My whole life, I've been told that losing weight is all about calories in, calories out. If you want to lose weight, you have to utilize more calories as energy than you consume. I whole heartedly agree with that statement. My problem is that I think people tend to take it at face value. When someone is naturally thin, I think there can be a disconnect from what overweight people might go through. I also think the CALORIES OUT part is relative. Some people have genetically been blessed with way better metabolisms than others.

For example, I got my best friend to agree to eat what I ate, and exercise with me for 3 weeks. A little background on my friend. He is 6'1', and 182 pounds. He didn't work out, never dieted his entire life, and would always state that he was thin because he ate badly in moderation only. He drank at least 2 sugary sodas or teas every day. He ate out at least every other day. He hated salads, and the only vegetable he could stand were peas and corn.

Anyway, he agreed to shadow me for 3 weeks. We ate out 2X weekly, but instead of eating double cheeseburgers and fries, we stuck to grilled chicken or fish with salad or veggies. We pretty much ate the same serving sizes as well. He had a hard time the first week, and admitted he snuck a soda a few times, and ate a donut once. He also exercised with me in the evenings 3X the first week (I also worked out 4X during my lunch break that week.)

All in all, he lost 6 pounds that first week. He got excited, and decided to continue. I lost 2 pounds. Skip forward to the end of the 3 week test. I lost 8 pounds, including a 1/2 inch on my waist. I was satisfied because my weight dropped from 319 pounds to 311 pounds. Well, I was Very SATISFIED until I saw my friend's results. He lost 14 pounds. His weight in fact dropped to 168. I knew he had lost a lot, because I could see it in his face.

He still maintains that it is calories in, calories out. He has gained back all of his lost weight. He probably eats a little over 1,000 calories more per day as he has resumed his regular diet. He has kept with the exercise routine though, so I guess something good came of it.

My question is....If it isn't just plain old genetics, how can a male maintain a 180 pound body over time on more than 3000 calories daily while another male struggles to get under 300 pounds on 2000 calories with a more active lifestyle? When I asked him the same question, he said that obviously I'm not eating 2000 calories, and must be eating a lot more.

Go figure.

7 hours ago, AZLoser said:

Wow so much prejudice and hostility on this topic! In this case, size matters. Lot of folks, including myself, can gain weight eating 2000 calories/day. You can have your metabolic rate measured. When I was 65 lbs heavier my rate was 1900/day. So 2000 was a slow gain. Now my rate is 1350. So 1200 calories/ day is barely losing. If you're a super active, larger framed, man, you might be able to eat 2,300/day and maintain. It's just not accurate that everyone who is overweight has been downing cheeseburgers and fries uncontrollably.

Oh wait. I saw on another post you used to drink lots of diet coke lol. the calories add up. So I don't think your an exception to the rule. But it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

Wow so much prejudice and hostility on this topic! In this case, size matters. Lot of folks, including myself, can gain weight eating 2000 calories/day. You can have your metabolic rate measured. When I was 65 lbs heavier my rate was 1900/day. So 2000 was a slow gain. Now my rate is 1350. So 1200 calories/ day is barely losing. If you're a super active, larger framed, man, you might be able to eat 2,300/day and maintain. It's just not accurate that everyone who is overweight has been downing cheeseburgers and fries uncontrollably.

I'm another small framed woman--5'6" and 135lbs and maintain at about 2500 calories per day. I run a lot and do yoga and have a lot of muscle mass which helps.

Another thing people forget is in general a heavier person maintains at a higher calorie level than a lighter person.

So as you lose weight you need fewer calories just to maintain and burn fewer calories with exercise.