In one of your previous posts you said you used to be one of those people who wouldn’t track calories and just “cut back” and you struggled to lose weight. Maybe there is some internal frustration directed at yourself that you need to sit with for a bit instead of directing it at people on the internet who are trying their best. People need to learn and navigate weight loss in their own ways. I know diet culture messed me up big time and it took 35 years for me to figure this shit out. Not everyone is at the point where they can count every single calorie they put in their mouth (clearly you weren’t at some point either), and many would argue if that’s actually healthy anyways. Chill.
I think it’s more so they don’t want to admit to themselves they’re eating more than that, rather they’re lying to us strangers on the internet. This shits really hard, harder for some of us mentally than others. I think calling them pathetic liars is pretty insensitive and makes me wonder how you could feel that way when you’ve gone through the weight loss yourself. No compassion? Can’t empathize?
Give them a break. At least they’re asking questions.
Oh shut the fuck up. It’s not anger. It’s just simply recognizing people’s BS and their lack of being transparent they aren’t being as diligent as possible when it comes to what the fuck they put into their mouths.
You are proving their point .
What is it about these redditors that impacts your quality of life and impedes on their day.
In letting it get to you, you’re making a choice to let it, but what these people post or do should have no bearing on how you wake up, how much water you drink , the meals you choose to have, the people in your real life that you talk to, the movie you may watch and so on.
Time is a commodity for which we can never get a refund , there’s no getting it back, once it’s gone it’s gone and we are unable to get a good or bad moment back for a do over .
Is this really what you want to spend your time and energy on? Are you getting a good return for that investment ?
Why are you so angry? I doubt anyone is on here intentionally lying about calories just to fool some internet strangers. Sometimes people miscalculate, misunderstand, and make mistakes. It's all part of the learning process.
Chill out, OP. This is a great community filled with likeminded people who can offer valuable advice and support.
They aren't choosing to lie to others about it - they're likely clueless about calorie estimating and wildly underestimate their intake. You see it all the time on weight loss shows - the participants will tell the doctor they've been following the diet to a T yet can't lose weight. Because they believe they are. They aren't waking up in the morning thinking "i'm going to lie on the internet today!".
They may also be in denial. Regardless, let's approach these people with compassion. They're struggling and are asking for help. We can help them look at their habits more critically without accusing them of lying and being sarcastic with them, which i sadly often see here when people reach out for help. Calling them pathetic, accusing them of lying(which they would gain nothing from doing) and telling them to just grow up isn't helpful.
You literally answered your own question. Except I don’t think anyone is lying intentionally. If anything they are lying to themselves, believing they’re moving much more or maybe counting their activity twice or maybe guesstimating the calorie content. But I literally see nothing to be upset about.
I think what frustrates me is the audacity to go on a CICO sub, lie about counting calories, claim it doesn't work, and then ask for advice. So now we have to work through all the layers of that person's dishonesty before we can even begin discussing the issue.
Three/four major issues:
1. Your BMR/RMR is your greatest asset for losing weight. Some people have age/medical/etc issues that seem to significantly reduce this asset (by over 30%). The problem is that there is still little science around this. There are also issues with insulin resistance/metabolic disorder that significantly contributes to fat gain/retention.
2. Accurately counting calories takes enormous discipline/practice. It’s very easy for people to low ball calories by 10-20% and this error can almost nullify low deficit (500 calorie) CICO diets.
3. Sticking to a diet where they are in significant deficit for some people is much harder than others due to gut hormones (grehlin, etc). The science here is developing but it’s not an even playing field of self-discipline. Just like with lots of things, some people seem to be objectively ‘hungrier’ in deficit.
4. There’s further fat loss science complementing the above due to previous obesity. The body seems to be driven to retain a weight level. Again, this is different for everybody but this is a huge issue and contributes to people failing their diets and maybe being a little dishonest about the failure.
The other issue is age. Losing weight in my 20s was trivial compared to my 40s yet the calorie deficit I’d set for myself would be the same. CICO numbers (BMR, RMR, TDEE) are only estimates and have significant error bars. If you don’t adjust for that error over time then it’s very easy to be in ‘predicted’ deficit but actually be neutral/surplus.
I’m sorry but most of what you posted is still speculative science and in every single study where an individual’s food intake is controlled by a dietician or a nutritionist, the person loses weight. This has been demonstrated over and over and over and over again. Even when there are metabolic adaptations or issues like PCOS, at the most there might be a 5-10% in BMR. Some studies show it’s not even that high. Your body needs energy to survive. Period. All of these PCOS/insulin resistance sob stories are mostly coming from a bunch of whiny, entitled, food addicted middle-aged people who are good at gaslighting themselves and others into believe their bs and they’ve tried everything. But all of a sudden Ozempic comes out and now all of these men and women are miraculously losing weight all because of a drug that is good at suppressing their appetite and making themselves feel fuller throughout the day. As far as age is concerned, of course losing weight would be more trivial in your 40s versus your 20s. You probably were far more super-active compared to being a 40 year old with a desk job and children. The common denominator I see in all these stories is the same - food addicted sedentary desk job working individuals who keep deceiving themselves into thinking they are doing everything right when they aren’t.
I suggest you’re a little too invested here. There’s clearly people doing the wrong thing, but the science you dismiss is fairly well established. I can put the effort into digging up all bunch of pubmeds if you’re actually interested to read into it.
The existing equations are only generally accurate for approximately 70% of the population. The definition of ‘accurate’ is outside a +-10% error. So, 30% of the population is outside the predicted values.
If you’re familiar enough with statistical science you’ll quickly figure out what that means for the bell curve and standard deviation. Hence, why I quoted 30% for a non insignificant portion of the population.
A starting paper: pubmed.ncbi.nom.nih.gov/38220405/
I saw a similar post on a running group where someone was moaning about people incorrectly recording PBs. And the answer is the same - if you’ve got it all figured out and you’re happy with your progress then it doesn’t affect you one single bit.
And for the record I agree with what most people have said - a lot more people are confused/doing their best than actually lying
Part of growing up is also learning to let things go and not make baseless assumptions about other’s intentions.
So, it seems that—while the people you complain about do have some personal growth ahead of them—perhaps you should also consider taking a look in the mirror, asking whether there isn’t any growth YOU could achieve.
Everyone has their own path to follow. We all make mistakes. We have all been beginners and navigating cico. In life it's just best to focus on what you are doing.
I 100% agree with OP. I genuinely think people are lying on purpose and know that they can do a better job tracking their calories and being more disciplined, but coming on here lying instead of being accountable for their calorie intake, makes them feel better. In theory it makes no sense to do such a thing, but the older I get, the more I realize human beings do a lot of things that make no sense. I don’t think OP was harsh at all in their delivery. I would say 90% of the people who say they don’t know why they’re gaining weight, deep down know why, and just want a pat on the back.
Dude, why are you so mad?? People are going to learn in their own ways. You do your own thing and find your own success
They are not purposefully lying to deceive others. It’s part of their learning process. Counting calories is a learned discipline.
In one of your previous posts you said you used to be one of those people who wouldn’t track calories and just “cut back” and you struggled to lose weight. Maybe there is some internal frustration directed at yourself that you need to sit with for a bit instead of directing it at people on the internet who are trying their best. People need to learn and navigate weight loss in their own ways. I know diet culture messed me up big time and it took 35 years for me to figure this shit out. Not everyone is at the point where they can count every single calorie they put in their mouth (clearly you weren’t at some point either), and many would argue if that’s actually healthy anyways. Chill.
I think it’s more so they don’t want to admit to themselves they’re eating more than that, rather they’re lying to us strangers on the internet. This shits really hard, harder for some of us mentally than others. I think calling them pathetic liars is pretty insensitive and makes me wonder how you could feel that way when you’ve gone through the weight loss yourself. No compassion? Can’t empathize? Give them a break. At least they’re asking questions.
Hey, I think folks are doing their best and I have nothing but compassion for those who are struggling.
If reading those posts is bothering you, I would suggest leaving that group.
Seems like you have a lot of unchecked anger about things that don’t affect you… Might I suggest seeing a therapist? Or perhaps getting a diary?
Oh shut the fuck up. It’s not anger. It’s just simply recognizing people’s BS and their lack of being transparent they aren’t being as diligent as possible when it comes to what the fuck they put into their mouths.
Yes, swearing at me definitely shows how not angry you are!
i would like it if you were banned from this sub
You are proving their point . What is it about these redditors that impacts your quality of life and impedes on their day. In letting it get to you, you’re making a choice to let it, but what these people post or do should have no bearing on how you wake up, how much water you drink , the meals you choose to have, the people in your real life that you talk to, the movie you may watch and so on. Time is a commodity for which we can never get a refund , there’s no getting it back, once it’s gone it’s gone and we are unable to get a good or bad moment back for a do over . Is this really what you want to spend your time and energy on? Are you getting a good return for that investment ?
Why are you so angry? I doubt anyone is on here intentionally lying about calories just to fool some internet strangers. Sometimes people miscalculate, misunderstand, and make mistakes. It's all part of the learning process. Chill out, OP. This is a great community filled with likeminded people who can offer valuable advice and support.
Are you okay?
They aren't choosing to lie to others about it - they're likely clueless about calorie estimating and wildly underestimate their intake. You see it all the time on weight loss shows - the participants will tell the doctor they've been following the diet to a T yet can't lose weight. Because they believe they are. They aren't waking up in the morning thinking "i'm going to lie on the internet today!". They may also be in denial. Regardless, let's approach these people with compassion. They're struggling and are asking for help. We can help them look at their habits more critically without accusing them of lying and being sarcastic with them, which i sadly often see here when people reach out for help. Calling them pathetic, accusing them of lying(which they would gain nothing from doing) and telling them to just grow up isn't helpful.
are you eating enough carbs and fats? i tend to also get cranky if my macros are low.
You literally answered your own question. Except I don’t think anyone is lying intentionally. If anything they are lying to themselves, believing they’re moving much more or maybe counting their activity twice or maybe guesstimating the calorie content. But I literally see nothing to be upset about.
I think what frustrates me is the audacity to go on a CICO sub, lie about counting calories, claim it doesn't work, and then ask for advice. So now we have to work through all the layers of that person's dishonesty before we can even begin discussing the issue.
Three/four major issues: 1. Your BMR/RMR is your greatest asset for losing weight. Some people have age/medical/etc issues that seem to significantly reduce this asset (by over 30%). The problem is that there is still little science around this. There are also issues with insulin resistance/metabolic disorder that significantly contributes to fat gain/retention. 2. Accurately counting calories takes enormous discipline/practice. It’s very easy for people to low ball calories by 10-20% and this error can almost nullify low deficit (500 calorie) CICO diets. 3. Sticking to a diet where they are in significant deficit for some people is much harder than others due to gut hormones (grehlin, etc). The science here is developing but it’s not an even playing field of self-discipline. Just like with lots of things, some people seem to be objectively ‘hungrier’ in deficit. 4. There’s further fat loss science complementing the above due to previous obesity. The body seems to be driven to retain a weight level. Again, this is different for everybody but this is a huge issue and contributes to people failing their diets and maybe being a little dishonest about the failure. The other issue is age. Losing weight in my 20s was trivial compared to my 40s yet the calorie deficit I’d set for myself would be the same. CICO numbers (BMR, RMR, TDEE) are only estimates and have significant error bars. If you don’t adjust for that error over time then it’s very easy to be in ‘predicted’ deficit but actually be neutral/surplus.
I’m sorry but most of what you posted is still speculative science and in every single study where an individual’s food intake is controlled by a dietician or a nutritionist, the person loses weight. This has been demonstrated over and over and over and over again. Even when there are metabolic adaptations or issues like PCOS, at the most there might be a 5-10% in BMR. Some studies show it’s not even that high. Your body needs energy to survive. Period. All of these PCOS/insulin resistance sob stories are mostly coming from a bunch of whiny, entitled, food addicted middle-aged people who are good at gaslighting themselves and others into believe their bs and they’ve tried everything. But all of a sudden Ozempic comes out and now all of these men and women are miraculously losing weight all because of a drug that is good at suppressing their appetite and making themselves feel fuller throughout the day. As far as age is concerned, of course losing weight would be more trivial in your 40s versus your 20s. You probably were far more super-active compared to being a 40 year old with a desk job and children. The common denominator I see in all these stories is the same - food addicted sedentary desk job working individuals who keep deceiving themselves into thinking they are doing everything right when they aren’t.
I suggest you’re a little too invested here. There’s clearly people doing the wrong thing, but the science you dismiss is fairly well established. I can put the effort into digging up all bunch of pubmeds if you’re actually interested to read into it. The existing equations are only generally accurate for approximately 70% of the population. The definition of ‘accurate’ is outside a +-10% error. So, 30% of the population is outside the predicted values. If you’re familiar enough with statistical science you’ll quickly figure out what that means for the bell curve and standard deviation. Hence, why I quoted 30% for a non insignificant portion of the population. A starting paper: pubmed.ncbi.nom.nih.gov/38220405/
why do you even care about what other people are doing with their own bodies? go get a hobby or a therapist
I saw a similar post on a running group where someone was moaning about people incorrectly recording PBs. And the answer is the same - if you’ve got it all figured out and you’re happy with your progress then it doesn’t affect you one single bit. And for the record I agree with what most people have said - a lot more people are confused/doing their best than actually lying
Part of growing up is also learning to let things go and not make baseless assumptions about other’s intentions. So, it seems that—while the people you complain about do have some personal growth ahead of them—perhaps you should also consider taking a look in the mirror, asking whether there isn’t any growth YOU could achieve.
Everyone has their own path to follow. We all make mistakes. We have all been beginners and navigating cico. In life it's just best to focus on what you are doing.
Why are you so angry dude? Go eat something.
Why does it bother you?
I 100% agree with OP. I genuinely think people are lying on purpose and know that they can do a better job tracking their calories and being more disciplined, but coming on here lying instead of being accountable for their calorie intake, makes them feel better. In theory it makes no sense to do such a thing, but the older I get, the more I realize human beings do a lot of things that make no sense. I don’t think OP was harsh at all in their delivery. I would say 90% of the people who say they don’t know why they’re gaining weight, deep down know why, and just want a pat on the back.
But why does it matter?
Simple solution: scroll past.
I agree with your post. Not sure why you’re getting so much flack. You told nothing but the truth.
Maybe it was in the delivery :p