year long break. So sure you fail at weightless, but you can try again. The only issue I have with the view is that losing and gaining weight over and over again can place a toll on your body.
Negitivefrags 8y ago
The hardest part of dieting is realising that in order to keep it off, you will have to continue like that forever. In the back of your mind, you want to think that the diet is temporary. Once you have lost the weight, you can go back to eating all the great tasting foods that you ate before. True success is the acceptance that, no, your life will be worse in very real ways. You will no longer be able to just eat whenever you feel like it. You will no longer be able to eat until you are full, ever again. And you have to accept that this trade-off is worth it.
- chongli 8y ago
  True success is the acceptance that, no, your life will be worse in very real ways. You will no longer be able to just eat whenever you feel like it. You will no longer be able to eat until you are full, ever again. None of these things are true. With a good diet and exercise, you will feel better and be happier, with way more energy. That makes your life better, not worse. As another commenter mentioned, abstaining from sweets increases your sensitivity to sweetness. If you go long enough, you'll find most candy cloying rather than addictive. So throw away those cheap, mass market candy bars. By some expensive dark chocolate candy from a reputable chocolatier. Eat one piece instead of a whole bunch and just take your time to enjoy the flavours. It is sooooo much better! The way I see people (including myself at times) eat candy bars and potato chips bears more resemblance to a starving dog than a human who really enjoys good food. Stop being a dog! Take your time and enjoy something really good instead of swallowing a whole bunch of junk in front of Netflix.
  - mirceal 8y ago
    stop being a dog :| unless it's in another context where dog-like qualities are appreciated ;)
  - Negitivefrags 8y ago
    > None of these things are true. With a good diet and exercise, you will feel better and be happier, with way more energy. That makes your life better, not worse. I never said your life won’t be better overall. I said it will be worse in real ways. Eating pizza, Soda and so on are awesome. There is a reason these foods are popular. No amount of pretending is going to make that not true, and a life where you could eat them with no downsides would be better.
ksahin 8y ago
You're right! I agree with your "90% kitchen / 10% gym" for weight loss, but to maintain your weight I think the gym is more important than that. The problem with people doing hardcore diet is that they will lose a high % of muscle, and after their weight loss their basal metabolism will be really low. The gym itself doesn't burn that many calories, but increases your muscle mass, leading to a much higher basal metabolic rate, which in the long run, help you not to gain fat easily.
- hvidgaard 8y ago
  If you're not looking at it from the point of view where weight is about the food you eat, and health is about the exercise you get - you're bound to run into trouble at some point. The only way to control your weight is to control your diet. It doesn't matter what your basal metabolic rate is. Will it play a role? absolutely, but it's not what you adjust to keep your weight in check. If you can manage your weight with a low metabolic rate, you can manage it with a high metabolic rate. Gaining muscle mass will make your body signal for more food, so it can be counter productive if you want to lose fat.

atom-morgan 8y ago

> if you are not willing to adjust your lifestyle and consistently make the better choices when it comes to diet you will fail. This statement applies to anything in life you want to get better at.

mirceal 8y ago
yes. people don’t normally see it as getting better at eating. it’s a problem they’re solving.
Fricken 8y ago
If there's a pattern that I've noticed amongst the people in my life who struggle with their weight is that they all have an emotional relationship with food. They eat not to serve their metabolic needs but to serve their emotional needs. They say they are counting their calories, but they aren't being honest with themselves about it. They can't make clear headed diet decisions because their feelings are so wrapped up in the act of eating.
- beaconstudios 8y ago
  100% this. I've been overweight to varying degrees for most of my life, but my weight has been at its lowest when I'm happy and highest when I have high stress or anxiety. Anxiety especially seems to lead to poor eating because you go into survival mode and stop being able to think long term, while loading up on food as if you were a hunter gatherer about to go through times of extreme food uncertainty.

jammygit 8y ago

Disappointing that the 100 studies neglected long term success so much that the author didn't have much to say about it after reading them all

nradov 8y ago

The common theme for many people who succeed in losing weight and keeping it off through making a sustained lifestyle change seems to be some form of "hitting bottom" experience. Sort of like the experience that some drug addicts go through before getting sober (although food isn't really addictive in the same way). For some it's a health scare like a heart attack or diabetes diagnosis. For others it's an embarrassing social incident like being unable to fit into an airline seat. But that's all anecdotal. It wouldn't be practical to codify "hitting bottom" experiences in a clinical study since they're so individualized.

ImaCake 8y ago
>although food isn't really addictive in the same way While broadly true, specific things such as sugar seem to be addictive in similar ways to drugs.

taurath 8y ago

Your comments while I agree with the correctness are incredibly disheartening and demotivating.

zbentley 8y ago
Not as disheartening or demotivating as dieting with a target body shape in mind, achieving it, rejoicing, and being right back where you were before the diet 6 months later. Source: it me.
- taurath 8y ago
  Sure. It’s me as well but after 2-3 years.
lawrenceyan 8y ago
When you start eating less, you’re body adapts after consistent dosage, and you will no longer feel as hungry. The OP is wrong, as in the long term you’re quality of life that can be derived from food is no different. Yes, perhaps in the short term you will experience cravings/withdrawal, but this is temporary.
mirceal 8y ago
sorry. it's meant to be motivating. it's telling you in compressed form what you need to do to be successful
fgandiya 8y ago
I heard this perspective once. People struggle getting of cigarettes multiple times even after a year long break. So sure you fail at weightless, but you can try again. The only issue I have with the view is that losing and gaining weight over and over again can place a toll on your body.

Negitivefrags 8y ago

The hardest part of dieting is realising that in order to keep it off, you will have to continue like that forever. In the back of your mind, you want to think that the diet is temporary. Once you have lost the weight, you can go back to eating all the great tasting foods that you ate before. True success is the acceptance that, no, your life will be worse in very real ways. You will no longer be able to just eat whenever you feel like it. You will no longer be able to eat until you are full, ever again. And you have to accept that this trade-off is worth it.

chongli 8y ago
True success is the acceptance that, no, your life will be worse in very real ways. You will no longer be able to just eat whenever you feel like it. You will no longer be able to eat until you are full, ever again. None of these things are true. With a good diet and exercise, you will feel better and be happier, with way more energy. That makes your life better, not worse. As another commenter mentioned, abstaining from sweets increases your sensitivity to sweetness. If you go long enough, you'll find most candy cloying rather than addictive. So throw away those cheap, mass market candy bars. By some expensive dark chocolate candy from a reputable chocolatier. Eat one piece instead of a whole bunch and just take your time to enjoy the flavours. It is sooooo much better! The way I see people (including myself at times) eat candy bars and potato chips bears more resemblance to a starving dog than a human who really enjoys good food. Stop being a dog! Take your time and enjoy something really good instead of swallowing a whole bunch of junk in front of Netflix.
- mirceal 8y ago
  stop being a dog :| unless it's in another context where dog-like qualities are appreciated ;)
- Negitivefrags 8y ago
  > None of these things are true. With a good diet and exercise, you will feel better and be happier, with way more energy. That makes your life better, not worse. I never said your life won’t be better overall. I said it will be worse in real ways. Eating pizza, Soda and so on are awesome. There is a reason these foods are popular. No amount of pretending is going to make that not true, and a life where you could eat them with no downsides would be better.

ksahin 8y ago

You're right! I agree with your "90% kitchen / 10% gym" for weight loss, but to maintain your weight I think the gym is more important than that. The problem with people doing hardcore diet is that they will lose a high % of muscle, and after their weight loss their basal metabolism will be really low. The gym itself doesn't burn that many calories, but increases your muscle mass, leading to a much higher basal metabolic rate, which in the long run, help you not to gain fat easily.

hvidgaard 8y ago
If you're not looking at it from the point of view where weight is about the food you eat, and health is about the exercise you get - you're bound to run into trouble at some point. The only way to control your weight is to control your diet. It doesn't matter what your basal metabolic rate is. Will it play a role? absolutely, but it's not what you adjust to keep your weight in check. If you can manage your weight with a low metabolic rate, you can manage it with a high metabolic rate. Gaining muscle mass will make your body signal for more food, so it can be counter productive if you want to lose fat.