To think that people who say diets don’t work aren’t really trying

It's not complicated. Eat less, move more. Create a calorie deficit and you'll lose weight. Yes, it has to be a lifestyle change to keep it off long term, but it's not rocket science!

Haha fucking hell you’re in for a shock when you get to menopause 🤣

Wouldn’t HAVE.

Oh and have a sticker for being a super excellent human.

@FurForksSake actually the set point theory hasn’t been disproved at all. It is a theory relating to why when patients lose weight significant amounts of weight, they cannot keep it off long term and eventual regain is inevitable. We don’t tell patients to just “accept obesity” but we have to be honest that dieting simply doesn’t work long term and it is the reason why all NHS weight loss services focus on changing eating behaviour rather than calorie restriction. If that doesn’t work, then pharmacotherapy and surgery are other options.

Well done on your weight loss journey. Mounjaro is a great drug

I’m with you on this OP. Eat less, exercise more. It’s all those little bits - sloshing a bit of cooking oil in, a bit too much ice cream etc, all add up to an astonishing amount. Boring eating always wins

Sorry, I don't understand your comment.

Why do MNers blame their hormones for just about everything?

Come back when you're menopausal and see if you feel the same...
I eat like a distracted toddler but still struggle. It used to be easy for me to lose weight and I was probably a bit smug too. Trust me, it gets harder.

@FurForksSake , People repeat that diets don’t work and that 95% of people regain the weight. What on earth are you then supposed to do? Just accept obesity and give up?
No, you lose the excess weight using a calorie-reduced diet AND change your mindset and eating habits.

Naturally slim people tend to not be that bothered about food.
They don't have 'food noise'.
Diets don't work because IMO it says 'You are not allowed to eat this, that and the other'. Food, or deprivation, becomes the focus.

You're doing great with your weight loss, andyou won't necessarily put it back on when you stop your weight loss regime.

There’s a lot of outdated and disproved science on this thread. The set point theory was based on a very small study in rats and it’s not known whether there is a set point in humans and what the purpose of that would be.

3500 calories deficit to lose a pound is a very rough rule of thumb based on a misconception about fat and the number of calories it takes to burn. It’s not as literal as people think.

People repeat that diets don’t work and that 95% of people regain the weight. What on earth are you then supposed to do? Just accept obesity and give up?

Weight loss is much slower than people expect and willpower and adherence to calorie deficit becomes poor over time and people stop losing weight or regaining. If you can accept that losing 100g of weight a week for three years is what it takes and is sustainable maybe people would have more luck?

Exercise and activity levels make little difference to losing weight, but research suggests that it may be the key to maintaining weight loss.

I’ve lost 5st 7 on Mounjaro and I’m terrified to come off. I spend lot of time researching and reading because of the fear. For now I’m staying on and will do for a good while to try and cement the eating habits and get used to eating the way I’ll have to for life.

It isn’t that simple but there is an element of truth in what the OP is saying. It is so easy to underestimate the calorie intake of a day, especially once you begin cooking.

I used to inwardly sniff at people women who were bothered by calories. God only knows what I was thinking! But I began using a tracking app (My Net Diary) earlier this year and it has been so revealing. Looking back I was regularly eating 2500 calories, often more with a ‘treat’ here and there on a daily basis. I now go through spates of measuring everything I eat on a digital scale and can often keep it down to 1600-1700. My maintenance level is 2100.

I haven’t lost weight at the moment but I have lost size and certain clothes now fit comfortably that were becoming too tight last year.

There are many physical, mental and emotional factors to being overweight and obesity. Especially if it’s a lifelong struggle rather than just losing some extra that has been gained in baby or holiday weight. It’s simply not always a matter of try hard and succeed.

Your post is really short sighted and actually rather smug.

You are right and it's not about fad diets or doing mad stuff. I'm an adult and I take accountability for what I eat and drink. I didn't for a while and I gained 2 stone. I've lost it and then some by calorie counting, cutting down on the crap and doing strength training. There are so many amazing low calorie recipes out there.
I didn't have a clue what I was doing at the start so I've taken it bit by bit and built it up slowly.
My wee mantra I tell myself is I can make changes or I can make excuses.

Yeah… and even half a pound a week adds up if you keep going, it’s just not easy for some people to lose weight though even when they do try x

So technically they’re not incorrect. They said people need to eat less calories which is basically what you just said

I really struggle. I can’t exercise (I’m disabled) and I’m on medications plural that have weight gain as a side effect.

I lost weight in my late 30s by reducing my calories to 1800 a day.

Now mid 40s and I put around half of the weight I lost in my 30s back on. Went back to dieting but nothing was shifting on 1800 so dropped to 1300 and have lost almost 2 stone.

I am much more active now than I was back then. I train and teach martial arts 4 times a week, go to the gym, run etc so I presume as I've gotten older my body just naturally burns fewer calories so to lose weight I had to drop the calories further.

I do weigh everything I eat, even down to the butter on my toast. But I've enjoyed the challenge and have focused on finding healthier choices. I still have dinners out or alcohol if I want it but find more often now I choose healthier choices because I want to.

Just dont send an Eton Mess my way, I will lose all semblance of control 🤣

Look, broadly speaking you're right. It's energy consumed vs energy used. But there is a lot of nuance. Do some people just over eat and make bad choices.....of course. Do some dieters actually not understand what they're eating and fall foul of hidden calories......probably. But genetics plays a part, medical conditions play a part, even medication people are on play a part. Ever taken steroids, I ballooned on them and yet ate very little as they made me so sick!

Are you naturally slim @amijumping? For me losing weight hasn’t really been an issue- it’s keeping it off! I don’t have an unhealthy lifestyle but as you say - every little thing adds up!

I can believe this. I am maintaining a 7 stone loss and sometimes I think is this how people of this size actually eat because quite frankly it’s not very bloody much but maybe you’re right they didn’t have a weight problem for the majority of their life and had to lose so much weight so their body isn’t trying to eat itself back to being very obese.
I wish WLI were around years ago (as readily available as they are now) it would have made such a difference to my life.

the one time I lost a lot of weight I was eating a lot of calories and lifting weights. It’s not as simple as lower calories and exercise, it is for some people, not all.

What kind of diet are you referring to? Low and very low calorie diets may work in the short term with maximum weight loss at 6 months but time and time again, the research has shown that by 12 month almost every one will be back at baseline weight or higher. Read up on the weight set point theory - every body has a weight set point which is determined in utero. You cannot change this without some serious manipulation either through surgery or the new weight loss medications. Your body will always try to bring you back to your set point - usually when you go below it. It’s not as effective at bringing you back to it if you gain too much.

Ah yes, thought so! Have to say that when I was breastfeeding, my weight loss was very slow...sometimes 100g a week. It does all add up though but it's very disappointing at the time. I always thought that the number going down is going in the right direction! 😀

Yeah I know, I just re read and realised it made zero sense 😂

half a pound a week :)

And when you've had a couple more kids, wrangles bolshy teens and are menopausal...