Reply #67: Diets don't work.... [View All]

Diets as in severely restricting calories don't work. Most people gain the weight back plus a few extra pounds, until they diet again - perhaps months later after the weight gain back or years later. I know I can trace the number of diets I've been on, by dividing my weight now - minus the weight I first dieted at (100 pounds) by 5. Every single time I have dieted (or even just exercised to lose weight), I have gained all the weight lost back quickly, plus 5 extra pounds whenever I stopped dieting or exercising. I remained this weight (5 pounds over my last pre-diet weight) until I dieted again. Sometimes for years at a time....No matter what I ate or drank I didn't gain another pound until I dieted again. I often feel that if I never dieted in the first place in 10th grade when I thought 100 pounds on a 5'5" frame was FAT, I wouldn't ever have had a real weight problem. For this reason I completely disagree with the calories in vs: calories lost equation. There's no doubt in my mind that I screwed my metabolism - probably through losing lean muscle mass - after years of yo yo dieting. My body fights every time to gain that weight back the minute I go off of severe calorie restriction, and I believe it adds an extra 5 pounds for extra protection in case I'm 'starvin' again.

Another thing that has made me disagree with this simple calculation is that when I gave up real coke (about a 2 liter bottle a day habit) and switched to diet coke I should have dropped about 600 calories a day from my diet, which would be about a pound a week. Scale didn't budge.... nope not a bit. I did not replace those calories with other food ect either.... still didn't lose a freaking pound 3 years after giving up regular cokes.

Lastly, I recently think I found my own solution. My body doesn't process carbs well - wants to store them or something. I am finally losing weight effortlessly by eating very low carb. I'm still eating the same or more calories a day as I did when the scale wasn't budging. but I've lost about 2 pounds a week for the last 5 months by almost completely elimating carbs. I've kept the calories the same (or more), eating as much as I always have - but the weight is dropping. Again doesn't explain the simple equation of calories lost vs: consumed..... I have never lost weight without almost completely starving before - or combining severe calorie restriction with daily exercise.... until now with the low carb (under 20 per day) eating plan. I've decided that I'll have to eat this way basically for the rest of my life.... in order to kept the weight off.

I'm not on any type of medication, but you'll never get me to believe it's as simple as calories in vs: calories out..... there's no way in hell that's true - at least for me and my own 20 years of experience.