Weight Loss Truisms (Weight Watcher, clinic, calories, program)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

How many true vegetarians are grossly overweight?? And I don't mean lacto-vegetarians who eat a bunch of ice cream and cheese, but true vegetarians?? Pretty thin crowd, that one. I wonder why? Hard to overeat when you're eating bunches of vegetables...you can eat a truck load of vegetables and stay thin compared to eating the same weight in pizzas.

One possibility is, vegetarians don't become thin; thin people (or people who just don't have a big desire for farm products, fat, etc.) are more likely (because it isn't difficult for them and they can more easily act on their humanitarian consciousness) to become vegetarians.

Kind of like "People aren't thin because they run; they (are more likely to) run because they are thin". Just like tall people are more likely to play basketball.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by mjohnson4381

If you really want to be at a healthy weight, you'll figure out what foods you should be eating and what foods you should stop eating and you'll adjust your diet.

You are 100% correct.

Good luck not eating the foods you desire for the rest of your life.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Jane72

I'm not sure about these "truisms".
I've always been an average eater, I think; it's hard to know exactly how much everybody else eats, but I don't think I eat outrageously more or less than anybody else. I was never a girl who picked at my food or lived on salad, but neither have I ever been the sort of chick who can eat an entire pizza in one sitting.

I've always been thin. Even after having two babies in 14 months, I was still thin.
But when I hit my 30s and quit smoking (these two things happened simultaneously), I noticed that about five or ten extra pounds settled around my middle.
I didn't like that, so I tried eating less. I felt like crap all the time, and it didn't work. When I tried to restrict my portions, it just made me hungrier later, and for the first time in my life, I started "binge-eating". Which totally sucked.
Then I started walking and riding my bike more, and eventually graduated to running. Now I run nearly every day. The extra flab I put on in my early 30s is gone, and I'm actually somewhat firm and toned for the first time in my life (even when I was younger, I was one of those untoned skinny people). I love the way my calves look, especially.

If I hadn't added the exercise regime, I think I was in danger of falling into slobbishness in middle age, no matter how much or how little I ate.
I probably never would've become obese, but just, you know... sloppy.

Some people seem to have some natural muscle tone, and maybe those are the ones for whom exercise doesn't make that much difference.
But I'm not one of them. I've had to earn every ounce of muscle I've got, and for me, exercise really has been the key in staying fit.

Sounds like you are definitely more fit. Probably more muscle mass too. Body fat % is probably down, guessing because muscle mass has increased. Your overall fat content (not percentage) may be the same though but not as evident around a more toned body. Your weight may actually be higher (due to increase muscle mass).

We don't know you; it's possible that you really never had much of a weight problem in the first place. You may have transitioned from a "not really that overweight" couch potato to a "not really that overweight" fit person.

My guess is, your weight didn't change much even after exercising if you didn't adjust your calorie intake. So, I think the truism is valid. Exercise (alone) really doesn't affect weight.

[Rance]

I'm 20 lbs over weight and far from miserable. My weakness is fresh raisin oatmeal cookies. Dang those things are good. But I can't eat just one. I'll have 2 and probably 3.
I'm just weak in the head.

[Huckleberry3911948]

people that get fat
hate exercise
and love to eat

on beauty
our face registers our experience, our body registers life.
fat people die young helpless and happy
the lean are victorious empowered and often mean

[kaykay]

Originally Posted by mjohnson4381

No, all of that is untrue. With the exception of not being satisfied with one potato chip. Everybody has foods that they have trouble controlling themselves around. Mine are Doritos and pizza. The solution is to not buy Doritos or pizza. Out of sight, out of mind.

Some people do have genes and/or health problems working against them. But anybody who really wants to be at a healthy weight can get there.

Yeah, this is what my weight watchers instructor (she was a very good one, by the way) used to try to drill into us~don't buy what for you is a "trigger food."

She used to say that she couldn't have a jar of peanut butter in her home cause she would end up eating half the jar (or more in one night...no matter how much she told herself she wouldn't.

We "should" be able to have these treats in our home and indulge occasionally and moderately...but if it's a "trigger" food for you, chances are that's NOT what's gonna happen!

[Charles]

Thought of another one:

Vanity and appearance are the biggest (but not the only) motivators for weight loss and exercise for 80% of people under 50. Before 50, biology trumps longevity: Getting layed (men) or marrying rich (women) is more imporant than not dying young and not feeling good. (Crudely, "Tight butts get rich husbands" and "A man will marry the best looking woman he can afford".)

Specifically for men: 95% of men lift weights primarily for vanity reasons. Evidence: Most men who lift weights spend more time lifting than doing cardio. (Look around at the gym: men are mostly on weights, women on the cardio machines.) While lifting weights is important, cardio takes priority. So if someone has one hour a day of time in their schedule to exercise (a reasonable assumption) and most of that time is lifting, then it can be argued that health takes a back seat to appearance.

Prioritizing weight lifting over cardio is the fitness equivalent of paying down a 6% mortgage while maintaining an 18% credit card balance.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by Charles

One possibility is, vegetarians don't become thin; thin people (or people who just don't have a big desire for farm products, fat, etc.) are more likely (because it isn't difficult for them and they can more easily act on their humanitarian consciousness) to become vegetarians.

Kind of like "People aren't thin because they run; they (are more likely to) run because they are thin". Just like tall people are more likely to play basketball.

sorry, this is simply not true. how many vegetarians do you know? I've worked w/ a lot of vegetarians and vegans of all sizes. thin people don't have a magical gene that keeps them from eating less meat. hell, I've seen some tiny people chow down on burgers! and I've known overweight vegetarians. a few lost weight, a few didn't (the ones that didn't tended to eat a lot of carbs and dairy). IDK, that comment almost seems to suggest thin people have this innate "humanitarian" aspect that allows thme to embrace vegetarianism more easily, which is BS, IMHO

at the same time, there are overweight people that run and thin people that don't. there may be a few overweight women that don't jog as much as their thinner counterparts due to "jiggling" if they have larger boobs. overweight people overall may be more self conscious of jiggling and how they look like when they jog so may be less likely to do so. it's the same self consciousness that keeps many overweight people away from the gym

as for your "truisms" I find them to be ridiculously pessimistic and can't be assumed to be true of everyone. are there people w/ a genetic predisposition to gaining weight? yes. but there are also people whose weight is a direct reflection of lifestyle choices. there are people who started out fit and thin, gained weight through bad choices, than lost the weight. there are also people who lost a lot of weight and kept it off for years by making the right choices. there are plenty of people who've learned portion control and the idea of moderation and don't binge on unhealthy foods. you seem to have this attitude that trying to lose weight by eating healthier and exercising is pointless since overweight people are "doomed" to be overweight forever due to genetics. I've noticed that in all your responses, you tend to portray this negative, pessimistic, defeatist attitude. if that's the way you feel, that's you. but don't try to pass off this attitude as "truism" and things set in stone

[ChessieMom]

Originally Posted by Charles

Exercise has very little to do with weight control. For every five calories you burn exercising, you become six calories hungrier.

So many here to scoff at, but I choose this one. Silly. Just plain silly.

[Janine81]

Weight Loss Truism---Eat small healthy meals frequently instead of "big" meals once, twice or 3x a day, exercise(walking is best) and you will lose weight. Its proven.

Good luck

Janine