Your One Thing?

[OregonERG]

Everyone has different approaches and beliefs around how to stay lean and/or lose weight. The list can get really long. Which one thing has worked for you?

Old-fashioned portion control? Low carbs? Intermittent fasting? No sweets? No alcohol? Few processed foods? Better/more sleep? Fewer restaurant meals? Increased time on the erg or increased working out in general?

What works for you? I am asking because I gained 10 lbs in the last year (Covid-lockdown lifestyle?) and was interested in going back to my pre-lockdown weight. I am not officially overweight, but 10lbs gained in one year is the kind of thing a person feels when one is running & racing (especially on the hills).

[Blindside]

Keto lifestyle has really worked for me, although the discipline of it was difficult at first, I now find it normal. I continue to have a drink on most weekends usually Gin or dry white wine. The only issue with Keto for me is if I do go "off the rails" I do suffer from Keto flu before getting back on track. No issues with hunger, I don't consider it a diet, I've lost 12 Kilos and kept it off for 18 months. I did my research and learned a great deal about diet. Whatever path people chose the one common denominator is to cut out processed food for both health and weight loss.

[Tony Cook]

Genetics.

[mict450]

Genetics.

I'm jealous, Tony!

Put me in the portion control group.

Let me say that it doesn't matter what works for me or anyone else. It's about what YOU can live with & maintain for the rest of your life.

[OregonERG]

Genetics.

That is my (very fit) wife's approach. She a) doesn't really eat much in the first place and b) when she does eat, she never gains weight regardless of how much or what... Some people.

I, on the other hand, would gain 50 lbs if I ate three times a day. I have to calorie restrict all the time just to keep from blowing up.

[Blindside]

This is a great podcast for people interested in diets particularly low carb https://www.dietdoctor.com/podcast, I think this guy has evolved over time towards higher Protein and moderate fat.

This youtube video is by a guy called Gary Taubes he kind of the main man, he explains his belief and his reasoning, it's not for everybody but it kind of lays out the thinking of low carb https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDneyrETR2o

[Ombrax]

Can I cheat and mention two things?

1) Portion control.
2) No snacks.

IOW, if I can only say one thing: fewer calories in.

[OregonERG]

This youtube video is by a guy called Gary Taubes he kind of the main man, he explains his belief and his reasoning, it's not for everybody but it kind of lays out the thinking of low carb https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDneyrETR2o

Gary Taubes was a guy who sort of blew my mind a decade ago with Good Calories, Bad Calories. When we were young, we processed all calories pretty effectively & quickly due to strong, youthful, metabolic processes. But now, at almost 50, it seems as if breads, bagels, and other sugars just wreak havoc on my body. Insulin effect (and I guess I always knew this) is very real. And what I eat seems to impact me as much as how much I eat.

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Ba ... 1400033462

[OregonERG]

Can I cheat and mention two things?

1) Portion control.
2) No snacks.

IOW, if I can only say one thing: fewer calories in.

I grew up on the "calories in, calories out" theory, but after seeing so many runners in my club shed tons of weight by going low-carb, keto, etc. I realized that my life of low-calorie suffering was never going to really work. I mean, yes, if I was in real caloric deficit, I would lose weight, but then I couldn't really run 50-70 miles a week. I have to eat enough to feel up for the next workout; certain foods gave me the energy to do that without the weight gain. What I eat seems to be the key for my metabolic reality in middle age...

[Blindside]

Weight control and vanity were my motivation to go low carb, the same as many other fad diets that ticked that box, I just wanted quick results. That would never have been enough for the long term. I was a very greedy person with regard to portion sizes and the frequency of meals, hunger always gets you in the end, and on diets, I obsessed on food. The reason I now continue with low carb is not to continue weight loss it is the effect it has on my general well-being, energy levels, and the fact that I merely eat to live but still really enjoy eating but not like a pig ....those I regard as facts. With regards to my beliefs and hopes, I believe and hope it will help me to live a longer more active life with more lean muscle, there is no alzheimer's or dementia in my family but if there was that would be a massive reason for looking into it.

The trouble with diet converts like myself, be they vegans or keto exponents they become somewhat evangelical regards their conversion

[4merRM]

Intermittent fasting (6 hour window) works for me along with a 10k row each day - i can lose 1kg per week

[OregonERG]

Intermittent fasting (6 hour window) works for me along with a 10k row each day - i can lose 1kg per week

I can easily go 6 hours without eating. But think how much eat during the other 18 hours.

[4merRM]

Intermittent fasting (6 hour window) works for me along with a 10k row each day - i can lose 1kg per week

I can easily go 6 hours without eating. But think how much eat during the other 18 hours.

haha

[OregonERG]

Intermittent fasting (6 hour window) works for me along with a 10k row each day - i can lose 1kg per week

I can easily go 6 hours without eating. But think how much eat during the other 18 hours.

haha

Seriously though, I spent about two years with fairly restricted "hours" of eating and it did work for me as well. The first week or so was always difficult but one I was in the routine, I could go until 6pm on just coffee & milk. I'd eat whatever I wanted between dinner and going to bed, and I never had trouble keeping the weight off. Working from home (since the pandemic) has made that MUCH harder.

[jamesg]

Old-fashioned portion control? Low carbs? Intermittent fasting? No sweets? No alcohol? Few processed foods? Better/more sleep? Fewer restaurant meals? Increased time on the erg or increased working out in general?

Hugging a tree on the top of a mountain where there's nothing to eat is said to be very effective. Hiding behind it all if you look hard enough you'll find some arithmetic, same as works with our bank accounts: what goes in stays in or comes out.

Anything else is on a par with homeopathy with no active ingredient and greenhouse effect with no greenhouse. The purpose as in 99% of such manifestations is not to get anyone thin or whatever, but to separate them from their cash.