How to Keep the Weight Off: Thoughts on Maintenance
Weigh-in: 186.6 (sweet!)
5-day average weight: 187.88
Weight lost since 1/2/08: 4.62 lbs
I recently got into a huge debate over on the Weight of the Evidence blog about maintaining weight loss. The author of the blog, Regina Wilshire, asked readers what part, if any, willpower played in long-term weight maintenance.
As usual, I was the asshole of the whole conversation. Basically everyone on there (it's a blog dedicated to the low-carb movement) is a hard-core low carb for lifer, most of whom are moderately to severely carb intolerant. These are people who switched to low carb, ate as much as they wanted, and lost weight. These are also people who testified to actually gaining weight while on low calorie, low fat, whole grain diets.
So of course, I came out guns-a-blazing about peoples lack of self control and discipline, about society and how it buries us in low quality, highly processed food, and about how most "diets" fail to address psychological and emotional issues that people have with food, unhealthy patterns of comfort and emotional eating, food addiction, etc. I stressed that instead of simply depriving themselves in the short-term, people needed to find new ways of eating that were sustainable indefinitely. That people needed to find ways to exercise that they at least found moderately enjoyable.
And of course, I got reamed. Apparently, my views are ignorant, and my weight loss and maintenance plan is doomed to fail. The only way to successfully lose and maintain that weight loss is to go extreme low carb. That way, all your cravings go away, and you can maintain a healthy weight effortlessly for the rest of your life. And by "effortlessly" we of course mean, never touching another piece of bread, pasta, potatoes, or rice again.
I have no problem and am very happy for those who that works for. I absolutely feel that reducing the amount of carbs consumed, and pretty much eliminating all highly processed carbs will do wonders for your weight and your health. However, I see no reason to eliminate healthy whole grain natural things like rice and beans, etc.
I also feel like there's no one way that works for everyone. How many people have gone on low-carb diets and failed to sustain it? (can I get an amen Tuck?) I know Brotherjay and I did. We went on Atkins. Not only was it a disgusting experience, we gianed the weight right back because it wasn't sustainable.
So, while I advocate a controlled carb diet, plenty of protein, and a healthy mix of fats, I do so all within the context of two important principles: Moderation and Balance. I am always suspicious of any philosophy that villianizes a particular macronutrient, as we have seen previously with the low-fat movement.
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23 comments:
Being an asshole really is embedded in our genetics/DNA. Embracing this fact makes life easier.
You really shouldn't argue with people on the internet. Instead, go discuss current events with the patients at a mental hospital, it will make more sense...
Oh, and FU for being almost 1/2 to 10 lbs.
I considered very seriously going on a ketogenic diet, but you're right, it's not really sustainable or balanced. That's why now I try to eat the macro ratios recommended by the Zone diet (not that I follow the diet itself or count blocks, but the 40% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein macro breakdown seems to work best without being overly restrictive). I might lose weight a bit more slowly than if I went keto, but I'll have learned good eating habits that I can use for the rest of my life.
Exactly. If you know what you're doing and you know how to eat a healthy, balanced, sustainable diet, there's no reason you can't try something to help you lose some weight, as long as when you go "off" that diet, you settle back into something healthy, rather than the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet).
Years ago I lost a bunch of weight eating probably 80% carbs - 50% of that processed. Yeah, I gained back all the weight over the next 10 years but that had everything to do with the "On a diet" "Off the diet" mindset you mentioned.
Seems like most people don't really "get it" in terms of lifestyle change. Especially some in that thread. They've made permanent changes, ones that work for them. Why can't what you've done be how you maintain - just at a maintenance calorie level?
Are they saying only people who eat a minuscule amount of carbs will maintain because they aren't being drugged by carbs like the rest of us?
A year ago I was doing South Beach. It did little for my weight but loads for my head. These days carbs really do influence my mindset and yeah, willpower. If I feel like crap I don't have the will to do what it takes to make the changes needed. Depression works the same way. It's a catch22. In fact, too much sugar can send me into a mild depressive episode. So, for me, there's certainly some truth to their argument.
That said, and as you stated which was summarily ignored it seems, behavior modification is the first step. You can't stop the negative effects of carbs or whatever else if you keep "using".
Well, actually, it could be that education is the first step. If I didn't know that carbs might be hurting me I would have kept going on the same path to nowhere.
In the end it wasn't the carbs that were preventing my weight loss - it was too few calories. LC works for those who can find ways to eat a maintenance level of calories. I can't eat that much food!! I spend half my day eating as it is and I do like 45% carbs!
Geez, if I'm giving an Amen, I should be BROTHER Tuck. Or Priest. Anything but Friar.
You're exactly right - but you're fighting the power in numbers thing. Those are lifelong dieters, there. It'll never end for them.
Well said river.
I am pretty sure that highly processed carbs and sugars do have an effect on hormones, insulin, and a whole slew of things that can affect your mood, appetite, and propensity for weight gain.
I just disagree with putting the entire weight of the blame on carbs' shoulders. We live in a society that is, let's face it, buried in carbs. We need to learn how to moderate.
I have to agree with you too Billy. I did the low carb thing and was successful... lost 50+ pounds and felt great. But I couldn't eat like that as a lifestyle and yes I gained it all back. I have even toyed with the idea of doing low carb again but it makes me feel like crap even thinking about it, I hated it. I think I lost weight cause I didn't want to eat what I could eat and it caused a severe cal def. I have just finished reading the Metabolism Advantage book cover to cover which I think you based allot of your success on. It is pretty much a lower carb diet minus the workout window which allows some whole grain carbs etc. I don't know if that is a diet I could base my lifestyle on either. Its such a fine line to walk and live by. However I think you could be successful using any diet because you have the drive and commitment to see things through. That's what the majority of us that are not fairing as well struggle with. People that are not loosing are loosing the mental battle. I look at guys like you, your brother, and Brian etc and you guys hardly ever slip up. If I am not walking the walk I am not loosing weight. I guess thats why I really like your point of view, its no bullshit. You do what you say your gonna do and you succeed. I just need to learn a page or two from all you serious mother fers.
Anyway dont really know where I am going with this but good blog man. Keep up the good work.
See that's the beauty of having your own blog, everyone agrees with you! (well, not always...)
Seriously though, it's all of these low-carb failure stories that are exactly the point I was talking about. These people think that just because it works for them it works for everyone.
When you're carb intolerant, eating carbs makes you fat and feel crappy, and stopping makes you lose weight and feel great. But many people feel like ass on no carb diets. And, it's really hard to avoid carbs altogether in this world.
As far as Berardi's book- I base my nutrition pretty much on what he says, but I'm not such a nazi about the carbs. I have some whole grain cereal or a fruit smoothie for breakfast some days. I eat a little bit of rice throughout the day. Beans are a staple for me as well.
Once again, it's about educating yourself, and then, armed with that information, finding out what works for you.
I just read through that. A few thoughts I have are that people seem to get passionate about what works for them and assume that it will work for everyone else. I just don't think that is the case.
Second, there was very little mention about exercise in the article and the comments. Specifically, I'd like to know out of those people that gained the weight back, weather they had lost it low carb or low fat, how many of them continued exersizing and having fitness goals ? I'm guessing a lot of them did not, or at least toned it down significantly. Remember, it's a lifestyle, not a diet, so where is the info on the rest of the lifestyles of the people who gained the weight back.
Are they going to tell me next that we are not phsycologically to blame for stopping working out?
Sure , there are people who have medical issues which cause them togain weight. There are chemical changes in your body that change over the years that might mean you need to adjust in your diet and workouts. But it's the people who maintain the lifestyle that are successful in the long run. Not the ones who go on diets.
If you look further into the low-carb camp, you will find that they don't really discuss exercise. Many carb sensitive people don't need exercise to lose considerable weight once they adjust their diets.
In fact, I think it comes up in all those comments somewhere.
I think exercise is a healthy addition to any lifestyle, and it will certainly produce a better physique for anyone wanting to look good nekkid. I would imagine that a lot of non-exercisers, while they may not be overweight, have less than ideal physiques.
I just think it should be required. People were not designed to be sitting at desks all day, so if you want to maintain your weight, especially after altering your diet, you need to exercise.
I'm saying I think its required for maintenence. 9 times out of 10, if you gain all the weight back after losing, it's most likely your fault. These people need to take accountability.
Well in my case I fell off the low carb wagon and didn't exercise near as much so it was 100% my fault. I lost all the lean body mass and shitty food caused the weight to come back on. It was totally my fault and I didn't treat it as a lifestyle, that's the hard part. Brian I agree 100% that diet and exercise must both be in the equation. Not only do you have to make your diet a lifestyle, you have to make the exercise a lifestyle or your screwed.
Yup.
And you know that place where we've all been, where we just don't give a shit? We're fat, we don't exercise, and we eat like pigs, and we don't care? We don't even think about it??
It's all about never going back to that place. As long as you're aware, weighing yourself daily, and doing your thing, you'll never let yourself stray too far.
Billy,
Hey man, I read through that thread and felt nothing but irritation by the end. I especially enjoyed the kind words from the tramp who essentially hoped your would pack on the weight you lost. It says a lot about the mindset there.
I'm guessing many of the low-carb folks on there have yo-yo'ed for years and are bitter about anybody who appears to call them out on what makes a food addict tick. They would rather focus on shaky science while ignoring any explanation about why this science was no longer important to them when they regained all of the weight they lost.. multiple times.
I could not agree with you more about the role willpower and fitness plays in all of this. I have gone from 255 to 185 (10 to go) by fighting for change, re-discovering my interest in exercise and sport, and accepting that I will always be a recovering food addict who spent 15 years of his life in obesity.
Ok, I dont know where I'm going with this.. just wanted to say I'm in your corner.
funny, i ended my comment the same way ripx180 did...
I was getting very irritated too. I was definitely far outnumbered in there and I think they felt threatened by a different POV. The way I see it is, looking for answers outside yourself = playing the victim.
Anyway, thanks for your support, and great job with your success!! Sounds like you and I are just about at the exact same place, and started out at a similar place, too.
Race you to 175!
Nothing to do with the carbs - they are one of the necessities of life. Why would people want to deprive themselves of all that great energy?
Anyway, I couldn't help going back and forth between the fat picture and the slim picture three or four times. Where did you get that? Can they make one of me?
Billy,
Bro, I'm glad I found your blog since we have very similar interests. OK, let me say that I'm part of the LC community, but I'm a bit of a pariah because I know that calories trump carbs! Don't get me wrong, I've lost over 130lbs following a controlled carb diet that I devised after reading more than just Atkins, Eades, Taubes, etc. If you guys are not familiar with them, then I suggest you check out the works by Dr. Gregory Ellis, Anthony Colpo, and Lyle McDonald.
I agree with you guys; you have to find what works for you, but let me tell you something about the LC community. Many of them are worse than religious zealots and refuse to exercise! Personally, if anyone asks me how to lose weight, I tell them they need to move their bodies before even worrying about carbs, fats, etc. Exercise, not dieting, is mandatory for a healthy life, period.
I've followed a ketogenic diet for close to a year and, since I'm very carb sensitive, it was great; however, when I wanted to get ripped, I noticed that my poor muscles were flat and glycogen depleted. Once I started to take in PWO carbs, they pumped right back up. So, I now follow a diet of 60-100g of carbs daily, and this does not include the 50g I take after my workouts.
I don't eat any cereal grains or legumes more for paleolithic dietary than low-carb reasons. You might want to check out Neanderthin and Going Against the Grain for more about these arguments that are not low-carb based.
Billy, or any other guy 35 or over and working out religiously, if you haven't done so already, get your testosterone (T) levels checked, especially your free T levels. Your body does some really funny things to your T levels when you've lost a lot of body fat. I suggest that you check into using a Tribex/ZMA stack (these are herbs and minerals and not steroids!). You'll thank me later . . .
lilikoi2:
Sorry, I created that animation myself.
MrLowBodyFat:
I would consider myself to be a pretty controlled-carber myself, depending on my goals. Fat loss? No carbs. Muscle gain? Much more carbs.
I hear you though. As soon as peoples minds close, they stop learning.
I couldn't agree with you more Billy, and this is what I'm trying to combat. The argument over do calories count more or do carbs count more is silly and confusing for folks who really need and want to lose weight. What really gets me though is that the people who are the most vocal in the debate rarely have the results to back it up. I'm sorry, but if you were 400lbs and lost 100lbs without exercising and counting calories, congrats to you; HOWEVER, you still have a lot of chub to lose. Get your body into normal or athletic body fat % and then talk to me ...
Well you can chalk me up to a low carb failure. I've started TNT twice now and gotten to a certain point, then have gotten sick as a dog from the flu and had to stop. Now I'm starting to question whether my body is telling me that I need to find a different approach.
Its funny though, I was watching "The Biggest Loser" the other night. And the results that those people get are nothing short of amazing. So I've always thought that they were giving them a no-carb diet and working them 12+ hours a day. Then I saw them all eating a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. (I love oatmeal) Granted, they are living in weight-loss heaven and have 1 million plus reasons to lose the weight. But it goes to show that if you exercise a lot, and you eat healthy...you really can see positive results. I think I'm going to go back to practicing what I preach (Berardi/Aragon) and quit toying around with things that haven't worked for me in the past.
Hey Billy,
I for one enjoyed our discussion on my blog. I just wanted to stop here and say 1) you were not an asshole, and 2) if everyone agreed about everything in this world, it wouldn't be any fun, would it?
For the record, my blog isn't strictly "low carb" - it is at it's heart about controlled-carb and helping people understand how maintaining a "nutrient-dense" controlled carb dietary approach is healthy for the long-term.
For some people, carbohydrate restriction is best done keeping carbohydrate low, for others, it is definitely a higher than "low carb" level, more moderate and DOES include legumes (beans) and whole grains if tolerated and desired. Low-carb is generally less than 20% of calories per day (some contend it is strict gram levels, which I'm fine with too - whatever works for someone) and controlled-carb is generally viewed as carbohydrates up to 40% of calories (Zone levels).
I myself include brown/wild rice, grainy bread and sometimes even pasta occassionally....and gasp, even sometimes have a rich dessert too! It's about balance and finding what works for you.
Anyway, I just wanted to stop by and let you know you were and are more than welcome to comment, discuss and debate in my comments section on my blog. And, I wish you the best for your long-term health!
Hi Regina,
Thanks for your comment!
I certainly don't feel that everyone should agree. I did feel that some of the people commenting were not open to thoughtful discussion however, and instead simply mocked my viewpoints or otherwise were unsupportive and / or derisive.
I just thought I would write about it here to try to get some other points of view and I have.
I continue to read and enjoy your blog, and no, I haven't been scared away from commenting!
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