Ok, not much of a debate to follow, but here goes. Typical disclaimers for medical causes for obesity apply.
First of all, as porcupine indicated, the vast majority of people who go on “diets” end up gaining the weight back, and then some. I’ve read that this applies to 95% of dieters; that is, the weight is gained back within three years. Even if that number is overstated, there is no question that diets, in and of themselves, rarely work.
What is needed is a lifelong change in eating habits. This is much different than a diet. Unless, of course, the goal is to drop some pounds for a wedding or a swimsuit-intensive trip to the beach, without too much worry about what follows afterwards.
Metabolism. Ah, the key to effective weight loss. Some of us are just cursed with a lousy metabolism. We all know those who eat all the time and never seem to gain any weight (bastards! :)). Others, like me, have genetic tendancies that are difficult to overcome. For example, my father died this spring of complications from adult-onset diabetes. He well over 300 pounds; probably closer to 350. He ate himself to death. He was 57. My mother, too, tends to be on the heavy side.
So, what to do about it? All is not lost! It takes time and effort to raise metabolic rate, but it can be done. Lowering your intake of calories will not raise your metabolism; rather, the opposite will occur. Is it any wonder diets don’t work? Let’s say you drop from 3000 calories a day to 1200. Yes, you will lose some weight for a while, but your metabolism will drop as well. Then, when you go off the diet, your metabolic set point is so low, that going back to 3000 calories a day will not only cause you to gain back lost weight, but you are now in danger of ending up heavier than ever before! Add to that depressive factors, feelings of failure from regression, the tendency for many overweight people to then turn to food as a comfort/coping mechanism, and well, the spiral continues downward.
Exercise. I know, I know, not a lot of fun to think about, and difficult for many sedentery people to contemplate. But it needs to be an important part of any weight-loss program. I’m not talking about getting off the couch for the first time and running four miles. Do what you have to do and accept that it will take some time to get into shape enough to see results. You’ve heard it all before, I’m sure. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park so that you have to walk a ways to get where you are going. Join a gym or health club. Even if all you do is pant and wheeze on a treadmill for 5 minutes, well, you have to start somewhere.
Eventually, you will start to see a difference. Your capacity for exercise will increase. Keep repeating this mantra: “Keep doing what you’re doing and it will pay off.” You may have to repeat this many times to believe it.
The frustrating part is that your body will resist an increase in metabolism for some time. Usually about three weeks or so. A true example: When I entered Army Basic Training in 1987, I was about 40 pounds overweight (~210). They put me on the “fat-boy” program. No sweets, no fats, no red meat. Also, extra running (yes, I remember those road-guard vests). Total weight loss for me after 1 month: 5 pounds. 5 pounds!!! Are you kidding me? All that effort and denial for a lousy 5 pounds? Next month’s weight loss: 35 pounds. Finally, the stasis of my metabolism had been broken. The battle was won and victory was mine. (Full disclosure; I’ve gone through a couple of swings like this, so yes, I do know how hard it is to be consistent. Right now I am at the wrong end of one of these swings. :() And yes, age does make this process more difficult.
One of the bonuses of exercise, for me at least, was the ability to eat anything and everything and still keep trim. At one point I was running 4 miles every afternoon. 4 miles in less than 28 minutes. That is a fast clip, my friends. Afterward, I would play very competitive raquetball (like capacitor said, an excellent exercise, if your knees can handle it). Sometimes I would swim. I ate like a hog, mostly beer and restaurant food (I was in grad school, and didn’t know beans about cooking). My weight stabalized at 160 and didn’t start to creep up on me until I stopped the exercise without changing my eating habits. (Bad! Bad!)
It looks like I’ve come full circle. Back to eating habits. Find the balance that is right for you. You can exercise like a mo’fo and allow yourself a little more leeway on what you can eat; or you can exercise moderately and be more strict on caloric intake. Everyone will find a different balance.
Oh, just to add. Weight training is good as well. You don’t have to try for the bodybuilder look. Just try to increase your strength by adding muscle. Not only will you firm up, but muscle burns calories whereas fat does not. So, if you increase your muscle, you will burn more calories throughout the day; yes, even if you are watching TV.
My advice is not to even weigh yourself. Instead, judge your progress on how your clothes fit. There is very little in this world more satisfying than having formerly tight clothing just about fall off of you. Oh, to walk around in loose pants and feel good! No more of that 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag feeling.
(I’m sorry not to contribute to the carb/protein/fat/Atkins/Zone/etc. debate. I am not qualified to give an informed opinion on specific diets.)
This is the longest post I think I’ve contributed, and my feeling is that very few will muck through it. For those of you that have, I really hope you take some of this to heart. Dying of obesity is a horrible way to go, and watching someone you love die this way is, well, let me just say that it is a waste. It doesn’t have to be.
