• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • All Posts
  • Contact

Time Restricted

Experiences with Time-Restricted Eating and Managing Chronic Disease

Gradual weight loss efficacy is a myth…

September 4, 2018 By spao Leave a Comment

Gradual weight loss efficacy is a myth…

Do you believe any of the following?

  • Exercising over time produces cumulative weight loss based on calories in versus calories out
  • Setting realistic weight loss goals is important to keep people motivated
  • Losing weight gradually (1-2 lbs per week) creates more sustainable weight loss

If so, you are not alone!

The problem is these commonly held beliefs are actually myths that persist despite refuting evidence.

I would encourage you to read an interesting article “Myths, Presumptions, and Facts about Obesity” from the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, January 31, 2013.

Using more rigorous studies, the article cites evidence of actual observations, not assumptions.

Some excerpts:

  • The body actually compensates for sustained calorie inputs or outputs; it’s not calories-in / calories-out for weight loss

For example, whereas the 3500-kcal rule predicts that a person who increases daily energy expenditure by 100 kcal by walking 1 mile (1.6 km) per day will lose more than 50 lb (22.7 kg) over a period of 5 years, the true weight loss is only about 10 lb (4.5 kg)…

  • “Realistic” weight loss goals do not help

Indeed, several studies have shown that more ambitious goals are sometimes associated with better weight-loss outcomes…

…

Furthermore, two studies showed that interventions designed to improve weight-loss outcomes by altering unrealistic goals resulted in more realistic weight-loss expectations but did not improve outcomes.

  • Losing weight fast is more effective in the long-run than losing weight gradually

Within weight-loss trials, more rapid and greater initial weight loss has been associated with lower body weight at the end of long-term follow-up.

There are even more results in this analysis, including myth busting surrounding the number of calories expended during sexual intercourse!  (I won’t give you the answer here!)

So why do these myths continue?

Net is that we don’t force scientific method and evidence-based rigor into our beliefs.

We are influenced by:

  • repeated media exposure to claims
  • cognitive dissonance – we don’t like to hear contradictory evidence to ideas that are important to us
  • confirmation bias – we only seek data supporting claims we have already accepted as true
  • ability to be swayed by persuasive (yet fallacious) arguments

Topics related to weight loss and obesity aren’t the only areas where these factors influence us.

Read the article and be careful what you believe in!

Filed Under: Fasting, Featured

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Sharing the Good & Bad of Ozempic on Medium
  • Why I stopped taking Vitamin B supplements
  • What changes when you progress from chronic kidney disease stage 3B to stage 4?
  • Ozempic treats diabetes (but I didn’t lose weight!)
  • Glucose might not be the cause of Type 2 Diabetes

Archives

  • February 2025
  • December 2024
  • August 2024
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018

Categories

  • Buchinger-Wilhelmi
  • Buchinger-Wilhelmi 2019
  • Chronic Kidney Disease
  • Diabetes
  • Fasting
  • Featured

Sign up for updates to Time-Restricted

Footer

Stephen Pao is the author of the Time-Restricted blog. Following a Type II diabetes diagnosis in 2003, Steve began experimenting with alternative approaches to managing the disease, including prolonged fasting as a complement to a low-carb lifestyle. Several years ago, Steve also added a more involved drug program, including Ozempic and Jardiance. By day, Steve is a consultant and board advisor to early stage technology companies. Steve and his wife are empty nesters, with two adult daughters.

Copyright © 2025 Stephen Pao · Log in