Phil Pomery's Journal, 18 Aug 15

I am new to FS n was just looking thru the Community. I saw your weigh in posts, n noticed your consistent weight loss n it inspired me ... thank you. Cudos to you n keep up the great work 👍😆 

thank you for your comment i would like to say it is easy but this is one of the hardest things i have ever done (will power is not my strong suit) but i want to see my kids get old ..i just keep setting small achievable goals and as a reward i set a new goal its working for me up to now and my knees no longer hate me  

Well what you are doing is obviously working ... very impressive & I bet your kids & family are proud of you. And here's tp happy knees hey 😉 

Don't want to rain on good results, but the thing is, it shouldn't be hard. If it is hard, it isn't sustainable. This is why 95% of dieters fail. When you eat properly, and are not hungry, it isn't hard, and it is sustainable. Anybody can starve themselves to lose weight, but it ain't going to last. Losing weight is one thing, eating healthy foods is another. There are plenty of thin sick people. When you eat properly, don't starve yourself, and understand what you should and should not eat, you will lose weight, you will never be hungry AND you will be healthy. Your bloods tell the tale far more than the scales do. 

I think Phil's near 40kg loss actually tells quite a tale myself ... that would have been hard work. I am certain his body would be thanking him ☺ 

No arguments there. I am sure his body is thanking him and I admire him for doing it, no doubt. Two caveats though. How sustainable is starving yourself and how healthy is he? To be healthy, you have to eat properly. Don't ever assume that weighing less automatically means healthy, it doesn't. It might mean 'healthier', but they are not the same thing. Less bad is not the same thing as good. To be healthy, you have to eat real food. If you do that, you won't ever be hungry, you won't ever have to count a calorie, and then your body will really thank you. This site and hundreds like it exist because people make the wrong choices on how and what they eat. If the methods promoted here and belived by most actually worked, the site would not exist. Try re-examining your beliefs re food, and you might be pleasantly surprised. Understand that I am not making light of Phil's accomplishments, I am merely questioning the method and sustainability of them. 

Whilst I appreciate what you are saying Biggergus, I am already reasonably educated regarding food choices. I am not starving myself, just making better choices ... maybe this is how Phil is also losing weight? We all have more to learn in every aspect of life, as nobody knows everything about anything. I know what I should be doing, it is a matter of doing it ... the latter is the hard part for many individuals. I do not know exactly how Phil lost his weight, nor how healthy he is ... he could be healthier than either of us. I do know how I am going to lose weight, and be healthy at the same time ☺ 

i have reduced my food income a great deal but i am not starving. i have been unwell my issue will be once i get down to the weight i should be (according to my doctors) i will have to learn to maintain weight and stop the weight loss i have a psych and a dietician that i have been seeing for a while about losing weight now working on me maintaining weight . like i said this is the hardest thing i have ever done but i didn't have much control over it but for the first time in my life i actually know when i have eaten enough as my body tells me in no uncertain way. i understand what you are saying Biggergus done my share of yo-yoing my diet is now better than it has been for twenty years i have actually learnt i can cook i my wife and kids have also loss 40 kilos between them so its a family thing now and it is not short term (if i don't do this i don't have a long term) i i have the desire to be a burden to my kids for the next 30 yrs at least  

my bloods are checked monthly and are the best they have been for 15 yrs i have stop taken 60 % of the medication was on before losing weight and reduced the amounts i take of all but one of the others so apart from my ongoing issue(which i will beat in time) i am healthier (not fitter have to work on that next)now than i have been for way to many years i am not only cooking but i am now also growing my own veg and am trying to change my liifestyle bit by bit its a long term thing 

I am very impressed Phil ... the more I read about you, the more inspired I am. Keep up the great work 👍💃☺ 

In all honesty, I don't want to turn anything into an ad hominem slanging match. I can say that with one exception, I have not ever looked at anyone's daily eating here, (and I have looked at plenty) and seen anything that even resembles good food, or good eating habits. Not within cooee of good eating. I see starvation, lite this, low fat that, lo-cal this, skim this, and a bit more starvation. I see people counting calories, and trying somehow to burn the excess ones off via exercise. I have no doubt Phil that your bloods are the best they have been in 15 years, and that is fantastic, but like I said, less bad is not the same thing as good. Clearly, nothing I am saying is what most people are prepared to take on board, but if I can at least put an inkling of doubt into just one person's mind, then I have done something worthwhile. I can only repeat what I have said before. Counting calories is futile. Exercising (as a weight loss tool) is pointless. If you think differently, well so be it. You think the way you do because this is what you (and I) have been told all our lives, but that doesn't make it true, it just makes it hard to shrug off. The truth is, it is not how much you eat, it is WHAT you eat (and to a lesser degree, when you eat it). Exercising, as a way of balancing calorie intake to output is based on a flawed premise, namely that all calories are equal. Not all calories are treated by our bodies in the same way, and exercising MAKES you hungry, which is kind of the opposite of the goal here. Yes, I do my share it, but for different reasons. A calorie is NOT a calorie. Get past that calorie in <> calorie out thing, and understand that our bodies treat the three macronutrients VERY differently, and you are on the way to not being here (and to super health.) :-) I'll leave it there, because my position is unlikely to change, at least until shown to be incorrect. Thing is, this site, and the people I see at the mall, are evidence that what I am saying is true, and also evidence that the other position is false. 

Phil's own words sort of put paid to the whole thing. It is one of the hardest things he has ever done. I believe it. Thing is, it isn't hard IF you do it properly. It is only hard if you think that counting calories, going hungry, and exercising is how you lose weight. It isn't. 

This thread actually started out with a compliment & praise to Phil. Unfortunately, it has turned into a repetitive lecture. I am open-minded and also educated. I read, I listen to others, I access various sources of information and I make my own informed decisions based on evidence-based experience. I do not know the story of others on here, nor do any individuals on here know my story ... I do not wish for others to justify their choices to me, and I sure as hell have no intentions of justifying my choices. My final comment on this thread is to reiterate a huge well done to Phil ... I acknowledge your hard work Phil, keep up the good fight.  

Interesting that you made your daily food intake buddies only all of a sudden Pegasus42. I guess that jam, crumpets and biscuits don't really fit in well with someone who makes "reasonably educated food choices". I am not hiding my food diary. I have nothing to hide there. I'd say that you withdrawing yours is an interesting move to say the least. Anwway, I will close by saying it again. Insulin is the primary driver of weight gain, not excess calories. The only evidence based experience I see, is a site full of people who believe that how much they eat, rather than what they eat, is the key. The irony is, that IF this was true, they wouldn't be here would they? We'll leave it at that. And... onya Phil, but if it gets hard later, do some reading, with an open mind, not one clouded with dogma, and see why it doesn't have to be, or send me a pm.  

Biggotgus you are nothing but a judgemental, forum doctoring troll who is on this site for all the wrong reasons. My profile is limited so that I can avoid pathetic negative creatures like you. FYI, I was not even aware that my food diary was public ... I am not tech-savvy n only thought my journal n weight goals etc were public ... but hey, thanks for the info regarding privacy n the assumption that went with it. I indicated I am reasonably educated re food, n that it was up to me to make choices based on this. I am at the beginning of my journey n I am aware of the poor choices I have made, but thanks anyway for judging me when you do not even know me. If you want to talk choices, I noticed you have gained weight? STOP trolling me n others as it is really quite pathetic ... you must have a really dull existence is all I can say! Be careful you do not fall off your soap box troll! 

umm, I have gained weight? WHen I looked at the scales this morning, and the graph here, I lost it, so I am not sure what you are talking about? I am not overweight at all, my diet is open for all to see. You by your own admission are 30kg overweight, and your food choices are hidden. Logically, who would you listen to? If trolling is trying to help, then call me a troll by all means. I am not judging you or anyone else, I am trying to help you to lose weight without struggling. I am in a fairly unique position, because I lost weight your way (it can be done, that I freely admit) and then I lost more weight my way (counting carbs, not calories). Since I have done both, and succeeded with both, I feel fairly confident that I can offer a balanced opinion on both. I am one of the 5% who lost weight and kept it off long term. Most of the people here are dooming themselves to be in the 95% who won't. This is all I am trying to point out. You are only on one side of the debate, and not in a strong position I wouldn't think. When a thin person is debating with a weightier one over weight loss, who would you listen to? Anyway, I can see that we aren't going anywhere constructive with this, so I'll leave you and the rest of the people who are suffering because of this inability to accept that what they have been told may just be wrong, to it. Insulin (thus blood sugar levels) is the key, not calories. I wish you well. 

I never asked for your help ... end if story! You assume a lot!  

PS all I did was compliment someone n you thought it was your right to get involved in a conversation which actually had absolutely nothing to do with you because you think you are "helping" ... enjoy your delusions of grandeur! 

Pegasus and Phil - have been following this with interest - I too am at a loss to understand why this person decided they needed to insert themselves into the conversation and start lecturing everyone and announcing their superiority and others'supposed ignorance in all things nutrition. Well done on being proactive about your health and supporting others in a positive manner - suggest you ignore the trolls (or block them if that is possible on this site) and keep up the good work. 

Thank you so much Craftykathy1602 ... it was certainly an unnecessary saga with the troll, but water off a duck's back for me. Toxic people have crossed my path before & it makes me feel pity for their sad existence & for those around them. I found it interesting how when the going got tough, the troll resorted to personal attacks & insults. I would like to say I have moved on from the experience but, to be honest, there is nothing to move on from given that I pretty much laughed at the level of arrogance I was encountering from the troll. Anyway, thank you again for your positive input & support. Namaste ☺