Very interesting Newsweek article. Summarizes new scientific understandings about body fat.
That’s BS, because the solution to being overweight is actually very simple:
- Eat less.
- Eat better.
- Exercise.
The article would be correct if it said, “The search for an easy cure for obesity is still failing.”
Yeah, fat’s an endocrine organ. This isn’t terribly new, although it does help to explain why eating less, eating better, and exercising still takes quite some time and is harder for the more obese.
I’m sorry, but it isn’t that simple. (Sorry for the length of this response) Yes, most people can stand to eat less, eat better and exercise; and most people will lose some weight if they do.
(Please note - all individual stories are either to show you where I’m coming from or to illustrate a point. - I know that the plural of anecdote is not data)
When I was 15, I weighed 130 lbs at 5’2". My mother told me I needed to lose weight, so we went on a Weight Watchers type program together.
I lost 15 pounds in the first three months, and ended up gaining 30 pounds in the last three months. Yes, I cheated at times, but you know what? I was still eating less than before I started.
The average American ends up 5 to 15 pounds heavier after dieting than before they started a diet
Now, I had seen my mother go on every semi-reasonable diet to come down the pike as I was growing up, just to gain it back (and then some) every time. I swore this would not happen to me, so I decided to get all the information I could, find out why I had failed so that the next time I tried to lose weight I would succeed.
So for the last 25 years, I have been studying as best I can (short of taking college courses), the physiology and psychology of weight. So I think I might just have a little bit more information than the average bear, you know? And what I see is that it just ain’t that simple.
Eating and exercise are not the only factors in how much you weigh. The third major factor is metabolism. Now invoking metabolism will cause some people to roll their eyes, but it is a very important factor. Metabolism, quite simply, is the energy required to keep our body going. Even people in comas require some calories to keep functioning. Note that a lot of widely varying processes use energy; e.g. the muscles all throughout our body, many of which are working even we are at rest; metabolic reactions, and the nervous system functions. Read this site to get an idea of the different ways that calories are consumed.
Many things affect your metabolism. Alcohol and some medicines will slow it down; caffeine and other medicines will speed it up. Exercise will speed metabolism up, conversely it slows down while you are asleep. Muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat does, so being overweight will actually make it harder to lose weight. Even hot foods have been found to affect your metabolism (to the tune of about 9 calories per meal, so don’t get excited). Cold weather will turn down the metabolism as the body conserves resources to weather a potentially hard winter. And of course, medical problems such as hypothyroidism can severly impact metabolism - Endocrineweb estimates that as many as 10% of women may have hypothyroidism. And then there are genetic differences. When you get to specifics, just how many things will two people have in common? Sure we have the same basic structure, but from height to hair color to heart rate, no two people are exactly the same. Is it so hard to believe that metabolic rates fall into the same bell curve distributions that other physical characteristics do?
For an initial estimate of your (probable) basal metabolic rate, check out the Basal Metabolism Calculator - another site.
While metabolism accounts for most of the energy output, eating is how we get the energy that comes in.
“Just eat less” - it sounds easy, doesn’t it? However, to lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than your body needs to function, and that will trigger hunger. Hunger is not to be sneezed at - in an environment where food is scarce and often risky, hunger is the evolved imperative that ensures that animals in the wild make the effort to get enough calories. We’re talking the strength of self-preservation here. The basic mechanism of hunger is to maintain an appropriate amount of blood sugar to run your body effectively. When the blood sugar gets too low, the feeling of hunger is triggered and progresses from mild discomfort to pain and nausea. Even mild discomfort can be wearing if it continues unabated for long periods of time - could you keep a pebble in your shoe for months even if it caused you to lose weight?
Yet hunger isn’t as simple as a measured quantity of one chemical in the bloodstream - we have a great need for a variety of nutrients. And the mechanism isn’t one of hunger-]eat. It is more like hunger-]discomfort; repeated events teach food -] relief of discomfort. That learning can generalize to many sorts of discomfort that aren’t actually related specifically to food - leading to consuming completely unnecessary calories (For instance, if caffeine is usually consumed in regular soda pops, a caffeine addict may learn to associate drinking soda with the relief of caffeine withdrawal). And because of the variety of nutrients the body needs, the feeling of needing food can be overly generalized to the nutrient needed. When this happens, a person can eat and still feel unsatisfied. So poor nutrition can lead to weight gain.
Even the hunger mechanism is modified by genetic and environmental factors. Stress is an important factor in physiological hunger. Another factor showed up in a recent study showing that stomach size plays a role in how many calories it takes to feel sated. As in metabolism, hunger levels can be affected by medicines and drugs - the “munchies” are a well known side-effect of marijuana usage.
However, hunger is not the only reason for eating. Eating has social, emotional and pleasurable functions as well. A party without food available would be make the party-goers believe the host was incompetent. Many people have years of happy memories associated with Mom making brownies, cake and ice cream for their birthday, the closeness of family at suppertime (maybe the only peaceful time of the day!), chicken soup and crackers during an illness. One of the impacts that phen-fen had on me was to knock out the emotional need for food as well as reducing hunger - it made the difference between being satisfied with a half a sandwich and needing a sit-down meal to feel satisfied.
In addition, consider the role of pleasure in eating. For me, the pleasure that comes from eating can come very close to sexual pleasure. Yet I know people for whom eating is just something they have to do, like wearing clothes or taking a shower. Since I can’t believe that I’m that strange, this says to me that there are variations in how much food is enjoyed, which can make it even harder for someone who really enjoys food to reduce how much they eat.
Many other reasons contribute to the difficulty of eating healthily and reasonably, including the training many of us have received to “clean our plates”. And restaurants don’t help when the choices available are either ascetic or excessive, with little choice in between (Unless you just love salad).
Why does all of this matter? A person should be able to put up with anything long enough to lose weight, right? Wrong - if a person changes his or her behaviors only long enough to lose weight, they will gain the weight right back when they quit. In order to lose weight successfully, you have to change what you do for the rest of your life. Otherwise you get into yo-yo dieting, which is more unhealthy than being overweight.
That leaves exercise. I can’t recommend exercise enough - not only will exercise help with weight, but it will help prevent a very wide variety of other health problems. However (and you knew that was coming), the grim reality is that it takes a lot of exercise to even budge your weight - a bare minimum of 30 minutes 5 times a week is what current research is saying. If someone doesn’t already do some sort of exercise, that’s a major lifestyle change. In return for that work, the weight will take a long time to come off. In fact, the initial result may be weight gain as muscle is built, even as fat is removed. In general, fat has a density of 0.9 g/cc while lean muscle has a density of 1.1 g/cc. This may not sound like a lot, but according to a discussion here, 22 % of volume is lost when 1 kg of fat is converted to 1 kg of muscle. Exercise is not a fast track to weight loss.
Need I go into the physiological factors that can impact an exercise program?
Losing weight is not a simple mathematical formula of calories in vs. calories out.
There are hundreds of factors that can make it harder (or easier) to lose weight and keep it off, but those factors don’t make it impossible (I suspect anything that would make it impossible would also make a person disabled). Yes, there are people out there who could lose weight by leaving the fritos in the pantry while watching TV, or playing a couple of games of basketball a week instead of watching them. For these people losing weight could be a figurative (or literal) walk in the park. For others, it may be easier to climb Mt. Everest.
*You cannot judge how much or how little effort a person has put into losing weight from looking at them. *
So why do I care?
When you claim that losing weight is “easy - just eat less and exercise more”, you create unreasonable expectations. These unreasonable expectations make it harder for people to lose weight - when the effort you put into something doesn’t net the outcome you were led to expect, it is much harder to continue with your plans. In addition, these unreasonable expectations (in America) fuel the 30+ billion dollar diet industry as multiple corporations and individual authors promise that their method is the magic secret to weight loss.
And when you judge a person as being, well, basically socially unacceptable for being overweight, you contribute to the epidemic of eating disorders, which some believe to affect 10 - 15% of the population. It is our societies repugnance for the overweight which lead people who percieve themselves as such to starve themselves to unhealthy levels, or binge & purge to try to meet the expectations of our culture.
Such judgements also contributes to lowered self-esteem and depression in those who are overweight. Which, contrary to how most people think our psyches should work, will make it harder to lose weight. And even if you are only talking about one person, your attitude reinforces the message of “overweight = socially unacceptable” for the society as a whole. This effect is more real to me than the butterfly effect - what you say today will increase the likelihood of making a similar statement tomorrow about someone else. And that person may be judging someone as fat that you wouldn’t. Because perception of “fatness” is based on personal perception of attractiveness, no matter how people try to gloss it in health concerns.
People justify their right to criticize on the idea that being overweight is unhealthy, and therefore they are doing someone “a favor” by pointing something out that I’m sure most overweight people have heard numerous times - mostly when they look in a mirror or try on clothes.
But I believe that weight has a mostly indirect relationship to health. Yes, there are a large number of studies correlating weight (currently expressed as BMI) with various health problems. However, any person who understands statistics will understand the phrase “Correlation does not equal causation”. Many of the behaviors that may help with weight loss will improve health. I’ve seen research that shows you have to exercise at least five 1/2 hour sessions a week to lose weight, but other research that shows as few as three 1/2 hour sessions will improve health. Any excess fat intake will cause weight gain - but how unhealthy that is depends on what kind of fat is consumed more than how much. High-fiber intake, fruits and veggies, reduced fat, all of these can affect your weight, but will positively affect your health.
So why does research continue to focus on weight? In part it is because weight is easy to measure - it is an objective measure and less prone to the errors of self-report that diet and exercise have. In part I also believe that researchers and doctors are also humans, and a subconscious aversion to someone physically unattractive may surface as research to prove that the aversion is a virtuous concern for someone’s health rather than a shallow assesment based on looks. And it becomes self-perpetuating as more research focuses on weight rather than behavior.
But it’s important to know that it is the behavoirs that matter. A person who never exercises and eats poorly will be unhealthy no matter how thin he or she is. My father was much thinner than my mother, but he was the one who died of a heart attack. And a person who exercises will not only live longer, but have a much longer active life. I frankly think that we are going to find a way to keep someone at “the proper weight” without changing diet or exercise, and find that it really isn’t the weight that matters.
Sorry, but I think your response actually proves Crafter_Man’s point. The appraoch to losing weight is simple. It’s just not always easy, which is what your response demonstrates.
Let’s not confuse the two concepts.
I agree. I am sure the hunger urge is stronger in some people than it is in others. However, you have to figure out what yours is take into account that you shouldn’t eat whenever you feel hungry nor should you gorge yourself with whatever is available to get the hunger to go away right away. There are obvious tricks like munching on celery instead of something with substantial calories but those should just be common sense. It is not going to be easy but that is what you have to do. Also, you talk about “social eating”. That is fine for some people but others really need to learn to avoid it except when they are truly hungry.
I was truly thinking that I should write a book called “The Definitive Guide to Weight Loss”.
It would have a fancy cover and inside it would have three pages. In giant type would be printed Crafter_Man’s factual advise:
- Eat less.
- Eat better.
- Exercise
IMO, that’s about the same as saying that to become wealthy, all you have to do is
- Make more money
- Spend less money
In other words, I think it misses on so many details as to be virtually useless.
At the bare minimum, if I were going to list what a person who wants to lose weight should do, this would be it:
[ol]
[li]Have a thorough medical checkup, including tests for thyroid function, anemia and depression [/li][li]Plan on spending at least 2.5 hours a week in aerobic exercise, preferably with some variety[/li][li]Make the effort to include resistance training as well[/li][li]Manage your stress[/li][li]Keep a detailed eating log, noting how you felt, how hungry you were, and how much you enjoyed the food as well as how much you ate.[/li][li]After keeping the log for a week, review it for any opportunities to improve eating habits, especially reduction of fried carbs, eating when not hungry, and reducing or eliminating alcohol intake.[/li][li]Add as many servings of fruits and veggies to your diet as you can stand.[/li][li]Try to not allow yourself to get really hungry [/li][li]Plan on cooking for yourself as much as possible - and cooking hamburger helper doesn’t count. Especially avoid fast food like the plague.[/li][li]Allow yourself to eat foods that you really enjoy - but if something is unhealthy, make sure you make the effort to really enjoy it. When you eat a treat, concentrate on the flavor and the other sensory experiences of eating.[/li][li]If you’re used to eating a lot at one sitting, stop halfway, or even a third of the way through your meal, and ask yourself if you’re really hungry.[/li][li]Don’t expect instant results.[/li][/ol]
BTW, you completely missed my point on social eating as well.
- Fine. Go see your doctor. Couldn’t hurt but probably won’t help you lose weight directly either. Everyone needs a checkup once in a while.
- Way too complicated. This advise gets people to drag themselves to a gym for a week or two until they drop out. Better advise is to get people to increase their daily activity without even thinking about the time spent. If someone wants to supplement that with structured exercise, great, but that hardly ever lasts long for most people. Translation - Get more Exercise
- Too structured and not sustainable for the long-haul for most people. If you do it, great, but you should really focus more on increasing everyday activity. Translation - Get more Exercise
- Good advise for anyone but it impacts weight only indirectly. I lose weight when I am very stressed because I stop eating.
- Way, way, way too complicated. An eating log is busy work for people to think that they are doing something about their problem when they really aren’t. Any reasonably informed person should know what is healthy and what a normal portion is. Do you think that people without a weight problem are that way because they got to attend a secret “Eating Log analysis class” while the fat people were left out? Translation - Eat Less - Eat better
- You should have already known what you ate when you ate it. Why is this necessary? Translation - Improve memory and common sense- Eat less - Eat better
- Finally something to work with. Translation - Eat better
- Misleading at best, detrimental at worst. Why shouldn’t you ever let yourself get hungry? I assume that it is because fat people tend to gourge themselves when they get hungry. That is just not normal for people without a weight problem. You need to let the tank to get to empty before you fill up and don’t let the gas shoot out of the tank just because you don’t know when to stop filling. Getting used to mild hunger is something that overweight people really need to work on. Translation - Eat less
- Fine although even fast food is fine in moderation. Translation - Eat better- Eat less
- Fine. Common sense. Translation - Eat better - Eat Less
- Overweight people should really figure out what a normal meal portion is and stick too it. An overwight person asking himself whether she needs more food is the same as an alcoholic asking himself if he needs just one more drink. The answer is usually yes. Translation - Eat less
- Not with that guarenteed failure plan.
Hooo! That’s better. We parsed it back down to the three simple rules that we gave plus a couple of general tips that apply to anyone.
Shagnasty, if you’re going to dumb down Zyada’s post, at least do it in a way that doesn’t invalidate her first, excellent post. Most of the ones that you shot down, if you must combine them into one, simple statement, can be restated as “people need to make life-long changes to the way they approach their health, exercise and weight.” What you said perpetuated the falsehood that if I eat less, I’ll lose weight and keep it off. It is not that simple, as Zyada’s first post pointed out.
I agree with Ethrilist.
It is disingenuous (and stupid) to imply that just because the concept of “Eat less, eat healthy, move more” is simple, the execution of said principles is also simple.
I thought it was clear that both me and Crafter_Man meant for thse to be long-term lifestyle changes. If you eat fewer calories than you take in, you will lose weight. That is simple physiology. However, you need to combine that with good nutrition and increased physical activity to make it a lasting change.
My basic point is that overweight people tend to make this way to complicated and it hinders actual lasting weight loss. Many people in my family have been guilty of this too. They keep logs, read all the latest diet books, and start a regimented exercise routine. These are all doomed to failure because that behavior is not sustainable for a lifetime.
All they really needed to do is follow the three simple steps in a way that fits their lifestyle. Lest you think I am a hypocrite, I followed this advise myself this summer. I was about fifteen pounds heavier than I should have been. One day, my pants felt too tight and I thought “I better do something about this”. Two months later, I am actually 18 pounds lighter. I didn’t buy any diet books or even go to the gym. I just started eating less, eating healthier, and incorporating more activity into my daily life (many long walk). This may be harder for some people than others but that it really all it takes and it is sustainable because I don’t really feel like I am sacrificing much.
Zyada, I loved your post. I am going to save it.
I bet Shagnasty and Crafter_Man have never had weight issues. They think it’s simple because it was simple for them.
I enjoyed your first book on making money in the stock market:
- Buy Low
- Sell High
Since you must be rich by now I am surprised you need to write another book.
It really kind of difficult to explain how complex the interaction of appetite and behavior is to someone who does not have, or has ever had a serious weight problem, and your 15 lb gain/loss while laudable, does not qualify you to understand this. It is not just just “harder”, it’s an entirely different animal that’s wired into the deepest levels of your mind, your brain and your life.
I agree with you. I just quit drinking after ten years of very, very hard drinking and it was (and is) extremely difficult. A person that is not an alcoholic probably could not understand why I couldn’t moderate it in the first place or why I couldn’t “just quit”. I understand addiction well. I am sure that people that are seriously obese have a similar problem.
However, that does not change the fact that you have to face the problem sometime and make changes that are sustainable for a lifetime. In the therapies that I am in, they do not tell you directly what to do. You have to reflect on your own life and make changes that will fit. However, to do this requires some serious honesty with yourself and your problem. The therapists and other group members beat it into my head how serious my problem is what will happen if I don’t succeed in quitting. Some seriously overweight people may need a similar intervention.
My major point is that some of these changes are not sustainable. People are notorious for joining a gym, going for a little while, and then quitting. Combine this with the fact that most overweight people are self-conscience about their body and you have a recipe almost doomed to failure. A better and much more sustainable way, in my mind, is to work activity into everday life wherever it fits into your life.
Are overweight people truly oblivious to good nutrition and proper portion size? I ask this in all seriousness and would like some input. If this is the case, then a nutritional education program may help them. However, it seems like most know what they should do but lie to themselves about it.
I know that none of this is easy but it seems to me that the basic approach is actually easier and much more sustainable than a whole program of charts, diets, and gym workouts. Why is it so hard for people to see this? Nobody said that it was going to be easy but sooner or later you have to face reality and do what you need to do if you a truly interested in succeeding.
Some people need more discipline than others. You might be able to simply make a few changes and watch the pounds fly off. Others might not be able to do that, for various reasons.
Some people do not understand “proper portion size”. I would guess that the majority of people know what they should be eating, but our lives aren’t always conducive to that. Take me for example: I’m a single mom of four kids who works full time and goes to school at night. When do I have time to exercise? When do I have time to make balanced meals for myself? I make sure that my kids eat lots of fruit and veggies, from a very young age I made these foods good for my kids. When they wanted snacks, they had carrot sticks or celery sticks with ranch dressing or peanut butter. They also had lots of apples, oranges, raisins and other fruits available to them at all times.
Also, you haven’t taken into consideration the fact that some people are genetically prone to being small or large, depending on their families’ body type. In my family, we have the pear shaped body…bigger bottom and thighs, but nice slim waists. People really do sometimes have genetic issues that cause them to be heavier than others. And when you combine that with learning poor eating habits from these same people, you usually end up with an overweight person.
I find this hard to believe. I think you can “budge” your weight with less than that, and for most people, exercising for 30 minutes five times a week will have a significant impact on their weight. Any chance you have a cite for the 30x5 = barely budge your weight?
You want to loose weight: start smoking.
Yeah, but then there’s free-range fat roaming all over the place. I think it’d be better to lose it instead.
Try here: