Article on Yahoo/NY Times: To Lose Weight, Eating Less Is Far More Important Than...

What the wise vets have been saying all along :)

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Thanks for providing this article. It wasn't the lack of exercise that caused me to gain so much weight, it was what I was putting in my mouth! Therefore, what I am not putting in my mouth is causing me to lose the weight. All I ever heard in the past is you have to diet AND exercise. And that you wouldn't be successful if you didn't do both together. Well the thought of succeding with dieting alone was hard enough. Knowing that I needed to diet AND exercise would make me feel like I couldn't possibly be a success at both, so I failed at both. I feel that exercise does have it's values, but it should be valued by itself and not always in conjunction with dieting. Most have the wrong idea about it and don't use the word diet without the word exercise. I think I may have been more successful in my previous diets if I didn't feel overwhelmed with the thought of being succesfful doing both. Thanks again!  

I am proof of that because I no longer have WLS and have still lost 60+ lbs this year. I am basically bed ridden and get next to no exercise.

That is fantastic! (Not the bed ridden part, of course!) That shows a lot of learning and determination, despite no longer having a weight loss tool. Good for you.

Thanks for sharing this. It makes a lot of sense to me. I agree that just losing weight is overwhelming by itself but then expecting to maintain a vigorous exercise regime on top of that really set me up for failure. This time around I am walking because I enjoy it not because it will make a huge difference in my weight loss. This no pressure attitude regarding exercise is working for me. Chris

I lost all of my excess weight (125 pounds, and I am 15 pounds below goal) and I NEVER exercised regularly.  I do walk on occasion if the weather is nice and I feel like walking.  I love to garden and do projects around my house, so I am active doing things.  I follow a very structured eating plan that I rarely deviate from.  I'm maintaining within 5 pounds of my lowest weight at almost 5 years out from RNY revision.  I am a post-menopausal, 55 year old woman.  

You can't exercise your way out of a bad diet.

Rocky, do you have specific foods that you tend to stick to? Obviously, protein first, etc., but do you have "favorites" that you to eat on a regular basis?

I usually have protein powder in my coffee for breakfast because I just can't eat in the morning.  I grab a hand full of almonds around 10-ish.  I have Greek yogurt with a few fresh strawberries or blueberries for lunch, a piece of string cheese wrapped in a thin ham slice, or a boiled egg for a snack.  Dinner is a small serving of what ever I make for the hubby.  Tonight it was grilled chicken breast and zucchini, summer squash, onions and peppers cooked together on the grill.  I have a snack at night, usually a serving of cottage cheese or string cheese, sometimes a serving of almonds. When I'm really daring, I eat apple slices with a little peanut butter.  If I'm up late I eat  small protein snack right before bed to help with my hypoglycemia.  Since I'm 5 years out, I can eat larger portions but I rarely eat more than 1 cup of food (volume).  Sometimes I can eat 1 1/2 cups if it includes a soft cooked veggie.

I'm pretty  boring.  I really don't mind eating the same things day after day.  I use small ramekin dishes that hold about 3/4 cup so I know exactly how much I am eating.  I also eat off of a small salad plate.

I think you nailed it - "I am active doing things". That describes my post-op lifestyle as well - "active", but I'm certainly not into formal exercise and I've managed to lose (and maintain) a 170 pound loss for 9 years. I admire those *****ally enjoy running or weights or cardio-type classes, unfortunately I'm not one of them. lol

Regular exercise helps keep my eating on track ---- I get in that mindset of 'why would I eat THAT when I just worked so hard' --- but I know that it is what I eat -- and not how much I work out that makes the real difference.

"You can't outrun a crappy diet"