Unpopular Opinion: Weightloss

[Anonymous]

Success comes not from eating a lower quantity of food. Success comes from eating different foods.

[Anonymous]

After reading all of the weight loss drugs threads on this forum, most of you are still mentally fat, and have not addressed the real problem. Not to mention moving your body in a healthy way to make sure it’s sustainable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My unpopular opinion is that if you are doing any sort of competitive exercise, weight loss will hurt your performance. You can't have both.

That is a very wrong opinion. I was a D1 athlete and had too much body fat during my first two years. I then decided to take the weight lifting more seriously, started doing more HIIT because of a new coach who was a big fan of it, and started eating less and healthier. I dropped 12% of my body fat and lost 15 pounds overall. I became a more explosive athlete and improved my performance across the board. At that time I could do a bunch of pull ups and dips. Now in middle age I am built more like my freshman year self and I am back to not being able to do any despite being in decent shape. I know I would need to lose weight in order to get them back. Right now there's just too much of me to pull up! I still have muscle but there's too much fat on top of it to be "lean and mean". I am generally fine with this because I'm not training for anything anymore.

No, you're wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My unpopular opinion is that if you are doing any sort of competitive exercise, weight loss will hurt your performance. You can't have both.

This is actually a very popular opinion, but you need to be more specific.

This almost always comes up with people marathon training, short or long course triathlon training, or maybe just running/cycling/swimming/something else. Universally, amateurs that don't lean out when doing any of these never learned how to eat properly in the first place, which is why they are carrying so much excess body fat. That group that plans to run a 5 hour marathon is slow AF, so it doesn't matter. They are much better off learning how to eat real food first, dropping body fat, and THEN targeting any sort of performance goal.

On the other end is actually competitive amateurs. In that group, you are right that trying too hard to drop a lot of weight is likely to have an impact. But, every competitive age-grouper marbles a little bit this time of year during off-season (in this hemisphere) and leans back out again when training again after the new year.

And, at the professional level it has a bigger impact because of how intentional they are about weight. Especially in men's pro cycling. Lots of great podcast material out there, and stories of guys gaining 5-10kg and outperforming their previous selves, even on climbing stages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need a lot less food than I did younger. I find it hard to have to constantly deprive when I never needed to and was a completely normal weight.

I have learned that I don't really need to deprive myself. I need to pay attention to what I eat, which I never used to need to do. I ate whatever I wanted and couldn't gain weight. That changed in my 30's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need a lot less food than I did younger. I find it hard to have to constantly deprive when I never needed to and was a completely normal weight.

I have learned that I don't really need to deprive myself. I need to pay attention to what I eat, which I never used to need to do. I ate whatever I wanted and couldn't gain weight. That changed in my 30's.

How old are you now? This worked for me until early 50s and then it no longer did. Once you hit peri-menopause you absolutely need to cut total calories dramatically. It is not enough to be mindful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need a lot less food than I did younger. I find it hard to have to constantly deprive when I never needed to and was a completely normal weight.

I have learned that I don't really need to deprive myself. I need to pay attention to what I eat, which I never used to need to do. I ate whatever I wanted and couldn't gain weight. That changed in my 30's.

How old are you now? This worked for me until early 50s and then it no longer did. Once you hit peri-menopause you absolutely need to cut total calories dramatically. It is not enough to be mindful.

This is true for women who aren't strength training and watching their protein levels. Women start accelerating muscle loss (and bone mass) in their mid-30's, and it get about 2% worse each year there after.

Young people can maintain muscle without trying. Starting in your mid-thirties, there is a condition called sarcopenia (skinny/fat) which essentially means your body is using it's own muscle as protein to maintain essential function, i.e. your muscle mass can no longer support your body, thus leading to falls, etc...Cutting calories dramatically without understanding at least your resting metabolism caloric requirements can lead to more serious problems. I'm in my 60's and started weight trading just last year. I can eat anything I want and a healthy lean. Admittedly, my body is now craving the foods it needs so I don't feel deprived at all. I lost my taste for sweets after 3 days of abstinence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need a lot less food than I did younger. I find it hard to have to constantly deprive when I never needed to and was a completely normal weight.

I have learned that I don't really need to deprive myself. I need to pay attention to what I eat, which I never used to need to do. I ate whatever I wanted and couldn't gain weight. That changed in my 30's.

How old are you now? This worked for me until early 50s and then it no longer did. Once you hit peri-menopause you absolutely need to cut total calories dramatically. It is not enough to be mindful.

This is true for women who aren't strength training and watching their protein levels. Women start accelerating muscle loss (and bone mass) in their mid-30's, and it get about 2% worse each year there after.

Young people can maintain muscle without trying. Starting in your mid-thirties, there is a condition called sarcopenia (skinny/fat) which essentially means your body is using it's own muscle as protein to maintain essential function, i.e. your muscle mass can no longer support your body, thus leading to falls, etc...Cutting calories dramatically without understanding at least your resting metabolism caloric requirements can lead to more serious problems. I'm in my 60's and started weight trading just last year. I can eat anything I want and a healthy lean. Admittedly, my body is now craving the foods it needs so I don't feel deprived at all. I lost my taste for sweets after 3 days of abstinence.

I am the pp. I am absolutely strength training - deadlift 220lbs, squat 140lbs etc. I still had to dramatically reduce calories at peri-menopause. I have been lifting heavy for 15 years but can no longer just be mindful about food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need a lot less food than I did younger. I find it hard to have to constantly deprive when I never needed to and was a completely normal weight.

I have learned that I don't really need to deprive myself. I need to pay attention to what I eat, which I never used to need to do. I ate whatever I wanted and couldn't gain weight. That changed in my 30's.

How old are you now? This worked for me until early 50s and then it no longer did. Once you hit peri-menopause you absolutely need to cut total calories dramatically. It is not enough to be mindful.

This is true for women who aren't strength training and watching their protein levels. Women start accelerating muscle loss (and bone mass) in their mid-30's, and it get about 2% worse each year there after.

Young people can maintain muscle without trying. Starting in your mid-thirties, there is a condition called sarcopenia (skinny/fat) which essentially means your body is using it's own muscle as protein to maintain essential function, i.e. your muscle mass can no longer support your body, thus leading to falls, etc...Cutting calories dramatically without understanding at least your resting metabolism caloric requirements can lead to more serious problems. I'm in my 60's and started weight trading just last year. I can eat anything I want and a healthy lean. Admittedly, my body is now craving the foods it needs so I don't feel deprived at all. I lost my taste for sweets after 3 days of abstinence.

I am the pp. I am absolutely strength training - deadlift 220lbs, squat 140lbs etc. I still had to dramatically reduce calories at peri-menopause. I have been lifting heavy for 15 years but can no longer just be mindful about food. [/quote

Have you talked to a nutritionist or a doctor in case this is a thyroid condition? What you're experiencing doesn't make sense as you must be very fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need a lot less food than I did younger. I find it hard to have to constantly deprive when I never needed to and was a completely normal weight.

I have learned that I don't really need to deprive myself. I need to pay attention to what I eat, which I never used to need to do. I ate whatever I wanted and couldn't gain weight. That changed in my 30's.

How old are you now? This worked for me until early 50s and then it no longer did. Once you hit peri-menopause you absolutely need to cut total calories dramatically. It is not enough to be mindful.

This is true for women who aren't strength training and watching their protein levels. Women start accelerating muscle loss (and bone mass) in their mid-30's, and it get about 2% worse each year there after.

Young people can maintain muscle without trying. Starting in your mid-thirties, there is a condition called sarcopenia (skinny/fat) which essentially means your body is using it's own muscle as protein to maintain essential function, i.e. your muscle mass can no longer support your body, thus leading to falls, etc...Cutting calories dramatically without understanding at least your resting metabolism caloric requirements can lead to more serious problems. I'm in my 60's and started weight trading just last year. I can eat anything I want and a healthy lean. Admittedly, my body is now craving the foods it needs so I don't feel deprived at all. I lost my taste for sweets after 3 days of abstinence.

I am the pp. I am absolutely strength training - deadlift 220lbs, squat 140lbs etc. I still had to dramatically reduce calories at peri-menopause. I have been lifting heavy for 15 years but can no longer just be mindful about food.

I'm 39 and I can definitely believe this. I gained about 10 lbs since 2020 and have been trying to lose. I restricted quite drastically for months and lost...4 lbs. I'm now stuck at this weight despite only eating a little over half of what I was before (no breakfast since it was mostly carbs anyway; no seconds at dinner; no snacks or desserts; no alcohol on weeknights; substituting vegetables for grains more in lunches and dinners). It's absolutely crazy to me, I would definitely have lost plenty doing this in my 20s or early 30s, and my husband is still losing easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need a lot less food than I did younger. I find it hard to have to constantly deprive when I never needed to and was a completely normal weight.

I have learned that I don't really need to deprive myself. I need to pay attention to what I eat, which I never used to need to do. I ate whatever I wanted and couldn't gain weight. That changed in my 30's.

How old are you now? This worked for me until early 50s and then it no longer did. Once you hit peri-menopause you absolutely need to cut total calories dramatically. It is not enough to be mindful.

This is true for women who aren't strength training and watching their protein levels. Women start accelerating muscle loss (and bone mass) in their mid-30's, and it get about 2% worse each year there after.

Young people can maintain muscle without trying. Starting in your mid-thirties, there is a condition called sarcopenia (skinny/fat) which essentially means your body is using it's own muscle as protein to maintain essential function, i.e. your muscle mass can no longer support your body, thus leading to falls, etc...Cutting calories dramatically without understanding at least your resting metabolism caloric requirements can lead to more serious problems. I'm in my 60's and started weight trading just last year. I can eat anything I want and a healthy lean. Admittedly, my body is now craving the foods it needs so I don't feel deprived at all. I lost my taste for sweets after 3 days of abstinence.

I am the pp. I am absolutely strength training - deadlift 220lbs, squat 140lbs etc. I still had to dramatically reduce calories at peri-menopause. I have been lifting heavy for 15 years but can no longer just be mindful about food.

Have you talked to a nutritionist or a doctor in case this is a thyroid condition? What you're experiencing doesn't make sense as you must be very fit.

DP- I’m curious about PP’s height, weight, body composition, and calories before and after. We speak in such generalities around here (“dramatically reduce calories”) that’s hard to get a real sense of anything.

[Anonymous]

I am the pp that put on 15lbs at perimenopause despite lifting extremely heavy. I was 135lb at 5’7 for all of my 40s and then went up to 150lb once hitting perimenopause at 49. I am extremely fit - my most recent VO2 max score (done properly not estimates) came in at 56.0 mL/kg/min which puts me in the top 5% of 20 year olds, even though I am 52 years. I am incredibly strong. My max deadlift is 220lbs but I could easily push this if I focussed more on it.

I developed a thyroid problem over this time but it is now fully treated. I thought I would drop the weight once this was treated but it just sticks around. Similarly went on HRT but although I feel great on it, it hasn’t budged my weight.

I am within normal BMI but shocked at how easy it is to put on weight once you hit perimenopause. I know there is research that says it is because people exercise less/eat more. But this is definitely not the case for me. There is absolutely more that goes on at perimenopause that makes you put on a significant amount of weight.