Bealost said:
Are we talking about the same volume of food, the caloric equivalence or what here?
I quoted your other post, but can just quote this instead to respond (we are two different guys in case you didn't notice)
I did the whole caloric deficit thing.... WORST MOVE EVER.
First, as you probably already know, all calories are not equal. Eating 200g of sugar is not the same as eating 200g of protein. Eat 200g of sugar in a day and I don't care what kind of calorie deficit you have, you are going to not lose weight (and you are going to feel insanely hungry because of the insulin spike)
second, not only are calories not equal, but how your body processes calories is also not equal. The more muscle mass you have, and the denser your muscle mass, the better your muscle thermogenics is, the lower your insulin resistance is, the more efficiently your digestive system works, etc.
finally in regards to the quality of the food, likewise this also is not the same. Eating 25 raisins isn't the same as eating 25 grapes. drinking a cup of apple juice isn't the same as eating 4 apples.
I lost 60 pounds on the belief that caloric deficit is the key... and at the end of it I found myself losing about 50% muscle and 50% fat. HAD I UNDERSTOOD NUTRITION, I could have still lost 60lbs, but lost instead like like 85% fat and 15% LBM and have been down to like 7% body fat from the get go (at 8% now). Instead I got down to around 14% body fat following the "calorie deficit above all" mantra, and then have spent the last 14 months getting rid of that remaining 6% of body fat.
paleo diet to me is a revolution. eat when you're hungry. stop when you're full. don't worry about carbs. don't worry about fat. just eat lean meats and fresh fruits and veggies, and eat as much as your body needs. Doing this for 14 months has still seen me lose fat, all the while gaining strength (and muscle, being that my weight has stayed where I want it to)
don't fall into the calorie deficit beyond all.. I mean if that were true, you could just run like 1400 miles a week, eat 1000 calories a day, and lose 8lbs every single week!! At 240lbs, after 31 weeks you would weigh -8lbs!! Don't buy the calorie math. We are smarter than that now and have a much better idea of nutrition and how specific foods and calories affect our bodies.
edit - at the very least, read the paleo diet.. it's not to hard to see through recorded history that many of our most common health issues in the modern era came about around the same time we started incorporating many of these foods into our diets. Even if you don't care and don't want to give up your favorite foods, at least read up on this stuff and understand exactly what it's doing in/to your body.
Gary Whitta said:
Well that's where exercise comes in, right? Many people here will tell you (rightly) that exercise is not mandatory for weight loss but I think we'd all have to agree it is mandatory for health. I started adding exercise a couple of months ago and I've stepped it up lately with more vigorous workouts and I definitely feel better for it. I'm still out of shape by anyone's standards (can't do a single pull-up) but I'll get there. And of course the more weight you lose the easier exercise becomes.
absolutely that's what exercise is for.. that's kind of what I was getting at.. there is such a huge focus on weight loss... and some even go so far as to openly mock exercise "I don't care about being ripped, I just don't want to be a fatty". I was in a different (bad) place when I started... where the weight actually WAS secondary to the health. but knowing what I do now... losing the weight while still being out of shape to me seems like buying that gorgeous new 71" Kuro plasma screen and setting it on top of a milk crate for a stand. If you're going to lose weight (not you specifically), then go for the whole package and be able to do something with that new body as well..