# I'm dieting I guess
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 14, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126 "2018-12-14T16:48:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/1 "2018-12-14T16:48:05Z")
And it sucks. I’ve always been slim, and at 6’ and 168lbs I suppose I still am. But I’m a whole 13 lbs heavier than when I shipped off to basic training many years ago and almost all of that extra weight seems to have gone straight to my gut. I was at a party last week and someone poked my belly because I was stretching the buttons on my slim-fit shirt. I decided I need to do something I’ve never had to do before, lose 5 lbs.
It’s only been 4 days and, man, it’s miserable being hungry. I can’t for the life of my figure out how anyone manages to lose weight. I have a new respect for anyone who’s ever been on a diet.
Hate away.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/2 "2018-12-14T16:54:57Z")
First, you don’t diet, you establish a new eating pattern.
Second, look for volume and low calories to help stave off hunger.
Third, exercise will help you burn calories and eat more (as long as you maintain a caloric deficit).
Don’t try to maintain too big a deficit, that leads to hunger. 100 calories equals appx. a lb. per month.
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### Author:  [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/3 "2018-12-14T17:03:34Z")
Well, I’ve gained like 3/4 of a pound per year over the last 17 years, I’m not sure if I have the discipline to adjust my eating habits to such a small degree. I already eat pretty healthy, I’m a vegetarian and I don’t like sweets, but it’s slowly crept up. If I can lose the 5lbs and it takes 7 years to gain it back based on my previous eating habits, I’m OK with that 🙂
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/4 "2018-12-14T17:25:58Z")
Five whole pounds?
/World’s smallest violin…
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/5 "2018-12-14T17:34:53Z")
> [@steronz](#):
>
> Well, I’ve gained like 3/4 of a pound per year over the last 17 years, I’m not sure if I have the discipline to adjust my eating habits to such a small degree. I already eat pretty healthy, I’m a vegetarian and I don’t like sweets, but it’s slowly crept up. If I can lose the 5lbs and it takes 7 years to gain it back based on my previous eating habits, I’m OK with that 🙂
Then just aim for a deficit of 100 calories a day. 1 lb. a month and that shouldn’t leave you hungry.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/6 "2018-12-14T17:36:19Z")
> [@Grrr](#):
>
> Five whole pounds?
>
> /World’s smallest violin…
Yeah, I have bowel movements that weigh more than 5 pounds.😃
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### Author:  [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/7 "2018-12-14T17:37:28Z")
Figure out small ways to burn more calories. Park your car away from the entrance of work/store. Set a timer to go off every hour and do 5 minutes of exercise at your desk. Get up and walk around your house during commercials on TV (or internet these days) Walk up one flight/down 2 flights of stairs before getting on the elevator.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/8 "2018-12-14T17:39:22Z")
My dad has been slim his whole life and hasn’t had to spend one minute thinking about what he eats or even how much exercise he gets. Now that he’s 68 and has some health problems, he has to put some effort into keeping his body running.
It’s definitely weird and often exasperating for me, as someone who’s been obese since puberty (and thus constantly having to think about losing weight through diet and exercise), to be having to explain macronutrients and metabolism and basic physiology to an old man. A skinny old man.
But hey, we’ve all got our challenges. Our bodies all work differently. Good luck to you on your journey, and kudos to you for taking the time to see things from other peoples’ perspective. We’re all in this together.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/9 "2018-12-14T23:39:02Z")
Are you sure that it’s your diet that is the issue and not the amount of exercise you’re doing? Or not doing.
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### Author:  [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2018, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/10 "2018-12-15T08:41:53Z")
Just lift.
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2018, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/11 "2018-12-15T09:00:02Z")
> [@steronz](#):
>
> Well, I’ve gained like 3/4 of a pound per year over the last 17 years, I’m not sure if I have the discipline to adjust my eating habits to such a small degree. I already eat pretty healthy, I’m a vegetarian and I don’t like sweets, but it’s slowly crept up. If I can lose the 5lbs and it takes 7 years to gain it back based on my previous eating habits, I’m OK with that 🙂
It don’t work like that. If you lose weight (5bs)
, when you gain it will take less time and you’ll gain twice as much back. That’s the cruel irony of ‘dieting’. Better to cut out extras like soda pop or treats and exercise or join a gym. 6ft male at 168lbs doesn’t sound very obese to me. If it’s your gut that’s bothering you, do sit-ups.
ETA don’t buy slim fit shirts anymore.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2018, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/12 "2018-12-15T10:17:03Z")
> [@Grrr](#):
>
> Five whole pounds?
>
> /World’s smallest violin…
I own two violins, and neither is small enough for this.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2018, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/13 "2018-12-15T10:25:00Z")
> [@steronz](#):
>
> Well, I’ve gained like 3/4 of a pound per year over the last 17 years, I’m not sure if I have the discipline to adjust my eating habits to such a small degree.
Yeah, the idea that you gained this weight by exceeding your daily calorie burn by 7 calories a day is pretty nonsensical. That’s about half an inch of a banana. It would take some doing to eat with that level of precision.
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-dieting-i-guess/826126/14 "2018-12-15T13:50:24Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> First, you don’t diet, you establish a new eating pattern…
While ‘diet’ is a four-letter word, don’t make it out to be a \*bad \*word.
> [@](#):
>
> \*\*diet \*\*[dahy-it] \*noun \* - Food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health.
mmm