To think this Why We Eat Too Much is a fad?

[Rainingonsaturday]

OK - probably provocative title, and I’m not trying to be goady or anything like that.

However, I’m losing weight. Every time I click on a weight loss thread this book is being pushed at people.

I remember this happening with Paul McKenna and more recently some Facebook weight group, then it was all about fasting. AIBU to think it’s another faddy thing?

Will have a look at the threads but does anyone want to convince me otherwise?

@ThisIsSimplyBeyond

I haven't read it either, but I think it's brilliant. ⭐️

That's more like it ...

Yes, we've already talked about how different foods affect yoyr appetite. The article also says

The truth is that even careful calorie calculations don't always yield uniform results. How your body burns calories depends on a number of factors, including the type of food you eat, your body's metabolism, and even the type of organisms living in your gut. You can eat the exact same number of calories as someone else, yet have very different outcomes when it comes to your weight.

@Rainingonsaturday

To be fair, you need to eat more as you get bigger to continue gaining.

No way on this earth would someone get to say 18 stone just by eating one apple a day on top of 2000 calories!

The point I'm making is that it isn't all about people eating 5 x McDonalds a week and snacking constantly. It can be much more modest overeating - portions of a (healthy) meal regularly being that bit too large, having a pudding a bit too often, deciding to finish off the leftovers and that sort of thing.

Not necessarily the stereotype of an enormous person eating a family sized bag of crisps and a Mars Bar washed down with full fat Coke, which was what the quoted poster seemed to be getting at.

ive had a read of the weight loss section recently, and honestly there's some pretty faddy, obsessive stuff flying around. I know this will offend someone but it isn't meant too, I suppose if you're outside looking in, it can seem terribly fad driven.

each poster swears by this or that, nothing unusual there, but there's a very sycophantic element when everyone gets on the latest, obsessive food thing.

I can't judge personally, I'm a slim person who eats bread in moderation and I fucking love it, so what do I know?

I do think obsessive naval gazing over what we eat is somewhat disordered, culturally encouraged and really oppressive for women. One woman on those threads went out and spent over £200 on one Waitrose whop to test out a new low carb fad. Had no idea of her own body or it's requirements, just jumping on the fad bus.

It's so excessive and just another reason to overspend. Having said all that I am also a bit wanky as I only eat organic meat, but this is once in a rare while.

shop not whop, haha!
prefer a tesco whop myself:)

Absolutely, someone doesn’t need to eat McDonald’s every day to get fat. It isn’t because of apples, though. Neither statement is accurate.

@lazylinguist if increased calorie intake does not result in weight gain, please can you explain why the participants who ate 500 more calories (no matter WHY they ate them, the fact is, they did) gained weight while the participants who did not eat 500 extra calories did not gain weight?

It isn’t because of apples, though. Neither statement is accurate.

Nobody said getting fat was actually to do with apples though, did they?

I don't think I said that eating excess calories does not cause weight gain though. I said it wasn't as simple as that. There's plenty of explanation of why in the article. And indeed in the book.

Rainingonsaturday that’s a great loss! How long did it take and did you replace all meals?

He actually says in the book at one point that if you have been obese for a while (I think he said five years but can’t recall) and have diabetes for example, you won’t be able to fight against your weight set point. You will always eventually fail. I found that so disheartening. I did start researching surgery. I don’t see how it is possible for me to lose 3 to 4 stone. I’ve genuinely tried. I do a lot of exercise, always cook from scratch using fresh ingredients, but do eat some junk and drink Diet Coke… his book (which I’m still reading) made me feel it is actually hopeless. I hope it does give some hope in later chapters.

It’s more complicated and nuanced than more calories = more weight gain because it also depends on an individual’s metabolism, which is affected by genetic and epigenetic factors, as well as what the additional calories actually are. I definitely know people who stay slim while eating loads of junk and others who struggle to maintain their weight. People are different. Hormonal factors also massively affect weight. I’m breastfeeding my second child and still half a stone up on pre baby weight. This was the same with my first and when I stopped bf I lost it all within a couple of weeks without any change in diet. I’ve exercised lots more this time and cut out all refined sugar and am still half a stone up. Expecting to lose it in a similar way again.

The core message of the book is to cook unprocessed foods from scratch which really seems like the opposite of faddy to me.

@LineofFruity There is hope! Keep reading