> Robert McGlohon wrote:
> >
> > I'm pretty much convinced that a restricted calorie diet (for
weight-loss
> > purposes, anyway) can't be a long-term solution. I think the record is
> > pretty clear that such a diet results only in a lowered metabolism and
an
> > eventual rebound in weight.
Todd Martin wrote:
>
> I have not yet discovered any alternative to caloric restriction
> for weight loss. The trick, and it *is* tricky, is to resort
> only to *slight* restriction, precisely to avoid metabolic
> slow-down and muscle loss.
Maybe we mean different things by "caloric restriction". I use that term
for the paradigm that the body is a simple calorie-burning machine and that
weight loss is a simple matter of taking in less calories than you burn.
Given this kind of simple model, cutting 100 calories a day will means the
loss of 10 lbs. in one year, while 500 calories a day loses 50 pounds. It
seems to me that, if this were the case, *everyone* would be on a yo-yo
diet, since I doubt that most people's daily caloric intake even
approximates their output, so to speak. My own experience, and limited
reading on the matter, leads me to believe that the body's metabolism is
*extremely* efficient at fluctuating to meet caloric input, and that it
fluctuates around a somewhat stable "set point."
However, if you include increased output -- e.g., exercise -- as an integral
part of "caloric restriction," then I'd guess we'd be talking about the same
thing.
To wax philosophical a bit, I'm wondering if weight-loss, like, say,
"happiness," isn't a viable goal in and of itself. That is, I've never met
someone who constantly *tried* for happiness who was consistently
successful. On the other hand, I know many people who pursue other goals --
virtue, duty, honor, etc. -- who, in pursuing those goals, are essentially
happy. I wonder if I would be better off pursuing goals consistent with
weight loss -- eating healthy, of course, and say, running a marathon, or
even a moderately fast 10K. I've never met a fat long-distance runner.
Robert
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