Diets shouldn't leave you hungry...

[Ukase]

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/12/diet-myth-news-flash-eating-less-cause-fat-loss/

Folks, I came across this article. It really resonates as something that can be pretty confusing for many of us. 

I mean, we're not rats. We're all different. This notion that "eating normally" is the way to go. I can agree with that - but "normally" is rarely defined. 

On one tub of Greek Yogurt, they say 8 ounces is a serving. Another says it's 5.3 ounces. And, they're produced by the same brand! Even the food producers don't know what "eating normally" means. 

This is primarily because we're all different, with different dietary needs. 

When your on a calorie deficit - remember that you're going to have to stop being at a deficit at some point. 

This article speaks to why just exercise isn't sufficient to be healthy. Nor is just your diet. You've really got to make sure you're getting adequate nutrition to meet your body's needs. 

If you weigh in at 200#'s, and you want to weigh 180, that's 20 pounds, or 70,000 calories. The faster you lose that weight, the harder it will be to keep that weight off! 

Remember - fat is not synonymous with unhealthy! You can be fat and healthy. (Of course, you can fat and unhealthy, too) Don't diet so much that you're starving yourself. Your body will remember it and hold onto that fat and burn your muscle. 

And trust me folks - muscle is hard to make! 

[Bobbinyc]

Yes, it is complicated.  That is part of why it is so important to make sure you are getting the latest scientific information.  The research is complicated enough.  That said, there is something that is always agreed on:  processed foods, chemicals, artificial anything, "junk" belongs in the trash can, not your body.

If you eat organic, whole foods, lots of vegetables, eat in moderation, it all seems to fall into place, without worrying about the latest trend.  I've known people who followed different variations of either being vegetarian, or eating small portions of lean healthy meats, and they all lost weight in a moderate, healthy way and have kept it off.  I wish there was a simple answer, but there doesn't seem to be.  If you go with a healthy plan that you can maintain for life, that gives you all the nutrition you need, it is easier to eat a moderate amount and maintain good health.  It takes a certain number of calories just to get all the nutrition we need.

Until the science gets clearer, which it might not do, I'm just sticking to good nutrition and hopefully that will work.  

[A_Lurker]

I think the problem is that our bodies aren't mechanical systems.  You can't find the exact calories you burn each day.  You can guess, and then adjust your intake.  I'd guess that the best weight loss is as slow as you can do it.  The problem is that with not knowing 100% what you're burning and not knowing 100% what you're taking in that unless you use a larger deficit you might not lose weight.

Let's say that half a pound a week is ideal.  People with a lot of weight (like myself) might find that daunting.  As well, aiming for half a pound loss is a tough thing.  I am for 2lbs/week but I figure that as long as I'm headed down then I'm doing well.  From the push at the start I'm still holding an average of just over that, but I know it won't last.  However, I did add a scale that does fat % as well.  I started out on June 2nd, so my data only goes that far back.  Looking at the numbers.

Weight Loss:  15 pounds

     Fat Mass:  -17.6     Lean Mass: +2.6

It could be within the margin of error, but I hope this is a sign that I'm not simply losing lean mass.  Of course, I've got enough weight to lose that I couldn't lose all of my lean mass.

[FitBeforeFifty]

Quote from the article: "Eating less does not create the need to burn body fat. Instead, it creates the need for the body to slow down. Contrary to popular opinion, the body hangs on to body fat. Instead, it burns muscle tissue, and that worsens the underlying cause of obesity. Only as a last resort, if the body has no other option, it may also burn a bit of body fat. ... Studies show that up to 70% of the weight lost while eating less comes from burning muscle—not body fat!"

This is mostly hyperbole. It's true that our body will attempt to conserve energy when faced with a prolonged calorie deficit (adaptive thermogenesis) but there are ways to mitigate those adaptations. It's true that we lose some muscle when eating at a caloric deficit but 70% is extreme and not the norm.

There is one simple solution to both of these issues -- exercise.

For example, this study (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0004377) compares multiple groups:

1. LCD: Very low calorie diet 890 calories per day
2. CR: 25% deficit created with calorie intake restriction
3. CR+EX: Eats at a 12.5% deficit and creates the other 12.5% deficit with exercise. 

The CR+EX group showed no reduction in energy expenditure due to adaptive thermogenesis where as the other groups had several hundred calories in reduced energy expenditure. 

While all groups lost fat and fat-free mass, 80% of the weight lost was fat for the CR+EX group. The exercise used was aerobic in nature. If they would have included resistance training there would have probably been even better results in terms of fat-free mass loss.

[JohnRi]

I've discovered on my weight loss journey, that losing weight is about as complicated as it gets.  Since we are not machines, and we lack the ability to control what our bodies do or don't do, it's extremely hard to lose weight.

Eat the same amount of food two weeks in a row, do the same amount of exercise, and you will get different results each week.

Since I've got my Aria, I've lost about 8 lbs of lean mass since February.  At the same time, I've lost 53 lbs of fat.  I find that my Aria has been invaluable for me to monitor my fat %.  Recently I've seen trends of my fat % wanting to go up, and my lean mass going down.  Both times I was able to reverse this by adding another 100-200 calories to my diet.  I monitor it constantly and make tweats to my diet as needed.  My deficit continues to get smaller and smaller, but I was expecting this as I got closer to my goal.

I think what this article failed to look at was how much one had to lose.  When I was morbidly obese, any calorie deficit diet caused weight loss. Exercise enhances it at the beginning, but your diet drives the weight loss when we start if we have a lot to lose.  As I have gotten slimmer, my diet cannot drive my weight loss anymore.  I'm to the point that if I don't exercise, I only burn around 2100 calories a day.  Which is about what I eat each day now.  At this point in my weight loss journey, exercise is 95% of what is driving my weight loss.  Without daily exercise, I lose next to nothing.

Exercise also has the benifit on our bodies.  When our bodies burn muscle they burn muscle that is not being used.  Which is why I've added weight lifting to my training program.  If I'm using my muscles, my body has no choice but to burn fat.  So far I've been doing weight training 3 days a week, but I'm consiering going to six.  Arms, Abs, Chest and upper Back on one day, and Legs, lower back on the other day.

My BMR would also back this up.  It was originally 2500, now it's 1850.  Having a 650 calorie reduction in my daily calorie burn makes it very difficult to lose weigh with diet alone.

I've done such a great job maintaining my lean mass, that I may have a serious problem getting to my first and second goals.  At my first goal, my fat % will be 16%.  Assuming I can maintain my lean mass as I go from 206 to 170, I well end up with a fat % around 10%.  And that's dang low.  Really low.  My body is going to fight me tooth and nail to not go that low.  I'll have less than 20 lbs of fat at point. 

So I in fact don't know what the next 6-12 months will be like.  I know they won't be like the last 10 months.

As for my diet, it does not leave me hungry most of the time.  However, I did notice that my body is playing tricks on me.  I have noticed that I'm getting hungry at times that I don't usually get hungry.  It's trying to trick me to eat more.  I've read about all of the tricks our body does to try to get us to gain again. 

Dang complicated...  It's a lot more complicated than eat less, burn more...