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You do not have to eat better to lose weight. You only have to eat less. edit To correct confusion, I am saying "eat less" to mean "be at a caloric deficit." W

You do not have to eat better to lose weight. You only have to eat less. edit To correct confusion, I am saying "eat less" to mean "be at a caloric deficit." Weight loss is caused by caloric deficit, nothing else.

stkdump 6y ago
Can confirm, lost 25kg this year.
identity0 6y ago
This mindset is why people find it hard to lose weight. Can't we agree that it's both?
- recursive 6y ago
  It doesn't have to be either one! You could just exercise more.
  - theonemind 6y ago
    You mostly have to control what you eat. One donut takes like 3 hours to burn off at a good clip on a treadmill. I think that thinking you can make up for eating habits with exercise at all will just get you into trouble. You should exercise for health, but unless you’re a professional athlete, your voluntary physical activity is a rounding error in terms of weight management
    - recursive 6y ago
      > One donut takes like 3 hours to burn off at a good clip on a treadmill. You're way off. A "Frosted Snowflake Donut" from Dunkin weighs in at 270 calories. [1] A 155-pound person will burn 298 calories in 30 minutes doing 12-minute miles on a treadmill, [2] which is probably less than "a good clip". > You should exercise for health, but unless you’re a professional athlete, your voluntary physical activity is a rounding error in terms of weight management My personal experience just does not bear this out. I used to ride bikes a lot. The I stopped because I didn't have as much time for it anymore. I eat noticeably less. I also gained 20 pounds. [1]: https://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dam/dd/pdf/nutrition.pdf https://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dam/dd/pdf/nutrition.pd... [2]: https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories...
    - ketralnis 6y ago
      > One donut takes like 3 hours to burn off at a good clip on a treadmill I don't know where you get this idea but I see this meme really often in defeatist "it's impossible to lose weight" discussions. It's so easy to research, I don't know why it spreads so easily. A Krispy Kreme caramel glazed doughnut is about 220 kcal[0] and a very light treadmill session (30 minute, 5% incline, 3 mph) will probably burn in the 220 range[1]. > unless you’re a professional athlete, your voluntary physical activity is a rounding error in terms of weight management Absolutely not. It's true that for somebody that eats/burns ~2000 kcal in a day, about 1500 of that is for just existing (the resting metabolic rate[2]). But even small amounts of exercise are significant: that 30-minute speedwalk is 10% of your calorie intake! Turning it up to a jog can easily be twice that. [0]: https://s3.amazonaws.com/kkd-e1-images.kktestkitchen.com/ecomm/nutrition/11019-nutrition.pdf https://s3.amazonaws.com/kkd-e1-images.kktestkitchen.com/eco... [1]: https://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=193 https://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exe... [2]: https://www.verywellfit.com/metabolism-facts-101-3495605 https://www.verywellfit.com/metabolism-facts-101-3495605
      - ketralnis 6y ago
        and to add on an important extra data point, 1lb of fat is roughly 3500 calories. So that one 220 calorie treadmill walk is 0.06lb or about 1lb lost per 16 walks, changing nothing else. Or put another way, if your office is a 30 minute walk away then you can lose just over 2.5 lb/mo by just changing your routine to walking instead of driving (5×2×4×220÷3500 = ~2.5) and not changing your diet at all.
  - identity0 6y ago
    Exercise helps you eat less. It really does have to be all 3.
    - bird_monster 6y ago
      No, and in fact, most people report an increased level of hunger when starting an exercise regime because of their increased energy expenditure.
  - bird_monster 6y ago
    Sure, I was abstracting "Eat less" to mean "Be at a caloric deficit", which is the only requirement for weight loss. Exercising more obviously meets that criteria as well.
- ktta 6y ago
  But how true is that for weight loss specifically? Sure the food that's phrased as 'unhealthy' might not be what's best for you, but we shouldn't spread falsehoods. https://www.npr.org/2010/11/12/131286626/professor-s-weight-loss-secret-junk-food https://www.npr.org/2010/11/12/131286626/professor-s-weight-...
  - identity0 6y ago
    That professor is stupid. Obviously he lost weight, it's thermodynamics. Energy in, energy out, or whatever. But he is no doubt less healthy after the experiment and probably more susceptible to things like diabetes.
    - bird_monster 6y ago
      This thread all started as a result of talking about weight loss, not health. Also, you're ignoring all of the health improvements weight loss brings even without any other change in behavior (diet, exercise, sleep).
- hansvm 6y ago
  How can it be both though? If you eat a little healthy food or a little garbage you'll lose weight, and if you eat a lot of healthy food or a lot of garbage you'll gain weight. As far as weight loss is concerned, "healthy" food helps insofar as it makes it easier to eat less and exercise more, which is a property that some (not all) healthy foods accidentally happen to have, and which they share with a variety of less healthy calorie sources.
  - identity0 6y ago
    Think about why you want to lose weight. Is it to be healthier, or is to reach an arbitrary number? If it's the latter then maybe you can just pound down 1500 calories of cake a day. If not, then you actually do need to eat healthy. The health benefits don't come from weighing less, they come from having a healthier body composition and less visceral (internal) fat.
    - dleslie 6y ago
      This attitude strikes me as harmful. 1. Why exercise if you never plan on engaging in vigorous hobbies or professions? 2. Why seek physio therapy for a stiff joint if you spend your days on the couch or in a chair? 3. Why see a dentist if you only receive calories from drinking soylent? 4. Why bathe if you never leave your house? There's some philosophy of morals argument to be made here similar to the concept of whether it is good or bad to eat arsenic.
      - identity0 6y ago
        Not sure what your point is. 1. Because it's healthy and feels good 2. Because it's healthy and may stop future problems 3. Because it may stop future problems 4. Because it feels good So why lose weight for the sake of losing weight? It's neither healthy nor fun if you do it the wrong way.
        dleslie 6y ago
        > So why lose weight for the sake of losing weight? Because chronic obesity is associated with numerous morbidities. The same answer you gave for (3) applies to avoiding obesity.
- FooHentai 6y ago
  Hmm. Worked fine for me. Calorie counting but no other dietary modification let me drop 30kg. Better (and less processed) food choices came about naturally as an effect of caloric restriction and understanding of the makeup of food I was consuming, not as the driver. The notion that one has to pound salads and give up enjoyed foods is also a mindset that causes people to struggle in maintaining a healthy weight.
  - hcknwscommenter 6y ago
    30kgs! Good on you ( assuming that is a healthy amount to lose). From my own point of view, I have grown to like a quality salad, and they are very easy to make quickly. Some fresh variety of greens from the store, half an avocado sliced, cubes of roasted golden beet, add roasted/salted pistachio nuts or sunflower seeds, layer a few chunks of roasted chicken on top, add olive oil and your choice of tasty vinegar (e.g., balsamic), and a dash of salt and mix. 5 minutes to prep if you have all the ingredients. Divine!
- bird_monster 6y ago
  No, because that's not how calories work.
bityard 6y ago
Calories in == calories out is probably the worst lie in mainstream medical/nutritional guidance today. In a purely mathematical model is it obviously true but the reality is that our body deals with macro-nutrients (carbs, protein, fat) very differently.
- dleslie 6y ago
  It does, but over long enough time spans chronic caloric deficiency will result in weight loss, regardless of the form of the calories consumed. Some calories are better than others for short term outcomes, of course.
  - bityard 6y ago
    Calories in/calories out ignores that fact that the _type_ of calorie matters a great deal. It also ignores the fact that the body is capable of moderating its metabolic rate in response to energy requirements and supply. If calories in and out were _really_ all that mattered, I would be able to calculate my energy needs precisely and then eat exactly the right number of cupcakes (and only cupcakes) every day for the rest of my life. And yet we intuitively know that would be extremely unhealthy. Why is that?
    - dleslie 6y ago
      I'm not disagreeing with you on the good calories, bad calories concept. Simply that calories in/out is, when applied as a chronic deficiency, effective at reducing weight over long periods of time. No, you should not eat 750 calories of cupcakes and cupcakes alone.
    - bird_monster 6y ago
      You're mixing two different arguments together. Calories in/out is the only requirement for weight loss. Calories in/out is a percentage of the overall picture we define as "health". To lose weight, you only have to be at a caloric deficit. You can eat _only_ three cupcakes a day and probably lose weight (unless they're kinda insane cupcakes). If you only eat 3 cupcakes a day and nothing else, you will be malnourished and nutrient deficient, which I would extend to mean "unhealthy", but you will lose weight.

stkdump 6y ago

Can confirm, lost 25kg this year.

identity0 6y ago

This mindset is why people find it hard to lose weight. Can't we agree that it's both?

recursive 6y ago
It doesn't have to be either one! You could just exercise more.
- theonemind 6y ago
  You mostly have to control what you eat. One donut takes like 3 hours to burn off at a good clip on a treadmill. I think that thinking you can make up for eating habits with exercise at all will just get you into trouble. You should exercise for health, but unless you’re a professional athlete, your voluntary physical activity is a rounding error in terms of weight management
  - recursive 6y ago
    > One donut takes like 3 hours to burn off at a good clip on a treadmill. You're way off. A "Frosted Snowflake Donut" from Dunkin weighs in at 270 calories. [1] A 155-pound person will burn 298 calories in 30 minutes doing 12-minute miles on a treadmill, [2] which is probably less than "a good clip". > You should exercise for health, but unless you’re a professional athlete, your voluntary physical activity is a rounding error in terms of weight management My personal experience just does not bear this out. I used to ride bikes a lot. The I stopped because I didn't have as much time for it anymore. I eat noticeably less. I also gained 20 pounds. [1]: https://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dam/dd/pdf/nutrition.pdf https://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dam/dd/pdf/nutrition.pd... [2]: https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories...
  - ketralnis 6y ago
    > One donut takes like 3 hours to burn off at a good clip on a treadmill I don't know where you get this idea but I see this meme really often in defeatist "it's impossible to lose weight" discussions. It's so easy to research, I don't know why it spreads so easily. A Krispy Kreme caramel glazed doughnut is about 220 kcal[0] and a very light treadmill session (30 minute, 5% incline, 3 mph) will probably burn in the 220 range[1]. > unless you’re a professional athlete, your voluntary physical activity is a rounding error in terms of weight management Absolutely not. It's true that for somebody that eats/burns ~2000 kcal in a day, about 1500 of that is for just existing (the resting metabolic rate[2]). But even small amounts of exercise are significant: that 30-minute speedwalk is 10% of your calorie intake! Turning it up to a jog can easily be twice that. [0]: https://s3.amazonaws.com/kkd-e1-images.kktestkitchen.com/ecomm/nutrition/11019-nutrition.pdf https://s3.amazonaws.com/kkd-e1-images.kktestkitchen.com/eco... [1]: https://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=193 https://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exe... [2]: https://www.verywellfit.com/metabolism-facts-101-3495605 https://www.verywellfit.com/metabolism-facts-101-3495605
    - ketralnis 6y ago
      and to add on an important extra data point, 1lb of fat is roughly 3500 calories. So that one 220 calorie treadmill walk is 0.06lb or about 1lb lost per 16 walks, changing nothing else. Or put another way, if your office is a 30 minute walk away then you can lose just over 2.5 lb/mo by just changing your routine to walking instead of driving (5×2×4×220÷3500 = ~2.5) and not changing your diet at all.
- identity0 6y ago
  Exercise helps you eat less. It really does have to be all 3.
  - bird_monster 6y ago
    No, and in fact, most people report an increased level of hunger when starting an exercise regime because of their increased energy expenditure.
- bird_monster 6y ago
  Sure, I was abstracting "Eat less" to mean "Be at a caloric deficit", which is the only requirement for weight loss. Exercising more obviously meets that criteria as well.
ktta 6y ago
But how true is that for weight loss specifically? Sure the food that's phrased as 'unhealthy' might not be what's best for you, but we shouldn't spread falsehoods. https://www.npr.org/2010/11/12/131286626/professor-s-weight-loss-secret-junk-food https://www.npr.org/2010/11/12/131286626/professor-s-weight-...
- identity0 6y ago
  That professor is stupid. Obviously he lost weight, it's thermodynamics. Energy in, energy out, or whatever. But he is no doubt less healthy after the experiment and probably more susceptible to things like diabetes.
  - bird_monster 6y ago
    This thread all started as a result of talking about weight loss, not health. Also, you're ignoring all of the health improvements weight loss brings even without any other change in behavior (diet, exercise, sleep).
hansvm 6y ago
How can it be both though? If you eat a little healthy food or a little garbage you'll lose weight, and if you eat a lot of healthy food or a lot of garbage you'll gain weight. As far as weight loss is concerned, "healthy" food helps insofar as it makes it easier to eat less and exercise more, which is a property that some (not all) healthy foods accidentally happen to have, and which they share with a variety of less healthy calorie sources.
- identity0 6y ago
  Think about why you want to lose weight. Is it to be healthier, or is to reach an arbitrary number? If it's the latter then maybe you can just pound down 1500 calories of cake a day. If not, then you actually do need to eat healthy. The health benefits don't come from weighing less, they come from having a healthier body composition and less visceral (internal) fat.
  - dleslie 6y ago
    This attitude strikes me as harmful. 1. Why exercise if you never plan on engaging in vigorous hobbies or professions? 2. Why seek physio therapy for a stiff joint if you spend your days on the couch or in a chair? 3. Why see a dentist if you only receive calories from drinking soylent? 4. Why bathe if you never leave your house? There's some philosophy of morals argument to be made here similar to the concept of whether it is good or bad to eat arsenic.
    - identity0 6y ago
      Not sure what your point is. 1. Because it's healthy and feels good 2. Because it's healthy and may stop future problems 3. Because it may stop future problems 4. Because it feels good So why lose weight for the sake of losing weight? It's neither healthy nor fun if you do it the wrong way.
      - dleslie 6y ago
        > So why lose weight for the sake of losing weight? Because chronic obesity is associated with numerous morbidities. The same answer you gave for (3) applies to avoiding obesity.
FooHentai 6y ago
Hmm. Worked fine for me. Calorie counting but no other dietary modification let me drop 30kg. Better (and less processed) food choices came about naturally as an effect of caloric restriction and understanding of the makeup of food I was consuming, not as the driver. The notion that one has to pound salads and give up enjoyed foods is also a mindset that causes people to struggle in maintaining a healthy weight.
- hcknwscommenter 6y ago
  30kgs! Good on you ( assuming that is a healthy amount to lose). From my own point of view, I have grown to like a quality salad, and they are very easy to make quickly. Some fresh variety of greens from the store, half an avocado sliced, cubes of roasted golden beet, add roasted/salted pistachio nuts or sunflower seeds, layer a few chunks of roasted chicken on top, add olive oil and your choice of tasty vinegar (e.g., balsamic), and a dash of salt and mix. 5 minutes to prep if you have all the ingredients. Divine!
bird_monster 6y ago
No, because that's not how calories work.

bityard 6y ago

Calories in == calories out is probably the worst lie in mainstream medical/nutritional guidance today. In a purely mathematical model is it obviously true but the reality is that our body deals with macro-nutrients (carbs, protein, fat) very differently.

dleslie 6y ago
It does, but over long enough time spans chronic caloric deficiency will result in weight loss, regardless of the form of the calories consumed. Some calories are better than others for short term outcomes, of course.
- bityard 6y ago
  Calories in/calories out ignores that fact that the _type_ of calorie matters a great deal. It also ignores the fact that the body is capable of moderating its metabolic rate in response to energy requirements and supply. If calories in and out were _really_ all that mattered, I would be able to calculate my energy needs precisely and then eat exactly the right number of cupcakes (and only cupcakes) every day for the rest of my life. And yet we intuitively know that would be extremely unhealthy. Why is that?
  - dleslie 6y ago
    I'm not disagreeing with you on the good calories, bad calories concept. Simply that calories in/out is, when applied as a chronic deficiency, effective at reducing weight over long periods of time. No, you should not eat 750 calories of cupcakes and cupcakes alone.
  - bird_monster 6y ago
    You're mixing two different arguments together. Calories in/out is the only requirement for weight loss. Calories in/out is a percentage of the overall picture we define as "health". To lose weight, you only have to be at a caloric deficit. You can eat _only_ three cupcakes a day and probably lose weight (unless they're kinda insane cupcakes). If you only eat 3 cupcakes a day and nothing else, you will be malnourished and nutrient deficient, which I would extend to mean "unhealthy", but you will lose weight.