Agreed. All calories are not equal. If I were advising someone to lose weight given a fixed caloric intake, I would recommend that they increase their protein intake since protein:
Has a higher TEF (Thermic Effect of Food), making fewer of the calories consumed bioavailable for energy storage.
Is more satiating than other macronutrients, causing less hunger.
Causes less insulin to be released than carbohydrate (insulin is an anabolic hormone).
Would likely inhibit loss of LBM (Lean Body Mass) that normally occurs during dieting.
*This doesn’t help. * Because, a) you believe that all fat people are just scarfing down the potato chips, and b) I already do this.
I never eat potato chips.
I almost never drink soda.
I do drink a glass of fruit sangria daily in the summer.
I drink 4-6 24 oz bottles of water a day.
I eat fruit almost every day in the afternoons.
I eat tofu at least once a week.
Chicken 2x a week.
Pork once a week.
Beef once a week.
These are all dinners. For breakfast I have either an english muffin with yogurt butter, and a glass of 2% milk, or a packet of oatmeal. Lunch? Salad, with cranberries, walnuts, and a little bit of low-fat dressing.
Dinner I eat properly, and my SO makes dinner. I do have a dessert later on. Sometimes this is ice cream. Sometimes it is a big bowl of strawberries with a few slices of gouda. Sometimes it’s a few cookies.
And this is pretty much my routine, day in and day out. I really don’t like all those fatty foods, and you can bet your ass I’m not shoveling them into my throat. I like small portions.
But I only lose weight when I exercise. That’s just how it goes. I can demonstrate this once again. I started swimming a couple of weeks ago. I weighed myself this morning. Lost three pounds, just from swimming.
It’s different for everyone, and all I’m saying is, a quick fix does not work and does not help. Each person has to find out what works for them.
This is completely untrue. Any fat or obese person can safely lose weight by permanently adopting an alternative diet that requires a (safe) reduction in calories consumed.
Whether or not a person has the discipline to stick to the alternative diet is a completely different subject.
I didn’t do the math, but it still seems like you are probably getting close to 1800-2000 calories here…so while it’s not an unreasonable diet, you *wouldn’t *expect to lose weight without exercise.
You can also lose weight by consuming fewer calories. I’m not saying this is what you should do. I’m simply saying that it is a fact that you can lose weight by consuming fewer calories.
Crafter Man, so you subscribe to the definition of “eating right” as whatever calorie level reduction is required to lose weight (so long as it remains within a safe level). So no duh with that definition “eating right” forever equals its definition. Brilliant that.
Can you not comprehend that Tarwater and some others are instead subscribing to the definition of “eating right” as meaning following standard recommended nutritional guidelines and eating in a manner that is associated with good long term health outcomes? That to some the goal of “thin” (or “normal” BMI) is not the most meaningful metric to define “right” by, current functional capacity and long term health outcomes are? Or do you just stick your fingers in your ears and go tralala?
You (and a few others) keep imagining that someone here is claiming that there is no level of calorie reduction that will cause weight loss. No one has said that. Really, stop and actually comprehend what is being stated and respond to it or not, but not to something that no one has said.
Well then it’s kind of a pointless argument, isn’t it? The short answer is obviously ‘yes.’
So really, the correct title for the thread would be “Is is possible to eat ‘X’ amount of calories, from foods that are generally accepted to be healthy, where ‘X’ is at least the number of calories needed to sustain a persons daily activities and offset potential deficits from regular exercise?”
True, but that’s also the problem with Anaamika’s rundown of what she eats. It means little (except for overall nutritional balance) in terms of how many calories she’s consuming. I could be eating nothing but a McDonald’s double cheeseburger for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and be losing weight at a fast clip. (In fact, when I did lose my weight, a McDonald’s McDouble was a normal “on-the-go” lunch for me.)
Oh, I skip the fries myself. That’s a heap of calories (230) that (for me) takes a reasonable lunch (McDouble clocks in at 390 calories) into heavy lunch territory. I’m no longer actively reducing, having stabilized several years ago at around 165-170 lbs, but “no fries with fast food” has really stuck with me. If I’m going to have fast food, I’m going to keep it under 500 calories if I can. I’ll cheat on vacation, but that’s about it.
The other thing is rice and pasta. I’m always confounded at how calorie dense those foods are for being so easy to eat. I have to really watch my rice and pasta portions and be careful not to make more than necessary, because I will easily consume 600+ calories in those alone if left unchecked.
I don’t get that as the impression of what is being said. More another endorsement of the habits as being the prime focus rather than the scale. I doubt DrDeth would object to including exercise on that list.
Sicks Ate “sensible” means different things to different people. I would not hazard a guess. Which of course is pulykmell’s point. And as has been pointed out here correctly in the past, people generally stink at estimating how many calories they eat.
OK, here is my entire point: There is a caloric intake level at which every living person will lose weight. It may take a lot of willpower for you to get there. It may be damn near impossible for you to get there without external help. But once you do, you’re there. That’s it. You will be losing weight. No further bullshit is needed. The laws of physics say so, and everyone else can shut their damned mouths.
It’s a response to Food Demonization, and you do know what that is: Mixing foods is bad. No, natural foods are unwholesome and indigestible. No, red meat is the culprit. No, grains are the evil factor. No, meat is good and vegetables are not the true path. No… No, really, shut the fuck up. Any field that can contain both Taubes and Ornish as respected members to be heeded and obeyed is a field ripe for one of Kellogg’s twelve-gallon enemas.
Taubes and Ornish can choke on each other. A coronary on both their houses.
Well I think lots here, myself included, will agree with your frustration over the Black Magic and dogma that dominates media nutrition reporting. And that might be a good place to leave it.
I love all these people here making completely unfounded assumptions about obesity, diet and exercise. If you’re not obese and have never been obese, you have no idea what it’s like for people living with it. If you’re judging obese individuals for what you assume they are doing, you are being very foolish. :smack:
I am an active mother of two, and I am considered to be obese, despite eating a totally organic, gluten-free and junk food-free lifestyle. I run around after my 19-month old son all day long, I eat meals about as big as his, and I don’t lose any weight. I get my 6 or 7 servings of vegetables every day, without fail. I limit dairy intake. I drink skim milk or no milk at all. I don’t drink soda, juice, or anything with a high sugar content. I also don’t sit on my butt all day eating bon bons and getting drive-thru meals from McDonald’s.
To be fair, I know that I eat too many calories. But where I get my calories definitely makes a difference in my health. I have no chronic diseases, I don’t get sick very often, and I am what you would consider a healthy person, aside from my weight. I have a good level of fitness, and I am quite strong (my son is 3 feet tall and weighs 30-some pounds already, so carrying him around has given me some good strength and stamina). Looking at me, I’m sure people make all sorts of judgements and harsh statements, but I don’t really care. What I care about is being healthy for my kids, and that is what I’m doing.
Do I want to lose weight? Of course I do! Everyday I obsess about it. It doesn’t happen overnight, or without a long string of years (for someone in my position) to focus on it 100%. Right now I don’t have 100% of my energy to devote to losing weight, when I have two young children who need me to be there for them in SO many capacities. I know I am healthy and living up to my full potential. It’s no one’s business but my own what I am eating or doing every day. I am the one dealing with it.
Small fries and Diet Coke, please.