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  #1   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 06:54
bkloots's Avatar
bkloots bkloots is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 10,147
 
Plan: LC--Atkins
Stats: 195/162/150 Female 62in
BF:
Progress: 73%
Location: Kansas City, MO
Default "Unicorns"

In his Weighty Matters blog today, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff (a Canadian practitioner in weight management and author of The Diet Fix) discusses a commonly repeated statistic that 95% of the people who lose weight fail to maintain that weight loss. Maintainers are "unicorns"--mythical beasts. Here's a snip:
Quote:
As far as what needs championing, it's certainly not failure. Given the medical benefits of weight loss, as well as the real impact weight often has on quality of life (especially at its extremes), what we need to collectively champion are the embrace of a plurality of treatments (including ethical behavioural and surgical weight management programs and greater access to them), along with more effective medications. What can simultaneously be championed is the removal of blame from the discussion of weight, fighting weight bias and stigma, recognizing that a person need not have a so-called "healthy" or "normal" BMI, that scales don't measure the presence or absence of health nor measure lifestyles, respecting people rights to have zero interest in losing weight or changing their lifestyles, that there is value to changing behaviours around food and fitness regardless of whether weight is lost as a consequence, and acknowledging that intentionally changing lifestyle in the name of health reflects a tremendous degree of privilege that many people simply don't possess.


Although this forum is all about the effectiveness and simplicity of low-carbohydrate plans, we know there are many, many different ways of doing that. And besides that, other dietary plans work better for other people. We don't have to throw spears at each other, right?

Here's a link to the article

So carry on.
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  #2   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 07:43
SilverEm SilverEm is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,081
 
Plan: LC RPAH/FailSafe
Stats: 137/136/136 Female 67"
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: Maintenance since 2001
Default

Bklloots, thanks for the topic and the link. Useful food for thought.

I always appreciate the nudges to stay on plan and "keep on keepin' on".

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  #3   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 08:43
DaisyDawn's Avatar
DaisyDawn DaisyDawn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 363
 
Plan: Higher P/Moderate F + C
Stats: 152/146.6/130 Female 66
BF:
Progress: 25%
Default

I had my annual physical this morning with a new doctor. I filled her in on my weight loss and maintenance history and told her that at 6 years of maintenance I was a statistical freak of nature I need to get a shirt that has a picture of a unicorn on it, lol. I don't think the term is dehumanizing at all, I'm pretty geeked to rock that title, actually
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  #4   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 09:25
bluesinger's Avatar
bluesinger bluesinger is offline
Doing My Best
Posts: 4,924
 
Plan: LC/CancerRecovery
Stats: 170/135/130 Female 62 inches
BF:24%
Progress: 88%
Location: Nevada Desert, USA
Default

Oh goody! Today I'm designing my Unicorn t shirt. Zazzle will make it for me.
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 09:29
DaisyDawn's Avatar
DaisyDawn DaisyDawn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 363
 
Plan: Higher P/Moderate F + C
Stats: 152/146.6/130 Female 66
BF:
Progress: 25%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesinger
Oh goody! Today I'm designing my Unicorn t shirt. Zazzle will make it for me.


I really want one too I'm going to have to do some searching on Amazon today, lol.
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  #6   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 11:05
LCer4Life's Avatar
LCer4Life LCer4Life is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 692
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 155/143/125 Female 63
BF:33.2/28.7%/24%
Progress: 40%
Default

Love Unicorns. Working at growing up to be a Unicorn. I’m still a baby. 😍
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 12:08
GRB5111's Avatar
GRB5111 GRB5111 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,036
 
Plan: Very LC, Higher Protein
Stats: 227/186/185 Male 6' 0"
BF:
Progress: 98%
Location: Herndon, VA
Default

Thanks for the link. The current dynamic of removing blame and providing safe spaces for people, except those who challenge popular groupthink in the name of free choice, results in stuff like this. Enabling people to understand the power of lifestyle changes and the fact that the world's changed eating habits over the last 40 years has resulted in a grave health epidemic are completely ignored in this espoused premise. Very unproductive.
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 12:59
cotonpal's Avatar
cotonpal cotonpal is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 5,282
 
Plan: very low carb real food
Stats: 245/125/135 Female 62
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Vermont
Default

I'm more of a donkey than a unicorn. I am stubborn and determined but not particularly special.
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  #9   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 15:04
bkloots's Avatar
bkloots bkloots is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 10,147
 
Plan: LC--Atkins
Stats: 195/162/150 Female 62in
BF:
Progress: 73%
Location: Kansas City, MO
Default

Awwww, Jean. I think you're special!
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  #10   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 18:00
bluesinger's Avatar
bluesinger bluesinger is offline
Doing My Best
Posts: 4,924
 
Plan: LC/CancerRecovery
Stats: 170/135/130 Female 62 inches
BF:24%
Progress: 88%
Location: Nevada Desert, USA
Default

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  #11   ^
Old Tue, May-14-19, 18:04
JLx's Avatar
JLx JLx is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,199
 
Plan: High protein, lower fat
Stats: 000/000/145 Female 66
BF:276, 255 hi wts
Progress: 0%
Location: Michigan U.P., USA
Default

A recent article on NPR said this:

Quote:
Many people assume that to keep weight off long term, they have to eat less forever. Even those on the National Weight Control Registry seem to think so — they report eating an average of about 1,400 calories a day. But a recent study shows that this isn't necessarily true.

That study, published in the journal Obesity, looked at people who had lost an average of 58 pounds and had kept it off for an average of nine years. The researchers took sophisticated measurements of their metabolisms and found they were burning about 2,500 calories a day. But since their weights were stable, that meant they were also eating 2,500 calories a day — about as much as they used to consume when they were heavier.

The reason they could eat this way and not gain back the weight — despite now having slower resting metabolisms? They were now exercising way more than when they were heavier. Now they were doing the equivalent of about 40 minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous exercise, according to Dr. Victoria Catenacci, the study's senior author, and lead author Danielle Ostendorf, both with the University of Colorado. That included short bouts of exercise, like 10-minute walks, as well as longer sessions. https://www.npr.org/2019/04/25/7170...-of-weight-loss


That sounds encouraging to me. NPR is doing a series. Dr. Freedhoff was featured in the current podcast: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510339/weight-loss

He made a lot of sense. I'm going to check out his blog; thanks for posting.

(I should probably say that as I was listening to him describe how we should be enjoying our life as or even if we are losing weight, I was suffering mightily through a HIIT routine on my stationary bike. HIIT reminds me of the old joke about a guy's explanation for why he was banging his head against the wall - "because it feels so good when I stop".)
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  #12   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 06:10
bkloots's Avatar
bkloots bkloots is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 10,147
 
Plan: LC--Atkins
Stats: 195/162/150 Female 62in
BF:
Progress: 73%
Location: Kansas City, MO
Default

My N=1 experiment tells me that I've always been at my lowest weight when I was doing what I consider a huge amount of exercise: running or jogging, weight training, spinning, and other strenuous cardio routines, four or more days a week.

Now into my 70s, I continue a regular routine of resistance exercise--mostly for flexibility, leg and back strength. It isn't the "calorie burning" I used to do. Walking helps when the weather cooperates--but it's clear how discouraging "too cold," "too hot," and "pouring rain" can be. I doubt that a return to "goal weight" will be one of the results.

So, yes, exercise enhances a weight management effort. But like all sustained health practices, it takes commitment and time we can't always muster.
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  #13   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 07:51
s93uv3h's Avatar
s93uv3h s93uv3h is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,662
 
Plan: Atkins & IF / TRE
Stats: 000/000/000 Male 5' 10"
BF:
Progress: 97%
Default

I need corn. You need corn.

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  #14   ^
Old Sun, May-19-19, 09:41
Merpig's Avatar
Merpig Merpig is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 7,582
 
Plan: EF/Fung IDM/keto
Stats: 375/225.4/175 Female 66.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 75%
Location: NE Florida
Default

I guess I’m a bit of a unicorn since I’ve kept 100 pounds off for 10 years now. But I’d sure love to lose more.
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  #15   ^
Old Sun, May-19-19, 11:47
teaser's Avatar
teaser teaser is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 15,075
 
Plan: mostly milkfat
Stats: 190/152.4/154 Male 67inches
BF:
Progress: 104%
Location: Ontario
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bkloots
My N=1 experiment tells me that I've always been at my lowest weight when I was doing what I consider a huge amount of exercise: running or jogging, weight training, spinning, and other strenuous cardio routines, four or more days a week.

Now into my 70s, I continue a regular routine of resistance exercise--mostly for flexibility, leg and back strength. It isn't the "calorie burning" I used to do. Walking helps when the weather cooperates--but it's clear how discouraging "too cold," "too hot," and "pouring rain" can be. I doubt that a return to "goal weight" will be one of the results.

So, yes, exercise enhances a weight management effort. But like all sustained health practices, it takes commitment and time we can't always muster.


I'd argue that even when effective, exercise is as much a symptom as an effective tool. If I force weight loss through calorie restriction on any plan, my energy levels plummet. When things are working on a particular plan, I'll find I have more energy at a given calorie intake than if I were eating the same calories on some other "diet" like the SAD for instance. Taubes has made the observation that exercise increases appetite--I think there's an exercise times diet times current body weight that plays in there, if I'm a bit heavier and eating a diet that's a bit less insulinogenic than I've been eating, I find the increase in appetite diminished or absent.

Commitment and time--I'd add, and drive. Not drive as a virtue, but in the sense of basic drives, like appetite, sex etc. Feeling the need to go for a walk, to get out and do something, rather than forcing yourself. We tend to find time for stuff like that, as opposed to something that takes "discipline."
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