Welcome to my life.
I have heard this all my life.

"Energy in, Energy out'
"Exercise more, eat less"

blah blah blah blah

I respond with....Well, I have eaten less and excercised more and it caused me to:

- lose more lean tissue than fat.
- have virtually no energy.
- constantly think about food.

Those are probably the biggest three points. On LC I have tons of energy, lose mostly fat and feel full most of the day. Eating LC also has other benefits that I posted about in another thread!

Actually, I'm a BAD low-carber. I eat more (fat) and don't exercise at all and still lose weight.

I come across this all the time from my thin friends. For me to lose on a low-calorie diet, I have to eat 1,100 a day, as I'm short and medium-framed. And even then, the weightloss is around 1 to 2 pounds a week, but I initally had over 40 to lose! I know that's considered healthy, but when you've been eating like a bird and only lose a pound, there is usually no incentive to keep going. And my sister whose been thin most of her life used to eat like a pig and never gain an ounce, while I'm sitting in the corner shaking, slurping down a spoon full of tomato soup. Talk about discouraging!!!

For me low-calorie led to anorexia and other weird food behaviors, like failure on purist diets and bulimia. The only way to achieve gratification from weightloss and satiaty was a low-carb diet. I think even the medical community is starting to understand the psychological impact of those first two weeks, or the honeymoon period of dieting, and that's why they offer supervised fasts at some hospitals. Aside from that, ketogenic diets are the only promising way I notice in IR obese people (I was obese!) of losing large amounts of weight. Usually when those first twenty pounds go, it gives people the incentive to continue their way of eating.

Also, people are so ignorant to other factors like IR and thyroid disorders. If they don't have them, they won't research them and learn about optimal nutrition, and allergy containing substances. Our knowledge of health came from lackthereof most of the time. If you don't have health problems, you're not likely to investigate. For me, it was my reproductive dysfunction that lead me to low-carbing.

For the old, "Eat less, lose weight" people, I just hope they never have to battle obesity. And if they do, then they may understand how hard it is to "Eat less and Lose weight."

BTW, someone mentioned the "fat fool" stereotype, and I can totally relate to that. Do you know what it's like to be condescended for ordering wings at a resteraunt while your friends are getting the same or worse. (One of the most poignant memories in my life as a fat person). Sorry for trying to blend in, I guess if I'm fat, I should only be eating salads! Some of my naturally thin friends are so arrogant about their genetics. My one thin friend was telling me about how I should lose weight while she was eating a quarter pounder. After that, she followed it up with a milkshake. But she is the one enlightened about diet. No thanks, I might be heavier, but she can have all the fun she wants putting that in her mouth, I'll take a steak over that anyday. If she knew what was in it, she might do the same. Being naturally thin doesn't make you enlightened, it just means your damn lucky to keep your figure here in America. By the way, I'm so happy I'm not purging or starving and still losing weight!!!

Throw hypothyroidism into the mix and eat less/exercise more really loses its validity.

Where can I find a doctor that will give me an excuse for years of weight gain?

I have the misfortune of working with 3 people here that exercise like fiends, eat nothing but carbs, bring in sweets every single day and constantly make snide remarks about me taking the stairs (instead of the elevator) and how important exercise is while stuffing their faces with sweets.

Working here for a year has been a nightmare. However, I have a progress sign beside my desk. It states "32 gone! 68 to go! in bold letters. Every time one of them mentions exercise now I state that nutrition is more important than exercise. Once this statement stops producing blank stares and illicits questions I will continue to use it.

btw I did low fat for years and the comparison between low fat and low carb is like night and day. I also have hard copies of my blood work. My Total Chol/Hdl Ration is 3.6. Average for women is 4.5 with less than 3.3 being low risk, which is fabulous for someone my age.

I like the image of them flapping their gums about exercise and low fat, while I, once I reach my ideal weight, will be as slim as they are but not as flabby (both physically and mentally).

Actually, I think this is the key of losing weight, more than any "magical" low-carb control.

Calories are not a creation, you have to deal with this reality.

Except that I agree with lowcarb eating because it keeps me from being starved longer. It took care of my high triglycerides rate as well and did wonders for my dental health, compared to before. More meat (proteins) and vegetables. Less of the rest. It works.

I don't like doing cardio. I concentrate more on resistance training like push-ups (I am a man). This has given me more vitality & alertness than years of several hours a week quick walks.

Jenn, I am SO with you on your rant! Nice to hear someone else shout all that crap out. My family is thin and since the weight gain from the baby everyone assumes i have this newly froemd habit of eating like a pig with crap and junk when in reality I work my ass off just to maintain...... UNTIL Atkins that is. My husband knew - he knew what i did and he told me one day - you should be as thin as a rail for how health concience you are and for how much you work out. Maintaining babe, that's all I can do, maintain...UNTIL ATKINS Those ppl that say, cut out pop and you will lose - ad some incline to your workout on the treadmill and you will lose. Bite me I say!

Hahahah! Yeah... And if you tell them you don't CONSUME pop or chips or sweets or white bread/pasta, then they say well you must be eating SOMETHING bad. And then tell you to keep a food journal. Like you're some kind of idiot that will go "oh wait! What's that I have just written there? a whole chocolate cake?! Phew... That woulda just slipped by if I hadn't been keeping this FOOD JOURNAL!!!"

I remember I did a diet at a clinic that required food journalism. If I didn't clearly outline what I ate in the little tiny box, I got interrogated. So suppose I put for eaten that day "2 fruit, 2 veggie, 2 meat" (that's all that would fit) then they'd ask what kind of fruit, allowed? Allowed veggies? Allowed meat?

"Of course, nurse! Aren't strawberries allowed? And I just topped them with ONE can of whipped cream and just a FEW tablespoons of chocolate sauce... And veggies? French fries are veggies right? They're vegetarian anyway so they must be... For meat, I had pork... I don't have to count the BBQ sauce that covered it... or the Ice cream I had for dessert right??" (sarcastically, of course)

Food journals... I dunno, maybe they work for some people, but not for me. I can honestly say I've NEVER read back on a food journal and wondered how all the crap snuck into my diet. I really, genuinely don't eat junk. But then I guess that's impossible.

Jenn, for some of us, keeping a journal is just another method of holding ourselves accountable. If you know you have to write it down, you might think before eating it. Or, you begin to notice the lies you tell yourself. Obviously, a journal only works if you don't lie. It's also a way of calling attention to portion sizes. I turn to Fitday.com for a check-up every once in a while.

As far as the whole "eat less and exercise more" mantra, here's an observation.

I see groups of school kids--middle school age, for instance. Many if not most of them look pretty average in size, but almost always there are one or two fat kids. Do I think the fat kids eat more or differently from their average-size friends? Of course not. The "skinny" kids are stuffing their faces with chips and candy bars, and sitting for hours in front of the tv or video games, just like the fat kids. Only who gets the bad rap?

Low-carb is a strategy that works very well for me, and I'm really grateful. Don't care what the media have to say about it.

I could have written this. I finally decided to get healthy and did low carb for a while, but the low-fat propaganda got to me and I went back to my old eating habbits. I decided to give weight loss another go and did WW for a couple of months. Did it work? Like a charm. Unfortunately the hunger pangs after only having eatin an our earlier were not worth the weight loss. I was smarter this time though and jumped right back into low carb.

I tried the standard "healthy" diet and was hungry All. The. Time. I would have a piece of fruit, usually an apple, a cup of low fat cottage cheese mixed with a table spoon of slivered almonds, and a slice of whole wheat toast with 2 egg whites for breakfast. I was assured that this was healthy and supposed to keep me satisfied for hours. LOL. An hour later I was white knuckling it till lunch. After lunch I was white knucling it till dinner. Rinse and repeat.

I exercised for an hour a day and felt so tired afterwords. I would have an a banana after my workout, which was recommended by my nutritionalist, but all it did was make me sleepy.

Ugh. Maybe low carb doesn't work for everyone, but this is the only WOE that I don't feel hungry on all the time. I can eat breakfast and be good till lunch, with a small snack of mixed nuts in the late afternoon before dinner.

Todays menu:

B - 2 scrambled eggs in 3 heaping tables spoon of olive oil, and cup of raspberries mixed with almonds.

L - Chicken baked in 4 tablespoon of olive oil and lemon slices, and a heaping pile of broccoli drenched in the chicken pan drippings.

S - Handfull of almonds.

D - Grilled steak, and a huge salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Yesterday was much the same with no sign of hunger pangs between meals.

Boy, do I feel your pain! I come from a family of skinny's - especially my sister, who is very tall and thin - You guessed it - I'm NOT! I've tried the low-fat diets time and time again. I can no longer lose on them, coupled with the fact that I obsess about food ALL DAY, and can't wait until the next time I get to eat!
Low-carbing is the way to go for me. I'm satisfied and have a whole lot more energy. Although, I would like to lose a little faster.

i was having lunch the other day with some classmates at subway. one muscle bound guy said that he loved salad, but the dressing was too fattening. *this is while all three guys at the table were eating sandwiches that were mostly bread and potato chips, oh, and of course a cookie for desert* i just simply said that it depended on what you ate...i know this is an avoidance issue. i haven't told anyone that i'm on a diet *pardon, changed my WOE* except my family. i don't want to admit it until i have very visible results. i know i'm fat, they know i'm fat..but we don't discuss it. one of my classmates *who was sitting at the lunch table that day* usually notices and makes a comment when i come to class sweaty from the gym..he asked if i had lost any weight and i said yes, about 20 pounds...THEN he said he thought i had. it's begining to be noticible, so now i'm admitting to doing something to change. why is it that it's so hard to admit that i'm trying to improve myself? perhaps because i am around several skinny minnies that are trying to get ready for the beach...and they're eating banannas and low fat yoghurt all day..of course they know better than i do, they're thin already...when i'm their size i will admit to how i did it, and then let the chips fall as they may.

Michelle, you are my hero!!!!