Seriously, Weight Loss DOES work!

Updated 6.23.2014; reformatted 9.3.2015
Holy quack-a-doodles. A Yoni Freedhoff post that I can endorse. In it, he takes on the "shibboleth" of the HAES (Health at Every Size) world that sustained significant weight loss is impossible. Actually, they admit that it can be possible, but only with excruciating attention to calories and exercise.

Freedhoff notes that the HAES folks choose to describe the new habits in the most dismal light possible. There is a happier way to frame the same idea. I've done so myself repeatedly on this site.

Yes, after losing weight, you have to remain aware of how many calories you're eating. The reason people gain regain weight is that they eat more calorie than they expend. A larger body requires more calories than a smaller body. To maintain the smaller body, you need to eat less than you did before dieting.

That's just the reality. That's why its important to choose new habits that you will actually want to continue. That is not impossible, though most HAES advocates would have you believe it is. I know this is repeating what I've written previously, but I don't count calories, and I don't routinely weigh my food any more. I know roughly what a portion for a human female of my size and age is, and I am happy eating roughly that amount of food. I have altered my daily routine to ensure that I don't sit down for most of the day. I understand that this won't work for everyone, but it worked for me, and it's a relatively easy and inexpensive change that most could try. Which explains why I repeat it so often.

I'm a weight loss unicorn?

Here's a blog post that notes many of the realities I've noticed. The attitude is that this is all too bad and difficult, but I don't see it that way. The age effect is noted, which is unusual. It's just a fact of life. There is no getting around it. If you do nothing other than eat the same number of calories and maintain the same level of activity, as you age you WILL gain weight (male or female) because older bodies need fewer calories to function.

Michael Prager is another unicorn, one who's maintained a 100+ weight loss for two decades.
The statistics say that 95 percent of people can't follow a restrictive diet, the doctor says, and surely there is some real truth in that. But also, even if the logic is somewhat circular, it's obvious to me that one factor leading to that statistic is that people seeking nutritional guidance -- 95 percent of them, I bet-- are being told that restrictive diets don't work!

And yet, I'm someone who was obese into my 30s, who reached 365 in 1991, and who now is maintaining a 155-pound loss for more than two decades. Yes, this is just one person's experience, and does not equate to science.
His way of losing weight was not mine. he gave up sugar and refined carbs. I gave up lactose because I developed an intolerance and have minimized gluten because I seemed to develop a sensitivity. But I still eat plenty of sugar and plenty of refined carbs. I just limit my intake to the amount a human of my size should eat.

But like me, he does NOT feel deprived maintaining the habits he developed while losing the weight.

I came across Michael Prager's site while researching HAES, though he's not (as seen above) not a big fan of HAES. Prager notes that being anti-fatshaming does not mean pro-fat. He's a fan of Fed-Up the new movie because it shifts the blame from people to the food companies.

I haven't seen the movie, and won't until it's available at Netflix or Youtube, so these are not move specific thoughts. I can accept that the food companies have done everything they can to get people to eat as much as possible. And if some additive can be proved to be addicting then I'll be more interested. But to me, no one forces food into your mouth. (kids of course eat what their parents give them). But as an adult, you have free will. It's not easy, and in the beginning it's not pleasant. Your body has to learn be satisfied with a lower number of calories.

Complexity as an Excuse

Hormones, gut bugs, food companies, the diet industry, so many potential targets on which to pin the fact that so many are fat. So many on the interwebs want the answer to be complicated. So complicated that only the rarest unicorn could possible manage to lose weight in this environment. And it's just not true.

Most of the time, people are looking to blame anyone and anything other than themselves. It can't be as simple as how much you eat and move because then people would have to take responsibility for their size. This is where the "body positivity" should intersect, I think. If you're larger and happier being larger, then good for you. Be large and in charge, and I'll support your right to be treated fairly as any other human. But own the fact that you are larger and want to be so.

And if you're not happy being large, then look to make changes in your habits. And accept that there will be an adjustment period, during which you will feel hungry at times. I think the adjustment might be worth an entire post.

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