Diet and Lose Weight? Scientists Say 'Prove It!'

NY Times ^ | January 4, 2005 | GINA KOLATA

[neverdem]

Longing to Lose, at a Great Cost

[rockabyebaby]

it's simple, portion size and exercise, will help one lose/maintain desired weight, fact of life, plain and simple, forget this no carb, low carb, no fat, low fat, high protein crap!

[cyborg]

:sigh: All I know is that I know exactly how Oprah feels.

[Darkwolf377]

It's simple: You must exercise, don't eat too much, and the ultimate, undeniable core truth to losing weight: You must burn more calories than you take in.

The reason people fail is because the above isn't "fun" and they "don't like" not eating cake three times a day and exercising. Tough. It's work, not play.

[Lizavetta]

What the hell is wrong with all these fat people??

Why don't they simply "step off the scale" and into "the Cortislim lifestyle"?

Me, I'm on the FATkins diet....I eat what I want and remain 20 lbs. too fat. Who can I sue?

[cyborg]

I'm on fatkins too!

[TexasTransplant]

Best Diet on the Planet = Youth

Where the heck is Ponce De Leon when you need him?

[Stringfellow Hawke]

I lost 23 pounds in 2 months by just keeping track of the calories I eat, I can eat about 1890 calories per day and stay the weight I am. If you go over the amount of calories your body height is suppose to eat, you can for sure expect to gain weight after a while of doing that over and over.

It takes iron will to stay on track, but if you want to be slender, it works. Just write down the calories you eat per day, and as long as you're not eating over the amount of calories you need to lose weight, you will lose the weight, no fancy diets, just a change in lifestyle, eating regular meals, anything you want, just not beyond the amount of calories your body should take per day.

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

[searchandrecovery]

Great chart - I can't believe some people actually pay that kind of money to lose weight. I started my little diet/exercise program two weeks ago, and going ok so far. The turning point last year was when I spent $5.88 at wal-mart for a long mirror, then looked at myself sideways (not a pretty sight).

I was in decent shape 10 years ago, so I got out the old books and notes on diet/cooking and exercise. Big step - daily caloric goal. Then it was starting to actually count calories. Big step - daily food log (everything I eat gets written and counted). This way I have a clue about daily intake and can make adjustments. Gently.

I'm up to 2 miles walking at 17 min./per. It's the bottom-most wrung in Cooper's Aerobic book for walking. Started out at 1 mile at 20 minutes.

I'm feeling much better (just starting is a rush). Taking a shower is no longer exercise. Only 6-10 more months to go (but it's a lifestyle change, not a quick fix).

Vegetables ROCK!

[NorCalRepub]

better yet, exercise will double those results...more muscle means more metabolically active tissue, more VO2 max exertions creates fuel burning oxygen etc. diet without exercise eventually leads to lower metabolism if done too fast.........

[MotleyGirl70]

People drink too much soda. It's loaded with sugar. I think if over weight people cut out soda from their diet, they would loose five pounds right away.

I rarely drink the stuff now because I wanted to cut back about 80% of my caffeine intake. Pretty much gave up black coffee, Diet Coke's and regular Pepsi a couple years ago. I drink lots and lots of water throughout the day now.

H2O, it does a body good.

[devane617]

Any opinions on what has caused the huge weight gain here in the U.S. during the past 20 years? I am not "fat" but would like to slim down around the middle. However, I rarely eat more that one meal per day, and already feel like I am starving.

[queenkathy]

Ok that sounds easy. How does one know how many calories they should eat?

[Stringfellow Hawke]

Yes, I exercise as well, do ab workouts and some marching in place for 20 minutes, but I am already too husky, don't want to build up my body any more, muscle weighs, and I want to reach a certain weight, want to be slender, and if I build muscle, it will take me longer to reach that idle weight.

[queenkathy]

I was on WW for a yr and one summer started biking 32 miles a wk. Never lost a lb all summer. Got disgusted and quit WW. I didn't realize I was losing inches like crazy until I couldn't get into my clothes anymore.

[mewzilla]

What works for me: If I can't/won't work it off, I don't eat it.

[Betis70]

Veggies do rock. I went through one of the higher priced plans on that list and I was very succesful.

Your plan is essentially what they teach--find your calorie target, plan your meals, write everything down (can't emphasize that enough), and get exercise everyday (again with calorie goals). Been working well for the last 2 years, though I have some calorie deficiting to do after all those dang Christmas cookies.

[Malsua]

Eh, it's even easier than dieting.

When I got Mono, I lost 40 pounds in 6 weeks(205 to 165, I looked like a skeleton, since I'm 6'2" and larger build)

When I got Pneumonia, I lost 30 pounds in 4 months(225 to 195, which is really about right for me), never seemed to get much of an appetite back for at least a year so it stayed off, well, for about a year, hehe.

Just go hang around sick people! You shed pounds like crazy!

[Stringfellow Hawke]

I don't want to promote any web site, but this is where I go to find out how many calories I should be eating to lose weight.

It's that little square thingy on the left, says "free diet assessment". You have to input your age, height and some other stuff, it will tell you how much you need to be eating to lose weight.

http://www.caloriescount.com/

Counting calories can be frustrating if you're eating something you can't figure out how many calories it has right away by looking at the package. I try to avoid those things, like my mom makes Caldo de pollo, Chicken soup, and it's hard to pinpoint how many calories that is.

There are places on the Internet that help you figure out the calories for different foods. Hope this helps a bit.