@Munchkin. Thanks! OK, so I understand that the WLS might not help me lose all the weight I want. But how does exercise fit in. Where I get confused on all of this is as far as I can tell, for carbs, your body absorbs them as just calories like it did before. So, while I might eat a piece of steak, that is 400 calories, my body might only absorb 150 calories. Right? So, with a piece of fruit - a pear for example - has 100 calories, my body will absorb 100 calories. Right? And given that my body will burn approximately 10 calories a day per pound of body weight (give or take), the math is still how many calories I absorb vs how many I burn? Does that change with the DS? And doesn't exercise play a part? So, lets say, my body wants to be at 150 pounds which is 1500 calories a day, but I burn 1400 calories a week which is 200 extra calories a day, so my body should then, be happy at 130?
I know everyone on the board has said throw the old diet math out the window, but doesn't it just change from calories absorbed vs. calories burned. Just a twist on calories in and calories out?
And the other thing that confuses me is the weight lost window. I know i burn more calories the larger I am so, as I'm losing weight, the bigger I am the faster I lose, but near the end, do I loose much more slowly? Why does this window occur?
Thanks so much all.
When you lose weight, you lose muscle, water, and fat. Exercise helps you keep the muscle you want to save! And a pound of muscle burns more per day to maintain than a pound of fat. Win/win! Plus you don't look weak and frail!
The numbers will never, ever, ever, add up. Never. And this is a scientist talking. If it was a simple matter of calories in VS calories burned, there would be no fat people. There are too many other factors here, the biggest ones are metabolism and absorbtion. Anyone whose life has been a series of diets has probably ruined their metabolism. The body wants nothing but to store fat because it knows the next starvation cycle is just around the corner. Absorbtion is another. Normal people poop out calories every day. Superabsorbers, who tend to be fat, poop out a lot fewer calories. They use more than the average person. Then there is the girl factor. Your body wants to be sure you have enough fat to get PG and have a baby at all times. Fat=healthy baby. You have a biological imperative. The numbers don't mean much.
For example, I will give you my Baskin Robbins Diet. When I was in my 20's and as usual trying to lose weight, I decided to experiment with a 1000 calorie diet that wasn't miserable. After all if the numbers work, 1000 calories is 1000 calories. For 30 days, I ate 1 pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream per day. The flavor I picked was 1000 calories and it was sold by weight by Baskin Robbins employees. And that was all I ate other than unsweetened iced tea and water. I didn't change my activity level other than trying to make sure I didn't let the diet make me less active. The month ended and I had gained 2 pounds. And the numbers say that is not possible. Ha!
Next I will give you an old co-worker, Cathy. She was Asian and very petite. Maybe a size 2 on a bad day. Usually a 0 or 00. Tiny. For her, eating was an Olympic event. And hell yes, I was envious. But I knew all about the calories and every day I waited because I KNEW one day she would come to work looking like the Goodyear Blimp. After all the math said it had to happen. And numbers can't lie. A typical breakfast at her desk was 2 egg mcmuffins and a coke, midmorning snack was another coke, yogurt, and a candy bar. Lunch was another coke and a cheeseburger with fries. Sometimes she had a shake too. Ice cream...not protein. Lunch hour for Cathy was eating for a full hour. Next was the afternoon snack, usually a coke and a candy bar. And she SAID she had dinner and more snacks every day but I am just telling you what I SAW her eat day in and day out. In the average 8 hour work day, she consistently ate over 3000 calories. Then she got pregnant. OK, pregnancy destroys almost every woman's body. Not hers. When she came back to work, she looked just the same and was wearing the same clothes. I worked with her for about 10 years and the pattern never changed. And the numbers say that is not possible. Ha again!
Why do people seldom actually get to goal on a regular old diet? A plausible reason is that every pound you lose is a higher percentage of your total weight. 5lbs is nothing to a 300lb person but it's a lot for someone who weighs 110lbs. The 300lb person doesn't have to work hard lose 5 lbs but it may well be impossible for the 110lb person to lose 5lbs. No matter where you start, the pounds become harder and harder to lose. At least in part because your body is going fight like hell to make sure you don't starve to death. And to make goal on a regular diet you have to literally starve and work out like a maniac to lose the last of the fat! And the number say that's not possible. Baloney to the numbers!
You should read the Biggest Loser Study. It's here.
http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/t...t-to-get-back-to-a-set-point.4321/#post-64729
What's the REAL answer? Obesity is a disease, not a character flaw. Promise!
Not the first time I have been to this rodeo.... I wrote this a while ago.
If I broke my leg, should I be ashamed I had to go get a cast? If I had a heart attack, should I hide the fact they had to put in a stent to save my life? If I have high blood pressure, should I refuse to take the pill because I need to be able to fix it on my own?
One more time. Obesity is a disease, not a character flaw. If this was not true, diets would work. Calories in VS calories expended don't you know!
That Biggest Loser study proves the point quite nicely. Those poor people needed up to 800 calories less per day to maintain their weight than a 'normal' person. They were doomed to fail. The only way they could be successful would be to live on a starvation diet and spend hours in the gym every day for the rest of their lives. This is not normal. This is a disease. A disease that should be treated to the extent that treatment is available. And trying to spend 5 hours a day in the gym and live on a 400 calorie diet is not a sustainable option. The physiological, psychological, financial, and social consequences of trying to live like this are staggering.
Is there anyone here who hasn't lost 100 pounds? 1, 3, 5, or 10+ times? It takes godlike will power to lose 100 pounds. We are superhuman. We can and do live for years on a can of tuna and a lettuce leaf. None of those methane blowing anus heads smugly handing out diet advice have accomplished these feats of superhuman strength and yogi like deprivation. Why do we hang on their every word and spend billions on whatever snake oil they pimp?
One of the reasons I have no children is obesity. I didn't need a PhD in Genetics to figure out it was likely my progeny would be fat. And I didn't want to inflict that pain on anyone.
So here I am dragging my broken leg behind me. I am ashamed I couldn't fix it on my own. I failed and you didn't. Somehow this makes YOU feel better and validates your superiority. And I'm sure YOU have some weight loss advice that will change my life. You won't hesitate to share THAT with me.
The real answer to obesity is going to be a pill. A pill that hasn't been discovered yet. Fingers crossed it happens soon! Who will they marginalize next? Me personally, I propose the next group we need to hate is all the people who need to have someone to look down on to feel good about themselves. It would be hard but we could do it. We have superpowers they can't even imagine. We are strong.
But diabetes being gone was pretty awesome!
