to think that losing weight isn't as complicated as it's made out to be?

[upsylazy]

NB I am not saying that losing weight is EASY as i have learned from personal experience. But there do seem to be this plethora of methods, books, videos, personal plans out there about it. Through my lifetime, I've had to listen to people drone on endlessly abouy the grapefruit diet, the F plan diet, the Cambridge diet, diets where you can't mix food groups right up to Atkins and all the low carb stuff.
My understanding from biology at school is that food contains units of energy (calories) and I seem to remember this being demonstrated by burning a peanut and seeing how much it raised the temperature of a test tube of water.
The understanding I have is that if you consume more calories than you burn off, you'll put on weight and vice versa. I've never found that idea particularly complex. I don't doubt that a lot of these diets work but they can only work if you burn up more calories than you consume.
Also, can someone please please tell me why carbs have suddenly become so bad for you? I can understand that saturated fat is bad as it clogs up your arteries and that too much salt is bad as it can raise blood pressure and reduce bone density but what do carbs DO to you that make them so terible?
I'm sitting in an office with that food pyramid thingy on the wall which basically says that carbs are good and that your diet should contain more of them than meat or dairy products. So are they wrong about this?
I don't have a problem with things like weight watchers as I can see that group suport can be invaluable. It's just all the new books and plans and programmes which various people (none of whom seem to be dieticians) are obviously making a packet from. I am perfectly prepared to stand corrected BTW.

Actually it's not simple is it. I said it was but it's not now i think about it.

I was eating boat loads of calories on the Atkins, but i lost weight because i wasn't eating any suger/carbs.

sigh.

And then there is the menopause.

YABU

People who say things like this are the equivalent of someone bursting into a conversation about whether hats or umbrellas are better and saying "YOU GULLIBLE FOOLS ARE TALKING RUBBISH, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS STOP THE RAIN FALLING ON YOUR HEAD AND YOU WILL NOT GET WET".

You are completely missing the point: they are discussing the best way to stop the rain falling on your head. You don't know something they don't know; they may know something you don't know.

On the other hand, other people's diets are INCREDIBLY BORING.

PS of course carbs are not "suddenly" bad for you. If they only became bad for you last week, people would only be about 7 ounces overweight each. They have been bad for you for ages, and some people have gained an enormous amount of weight over that time.

I agree that the theory behind losing weight is simple, burn off more than you consume.
However I felt somewhat envious of my neighbour who has just got out of his car with bags of McDonalds while i'm sat here slurping soup. NO BREAD.

I think YABU - if you eat less calories than you expend you will lose weight initially but as your body readjusts to expecting less calories (ie your metabolism gets more efficient) your weight loss will plateau, and if you go back to non diet levels of eating you will put the weight back on. The carbs thing is about keeping your blood sugar stable. There is a huge amount of evidence that weight gain is not due to excess calories but a combination of high blood glucose levels and poor insulin function because the excess blood glucose is dumped into storage as fat. The obesity crisis can be directly linked to higher sugar and refined carbs consumption. But yes it is complex because the way our bodies work are complex.

YABU - it can be a lot more complicated for some because of the mental aspects of eating - obesity is being looked at as a form of addiction because of the reaction of the pleasure centres in the brains of extremely obese people, similar to those in addicts.

Commiserations bedmonster.

I've had a yogurt and a glass of milk today for my dinner. No breakfast. God knows what diet i'm on ...

I think i've done so many over the years i'm now permanently confused

Yes it's simple but the motivation isn't. People are human afterall. Overeating is an addiction, like smoking or drug taking. Very few people would say it was simple to quit those things.

PPS
It is not just "psychology" that makes losing weight hard - people can be physically hungry while consuming too much (in the sense of causing them to gain weight) on a carb-based diet. Fat people who can't stop eating cake and bread and crisps don't think "oh it looks so nice, I will eat it although I had lunch 2 hours ago". They think "Jesus H Christ if I don't get some sugar in my blood stream right now I will just not be able to walk to the school with the pram / do this spreadsheet / go into that tough meeting / get upstairs with all this washing"

It should be simpe....eat less and move more!!

Sadly, it ain't as easy as that!

I have to say, if you don't eat enough though your metbolism will stop and you won't lose an ounce, you have to do it sensibly :)

@ curryeater

Yes! that is me :(

YABU

Everyone will find it easier or harder then the person next to them

Yes I dont believe in fad diets but every individual is different.

I know people who do no exercise and eat takeaways everyday and crisps and chocolate etc who are skinny and people who eat perfectly and exercise who are obese.

So metabolism must be real and have something to do with it.

YABN

fluffyraggies [weeps in sympathy and empathy]

Without meaning to be the most horrific shill, have you read the John Briffa book?

I really don't buy the food addiction argument - sorry!

People who still think it's as easy as eat less, move more - need to educate themselves.

People who still think all calories are equal - also need to educate themselves.

Flesh - don't you? Great. Bully for you. Fantastic though that actual scientists do and are looking into how to help people.

I think it depends how fat you are. I find losing weight very hard. But then, I am not 'fat' I just want to be slimmer. I have a bmi of about 23 I think. It is extremely hard for me to lose weight and I know about food. I eat the right things.

Chipping - in most cases though it is that simple but obviously there are exception to the rules. However, getting your brain to actually engage is another matter - we eat for all sorts of reasons, probably least one being because we are actually hungry!

Itsjustafleshwound Mon 07-Jan-13 12:27:24
I really don't buy the food addiction argument - sorry!

My mum doesn't believe in global warming and that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. Doesn't make her right.

Scientists seem to believe it is actually a reality

The understanding I have is that if you consume more calories than you burn off, you'll put on weight and vice versa. I've never found that idea particularly complex. I don't doubt that a lot of these diets work but they can only work if you burn up more calories than you consume

That hypothesis is being challenged by a lot of people now. That is why we are starting to hear a lot more about carbs. It may well be that not all calories are equal; and not all human being metabolise food or certain foods, in the same way. There is a plethora of diets because the various methods work in the short term, but long term people put weight back on then try a different method. The difficulty is that research into diets/food/lifestyles is slow, expensive and very badly funded.

I found John Briffa and Gary Taubes really interesting on the recent science and 'not all calories are equal' arguments.

Whilst there are obviously some people who have a real addiction to food, I struggle to accept that some people aren't just plain greedy and will claim food addiction rather than admit it to themselves.

In the same way that not everyone who can't spell is dyslexic. Some are, but it's been a long while since I read or heard someone saying they're just shit at spelling.

Christmas was a real eye opener on here. I was genuinely staggered by the amount of food people were claiming to eat...in fact I couldn't imagine how some of the dinners actually fitted on one plate.

Then there loads of posts from people 'out-eating' each other...consuming entire boxes of cakes/biscuits/mince pies and being egged on in a jokey way by others.

Were they all food addicts? And even if they were, would nicotine/alcohol/heroin addict be posting about feeding their addictions and have so many posters laugh along and encourage them?

Diet/food and attitudes towards it, is a complex subject indeed.

worra I have a problem with the work greed.

If you are thin but eating more calories per day than I am (when I am fat) then am I really the greedy one?