So much info
 

Hi, I am a calorie counter, that is what works for me since it makes me conscious of portion size and also the nutrition content. I see this as a training tool a way to get use to a different way of eating.

This being said, I have been reading a storm about different diets, numbers of calories, starvation, etc and I must say that the more I read the more confuse I get. There are some forums unlike yours where people attack each other if someone have a different opinion and they fall into incomprensible speech. :dizzy:

Am I the only one to think that although loosing weight is not easy that it is not complicated in itself.

If I move more

If I eat less

If I eat lean

If I eat fresh

The weight will eventually go away..........why do they have to make things so complicated and set themselves to failure. Keeping it simple is the answer I think. Excuse the rant this is after reading tons of posts elsewhere.

If I dont lose weight this week, my options are simple, eat less, move more, eat lean and eat fresh and it might not go away at the speed I want, it will still go away.

For some people it is that simple - eat less, move more.

But, how do you make yourself eat less and not start to go mad in the process? You are basically telling your body for a long time, "Sorry, you have to exist with less food than you think you need." And, being a good body that it is, it will try to convince you that you SHOULD be eating more as it doesn't like to lose weight. Losing weight equals death. Try to tell it that it is overweight and that you won't let it starve to death. If only it understood our explanations.

So, for some people it's not so simple. They have to find things, tweak things that make it possible to keep eating at a deficit long term. That might mean more exercise. It might mean less exercise. it might mean several small meals a day, or one large meal day. It could mean lowering fat intake and eating more complex carbs, or it could mean raising fat intake and eating fewer carbs.

People have to find their sweet spot that makes this LONG journey the easiest to stick to not only for the duration of the diet, but for maintaining that loss.

So, it is simple - yes, achieving that simple thing can get quite complicated.

I think, though, that for some people, the "simple" method of "eat less, move more" isn't all that simple. Or at least, it isn't for me. *L* I've been trying to lose 20 pounds for about a year and a half, and I've done every combination I can think of -- and *nothing* is working. My weight has stayed the same (well, give or take 3 pounds) for the past eighteen months.

I mean, that's one **** of a plateau, isn't it?

So yeah...sometimes losing it isn't all that "simple". I mean, yeah, in theory, it should be. But in reality it doesn't always work out that way.

I can agree with you both it is not easy to make the changes and finding the right balance, but it doesnt need to go to some of the extremes I have seen in other forums. It was darn ugly to read :0)

I might have an advantage as far as food preparation is concerned we eat meditarenean most of the time, so no butter, plenty of vegetable, lean meat and no process food at least to a minimum. Bread and rice were my killers and lebanese sweets so I removed those offending and delicious things.

People tend to get this idea of MY WAY IS BEST!!!! So I need to shout it out! And not only that, I need to tell you that YOUR way is WRONG!!!!

Now, while I fully believe the way I eat is best for me and might be a good approach for many, I cannot say that it's THE diet for everyone. For instance, if my husband or mother in law want to lose weight, they can do things differently. My mother in law just opts to skip meals every once in awhile. My husband keeps his eating the same, but works out a bit more. It's all creating the same end - burning more than consuming... but I couldn't skip dinner without major difficulty, and just picking up my exercise a notch usually doesn't work for me either as I have some food issues with overeating if I eat carb rich foods as a main part of diet.

So, why would I think they could eat and do what I do to lose weight?

That's why I don't believe in following a diet someone else designed. You need to find what works for you to get the right balance of more calories burned than consumed.

I think I might know the forum/site you were referring to in your original post, *L* If it's the place I'm thinking of....maaaaaan some of them have some pretty *interesting* ideas, and it seems like everyone over there goes slightly bonkers if you even dare to ask a question about the possibility of "their way" being less than ideal.

Hi Michou, I agree with everything already said above.

Also, nutritionists and the FDA tend to change their recommendations of what's good, bad and fattening. Some people believe fat makes us fat, others believe sugar does that, and other believe that a calorie is a calorie and the body can't tell the difference.

I have my own opinions, and you probably do, too. We all know what works best for us, and that's the food plan we should follow.

I did not get fat because of portion control issues. It not like I was eating healthy home made meals but eating too much. I got fat because 75% of my diet consisted of over proceessed sugar /fat laden mock-food. I ate while reading the newspapaer, surfing the web, watching judge judy. I ate from 10pm til midnight practically non stop.
I lost the weight by freeing myslef from my sugar addiction. I lost weight by eating only real food, nothing manufactured. That meant giving up my non dairy creammer addiction.
And I started exerciszing .
My depression is gone! My fibragialgia is gone. My gums no longer bleed. I have not had heartburn or ulcers on my ankles!
For me admitting I had a food addiction was key to recovery.