I think weight maintenance includes both weight gain and loss, but at a different degree and rate than what we would traditionally think of with a weight loss diet or gaining weight.

In this video I’ll try to explain my theory of weight maintenance vs weight gain and weight loss and hopefully you’ll see how they’re the same thing just to a different degree.

Some of these foods simply do not grow in Canada, yet I still have access to them 12 months per year!

I live in southern Ontario Canada and for half the year we’re buried under snow. If it weren’t for the modern industrial revolution and food supply chain I wouldn’t have access to things like oranges, apples, strawberries and black berries in the middle of February.

If I had to live on local food supplies I would be eating preserves and frozen items all winter long and would have never tasted a grapefruit or an orange or a tangerine ever!

The point is that most of our modern diet recommendations already assume that you have access to foods from all around the world and are not limited to your regional food selection and growth seasons.

As humans evolved it was likely that we had to eat whatever was available at that time, and this means eating meat when meat was around, and then shifting to berries or vegetables or grains when they were available. Over time as we developed agriculture food variety and food selection become more prevalent but make no mistake about this last point. Only the richest countries in the world currently have unlimited access to a wide variety of foods 12 months of the year.

Make use of this food variety to keep your diet varied and benefit from the many foods the modern food supply chain can bring you on a daily basis.

John

Wedding cake isn't a regular item for this squirrel, but he's gonna have a ball eating it!

The point is scientists do the best they can with the given technology they have at the time.

At the beginning of his research Keys was only able to measure total cholesterol and determine that lowering cholesterol through a low fat diet was the best way to eat for heart health. Over time as technology advanced it became clear that there were multiple forms of cholesterol and that not all of them were bad. It was also clear that there were multiple types of dietary fat and each kind had different effects on the body.

The recommendation to simply eat as little fat as possible changed to eating less saturated fats (specifically from animal sources) and to ensure adequate essential fat intake.

Measuring total cholesterol started to take a back seat to measuring the ratio of LDL (bad cholesterol) to HDL (good cholesterol).

Further research also began to show that eating a certain amount of fiber could help move the ratio of good to bad cholesterol into a more favorable position.

The point is that each recommendation can only be made once we have the technology to understand what is really going on in our bodies.

As technology continues to progress we’ll discover more effects and interactions that various eating styles have on our bodies and learn more about what types of foods and eating patterns will work for us.

We’re also learning that many eating styles can be part of a healthy diet. What works for you might not necessarily work for me.

There are some general principles that are universal (like eating less calories than you burn to lose bodyfat, and the need to eat complete proteins from various food sources).

However the universal rules are very few, and the variation that you can choose to eat and still be healthy is vast.

Constantly obsessing about eating the perfect diet might actually be causing you more stress than it’s worth and leaving you less healthy than if you didn’t bother thinking about it at all.

The point is to find a way to eat that keeps you happy and healthy, and having a diet that fits your lifestyle and personality is the key to making this happen.

John

The standard diet fare of acceptable items would look something like this:

After a while eating like this gets really boring.

Leafy greens

Veggies

Fruit (and for some totally obsessive compulsive people even fruit is a no no)

Chicken

Fish

Eggs

Rice

and a few other designer grains that have just as many calories per gram as wheat or rice but for some reason are believed to be ‘better for dieting’

Then comes the enormous list of items that are off limits for a diet which includes…

Everything else!

Setting things up with a strict black and white, good vs bad mindset will lead to feelings of deprivation and eventual failure of the diet.

Even if you decided to eat your favorite food every single day and nothing else, you would quickly become sick of that food and start to crave anything other than that specific food.

The point is variety is necessary for a sustainable diet both during your weight loss and afterwards.

If you restrict too many food options during your diet you’re just setting yourself up for a massive rebound when you’re done dieting and lost all the weight you wanted.

It’s entirely possible to lose weight eating all the foods you like, even the foods that the mainstream diet media has deemed ‘bad for you’.

This is also the best way to teach you manage the foods you like instead of viewing them as an all or nothing feast when they’re around.

If you can’t learn to lose weight eating the foods you like, you’ll also never learn to maintain your weight eating those foods.

Flexibility with your food choices both during and after your weight loss journey is the key to keeping the weight off for good.

Everyone needs support to lose weight.

Sitting at the table next to her was a party of 10 people (most overweight) and one male at the table announced that he wanted to lose weight for his upcoming wedding and that he was intending to ‘go vegetarian’ to accomplish his goal.

At this point the rest of his friends and family proceeded to tell him about all the reason going veggie will be bad for him, and how he won’t get enough protein and how it’s not the right way to lose weight…keep in mind that all of this advice is coming from people who are obese.

The rest of the evening at this table was a constant battle between the man who announced his intention to lose weight and the rest of his clan telling him all the reasons why his idea won’t work.

This exact scenario is very common when someone announces their decision to lose weight.  Nothing else you can say that will turn average and obese people into armchair doctors and nutritionist like the simple statement “I’m want to lose weight”.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the matter even if they clearly have no idea how to lose weight themselves. This can become a major drag on your weight loss progress if you are surrounded by overweight people who are trying to hold you back before you even start.

The moral of the story is this:

If you decide you want to lose weight, be careful and selective who you share your intentions with. You definitely need some social support from people who won’t judge you and will help you along the way. Try to find people who are secure enough with their own weight that they will not find a reason to pick on you for wanting to lose weight.

Losing weight is hard enough as it is so you need all the help you can get, surrounding yourself with positive people is the best way to ensure your weight loss success.

John

Garfieds diet is mostly lasanga, but he is never dieting for anything!

Your ‘diet’ on the other hand simply refers to the mix of foods you choose to eat. This isn’t a qualitative statement about the merits of that food, or if it can help you gain or lose weight. It’s just the word used to identify the sum of all the food you eat.

Problems tend to arise when people start thinking that your diet is also meant to be a constant act of ‘dieting’.

The things that someone will do while dieting for a show or simply to lose weight aren’t necessarily the same things you must do when you’re not actively ‘dieting’ any longer.

There are 3 general categories of eating that you will likely fall into.

1) The pattern and amount you will eat when you have no specific goal – for many people this ends up causing a slow and steady weight gain.

2) The pattern and amount you will eat when you have a specific weight loss goal – This can pattern and the amount will change throughout the time frame while you are dieting, but this is a very specific way to eat and is unique during your weight loss.

3) The pattern and amount you will eat when you have reached your weight loss and want to maintain it – This is just as much a learning experience as eating for weight loss is.

I think it's safe to say Garfield is always in category #1

Each pattern is different from the other and the specific foods you choose to eat during each will vary. You may be able to eat the same foods for each phase but in different amounts and with different frequency. You may find it easier to cut certain foods out completely while you’re actively losing weight and find a way to reintroduce them once your goal is weight maintenance.

No matter what you choose to eat all of the foods you like can be successfully used in each phase. You will find what foods works best for you through trial and error.

Just remember that your ‘diet’ is all the foods you choose to eat, and dieting is a conscious decision to lose weight with a defined goal and timeline.

John

“In terms of calories out, I am wearing a bodybugg. The site says that the bugg is over 90% accurate. Right now, I use it primarily to let me know how active I am throughout the day. I can have days where I am very active at work and days where I am at a desk or in meetings all day. What do you think of the bodybugg as a tool for calories burned?”

Good question Jay and I’ve had a few people mention this device. One of my former workout partners is actually using it as well so I’ve already been looking into this particular item.

This is a metabolic cart which is the only real way to accurately measure your metabolic rate

For starters I have no doubt that this technology is evolving and is becoming more accurate all of the time. Their marketing indicates as you said that this product has been tested against gold standard measurements and is within 10% accuracy. So even if this device can predict your metabolic rate within 10% you still have to account for the errors on all of our caloric inputs. This second source of errors is something no device can measure and that is why we have the principle of calorie guessing.

But for arguments sake, lets say the device is consistently underestimating your metabolic rate by about 5%. How would you know? You likely can’t be 100% sure about your exact calories burned during any given day or during any given exercise session.

Lets also assume your metabolic rate is 1900 calories per day…a 5-10% error is anywhere between 100-200 calories…if you make a similar error counting calories in you could be all the way up to a 300-400 calorie error on the day.

Example: Losing 1 lb of Fat Per Week

Now lets assume you’re trying to lose 1lbs of fat per week, which requires an average calorie deficit (below energy burned) by 500 calories per day…BUT we’ve just noted that it’s entirely possible to be making up to a 400 calorie error even with your device…so where does that leave you? You could be using this device and reading all your labels and measuring everything meticulously and still come out with a 300-400 calorie error each day…and that would completely wipe out any chance you have of losing weight.

The point is that unless you are in a metabolic lab and measuring inputs and outputs with 100% accuracy you’ll never know for sure how many calories you are burning or consuming on any given day.

This is why we add in so many buffers into the AGD system. The calorie guessing and estimating RMR are just that, estimates and our principles try to account for all of these errors.

Technology Only Gets You So Far

No matter what devices like these say, the safest bet is to assume your metabolic rate is slower (if your goal is weight loss).

And no matter what the calorie counts on your food labels add up to, just assume you ate more than any label indicates.

These two assumptions will do more for your weight loss progress than any other database or measurement device could ever do.

Go ahead and use these sorts of items as a general guide or starting point, but just keep in mind that this is an estimate and not 100% accurate. And no matter what it says, the proof is in the look and shape of your body. If you’re losing weight and getting leaner then you’re on the right track…if you’re not then you’ve got to reduce your calories a bit more or start exercising more.

Technology can definitely help, but the real results come when you apply what you’ve learned from this technology and start making changes to your diet and your workout routine.

John

I’ve been reviewing this document and I have highlighted some sections that I thought were noteworthy because they point out how weight loss should happen and it further shows how most people still aren’t getting the message.

I’ve highlighted some of the most important points about weight loss and we can discuss them here. Have a look at what they’re saying about weight loss and how to lose weight.

Calorie Balance Matters

This is about as straight forward as it gets. The recommendation is clear that people need to eat less calories somehow someway.

Calories in vs Out is What Matters for Weight Loss

Again, painfully obvious what has to happen to lose weight, and yet so many people are still ignoring it.

Too Many Calories = Weight Gain, Eating Less Calories = Weight Loss

Are you starting to notice a pattern here???

Weight Loss is Almost All Diet

So there is no special or fancy workout program that can cause fat loss…it’s almost all diet. This also means the excuse of ‘I can’t workout therefore I can’t lose weight’ is out the window.

Macronutrient Ratios Don’t Matter for Weight Loss

No need to stress about the mix of food on your plate, all you gotta do is put LESS food on your plate.

Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Don’t Matter for Weight Loss

If you’ve been focusing on GI then you were likely missing the boat on what really matters for weight loss.

What to do?

This guidance document points out what has to happen to lose weight (eat less), but it doesn’t tackle the issue of how to accomplish this.

The key is finding a way to eat less that fits into your lifestyle and meets your needs the best. The pattern of eating that works for your neighbor might not work for you.

In the end it still comes down to calories in vs calories out, but the way you make this happen will have to be unique to your life.

John

One, three, five, six, nine? Does it even matter?

Is this one meal or six?

After reviewing the research is occurred to me that neither scientists or average people can agree on what the definition of a ‘meal’ is.

Without a strict definition of what the word ‘meal’ means how can you ever follow or give a recommendation on how many of them you need to eat?

If you look through the research on various meal timing patterns you will find out that the definition of what a ‘meal’ is takes on different meanings.

In some cases a ‘meal’ is any amount of food or drink that provides 45 or more calories! That’s it! That meas a coffee with one milk and one sugar counts as a meal, and so does an average sized apple.

The time between two of these ‘meals’ that defines them as separate can be as short as 1 hour.

So that means you could have a cup of coffee in the morning, and then an hour later eat an apple and that would count as two meals!

I’m assuming you find this a bit ridiculous and not at all what you had in mind when someone refers to  a ‘meal’.

What is a meal?

Is it the composition? Does it have to have a mix of protein, carbs, and fat?

Does it have to be solid food or can it be a meal replacement shake?

Does it have to be a certain size or amount of calories?

Maybe it has to be a certain percentage of your daily calorie needs (do you even know what this  would be?)

So I think it’s safe to say that nobody can actually define what a ‘meal’ is.

And since we can’t define it, how could we ever recommend how many to eat?

Is this a meal?

The research in this area is pretty clear, and eating 1 meal all the way up to 9 meals a day has no difference on weight loss, metabolic rate or anything else you  can think of measuring.

But one thing meal timing can do for sure is cause way more stress than you ever wanted.

Meal timing is just another example of losing focus from what the real driving force is behind weight loss.

The key is finding a meal pattern that works in your life, if that is 4 ‘meals’ for you then that’s just what you need, maybe you want to have 8 micro meals….maybe you want 2 big meals and that is all that fits your schedule.

Don’t stress or think that you’re somehow doing something wrong because you haven’t read an article saying that your exact pattern is the solution to everyone’s weight loss problem…because it isn’t.

The pattern than fits for YOU is the only one that will work for YOU. So it’s time for you to start your own meal timing experiment and decide what is right for your life.

John

Have you ever seen someone gain 30 pounds in 3 months?

It just doesn’t happen.

Conversely most people lose weight fast. And unless you have over 100lbs to lose most people do all of their weight loss in a short time frame, and many people can lost almost all of their weight in a time frame as short as 3 months.

I’ve seen many people erase years of over eating and weight gain in as little as 12 weeks.

And that got me thinking…what if you decided to diet for 12 weeks every year…

BUT what if I told you it doesn’t have to be 12 weeks in a row!?

If you have a lot of weight to lose then a 12 week diet might be a great way to get most of the weight off and build some momentum. But once you’ve shed most of the weight what happens? If you go back to your previous eating patterns you’ll slowly gain the weight back.

This doesn’t mean you need to be dieting for the rest of your life, but rather you might need to dip in and out of mini diets each month, or even micro diets each week.

Think of it this way. 75% of the time you eat ‘normally’ and 25% of the time you eat to lose weight.

Whatever weight you might gain while you’re eating freely without any attention for weight loss you should be able to take back off with the short diet. The point is to get smaller frequent diets in to keep your weight from ever getting too far out of your control.

In most cases this should prevent you from ever gaining another pound and if you’re good at it you can still lose more weight.

You can choose do this in one 12 week chunk each year, or 1 week per month, or even 1-2 days per week ala Eat Stop Eat.

No matter what pattern you choose if you stick to the 75-25 rule and eat for weight loss 12 weeks per year you should be able to eat however you like for the other 40 weeks without really gaining much weight if any at all.

John