I do not disagree that modified diets work in the short term, rarely in the long term. There should be a biggest loser reunion show one year later to see how many have kept off their weight loss, notice I am not saying fat loss.
I am not down on these types of shows as they can give inspiration to some in need, but unless you change your lifestyle, you will not succeed in the long term. Why do you think the weight loss industry is booming, people lose body weight ( on say weight watchers or whatever diet is popular), gain it back, lose weight again… a never ending cycle. I could go on and on about yo-yo diets.
Those should be obvious facts. If you eat in a way that got you fat or at least to a level of fat that you do not want, you cannot eat that way and expect to stay then. Many on that particular show do keep the weight off and a number even improve substantially.
If you use a modified fast to lose the fat and then turn to a maintenance diet, having made lifestyle changes, you can make a very effective change in bodycomp.
You weren’t really talking about weight watchers, but that is actually one of the most effective diets around because they are based around lifestyle change–they teach portion control, accountability through weekly meetings, and moderation of “bad” foods. If you teach somebody that, there isn’t a whole lot else unless you are trying to maximize athletic performance or get ready for a bodybuilding competition.
If you are talking about weight watchers for overweight or obese people who do not know nutrition basics, I could almost agree, but there are many better options. There is one randomized, controlled study that that shows its effectiveness. There is one study, Heshka, et al. (2003) Weight Loss with Self-Help Compared With A Structured Commercial Program. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 14, 1792-1798, the majority of the studies are inconclusive that they are effective or do not support their effectiveness in the long run. The important thing to note is WW is a commercial weight loss program that is out to make money, and they are pretty good at it, their stock is up at $54. Another point about WW is they do not incorporate exercise in their program (they do provide exercise recommendations, but most people who are overweight because of inactivity, and that is a hard nut to crack without supervision) Not incorporating exercise in a weight loss program is the main reason that less than 5% of the people on programs like WWs are successful in the long run. They make their money on repeat customers who lose weight, then gain it back, lose weight… a yo-yo effect. They also make their money on their products (foods).
Now if you bring up weight watchers in terms of fat loss for athletic performance that another story. If someone is trying to achieve optimal performance by cutting those last few percent of bodyfat and they use a program like WWs they are completely missing out. Eating whole, unrefined foods high in nutrient density and as close to their natural state as possible is th best choice. Foods closest to their natural state are those richest in nutrients. Food manufacturers are interested in shelf life, not your life. They destroy these nutrients so their products can stay on shelves for long periods of time. To get many of these life-extending nutrients stick to organic produce, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean meat, or wild game. If it comes in a box or bag, do not eat. The majority of WW products are found in one or the other, that is how they make their money…
What I mean is that when I eat I am ready to eat I am hungry and looking forward to my next meal. I am not forcing myself to get meal #4 in because I am supposed to eat 35g of protien every 2hrs. I have lunch and dinner, thats it. If I have a tough work out I will have 2 scoops of Surge from biotest then have lunch after working out. If I were very lean or had more time to work out I would probably eat more. But I am 178lbs and I want to get down to 165. I started at 185.
Many elite sprinter’s diets are nothing special. I know this for a fact (I know someone who competed and shared rooms with Linford and at that time he was not on a special diet. I have read other places that he ate as if he were on diet but who knows). Also elite sprinters have genetics and a myriad of other medical support. To keep them training intensly. Let’s also bring in the amount of training they do. I am sure they train 4+hrs a day. As opposed to most track hobbyists who work full time and if they are lucky can squeeze in 2hrs a few times a week.
I would never use wieght watcher for sport. Way too much carbs not enough protien. My wife did it and you do loose but if you have 1 can a tuna /day you’ve reached your alotted “points” for the day. It’s like an anti protien diet.
Yea…say you are 17% bf at 150lbs. That’s 25bs of fat. If you got down to 7%bf you would have about 10lbs of fat…a 15lb difference. Wear a 15lb weight vest during a 100m run and see how that affects your performance.
I think the central issue is energy expenditure. In one of the recent threads regarding Powell’s WR, Davan mentioned how Powell seems noticeably leaner from one week to the next and asked what could have happened in training in <1 week to look that much leaner?
Charlie’s reply was:
“In one week with 6 races? You’re kidding right? Including all the warm-ups and the heat, that’s a lot of work, as anyone who’s been through it can tell you.”
Again we are moving away from the point. People yo-yo not because of particular diets versus others, but because of lifestyle choices. It doesn’t matter what diet you decide to incorporate, if you go back to your old habits that got you fat you will be there again in time. Doesn’t matter if you are an athlete trying to get lean for your sport or an obese lady trying to keep it off for your health. You can use more extreme methods to get the weight off then go with a maintenance program to maintain that level, but the problem is most people go back into their old habits and expect different results.
And the organic thing, while good, is very overrated. I ate virtually all organic food all summer versus no organic food during the year and saw virtually 0 difference except for the fact my wallet was a lot lighter in the summer. Many others on this board have noticed the same thing. That isn’t to say you should go eat pop-tarts, ignore fruits and vegetables, eat spam, etc., but to expect such vastly different results from the same foods (with the only difference being organic versus non-organic) is not really smart. If you can afford to eat organic, all good, but you can get fat off of organic food and you can get lean off of McDonald’s–your genetics, activity level, and caloric intake are going to be the biggest factors.
I wasn’t advocating it for athletes or anyone really. He brought up the diet and the point is that it incorporates the basics that you need to have before you worry about hyper-specific micro and macro nutrients, timing, frequency, etc. It teaches (theoretically) portion control, accountability, moderation, etc. Most people are not fat because they eat too many carbs vs protein or “non-organic” vs organic, but because they stuff their faces and don’t know when to stop.
I have to agree. I think you should eat pretty clean as an athlete and organic is probably healthier long term. Many organic items taste better than their non-organic counterparts.
But how many athletes really adhere to macro-nutrient ratios? I would say the majority of the ones in the WC finals eat “clean”, with little junk but definitely don’t count grams of much of anything. And yeah, they got great genetics, but I’m sure there is more than one that is retired and not so lean. One I know of is FAT.
Then you got Bruny eating McDonalds everyday.
I have to agree that many can get lean by just not stuffing their faces as you said.
yeah thats true davan i eat healthy organic foods all the time, and do it in moderation it helps a ton. Its more micro management for me in the diet to get me to lose weight. I appreciate all the insight that this thread has provided, thank you all.
Senri, is your diet clean 100% of the time? I feel my problem is my relationship with food, in that I struggle more with diet when I am bored. I can go through the week eating very clean, but then come the weekend I struggle severely. At the moment this is highlighted further as I am on a training break. So this weekend and next weekend I am not training, but I am hoping when training starts in October and I am training Saturday and Sunday mornings it is going to be easier for me to avoid refined, sugary foods. I wouldn’t describe myself as fat, but I would like to be a bit leaner and more ripped. I would say I am at around 12% BF right now. It just made me ask as I struggle to get much leaner right now, and I feel I am in the same sort of boat as you. This thread has made me think that I need to go back to the basics in terms of my relationship with food before I perhaps consider trying the more complex methods mentioned here.
i eat clean 98% of the time i have’nt ate junk or unorganic food(not that i know of) in years. I eat lots of carbs on the weekends but this doesnt affect my weight too much. I burn it off during the training days throughout the week. I feel when i eat lots of food and carbs in the weekend mondays training is very easy and relaxing i perform better. Back in highschool it was the opposite and monday i felt sluggish and lethargic, also not motivated.
yes, i dont like candies, i havent ate candy since i was 7 years old. I eat oatmeal,whole grain bread, brown rice, spelt, millet, on the weekends i do both complex and simple though. I eat white rice, or potatoes.
Wish I didn’t like candies etc. That is my weakness. I seem to be able to go a couple of weeks without touching them, but then I crack and I binge a bit on them and it’s a bit of a cycle like that. It’s my birthday tomorrow, so I am gonna try and get through to Xmas without out touching them after tomorrow. I have tried the moderation approach with chocolate etc, but I can’t mange that, I seem to be all or nothing here!
In terms of bread I tend to feel much better if I don’t eat bread. It makes me bloated, much more so the more refined the grain. I am also gonna totally axe that after tomorrow, or that’s the plan!!
