Detox:
No alcohol, wheat, meat, dairy, or refined sugars.
My apologies - posting from work between rooms and this browser gets funky.
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/113/22/2642.long for the details on resistance training.
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v37/n4/abs/ijo2012229a.html - the human study showing later eaters loss less with no difference seen in energy intake or activity levels.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2009.264/full - the brief basic science study.
Restricted Feeding Phase Shifts Clock Gene and Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) Expression in Rats - PMC - Another basic science one documenting circadian rhythmicity in gut mucosa expression of the “clock” genes which in turn impact glucose absorption and that feeding “late” (off natural rhythm) impacts that expression.
If anyone is interested.
There can be a pretty wide range of kcal/lb, depending on age, activity levels, etc. There are fairly detailed equations to estimate the baseline metabolism–15 kcal/lb is just a reasonable estimate for an average person, but depending on the individual it could be as low as 8 kcal/lb.
Having said that, I’ve seen a number of sites that say the overweight pretty consistently underestimate their food intake, by as much as 50%. I know that when I started my food log I was shocked by just how many calories junk food can have. A single Oreo cookie, for example, is 50 kcal–I used to eat the entire bag!
True the overweight are poor at estimating calories … but no worse than anyone else.
Of course since people who are obese are usually choosing larger meals their underestimates result in being off by more calories in an absolute fashion than someone who chooses smaller meals. They are not however worse at calorie estimation than thin people are and the sometimes implied (not by you I don’t think) suggestion that poor calorie estimation causes obesity is untrue.
Oh. IF you know (by testing) your percent body fat, this calculator is a good tool for estimating calories out. Metabolism is of course different based on how much is fat mass vs. muscle mass and does not increase linearly. It also matters if the weight someone is at is one they have grown into or lost weight to get to after having been obese a long time. Once the body has settled into an obese weight as its normal a significant loss is resisted by a variety of mechanisms including lowering baseline metabolism. Even that calculator does not capture that. It’s one of the reasons that one of the factors most associated with keeping weight off after loss is regular exercise. Regular exercise does not completely prevent the decrease in energy out but it significantly diminishes its magnitude (even though it failed to impact the decrease in resting metabolic rate). Those who were placed into the exercise added arm and actually followed the physical activity plan lost significantly more weight, lost disproportionately more central belly and liver fat, and were more likely to keep the weight off as the study went on or even lose more weight that those who did not exercise.
To rephrase: the study participants’ experiences were consistent with what you described for yourself Evil Economist - more activity was associated with taking less in in addition to less dramatic decreases in energy out, and hit most on the worst fat from the health perspective.
Fear of death works best for me.
I’ve lost over a hundred pounds since my diabetes diagnosis. I didn’t actually set out to lose weight at all; I just changed my eating habits and forced myself to exercise every day. I hate exercising (except riding my bike), to so keep myself on track I recite the various diabetes related complications in descending order of terrifyingness: Paralysis from stroke, amputation of a limb, blindness, death.
So am I a weird outlier who should forever going forward shut the hell up because people will dislike me?
I am 56, post-meno female. I still weigh now what I weighed at 15 years old, although obviously all my bits are saggier and droopier than they were 40 years ago. 
But still, I am thin and very fit and active. I decided somewhere in my late 30s that I was not going to start getting fat as I aged. So I cut down on carbs and sugars, remained physically active, and…no big deal. I am now a skinny old broad. It was a simple cost:benefit decision - I still love food, eat lots of it, and no stress associated with the whole eating thing. It does not distress me at all to eat a bit less of this or that. It does not distress me to feel hungry - legitimately, I’ve worked hard for hours, I have not eaten in 12 hours, OK I will get some fuel now so my stomach will stop growling at me.
My only frame of reference for chronic overeating and obesity comes from fat people I know, and they talk of food and eating behaviours with exactly the same language I used to use for nicotine, drugs and alcohol. Food is a constant, or at least frequent, preoccupation, irregardless of actual hunger or need. I think eating and/or certain types of food have become addictions for many people; no different to alcohol, nicotine and other drugs.
This describe me. My father was an alcoholic and, under other circumstances, I think I could have been one as well. When I smoked, I was up to 60 a day before I gave up. I’m not sure such a thing exists but if it does, I reckon I have an addictive personality (? gene). If I wasn’t a foodaholic, I’d be addicted to something else.
Not sure why you understand what I posted to imply that you are an outlier.
Most people do not estimate calories well. Period. Maybe you do or maybe you just choose smaller servings without estimating calories. I know I don’t try to estimate calories. I doubt most who are not “dieting” do. I am also not fat.
I don’t estimate calories - I count them. And I weigh and measure what I’m going to eat. My counting is as exact as the calorie counting books. If they’re wrong, then so am I. I still can’t eat more than 1500 cals per day. This is fine normally but it make dining out a challenge.
Okay. Indeed some people do that. My wife’s uncle’s wife is formerly obese and measures everything all the time as well. Very disciplined. Not sure if that informs to the comment that most people, obese or thin, foodaholic or not, do not estimate well, and that estimation skill or lack thereof is not what causes obesity. chiroptera is thinking that what I posted implies that she is somehow an outlier and I am trying to understand how what I posted was understood in such a way as to make her think that.
Skald, really? Blindness more terrifying than death?
That’s how it is for me too. I’m guessing if I had to live without eyesight, I’d find a way to soldier on. But the prospect is terrifying. A lot more terrifying than dying, since a dead person doesn’t suffer from anything.
I initially read what you wrote as “many people gain weight because they fail to count calories.”
I misunderstood you, sorry.
Congratulations to those of you who have managed to lose a lot of weight and keep it under control, by whatever means! It’s clearly quite difficult; I see this with some of my friends who are on the diet and weight roller coaster. If it were as simple as “eat less, move more” unwanted weight gain wouldn’t be an issue.
Neither. Just that I can eat no more than 1500 calories a day without gaining weight, which makes me able to eat less than ‘normal’ woman who eats 2000. I only mentioned that I actually count calories because of your comment that most fat people - indeed most people - underestimate. I don’t underestimate because I don’t estimate.
Before my wife & I had kids, certainly. I would much rather have been dead than blind or paralyzed.
Now that we have the three little ones, though, not being there while they grow up is my greatest fear.
For many years every time I met with my doctor, he reminded me him that I was extremely overweight (just borderline obese) and that was putting my health and life expectancy at great risk. In addition, he told me that if I were to lose just a little weight, it would be the most important thing I could do to improve my overall health and life expectancy.
Unlike other doctors, he never bullied me or pressured me. His style was just to give me gentle little reminders.
Well, one day I took him seriously and bought a scale. I weighed myself after every meal and after every time I went to the bathroom. I think that single event might have been the most important thing I ever did. It gave me a serious feedback on the relationship between my activities and my weight.
I was highly shocked when my doctor told me that all my symptoms of Diabetes have now disappeared. I no longer have to take any Diabetes medications.
My doctor tells me that for every pound I lost, about ten important organs (heart, liver, kidneys, etc.) became far less suceptible to all kinds of diseases.
There are some rather obvious techniques. They are not really secrets. They are common sense techniques that have been proven to work over many years.
After all, losing weight is very important for many reasons. But, it is far more important to keep the weight off than it is to lose it in the first place. Here are the techniques that I have used.
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Portion Size. Try to avoid pigging out and see if you can do that. During a meal, check yourself every few minutes by asking, “Am I still hungry?” If the answer is, “No!”, then stand up and leave the table (for goodness sake, if you are no longer hungry, then leave the table.). If you are a guest in the home or someone else is gonna do the dishes, then perhaps you should take your dirty dishes with you and either wash them yourself or put them where it will make life easy for the person who is going to wash them.
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Chew slowly and thoroughly. Some “experts” recommend chewing each mouthful 40 or 50 times or some other crazy number. I don’t know what to make of that. But, when you eat, it would seem best to chew your food thoroughly. That will help you avoid becoming hungry again for a little longer than you might expect.
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Try to eat at regular times every day.
I wake up around 7 am and have a tiny portion of fruit for breakfast - usually one quarter of a cantelope. I like cantelope.
Then, around 10a.m. or 11a.m. I ask myself whether I’m hungry and if I am hungry I eat a few bites of my main daily meal - just a few bites. Then I ask myself whether I am still hungry. If I’m not hungry I don’t eat any more until around 4 or 5 pm - when I eat the bulk of my main daily meal.
Then, around 10pm or 11pm I ask myself whether I am still hungry or not. If I’m not hungry, then I don’t eat anything.
In addition to the above, there are a few more techniques that I can’t quite remember but I will try to come back and post them later.
I started off at 207 pounds. Today I weigh 165 pounds.
However, in the past 4 months, I have lost close to 45 pounds and I am not hungry. I rarely suffer from hunger pangs.
This method has served me very well. In case you are interested in my daily activities:
My main daily meal usually consists of a big bowl of Romain Lettuce and chopped up green peppers and some croutons and grated Parmesan cheese and some no-name Caesar Garlic dressing. Also, I throw in 2 or 3 scoops of chopped salmon (aka Salmon Salad) or some chopped chicken liver. And that’s about it.
For my chopped salmon salad, I just take two big cans of pink salmon and chop it up with one or two tablespoons of mayo and some chopped green onions or purple onions. It is very, very Yummy!
You may wish to try some variations on this so-called “main meal”. I have a few others. Almost all of them involve salmon in one way or another.
P.S. I hardly exercise at all. But, that is really not recommended by anyone. I think it’s very important to include some daily exercise in any weight loss regimen. But I feel kind of stupid for saying that because even though I say that, I do not do that which is really kind of foolish.
However, when I do exercise, it consists of climbing some stairs in my apartment building. My exercise consists of climbing 6 or 7 flights of stairs per day.
Almost all my results are due to diet and almost none are due to exercise.
I would not advise you to do that however. I think that a sound method for weight loss must include both diet and exercise.
There is a man who lives in my building. He is extremely obese and we have talked in the past.
He tells me that he cannot lose weight because he has such an enormous appetite. Every time he tries to lose weight, he says he just gets hungry and can’t help himself from eating.
A few days ago, I saw him riding around in an electric scooter. He is 40 years old and has put on so much weight that he can no longer stand up. His body requires the use of scooter or wheel chair. It seems to me this man is just throwing his life away and I feel so sad every time I see him.
It seems to me that he is just eating himself out of his life. He will likely die in a few years because his body cannot support that great weight. He looks like he weighs close to 500 pounds. Can you imagine a 40 year old man who weighs 500 pounds?
It is to cry. It is to die.
Good luck to you all.
FYI, An excellent scale costs less than $20.
If you wish to improve your overall health and life expectancy, I would suggest to you that is the very best $20 you could ever spend on yourself.
Excellent! Aceplace57.
IMO, you have hit on the single most important factor for good health and weight control. Leaving the table before you are full. Alternatively, that may be stated as, “when you are no longer hungry, that is the time to leave the table”.
By the way, if you ever go to Las Vegas or Atlantic City or any other gambling place, that technique will work just as well for you. If you always try to leave the table while you are still ahead, you will tend to have a successful result when gambling. Winners quit while they are ahead!
Bravo to you! (and I’m not joking!)
And in the spirit of this thread that is what works for you. Actual measuring and counting with discipline is an approach. I would even go farther and guess that after all this time measuring you likely could estimate pretty well. Most people however do not estimate calories and those who do generally do it poorly.
Not aimed at you, but one of the things that tends to happen in these sorts of threads is that people go beyond sharing what has worked for them to presenting that approach as the approach. For example Charlie Wayne shared what worked well for him, which is what was requested by the op, and then can’t help but proselytize that everybody else should also obsess over the scale on a several times a day basis. The experience of many others is that they only get confused and frustrated by checking their weights much more often than once a week; real weight loss (let alone real fat loss, something not always the same), a gradual process, gets swamped in statistical noise of within day and day to day variation. But it works for him.
Admittedly major stroke would scare me more than death too. Blindness though … rather not have it but I’ve met enough happy successful blind people functioning fully well independently (and one two blind parent family that had been nervous before having children and who have been amazing parents both with successful careers) that I’d … excuse the word choice … see it is as a challenge I’d rather avoid (really hard to do my current job blind) than in the paralysis and death groupings.
Not arguing but I was surprised that blindness (and amputation for that matter) was felt to be worse than death.