I'm looking at the comments and I do think that there is a lot of pressure to be thin in our society. And then, some doctor comes and says "you've lost weight (fat), but you could lose some more."
There's another article that talks about getting into having a quality diet on NY Times that I thought was really good. It stresses eating vegetables, fruit, etc., while cutting back on high starch foods and added sugar foods like fruit punch, soda, and even bagels.
I wrote a blog post about a new fat loss system based around a diet like this and a unique tea that can be made with ingredients found at your local grocery store.
Check it out below
http://superfoodsonthego.com/index.php/2018/10/01/the-red-tea-detox-how-...
What interested me most about the Times this week is an article called “Any Weight Loss Can Be Healthful, but More Can Be Much Better”, because weight loss can be a struggle for lots of people and the article is saying that you should try to lose more than you think. For example, in the article it states that the more weight you lose, the greater the chance that you won’t develop metabolic syndrome. In summary, I always knew that maintaining a healthy weight was important, but now I have a better understanding of how much losing weight affects your overall health.
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Please start distinguishing between fat loss vs. weight loss--even in your titles. It's going to help people understand their health in a different way. 200lb man with 9% body fat is not the same thing as a 200lb man with 30% body fat.
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@Sheran --- Agreed. Below a certain height/weight threshold, "obese" is a very relative term.
Yes, this is all very true and it is good to put forward this information but there's a much bigger issue to consider. The opposing info, in the form of food advertisements, is piped into every American 24/7/365. This not going to stop and the majority of the population is not going to start to thin out anytime soon. It seems to me to be an intractable situation.
The thing is, you can lose 20% of your body weight and still be fat. By these numbers I am a "success" having managed to keep off 50 lbs of weight from my highest weight for over a decade. But because I was not able to stay "thin" or a "normal BMI" I feel like a failure. And doctors treat me like a failure. And the general public, I am sure, looks at me and sees only "fat person" not the significant amount of work I put into losing weight and keeping it off.
There's nothing more frustrating than being told this is success, while also being told it is not good enough, by everyone.
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There are many thin people walking around with chronic illnesses. It’s not so much about losing pounds as it is about feeding your body what it needs and avoiding foods that detract from your health. A whole food plant based diet is what the body craves and it reverses many chronic illnesses like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. I lost 66 pounds eating this way, but more importantly my cholesterol dropped 150 points, my blood pressure and blood sugar both stabilized as well. It all started with watching Forks Over Knives on Netflix. ❤️
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You can heal yourself with weight loss, 100% cure for many diseases. Many of my patients experience permanent reversal of diabetes, high blood pressure, progressively worsening heart disease, high cholesterol, mobility impairment, and depression.
An irrefutably reliable science-based behavioral approach can be learned. I used it to lose 140 pounds permanently in 1985, after 25 years of obesity and failure with diets and bad science. I was one foot in the grave, with most of the disease states I referred to, but fortunately reversed things when I discovered the solution because of my work with behavioral therapy and addictions. "Will power" doesn't work by itself, as probably every overweight person reading this knows. Today, this method is used successfully all over the world, taught in clinics and bariatric programs, and even by people getting my book at the library! As Louise Hay has said, you can heal your life!
William Anderson, LMHC
Author of "The Anderson Method"
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Used i-Diet approach to lose 20% in about nine months a few years ago and have stayed within +/- 5 lbs since, whether following the letter or spirit of the aporoach. Definitely have felt the benefits in terms of general feeling, much less bad knee problems and speed/endurance in everyday life and on trail. Doctor’s office health markers also show it, for what they are worth.
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My wife and I converted to a "whole-food, plant-based lifestyle in 2012 and within months she was able to get completely off high blood pressure and cholesterol medication. My cholesterol dropped from 245 to the 160's. We each lost ~ 30 lbs over a period of several years and have stabilized around a healthy weight appropriate for our heights. Being vegan, we consume more carbs but since we avoid processed foods, the carbs tend to be more complex and higher in dietary fiber. The idea that you have to cut carbs to lose weight isn't so simple nor is it always true.
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@Steve Burton I always would lose then gain weight and my numbers were borderline. I became a Vegan three years ago and have never felt better. It's truly the best lifestyle (not diet).
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Dieters who lose fat by reducing carbs improve health markers.
Almost all very low calorie diets reduce carbs, even if they are called “Low Fat, High Carb.” Of course, “Low Carb, High Fat” diets are aimed at the right problem, so they’re more effective.
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After watching The Notorious RBG a few months ago, I decided to return to my treadmill. I do not believe that diet alone that will contribute to a healthier metabolic syndrome. Sugar levels, blood pressure, cholesterol issues are controlled by a combination of diet and exercise. Wasn't there an article recently in the NYT about the importance of movement by Jane Brody? And to lose weight instead of just doing cardio for 30 minutes and using up 300 calories, one should increase that to 600? I don't manage to accomplish that but I do get in about 300 to 400. And yes, I have take off about 8 pounds although I was in the normal range of BMI and just barely for waist circumference. I know I must keep this up to stay healthy because in this country, pharmaceuticals and health care are obscenely cost prohibitive.
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@Marjorie
Despite everything you’ve ever read, Total Calories burned cannot be changed by exercise.
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@Charlierf
Pretty much no sensible dietician nor Dr believes that exercise does not increase the total calories burned in a given time period.
Even the the great God of Thermodynamics disagrees with that one.
Why do you think deployed soldiers get 25% more calories in the field?
@Marjorie
Keep up the good work! Yes, a column here recently talked about how an hour a day of exercise could reduce weight. It's pretty hard to do this, though, consistently.
I'm in a similar position as you in that my BMI is normal but my waist size is over the limit, as measured by being more than one half my height in inches. It's really hard to just lose weight in the belly so I need to reduce all over.
News Flash: People who lose weight lower their waist circumferences!
That is all this study mostly concluded.
About 70% of the sample had an “elevated waist circumference.” Then, an elevated waist circumference was included as one of the indicia of “metabolic syndrome.” So, when some people lost weight and their tummies got a little smaller—viola!—by definition, their “metabolic syndrome” rates went down.
But losing weight didn’t significantly lower those individuals’ blood pressure or fasting glucose. See the paper’s Table 2.
Kind of a tautology. People who lose weight lower their waist circumference. Stop the presses.
(And since when is lowering weight after 1 or 1 and a half years, “Long Term Weight Loss”?
Kind of a low bar so we can claim “success”?
If you can keep it off for 20 or 30 years, then that is long-term weight loss.
Trouble is, 99% of us can’t do that…)
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@SRP Weight loss *was* associated with reduced odds of fasting glucose, especially for those who lost the most weight: see the very Table 2 that you cited.Compared to non-losers of weight, sustained weight loss at different levels led to odds of high fasting glucose of:
5%-9.9%: 0.82
10%-14.9%: 0.94
>20%: 0.59
Weight loss was also associated with lower risk of low HDL ("good") cholesterol, and lower risk of elevated triglycerides, both in a dose-dependent pattern (same table).
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Very informative piece. Not too many people even take into account what they drink... however, I read that some types of teas however, are better than others.
I was reading a review of it and I'm wondering if it's worth trying out. https://roughremedy.wordpress.com/
Just like drinking warm water , especially earlier in the morning, can assist in weight loss, red tea supposedly helps you get your metabolism back.
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This article aligns 100% with the sustainable skill-building habits provided by Naturally Slim. No counting calories or points, no dieting and no pre-packaged meals. The program helps people retrain their brains to trust their true sense of hunger and make more mindful eating choices when it comes to portion size. And we've got the results to prove it... more than 40 percent of our participants have lost at least 5 percent of their body mass. Awesome article and important research!
@Brett - so true! Naturally Slim principles retrain the way you approach foods. NS recognizes we are continuously surrounded by foods (graduations, promotions, weddings, birthdays, etc), that we tend to over eat until we are stuffed. On NS you'll select the 3 foods you want to taste and savor until you are satisfied while chewing slowly. Remember to be mindful of your eating and drinking. NS worked for me while other eight loss programs were temporarily successful.
Great article!
No doubt that loosing weight is healthier as you wrote. I recommend the tea diet that my husband and I used in the past few months and it's great, I dropped 27 pounds in three months. Still shocked by what it did to me, it was so fast. https://bit.ly/2MnVtbO this product is amazing enjoy!
"Only 5.5 percent of the participants succeeded in holding a 20 percent or greater weight loss for one year."
That right there is the most telling. From what read, though I admittedly don't remember the exact source, it takes the average previously overweight person 2-3 years of keeping the weight they lost off before their metabolism recalibrates to the new lower weight. Before that time, they still have to consume less, and/or burn more, calories than someone of the same height and weight who was never over weight to stay in shape. That is 2-3 years of going above and beyond. That is why most people fail. But certainly does not mean we shouldn't try. I lost 45 lbs over 1.5 years, gained 25 back over the next 1.5 years, and just lost back that 25 over the last 6 months. I have 10 more to go then just 2-3 years of keeping off until it gets easier. Don't give up! I know I won't.
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I put a calorie counter on my phone and selected a safe calorie count for my height. I ate fruit, protein, carbs and an occasional treat. When I reached the calorie goal for the day, I stopped eating.
I lost weight. A lot.
If nothing else is working for you, try counting your calories and stop expecting miracles.
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@Glenda So true! I have all these folks who think they are snowflakes, I have this, that, genes, etc.
If you put someone in a locked hospital ward with a calorie deficit they would lose weight, supposed broken metabolism be damned.
The funny thing is all these diet programs today - Keto, Paleo, Carnivore, are really just ways to naturally decrease calories. I do admire these diets to get people off the junk food thou.
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@Geno
No, “all these diet programs today “ are not equal. After an adaptation period, very low carb diets do not subject dieters to ravenous hunger. Higher carb diets do.
@Geno--There ARE people who cannot lose weight no matter what--even on very low calorie (which really messes up your metabolism big time). People with thyroid problems (especially if you have no thyroid) have a very difficult, sometimes almost impossible, time losing weight, no matter the "diet."
I equate people like you who think it's all about "calories in and calories out" to people who belong to the flat earth society. I resent your derogatory "snowflake" comment. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes before you think you have all the answers to weight loss. Believe me, you do NOT.
Mother nature is what she is.
It's very easy to put on the weight,
and very difficult to take it off.
I've lost about 50 pounds,
in the last 50 years.
So I'm averaging about one pound a year.
Don't want to do things too fast.
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The problem with losing weight, even 1%, is that people have to eat less of the things they like and nobody wants to hear that.
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@Ron A I know, and they likely have to do that the rest of their lives. I am facing the hard facts that at 50, I can no longer eat/drink like a 26 year old. To get the weight off, it's going to take a year of pretty hard discipline. I think the best "diet" is one that you can work in a few things you love and still maintain for life.
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@Geno
Good luck. You have the right attitude and that's important. For me, the best solution was to change some of my favorite foods to more healthy ones so I didn't have to always be worrying about overeating them. Luckily, I've always liked salads.
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What is really in our food that is causing this? If we knew, we could lower the risk.
Why do two people eat and exercise the same but one gains weight?
Some herbicide killing some gut bacteria?
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@SW After the 1970's we started eating out more and relying on convenience foods. In addition, Americans starting taking in more fat and sugar, while keeping protein levels the same. Toss in less daily activity (think more desk jobs, less manual daily labor) and you have the obesity epidemic. Add the new hyper palatability of processed and restaurant foods. I also think our frankenfoods (think antibiotics, glyphosate, etc) aren't helping. I just went to Sweden and I swear nobody was fat, so we must be doing something terribly wrong.
For your other question, people are different, and based on height, weight and age, each person has a unique calorie deficit that they need to hit to lose weight, so hard to compare two people. Working out is always good but better for maintenance.
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@SW
Significant levels of the weedkilling chemical glyphosate have been found in an array of popular breakfast cereals, oats and snack bars marketed to US children, a new study has found. Tests revealed glyphosate, the active ingredient in the popular weedkiller brand Roundup, present in all but two of the 45 oat-derived products that were sampled by the Environmental Working Group, a public health organization. WHO has called glyphosate a “probable carcinogen” and authorities in California list it as a chemical “known to the state to cause cancer”. Guardian
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I win!!!! A 30% weight loss held constant for five years! Now, where are my cigarettes.....
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Long term weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight has been my family's mission for the last 8 months. During this time we found that a constant change in weight, whether we were losing or gaining gradually, was not ideal for permanent and satisfying results!
Our discovery and use of Red Tea https://bit.ly/2Ms3FH5 changed everything! This product helps us not only lose weight, but control it consistently.
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So - - the real question goes back to the 94.5% who couldn't maintain the loss - - were they healthier after losing and regaining? What was the typical result in a year? Two years Three?
That seems to be the real life question. That and simply, what will enable most people to maintain weight loss with consistency?
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@cheryl Answer: eat less and move more.
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Study after study has proven that although it is possible to lose weight temporarily, only a tiny minority of people can keep it off permanently. Weight loss causes significant metabolic and hormonal changes that drive weight gain. These changes appear tonbe permanent. Thus, repeated dieting and weight loss predisposes people to massive weight gain and obesity.
We need safe and effective weight loss drugs that can either reverse the metabolic changes caused by weight loss, or severely reduce appetite, or both. Such a drug would probably save millions of lives. Hope they are working on it.
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@Sarah, drugs are not the answer. Eating habits are. The studies are conclusive: eating plant based whole foods are much healthier, and for most people lead to a weight loss. No processed foods, no animal products. Veggies and fruit, legumes (beans, lentils, etc) and whole grains (rice, quinoa, etc), and nuts and seeds in small quantities. My brother lost 70 pounds and went off all his meds (including for diabetes), my husband lost 50, and I lost 30. And we've all kept it off, in my case for 20 years. Think of 1/2 of your plate full of veggies, 1/4 with whole grains, and 1/4 with beans, with a side of fruit and a sprinkling of nuts or seeds. For the evidence, check out nutritionfacts. org, https://www.forksoverknives.com, https://www.pcrm.org, https://www.chiphealth.com. It's a change for life, but a wonderful change. I LOVE my food!
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@Dr. J For thousands of years, until the 20th century, meat eaters (as well as non-meat eaters) were, by today's standards, thin. Eating animal products does not cause obesity; eating too much of anything causes obesity.
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@Sarah I think we have figured out that losing the weight is pretty easy, it's "after the fact" that we need to focus more attention on. Once you lose the weight, you need to calculate your maintenance calories per day, which is sometimes shockingly low based on your new, lower weight. I do believe the metabolism slows down, but not as much as you think. I also don't buy that metabolisms are broken permanently.
Good strategies are protein to maintain lean muscle mass, strength training and moving more all day. Working out is more helpful after you lose weight.
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I was reading this article when suddenly I found myself on the floor. I looked around, confused, when I noticed a feather floating away. The best explanation I have for what happened is that a sparrow flew by and lost a feather, which then floated through the open window and knocked me over.
I was an easy target, perched there on the edge of my seat, enraptured, so caught up in anticipation of Grand Things To Come from this article, that I neglected to properly position myself in an anmoveable posture. Live and learn.
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