Did anyone else hear that on NPR??

Today on the radio I heard a woman who wrote a book on dieting.  She's a scientist and nutritionist, and she said that basically we're all predestined, genetically, to be within a certain weight range, and when we diet, we're basically all doomed to gain it back within a year or two.  I am not sure if they meant 'diet' like South Beach or Atkins, or if they also were including healthy calorie cutting and exercise. 

Did anyone else hear this?  I found it to be very dispiriting.  Also, I'm wondering who out there has successfully lost 40+ lbs and has kept it off for more than three years?  Please, someone, tell me I'm not doomed!

Well I turned 17 today (happy birthday to me.)

In Summer 2005, I started dieting, I was 230 lbs. (I was 15)

Today, Im 151.6 (11 more lbs to go)

I have kept it off since!!! It only comes down to your eating habits. Of course its okay to binge, but not everyday. You must exercise. Eating healthy and doing at least 30-60 mins of exercise is the way to keep it off...Dont get me wrong, I have my binging weeks!

Dont let ANYTHING ruin your spirits about weight loss. If it's something that's going to make you happy, then do what you got to do and not let anyone ruin that for you! Good Luck!

Do you remember her name?  I can't image she means that someone who is obese is destined to stay that way!  That is crazy talk.

I very much doubt you are doomed jessie - if you are overweight and you continue your healthy life style - why on earth would the weight just go back on??

i understand to the extent that if your forcing your body to be a weight it just naturally isn't then it might come back on - but i think everyones body can be stationed at a healthy weight and obviously 40lbs overweight wont be that!

dont' let it demotivate you!

I BELIVE I SAW SOME TV SHOW THAT HAD THIS LADY ON THERE MAKING THESE STATEMENTS. I DONT KNOW IF ITS THE SAME ONE. WELL IM NOT ONE THAT HAS LOST 40 LBS AND KEPT IT OFF, I HAVE LOST 50 LBS. I DIDNT KEEP IF OFF BUT I KNOW WHAT I DID TO CAUSE THAT. SO FOR ONE YOURE NOT DOOMED.  THE WEIGHT CAN COME OFF AND IT CAN STAY OFF IF U STAY ON THE RIGHT TRACK FOR THE MOST PART.  I THINK GENETICS HAS A PART DO DO WITH BEING OVERWEIGH. BUT THE INDIVIDUAL HAS A BIG ROLE IN LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. I LOST ALL  THAT WEIGHT THE WRONG WAY BUT I KNOW THAT IF I WOULD HAVE LEFT DAILY EXCERCISE IN MY LIFESTYLE(EVEN JUST A LITTLE) AND ATE FAIRLY GOOD THEN THE WEIGH DEFINETLY WOULD HAVE STAYED OFF. IM GONNA TRY WHAT IM DOING NOW AND HOPEFULLY GET SOME RESULTS.  GOOD LUCK TO U!!

Woah, watch it with the all caps! You'll take someone's eye out.

Here's a link to the book and the story:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=10354959

(maybe you'll just have to cut and paste)

But the book is called "Rethinking Thin" and it's by Gina Kolata.

Woah, watch it with the all caps! You'll take someone's eye out.

LOL!  That was funny!

nikki that made me chuckle too haha

please don't capslock nicensweet, thanks!

I guess that scientist, whatever, is half-right/half-wrong with her statements. We all have our ideal weights, but I am quite sure that mine isn't in the range I am currently even though I was in it for a long time.

I am quite sure that we can change that ideal weight everyone has up and down by a not too small extend and even keep it at that level.

People regain their weight just because they are "dieting" not the way we do, by counting calories and doing some exercises once in a while. They go on quick diets: 5 Weeks for 20 pounds or more and then they get back to their normal eating style and are wondering why they regain their weight as fast as they lost it.

If you lose weight you allways also lose some of the calories you are allowed to consume to stay at that weight. So what quick-dieters do is starting to eat on like they had before the diet but perhaps they even went to starvation-mode while doing their hardcore diet and now they're producing fat like a machine...


OMG, ok I read most of the article there, and I am not wondering that guy got his pounds back after doing those damn low carb, low fat, low protein, low vitamin low WHATEVER diets, the key to losing weight, and we all know that, is changing what we eat, not for a few weeks but for a lifetime.

lol....omgosh i didnt know that caps were that big of a deal...sorry bout that. 

This is a horrible thing to publish!!! Now people who have overweight parents/grandparents will lose hope! !!! =( =( Even if your body is different then others, you still dont have to be overweight and unhealthy =) =) I've seen some HOT and when I mean Hot I mean VICTORIA SECRET HOT women with amazing bodies,beauty and confidiance and they weigh around 150!! It's not all about being as thin as everyone else, it's about working what you got!! Beautiful girl who loves her body = Super sexy

I, for one, can say that I lost over 50 pounds and have kept it off for 30+ years...  Even with the up and down of 3 pregnancies mixed in there    :-)

This scientist sounds like someone trying to make a name for herself.  Don't give up - keep doing the right food and exercise combination to slowly lose weight and get fit.  It can stay off for life!

This has nothing to do with the original post, but biker_chick, your picture is funny!  I like it.  :)

I also agree with what you said... I think she (the scientist) is just trying to make a name for herself.  It's sad, really, if you ask me.

Oh, thanks, plm :-)
I need to lighten up - things like that help!

Happy Birthday Aeromancer!

It is a known fact that many (not all) people who "diet" will gain it back within a few years. However, everyone is different. You have to be changing your LIFE for this to work. You can never go back to how you ate before.. or else you will obviously gain weight again.

So each individual is different. It's all about the brain power, baby!

Wow, that seems like a horrible thing to say.  However, maybe it doesn't mean that any overweight person can't lose.  I think it's highly unlikely that anyone who weighs 300 lbs is a at weight that is right for their body type.  What's more likely, and something we have a hard time grasping in our society, is that not everyone was meant to weigh under 120 lbs and have 5% body fat. 

At 5'8", I could, and have, weighed 115 lbs., putting me in the right range for a model or many movie stars, but it certainly didn't look good. The right weight for me is probably 140-150 lbs.  Will I look good at that weight? I'm sure I will! If I walked into a modeling agency, would they tell me to lose weight? That would be the first thing on a long list.  If I were cast in a TV show at that weight, I'd probably be the one that many in the viewing public would call "fat." 

I think there's a huge amount of distortion of which weight is ideal because of how thoroughly we've been conditioned by the media. As a result our ideal weight, and the weight we want to be are not usually the same thing!

I think it's just another excuse someone came up with for why they weren't at the weight they'd like to be at. 

My friend came over and turned on the basketball game two nights ago, and when the announcer came on, I said "hey, that kinda looks like a fat charles barkley".  (I don't really watch basketball, but I'd seen him plenty before).  But it really was a fat charles barkley.  He got fat when he stopped playing/training for basketball.  If he were destined to be in a certain weight range, would that mean that he'd miracurously lose all that weight?  I mean, he was a lot thinner for a long time, so by her logic, he's going to just lose the weight.  But really, he's gained all the weight because he's still eating like he was, and he's not nearly as active.

I can see some truth to this actually.  My friend Susan is naturally skinny, she never diets, never gains etc, one of "those" if you KWIM.  But I like her anyway.  : )

I, OTOH, will always have to watch what I eat.  I will gain it back if I stop doing that, I know that I will.  I've done it before.  But I think that if I am vigilant, eat lots of veggies, exercise and weigh myself at least once a month that I can keep it off.

So I think that there are people who are naturally skinny and others who have to watch it.

I don't know if it's the same person, but I saw Gina Kolata on the Colbert Report talking about her new book about how diets don't always work, how we reach plateaus, and how we can get stuck at a certain weight -- it was called "Rethinking Thin".  It looked really interesting but I haven't gotten to read it yet.

Here's the original NPR story the OP referred to: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=10354959