Comments | rangerpretzel: Losing weight is Simple!

rangerpretzel

Losing weight is Simple!

May 29, 2006 14:30

No seriously. Losing weight isn't that hard. Since December of 2005 I've lost a little over 20 pounds and the weight continues to come off at around 1 lbs/week. By the time Burning Man roles around, I should be another 10 to 15 pounds lighter ( Read more... )

Comments 12

what about your metabolism's fear of famine? cthulhia May 29 2006, 22:06:27 UTC

of making itself super-efficient so that, even at 500 less calories a day, your body will still have some left to store as fat?

this is why the simple equation of reducing input to output is really not so simple.

you may want to point out to the unaware that the exercise not only burns calories, but boosts metabolism. for many, that boost is enough to overcome the body going into famine conservation mode. For me, after years of steady gain despite regular exercise and prescription thyroid, I still had to resort to a low-carb diet to get going.

That said, now that I'm more aware of that sugar impedes the metabolism (by causing more insulin production which does all kinds of nasty things), I find myself able to manage my weight when I actually make the effort.

(I've lost maybe 10-15 since december, so, not as efficient at you. but, I'm hoping to reboot the low-carb thing by doing the strict phase again. I first did it, to satisfying results, the 2 weeks after memorial day in 2004. So, I want to see if I can go that strict again.)

Re: what about your metabolism's fear of famine? rangerpretzel May 29 2006, 23:29:17 UTC

fear of famine? Sure you jest ( ... )

Re: what about your metabolism's fear of famine? cthulhia May 31 2006, 01:53:20 UTC

The PhysicsDiet.com/Hacker's Diet system has pretty much freed me from needing to count calories. I can see from my monthly and weekly trends what kind of calorie deficit I'm running at, and can adjust my eating habits accordingly.

Calorie deficit gone from 700/day to 500/day? Try eating slightly smaller meals, reduce the fat in your cooking, or make some other small change.

Calorie deficit gone from 700/day to 900/day? Not bad - you can either enjoy the increased rate of weight loss or enjoy an extra treat every now and then.

http://www.time-to-get-fit.com

Re: what about your metabolism's fear of famine? cthulhia May 31 2006, 01:48:16 UTC

I hear a lot of people talk about this metabolism/fear of famine thing, but really most people I've heard it from are just using it as an excuse to not bother with dieting. If there's a good 'scientific' reason dieting isn't going to work, then you don't have to go to all the trouble of even starting, do you? :-)

In practice, a 500 calorie/day deficit is pretty easy to maintain over the longer term, and results in a healthy rate of weight loss of about a pound a week. It really is that simple.

I'm not denying that some people might experience a fear-of-famine effect, but don't even think about that until you've actually tried!

Thread 5

bluepapercup June 6 2006, 23:43:38 UTC

I like this, a lot. In fact, I'm going to share your post with freakydimension. He and I are both trying to lose about the same amount of weight (50 lbs) and so we're faced with quite a road ahead.

I like that this approach (like some of my other favorites, including but not limited to The No S Diet) says nothing about WHAT to eat, only that you SHOULD eat, and eat LESS ( ... )

anonymous June 12 2006, 03:18:20 UTC

According to the FDA, an estimated 50 million Americans will go on diets this year, and perhaps 5% of them will keep that weight off in the long run. And yet you have the answer simple as pie. That's it! It's so easy! What do you make of the disparity? Is everyone other than you stupid, missing the obvious? Or are you a super-genius?

rangerpretzel June 12 2006, 04:00:47 UTC

Won't show your face, eh? Hiding behind the "Anonymous Coward" option, huh? That's okay. I understand ( ... )

anonymous August 1 2006, 03:57:53 UTC

I won't argue that the basics of losing weight are simple: eat less and exercise. But honestly, your method as described is neither simple nor easy and for some of us, utterly maddening. Counting every calorie?? Ick ick ick. When I tried doing that, the stress actually caused me to gain, and I wasn't even overweight. For me, what works best is to just eat generally healthier and exercise more. But counting calories is way too OCD even for me.

The basics are simple but everyone needs to find their own way to get past their excuses.

rangerpretzel August 1 2006, 11:51:28 UTC

to get past their excuses.Heh, looks like you're making excuses in your reply to me ( ... )

anonymous August 3 2006, 00:16:37 UTC

Making excuses for what? I'm in fine shape. I eat well and exercise. But I don't count calories -- as noted above, it doesn't work for me and is nothing but an annoyance. It's great that it works for you, but I find it it obnoxious and condescending to claim something is somehow universally "easy" just because you can do it when you know full well it's something that many people have great difficult with.

I don't know you so I won't give examples, but I have no doubt there are a million things that are easy for other people but you can't do at all.

Now, I happen to agree with you in that I don't find it very difficult to be in shape, but I believe the key is to find a way that works for you.

That said, I do think it is truly wonderful that you've found your way and feel so great as a result. Congratulations, honest.

rangerpretzel August 3 2006, 00:51:08 UTC

Well, yes, I guess if you want to pick an extreme example, I will concede that a mentally retarded person might have trouble counting. But the majority of the population can read labels and calories. And the majority of the population can count and even add numbers together. Not what I would define as "difficult" for anyone of reasonable intelligence ( ... )