Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

What is most important to weight loss?



Recommended Posts

Hello Peeps,

I am having second thoughts about getting the Gastric Sleeve.

I am wanting to do it myself the "natural" way.

I really do not want major surgery, but I HAVE to lose weight.

So, here is my question, what is more important to losing weight..... Diet or exercise?

What will make the biggest impact?

I know I need to do both, but I am wondering what is more effective.

Restrictive diet with little exercise? Or lots of exercise without very restrictive diet?

What should I be counting? Calories or carbs?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

And I always hit stalls on everything before like my body just adjust... diet and exercise are both hand in hand... but for just weight you could stop doing much weights limit carbs stay under 20 to 30 carbs a day and NO sugar

progress starts in the mind

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For me short term fix but the carbs were way more crucial my preop diet I lost 14lbs in 1.5 weeks ...if your not sure about surgery wait till you are but I'm so so so happy I didn't let my cold feet get in the way

progress starts in the mind



Thank you.
I know the surgery will be very beneficial.
My wife is supposed to get it about 4 months before me, so maybe seeing her journey will help me.



Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Walter.Sobchak said:

Hello Peeps,

I am having second thoughts about getting the Gastric Sleeve.

I am wanting to do it myself the "natural" way.

I really do not want major surgery, but I HAVE to lose weight.

So, here is my question, what is more important to losing weight..... Diet or exercise?

What will make the biggest impact?

I know I need to do both, but I am wondering what is more effective.

Restrictive diet with little exercise? Or lots of exercise without very restrictive diet?

What should I be counting? Calories or carbs?

Diet is the most important. Exercise is good for fitness, and overall health but not necessary for weight loss. If you want to lose weight fast, a restrictive diet with little exercise besides walking is going to get you the fastest weight loss. If you keep your Protein to 1 gram per 1 pound of lean muscle mass per day, you will lose very little muscle (everyone will lose some muscle dropping weight, you don't need as much muscle to carry the lower weight).

Weighing all your food, all your Condiments etc. Anything with calories, weigh it so you eat an accurate amount.

Track all your food. Even on the bad days, especially on the bad days.

Protein, fat, carbs. If you track your food, eat your protein first, and cut out all carbs except trace carbs from dairy, and green veggies, it is almost impossible to consume more than 25 carbs a day.

Edited by OutsideMatchInside

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Diet is the most important. Exercise is good for fitness, and overall health but not necessary for weight loss. If you want to lose weight fast, a restrictive diet with little exercise besides walking is going to get you the fastest weight loss. If you keep your Protein to 1 gram per 1 pound of lean muscle mass per day, you will lose very little muscle (everyone will lose some muscle dropping weight, you don't need as much muscle to carry the lower weight).
Weighing all your food, all your Condiments etc. Anything with calories, weigh it so you eat an accurate amount.
Track all your food. Even on the bad days, especially on the bad days.
Protein, fat, carbs. If you track your food, eat your protein first, and cut out all carbs except trace carbs from dairy, and green veggies, it is almost impossible to consume more than 25 carbs a day.



Thank you my friend.
The dietician at my doctor's office gave me some similar guidelines, I had forgotten until I read your post.
I feel awful right now.
I have been eating garbage for the last 5 days.



Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Like everyone has said before me Diet is definitely the most important of the two. As a man in the past I would lift heavy and do moderate cardio and got good results but this time around by getting rid of the Carbs well 20 or less per day I have had Great success. The sodas and grazing convenience store food had me out of control gaining over 100 pounds in a year. Take a look at Ketogenic style eating and you will find with some adjustments to your diet you can shed weight rapidly without losing piles of Muscle.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Diet is key.

I started building a walking regimen before I had my surgery. I decided that this was going to be a battle and if I was going to have to fight with myself mentally post surgery, I did NOT want to wage a battle on two fronts, so I busted my booty. I did 4 5k's last year before June. I walked between 5-7 miles per day. I climbed to the natural cave opening at Carlsbad Caverns ( I do not recommend this). I accomplished so much by pushing myself physically before surgery that I knew I could handle whatever surgery threw at me.

Surgery is a personal decision. Something happened that made you decide it was an option and now you're concerned and think that maybe it's not. That's ok.

The decision is yours, my advice would be to follow the program to the letter and make your decision about whether or not to have your procedure when you're discussing actual dates for the procedure. You can always change your mind, but working for this for even a month and having to start over is one of the most disheartening things ever. Trust and Believe.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Greetings,

Both aspects are important. You can diet all you want, but without exercise, you will not be able to truly lose weight. I have eaten healthy but not exercised (minimum loss). I have exercised and not eaten healthy (minimum loss). Exercise and eating healthy (received a nice amount of loss before it stalled).

Now I am using the sleeve to help. I will be exercising and having the sleeve. I will not depend solely on the sleeve to lose the weight.

This is your decision and I think it is the best way. If you have not actively tried to lose weight the natural way and you are considering the sleeve as an easy way out, it may not work. This is not just a change of anatomy but a change of mind as well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The question is not about losing weight - it's about keeping the weight off. I think everyone on this site has had plenty of experience in losing weight, but the fact is, most of us cannot keep the weight off permanently. If you try to lose weight through exercise and diet alone (diet is more effective) you have a less than 5% chance (in some studies it is less than 1% chance) of keeping the weight off permanently, whereas permanent weight loss is much higher (at least 85%) after bariatric surgery.

Here are some reasons why bariatric surgery works (in comparison to diet and exercise):

  • VSG/GP - removes the part of your stomach which produces the hunger hormone gherlin. Although some form of hunger will come back eventually for most bariatric patients, not having to deal with real hunger issues as you lose weight is very helpful in the first year after surgery.
  • Also, removing this part of the stomach seems to have an impact on bile production and other hormones, which almost always positively affects other metabolic conditions like diabetes. Diabetes often goes into remission, and people have a reduction in meds for cholesterol or high blood pressure, etc. These improvements are not necessarily due to the weight loss (as first thought), but due to the surgery itself.
  • Your metabolic rate will change as well. Trying to lose weight through diet and exercise alone can actually screw up your metabolism - look at what happened to the "Biggest Loser" contestants that they studied recently - their metabolisms (even for the ones who kept the weight off) were much worse after losing weight than before they started.
  • Your body has a "set-point" that it likes to stay at. Basically, it likes where it is and will fight you tooth and nail to stay where it is. So if you start eating less, your metabolism will slow down so you don't lose weight. If you start exercising more, your metabolism will slow down so you don't lose weight. This is built into our bodies to prevent us from starving when times are lean; unfortunately most of us never really have to worry about not having food available to us 24 hours a day, so we are always well-fed.
  • Weight loss surgery is not a quick fix. Basically, it takes away all the handicaps your body has set against you for losing weight. So you get about 1-2 years where you can diet and exercise AND lose weight AND keep it off without fighting your body every step of the way. But if you want to be successful, you still have to eat well and exercise. If you go back to your old habits, you will gain back the weight. The surgery acts like a 'reprieve', giving you a real chance to lose and keep the weight off.
  • This surgery (especially sleeve) is not any worse than having your appendix or gall bladder removed. All you are doing is decreasing the size of your stomach with additional metabolic effects.

I've learned a lot about this from many different resources, both online and in books. Unfortunately I can't find all of the resources online (I may not have bookmarked them all), but here are a few links:

Why You Shouldn't Exercise to Lose Weight

Why Weight Loss Surgery Works When Diets Don't

Bariatric Surgery Misconceptions

The Mechanism of Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery

Mechanisms Responsible for Excess Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery (this link just takes you to the abstract and resources, but the resources are very good, plus you can read the full article if you like)

___________________________________________________________________________________

Walter - when all is said and done, it's up to you. If you are not ready for the surgery, maybe you should wait. In the end, it should be something you do because you want to do it, and because you know it's the best option for you. If you can't say yes to either of those, then maybe you should talk to your doctor about other options.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Like everyone has said before me Diet is definitely the most important of the two. As a man in the past I would lift heavy and do moderate cardio and got good results but this time around by getting rid of the Carbs well 20 or less per day I have had Great success. The sodas and grazing convenience store food had me out of control gaining over 100 pounds in a year. Take a look at Ketogenic style eating and you will find with some adjustments to your diet you can shed weight rapidly without losing piles of Muscle.

Did you get sleeved?
Or still doing it the natural way?



Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I weight tomorrow at work to see how much I lost by carb restriction and then Friday I have my Surgery in Mexico with Dr. Illan. I can loose weight heck I have done it my whole life but I always gain back more than I lost. The plan is to attack it from 3 sides
VSG Surgery
Carb restriction & Exercise
Overeaters Anonymous the last one for accountability and to pay it forward.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I weight tomorrow at work to see how much I lost by carb restriction and then Friday I have my Surgery in Mexico with Dr. Illan. I can loose weight heck I have done it my whole life but I always gain back more than I lost. The plan is to attack it from 3 sides
VSG Surgery
Carb restriction & Exercise
Overeaters Anonymous the last one for accountability and to pay it forward.

Awesome.
You sound a lot like me.
I have been to OA
I love convenience store junk food, especially Quik Trip.



Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Trending Products

  • Trending Topics

  • Recent Status Updates

    • Prdgrdma

      So I guess after gastric bypass surgery, I cant eat flock chips because they are fried???  They sell them on here so I thought I could have them. So high in protein and no carbs.  They don't bother me at all.  Help. 
      · 1 reply
      1. NickelChip

        It's possible for a very high fat meal to cause dumping in some (30% or so) gastric bypass patients, although it's more likely to be triggered by high sugar, or by the high fat/high sugar combo (think ice cream, donuts). Dietitians will tell you to never do anything that isn't 100% healthy ever again. Realistically, you should aim for a good balance of protein, carbs, and fat each day. Should you eat fried foods every day? No. Is it possible they will make you sick? Maybe. Is it okay to eat some to see what happens and have them for a treat every now and again? Yes.

    • NovelTee

      I'm not at all hungry on this liquid pre-op diet, but I miss the sensation of chewing. It's been about two weeks––surgery is in two days––and I can't imagine how I'll feel a couple of weeks post-op. Tonight, I randomly stumbled upon a mukbang channel on YouTube, and it was strangely soothing... is it just me, or is this a thing? 
      · 1 reply
      1. NickelChip

        I actually watched cooking shows during my pre-op, like Great British Baking Show. It was a little bizarre, but didn't make me hungry. I think it was also soothing in a way.

    • Clueless_girl

      How do you figure out what your ideal weight should be? I've had a figure in my head for years, but after 3 mths of recovery I'm already almost there. So maybe my goal should be lower?
      · 2 replies
      1. NickelChip

        Well, there is actually a formula for "Ideal Body Weight" and you can use a calculator to figure it out for you. This one also does an adjusted weight for a person who starts out overweight or obese. https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/68/ideal-body-weight-adjusted-body-weight

        I would use that as a starting point, and then just see how you feel as you lose. How you look and feel is more important than a number.

      2. Clueless_girl

        I did find different calculators but I couldn't find any that accounted for body frame. But you're right, it is just a number. It was just disheartening to see that although I lost 60% of my excess weight, it's still not in the "normal/healthy" range..

    • Aunty Mamo

      Tomorrow marks two weeks since surgery day and while I'm feeling remarkably well and going about just about every normal activity, I did wind up with a surface abscess on on of my incision sights and was put on an antibiotic that made me so impacted that it took me more than two hours to eliminate yesterday and scared the hell out of me. Now there's Miralax in all my beverages that aren't Smooth Move tea. I cannot experience that again. I shouldn't have to take Ativan to go to the lady's. I really looking forward to my body getting with the program again. 
      I'm in day three of the "puree" stage of eating and despite the strange textures, all of the savory flavors seem decadent. 
      I timed this surgery so that I'd be recovering during my spring break. That was a good plan. Today is a state holiday and the final day of break. I feel really strong to return to school tomorrow. 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Now that I'm in maintenance mode, I'm getting a into a routine for my meals. Every day, I start out with 8-16 ounces of water, and then a proffee, which I have come to look forward to even the night before. My proffees are simply a black coffee with a protein powder added. There are three products that I cycle through: Premier Vanilla, Orgain Vanilla, and Dymatize Vanilla.
      For second breakfast on workdays, I will have a low-fat yogurt with two tablespoons of PBFit and two teaspoons of no sugar added dried cherries. I will have ingested 35-45 grams of protein at this point between the two breakfasts, with 250-285 calories, and about 20 carbs.
      For second breakfast on non-workdays, I will prepare two servings of plain, instant oatmeal with a tablespoon of an olive oil-based spread. This means I will have had 34 grams of protein, 365 calories, and 38 carbs. Non-workdays are when I am being very active with training sessions, so I allow myself more carbohydrate fuel.
      Snacks on any day are always mixed nuts, even when I am travelling. I will have 0.2 cups of a blend that I make myself. It consists of dry roasted peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, and Brazil nuts. This is 5 grams of protein, 163 calories, and 7 carbs.
      Breakfast and snacks have been the easiest to nail down. Lunch and dinner have more variables, and I prepare enough for leftovers. I concentrate on protein first, and then add vegetables. Typically tempeh, tofu, or Field Roast products with roasted or sautéed vegetables. Today, I will be eating leftovers from last night. Two ounces of tempeh with four ounces of roasted vegetables that consist of red and yellow sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, small purple potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. I will add a tablespoon of olive oil-based spread, break up 3 walnuts to sprinkle of top, and garnish with two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. This particular meal will be 19 grams of protein, 377 calories, and 28 grams of carbs. Bear in mind that I do eat more carbs when I am not working, and I focus on ingesting healthy carbs instead of breads/crackers/chips/crisps.
      It's a helluva journey and I'm thankful to be on it!
       
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
  • Recent Topics

  • Hot Products

  • Sign Up For
    Our Newsletter

    Follow us for the latest news
    and special product offers!
  • Together, we have lost...
      lbs

    PatchAid Vitamin Patches

    ×