Nonsense. There are LOTS of ways to be successful at losing weight. The best one IMHO being pick a plan that works for you and stick to it. I think it is more important that you choose a plan you can live with and even customize it to your needs; than which particular type of plan it is. If you own it and trust the process it can happen for you. Also, are we defining FAIL as taking off the pounds or keeping them off long term?? That's a whole 'nother issue, too.

I agree, one size doesn't fit all.

I worked with a guy who skipped dinner one evening and noticed that he didn't miss it. So he did that for a week and lost a bunch of weight. Then continued for a couple of months and lost all his extra.

Not my idea of the way to do it, but it sure worked for him.

I think the only ones I really agree with are "rapid weight loss" ones and the "buying pre-made meals," those are probably sure-fire signs that things can go wrong. I mean if you're buying meals from a place to lose weight how will you ever learn to eat other things and stay on track?

Otherwise what works for one person can be terrible for another. I break so many diet rules that these people would probably froth in anger.

Off the top of my head I can think of the following:
- I don't weigh and measure everything I eat: I eyeball and estimate
- I don't write down what I eat—I keep track in my head
- I snack a lot
- I don't count items under 30 calories, and I round up calorie counts
- I drink diet soda (OH NO I'M GONNA BE HUNGRY ALL THE TIME GUYZ)
- I eat out a lot

I probably break more rules too, but guess what? Whatever I'm doing works for me!

I even disagree with the rapid weight loss and prepackaged foods advice. I agree that at some point, you have to figure out a long- term maintenance strategy, but for those of us 100+ pounds from maintenance, it could be all about just getting in the game. Who says you have to learn those skills at the beginning of the journey? Maybe learning how to deal with long-term food restriction, maybe getting fitter, maybe reaping the rewards from weight loss are things that will give us hope and motivate us to develop long-term skills. The reality is that most diets fail. It is really hard for most people to find a plan with which they can be compliant forever. Heck - many people find it challenging to stay compliant with daily medications they take once per day. It's hard work and we all have to figure it out for ourselves. This article is not helpful for that.

I used to think this too, even AFTER I lost 65 lbs on Nutrisystem, but most of the meal delivery plans all DO include training for maintenance and for the transition in-between. A person just has to USE them.

Also, we now live in an age where many people (even those who do not have any weight to lose) are buying their meals premade, prepackaged, or made by someone else, not only for themselves but for their family (in fact some of these services are being used by entire families).

You never have to transition off of them. You could go from Nutrisystem, to Seattle-Sutton's Healthy Eating, to Meals-on-Wheels. Or you can buy premade meals (some of them perfect for maintenance, made quite healthfully) at your neighboring grocery store, health food store, or deli.

These days, no one has to cook if they don't want to. It's harder to find healthful premade options, but not at all impossible.



I'm repeating this part of the quote to point out that this assumes that the person doesn't already KNOW how to eat other things and stay on track.

Because I have done well on meal delivery plans, I have used them in the past (my favorite was Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating, because it was all fresh, healthfully prepared real non-frozen food).

I didn't fail any of those plans because I didn't know how to choose and prepare food food myself, or because I didn't LIKE healthy food, I was just living such a hectic lifestyle at the time (working 60 hours plus per week), that I cut corners for the sake of convenience. And probably in-part because of on some level beleiving that without the meals I was doomed to failure.

The problem wasn't the meals, it was my perception of them.

And the research on the subject (of prepackaged meals) does not reflect our cultural bias against them. Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, HMR.... all of these programs have better long-term success rates than folks "doing it on their own."

We're taught that doing it alone, unaided and unassisted is somehow more noble than using or needing help (of any kind). Many (even many overweight and obese folks) look down on those who've used "crutches" like weight loss surgery or prepackaged meals, or sometimes even support groups like 3FC, Weight Watchers, and TOPS.

We make so many assumptions about the "rules" for weight loss, that we make failure a self-fulfillng prophecy.

I've known how to successfully choose and prepare healthful food (and enjoyed it) since I was 8 years old, and allowed into the kitchen. I CAN do it all myself.

A person is no more doomed by utilizing prepared meals than they are by buying their bread instead of making it (though they may do better to eat no bread at all).


I just finished reading "The Simple Diet," which is based on HMR and other hospital meal replacements (or so I suspect), and the book includes some compelling research (and also a transition plan for relying less and less on prepackaged meals).

The plan (in the first weight loss phase) calls for using 3 shakes (or soups or in emergencies protein bars), 2 frozen meals, and AT LEAST 5 servings of fruit and vegetables. While it's true that you're not buying the food "from a diet place," it is prepackaged foods and receives the same criticisms (as reflected in the Simple Diet threads here where the issue has been raised).

I finally read the book when I realized that prepackaged meals might be a solution to a problem I've been facing (and the only reason I didn't reach for the solution sooner was because of my own prejudices against prepackaged meals).

I do absolutely amazingly well on my mostly-paleo exchange plan (I eat about 80% paleo foods, and about 15% non-paleo low-calorie foods and about 5% foods I probably shouldn't be eating at all).

I feel great, and I lose well on this plan. However, because of my health issues and my husband's there are days when I don't have the time or energy to cook. For these (what I consider) "emergencies," I keep some frozen dinners, but I never felt "good" about that decision (falling into the cultural stereotype of believing that these meals couldn't be good for me, and were some indication that the day couldn't be successful on them).


So, I'm using the Simple Diet now, and plan on using it for PMS week (when I have difficulty sticking to any regiment at all, a very regimented system may work well) and for days when I'm not able or willing to do much food preparation.

I'm also less prejudiced against the plans, because I now know that they CAN work, not only in the short-term, but also for many people in the long-term.

Unless the selections become cheaper and more exotic, I probably won't ever use a pre-made service for all my meals, but I never say never anymore, because in 20 years, like hubby's grandma, hubby and I could end up on a meals-on-wheels program.

Prepackaged meals (both for weight loss and not, and both those in the grocery store and those from weight loss service providers) have come a long way since the first tv dinners and government MRE's (ironically when I was on Nutrisystem the food was remakably similar to military MRE's).

I think we all have a lot of preconceived notions about what can work and why, and often these preconceived notions prevent us from trying things that might actually work best for us.

I never gave serious attempts at low-carb diets because I thought that a diet without bread and pasta was unnatural and unsustainable. And yet, since trying it after my doctor recommended it, I find it's the only way I lose weight comfortably (and in trying it, I learned that wheat actually makes me ill. It's not celiac disease but it may be an allergy as the chronic skin problems I've had since puberty now only appear when I've eaten wheat).

Too bad I didn't learn this at 8 instead of 40.


I'm finding that a lot of strategies that I thought "would never work" and therefore I never seriously attempted, have been my salvation, so at this point I'm not willing to rule out anything as a possible tool for myself or for others.

I've also used pre-packaged meals extensively. I don't mean Nutrisystem or the like but the grocery store ones such as lean cuisine. I actually like them because it introduced me to what normal portion sizes should be. It also makes things very easy to calorie count. I don't ONLY eat those types of things, but I'm probably never going to be a make something from scratch sort of person.

The "always pack your lunch" one made me smile as well. Obviously those people never met Jared the Subway guy.

I have to agree with the bias against prepackaged meals. I used to think using them was the "easy" way out or something. But I've learned that for me when I have a lot to lose for my height, this is what I have to do to get healthy, and ALL the reputable programs have ways to wean you back to "regular" meals if you so desire. I expect I will use them for lunch for the most part once I stop (I'm using the Simple Diet and calorie counting because I do cook anyway for the family and there are nights I will eat what I make for them) because I see no reason not too. I keep reading "they are so high fat/sodium or X" and maybe I'm just buying different meals because mine are not. I also don't add salt to anything so perhaps that's why? I dunno. I also will always use protein shakes as I don't like breakfast foods generally and I have always found for me a protein shake and sometimes fruit in addition before my morning workout helps me.

I've learned that nothing is universally true when it comes to weight loss, and I mean absolutely nothing.

There are as many folks saying "I could never lose weight if I didn't do x," as there are people saying about the very same thing "I could never lose weight if I had to do x."

And the x can be absolutely anything... weighing on a particular shedule, eating or avoiding certain foods, thinking a certain way...

I've seen people succeed doing things I would find unsustainable, and yet they succeed despite my opinions on their actions. I've only found long-term success by challenging my own assumptions about what can work.

I never thought I could live without certain foods that I loved, and I find that the only way to succeed has been to give up those foods either entirely or at least almost entirely. I let my assumptions about what could or would work prevent me from seriously trying strategies that have helped me tremendously.

Weighing daily (or even more often) is a perfect example. For decades the prevailing wisdom was that weighing daily was a recipe for disaster, because it would result in frustration and discouragement (well if you expect to see a loss every time you get on the scale, then yeah Duh of course you're going to be discouraged).

I learned though that getting on the scale was the best way to short-circuit a binge. Instead of thinking "I blew it, I might as well keep eating and start fresh tomorrow," I'd get on the scale and remind myself that my off-plan bite didn't do nearly as much damage as I thought it had (because you can't gain more from a food than the weight of the food, getting on the scale immediately gives a "worse than worst case, scenario" estimate of the actual damage.

I also don't get on the scale with the intent of "losing," I get on the scale with the intent of "not gaining." This way, I can get on the scale 20 times a day and only be rewarded and encouraged, rather than punished and discouraged.

When I read a study (comparing multiple studies of different weight loss programs) that found that more frequent weighers (daily weighers) lost more and kept more off than folks who didn't weigh or weighed less frequently, I felt vindicated (and yet it shouldn't have mattered why daily weighing worked for me, just that it did).

Succeeding has been more about "unlearning" for me. Learning to ignore the "common wisdom" and not assume anything will or won't work for me unless I've tried it (that doesn't mean I try everything, but I make a whole lot fewer assumptions about what can work... both for me and for others).

Yeah, my current diet breaks at least 4 of those "rules".

And you know what, I'm comfortable enough with my success now that I don't give a flying f*** what the so called "experts" say. This is what works for ME.

I had ZERO concept of portion control - I got morbidly obese by eating way too much of rather healthy food. Yeah, I eat a lot of prepackaged food - 5 a day - and no starch. But I also get 1 meal a day of real food to practice portion control and healthy preparation. Or I can eat that meal out and practice ordering out. The good news is I only have 1 opportunity a day to F it up. Yeah, it's kind of extreme. But I had tried and failed so many other diets, that I was ready to try it.

I won't have to eat shakes and bars forever. There's a whole chapter in the book that came with my first shipment on transition to real food and maintenance. I'll be transitioning for 16 weeks, so my whole journey will end up taking close to 2 years.

No wonder people are so confused - including me for a long time. I'm so happy I found what's right for me. I'm not trying to push it on anyone else, but I will defend my choice for me.

The NUMBER ONE reason your diet will fail...? If you take articles like this too seriously!

When I come across something like this I'm reminded that the business of weight loss and dieting is a multi-billion dollar a year industry... and businesses are in business TO MAKE MONEY... I actually found it rather amusing that the first thing the article states is that diets that permote rapid wait loss will fail yet it's right next to a click through ad for some diet that says "Lose 22&1/2 lbs. In 8 Weeks" (I'm not saying that it's not doable, but by definition losing more than 1-2 lbs. a week would be considered "Rapid Weight Loss" by most reputable sources) So how can we take any of it too seriously?

For me the the number one reason that my diet will fail is if I ignore the very simple fact that if I take in more calories than I burn I will gain weight...

Those are generally true for me, except the one food group bit. The more I cut back on one food group, the better I look and feel. And yes, it is one person's opinion, though my own experiences corroborate many of those

Thanks for sharing, Joss!

And that is exactly why I wanted to share this.

So many people see little snippets like this and take them as gospel. The lastest thing is that someone published an article saying egg yolks are as bad for your heart as smoking. People are FREAKING OUT.

Generally speaking we have a lot of educated and practical people here on 3FC and have a lot of thought provoking conversations. I love to throw things like this out and see what people think of them. You can't do that on some other forums without getting back "Come at me Bro! Nah, you're wrong and I'm right because my sh!t-for-brains "trainer" told me once..." and getting into arguements.

LOL, that's great.

That made my morning!

That one is so ridiculous. The guy's a heart doctor using his own patients (hello, heart problems already?) and the average age was something like 61.5. I hate studies like that, and I hate articles like the one originally linked, because people take them as gospel.

Overall, even though I hate the premise, I do stand by the fact that most of the things in the original link are things that will help you be successful. No, I don't think that not adhering to a couple of them will automatically make your diet "fail." And maybe, like a PP mentioned, we do not all take "fail" to mean the same thing. For me, I define "failure" (I dislike that term) as the inability to maintain the weight loss over the long haul.

There are tons of ways to lose the weight, and many of them break all the rules in the article. I'm not saying that in order to be successful in losing weight, you have to abide by X, Y, and Z rules. Keeping it off is what we're all really after, though, right? I do think that in order to keep off a large amount of weight loss, *most* people need to have a lifestyle that incorporates a lot, or even most, of the things from the article.

Maybe it's different for people who never got to a place where they didn't have 75+ pounds to lose. Some people (my husband is a great example) maintain a healthy weight with seemingly no effort at all. That's never going to be my reality. When I stop paying attention, I start to make questionable choices, which eventually spirals out of control.