Any other weight loss truisms?

Pretty much just so much BS. People in general are overweight because they eat the wrong kinds of food and don’t get any exercise. That’s it in a nutshell and anyone who tells you differently is either indulging in self-justified behavior, or is after your money in some way!

I agree with @CaptainHarley however, I also agree that some people are biologically programmed to have more of a struggle with weight than some others.

I am one of those that has to live on the verge of chronic hunger if I want to maintain a “perfect” body. At 52 now I simply don’t care to work at it that hard anymore.

I spent years and years walking/running 3 miles a day, 6 days a week, working out with weights, having a very active job, riding my horse on average, 10–20 miles a week on trail….FUCK…I’m god damned TIRED these days! LOL

I am ramping up my diet and exercise again in the New Year…it’s been a sugar saturated month and I am burned out on the goodies, but…the days of excessive exercise and living on 1500 calories a day are gone forever. Life’s too short to be obsessed with every bite of food one puts in their mouth and to live in a chronic state of hunger. I’ve had a good run, and while I am not throwing in the towel, the towel can be one size bigger to cover my voluptuous ass in my mid-life. haha

I can only speak for myself. If I don’t keep a consistent exercise routine, I gain weight. I’m not talking about 60 minutes a day, 5–7 days a week. Just 30 minutes a day 4–5 days a week keeps me healthy, fit and full of energy. If I don’t keep this routine my body feels sluggish and lazy and my mind gets tired. The most important part for me is toning exercises must be included with cardio.

I can eat the same weekly menu (average for my height and weight), but if no exercise is included my jeans start to get tight.

I find very few of these to actually be true. These all sound like hasty generalizations made by a frustrated fat person who doesn’t want to actually do the work it takes to get healthy.

“If maintaining goal weight was a matter of money, then there wouldn’t be any overweight rich people (Shatner, Orson Wells, Bill Gates, Ryan O’Neal, Elvis, etc).” This one I actually agree with, but for different reasons you don’t need a ton of money to be healthy.

95% of weight control is food control.
It’s kind of silly to put a percentage on it. For the most part, it’s about balancing exercise with caloric intake.

Exercise has very little to do with weight control. For every five calories you burn exercising, you become six calories hungrier. Exercising, for me, actually has the opposite effect. When I was lazy and sitting on my ass all the time I thought i was hungry all the time, because I wasn’t treating my body right, so the signals that tell me I’m full got jammed. Once I started exercising regularly, I learned what it felt like to be full because I was becoming healthy enough for my brain and my body to start communicating with each other

Fat people aren’t fat because they don’t exercise, thin people aren’t thin because they do. It is true that there are thin people who don’t exercise, and fat people who do, but as a general rule, these tend to be very unhealthy people for factors outside of how much excercise they get such as metabolic problems, or diseases such as diabetes and thyroid issues.

People aren’t thin because they run. They run because they are thin.
Running is just one form of exercise, and not the best for weight loss. It’s also very hard on the joints, and is not a good idea unless you ARE in fairly good condition. Also, most of the thin people I know are NOT runners.

There are three types of people: thin people, overweight people, and temporarily thin people. If you are overweight, then you are overweight. If you are thin, then 1) you are thin or 2) you were overweight, you lost weight but you are almost certain to put it back on.
I know several people who were fat as teenagers or young adults who are thin now and have been for many years.

Overweight people are in one sense destined to be miserable the rest of their lives: They’ll either be overweight and miserable or hungry and miserable. Misery is a choice. I know some very happy fat people, and I know some miserable skinny people. The way you choose to see life does not depend on your weight.

It’s easier to lose 40 pounds in six months than it is to keep five pounds off for six months. Yes! Because your weight can vary by that much due to water weight and dehydration

The easiest way to lose weight and keep it off for good is to change your genes.
It’s a lot easier to change your lifestyle than to go back in time and have someone genetically engineer you as a zygote

The only diet that has ever worked is the HNM diet: Hungry ‘N Miserable.
Or you could just find an exercise plan that works for you and make sure you get enough healthy food to keep you well fed, but not too well fed.

People aren’t really fat, they’re just short for their weight.
Please tell me this is a joke

Overweight people drink Diet Coke; Thin people drink regular Coke.
Healthy people avoid sodas. It’s bad for you either way

Vanity and appearance are the biggest (but not the only) motivators for weight loss and exercise for 80% of people under 50. Before 50, biology trumps longevity: Getting layed (men) or marrying rich (women) is more imporant than not dying young and not feeling good. (“Tight butts get rich husbands” and “A man will marry the best looking woman he can afford”.)
Maybe you should find a less shallow group of friends.

Specifically for men: 95% of men lift weights primarily for vanity reasons. Evidence: Most men who lift weights spend more time lifting than doing cardio. (Look around at the gym: men are mostly on weights, women on the cardio machines.) While lifting weights is important, cardio takes priority. So if someone has one hour a day of time in their schedule to exercise (a reasonable assumption) and most of that time is lifting, then it can be argued that health takes a back seat to appearance.
There’s plenty of fellers at the gym I used to go to that did mostly cardio, and there’s plenty of women who did mostly weights.

Prioritizing weight lifting over cardio is the fitness equivalent of paying down a 6% mortgage while maintaining an 18% credit card balance.
I don’t see where this weightlifting stuff came from in relationship to the rest of your arguments, but yes, cardio should be a priority, especially if you are trying to lose weight.

@Coloma

This is true, but chances are your parents overfed you as an infant or fed you the wrong sort of formula. Genetically-inherited tendencies toward obesity are relatively rare. Almost all of us are taught from birth to over-indulge when it comes to food ( as well as several other things in our lives ). This is a case of the child being father to the man. The cost of this to the individual is either being overweight, or continuing struggle against percieved hunger. Fat cells do not go away unless you have liposuction, which is overrated, IMHO.

Agreed! In my house it was always “you can’t leave the table till you finish your plate!” This is a terrible way to teach people to stop eating when they’re full.

The weight loss market 2011 Revenue

All the misconceptions and truisms are why these ^^^^ folks get so much $$$$$$!

That being said, I need to lose weight get fit change my lifestyle. Oh wait, I’m already doing that. I lost 2575 pounds of dead weight last summer (the ex.) :D

My family did equate food with rewards, something I’m trying not to teach my kids. I love your spunk, @Coloma!

@CaptainHarley

Agreed, to a degree.
I also believe in the Enneagram personality profiling and certain personality styles lend themselves to big appetites.
I know I was amused to learn that my temperment types corresponding “sin” is gluttony. lol
I test as the #7 ” The Enthusiast” with the 8 wing of “The leader” and my tempement is prone to hedonism.

I do everything with enthusiasm, work, talk, eat, I’m a high output, high intake type. haha

I’m in the camp that without employing diligent discipline, that says ” If it’s good just KILL me with it!” lol
I also think middle age has kicked in some hormone induced extra pounds, shift happens.
I do think that there is some genetic influence though, my mother was 5“1 and never weighed over 105 lbs. her entire life, my dad was 6“3 and a hefty 250.
I gained 3 inches on my mothers height and my dads 40 lb. deficit if I am not kicking ass to keep my girlish figure.

It is true that some people have to work harder at weight management, just like it is true that certain breeds of animals are prone to overweight.
Think Labs and Golden Retrievers.
I have friends with an overweight lab and they feed her about 1 and a half cups of dog food a day and poor Shelby, she is always hungry and still a tank!
The dog has 5 acres to roam and is active, but still prone to being obese.

There is no one size fits all when it comes to individuals and their weight IMO, just like many things, multiple factors are often at work. :-)

Move more… Eat less.

Don’t ever go on a diet. Change your eating habits permanently.

If you lose a lot of weight fast, your tits are gonna get smaller.

@filmfann ha! I about spit my drink out. funny

After 40, sometimes you have to make a choice: Your butt or your face. If you want your butt, then your face may look wrinkly; if you want your face smooth and full, then your butt will probably be big.

@filmfann

That’s why God made implants! : D

This is the best article (New York Times Magazine) I’ve ever read on the obesity problem. It explains that while calories and exercise do matter, there are so many individual factors involved that the “truism” at the top

“There are three types of people: thin people, overweight people, and temporarily thin people. If you are overweight, then you are overweight. If you are thin, then 1) you are thin or 2) you were overweight, you lost weight but you are almost certain to put it back on”

really does makes sense.

The Fat Trap

Ya, I don’t believe that exercising more will make you hungrier. I tend to eat about the same amount if I’m exercising and if I’m not. Exercise is the best way to lose weight HANDS DOWN.

Well, trust me @thesparrow. After four hours of playing sand volleyball in 95 to 100 degree heat, you will be STARVING!!

I hate “exercising.” But I don’t like eating, either, so it all works out.

I love eating =[