REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I totally agree. I have always thought this. But most overweight people are just lazy and THINK they have tried everything.

How, pray tell, do you “strictly” monitor calories out?

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2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Well, it is always an estimate but the scale will tell if you are overestimating. If you're not losing weight, then you just cut back on your cal intake. You could use 12 ca/lb to get a rough basal metabolic rate; IIRC, you are around 200 lbs, so 2400 cal/day. If you were to say eat only 1800 cal/day, you'd be net -600/day times 7 days or -4200 cal/wk, or about 1.2 lb/wk, without any exercise. A Quarter Pounder w/ cheese at McD's is 530 cal so you could have 3 of these per day and still have about 200 cal to use on whatever else. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

On the other hand beer tastes good, cake tastes good, ice cream tastes good, calorie counting is boring, and being at ~12-14% body fat instead of <10% means I don't get cold and I don't get people asking me if I have a terminal illness.

I have trouble getting lean but find it easy to to KQ. Am I doing this wrong?

Apparently pooping into paper bags and weighing them doesn’t work.

But I wouldn’t know. I have the opposite problem as Shambolic. I find it easy to stay lean, but hard to get fast enough on the bike to KQ.

Yes, it takes very strict mental discipline to lose weight. In some cases, just giving up alcohol is enough, in others, its giving up sugar or soft drinks. It might even meen more exercise to some, but keeping the same diet. In any case, it takes dedication and consistency. Fasting works too, but for those that binge, it could backfire. Sometimes just getting really sick allows us to get over a certain hump in weight loss. Personally, I 've been between 95kgs and 90kgs for 10years. I want to be 85kgs or less, but food and alcohol are my barriers.

ill go ahead and start the derailment of this thread now...

i recently went veggie based, vegetarian and id say 90ish% vegan. it was two fold... 1 because ive seen a lot of people around me getting sick (cancer) and meat is a known carcinogen, and 2 just a test of self will and control. no, i dont give a damn about the animals. we are on top of the food chain so i think we should be able to eat whatever we want to.

that said, ive been floating around 153 to 156 lbs on average and id like to lean down and float around 150. i havnt been able to do it, and i know it was diet related, i have a tendency to splurge like everyone else.

ive noticed my fat percentage has gone down and im weighing less on the scale since ive shifted my eating. no insane frustrating calorie counting, no weighing my food (both things i had gotten into), just cutting nearly all the garbage out of my diet and eating better.


so yes, i 100% completely agree, people can get lean and stay lean if they really want to.

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

150 at how tall???

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I thought the main problem was that when you get bigger, you're set point goes up, fat cells get bigger (and more at some point), causing a slight resistance in the ability to feel that you're full after eating etc. When you try to get lean again your body is basically working against you, aiming for the new set point.

I listened to a podcast on this topic a few months ago, titled "once a fatty, always a fatty", and I seem to recall that a fatty can never eat by feel without gaining weight again.

So yes, you're right. If you're motivated throughout your life it can be done. Most people probably aren't. And unlike KQ it is something you have to pay attention to all day, every day.

IMO a lot tougher

I feel the same. It's insane how our eating habits are destroying our health (in general). Like in our office, the younger colleagues that are hooked on redbull like energy drinks to get through their working day sitting behind a desk.. unbelievable.

People don't realize there is a crazy amount of great and healthy food out there. Also in the vegan space. Granted, a tad more expensive usually, bit more difficult to get but worth it for your long term health. And w/o your health.. well..

It is a little hard sure but not all THAT hard IMO. It's not like running a 4:00 mile, or a 2:10 mary, or a sub-15:00 1500 scm. I've known several guys who lost a bunch of weight, including one who lost from 320 down to 140, at 5'4" tall!!! So now he can run a sub-3 mary and beat all the guys in his law school class in push-ups, banging out 155 straight. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

You could hire a coach to help. Or go to a camp or a medical facility. Yeah, anyone.

Have we gotten to this point because people tell children/us that we can be anything we want to be in life?

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

No. Tell us more...

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

What if there was a health "tax" or a higher rate that you had to pay for being overweight or underweight? Would that get people's attention?

Have a high school friend who is grossly overweight and wants free(r) medical care. Indirectly paying for someone's health care who is overweight is frustrating.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

Controlling weight is indeed simple and yet so difficult for so many.

Years ago I was into powerlifting and was really struggling to bulk up. Then I discovered the GOMAD diet - drink a gallon of milk a day on top of your normal meals and lift heavy stuff. I was consuming over 5000 calories a day in order to gain weight and it worked slowly. I eventually put on around 18kg but it was tough consuming that many calories, I regularly felt sick after meals.

Between powerlifting and triathlon I had a couple of years where I didn't do much exercise at all. I went back to normal eating but the weight stayed on and I lost a lot of muscle for fat.

When I started triathlon I decided to cut back down to my original weight. I'm not a really disciplined eater so I started intermittent fasting. After 18months I finished my first 70.3 back at my original weight.

Gaining or losing weight does take a lot of commitment but I think it is easier than KQing.

I like the idea, but shouldn't it be related to fat % instead of weight? I seem do remember that most risk parameters are a function of too much fat. Joe Biceps doing cross-fit (lean) at 230 lbs isn't the same as some overweight couch potato at 230 lbs, having a hard time going up the stairs :)

Yes to your idea.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

Yes, lean typically refers to body fat %. One can be heavy and lean or light and lean. However, generally someone with excess body fat will need to lose weight to lean out. A strict recomposition staying at the same weight is rare. Hence why bodybuilders bulk and cut and repeat.

I always heard that. Then I lost 95 pounds of fat 8 years ago and have not gained an ounce back.
Now at 6ft and 142 pounds I am Underweight and have been for years.

Stomach went from 52 Inches to 34 inches. That's all fat cells!

Only if you fix poverty first.