Is really just as simple as calories in, calories out?

[Easterfunbun]

To lose weight?

Honestly I’ve just read so much conflicting information now that I just don’t even know what to believe in.

I have just finished reading “why we eat too much” written by Dr A.Jenkins. It certainly did resonate, but upon further reading he is coming from an insulin model, not a calorie deficit model. He doesn’t totally advocate cutting carbs, however he does say we should reduce them. Okay, goes without saying but then he also says it’s not just as simple as calories in and calories out.

Yet, that is all I hear. So, is it really the only way to lose? If I do this, will I mess up my metabolism long term?

Horribly, horribly confused and I’ve totally lost the ability to eat intuitively. I know people say food is food, but there is a hierarchy isn’t there? I don’t think we can deny that. Sadly.

Send help!…. This is seriously impacting me now. I just want to be healthy.

No i don't think it is. Our metabolism changes as we age and also menopause. Plus we are all different.

Tim Spector has shown that our bodies react can completely differently to the same foods. Mainly sugar / insulin. Also gut bacteria etc.

Calories in higher protein food aren't the same as in carbs. It's all digested and used by the body in different ways.

Fasting has been shown to change how the body uses calories etc too. Eating later at night can increase weight for example.

Yes it is.

however you are an individual and one way of reducing your calorie intake may suit you better. It’s finding what works.

fasting, low carb, they all work by reducing calories. Find the one you can stick to.

the way I fucked up my metabolism was by trying all the “quick fixes”. Fasting, low carb, slimmers world, nothing worked and I ended up putting on weight every time.

what did work was going back to proper 3 meals and one snack per day. Keeping an eye on calories and increasing non exercise activity- walking, just generally moving around.

stop losing weight, reassess calorie/exercise balance.

In general yes it is but there are finer points to it.

I have PCOS and am insulin resistant so my body doesn't handle carbs well. If I eat a calorie deficit full of carbs I'm hungry and I don't lose weight as consistently or as fast. If I cut my carbs and fill up on protein and full fat dairy then I stick to the diet better, feel fuller and lose weight faster.

Different sorts of exercise seems to affect the body and people differently too.

A friend raves about a book that's all about insulin and a window of eating by an endocrinologist but I can't for the life of me remember it

As PPs say, the way the body uses calories varies. So it's really calories that the body can use in, versus calories burned.

Well of course it is. If you eat less and move around more then you will lose weight. It’s impossible not to.

The tricky bit is the practical side. It’s hard to be really honest and brutal and cut down a lot on food.

I haven't lost any weight- I don't really need to- and I lead a pretty active life - cylcling to work and daily dog walks etc but since going to the gym with my pal who knows about gym type things and doing things like leg raises, planks, hip raises and banded squats, I've really toned up and look a lot slimmer. If anything I'm eating more but it's healthier because I know I'm doing a gym session later so I consciously eat better food for lunch and afterwards.

Interesting. How accurate do we think these Fitbit’s are in terms of calories burnt? I want to lose sustainably. I would be more than happy with 1 pound a week.

At a very simple level, yes. If you are 500 calories a day (clearly not recommended), you will keep losing weight until there's nothing left to lose. Most diets, however they're sold, result in you being in a calorie deficit. That said, there are lots of reasons why it's not that simple. It's very hard to continually stay at a low number of calories. You could get your very meagre calories from haribo, for example, but you'd be starving and feel like shit and will find it difficult to keep it up. You could get the same number of calories from a mix of whole foods, vegetables, protein and you'd probably find it easier to stick to and feel better.

Whereas carbs are my friend and two slices of toast will keep me full for hours. Carb based meals really work for me as I can keep calories down. I can leave high fat food as well, i don’t eat meat, chocolate etc. bag of crisps is a different matter 😂

it really is listening to your body and figuring out what foods make you feel full/leave you needing to eat. If you can cut calories by fasting, great. I can’t as I can’t regulate myself during the “window” and overeat because I have “permission” .

I did read some interesting stuff that your body learns to process food/develops different gut bacteria depending on your childhood lifestyle. Holds true for me as I was an athlete as a kid/teen so high carb for fuel is what my body seems to prefer to process.

There's a million different theories, all with some truth. The fact is there's a lot about how our bodies and hormones interact with food that we either just don't know, or is so variable between different people that it's almost impossible to predict.
I know exactly what you mean about losing the ability to eat intuitively but you can get it back. Listen to your body. Don't eat because of boredom. Exercise.
As far as eating healthily- avoid highly processed food and chemicals- we still don't know how they interact with our digestion, hormones, mood etc. Lots of vegetables, unprocessed meat, whole food carbs like rice, grains, potatoes. Drink water, milk, tea, coffee. Limit alcohol. Eat what you fancy as long as it's within those parameters. Eat slowly, pay attention, stop when full. That's it really.
And remember being healthy and strong is more important than being skinny.

Focus on building muscle too - so important as we age and will help

Alcohol is the absolute worst thing for me weight wise.

I’m just a bit exhausted by all the information.
It all just heavily conflicts so much and there’s a lot of theories, experts, advice, I’m just honestly so exhausted with it all.
Thanks all.

Ultimately, yes. A calorie is a unit of energy. Nothing more, nothing less. If you consume fewer calories, ie less energy, than your body uses to keep you alive & moving around then your body will use its reserves of stored energy, ie fat, and over time you will lose weight. That’s just simple basic physics and no amount of the diet industry’s pseudoscience bullshit changes that.

Not all calories are equal, though. One calorie’s worth of chicken breast or fresh vegetables contains far more nutrients for your body than one calorie’s worth of fatty, sugary crap.

@Ihavekids

Thank you. No desire to be skinny. I genuinely just want to be healthy and strong.

I've always considered it like a fuel tank, you put too much fuel in and the tank gets full, you put so much in and then excerise ect, the fuel gets used up.

@Easterfunbun

I think that the vast majority of people underestimate how much they eat and overestimate how much they move.
i firmly believe that if you eat less and move more, you will lose weight. The balance of these things is not equal however. You need to eat 70% less than you do now and move 30% more for example (not accurate but you see what I mean).
Of course you should eat less of these things: sugar in all its forms, fried and deep fried food

@ClassicLib

Appreciate what you’re saying re: diet industry but the book I just read was written by an NHS bariatric consultant, so I don’t think psuedo science was the aim. I think that’s why it just blows your mind sometimes. You read credible things coming from all avenues.

Basically, yes.
When I was fat I did very little exercise, ate 3 meals a day plus unhealthy snacks on top, drank wine a few times a week, and had a takeaway a couple of times a month. Calories in far exceeded calories out.

Now I'm thin because I run a lot, I don't drink, I don't eat takeaways and I eat far less than I did before.

I often wonder why it took me so long to realise that "eat less, move more" really is the key.

Me too. Getting conscious of getting older and want to be strong and take care of myself.

It's really helped me to exercise regularly. I don't want to eat as much if I've worked out. I can't manage cutting out all treats but as I feel my body get stronger I relax a bit more about how much I can eat. And also, if I know I'm going to the gym I don't drink as much- but could never stop completely.

Only having healthy food in the house helps a lot too!

I think this is part of the problem. Makes me think of the old show of supersize versus super skinny. I used to think it was absolutely ridiculous that they showed them what they ate in a day. I mean, everyone knows what they eat in a day, right? But in fact I think most people really don’t. I think people massively underplay what they eat and how many calories they consume.

@Ihavekids

Good luck with it. 👍

@Kanaloa

Not true for me. I’m a realist. I’m currently fat because I am eating far too much of the wrong foods and moving too little. I just at times feel overwhelmed with information about how best to proceed with this in the healthiest way and the most sustainable way.

As long as you're under 40. After this, all hell breaks loose and you can't ever sniff near a biscuit again.