Is anyone else bothered by the sheer amount of ignorance in regards to weight loss?

So many people are still under the impression that eating food with a "high" (what exactly IS a high number anyway?) number of carbohydrates (Carbs) makes you gain weight. Or food with X amount of Fat grams in it makes you lose weight.

Whenever someone begins blabbering about how they're on a low-carb diet I just take out a paper and write:

Universal formula for weightloss:
Calories in - Calories out = Weight loss

Or rather Calories out>Calories in = Weight loss (or weight gain if you eat too much :) )

It's that simple. Unless you have a thyroid problem, don't recite that spiel: "I tried every diet out there and STILL couldn't lose weight." 

Its simple math.  What you take in you must put out.  Wow.  I just had a breakthrough.  Isnt that the recipe for life?

xlshortround (are those your corgis?  They're ubercute!!!) wrote:

"Its simple math.  What you take in you must put out.  Wow.  I just had a breakthrough.  Isnt that the recipe for life?"

I hear that.  It's one of those ideas that seems so obvious, but when it comes down to it, you never see quite how nigh-magically effective it is until you try it.

WRT the whole macronutrient argument: yes, people can probably obtain better results by micro-managing macro-nutrients -- but, OTOH, I firmly believe that people generally do best by starting where they are, and making small changes slowly over time. 

I think a lot of people would be more successful if they weren't scared off by being advised to change absolutely everything about their diets at once (and given the impression that eating is this mysterious science) -- that's called for in really extreme cases, but most of us aren't that extreme.

And WRT to the thyroid argument Ibez offered -- I have to back up the people who have already called it out.  My sis has basically no thyroid function, and has been on Synthroid since age eight.  Without it, she can eat 400 calories a day and still gain weight.  With it, as long as she eats like a normal person, she does fine.

I am an insulin dependant diabetic on massive doses of 2 types of insulin a few times a day. No one has told me if I am technically type 1 or 2 but I think the later. I still produce my own insulin but my body dosen't recognize it (insulin resistance) so I need to inject plenty extra to metabolise the sugars in my blood. My whole life is a balancing act, but find myself in a vicious cycle, insulin is a type of steroid and helps you to gain weight. So to help myself I have to lose weight (lots) but while I am at this weight I need mass dosed of insulin that make it very hard to shift anything. I am an at home mum so there is no consistenancy with my life,  lunch can vary between about 4 hours of the day, this also encourages me to do very little during the day other than housework while my little one sleeps or such. None of this helps my weight issue and I need to stop making excuses and change my own lifestyle, while I understand carbs, low cal, low GI etc etc I am still human and still like to partake in a drink or snack that is'nt on the healthy side, I just need to learn MODERATION, SELF CONTROL AND WILL POWER. Calories in and calories out will always win the war so if your can't seem to do the right thing food wise counteract it with an extra walk or trip to the playground, the kids will love it and so will your waistline. I consider not gaining any weight as much of a milestone as losing it, because for that week you have managed to survive without doing any negative damage, being able to maintain is just as important to learn as it is to learn how to lose weight, it's just that maintaining should happen after you have lost it all. Still an important lesson in life

I really appreciate the amount of passion people put into their responses on this thread!  Everyone clearly feels strongly about what works and doesn't work for them, and many people get triggered by what they see as ignorance, or "mean-ness".

For every fact/opinion stated on this thread, there has been someone with the facts/opinions that contradict it.  This can be very confusing for the new CC member who is genuinely open to learning, and can lead to discouragement.

Which just confirms for me that we all have to find the path that works for us.  And that we aren't necessarily going to convince anyone else that our path is THE path, or their path, or anyone else's answer but our own.  I love that everyone is so willing to share their information, experience, strength and hope.  I love that so many people are open to new ideas and to trying new strategies to learn how to be healthy.

And I really love it when people stick with talking about what works for them, and are tolerant of others.  I understand that this is challenging if you genuinely believe that someone else is deluded or promoting false information.  And no one likes to be bossed, or criticized, or called names.

I just thought I'd drop in and say that I have a thyroid disorder and I found out about it because I thought I had mono.  I was soo tired all the time and sluggish and weak, turns out my TSH was through the roof!  The point of this is to say, I've never gained weight or lost weight because of my thyroid.  I think people use this as a crutch way too often.  Calories in and calories out is how it goes.  Not saying you can eat potato chips all day long, you have to make healthy choices.  

*sorry to anyone who legitimately has weight problems due to their thyroid, I guess it has more to do with my eating than anything else for me.*

i'm just bothered by ignorance in general.

Original Post by freshstarter:

I am an insulin dependant diabetic on massive doses of 2 types of insulin a few times a day. No one has told me if I am technically type 1 or 2 but I think the later. I still produce my own insulin but my body dosen't recognize it (insulin resistance) so I need to inject plenty extra to metabolise the sugars in my blood. [...snip...] I just need to learn MODERATION, SELF CONTROL AND WILL POWER. Calories in and calories out will always win the war so if your can't seem to do the right thing food wise counteract it with an extra walk or trip to the playground, the kids will love it and so will your waistline. [...snip...]

Fortunately, endurance exercise increases insulin sensitivity, so if you can find a way to do some activity that makes you breathe a little harder for 20-30 minutes a few times per week, it will help you to break that vicious cycle of insulin resistance and weight gain.

A little bit about hypothyroidism....

Hypothyroidism is not a fiction, but for many people it is an excuse for being overweight. 

There is a normal range of serum TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) that the body produces naturally.  If the thyroid produces too much or too little, respectively, then hypo or hyper thyroidism what we call the result.  The symptoms are real.  One is that it slows the "burn" rate of how food is metabolized.  Hypothyroid is sometimes called a "sluggish" metabolism. 

Note that none of this changes the "calories in" part of the equation, just makes the "calories out" part a bit slower.

Fortunately, TSH and T4 are quickly and easily measured with a simple blood test and Synthroid, Levathyroid, or their generic equivalents, cost about $7 per month (without insurance).  

Once the TSH level is corrected by adding the synthetic TSH, voila!  There is no more "sluggish" metabolism. 

It's one of the simplest things to detect and simplest to cure.  Personally, I've been taking it for 10 years.  If your serum T4 levels are within normal limits than it makes absolutely no difference if the TSH is produced by the body naturally or produced by a drug manufacturer.

Real problem?  YES!  20 to 25% of older women will experience some thyroid hormone abnormalities in their lifetime.

Excuse for not being able to lose weight?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Ignorance is easily corrected and isn't anyone's fault.

I hate people who insist on spewing their beliefs.  Correct or not, didacticism is my biggest pet peeve.  Even if I agree with you, a long speech about how moralistic and correct you are gets the big ol' SHUT IT.

Luckily, when it's in post form, I can just "too long, didn't read" and move on ..

Case & Point... Posted today

Fast weight Loss loose 2 stone in 3 weeks

Hello thank you for checking my topic and my post etc etc. i want to know how to loose 2 stone in quick succession. (one after the other not too long) My aim 3 weeks 

I consume an average amount of callories here is my diet plan 

Morning -> Nothing Sometimes a tea no sugar

Lunch -> Skip sometimes, can't be bothered max 300 calls Sandwich

or 

Morning -> Tea

Lunch -> Nothing

After studies -> Cereal, Junk Like the odd tesco sandwich 500 >calls

Indian for dinner -> 400 calls

Dinner -> If i eat a diet high in carbs like 37 maybe i skip Lunch or I eat Indian Home Made veg/non- veg. i think indian food is high in carbs and calls so 500cals id say. 

Excersize: I have an elliptical at home i train on that for 50 Mins on a regular basis maybe 5 times a week i also practice close quarters combat weight training for 20 mins on top of the 50 mins and i try and do around 10 press ups and 10 pushups but i need a mat. 

the Eliptical after 50 mins of solid resistance level 15 rpm 55> almost 200 carbs maybe 180.  I hear that its good to loose more than you consume and that drinking water (cold) uses up callories but i also heard cold water slows your metabolism. 

Oh yeah i weigh around 127 LBS and im 6 foot

Can anyone answer my question

Thanks Raj

 

Do you really HATE them?  Or are you just annoyed by them?   Sometimes it sounds like people are spewing but its just because its typed and you cant hear the intonation.  Try reading with with another tone in your head.  I typed that nicely by the way and  I kept it short just for you.

Oh you know what really annoys me on many group forums?  When people spell LOSE as Loose.  Drives me batty!  I have to control myself not to jump on the computer.  Ugh!

Okay, now you've hooked me, xlshortround:  I share your pet peeve re: "lose" vs "loose".  We are all LOSING weight, kids, we have a lot of weight to LOSE, we want to be big LOSERS.

Now, if we LOSE weight, we may have LOOSE skin.  And remember, LOOSE lips sink ships.

Now, before someone LOSES their temper, I'm going to cut LOOSE.

Wicked funny, Mad!

Original Post by ibez:

By the way... "thyroid problem" itself is schpiel... people parroting that have absolutely no idea what it means or whether it's even a real, tangible medical "condition"... and not just the regular function of the thyroid that reacts to the person's lifestyle.

well, I really do agree with a lot of ignorant overweight people who are unwilling to change thier bad habits. On the otherhand my Mother got Hyperthyroidism and she was living like a humming bird consuming over 6,000 calories a day and still losing weight. Her heartrate was at a constant 140 when just sitting. She ultimately had to kill it off with radiation therapy, and had to get used to not eating such a high amount of calories.

Sadly enough though, she started smoking again to keep the weight off... which gives her a life expectancy of 5 -10 years more with the heart problems the hyperthyroidism caused.

Some people are unwilling to cut out the bad crap in order to look asthetically pleasing at cost to thier own health and life.

I stopped smoking to keep my mom from doing it, I also started exersizing and not blaming genetics or bad food for my weight. I go for walks and hikes and try to take her with me, but she thinks that diet and exersize are ridiculous. Just the way of things I suppose, some people stick themselves in idiotic mindsets... and sooner or later they pay the price in one way or another when they believe fads.