The extraordinary pressure to lose weight does more harm than good, they argue, and it's nearly impossible to change your body size over the long term.

This is patent nonsense. You'll notice that there are no fat people in sub-Saharan Africa and I'm sure it's safe to say that obesity wasn't a problem in Europe during the Middle Ages. It's simple math. Burn more calories than you consume and you'll lose weight. Of course, one must lose weight carefully and in a managed way -- crash diets aren't healthy. Simply stop drinking soda and eating processed foods, eat whole foods in moderate amounts, and partake of at least 30 minutes of exercise 4 times a week and you'll lose wait. It's not rocket science.

Wow Kenrock, I am in awe of your awesome truth. That is so true that I cannot help but bow in your direction for stating the completely obvious. Tell me, what's it like to be so completely and totally right? Are you right all the time, about absolutely everything? My god man, if you have this gift for being right all the time, why aren't you being hired out by the UN to solve our world's problems!

Your observation is so blindingly obvious that I cannot refute it! My god, we all just have to adjust our lives accordingly regardless of whatever obstacles or circumstances we face! Doesn't matter if a few of us don't know how to cook, or have metabolisms that don't work as well as we'd like them too (or better than we'd like them to), or don't have great access to grocery stores with wholesome food that we can afford. Gee, maybe a few of us can abandon our second and third jobs and try to spend more of our income on good food? Or lug around a food scale and measure out our portions accurately. Oh, and maybe spend even more on our income on monthly gym memberships to go work out with people who are much better looking and will secretly ridicule us because we didn't get the idea sooner.

Oh, I know. I'm just going to drop every part of my life that marks me as an individual and conform to this, because I know that my body likes to hit the exact weight size that science specifies I should have, even though the BMI is based on a sliding statistical scale used for measuring large populations and not individual people. And I'm going to ignore the studies that say that being overweight is no different than being normal, and that overweight people can be just as healthy. AND, I'm going to do my damndest to look like the airbrushed male and female models that I see in the magazines, or the underweight short actors/models I see on TV (because they're almost all under 5'9" and 130 lbs).

And why? Because you're absolutely right. Because your truth is so universal that it can be applied to everyone regardless of their circumstance, and we MUST all conform to one standard ideal! You must be the second coming of Christ, Kenrock. Tell me, can you also heal the sick and raise the dead? If you can, could You extend some of Your Grace to me, to heal my eyesight? Or maybe just announce your presence on Earth and cause us all to revel in Your glory for ever and ever, Amen? And thus solve all our problems for us?

It's simple math. Burn more calories than you consume and you'll lose weight...It's not rocket science.

This "Oh, it's simple math, you big fat morons," argument is infuriating. Almost nobody knows exactly how many calories their body burns every day without undergoing certain scientific tests. In a recent study, normal-weight people's guesses of how many calories they were burning each day were off by as much as 1000 calories. And that's just basal metabolism, not adding in exercise--those calorie-counting things on the machines at the gym are a joke; you need some kind of heart rate monitor to get any idea of what you're actually burning. Plus, people who have lost a significant amount of weight burn 25% fewer calories than people at the same weight who were never obese, and almost everyone burns less calories as they age.

And then on the consumption side: 1 in 4 food labels are shown to be wrong (both calorie counts and macronutrients). And that's the stuff with actual numbers on it! The stuff we *should* be eating, non-packaged, non-labeled food, then you have to either weigh everything or guess at its size and then look up the calorie count in a book or online. I've been on a calorie-counting diet, and it required 2-3 hours of meal planning and shopping every week, and going to social events or restaurants was just a mess. I'm willing to put in the work for my health, but don't tell me it's "simple."

Wow. Defensive much? I guess it's safe to say that I hit a nerve.

As I said, it's not rocket science. Who's talking about "airbrushed ... models?" Have a glass of water instead of Mountain Dew. Have an apple instead of the bag of potato chips. And the last time I checked, going for a walk was free. So while you *can* be overweight and healthy, the reality is, if you're overweight you're *more likely* to be unhealthy. Type II Diabetes, stroke, heart attack, colon cancer, anyone?

live_and_breathe:

It's simple math. Burn more calories than you consume and you'll lose weight...It's not rocket science.

This "Oh, it's simple math, you big fat morons," argument is infuriating. Almost nobody knows exactly how many calories their body burns every day without undergoing certain scientific tests. In a recent study, normal-weight people's guesses of how many calories they were burning each day were off by as much as 1000 calories. And that's just basal metabolism, not adding in exercise--those calorie-counting things on the machines at the gym are a joke; you need some kind of heart rate monitor to get any idea of what you're actually burning. Plus, people who have lost a significant amount of weight burn 25% fewer calories than people at the same weight who were never obese, and almost everyone burns less calories as they age.

And then on the consumption side: 1 in 4 food labels are shown to be wrong (both calorie counts and macronutrients). And that's the stuff with actual numbers on it! The stuff we *should* be eating, non-packaged, non-labeled food, then you have to either weigh everything or guess at its size and then look up the calorie count in a book or online. I've been on a calorie-counting diet, and it required 2-3 hours of meal planning and shopping every week, and going to social events or restaurants was just a mess. I'm willing to put in the work for my health, but don't tell me it's "simple."

So don't count calories. Just eat whole foods and get some exercise. The proof in the pudding is in the eating -- excuse the pun. When you start getting fit and losing weight, you'll know you're going in the right direction. Again, I'm pretty sure that most people in sub-Saharan Africa don't have calorie counters on fancy treadmills, yet that there's not an obesity problem is self-evident.

I'm pretty sure that most people in sub-Saharan Africa don't have calorie counters on fancy treadmills, yet that there's not an obesity problem is self-evident.

Ah yes, the average lifespan there is 46 years but by all means, let's use them as our health role models.

live_and_breathe:

[...]Almost nobody knows exactly how many calories their body burns every day without undergoing certain scientific tests. [...]

You don't need to. There is this really simple test to determine if you get in more calories then you burn. It's called a weighing scale, if you gain weight you take in more calories than you burn if you lose weight you burn more than you take in.

live_and_breathe:

I'm pretty sure that most people in sub-Saharan Africa don't have calorie counters on fancy treadmills, yet that there's not an obesity problem is self-evident.

Ah yes, the average lifespan there is 46 years but by all means, let's use them as our health role models.

The point is, "boo hoo, I can't change my body size in the long term" is egregious nonsense. Of course we don't want to emulate the health conditions of sub-Saharan Africa but, again, I notice that no one there is "big boned" or has "glandular problems."

I see what you're saying, but the problem is it's a really imperfect measure; it's not like you go on a diet one day and the second you reach a 3500-calorie deficit you lose exactly one pound on the scale; fluid fluctuations make it difficult to tell what's working in the short term. Once, for a couple of weeks, I ate the same low-calorie food every single day and it's not like my weight went down steadily--it would be down 3 pounds, up 2 pounds, stay the same for a couple days, down 2 again, etc...I've seen people follow their food and exercise rules religiously and plateau for weeks at a time. In the long term a scale is helpful, but it can be difficult to stay the course when you're hungry all the time and not sure if the deprivation is even doing any good.

live_and_breathe:

I see what you're saying, but the problem is it's a really imperfect measure; it's not like you go on a diet one day and the second you reach a 3500-calorie deficit you lose exactly one pound on the scale; fluid fluctuations make it difficult to tell what's working in the short term. Once, for a couple of weeks, I ate the same low-calorie food every single day and it's not like my weight went down steadily--it would be down 3 pounds, up 2 pounds, stay the same for a couple days, down 2 again, etc...I've seen people follow their food and exercise rules religiously and plateau for weeks at a time. In the long term a scale is helpful, but it can be difficult to stay the course when you're hungry all the time and not sure if the deprivation is even doing any good.

What I'm saying is, don't bother counting calories. Put down the soda, put down the Twinkie, put down the Doritos. Pick up a glass of water, pick up an apple, pick up a lean roast beef sandwich on whole wheat bread. Go for walks that last at least 30 minutes four or more times a week. It's not about "going on a diet." It's about lifestyle.

kenrockthefirst:

live_and_breathe:

I'm pretty sure that most people in sub-Saharan Africa don't have calorie counters on fancy treadmills, yet that there's not an obesity problem is self-evident.

Ah yes, the average lifespan there is 46 years but by all means, let's use them as our health role models.

The point is, "boo hoo, I can't change my body size in the long term" is egregious nonsense. Of course we don't want to emulate the health conditions of sub-Saharan Africa but, again, I notice that no one there is "big boned" or has "glandular problems."

Hey douchebag- those folks all come from the same genepool.

dbguy:

kenrockthefirst:

live_and_breathe:

I'm pretty sure that most people in sub-Saharan Africa don't have calorie counters on fancy treadmills, yet that there's not an obesity problem is self-evident.

Ah yes, the average lifespan there is 46 years but by all means, let's use them as our health role models.

The point is, "boo hoo, I can't change my body size in the long term" is egregious nonsense. Of course we don't want to emulate the health conditions of sub-Saharan Africa but, again, I notice that no one there is "big boned" or has "glandular problems."

Hey douchebag- those folks all come from the same genepool.

Thanks for sharing. Keep coming.

It's not about "going on a diet." It's about lifestyle.

So if someone consistently lives the correct lifestyle (whole foods and exercise at least 4 times per week), their weight doesn't matter? Just want to be clear on this.

The gene pool argument makes no sense at all.

As for the other posts flaming the first one, can't you see that you are pointing the finger at everybody/everything except yourselves? Quit blaming society, fast food joints, inaccurate calorie counters, deceptive food labeling, and poverty.

For most (not all) people they are fat because they eat too much and don't exercise enough. Changing that may not be easy for some people, but it is not impossible, at all. It is a matter of will power and control.