That’s the way it works, you’re no joke homie

Reminder to readers thay there is a stark difference between "cutting back" and starving yourself.

Smaller portions and less calorie-dense options make a huge difference over time.

It is, the trick is it’s easier said than done for people.

It’s tricky to require your brain and overhaul your habits.

I say this as someone who also has lost 25 lbs. there’s a reason people refer to it as a journey.

I say this less to diminish your point and more for support of others who are going through this thinking “man this is impossible but everyone makes it sound easy”. It’s not. It’s a marathon not a sprint.

It's simple math, burn more than what goes in. No tricks, no fad diets, no regimen, eat less, do more.

Do you think that's something you'll be able to keep doing for the long term? Or, do you expect that you'll put the weight back on when you inevitably give up and start eating more?

no reason to ai pennyworth over ronald. mr McDonald has a vastly greater kill count.

edit: pennywise

I lost 35kg within 8 months by going hardcore on controlling my diet. I did have to eat more once I started exercising, which I needed to because all the muscle was melting away right along the fat. It definitely works, but I did "fall off the wagon" once I stopped counting the calories. Now I'm trying to find that long term balance of sport and diet I can maintain in the long run.

It can definitely have side effects. Psychological (eating disorders, debilitating feeling of hunger) and physical (unbalanced diet, or fatigue because the body gets in the "oh fuck must conserve energy" mode).

There is no one size fits all solution. A random 50 year old IT worker with a sedentary lifestyle and a Big Mac diet does not need the same help as a physically active 25 year old with severe hormonal imbalances. Using Ozempic is bad in the former case, but so is shaming the latter person for relying on it.

Intermittent fasting/OMAD and light exercise (walking, a bit of cycling) is in my opinion a way easier to drop massive amounts of weight in a short time. Light exercise keeps your body healthy while operating at a caloric defecit

True, it doesn’t have the side effect of continuous hunger, feeling deprived, constant cravings, until you explode with binge eating. That would never happen

Yeah moving doesn't seem to lose weight (unless you're very overweight). It's very good for you, but muscle isn't lighter than fat. At some point I went from not running to running half marathons and I went from like 86 to 82 kg average, but that only really happened after I also changed my diet. Currently I stopped running temporarily because of some health reasons and I haven't really gained much weight either, I just feel weaker.

I completely agree.

What's sad is people will torture themselves if they're overweight by working out, and then reward themselves with food afterwards.

The worst advice we gave people is telling them they shouldn't skip meals if they're trying to lose weight. Americans/Westerners really don't care about finding solutions; only looking like they do.

this "common knowledge" "weight loss" stuff typically neglects how dieting will affect ur caloric rate. if u just starve urself, ur muscles will grow smaller and u will need fewer calories to maintain ur normal functioning body, meaning u need to eat even less again to not put on fat. but if u train ur muscles directly, they will beg for more calories so they can grow, and the calories needed to maintain them will also increase.

for anyone interested, i suggest reading a physical education by casey johnston.

As most things about the human body, it actually is more complicated. Caloric restriction also causes biological responses in our bodies, influencing hormones such as ghrelin and leptin which physiologically alter hunger and satiety. Some people can even be resistant to leptin for example, meaning that they struggle with a lack of satiety. Our bodies have also been shown to reduce their energy requirements by about 200 calories per day when intake is restricted.

So even if we disregard the problems the claim it's just a matter of willpower, there are other, biological things to consider.

All this to say, it is undoubtedly good to have more fiber, around 1.2-1.6g protein per kg of bodyweight, 120minutes of excercise a week and strength training, or just whatever we can implement into our routines.

Oh, and one more thing, fatness isn't a ubiquitous measure of healthiness or virtue, and thinness isn't either. We have to challenge our assumptions and biases, a lot of which come from our cultures and media.

Just don't have an eating disorder / addiction is what these posts suggest you know. 4Head shit. The entire problem is they struggle with saying no. Like a heroin addict. "Just eat less" is worthless advice.

"Eat less, and here's how to learn this disipline while dealing with the myriad of possible root causes of your disordered function" would be a start. Nutritionists exist for this purpose.

It's a mental weakness many people clearly have given it's an epidemic. Exploited by their dealers: Capitalists involved in food industry.

Edit: evidently i've stumbled into /r/fatpeoplehate

It's funny how you never visualise the person on an internet forum as fat, but some of the people typing here are fat.

What happened in the 80s

A significant part of it is the stuff they put in our food.

Sort of describes bulimia I guess

Now replace calories with rape

My name is Yoshikage Kira. I'm 33 years old...

Why'd they keep it a secret? Someone tell the fat people, quick!

Same lol, but I’m still sorta fat because the food I and family members make is actually SCRUMPTIOUS that I can’t avoid it, but when I want to or feel like it, I can just go like a whole day without eating. The downside is that I constantly forget to drink water because I have zero clue when I’m absolutely parched

I learned how to harness it to do intermittent fasting, I like food, I lift heavy but sometimes not often enough so it is helpful sometimes to just go eh I'll skip a meal or two.

Thanks for this, I had an idea about food addiction but that explanation puts it in perspective.

Companies also try to make foods as addictive as possible and as flashy as possible. It's like avoiding the constant casino ads as a gambling addict, but you had to keep stepping into a casino every week forever and only doing low bets.

on top of that, if someone is using excess food to "self medicate" issues like... IDK, anxiety? by forcing the body to go from the Sympathetic nervous system response to the Parasympathetic nervous system response.... yeah. Fun coping mechanism makes one fat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympathetic_nervous_system#Relationship_with_the_parasympathetic_nervous_system

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasympathetic_nervous_system

The way chemicals interact with dopamine, some of those substances are a LOT harder than others. You just need to change the food you eat. I found fasting easier than meticulous dieting. I had the willpower and was enable to accept the simplicity of simply not eating.

That's just one approach to addiction. Personally, I think it assumes people are weak with no self-control, which seems to be exactly the argument you're making.

The emphasis on abstinence and any exposure at all being a failure might even make binging more likely if someone gives in just a little, as their counter is now reset, so might as well take advantage.

And the obsession/fascination with the addiction target continues or even gets ramped up.

I like the moderation approach a lot better. I don't binge drink every weekend anymore, but if I do feel like having a drink every now and then, I just do instead of spiraling because I need to treat it like some sort of personal failure.

I control my addictions by limiting supply. I buy a fifth of bourbon and a case of beer once a month and that's what I get. If I go on a bender for a week and run out tough shit.

I don't have problems with overeating but if I did my strategy would be to have a limited supply of things I don't have to cook. No chips or soda or sugary bullshit. Just full ingredients that have to be prepped and cooked. When I did cook or order food it would be in an amount that's appropriate. Add friction between me and the things that are a problem for me so it's easier to put off consuming them. Maybe that would work. I don't know.

I also have an abhorrence for delivery services so that helps too.

Nice superpower.

That sounds like a very expensive chronic issue.

Celery is probably the best we got and it kinda sucks and I think maybe I'd rather die.

It should also include oils, sugar, salt and cream so it would taste good.

Pickles!

Nature has even given us food with -ive calories.
Just eat those.
But of course, they are not particularly tasty.

Then there is 0 calorie industrial stuff that will cause you cancer.

Speaking the truth. We made it super easy to get calories and we like comfort. You need to make it an actual lifestyle change and not just a diet to lose weight. I didn't take my nutrition or weight lifting seriously until my 40s. I got in better shape then when I was active duty and I really didn't care what I ate.

Also my sleep greatly improved when my diet and exercise were pushing me. I had zero problems getting to sleep and staying asleep.

I need to get serious about it again.

I wish I could like running. It hurts and is awkward and just generally sucks. Thank fuck I found bicycles.

So, yeah, for those who can't make themselves like running, check out Craigslist or a local bicycle co-op to find a reasonably priced used bike and start riding. It's transportation, it's exercise, it can be meditation, and it's easy on the joints.

Ultimately, find an activity that makes you physically exhausted that you enjoy. If you aren't having any fun you're likely to give up when life gets in the way, but if you enjoy it, even if you go a year without, you're likely to want to get back into it, and that's vital.

LOL.. getting downvoted by protein brahs. Colostomy bags are so hot right now. Luis Vuitton should make them.

Is that country the US? /s

But seriously, fast food isn't cheap anymore. It's cheaper to go to a real sub shop than it is to go to Subway! Or just make food at home.

I can get a fucking steak dinner for the price a some of the more expensive fast food combos around me. Shit is crazy.

I misread the last part as "roadside slop" 😭

The patient can deny consent in advance, though.

Every day, we stray further from World Toilet Day.

Half of shit is bacteria, roughly.

I once didn't eat for 14 days. Honestly it wasn't that bad.

Disclaimer: I was/am obese and had fat for it. And took some salts/vitamins. But no calories. I don't recommend it. Such behavior can easily cause/worsen eating disorders. Seek medical advice.

Well voluntary is a stretch. When you look at the timing it is usually done when food was getting scarce in, or after winter.

It's weird to me how drastically Lenten fasting has decreased in modern day catholicism. If I hadn't left the religion and already become a pescatarian I'd be doing it old school with pescatarian all season and full fasts on Fridays.

People should be wary of voluntarily fasting for more than a day or two. Can be fine, but can also lead to lasting complications, may be too late by the time you feel bad. Ramadan/etc usually only involve intermittent fasting spread out over a period of time.

Plenty of keep our lives exciting by addictionmaxing. Food, booze, cigarettes, drugs, sex, gambling, shopping, animal hoarding…

It's like any addiction really, easy to slip into even if everything is fine, and when 1 thing goes wrong you turn to it. It literally makes you feel better in the short term and your brain tells you to do it.

I feel like you've got no idea what you're talking about.

If that dry-ass wilted burger gives you appetite, there's something wrong with you.

Yeah, #4 is the real trick there. Self control, discipline, sacrifice. None of those things are easy. It's very simple and straightforward yes, but not easy.

People seem to equate being simple with being easy. Smoking cigarettes? Just stop. Losing money gambling? Just don't gamble. Alcoholic? Just don't drink. All very straightforward and clear paths forward, all very difficult for an average person to accomplish.

But getting into shape is basically a cheat code. By packing on more muscle you're increasing the amount of calories your body burns just existing.

And depending on the workout you can burn an entire meals worth of calories.

Working out isn't required to lose weight, but it does make it a hell of a lot easier.

down to calories in, calories out.

No it does not. Of course you can, and should of the best of your ability control how much calories, goes in but there is two ends to a digestive system.

A healthy body evacuate from the other end of the system most the excess calories taked in. If your body doesn't do that. There is something wrong with it.

Some people will eat fattening food and then complain as if they had no choice in the matter.

Yes, it's called addiction or other mental issues. Try to be nice.