# My Rant About Diets



## bluekitdon (Dec 19, 2012)

First of all, let me say that I really admire people that have made a choice to change their lifestyle and bodies. If this is you, I'm proud of you!

What frustrates me is when I hear people say "I'm going on a diet". Why? Because it never works!!! They lose some weight, and call it a day. The next year, they're heavier than they were before they started on the diet!

So why doesn't this work? I believe it is because people think of it as a short term change to get to where they want to be. Guess what? If you're a 250lbs 5'1" girl, you don't need a short term change! You need a lifestyle change!

Here's a better alternative in my mind. Figure out how many calories the "ideal you" should eat each day. Start eating that amount, and keep it up *for the rest of your life*. Get moving and do something fun for a 15-45 minutes each day. It may take awhile, but your body will adjust to the proper weight eventually, and more importantly it will stay there.

My 4 step prescription:

Figure out your ideal weight. Ideal Weight and Height Chart | Body Mass Index Chart | Rush
Put in *your ideal weight* into this quick calorie calculator where it says current weight to get the recommended calories Calorie Calculator - Daily Caloric Needs
Track your calories until you can consistently stay in the right range (probably at least a few months and check in every six month or so to make sure you are still on track). Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com
Continue eating at this rate and exercising for the rest of your life.


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## Devin87 (May 15, 2011)

Cutting calories doesn't really work like that, though. The kind of calories you're eating is much more important than how many of them you're getting. People who cut their calories without changing the content give up pretty quickly because they're hungry all the time and still not dropping weight because cutting calories without changing the quality of the fuel source will just make your body slow down your metabolism and scream hunger signals at you all day. And that's what gives most people such a negative experience with "diets".

I do agree that it has to be a lifestyle change, though. I hate when people say I'm on a diet or things like "oh-- that's not allowed on your diet, is it?". It's frustrating because of all the implications in the word "diet". I don't consider myself on a diet any more than someone who chooses to eat vegetarian or kosher is on a diet. It's just a way of eating.


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## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

Devin87 said:


> Cutting calories doesn't really work like that, though. The kind of calories you're eating is much more important than how many of them you're getting. People who cut their calories without changing the content give up pretty quickly because they're hungry all the time and still not dropping weight because cutting calories without changing the quality of the fuel source will just make your body slow down your metabolism and scream hunger signals at you all day. And that's what gives most people such a negative experience with "diets".
> 
> I do agree that it has to be a lifestyle change, though. I hate when people say I'm on a diet or things like "oh-- that's not allowed on your diet, is it?". It's frustrating because of all the implications in the word "diet". I don't consider myself on a diet any more than someone who chooses to eat vegetarian or kosher is on a diet. It's just a way of eating.


They're both equally important. 3000 calories of broccoli may not be as bad as 3000 calories of cake, it will contribute to weight gain.


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## Devin87 (May 15, 2011)

android654 said:


> They're both equally important. 3000 calories of broccoli may not be as bad as 3000 calories of cake, it will contribute to weight gain.


A main difference is-- good luck eating 3000 calories of broccoli. That's about 56 cups. If we eat the right foods, we'll naturally modulate our calorie intake. No one's going to eat 3000 calories of broccoli whereas (closer to) 3000 calories of cake, ice cream, pizza, soda and candy at a birthday party are much more likely. Also, the broccoli isn't going to spike your blood sugar releasing insulin which tells your body to store a higher percentage of the calories as fat.


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## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

Devin87 said:


> A main difference is-- good luck eating 3000 calories of broccoli. That's about 56 cups. If we eat the right foods, we'll naturally modulate our calorie intake. No one's going to eat 3000 calories of broccoli whereas (closer to) 3000 calories of cake, ice cream, pizza, soda and candy at a birthday party are much more likely. Also, the broccoli isn't going to spike your blood sugar releasing insulin which tells your body to store a higher percentage of the calories as fat.


It's actually 100 cups of broccoli, but my point still stands, caloric value is as important as caloric count.


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## bluekitdon (Dec 19, 2012)

Devin87 said:


> A main difference is-- good luck eating 3000 calories of broccoli. That's about 56 cups. If we eat the right foods, we'll naturally modulate our calorie intake. No one's going to eat 3000 calories of broccoli whereas (closer to) 3000 calories of cake, ice cream, pizza, soda and candy at a birthday party are much more likely. Also, the broccoli isn't going to spike your blood sugar releasing insulin which tells your body to store a higher percentage of the calories as fat.


Bingo. There is ample evidence to suggest that regulating your calorie intake is the main aspect of gaining or losing weight. Take this article for example. Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds - CNN.com

The flip side of this is that some foods are loaded with calories while others are not. So, while it does not necessarily matter WHAT you eat as long as you control the calories, the reality is that eating certain foods will allow you to better regulate your caloric intake, so it is easier to stay within the appropriate range. 

Refer to the study below if you would like an in depth dive with an analysis of over 121,000 people over 20 years. Here are a few key points.



> The dietary factors with the largest positive associations with weight changes, per serving per day, were increases in the consumption of potato chips (1.69 lb), potatoes (1.28 lb), sugar-sweetened beverages (1.00 lb), unprocessed red meats (0.95 lb), and processed meats (0.93 lb). A secondary analysis of potato subtypes showed that weight changes were positively associated with increases in the consumption of french fries (3.35 lb) and of boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes (0.57 lb). Weight gain associated with increased consumption of refined grains (0.39 lb per serving per day) was similar to that for sweets and desserts (0.41 lb per serving per day). Inverse associations with weight gain, per serving per day, were seen for increased consumption of vegetables (−0.22 lb), whole grains (−0.37 lb), fruits (−0.49 lb), nuts (−0.57 lb), and yogurt (−0.82 lb).


MMS: Error

As to the point made by *@*Devin87 about decreasing calories gradually, yes I agree with that to a certain extent. But if you look at the number of calories required to maintain the ideal weight, for most people this is even more than is suggested by many diet guides. You may not be able to drop from 4000 calories a day to 1500 calories a day, but for people that are not extremely obese I believe dropping to the desired calorie count immediately will be fine within a few weeks. Just be careful not to drop much beyond that calorie count or your body can actually go into a hibernation of sorts, starvation mode, and it will cause you to lose weight more slowly.


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## Arabian Knight (Jun 4, 2012)

It's all about discipline. Also it helps if they turn their long term goal(ex. have 10% body fat before the summer starts), into short term goals(lose 1% of body fat this week).


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## bluekitdon (Dec 19, 2012)

Arabian Knight said:


> It's all about discipline. Also it helps if they turn their long term goal(ex. have 10% body fat before the summer starts), into short term goals(lose 1% of body fat this week).


I agree for the most part that goals are helpful. I also believe that these types of goals are the reasons why people quit though when they hit a plateau and don't hit their goal of losing 5lbs a week for a few weeks or whatever. People also tend to quit after they get to whatever goal they set, like losing 20lbs, then quickly gain back 30lbs.

What I would suggest as a goal would be to eat properly and exercise for at least 15 minutes each day for the rest of your life. Rather than focusing on the results, this focuses on the activities, which will eventually produce the results. If you follow my steps at the beginning, the results will be that you get to a healthy weight and stay there.

If you need more motivation, it might be better to do something like a specific event. Personally I have a goal of leading my team in completing a Tough Mudder again in September Tough Mudder - Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet. Those are great fun, good team building experience, and benefit the Wounded Warrior Foundation, so I highly recommend them. I'll have to step things up a lot more than I recommended to stay in the healthy range to get there, so dropping back to a more reasonable range feels like a vacation. A 5K or 5K mud run is probably more appropriate for most people, just find something fun that you can do to stay active that will motivate you.


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## Devin87 (May 15, 2011)

People do need to be careful with the "it's all about discipline" thing. Not all diets work for all people. For people who are insulin resistant (a good portion of obese people), a low-fat, high-carb diet that keeps them on a blood sugar roller coaster will be unsustainable and won't produce the best results. They'll feel horrible and their body with hold on to every ounce for dear life and zap them of any energy to exercise. For people with insulin problems, a high-fat, low-carb diet works better. They can have all the discipline in the world, but if the world is telling them all the wrong information about dieting and they're not going on a diet that's right for their bodies, they're doomed to fail from the start. And then you get the equally misinformed people blaming the dieter-- you weren't disciplined enough. You must be lying about how much you ate. You must have been sneaking Ben and Jerry's in the middle of the night. It's all your fault. You must have weak will/weak character/be a lazy, disgusting slob. How discouraging.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Plain and simple, eat foods that you body was designed to eat (aka Paleo diet). The major problem is it's very inconvenient since you have to cook a lot of the foods and it's hard to just grab and go with your meals.


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## KilljoyKoala (Mar 22, 2013)

My rant about diets: Shit tastes nasty.

I prefer not obsessing over how aesthetically pleasing I appear to others, or how well I align with society's standards of beauty.


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## mushr00m (May 23, 2011)

I think people need to stop using the word, diet and instead use change of lifestyle. Some unintentionally take the wrong kind attitude towards food and healthy eating, thinking I must lose this weight as quickly as I can, why not lengthen the time which you would probably do if you intend to change this part of your life for good, to be able to think in terms of long range healthy eating instead of crash diet or just diet tricks our mind into impulsively wanting to change food habits, we lose sight of the future and thus our coping when the times get tough eventually loses out and then we need to eat even more to relieve the guilt. Developing the right pre attitude to healthy eating is a must, diet is such a cheap word, change it to healthy living.


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## bluekitdon (Dec 19, 2012)

KilljoyKoala said:


> My rant about diets: Shit tastes nasty.
> 
> I prefer not obsessing over how aesthetically pleasing I appear to others, or how well I align with society's standards of beauty.


I could care less about how I look, but I would like to be around to see my grandchildren. Here's a statistic for you from an FDA study...if you are physically fit you have a 60% chance of being healthy at age 80. If you are not, good luck, you only have a 10% chance of being healthy at that age.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US, and there are hundreds of millions of dollars spent every year resolving other issues related to obesity. See GAFF | Get America Fit Foundation | Children's Health Statistics if you want some more information.

Don't care about your health or impact on your community? How about your wealth? A survey done by Dr. Thomas Stanley revealed that 2/3 people with a net worth of more than 10 million exercise regularly. Think it is a fluke that a good percentage of the top leaders are fit? I'm thinking not...staying fit gives you more energy at the end of the day, allows you to better focus, which in a nutshell means you can get more done.


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## KilljoyKoala (Mar 22, 2013)

bluekitdon said:


> I could care less about how I look, but I would like to be around to see my grandchildren. Here's a statistic for you from an FDA study...if you are physically fit you have a 60% chance of being healthy at age 80. If you are not, good luck, you only have a 10% chance of being healthy at that age.
> 
> Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US, and there are hundreds of millions of dollars spent every year resolving other issues related to obesity. See GAFF | Get America Fit Foundation | Children's Health Statistics if you want some more information.
> 
> Don't care about your health or impact on your community? How about your wealth? A survey done by Dr. Thomas Stanley revealed that 2/3 people with a net worth of more than 10 million exercise regularly. Think it is a fluke that a good percentage of the top leaders are fit? I'm thinking not...staying fit gives you more energy at the end of the day, allows you to better focus, which in a nutshell means you can get more done.


That's nice for you. I'm not going to have grandchildren, hopefully. I'm not really concerned with being 80, anyhow. I'd also like to point out there's a difference between being fit and dieting, most diets are unhealthy and will not contribute to you being more "fit," rather they will just make you thinner temporarily (as you stated.) 

I'm also not concerned about wealth, and I think the reason wealthy people are probably more fit is because they have easy access to better food, trainers, and probably have to go to plenty of gatherings where they are pressured to look good and make an impression widely influenced by their appearance.


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## bluekitdon (Dec 19, 2012)

KilljoyKoala said:


> That's nice for you. I'm not going to have grandchildren, hopefully. I'm not really concerned with being 80, anyhow. I'd also like to point out there's a difference between being fit and dieting, most diets are unhealthy and will not contribute to you being more "fit," rather they will just make you thinner temporarily (as you stated.)
> 
> I'm also not concerned about wealth, and I think the reason wealthy people are probably more fit is because they have easy access to better food, trainers, and probably have to go to plenty of gatherings where they are pressured to look good and make an impression widely influenced by their appearance.


I agree, I think what @mushr00m said is right on, what I proposed in the op should be considered healthy living rather than a diet. You have to eat food to live, it is not evil and you don't have to eat stuff that tastes like crap to be healthy.

Not sure about the reverse scenario of wealth leading to health, but I have seen the two go together more times than not unless the person is just a workaholic. 

Better foods or trainer is a bit of a cop out, I'm probably one of the wealthiest and fittest people in my family but my typical lunch costs something like $1.70 at McDonald's (McChicken, cookie, and a glass of water - 520 calories), and I certainly don't have time for a trainer. Compare that to a double quarter pounder with cheese, large fry and large drink at 3x the cost and 3x the calories at 1530 calories. That's not a meal, that's a recommended daily allowance for some people...

As far as you not caring about your own health, well that's your choice and I'm not stupid enough to think anything I say will change your mind. Best of luck to you.


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## Emtropy (Feb 3, 2013)

Fellow ENTPs seem to love the paleo diet. Hell yes.


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## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

Relevant.


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## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

I don't see the hype with Paleo diet (no one knows it here, so I had to look a few things up), yes it has some legit things, but just because cavemen didn't have the tools to have access to certain foods, doesn't mean our bodies aren't made to eat them. So many things that are proven to be beneficial are left out (like olive oil), and there aren't any serious scientific studies to prove that Paleo diet as a whole is more beneficial than just eating healthy (controlling portions, energy intake, quality, etc).


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## bluekitdon (Dec 19, 2012)

android654 said:


> Relevant.


Interesting video, those guys have some good ideas. To add to that, I've found the simple act of tracking what you eat makes you more aware of it, and generally makes you eat less (or more if you need to gain weight to get back to the healthy range or are training hard, I actually had to increase my intake while training). 

I still eat out at least a few times each week, but I've figured out by plugging the things into Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com what tastes good and still fits into my calorie ranges for the day. I rarely actually use the calorie tracker anymore, I just know from enough experience what works, and since I tracked the actual foods I was eating, I can eat most of the things I used to eat.


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## android654 (Jan 19, 2010)

bluekitdon said:


> Interesting video, those guys have some good ideas. To add to that, I've found the simple act of tracking what you eat makes you more aware of it, and generally makes you eat less (or more if you need to gain weight to get back to the healthy range or are training hard, I actually had to increase my intake while training).


The important thing he pointed out that I think is most important is that people are ill-educated on what food is, what it does and how "diets" are poor substitutes for that knowledge.

If you're "training" for something you need to compensate that extra caloric expenditure with consumption. I'm not on a circuit but I regularly train for boxing outside of my normal workouts 75% of the month which puts me at about 13-15 hours of training a week during that period. The beauty about eating paleo is that even with that high output of activity I can mantain my caloric intake below 2000 and have a nutrient rich diet. I'm not small either (5'11" 210) yet eating solely meat, vegetables, fruit can give you 140+ grams of protein with almost no unneeded simple sugars or carbs. But you do need to carve out time to be "normal" if you haven't built up a discipline or a routine over years or guineapigging yourself out to find out what does and doesn't work.


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## Devin87 (May 15, 2011)

Pretty good video. I eat more to the primal blueprint than to the paleo diet, which has the same basic concepts, but much more flexible and individualized (hence the word "blueprint" rather than "diet"). Almost every problem he mentioned is solved with that simple change.


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## BarryO (Mar 13, 2013)

bluekitdon said:


> First of all, let me say that I really admire people that have made a choice to change their lifestyle and bodies. If this is you, I'm proud of you!
> 
> What frustrates me is when I hear people say "I'm going on a diet". Why? Because it never works!!! They lose some weight, and call it a day. The next year, they're heavier than they were before they started on the diet!
> 
> ...


Its hard in the states, because of the processed food mafia. They have way more power than any fitness company or fashion company. 

One simple step is to move to a place where everyone is skinny or fit.


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