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I've spent a long time in university and private fitness centers. I've seen many people who spend hours each evening, doing hard, endurance workouts on stationary bikes, treadmills, stairmasters, etc. And many of them never lost those extra 15 to 25 pounds of excess weight that they were fighting. Obviously, they were either not knowledgeable enough about proper diet or simply were not willing to give up their comfort foods and drinks. Any good advice about diet would go in one ear and out the other.
After I eliminated all grains and added sugars from my diet, I've had no problem keeping my weight at 15 lbs. less than it had been for years, despite all my hard running, biking and hiking. I also quit eating bananas (sometimes four per day), as they are loaded with carbohydrates. No more potatoes, either. I drink nothing but water. But I do eat many raw fruits and vegetables and beans, instead of rice. Water-pack tuna and sardines and chicken breasts, browned and steamed, are my main protein sources.
I've spent a long time in university and private fitness centers. I've seen many people who spend hours each evening, doing hard, endurance workouts on stationary bikes, treadmills, stairmasters, etc. And many of them never lost those extra 15 to 25 pounds of excess weight that they were fighting. Obviously, they were either not knowledgeable enough about proper diet or simply were not willing to give up their comfort foods and drinks. Any good advice about diet would go in one ear and out the other.
After I eliminated all grains and added sugars from my diet, I've had no problem keeping my weight at 15 lbs. less than it had been for years, despite all my hard running, biking and hiking. I also quit eating bananas (sometimes four per day), as they are loaded with carbohydrates. No more potatoes, either. I drink nothing but water. But I do eat many raw fruits and vegetables and beans, instead of rice. Water-pack tuna and sardines and chicken breasts, browned and steamed, are my main protein sources.
No offense dude but I can't live like that. I can see why people would choose to be overweight if that's what's presented to them. I'd prefer a more palatable balanced approach.
No offense dude but I can't live like that. I can see why people would choose to be overweight if that's what's presented to them. I'd prefer a more palatable balanced approach.
Here it is. The problem stated brilliantly (not you specifically- just what I hear people say).
Balance does not include refined sugars. We have been sold the bill of goods...like drug dealers handing out "just a bump."
Just bc it exists on a grocery store shelf does not mean it was ever meant to be consumed.
Here it is. The problem stated brilliantly (not you specifically- just what I hear people say).
Balance does not include refined sugars. We have been sold the bill of goods...like drug dealers handing out "just a bump."
Just bc it exists on a grocery store shelf does not mean it was ever meant to be consumed.
I'm fine with sugar in moderation. I eat two sugary snacks per day. That's my little treat that stops me from bingeing on higher calorie desserts. If that's what it takes to keep me on track so be it. The key thing is not to have your diet dominated by crap. I eat lots of whole grains veggies fruit and drink tons of water. But I also need to enjoy my life. I balance the good with the bad.
YMMV, and apparently my mileage does vary. I eat my fill, and find that my weight--both what I weigh and the form it takes--is entirely a product of the amount and kind of exercise I do. This was true when i was in my twenties. I'm 62 now, and this is still the case.
Now, it's also true that I may naturally possess a fairly high metabolism. Based on casual observation of my food consumption at various ages compared to that of my peers, it would appear that I may have a higher metabolism than the average person. This is based on very casual observation, though.
As for people in general, and the effect of exercise on weight, here is a link found inside the article the OP links to. This shows the data the main article is based on:
You have to scroll down quite a bit to reach the data regarding obesity and exercise, something like the information on obesity starting on page 38 or thereabouts, with the exercise data several pages beyond that. Included with the results about exercise is the following information on the method for obtaining the data, and the guidelines for exercise:
Quote:
Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Estimates in this figure are limited to leisure-time physical activity only. This measure reflects an estimate of leisure-time aerobic activity motivated by the 2008 federal Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which are being used for Healthy People 2020 Objectives (3). The 2008 guidelines refer to any kind of
aerobic activity, not just leisure-time aerobic activity, so the leisure-time aerobic activity estimates in this figure may underestimate the percentage of adults who met the 2008 guidelines for aerobic activity. This figure presents the percentage of adults who met the 2008 federal guidelines for aerobic activity. The 2008 federal guidelines recommend that for substantial health benefits, adults perform at least 150
minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic
activity . . .
One issue is that this info was obtained through surveys of people who provided their own estimates of whether they met the minimum guideline for "moderate" or "vigorous" activity. People could be off in their time estimates, and there could be wide variation in the level of intensity different respondents estimate to be "moderate" or "vigorous."
The guideline itself (passage in bold) seems fairly modest. 150 hours a week of moderate activity is only half an hour, five days a week. 75 minutes of vigorous activity is 15 minutes five days per week. So, if you take a brisk walk for half an hour Monday through Friday, or each weekday you do just 15 minutes of running, or fast biking or swimming, you've met the guidelines.
This seems like an example of the distinction some have discussed earlier in the thread, between the health benefits of exercise and exercise for weight loss. Those minimum guidelines might have a significant effect on measures of health such as blood pressure, insulin resistance, and HDL and LDL levels, but this amount of activity may not be enough to have much effect on weight.
The guideline mentions only aerobic activity as well. Double the amount of aerobic exercise, always include some vigorous stretches rather than making it an option to meet the requirements entirely through exercise of "moderate" intensity, and add a solid program of heavy lifting, and then you might reach a minimal level for determining whether exercise can affect weight in many cases.
Americans are all for individual freedoms (to smoke, to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, to drink 64 oz of sugar pop).....
It would be fair to have graduated health insurance rates for those risk factors. Asking Americans who fight to keep their weight under control and properly maintain their health to pay for the slackers' health care seems unfair.
I'm all for letting people choose their fate but we need to do a better job of educating people on proper diet and nutrition. I do find it incredibly hypocritical that we require people to wear a seatbelt in a car but allow motorcycle riders to ride without a helmet (I say this as one that rode motorcycles for years).
The whole health issue and who pays is a controversial and complicated subject that I will pass on discussing other than to say, we need to somehow lower the cost.
I'm all for letting people choose their fate but we need to do a better job of educating people on proper diet and nutrition. I do find it incredibly hypocritical that we require people to wear a seatbelt in a car but allow motorcycle riders to ride without a helmet (I say this as one that rode motorcycles for years).
The whole health issue and who pays is a controversial and complicated subject that I will pass on discussing other than to say, we need to somehow lower the cost.
There is the glaring issue that there is no real consensus of what is proper nutrition. If the FDA or ADA or whoever sets out food guidelines for health...if they actually recommended what really works in favor of good health, which IMO is unprocessed food, they would be arguing against mostly the entire food system (the vast majority of grocery store items).
I myself like any diet that somebody is thriving on. So vegan, paleo, slow-food, low fat, no fat, I have no argument with any of them, and don't feel that any of them are inherently better than the other...as long as they are from unprocessed food. Because all of those diets can contain just as much processed food as the standard American diet. Oreos are vegan. Antibiotic filled meat is paleo. Those awful Snackwell cookies (are they still around?) are non fat. And none of those options will help a human body thrive, and there are so many things like that.
My own definition of processed food is kind of this: if it wasn't around 150 years ago, it's probably not a great choice. Oil chemically extracted and bleached and deodorized? High Fructose Corn Syrup is perhaps the fakest food ever...and I'd bet it's in almost everything in the middle aisles of the standard grocery store. Feeding beef cows food that isn't good for them and then giving them standard antibiotics so they don't get sick from their food? Who would really think this is a good idea, aside from anyone who is profiting in some way from that standard?
For my own diet, I'm a fan of higher fat and somewhat lower carb. My fats include grass-fed ghee, pastured lard, unrefined coconut oil, unrefined olive oil, and walnut oil (for making mayo). When I eat wheat bread, which is not that often, it's some kind of sourdough, even for pizza crust. I eat corn tortillas that are sprouted (I think these taste the best too!) I eat lots of guacamole (high fat), lots of vegetables (mostly cooked), beans and legumes, and I get meat from the people who raise the animal or bird, I have a chest freezer so I buy shares of the pork and beef, which gives a better price. I drive to the next city to get raw milk, which I use to make kefir. I also do IF regularly, but this is how I am naturally, it was so interesting when I found out that how I eat naturally is actually a "thing" and very helpful for healing insulin issues!
I eat this way, and do all that it takes to eat this way, because 1) it's delicious, and 2) I believe in the immense power of food, both negative and positive, and I love my body for all the amazing things it can do and I want it to thrive. The older I get, the more I see my peer group taking statins and metformin (sp?) and other sorts of medication, like they have no choice. None of them are ever interested in what I have to say about nutrition...and that's OK, really, because I trust everyone to make the choice that is right for them, ultimately. But when I have the opportunity to sing the praises of UNPROCESSED FOOD...I always do!
There is oodles of money to be made in creating a population of people who are eager and happy for the processed food, and then are just sickly enough to need the drugs that help the conditions that processed food helped bring about, and to need the medical services like the hugely profitable gastric surgeries, etc. It's actually a perfect system, running exactly as it was designed to. It's up to the individual to opt out of that paradigm, if they want to. Nobody has to settle for it, unless they believe they do.
Personally as someone with arthritis, I NEED to exercise. No question. My job is a desk job. Just strolling around and going up the staircase in my house does nothing to alleviate my pain. Being sedentary is just as much a killer to me as cramming food into my mouth. Either or should never come into play really. Eat right and exercise period.
Well said ...
i believe many are in the same boat ..
i suggest to many coworkers who cannot go to a gym..... to use resistant bands follow along with YouTube videos 10 minutes morning and night to start with that's it...
There is the glaring issue that there is no real consensus of what is proper nutrition. If the FDA or ADA or whoever sets out food guidelines for health...if they actually recommended what really works in favor of good health, which IMO is unprocessed food, they would be arguing against mostly the entire food system (the vast majority of grocery store items).
I myself like any diet that somebody is thriving on. So vegan, paleo, slow-food, low fat, no fat, I have no argument with any of them, and don't feel that any of them are inherently better than the other...as long as they are from unprocessed food. Because all of those diets can contain just as much processed food as the standard American diet. Oreos are vegan. Antibiotic filled meat is paleo. Those awful Snackwell cookies (are they still around?) are non fat. And none of those options will help a human body thrive, and there are so many things like that.
My own definition of processed food is kind of this: if it wasn't around 150 years ago, it's probably not a great choice. Oil chemically extracted and bleached and deodorized? High Fructose Corn Syrup is perhaps the fakest food ever...and I'd bet it's in almost everything in the middle aisles of the standard grocery store. Feeding beef cows food that isn't good for them and then giving them standard antibiotics so they don't get sick from their food? Who would really think this is a good idea, aside from anyone who is profiting in some way from that standard?
For my own diet, I'm a fan of higher fat and somewhat lower carb. My fats include grass-fed ghee, pastured lard, unrefined coconut oil, unrefined olive oil, and walnut oil (for making mayo). When I eat wheat bread, which is not that often, it's some kind of sourdough, even for pizza crust. I eat corn tortillas that are sprouted (I think these taste the best too!) I eat lots of guacamole (high fat), lots of vegetables (mostly cooked), beans and legumes, and I get meat from the people who raise the animal or bird, I have a chest freezer so I buy shares of the pork and beef, which gives a better price. I drive to the next city to get raw milk, which I use to make kefir. I also do IF regularly, but this is how I am naturally, it was so interesting when I found out that how I eat naturally is actually a "thing" and very helpful for healing insulin issues!
I eat this way, and do all that it takes to eat this way, because 1) it's delicious, and 2) I believe in the immense power of food, both negative and positive, and I love my body for all the amazing things it can do and I want it to thrive. The older I get, the more I see my peer group taking statins and metformin (sp?) and other sorts of medication, like they have no choice. None of them are ever interested in what I have to say about nutrition...and that's OK, really, because I trust everyone to make the choice that is right for them, ultimately. But when I have the opportunity to sing the praises of UNPROCESSED FOOD...I always do!
There is oodles of money to be made in creating a population of people who are eager and happy for the processed food, and then are just sickly enough to need the drugs that help the conditions that processed food helped bring about, and to need the medical services like the hugely profitable gastric surgeries, etc. It's actually a perfect system, running exactly as it was designed to. It's up to the individual to opt out of that paradigm, if they want to. Nobody has to settle for it, unless they believe they do.
You have a great point there. The system is working as designed for people that don't trouble themselves to become informed.
Amazing how close your diet is to mine, I eat lots of high fat of olive oil and avocados, nuts....my bodyfat is 10% so it's working.
I'm fine with sugar in moderation. I eat two sugary snacks per day. That's my little treat that stops me from bingeing on higher calorie desserts. If that's what it takes to keep me on track so be it. The key thing is not to have your diet dominated by crap. I eat lots of whole grains veggies fruit and drink tons of water. But I also need to enjoy my life. I balance the good with the bad.
Yeah. But you're willing to say it's crap and treat it accordingly.
Other people think it's normal and ok to throw in the oreos like they are part of a nutritious meal plan.
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(I say this as one that rode motorcycles for years).
But when I have the opportunity to sing the praises of UNPROCESSED FOOD...I always do! 
