Fad diets are making the supplement industry rich. I think we should encourage people to know more about science which should help people stop using them. The diets that really get to me are the ones that ask you to consume some form of protein shakes. Man, do I hate protein shakes, absolutely a waste of money esp. since I wasted so much of my own money on them. It is better consuming an egg than a protein shake or if you are vegetarian some form of nuts etc. What is equally annoying is the whole organic food industry. There is no difference in nutrition between organic vegetables and fruit and the non-organic produce. And then there are the vitamin pills. Now there is one person I have been lucky to never meet in person and that is Patrick Holford. It makes me very annoyed when I see all his worthless books stuffed in all the book shops.
Many people trying to loose weight try these Fad Diets and they don’t to work.
I feel really sorry for somebody that is overweight and trying all these diets but not loosing weight. In the end of the day I have found that although I have in the past tried to offer advice on loosing weight it has never been welcomed. Everybody has their own idea what works and what not. So now I just shut up, it is better that way. Ultimately, weight loss is about calories in vs. calories out. And most diets try and do this in different ways, whether it is High Carb, Low Protein or High Protein, Low Carb. In the end everybody is terribly confused trying to find the magic diet that will help them loose weight. Of course, I think I know the diet that works best but doesn’t everybody know that one diet that will work for everybody. But still I am not a pragmatist so there you go.
Fad diets don’t work and we should stop using them, encouraging people to look at science and understanding it better. Even knowing some logical fallacies works wonders!
Seem you have already caught on to my own ideas about all this. And here I tried to seem mysterious about what I think works. Yes eat less, exercise more it works the best!
I think though Patrick Holford is the worst of the worst. He perscribes vitamins & minerals for everything even fatloss.
Eat less, but more often. If you eat every (say) two hours, your body never goes into starvation mode and consistently keeps burning energy at a high rate.
As for exercise, strength training is better for getting trimmer than aerobic exercise (but your actual weight loss will initially be slightly slower, as muscle has a higher density than fat).
i’ve never been overweight, so i cant really add my two cents. but i do believe that i remain skinny, because of the way i eat. i eat a decent lunch, then have like a smoothie for dinner.
i dont gym, but i work in the garden, walk three blocks to work from the busstop.
i agree with it all being in your head, too. if you are vibey and bouncy, i would imagine that translates into higher metabolism.
@Siener2 Allow me to play devils advocate here, I don’t think regular high meal frequency is necessary true. Meal frequency seems to be highly individual but smaller meals during the day doesn’t seem to equate superior huger control. Latest research (that reflects real world circumstances) seems to indicate that fewer meals give better hunger control. See the study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20339363
In this study three meals lead to greater fullness and appetite control when compared to six meals. ;D
@Faerie, what you are sayin’ is very true. But how about suggesting ways to do this.
I have never really been overweight but did add some kilos the other day which I had to loose. New experience to me. 0:)
Who knows what motivates and inspire other people? Its up to the individual to find the motivation on an intellectual level and then to act on it. Its the same for giving up the fags, I still havent managed, even though I know I should, the head isnt in the right space.
What motivates and inspires everyone is consistent progress.
Different things work for different people, but success works for everyone, it is just a matter of persisting until you find something that can consistently work and then valuing the progress through discipline in applying it more than you value the temptation to slacken off on the discipline.
For me, I found that exercise alone did nothing for weight loss, and when I say exercise I mean up to 10 hours a week of running and mountain biking at a variety of intensities and for different periods from 30 min to 5 hours at a stretch.
So I looked at ways to control my diet that were quick and practical and easily assessed for progress.
I ate the same breakfast every day, nutritious and tasty, I always look forward to it but it is light:- 50g future life with 25g raisins for sweetness and taste and half a crumbled weetbix for texture and fibre, with 150ml hot milk. Yummy!
I split lunch into 2 and eat half at 10 and half at 2. 1 Raw carrot for fibre, 2 fruits, two sandwiches (4 slices bread).
I can’t be bothered to calorie count, so I simply weigh my evening meal and limit it to 400g, usually half starch (potato,pasta,rice). Couldn’t be simpler.
I have found that when I am very rigid in following the diet I do not feel hungry and really enjoy my food, much more so than with large quantities.
Result, I have lost 20kg in the last year, despite several periods of weeks to months when I have fallen off the wagon and stopped exercising and dieting. I am now fitter than I have ever been and look forward to possibly losing another 5-7kg to get to what should be ideal weight for me.
As you have said, people are different, and its great that you’ve found what works for you. Me, I’m on a “diet” that everybody condemns, but it works for me and I’ve been eating in this manner for the last 12/13 odd years and aside from the age related aches and pains, I’m as healthy as can be. I have been on my goal weight for that same period, prior to changing my eating habits, I was around 30kg overweight, and looked like an obese duck waddling to its next meal due to my height (5ft). I eat once a day, usually in the mornings, and it consists of whatever everybody had for supper last night. I dont get hungry and I only occassionally crave a sweet thing, usually dark chocolate. I’ll supplement with fruits the rest of the day although I often forget about it and I store it up in my drawer at work…
Oh, and I sidestep any white starch by a mile, I honestly feel that I was addicted to the stuff during my fat years - bread/potatoes/rice and pasta - evil, evil, evil.
On the 'to milk or not to milk" issue: The controversy regarding whether cow’s milk is good for humans has been going on for years. I believe cow’s milk is good for little cows/bulls not for humans: human milk is good for humans. The site http://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/ discusses this but there are opposing views (usually sponsored by the milk establishment). Milk is homogenised/pasteurized and defatted to convince humans to consume it but it’s still cow’s milk. Many people become lactose intolerant and cannot use milk products such as cheese (which I love BTW)and dr’s often prescribe goat’s milk as a substitute for bovine milk (wtf!!) which apparently does not affect babies much. I used to drink much milk when I was young and beautiful; since about 30 I stopped and now I’m just beautiful. ;D
i will die without dairy. gotta have cheese. gotta have full cream milk with my jacobs. gotta have icecream, chocolate, yoghurt… parmalat makes a nice lactose free milk. well, not ‘makes’ it. it’s like yummy and creamy. how much actual cow’s milk is in there, i know not, and i dont particularly care. if they manage to make soy milk not taste like shit, i will drink that instead.
but, my wondering is, we need calcium. if we dont drink milk/consume dairy, where will that come from?
we are being told that we should eat meat too. or wheat. christ on a stick. what CAN you eat?
we are animals. we are omnivores. if you are reduced to living sans modern life, you will eat meat, and grain, and frog’s ass if you have to. if dairy is so detrimental to us, then tribes back in the day, who domesticated cattle, would not have thrived. and tribes who only took goat’s milk, or no milk at all, would have prospered. just saying…
I also follow a similar diet to you faerie. I eat only once a day at night. And there is some scientific information to support this.
In the past we had to adapt to food shortages in hard times. A lowering of metabolic rate helped us to survive long enough to find something to eat. Starvation does not occur in two hours or even 24. A lowering of metabolic rate only occurs after about 60 hours.
Before these 60 hours metabolism increases. Evolutionary this will help us find something to eat within this time. Higher metabolism means increased energy.
Your body only goes into starvation mode when it has depleted all its fat reserves which takes at least a month for most healthy people. Unless you are already very thin or malnourished.
I was wondering if you follow a diet that does not work. Would that not mean that you would not have success and then become more depressed?
You can get a lot of calcium from spinach and broccoli. But I agree I like my meat and dairy.
Metabolic rate decreases by about 10% per decade after the age of 30. We can’t expect at 50 or 60 to eat the same diet as we did at 20 and maintain the same weight. I’m with Faerie in cutting out starch and sugars–it works for me. Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs (scrambled at the weekend) and cheese. Lunch: salad with dressing. Dinner: Meat with veg (butternut makes a great mash to have with stews or curries; rice hasn’t made an appearence in our home for years). Cut out the alcohol during the week and wine in moderation (no more than 1 happy box) at the weekend.
