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How many times have you heard it? “If you want to lose weight it’s a simple matter of eating less and burning more calories.” I love Dr. Eades, and he’s written a post that explains why that just isn’t the way it works. And it also certainly isn’t about how much healthy fat is in your diet.
After you read that, have you seen these weight loss posts?
- FOX News: Is Exercise Necessary When Trying to Lose Weight?
- DOES FAT MAKE YOU FAT? Part 2 – how dietary fat affects weight loss.
- DOES FAT MAKE YOU FAT? Part 1 – saturated fat, cholesterol, and heart disease issues.
- COCONUT HEALTH BENEFITS - read how it can help with weight loss.
- EXERCISE, uh huh, you know what I’m going to say… – how I got off my butt.
- BOOK Suggestions – some good ones here about weight loss
- Weight Watchers and Nourishing Traditions?
- What Makes us Fat and Why Nobody Seems to Care
- Dieting With No Carb or LOW CARB Foods – my own experience with lowering carbohydrates along with a list of great low carb food options.
***3 more low carb posts: Low Carb Carnival w/ food ideas to keep you motivated, good info at this post in the comments about foods with carbs that you may not know about, and more low-carb ramblings with my personal goals.
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Well, the traditional way of losing weight worked for DH, who lost around 100 pounds over a course of 4 yrs. He also did cardio and strength training.
I believe what’s needed for weight loss is highly individual, as we all have unique bodies. In this country, I am more and more convinced that one of the main problems with overweight and obesity is that we are addicted to grains. Most Americans are either the protein or mixed metabolic type, which means that consuming more than a serving or two of starchy food per day (which most do) can spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E.
I find Jonny Bowden to be a great source of nutrition/diet information. He’s definitely on board with real food, and don’t be scared of fat (especially if it’s from raw milk or free range eggs, or grassfed beef). I’m trying to get back on the real-food wagon this year. Thanks for posting these articles!
If it were really all about calories in/calories out, then I wouldn’t have lost 65lbs eating and drinking whole cream, lard, juicy steaks and chicken skin. For me, weight gain it’s all about carbs/sugar. But like Emily said, each person is different. My sister, who hates meat and fat (OH MY GOSH), lost a lot of weight and kept it off on Weight Watchers.
It’s so funny you should post this today, Kelly. I’m writing a similar post for my Weight Loss Wednesday series tomorrow. We must be on the same wavelength.
I think calories in/calories out can be deceptively effective. What I mean is, it appears that you’re losing weight, but usually only SOME of it is fat. Many people think part of losing weight is losing some lean mass, or they don’t even think that the number on the scale is dropping because of fat AND other types of loss. Losing lean body mass is dangerous (why would you want to lose bone mass or organ mass just to see a smaller number on the scale?), and the calories in/calories out method gets people trapped in the idea of numbers and equations when it’s just not that simple.
I’m speaking from personal experience here. Two years ago I would gain weight on 1,600 calories a day – by some theories that means I needed less, like my body only needed 1,400 calories. But flash forward to today and I can maintain my healthy weight even on 2,400 calories a day (because I eat totally different foods – i.e. butter!). At 5′4″ I’d say that’s not too bad, and I know a lot of people who would gasp in disbelief at the thought of eating so many calories.
In my opinion, the calories in/calories out touches on a basic premise that holds some truth, but it ignores so many other factors that it becomes discouraging and even dangerous to use.
Thanks for this! I read the article and borrowed one of them too.
I’ve been slowly trying to convince people who are seeing “results” on low-fat diets that it really isn’t a good idea. This will help!
i’m pretty sure the articles Dr eades wrote didn’t say that you can’t or won’t lose weight by reducing fat. what it suggested is that you can also lose weight when you keep protein about the same and increase fat while minimizing carbs, and further suggested that the mood and health of the individual is more intact with a carb reduced vs. fat reduced diet. sustainability is key with diet and weight loss. happier healthy people will sustain a diet. i do think there’s something to nutrition types. dr mercola has mentioned nutrition types but i haven’t looked into it much. that may be why some have better on low carb and some on low fat diet. my food philosophy is based on two principals 1) WHOLE food-including whole carbs like oats, wheat, skin on potatoes, AND WHOLE animal products like full fat dairy, full fat meat (eating skins, bone-in meat, dark meat) and WHOLE fat (like unrefined olive oil, nuts, coconut oil, butter, etc.) and 2) BALANCE. That’ s both from a balance of the different nutrients (grains, fruit/veggie, nuts, dairy, meat, fat. and balance between activity and food intake, and balance between eating for flavor/taste vs. eating to fuel the body. thanks for sharing.
Although I wholeheartedly agree with the goodness of cream and lard and butter, I would like to caution people against thinking that because they lost weight consuming those things that they didn’t reduce their caloric intake. One of the wonderful things about meat, fat and dairy is that they fill and satisfy us at a much lower caloric level. It takes much more sugar, much more starch, much more even of vegetable matter to fill us than meat, fat or dairy. Eating our fill of those, with rare exception, does mean a reduction in caloric intake.
Also, I have a question/request of Kelly: I am looking for statistics on veganism and newborn birth weight, failure to thrive, the effects of a vegan diet on a breast fed infant that does not come from WAP, because I am speaking to people who are skeptical. I have read them in Nina Planck’s book among other places, but most of my books are still packed at the moment and I am seeking hard data. Thank you!
I know it’s tough to leave behind the idea that it’s all about calories and if someone loses weight doing something else – they must really have been lowering calories without knowing it.
I can, however, count. So I know in my case at least it has nothing to do with cream, butter, etc being filling so I’m eating less without realizing it. I am eating at least twice what I used to – and losing weight.
Trimming a few calories here and there is so simple, If it was only about calories – very few people would be overweight.
Great conversation, everyone!
Ranee, I wish I could help you but I don’t have time to do a hard Google search right now. I’d suggest to just Google-away and see what you find. It will probably take you a while. I’ve got emails piled up like crazy, posts to work on, and emails for my son’s soccer team to get out. Oh, and I should get to bed soon, too! LOL!
Kelly
I’m really tired of people counting calories and fat as measures for losing weight. Information like this is absolutely vital to get out to people t help them understand how they can be healthier and lose weight! You know, it’s funny…I’ve always been really petite and never had much of a weight problem, even when I was eating industrial food a lot in my younger years…except right before I got pregnant I was the heaviest I’ve ever been. I probably weighed 10 pounds or more over what I had ever weighed since I was a child. And I started to get some cellulite, although not a lot.
After my son was born, and I had experienced a ruptured appendix, I became really sick and my weight went WAY down, to where my husband and everyone thought I was too thin and looked too gaunt.Since I changed my diet, my weight has been pretty constant and I have felt I was pretty much right where I should be. This holiday season, I did end up eating more junk that I really wanted to, and sure enough, I gained about 5 pounds. It’s the first time in my life since before pregnancy where I actually gained weight! Usually I’m losing weight or just stay where I’m at. Now that I’m back eating healthy food again, I can feel my body settling back down and I’ve lost a couple of pounds. My pants aren’t tight anymore, that’s the best part. But for the last three years I’ve been eating pretty much all healthy, real fats, lots of vegetables, and few processed foods. Now, if that isn’t proof, I don’t know what is!
I find it’s carbs that make me hold onto weight. Protein / real foods helps me lose it, and quickly, too. I can’t wait to read through these resources. Thanks for posting.
I have to agree that the low fat standard american “diet” does not work. For all my life I was always wishing to lose the last 5-10 pounds. I ate oatmeal or fancy yogurts for breakfast, luna bars for lunch, maybe a sandwich, 3 servings of dairy a day, 5 fruits & veggies a day, a regular meal for dinner, which was probably larger than I should be because I was always starving!
Since become gluten intolerant in Dec/Jan 10 after a dose of antibiotics in Nov/Dec of 09, I have totally given up grains (some rice), dairy, and soy. My food for the day consists of eggs, bacon, avocados, huge salads, usually with salmon or chicken, nuts & seeds for snacking, apple & peanut butter, banana, clementines. Usually a small meal at dinner with beans, meat, and veggies & salad. I have tracked it on Nutrimirror.com and it is off the charts in fat! However, I used to weigh 124 (Jan 1,2010 for 5′4in and now I weight 109. I don’t exercise more, probably less. I have cut out ALL processed foods and switched over to mostly organic. I have never felt better in my whole life, I am never starving and eat only when hungry, I NEVER crave sugar! I have energy out the roof! I think we need to get back to the original way of eating and weight and health issues would be minimized.