Advice on this Diet and exercise change... advice on

Mellor wrote: »

What changes are you referring tot? Are you saying they are no longer penalise fat? Because in your own words you described SW as "its really all about cooking from scratch, minimizing use of oils etc".

You said it was 80's style low fat plan - I said its not static and changes have taken place over time. You can still use oil, you just measure it. What I take from it is that anything that people have a tendency to over consume is measured.

Is 100cals of 0% Fat free yogurt the same as 100cals of full fat yogurt on the SW plan? If one is a syn and the other free, then they are penalising fat.

When they start selling pots of yogurt by calories rather than my size, then maybe this aproach could work. However, they're currently sold in serving sizes typically, so so thats no likely.

You eat avocado, great. Do you count it as a syn? Or importantly, is it a syn on the SW plan? Why is that?

I don't syn it. SW does syn it. I assume its because its its very easy to eat, especially if mashed up and you can get through more than intended pretty quickly. I don't over-consume it however, its probably something I have once a week at most but thats no change from before for me.

I'm familiar with the plan, my parents have followed it. I'm aware that carby foods should to be a 1/3. But there's no limit on the size of your overall plate. You can have more of anything, by having a bigger meal overall. This burger and chips looks to more than a 1/3.

The pictures arent accurate - they regularly don't show the correct proportions to follow the plan. Don't know why they do this.

Anyway, I find the 1/3rd rule works for me. By the time I've eaten the necessary amount of the other foods, I'm full, so my proportion of food that is chips is quite low.

Potatos are fine imo, but the same amount of pasta is different story. 1lb between 4 portions is a lot. That's bad portion control imo. Is pasta free?

Pasta is free. A typical portion I'd cook for myself is about 80-100g max depending on how hungry I am. I do like a pasta dinner the night before a workout. I'd use syns on parmasan chese and some olive oil in this instance.

That's precisely the point.
The fact that people are so easily fooled backs up my point. It's better to learn about basic nutrition than mindlessly follow a list of good and bad foods.

So you're agreeing wtih what I've been saying from the start? However your solution seems to be that as if by magic the entire population should just know more about nutrition? What I'm saying that while thats a great aspiration, its also unrealistic, as its not going to happen over night and we've a real problem right now. Look around you - we're fast on course to be one of the most overweight nations in the world. In my view, something like SW that gives people some good principals and some pretty successful weight losses ought to be encouraged, not undermined.

You can disagree if you want. But it's not it true. The evidence shows it doesn't happen. It's a misquote from an old starvation study. The body can't hold on to fat when you eat too little - the laws of conservation of energy.

I've no idea why fad diets perpetuate the myth. But the fact people repeat it all the time proves its being perpetuated.
If fad diets are a quick fix, then medical weight loss plans are the quickest fix (prescription/pharmacy plans). And they typically consist of very low calories, only a few hundred. Where's starvation mode there?

I'm not denying that these diets work in the short term, but I know from my own experience that my metabolism tends to rebel after a few weeks and usually it results in long term weight gain. A good friend of mine is a big fan of these diets, but everytime she starts one, shes starting from a higher weight.

Exactly, the issue is not pushing themselves. Not the choice between steady cardio or HIIT. Both options are fine if you put the effort in.

I said that as well. I was advocating seeing a professional (ie a PT or at least attending a group class) rather than faffing at the gym and then wondering why its not working. For people who don't have much experience, this is a trap they often fall into. I can get that this doesnt apply to you as you know what you're talking about, but I'm trying to get into the mindset of a beginner like the OP, making it up as they go along and not seeing results. Ultimately do whatever exercise works for you, but get some guidance, at least to start out.

That sounds great. As I said above, SW is fine when you are sensible about it. as you clearly are. My criticism was aimed more at the typical yo-yo dieter who tends to follow blindly rather than making their own choices.
And I know what you mean about fresh food. I feel like I'm constantly shopping sometimes.

Look, like everything SW is not perfect but I think its a positive thing for a lot of people and vastly preferable to a lot of other options out there. From what I've seen, people follow blindly a bit at the start but most just figure out what works for them over time and adjust accordingly.

*Off to Tescos now*

Mellor wrote: »

That doesn't doesn't happen. Starvation mode is a myth perpetuated by fas diets.