It's Gotten Harder to Lose Weight- And Not for the Reasons You Think

[Prism]

44. For most people, it's calories in - calories out

Yes, there are biological and hormonal factors, but it's hard to say that's the case for most people or why America in general is a mess.

I'm a fitness nut and former pudgy after spending my 20s in a desk job, now 6 mornings a week at the gym, active in fitness communities online and off. The golden rule almost always applies - what you get out of your body is profoundly affected by what you put in.

More and more, we're discovering that the kinds of calories you put in do matter to a degree. That's why most serious fitness/nutrition programs will now be concerned about macro nutrients - proteins/carbs/fats. Not shockingly, if you're looking to seriously trim down your weight, you're going to be watching your carb intake like a hawk.

We're also probably not getting enough protein.

But, at the end of the day, people who want to lose weight calculate their TDEE and eat under it. This works for nearly every person I'm in contact with. Strength training helps with resting metabolism. When I want something unhealthy, I make sure I run enough to burn the calories. I've had weeks where I just didn't have chicken and vegetables in me, so I monitored the calorie count of all the crappy stuff I was eating and made sure I was under my calories. Still lost weight (although tons of carbs and salt will cause water retention like whoa).

The only consistently successful path I've seen with weight management is calorie tracking. My Fitness Pal is amazing for it. People just don't really catch how much they are consuming. Just last week, I was talking with a friend who is constantly complaining about how thin he is (5'8", 125 lbs). He lifts weights, but finds he loses a pound or two rather than gaining. I started asking him what he was eating all day, and sure enough, he was consuming maybe 2,000 calories most days. With a TDEE of 2,800 calories, of course he couldn't gain weight. But he thought he was eating tons! (turns out, he just ate vegetables mostly all day with a little bit of protein).

Similar with friends trying to lose. Add up what they're eating and drinking, and usually they're way over where they think they are.

Annnnnyway. All of this isn't to discount the OP entirely. It's amazing in the 21st Century that we still don't have as firm a handle on human nutrition and metabolism as you'd hope we would. But articles like this bother me a little bit, because I think it lets people off the hook for the poor choices they're making. I don't like the word "blaming" or "shaming", because I don't want to do either of those things to anyone who wants to live healthier. I'd rather we just discussed it in terms of cause and effect. "If you are at a desk all day, and you eat these things, you will not lose weight." I'm more about being supportive than excusing poor lifestyle choices.

Signed,

Guy Who Just Ate the Shit Out of a McGriddle.