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This is a common misconception, let me explain. > Losing weight and gaining weight is simple physics. > you are losing weight because you are consuming less c
by hoschicz 7y ago
This is a common misconception, let me explain.
> Losing weight and gaining weight is simple physics.
> you are losing weight because you are consuming less calories.
This is only true in the first up to 6 months of a calorie-restriction diet. Then, body adjusts its metabolism (lower body temperature, making you feel more lethargic to keep you from exercising, etc) and your weight begins to slowly climb back up, sans any further calorie restriction. At this point, it's easy for a dieter to blame himself of lacking willpower: "it worked, and it stopped working now, I must've been not strict enough!".
The same thing happens if you force someone to overeat even if they're not hungry. They will gain weight -- for up to 6 months. Then, the body increases its base metabolic rate and adjusts to the new food intake level.
As Dr. Jason Fung meticulously explains in his book Obesity Code, there seems to be a weight set point. He then argues that the root cause of obesity, and the body's set weight point, is insulin resistance.
The books hails your grandma's advice: "Cut back sugars and starchy foods. No snacking."
This is from the last part (The Solution):
1. Reduce your consumption of added sugars.
2. Reduce your consumption of refined grains.
3. Moderate your protein intake.
4. Increase your consumption of natural fats.
5. Increase your consumption of fiber and vinegar.
The author also stresses the importance of fasting.
Everything the book asserts seems to be pretty well backed by science, go check for yourself.
Source: Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung. Read it, it's not only a brilliant weight loss book, but also a wonderful book about how the wrong incentives for companies have led to the obesity epidemic in the US.
- mattsfrey 7y agoThis is absolutely false. Having lost 160 lbs over the course of two years I can say it is absolutely possible to continue losing weight from calorie restriction. Does it get harder to lose the same amount of weight? Absolutely. You are getting lighter and your base metabolic rate diminishes. You have to eat less food or do more exercise to maintain the same deficit. In reality, your burn rate just goes down. I was initially losing 3.5 lbs a week not even trying, in the end it was down to maybe half a pound a week in the final weeks. Your body doesn't enter some magical mode at 6 mos though, of course if you don't change what you're doing you will plateau in line with your decreasing BMR, but it just means you have to keep tweaking the formula of energy in vs out or accept a slower rate of fat loss. The exercise in itself though is pretty much entirely psychological.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- hoschicz 7y ago> This is absolutely false. I'm not saying it's impossible to keep losing weight by calorie restriction beyond 6 months, I'm saying that _sans further calorie restriction_ you don't lose weight. > Yes, it gets harder to continuously lose weight This is your body adjusting its basal metabolic rate and you having to implement further calorie restriction to achieve the same benefit.
- Armisael16 7y agoPeople aren’t misunderstanding what you’re saying; what you’re saying is just wrong. It may be accurate within a limited range - a few hundred calories/day, perhaps - but is obviously wrong in the limit.
- bena 7y agoYeah. To weigh 300 pounds you need to consume so many calories a day. To weigh 200 pounds, you need to consume a different number of calories. If you weigh 300 and start eating the 200 pound amount, you will lose weight. Slower over time as the difference between your weight and your consumption becomes less. Once you reach 200 pounds, you won't continue to lose weight.
- scarface74 7y agoThe same thing happens if you force someone to overeat even if they're not hungry. They will gain weight -- for up to 6 months. Then, the body increases its base metabolic rate and adjusts to the new food intake level. There is an existence proof that this isn’t true - watch “My 600lb Life”.
- hoschicz 7y agoSee overeating studies led by Ethan Sims in the 1960s. How does the existence of a TV show that put subjects under calorie restriction prove that this doesn't work? P.S. from skimming the wikipedia page I'd expect that the participants were subject to further calorie restriction beyond the first one
- scarface74 7y agoThey didn’t gain 600 pounds plus by overeating up to six months. They have spent years overeating and gaining weight.
- hoschicz 7y agoThey way to look at this from a insulin resistance perspective is that years overeating caused them to develop insulin resistance, which in turn caused them to become obese.
- scarface74 7y agoAnd when they are given tools to help them not to overeat like a gastric bypass did their insulin level resistance decrease? Also on the same show, when they were put under medical supervision where they had to consume only 1200 calories a day they would drop around 30-50 pounds. There was one guy who would lose 20 pounds in a week (he weighed over 800 pounds) when his mom couldn't sneak food to him.
- loco5niner 7y agoI'm sure they were quite obese before insulin resistance kicked in.
- berdon 7y agoYeah, I lost 100lb from calorie restriction over the course a year. Eating the exact same things just less of it. There is no panacea for weight loss - everyone is different. A book is not a source. Providing a book and then cavalierly saying people should read it because it's backed by science is pretty rude.