Long-term weight loss considered nearly impossible

Oh god, these comments are so boring. What a sad culture, where everyone feels the need to obsess over such boring things. I lost weight once. It sucked. It took all my willpower and left me with no energy to do anything interesting. I realized then that, even if I put on some pounds, my quality of life is way higher not worrying about that shit. We’re meant for better things than counting calories.

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TLDR, but everywhere I’m reading is “weight, weight, weight, weight…” Even if you get thinner, but put on muscle, you could be gaining weight. For that fact alone, this article seemed a bit second-rate.

That aside, realistically, if someone wants to stay in shape through exercise, they’re going to need to do something they can keep doing for a long time. Bikes and ellipticals and treadmills and blah blah are so freaking boring to me. If that is largely what someone does, it wouldn’t surprise me that they burn out on it quickly.

I can’t say I’m perfect about it, but I’ve been swimming pretty regularly since last summer; and I’ve seen a difference. That said, I looked at “before” photos I took of myself about a year ago; and it was kind of depressing. While I’ve gone done several pants sizes, I can’t see any visual difference. Le sigh.

I have both a diabetes and stroke risk, so my obesity is a significant health risk. It is reasonable to be concerned about one’s health, and to take steps to improve it.

Will I enjoy that, probably not all the time. However, I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy it more than diabetic complications or a stroke.

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Yeah, it’s difficult, but not impossible. I’ve been working the weight-loss battle for the last 4+ years. Driven by Type-2 diabetes and blood pressure issues, I’ve stuck to a strict-low carb (with weekly cheat days) diet combined with resistance training (kettle bells) 2-3x times a week (plus 5-10 minute of interval training every morning when I wake up). It’s a constant fight, but is definitely doable.

The daily interval training is a relatively recent addition, but seems to be driving noticeable strength gains, allowing me to break through some plateaus in my longer sessions.

I’ve found periodic dexa scans to be useful feedback on the whole trading muscle for fat causing the scale to be depressing issue.

Feel free to tell us about all the great things you´re doing with all the time you´re saving by not caring about your body. Especially the kind of great things that other people are unable to do with their good-looking, healthy bodies, focused minds and added physical energy that comes with a sensible long-term health and exercise regimen.

Cory, you realize what you do takes a significant amount of self dicipline? That’s our core problem when combined with easily available high calorie diets filled with stimulating variety.

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“Islands on my chest, that is what we are.”

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The part of this that interests me is the cultural problem of most professionals ignoring statistics like these and by rote handing out diets and exercise. No need to quibble over if sustained weight loss is “impossible” or very difficult (for most people).

I’m not saying give up on weight loss, but unless we face the apparent results that most (not all) people gain the weight back, we won’t come up with solutions that are effective on a broader social level.

It’s a cultural blindness or profound contradiction, not unlike most women’s magazines preaching love yourself, offering sugary recipes, and preaching diets. What’s wrong with this picture?

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I am there with you. Slow march of weight gain, Type II diabetes on the horizon and rising blood pressure. For me, when I’m doing well, it’s finding physical activities that I like. Sometimes I just get bored doing the same old thing. I love swimming, but it’s a solo endeavor. And I’m not waking up at 4:30 am just to swim in a masters’ group: that’s nuts! But there are lots of other things to try: martial arts, yoga, hiking, biking, stuff like that.

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I’m sure they could, but it’s rather less socially necessary. People are rarely bullied and belittled for not being professional writers, nor is there a massive industry selling sure-fire techniques to become a pro writer.

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What part of “It took all my willpower and left me with no energy to do anything interesting” sounded like “focused mind and added physical energy” to you?

It’s lovely for you that your experience has been more positive. Don’t imagine that every other human body works the same as yours.

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Periodic dexa scans? Isn’t that really expensive? Have you found an economical provider of such a service?

For a while I was really fond of the idea of getting into a study where I could try immersion weighing, but alas, I was never successful in finding anything.

I think his/her point is more along the lines of:

Congratulations for the rare and wonderful blessing of being MORE healthy and happy when you’re careless about diet and exercise. But unfortunately some of us fall within the spectrum of having to care about that diet and exercise shit to be able to live healthy lives and have a fraction of your delightful “willpower and energy to do anything interesting”. You’re the one who’s boring and shallow, not us, if you think it’s all about being Cosmo-thin when most people in this thread have clearly been talking about something more important.

That would be my response, at least. And I even agree rote, passionless exercising is the dullest possible way to spend one’s life.

That’s understandable, but I think any doctor would tell you there is a big difference between dieting and staying fit. The former is usually unsustainable because (as you point out) everyone’s body goes through fluctuations, sometimes naturally and sometimes because of unavoidable life changes, and this can instantly under years of work. But the best way to maintain weight is keep up an active lifestyle and stay healthy. Exercise, consistent sleep, and healthy food.

I’m sure you know this but I feel it’s always worth pointing out the different. Dieting is hard, stressful on your body, and something that will always be so. But staying healthy and fit is something that the body can (and will) adjust to with time.

Unfortunately it has the bad side effect of making you live longer, get sick less and generally feel better. It’s a hard knock life. :sunny:

Why do they need original research when almost all the research out there shows it’s incredibly hard.

It’s really problematic and while I think you are right to question this as people do it, particularly people seem to be more successful on low carb diets acoording to some studies (in the 3+ year not the 5-10 year bracket though) I also think it’s worth raising loudly because it shows what we are told to do now doesn’t work.

Getting that message out there is really important because people need to know and alternatives that work better like fasting and low carb are out there (even if they aren’t really good enough).and doctors should recommend them because what they are doing now is just failing.

While both of those things are important, the consensus amoung medical researches for a consider time in the literature, especially the more-controlled, less “interventional” studies is that self-discipline is minimally effective at sustained weight loss. I say consensus among medical researchers because the field is really heterogenous; “weight-loss experts” can mean all sorts of things depending on who you’re talking to. The medical and biological analysis has consistently shown a strong link between certain genes and obesity, but the critical factor there is that ‘activated biology’ (my term) is key: what people eat in the first few years of their life, combined with their genes has a huge determinative effect. (I think there is some really interesting research in the bizarrely-strong but little-understood prenatal effects too)

The problem I’ve heard from researchers and doctors is that the field is strongly distorted by ‘industry’, by which I mean all the fields that blend into the private market for dieting and weight loss. The number of studies that suggest this or this factor of weight loss massively outnumber the holistic studies. The researchers and professionals who write books, advise patients, design diet plans and so on need there to be that one alternative method to losing weight. (To be fair, it is a complex issue)

Take this article for example: Are You Really Doomed to Regain Your Lost Weight? The author, who seems to have valid credentials, takes a solid NYT article, agrees with the obvious parts (which as a doctor he cannot ethically or scientifically deny), but then offers ‘his take on what will help’, and also this illuminating bit of spin:

What do I think? I think negative depends on approach and attitude. For instance where Tara might use the word vigilance, I’d use the word thoughtfulness and that being aware of every calorie doesn’t mean you’re not eating indulgent ones.

So yeah… most of the information out there is similar bullshit.

TLDR; self discipline is important, but biology and early nutrition/development are pretty much the reason people gain weight and can’t lose it.

(reading back, I’m not sure I’m interpreting you correctly… so sorry if not).

By periodic, I mean “once a year.” Here, in the Seattle area, they’ve been running ~$100 (since my insurance doesn’t cover it for body-composition purposes).

“A strenuous effort which takes a psychological toll, to count calories
and to exercise for several hours every week, over the course of a year”

I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not.

1- Calorie counting apps exist and take all the pain out of calorie counting.

2- Regular exercise that increases cardio vascular health will increase energy/endurance levels for day to day activities even if it does NOT result in significant weight loss.\