Truths about weight loss

Updated 12.04.2014; reformatted 8.31.2015
Tis the season for weight loss tips, which naturally follow the excesses of the holidays.

A decent list found at Vox

Vox has a pretty good article about weight loss. For me, there wasn't much new in it, however, I was happy to see the common sense approach highlighted. No specific diet was identified as best, rather the truth that the best diet is the one you will follow was noted. Deprivation isn't the answer, understanding how much you eat is, and then altering how much you eat in a way that is tolerable for you— for the rest of your life. That "rest of your life" part is a sticking point for many people, but it's the truth. Unless you change your eating habits in a way that can be permanent, any change in weight will not be permanent.

That doesn't mean that "diets don't work" though I understand why it might make some people feel better about their inability to lose weight— it's not their fault, it's the diet/diet industry's fault. I reject that kind of thinking, as I've noted any number of times whenever I write about weight loss. Weight loss IS possible, and it IS sustainable. But you have to be willing to make the changes to make it happen (and changing habits is ALWAYS necessary for weight loss. If you could continue eating and moving as you are currently, you wouldn't be fat. Even if you have some sort of medical condition for the weight gain.) Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a new result was Albert Einstein's definition of insanity.

The article also notes that exercise isn't particularly effective for weight loss, but that's because people reward themselves with more food after exercise. You can't out run your fork, as the cliche goes, but I think downplaying exercise too much is also a mistake. There's a reason the admonition is eat less, move more. Eating less is the more important change, but that doesn't mean that exercise doesn't have an important role to play No mention of NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), of course, because there never is. When researchers or obesity doctors say exercise they mean planned extra levels of exertion. I maintain that this is missing a key factor in manipulating the energy balance, but I a lonely voice on that note.

The article also notes that trying to lose that "last ten pounds" is not worth it. Which of course, means my latest attempt to establish a new (lower) set point for my body is likely doomed to failure. We'll see. In all others ways, my methodology (with the NEAT exception) matches up quite well with the truths in the article. And it DOES work, despite protestations otherwise.

It's okay for men to diet but not women?

An article in the New Republic defends this hypothesis. The evidence in support of the hypothesis is mostly a discussion of the different reactions to male actors losing weight for parts and female actors doing so. Essentially for the men it was easy and they enjoyed the effects, while the women went out their way to say how much losing the weight sucked.

The reason for the differences is primarily fear of encouraging eating disorders in young girls, but there is also the rise in the size acceptance movement. Size acceptance advocates or activists hiss "fat-shaming" any time someone dares suggest that there can be a healthier weight to be at. It's the "fight fat talk" efforts that have caused some of us who pay attention to portion size to hide in the shadows. Not me though— although I've never been (outside of this website, which is my place to rant and opine without agitating friends and family) a preacher regarding diet. I decided in my 20's that I was never going to fad diet, and except for a brief experiment with low carb in my mid 30's I've kept to it. But I still remained aware of the amount that ate and tried to exercise.

At the end, her solution is to expand the "no fat talk" zone to include men as well.

No one wants to be the girl on the diet?

And here is New York Magazine's entry for this round of coverage. It starts off badly. Yes, people have different metabolisms, but the author does NOT need to cut out food groups. What she (and anyone else who wants to exist at a lower weight) needs to realize how many calories she can eat to be a human of her height and desired weight and then start to eat at that level. In other words, begin at the maintenance intake for your new size and let your body settle at a new lower point.

The problem is of course that it will take time AND you WILL be eating less than you have been. Her "eating clean," in this respect means eating lower calorie high fiber options to increase the amount of food volume eaten. The reality is that anyone can eat carbs, dairy AND drink alcohol while losing weight IF the person pays attention to portion size and total calories consumed. No fat person can eat as much as she has been if she wants to lose weight. And I can say from experience that losing it slowly is less painful and more likely to stick than starving and then going back to what you were doing. The weight wasn't gained overnight, and it won't be lost overnight.

I recognize that my attitude might have to do with age. I love ordering burgers without a bun, because I can eat the whole burger without feeling stuffed. And I can eat more of the fries. I don't care what others think of my reasons for avoiding the bun. That's the part that might be due to being older. I. DON'T. CARE. Eat what you want and allow me to do the same.

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