He stole the entire premise of my Otter Pop Diet, where you could eat an entire box of Otter Pops a day. I’ve been advocating that for three years.
It is extraordinary to lose that much weight doing anything at all. That’s nearly half a pound per day. Kinda makes you wonder if he’s a diabetic or sumpin’
If he were an untreated type 1 diabetic and went on the all-sugar diet (or hell, any other diet) for two months, he’d be dead.
half a day and I’d be so over it…
One of the interesting things about that study is that the Atkins folks were still taking about 20-30% of their daily calories in the form of carbs.
I would be seriously surprised if a professor of human nutrition had any undiagnosed metabolic issues, especially prior to undertaking such a diet experiment. It’s also worth noting that buried in the article are details like his meal supplementation (daily protein shake, multivitamin, and some veggies) to ensure he wasn’t completely eating junk food but still staying within the calorie limitation of the diet, as well as his telling people that he’s not actually advocating that anyone else do this to lose weight.
Once you’ve packed on the weight, for whatever reason, you’re fucked. The body has a new set point, and it will drive and push and fight you on every level to get back to that previous weight. It’s your conscious self (working part-time and with high fallibility) versus the chemicals/body-programming (working full-time with a near-perfect record) that are doing everything possible to return you to the previous high weight you’ve reached.
For 25 years, I’ve been training people, working with/in gyms, the Y and five different types of dieters, exercise programs, nutritionists, etc (as has my wife), and I can’t find more than 5-10 people (I’m actually being generous) that have maintained a true, long-term change/reduction in body weight that brings them from overweight and obese to some level considered ideal (or close to it).
I shake my head daily. The odds are staggering. We are torn constantly because you cannot turn away from the problem… you feel you need to keep working on it and honoring people’s wishes and wants for better.
We’ve seen that – essentially – absolutely nothing works. **Nothing. ** And that includes surgery.
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Well, something worked. What did the 5-10 people do that the others didn’t do?
Nothing different than the others, other than keeping up with whatever incredibly difficult life-changing plan they’ve adopted, which sees them at the gym with intensity, and an incredible devotion to their eating well.
The ‘eating well’ thing: Low-cal, low fat (via lean meats) and high fiber. Avoiding simple sugars, and mostly avoiding whites (white rice, white bread, etc).
Pretty much what tons of other people have done.
You should no more plan on losing weight and getting an ideal weight and keeping it off anymore than you should plan on hitting the Powerball lottery for your income. When we can someday block the chemicals/programming/signaling that our bodies do, we can then plan on success. Until then, you can be assured that your body will get you back to your heaviest weight. It will.
Sorry.
I can’t speak for Philster but I can discuss my wife. Before I met her she was 225 pounds and now is 148 and has maintained that since I have met her which is now about 8 years. In fact she is THE only person I know who can claim she weighs less at age 51 then she did when she graduated high school (I know I can’t claim this!).
For her she is very vigilant on her diet and exercise routines. But also when we go to the gym we work hard, I mean hard. It is big sweat time for us! She prepare her lunches for the week every Sunday without fail. She eats very well, very healthy and has a very excellent concept of portions. She exercises and does yoga/pilates on a regular basis and if she has a treat, it is a conscious choice that she works into her food plan for the week. She eats lots of fiber, no refined sugar, lots of veggies, etc. Just good eating basically.
It takes extreme dedication on her part, I am very grateful to her for that as I like the way she looks! But she knows if she doesn’t watch what she eats or if she stops exercising she will go back up. Her goal is to lose 8 more pounds–I think she looks fantastic where she is, but that is her goal and I am not going to argue with her on it.
For her she has to stay away from cookies and snacks. She knows this and it takes a tremendous amount of will power for her to do this. We have a teenage daugher who like all kids likes cookies/snacks. We aren’t going to deny our daughter these things, so we keep them in the cupboard and on top of the fridge…out of sight, out of mind for her. Occasionally she (ie. her period) breaks down and has some of these treats, but for the most part she just uses self control and will power to be honest.
Anyways, that is her story. I watch what I eat too, but I have never really struggled with my weight but as I am now 51, I have found that I also have to watch it. I think that “I” help my wife in that I support her by eating the same general types of things, going to the gym with her, etc.
**Hakuna… ** Your wife’s a gem… a rare case… and given the millions of attempts to do what she has done… you are probably left with few other examples of what she has done – if any.
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I’m not quite as pessimistic. I’ve been to 203 lbs. I’m at 167 now and have ranged in 160-170 for two and a half years now. (Yes, I know 2.5 years is still a relatively short time in the world of dieting.) I guarantee you I will never be back anywhere near my highest weight again. My body seems to now regulate itself in a band of weight between 165 and 170, with no active maintenance. When I add in my running, during the warmer weather months, it operates in the band between 160-165. I do, however, eat a hell of a lot better (and enjoy it) than when I was at 203.
Your guarantee is practically worthless.
I understand there’s no way to prove it, until I die. I could easily do a wager of your choosing, though, if there is anything in the near-term that would be acceptable to you. I simply can’t possibly see how I’d get back to that weight range. I just don’t eat and drink like that anymore, and I don’t see myself ever wanting to eat and drink like I used to anymore.
It might be tough to get down to the officially acceptable weight range for height, but IMO it’s a lot easier to take off a little weight and then stop from gaining a bunch more. I mean, I’m overweight by BMI standards and it seems likely I always will be, unless I start marathon running or something (which I might), but I’m OK with it, because I’m able to be physically active, I’m happy with my appearance, and I’m not continuing to gain. Mind you, it is some work to keep from continuing to gain. I monitor my nutrition and I exercise. I’ve lost about 20 pounds from my peak weight and kept it off for going on two years now.
I dunno, I feel like a lot of people get overly focused on, “It’s going to be impossibly hard to lose weight to the officially approved number for my height so I’m not going to bother with it, period.”
Philster, did someone run over your dog or something? You keep coming into threads to stomp your feet and sneer at people, and you make it personal. What gives?
I have dozens of wagers with those pursuing long-term weight loss. How do you think I am fairing financially?
Er…what?
Then try me, hoss. I’m good for it. Or, if you’d prefer just an honest “honor” bet–what would be an acceptable result for you, in terms of keeping weight loss? If I report on my five year anniversary (I started late August 2008 at 203 pounds), at under 175? pounds, would that be good enough for you? I’m 168 right now, 35 years old, so the ol’ body should be slowing down.
That’s a stretch.