he now has to eat 800 calories a day less than a typical man his size

Danny Cahill stood, slightly dazed, in a blizzard of confetti as the audience screamed and his family ran on stage. He had won Season 8 of NBC’s reality television show “The Biggest Loser,” shedding more weight than anyone ever had on the program — an astonishing 239 pounds in seven months.

[...]

But in the years since, more than 100 pounds have crept back onto his 5-foot-11 frame despite his best efforts. In fact, most of that season’s 16 contestants have regained much if not all the weight they lost so arduously. Some are even heavier now.

Yet their experiences, while a bitter personal disappointment, have been a gift to science. A study of Season 8’s contestants has yielded surprising new discoveries about the physiology of obesity that help explain why so many people struggle unsuccessfully to keep off the weight they lose.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?_r=0

Fascinating. I guess the trick is to never get fat in the first place. Sad that people try so hard, and it really is a losing battle (in the wrong direction).

This is exactly right. I was a Wellness Director for a hospital weight loss program and the dirty little secret is even after you lose the weight and stick with the maintenance diet and exercise program, eventually you will have to eat less calories and exercise more as the years go on, which over time is unsustainable. This is because your metabolism slows. This is nothing new. This actually happened to me over the last 10 years.

After losing 65 pounds and sticking with maintenance, weight still began to creep up. I was frantic and tried to eat less and exercise even more, but it was unrealistic as I needed the calories for my energy and activity level.

I am now back up at the original weight I was before the weight loss and have sworn off diets for the rest of my life. I eat healthy and exercise daily and am active at work and home. I like a treat occasionally and I like my bottle of wine on a Sat. evening and I usually eat what ever I want on weekends within reason. For example-since I eat salads every day at work for lunch, if I want a sandwich on a Saturday I- heaven forbid- have it!

My LDL cholesterol has been up the past few years, as occasionally is my ANA positive. Weird, as I don't eat red meat or pork or chicken- just occasionally turkey. Working on that with my doc.

I was never "slim" always heavier than I should be. About 12 years ago I hit a size 18 and was 207 pounds. Atkins was the rage back then and I started my weight loss journey. It took a year and I hit size 6 and 142 pounds. 2 months later I was pregnant. I made it through the pregnancy and year of nursing eating normal - but healthy. I ended up at 155 pounds and a size 8.

That was 10 years ago.....fighting weight is still a constant. I go up to 165+ and diet back down to 155. I have done this more times that I can count. And I will continue do it time and time again, because I refuse to be fat again.

Today, I am doing the ideal protein diet and am I loosing weight and quickly. Too quickly. I'm purposely going off plan a bit this week to slow it down. I started at 167 4 weeks ago and am down to 153 (and I was in Aruba for a week!)

I feel for these people, if they truly are exercising and eating the way they should and still gaining weight that is terrible to face. I think the psychological of this would be worse than just being obese, to know you had it and lost it for your own fault or not.

Patri...you got it right, never find yourself overweight in the first place. As a parent of a 10 year old girl. I try so hard to ensure she knows nutrition and to make good choices about food. My goal with her is nutrition, not fat and skinny. I don't want her growing up to think "skinny" is the goal, when healthy is really what it is about. Do I wish my parents knew more about nutrition when I was growing up.......

I read that NYT article and I thought the basic premise was flawed- the article implies because the Biggest Loser contestants inevitably gain weight back that most people could expect the same.

But the way the Biggest Loser contestants go about losing weight is CRAZY in my opinion. Creating a 3500 cal deficit per day?! Of course your body fights back against that, it's not a huge surprise. You do a starvation diet & your body concludes its starving? Shocking.

How about doing the same study, but this time of people who lose weight sanely? Would you get the same result? Smarter, I think, to study the metabolism of people who lose weight with a whimper, not a bang. And to study people who successfully keep the weight off.

heathpack said:

I read that NYT article and I thought the basic premise was flawed- the article implies because the Biggest Loser contestants inevitably gain weight back that most people could expect the same.

But the way the Biggest Loser contestants go about losing weight is CRAZY in my opinion. Creating a 3500 cal deficit per day?! Of course your body fights back against that, it's not a huge surprise. You do a starvation diet & your body concludes its starving? Shocking.

How about doing the same study, but this time of people who lose weight sanely? Would you get the same result? Smarter, I think, to study the metabolism of people who lose weight with a whimper, not a bang. And to study people who successfully keep the weight off.

Click to expand...

I lost my 65 lbs slowly. Took one year. I basically ate for the weight I wanted to be for the activity level I had. The premise being that is how I would eat for the rest of my life. No crazy dieting, etc. It worked. I thought I had it beat. I knew (or thought I knew) I would be fine eating and exercising this way forever. No dice. Didn't work out in the long run. Slowly over 10-15 years later (and trying to fight the small gains as they came by eating even less) the weight came back on.

Sigh...I am now just doing the best I can and living my life and not obsessing anymore.

I was/am pretty much a healthy eater and always exercised when our son was young. My husband is not an exerciser other than walking and eats what he likes. Not fat- slightly husky. Healthy, except for high blood pressure under control with meds for most of his life (he is 62 now). Our son was spoiled with food my my Italian parents and is obese(28 years old now).

I confess I caved in to him a lot when he was young with food and snacks. When he was in college I would tell him to cool it with midnight pizzas and he would tell me "all the skinny kids are eating pizza at midnight". I told him they were not him, but I felt for him because I knew what he meant. Some people can eat certain things and never seem to gain weight. He was never a very active kid. More of a slow mover. He liked to play basketball, but not built for it really. Most people thought he was a football player due to his build.

This all said, he just told me that a man who worked in his office- a real health nut- fit and trim- walked 10 miles every day and did 75 push-ups every day- that sort of thing- just dropped dead at the age of 62- assumably of a heart attack.

Another example- a woman I work with (62)- been very overweight most of her adult life. Stopped smoking a few years ago. Doesn't eat all day- just a couple of cups of coffee and water- then dinner at night- maybe a beer. She told me her blood work is always perfect.

Another lady I work with- in her 50's- a health nut. No meat or alcohol. Very skinny. Just told me her blood work came back that her sugars were so high she is a borderline diabetic! She just doesn't understand it.

I took my weight down from 200 to 155 about a year ago. First I totally quit alcohol and ice cream (poured the alcohol down the drain and stopped buying both alcohol and ice cream).

I saw progress then gave up french fries, chips, etc and all fast food restaurants except Subway. Since then I have stopped eating meat except for a burger once every two weeks. Another thing I do is weigh every day. If I am up even one pound, I cut back for the day.

I have never felt better and have been able to cut my blood pressure medication from 100 MG to 25MG.

George

Interesting article. I dropped about 25 pounds after I retired and its stayed gone. Only changes are slightly more exercise.

I suppose as long as it stays gone, I'll be content although I should be 20 pounds less for my "ideal" weight. I'm old enough not to worry about it.

Cheers

mpumilia said:

I lost my 65 lbs slowly. Took one year. I basically ate for the weight I wanted to be for the activity level I had. The premise being that is how I would eat for the rest of my life. No crazy dieting, etc. It worked. I thought I had it beat. I knew (or thought I knew) I would be fine eating and exercising this way forever. No dice. Didn't work out in the long run. Slowly over 10-15 years later (and trying to fight the small gains as they came by eating even less) the weight came back on.

Sigh...I am now just doing the best I can and living my life and not obsessing anymore.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry that happened to you.

But there are people who lose weight successfully and maintain that loss. They are tracked in the National Weight Loss Registry. What I'm saying is that *those* are the people who should be studied.

My understanding is that they exercise at least 1 hour/day, don't eat tons and remain hyper vigilant. You could study metabolism in those people instead. Because the goal should be to understand the successes, not just the failures.

I participate in a Cycling forum. Lots of people take up Cycling to lose weight (I did, now it's way more than that). I'm amazed at how many people there state that "weight is lost at the table, not on the bike". I understand what they're trying to say- you can go out & do a hard ride & burn 700 cal and eat a large sub that completely negates that calorie deficit.

But for me, no WAY could I lose/maintain without the exercise (I ride maybe 8-10 hrs/week, burning 5000 cal/wk or thereabouts).

So all I'm saying is this article is about one approach to losing weight that failed. The conclusion should not therefore be "all weight loss attempts are doomed to fail" because not all weight loss attempts were examined. It just seems counterproductive to me. People need to know what does work not that the process is insurmountable- because some people do in fact lose weight and keep it off.

heathpack said:

I'm sorry that happened to you.

But there are people who lose weight successfully and maintain that loss. They are tracked in the National Weight Loss Registry. What I'm saying is that *those* are the people who should be studied.

But for me, no WAY could I lose/maintain without the exercise (I ride maybe 8-10 hrs/week, burning 5000 cal/wk or thereabouts).

People need to know what does work not that the process is insurmountable- because some people do in fact lose weight and keep it off.

Click to expand...

Multiple studies over the years do reflect that it is difficult for most people to keep the weight off. I don't know the stats. This at least is an explanation of a contributing factor. (I bet more people regain than don't).

Patri said:

Multiple studies over the years do reflect that it is difficult for most people to keep the weight off. I don't know the stats. This at least is an explanation of a contributing factor. (I bet more people regain than don't).

Click to expand...

Right. I 100% understand that. I have some suspicions myself as to why that might be. And I'll bet that its actually way more complicated than people imagine because its probably somewhat different for different people.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that some people are successful. Figure out how they vary from people who are unsuccessful and give people *that* information.

Its as if we're telling people to do something complex- like building a bridge over a river for example- but not teaching them how to do it. Instead, we tell them to get the info on their own from the internet, friends, books, snake oil salesmen. Then when most people fail, we conclude "well, science proves that most people can't build a bridge successfully".

That's all I'm saying. Of course there are people out there studying this type of thing. But these studies don't seem to make the news quite as well.

This thread is depressing.

So, I figure I better add my story into the mix.

About 12-14 years ago, I noticed my KNEE was hurting more and more. As a fun loving youth, I had taken up skiing in the mid-1970s. It was fun. I was beyond snow-plowing; took lots of ski lessons; owned my skis, etc.

Had multiple friends who had major knee surgery and one had double knee replacements. I thought to myself ... that surgery WAS brutal!!!! NO WAY did I want to go thru that!

Decide I better lose weight. Brought some QVC prepackage food .. you know, 30 day shipment; lots of water. I QUIT those meals after less than 60 days.

Now, I work with guys in construction since the 1987 ... I do the run & fetch to buy materials. I do the planning and pay the bills. I HOLD stuff as the 3rd hand. I haul the trash out. 10 hours a day/Monday thru Friday. I eat lunch with the boys and for years, THAT has been my biggest meal of the day. MY ONLY REQUEST is "No McDonald's food".

I lost 35 +/- pounds during the time of the QVC food & next 4-5 months ... and have kept it off. My knee stopped hurting.

No gym. No personal trainer. No diet stuff. I do NOT drink many sodas but will have a "soda that comes with the meal sometimes" .. almost always drink water. If I want steak, I eat steak. I eat cheese steaks (live near Philly). I eat breakfast around 6AM (bagel or cereal), 11AM lunch (biggest meal work days) and find something to eat when hungry after dark (canned soup, vegetables meal ... really more of a snack).

I qualified for Long Term Care Insurance at the BIG DISCOUNT rate ... a goal also back then. I have a thread I started on TUG back then.

I just turned 64; I have lost (via eating a bit less at lunch) another 5 pounds and am trying to get down another 5. No issue ... as I have NOT gained any weight from 10-12 years ago that I am trying to "RE-LOSE".

Am I in perfect health? Nope, I take the blood pressure and colrestrol meds.

All I am trying to say is "WORRY LESS" and figure out WHAT works for you. Besides, worrying or fretting is added stress .. bad for weight control and getting a good rate for LTC insurance.

vacationhopeful said:

No gym. No personal trainer. No diet stuff. I do NOT drink many sodas but will have a "soda that comes with the meal sometimes" .. almost always drink water.

Click to expand...

No gym for me either. I try to walk stairs rather than take elevators and park as far away from the entrance to Walmart, Kroger, etc. In addition I walk my German Shepherd 3 or 4 times a day. That is the extent of my exercise....Never drink soda, diet or otherwise. Drink water with meals and sugar free lemonade during the day.

Like others have said stick with what works for you. Everyone is different.

George

No easy fixes - this did work for me

I am a sales rep and in my car everyday

About 8 years ago when I my weight had hit 190 lbs and my pants waist size was 38 inches I created this diet

The : NO FOOD FROM GAS STATIONS DIET

******
Currently about 165 lbs
40 years ago 145 lbs

My wife thinks it is unfair . She works a lot harder to edit the pounds gained in those same 40 years . I compliment her on her hard work and results.

^^I have learned something in 38 years of marriage.

heathpack said:

I'm sorry that happened to you.

But there are people who lose weight successfully and maintain that loss. They are tracked in the National Weight Loss Registry. What I'm saying is that *those* are the people who should be studied.

My understanding is that they exercise at least 1 hour/day, don't eat tons and remain hyper vigilant. You could study metabolism in those people instead. Because the goal should be to understand the successes, not just the failures.

I participate in a Cycling forum. Lots of people take up Cycling to lose weight (I did, now it's way more than that). I'm amazed at how many people there state that "weight is lost at the table, not on the bike". I understand what they're trying to say- you can go out & do a hard ride & burn 700 cal and eat a large sub that completely negates that calorie deficit.

But for me, no WAY could I lose/maintain without the exercise (I ride maybe 8-10 hrs/week, burning 5000 cal/wk or thereabouts).

So all I'm saying is this article is about one approach to losing weight that failed. The conclusion should not therefore be "all weight loss attempts are doomed to fail" because not all weight loss attempts were examined. It just seems counterproductive to me. People need to know what does work not that the process is insurmountable- because some people do in fact lose weight and keep it off.

Click to expand...

Yes. I know that. People also say as you age your metabolism slows, but then again there are plenty of skinny old people out there. So everyone has to be different- genes- whatever. I wonder if some people's metabolism recovers fully where as others' don't. For me, I exercise an hour per day ( I have an indoor cycle, a gazelle and a weight bench and I also go out and walk 2 miles before leaving for work at 7:30 am.I also have a yoga bench) and I am on my feet in and out of a car like 20 times a day for work- walking, up and down stairs, carrying stuff. And- weekends cleaning and doing projects around my house. I used to exercise on the weekends also, but as I am aging and working full-time with a job like I have I now give myself a break of sorts (if you want to call it that) since I am cleaning and doing yard work and so on on wknds. . Hell- I couldn't do any better. I like so many others, have limited time and I believe in exercise but I also like doing other things and HAVE to do other things required in life.

I bring my salad to work every day, while my thinner coworkers are ordering pizza and McDonalds and so forth. No snacking except my low fat Greek yogurt in the am after exercise. All other meals at home.

Meanwhile, the thin woman at work I mentioned and also a friend of mine don't exercise at all!

I watched the Biggest Loser one time. I thought it was a very unhealthy platform for weight loss and long term maintenance. And, there is no way that people who are obese and morbidly obese should workout to that extreme in the beginning of a weight loss workout program. An extreme workout for people that obese is extremely hard on joints, bones and organs. And, it is not a realistic workout program that the average person can do forever. You want to be able find a workout program that works for you to be able to do forever.

A moderate workout, eating healthy foods within a healthy range of calories (for losing and then for maintaining) and drinking plenty of water is the only way to lose weight and then maintain a healthy weight. And, there is no problem with having the great dessert, burger and fries, salad with ranch dressing or some other yummy splurge once in a while. I now drink light beer instead of regular beer and I like it. Go figure. Most salads ordered in restaurants have more calories than a burger and fries. I see so many people think they are making healthy choices when they are really making high calorie unhealthy choices. They just don’t get it.

Twelve years ago, my scale went up 25 lbs. in 2 years. It was the only time in my life where life happened and I let myself go. I was so uncomfortable and my clothes hurt. I joined Weight Watchers online and in 4 months the weight was off and it has stayed off for 10 years. When I see the scale move up a couple of pounds – I go back to 1,200 calories (or in Weight Watcher’s old program - 20 points) until the pounds are gone. I can typically eat 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day to maintain my 118 lb. to 120 lb. range. I love the Weight Watchers program and I have been doing the program for 10 years - sometimes on a strict basis and sometimes on a more relaxed basis. And, even when I splurge – I’m still on the program. I plan to do the program forever. I do a moderate workout almost every day – a 30 minute walk/jog and 30 minutes of gentle yoga, stretching and light weights.

Losing weight was one of the hardest things I had to do. Maintaining has been easy - thanks Weight Watchers. A lot of my friends don’t even know I still follow Weight Watchers. Most think I stopped Weight Watcher’s 10 years ago. Love it.

mpumilia said:

Yes. I know that. People also say as you age your metabolism slows, but then again there are plenty of skinny old people out there. So everyone has to be different- genes- whatever. I wonder if some people's metabolism recovers fully where as others' don't. For me, I exercise an hour per day ( I have an indoor cycle, a gazelle and a weight bench and I also go out and walk 2 miles before leaving for work at 7:30 am.I also have a yoga bench) and I am on my feet in and out of a car like 20 times a day for work- walking, up and down stairs, carrying stuff. And- weekends cleaning and doing projects around my house. I used to exercise on the weekends also, but as I am aging and working full-time with a job like I have I now give myself a break of sorts (if you want to call it that) since I am cleaning and doing yard work and so on on wknds. . Hell- I couldn't do any better. I like so many others, have limited time and I believe in exercise but I also like doing other things and HAVE to do other things required in life.

I bring my salad to work every day, while my thinner coworkers are ordering pizza and McDonalds and so forth. No snacking except my low fat Greek yogurt in the am after exercise. All other meals at home.

Meanwhile, the thin woman at work I mentioned and also a friend of mine don't exercise at all!

Click to expand...

Well, cycling is helpful for sure.

I have power meters on my bikes and they measure actual work done, so I know for sure how many calories I burn with exercise.

I also train intentionally with minimal calorie intake (this helps with fat metabolism, no to burn fat but for the logistical issue that happened on the bike that you sometimes cannot take in calories fast enough to keep up with the rate of glycogen utilization, its an advantage if you train your body to be able to run your muscles on fatty acids from your own fat supplies). This means that I can routinely go out for a ride and create a 1000-1500 cal deficit. Which is huge for me because I am only allotted 1500 cal/day as my baseline.

I've been racing my bike and the way racing cyclists see things is a little different. Because the most important thing for going up hills is your power-to-weight ratio, cyclists pretty much all want to be skinnier. So my friends are mostly cyclists and they are all pretty into weight management, that really helps.

I also mentioned that I train 8-10 hrs per week and this is actually considered a *light* training load for a competitive cyclist. My coach has me train less hours than many people because he works me so hard. But it really helps to have that mindset that 8-10 hours of hard cycling per week is "not a lot".

Lest you think that I am some skinny athlete that doesn't need to worry about weight- I am a former couch potato who was previously 50# heavier than I am now.

I have no universal answers but I do think that I lucked into liking cycling. Its been hugely helpful for me in losing and managing weight.

Good luck to you!

I am writing a book on this topic -- how the body opposes weight loss, generally making it impossible to lose large amounts of weight through exercise and diet. I plan to call it, Your Fat is Not Your Fault: Why Dieting is a Losing Proposition.

Patri said:

Fascinating. I guess the trick is to never get fat in the first place. Sad that people try so hard, and it really is a losing battle (in the wrong direction).

Click to expand...

"Never getting fat in the first place" is probably just as hard as losing weight and keeping it off. Some people are fat when they are born, and many others get fat before they are weaned. It's not like an infant can jog and drink diet breast milk to stay lean.

I grew up in a family of outdoorsy health-food fanatics. My parents were very, very strict about what my sister and I ate, and we got lots of exercise. I was a fat child anyway -- when I was 12, I weighed twice what my best friend weighed. (My sister was lean, although not as thin as my best friend.) I had been fat even when I was still an infant.

I've done all sorts of diets, but I get incredibly hungry and cold. In 2007, I lost 40 pounds and decided I was going to keep it off, no matter how hungry and cold I was. (I was famished, and I was still well into the obese category. I would have had to lose another 40 pounds to be "normal" by government standards.) In 2008, about a year after I started dieting, I started getting infection after infection. (Dieting suppresses immunity.) I ended up bed-ridden. Now that I could no longer exercise (I had been quite active most of my life), my diabetes got much worse, causing me to develop cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis is a irreversible condition (except through a liver transplant). I am now disabled and have come close to dying from my liver problems. So much for how diet and exercise makes everyone healthy.

The study mentioned in the NY Times is just one of many that demonstrates that weight is primarily due to biology, not behavior. Yet, few people want to believe this. The doctor who works for "The Biggest Loser" refuses to believe the results. He is quoted as saying that people who've lost weight need more "ongoing support with exercise doctors, psychologists, sleep specialists, and trainers." That's very helpful to the huge number of people employed in in the weight-loss industry. It's not helpful to fat people who need real medical research on how to fix their metabolic problems.

Just a quick note about the role of exercise...

I exercise regularly (without being a workout warrior) partly for weight control and partly because being reasonably fit I can do more things and feel better (quality of life). One of the main reasons for moderate exercise, however, is that more and more studies are coming in that being fit helps forestall cognitive decline.

heathpack said:

....
But the way the Biggest Loser contestants go about losing weight is CRAZY in my opinion. Creating a 3500 cal deficit per day?! Of course your body fights back against that, it's not a huge surprise. You do a starvation diet & your body concludes its starving? Shocking.

How about doing the same study, but this time of people who lose weight sanely? Would you get the same result? Smarter, I think, to study the metabolism of people who lose weight with a whimper, not a bang. And to study people who successfully keep the weight off.

Click to expand...

heathpack said:

I'm sorry that happened to you.

But there are people who lose weight successfully and maintain that loss. They are tracked in the National Weight Loss Registry. What I'm saying is that *those* are the people who should be studied.

Click to expand...

People in the National Weight Control Registry are studied, a lot. A tiny proportion of dieters (about 1 in 100,0000) are in the National Weight Control Registry. And, there is evidence that people who make it into the National Weight Control Registry are physiologically different than other dieters. Most dieters experience a drop in body temperature when they diet, which means their body is conserving energy by not generating heat. But most dieters in the National Weight Control Registry have normal body temperatures -- this means their bodies do not conserve calories to a normal extent. And, you know what? At least one-third of the people in the National Weight Control Registry gain the weight back within a few years of joining the Registry, even though it's easier for them to keep weight off than it is for normal people. And, they are kept as members of the Registry even after they gain the weight back. So, the number of people in the National Weight Control Registry is exaggerated, because many of them have regained the weight.

The truth is, for most fat people, the only thing that might make you lean is bariatric surgery. (I wanted bariatric surgery, but my insurance wouldn't pay for it. Now I'm too sick to be a candidate.) No matter what diet you do, no matter how hard you try, the weight comes back. The drive to regain is based on how much weight a person has lost, no matter how they lost it.

I am furious at being told that my weight problems are my fault. When I have gone on low-carb diets and the diet has failed, people say it's my fault because I should have gone on a low-fat diet. When I have gone on low-fat diets and the diet has failed, people say it's my fault because I should have gone on a low-carb diet. If I eat 1600 calories a day and don't lose weight, I get some people telling me it is my fault because I am eating too much, and other people telling me it is my fault because I am eating too little. (I even had one idiot online who said I wasn't losing weight because my diet wasn't strict enough. I pointed out that I was famished, day and night, and he said, "Oh, I guess you aren't losing weight because you are eating too little." So, the same person said both that I was eating too much and that I was eating too little. I am not making this up.)

This study on Biggest Loser contestants provides some new data, but there are many other studies, in both humans and animals that point to the same thing. Almost all people (and other mammals) have a weight setpoint that their bodies vigorously defend. Get much (maybe 5-10%) below that set point, and the body fights to gain the weight back. Here is an excellent study demonstrating this in rats: http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/287/2/R288.long

A few people are physiologically different, and do not defend their setpoint. For example, anorexics behave pretty much the same as normal-weight bulimics. But anorexics' bodies don't fight back when the person tries to lose weight.

I am sick of how some lean people constantly brag about what a great lifestyle they have, how much exercise they do and how great they eat. I have done the same things. My lifestyle as a young child was pretty much ideally designed to promote leanness (my parents wouldn't have had it any other way) and I was still fat. And when I tried really hard as an adult, it didn't make me lean -- it made me sicker.

People who are lean are luckier than people who are fat, not more virtuous or deserving than fat people. I would never talk about people with brain cancer and brag about how my lifestyle is better than theirs and say that is why they have brain cancer and I do not. But my metabolic problems are life-threatening, and yet I face this sort of blame every day.

Some of the comments on this thread are excellent examples of how people refuse to believe the evidence that weight is biological, not behavioral. If even the most successful dieters gain the weight back, dieters who were so exceptional that they actually won a reality TV shows for their weight loss? People will just say they did it wrong.

I often feel like I am arguing with people who won't believe the earth revolves around the sun. And yet it moves.

By the way, numerous studies have looked at National Weight Control Registry participants, trying to find something they are doing that other dieters are not doing. These studies have found nothing. Some of the people in the National Weight Control Registry lost weight on low-fat diets, some lost it on low-carb diets. Some lost it slowly, some lost it quickly. It's true that almost everyone in the National Weight Control Registry exercises, a lot, but this is probably just a measure of their dedication. Other studies show that exercise has very little effect on weight loss. (Exercise does cause big improvements in health, but health and leanness are not the same thing.)

By the way, the author of the NY Times article (the one this thread links to) is Gina Kolata, one of the best science writers in the business.I strongly encourage anyone interested in health to read her other articles. She really knows her stuff.

T-Dot-Traveller said:

I am a sales rep and in my car everyday

About 8 years ago when I my weight had hit 190 lbs and my pants waist size was 38 inches I created this diet

The : NO FOOD FROM GAS STATIONS DIET

******
Currently about 165 lbs
40 years ago 145 lbs

My wife thinks it is unfair . She works a lot harder to edit the pounds gained in those same 40 years . I compliment her on her hard work and results.

^^I have learned something in 38 years of marriage.

Click to expand...

You are a wise and still married man.

And you figured out a BIG downfall in the way and what you were eating. Love your diet ... easy plan for YOU to follow.

I lost around 60 pounds almost 14 years ago. I followed Weight Watchers and continue to do so. There is no such thing as losing the weight, then going back to "normal" eating. I didn't start exercising routinely until a few years ago. And it was The Biggest Loser that encouraged me to do it. I figured if those folks could move I certainly could as well.