MennoNet.com

This approach has worked for me. It's nice to see a study that agrees with me ;->

Counting Calories Is Not the Key to Weight Loss, New Study Finds

Anyone who has ever been on a diet knows that the standard prescription for weight loss is to reduce the amount of calories you consume.

But a new study, published Tuesday in JAMA, may turn that advice on its head. It found that people who cut back on added sugar, refined grains and highly processed foods while concentrating on eating plenty of vegetables and whole foods — without worrying about counting calories or limiting portion sizes — lost significant amounts of weight over the course of a year.

The strategy worked for people whether they followed diets that were mostly low in fat or mostly low in carbohydrates. And their success did not appear to be influenced by their genetics, a finding that casts doubt on the increasingly popular idea that different diets should be recommended to people based on their DNA makeup.

I lost 40 pounds on my own method and I was not obese. Eat often with smaller portions. Keep away from desserts other than fruit. Do lots of walking and drink lots of water. After supper, only drink water. I also quit mixing eating meat and potatoes together.

Secret for me was setting goals and monitoring progress daily. I put a reasonable target weight to get to on a calendar for month end. Then weighed in first thing every morning. Two years now of this recordings. I reach a goal, usually 5 pounds a month, then set a new one.

At first, it was all about determined effort to resist breaking this method. It soon got easier. And once in awhile I allowed myself a meal of whatever I felt like eating. Sometimes I fasted and only drank water for that day.

I couldn't believe how I reached weights of my younger years. At one point, I stopped with the a lower goal and now am staying within a range. Feel great, lots of energy. Much easier on the joints. And it forces you to get some new clothes.

Never counted any calories. What works for me is goal setting and daily weighing in. Whatever i tried before without that did not keep me focused.

The experts, statistics, academics, and “facts” have been telling us the opposite for years.

This is why the general public is getting so distrustful of the “facts” and the “data”: it keeps changing, often wildly so.

I've never had weight issues until I hit 75. When I started traveling I was sitting more while driving instead of walking and working around the farm. I was actually eating less as well but weight-creep continued. The fact of the matter is God designed us to move. Movement keeps the heart pumping a little faster and the circulatory/lymphatic systems working more efficiently. We don't have to run triathlons (in fact we shouldn't if we're not in top shape); walking is the key. Our modern lifestyles promote sitting at a computer for hours and driving to destinations less than a mile away instead of walking or bike riding. Muscles follow that old saying: if you don't use them, you lose them. Fortunately, with patience they can be restrengthened but it's a slow and steady discipline instead of an instantaneous recovery.

MaxPC wrote:I've never had weight issues until I hit 75.

Pounds or kilos?

ken_sylvania wrote:

MaxPC wrote:I've never had weight issues until I hit 75.

Pounds or kilos?

Age, I should have said. Good one, Ken!