losing weight is not as complicated as u all make it sound!

i've been scanning a couple of topics and i noticed how many of u get into arguments about the best way of losing weight. some say eat, eat, eat and exercise, others say eat less, some do vegan, atkins, south beach and god knows what other diets. i believe that all of it is crap and that so many ppl are seriously misled by what they read and hear.

Its really not that complicated! if u want to lose weight, just do the following:

• eat healthy! this means eat natural! eat the products of our planet, eat what mother earth provides us with and dont put any processed, high in fats, sugars, artificial flavouring and preservatives, etc. crap into ur mouth!

ever heard of obese wild animals? no? thats because they all eat what they were meant to eat! u won't find a lion having a big mac or a monkey eating ben & jerry's

it's so logical! its our society that makes us fat. sadly, the americans, living in a junk food society, are the fattest.

• moooooooove for god's sake! we have legs, we have arms, we were built to walk, run, jump, throw, hit! so use those muscles and exercise every day!

Honestly, its really not that hard. u dont need any strict diet plans. just eat healthy natural food, no artificial garbage and move a little every day and u'll see how easy it is to lose weight. u can stuff ur self on healthy food and still stay under 1500 a day (i know thats considered "unhealthy, blablabla", but really, its not.) and u caaan eat desserts and snacks and shit but make sure they were made with as much natural ingredients as possible. (e.g. use honey to sweeten, olive oil for fat)

Sure, u can eat a chocolate bar or donut or whatever once in a while but PLEASE limit ur intake!

Sorry if i sound annoyed, but i guess i am. people can be sooo ignorant. just remember that we're mammals too. if we wanna be healthy, we shud make an example of their lifestyles!

BE NATURAL!!!!

*clap* *clap* *clap*

I beg to differ that on 1500 cals and under you can really have much of anything for dessert unless its fatfree stuff or fruit. Its not like you can pig out on little debbie snack cakes and still lose the weight. As for eating natural sure we all want to do that but sometimes as much as we would like all natural food isnt always in the stores depending on where you live im in pennslyvania and we only get decent produce during the summer months the rest of the time its crap or extremely expensive. so with that said its not as all easy as your saing either.

While I agree with the general sentiment (eat to be healthy, and weight loss will follow), I would like to point out that while we are mammals, we are not lions on the african savannah. 

They have the luxury of not having a possible source of a whole range of mental issues that can be a great impediment to healthy eating.  I don't think that lions have to deal with insensitive parents or classmates, a demanding schedule, stress issues, self esteem and body image issues, or "Savannah Vogue" trying to tell them what is and is not attractive.

For lions, food and eating is simply about survival - for most human beings, it's not that simple, and that needs to be addressed along with the basics.

Actually, losing weight isn't simple. People say "just burn more calories then you consume and you lose weight, simple." Yes, it seems simple. But the fact that your metabolism changes when you eat less complicates things. And then you platuea, where the numbers on the scale stop moving, even though when you do the math it looks like you should be losing.

And the biggest obstacle to weight loss for most people is motivation and will-power. To give up your favorite foods. To not eat the cookies, chips, and other snacks that are right in front of you when you're at a party. To resist the late night ice cream craving. Also, a lot of us have developed bad habits where we eat when we're sad or stressed. So no, losing weight really isn't that simple.

the idea of the post is not very clear to me. i very much agree with santonacci's comment + want to add that c o u n t i n g   c  a l o r  i e s  is essential for weight loss, in my opinion.

Right on birdy!

Whoa whoa whoa!  Wait a sec...you're telling me I won't be able to lose weight if I just sit on the couch in front of the TV, eat a few boxes of twinkies, order some pizza, and down a few 2-liter bottles of coke 24/7?  Really??!! Now way!  Thanks so much for showing me the light!  Now I don't have to be a fat, ignorant moron anymore.

/end sarcasm

Ok...as someone who has been eating well with very limited "cheating", and exercising regularly for a long time (I've been training for the army for over a year, so we're not talking about a walk around the block now and then), and in that time have met with a number of plateaus despite my efforts, and still have reached my goal weight, I find this post to be a little insulting.

Gaaa, well maybe we should just be happy for logliv, who is the only one who finds losing weight simple and easy.  Hurray!

Yeah anyway, I think we all get that we need to eat healthy foods and get exercise.  That's nice and all except for those of us who suffer from stress, depression, anxiety, and chronic pain.  That's me BTW.  It isn't easy to LIVE, let alone to focus on myself to lose weight.   I am glad its easy and simple for someone else though.  Damned if I want anyone to go through what I do.

You're over simplifying.  If the people on this site were able to just think about it and do it, most of them would have done it already.

Natural foods help tremendously; however, as a society, we are inundated with processed garbage that has been marketed to us on a psychological level.  Do you think your kids really need another plastic piece of crap toy from McDonalds?  I didn't think so, but every commercial is geared towards making them beg you for that shit.

You used to have to either make your own treats or pay really high prices for premade treats.  If I go to the cafeteria at the city college where I work, a doughnut ($.75) costs less than an apple ($.85)...it's ridiculous, I think the healthy food should be subsidized and the crap inflated in price, but that's how the world seems to be revolving.  Yes, it would be good to have a sin tax on anything processed that doesn't get a B grade or better nutrition wise.

I spend more on healthy food than I ever did on the not so good for you food.  Frozen vegetables, frozen seafood, organic soy milk, fresh fruits these are expensive products.  I would not have been able to afford to eat this well when I was in my 20s...which is not to say that I shouldn't have made more of an effort, I just looked for whatever was on sale in the circulars and that comprised most of my diet.  Lasanga, 90% ground beef (that was a splurge).  Chicken and fish cost too much.  Can you say Burger King with a $.99 whopper?  Relatively nutritious for me at that age and a cheap lunch.  A jar of organic peanut butter costs more than a jar of Jiff.

A word on organic or "all natural" foods - there are quite a few articles either questioning the necessity or overall benefit of organic foods, or at least stating that the research is inconclusive:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/ 101/food-safety/is-organic-better.aspx

However, if there's an article out there that points to evidence which says that "organic" apples are actually better than the apples I pick up at the grocery chain produce section, I would be interested in it.

Longliv, I am so happy you posted your comments. I also believe that living healthy ( that is consuming a  reasonable amount of natural, unprocessed food and exercise)  is the way to lose weight. There is so much more in life to worry about than food. All these low fat, low carb low sodium diet obsession just makes you more obsessed with it!!!

I understand your opinion. I may not agree with it, but I get what your saying. Except.......

I have no understanding why you are annoyed by this. What other people say or do regarding their own weight has no bearing on you.

People post on this website all the time that they are annoyed by things that people say or do regarding weight loss. To me though, weight loss is so personal and really only has to do with one person..Me. So why should I be annoyed by the struggles of others? You don't have to understand where people are coming from to respect the fact that its not your business to be annoyed by it.

Just be content that it is easy for you and be glad its not as hard as others may feel it is for them (myself included!).

Longliv, it's not often that I call people out for comments in other threads, but I'm afraid I feel compelled in this case.

I noticed yesterday you posted that you were eating under 1000 cals a day and didn't know that doing so is unhealthy.

I would like to, as nicely as I can, suggest you do a bit more research on what is and is not healthy, prior to making claims about how simple it is to lose weight.  You say that 'people can be sooo ignorant' and that is very true.  When ignorant means uneducated, we have to all look very hard at ourselves, and ask whether we really are as much of experts as we think we are, before we start labeling other people.

I'm glad you are on this site, because there is a lot of good information here to be learned.  :)  Not everything you read will be 100% correct, but almost everyone you encounter will be doing their best to be healthy.

I think there needs to be a clarification.

Losing weight, when you look at it in black in white terms is not hard.  If you work out, eat right you will lose weight.

However, since we are not robots-we come with cravings, emotions, frustrations etc.  This is what makes the weight loss difficult.

I eat a majority of whole foods.  I don't eat twinkies, mcdonalds, doritos, etc.  I eat cucumbers, hummus, beans, chicken etc.  I did when i was overweight too, the only difference is the amount I ate. 

Yes it would be easy if every obese/overweight person just stopped eating candy bars, ice cream, and fast food but when you eat that kind of food, you crave that kind of food.  It can take weeks to break that kind of habit and start a new one.  So its not so much that people complain about how hard it is to lose weight, they are expressing their frustrations.  At least they are having frustrations with their weight loss, and trying to better themselves.

Im with smwhipple I have never spent so much on my grocery bill as i do now since i changed everything over to healthy style foods. for a family of 4 i used to spend about 160.00 a week for groceries now i spend anywhere from260. to 300 a week. the fresh fruits and veggies are killers for me and so is the healthy type snacks for the week other than fruits and veggies.

    I agree with the healthy eating, something which I do. We quit buying all the processed garbage the grocery store is packed with and eat mostly whole foods now. BUT, that being said I am still battling with the scale to move. I also exercise 6 days a week with weights and high intensity cardio. Even though I know I do all that I know is right, it isn't that cut and dry to lose the weight. I know if I stay on this track it will come eventually but at the end of the week when I didn't meet my goal after eating well and all that exercise it can get discouraging. So we have to understand that emotions tie into this weight loss thing as well. I also used to eat all the "junk" you find in the store and grew up in a house where healthy eating was not important. I had to learn all these things as an adult and feel much healthy now for it. We need to be sensitive to those who are on the journey to health and weight loss because it really isn't that cut and dry. If you had of approached me 13 years ago with this, I wouldn't even know where to start with the right kind of food. It was a process of many years of educating myself how to eat to live a healthy life. What I think we need is patience and understanding with each other as we journey toward  our weightloss goals. Longliv its more important to be helpful to those who need our help rather than state an opinion. 

I have to say I too agree with the OP.  The way people obsess and stress over what is the optimal way to lose weight gets a little crazy and can be counter-productive.

However, I struggle with low-self esteem, a slightly distorted body image, self-hate at times, etc.  And I binge eat.  I eat all healthy things now, with the occasional candy, oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip cookie.  But I binge on those healthy, natural foods and it becomes a cycle.  I'm trying to break out of that, and do exactly as you said:

Eat healthy foods in healthy portions, only when hungry and get exercise every day.  And move!

If I can beat my BED and change my attitude about myself (I'm getting better, BTW) then yes, I'll be able to lose weight and probably keep it off.

I think people blame society and ads and the availability of processed junk and fast food for being overweight.  If you don't buy it, you can't eat it.  Simple as that.  I haven't gotten into the passionate love for junk-food and fast-food and I never plan to.  If you think you need to have it, you're wrong.  I'm so sick of people saying there are healthy things at fast food places.  Maybe, kind of, but why go there at all!?  Pack a lunch, for pete's sake!

Anyway, the OP is right except for those with emotional eating issues and ED's.  Still, it's mind over matter so we must change our thinking! 

Thanks for posting this, longliv.  Live healthy and live long!  :)

Well, I'm low on protein for the day and it's lunchtime. I'm off to see what I can hunt down and kill for lunch. What might I find in downtown DC in the 30 minutes I have, and will I have time to skin/clean/cook it, or not? I'll let you know!

Is there such thing as roadkill in  dc im not sure how much of it you would get out on the freeways but its worth a shot.

I agree with the OP.  If I eat 1200 calories of junk or 1200 calories of natural and healthy foods, I lose faster with the whole foods.  I'm not sure why....Anyone else experience this?