Recomendations for diet and exercise.

[Guest Gee]

 

 

I can buy some fruits an veg year because they can be imported from all over the world and are therefore avliable all year round!

This must mean that fruit and veg must of been avliable all year round thoughout all of history and therefor humans could of evolved to subsist off only fruit and veg!

 

Not even ironically pretenting to pretent to be an argument.

[NumberSix]

Have scientists at Harvard and MIT found a cure for obesity?

Snipping out bad DNA code could prevent or even cure obesity in those people with a faulty gene, say scientists from two top US universities

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11812324/Have-scientists-at-Harvard-and-MIT-found-a-cure-for-obesity.html

[Guest Gee]

Have scientists at Harvard and MIT found a cure for obesity?

 

Snipping out bad DNA code could prevent or even cure obesity in those people with a faulty gene, say scientists from two top US universities

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11812324/Have-scientists-at-Harvard-and-MIT-found-a-cure-for-obesity.html

 

Would this mean they have found key sequences influencing r selected behaviour?

[NumberSix]

Would this mean they have found key sequences influencing r selected behaviour?

 

I don't think so, but I'm not a biologist.

[J. D. Stembal]

Yes, but most of it is contradictory. Also, one may want to know what's healthy. Cocaine will make it very easy to lose weight. But it's probably not a good idea as far as your health goes.

 

I don't necessarily disagree with Robert Lustig, but there's a problem with these claims. Especially when you consider how a part of his argument is that there's no food in nature that contains both sugar and fat in large amounts. Here's the problem. There's really only one major natural, whole food source of calories that contains a very high amount of fiber and can be found in relative abundance in the wild. Fruits. And they also contain a lot of fructose.

 

If you think fruit can be found in abundance in the wild, it's not Lustig that has a problem with making claims.

[st434u]

If you think fruit can be found in abundance in the wild, it's not Lustig that has a problem with making claims.

 

I said relative abundance. Relative to calories and fiber. If you lived in the tropics, or happened to be in the berry season, fruit can be more or less widely available in certain areas. Nuts, seeds, root vegetables and bulbs less so, and they also contain less fiber. Wild edible leafy greens have a lot of fiber and can be relatively abundant, but have very little calories that we can extract.

[LandoRamone30]

Exercise has little or nothing to do with weight loss. 

Are you making the claim exercise has nothing to do with weight loss?

Fructose is toxic and dangerous.

What is the definition of toxic?

 

Real whole foods is what your body wants.

Food is what your body wants/needs, absolutely. That is a given. s

Yes exercise has little or nothing to do with weight loss, what people want is for there fat tissue to release the energy it's storing and not to store so much.

Fructose is a poison (as argued by Dr, Lustig) crystalline fructose is pure fructose if taken in 120Kcal quanities it over loads the liver cells because only liver cells can process/metabolize it. Chronic stressing similar to smoking or chronic ethanol consumtion harms the cells.

Real whole foods I was trying to compare processed foods or fiberless food with unprocessed food or food where the fiber was not removed.

My point is fiber is important.

[LandoRamone30]

Yes, but most of it is contradictory. Also, one may want to know what's healthy. Cocaine will make it very easy to lose weight. But it's probably not a good idea as far as your health goes.

 

I don't necessarily disagree with Robert Lustig, but there's a problem with these claims. Especially when you consider how a part of his argument is that there's no food in nature that contains both sugar and fat in large amounts. Here's the problem. There's really only one major natural, whole food source of calories that contains a very high amount of fiber and can be found in relative abundance in the wild. Fruits. And they also contain a lot of fructose.

I was trying to be brief and summarize Dr. Lustig work so I was focusing on just the points. My wording was off I apologize for that. Dr. Lustig argues fructose is a poison because only liver cells can process fructose. When I said whole foods. I was comparing them to processed food. Dr. Lustig uses the term fiber filled foods compared to fiberless foods.

[russoft]

I'm sure you've received more advice than you want by now, but just wanted to also chime in again and say +1 to the intermittent fasting thing.

 

I don't feel good after breakfast anyway, so choose to skip breakfast most of the time. Break my "fast" around 1-2 PM and then finish eating for the evening about an hour before bed (9 PM). 8 hour eating window, 16 hour fasting.

 

I wouldn't say I saw any great results from it, but it taught me better self control. It taught me I don't need to eat just because I feel hungry. I learned how to manage my hunger either by distracting myself with work or some task, consuming caffeine, chewing sugar-free gum, etc. It helps around holidays when there are large turkey dinners. I fast all day right up until the large meal in the evening. Then I eat ad libitum.

 

A bit of science to back up the idea that skipping breakfast isn't a big deal:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/08/10/the-science-of-skipping-breakfast-how-government-nutritionists-may-have-gotten-it-wrong/

[brucethecollie]

I studied holistic nutrition at an NYC based school.  Something I learned from there as well as through my experience health coaching is that an ideal food for one person isn't so for another.  So for example, my husband can eat a steak and feel great afterwards whereas that always puts me to sleep.  I get energy from chicken and he doesn't.  Most people have noticed how diametrically opposed nutrition study outcomes turn out to be.  It's another sign (aside from personal observation) that points to the possibility that something can be one man's food and another man's poison. I read a book called The Metabolic Diet, which was interesting because the author believes that people generally fall into three types: carb type, protein type, and mixed type.  The carb type doesn't exclude protein, the protein type doesn't exclude carbs-so one has to read about what is meant by these types because their names are misleading.  Anyway, I found that when I excluded all forms of processed or refined foods from my diet, my health improved considerably.  I tweaked my energy levels and health by then trying to figure out which foods suited me best. If you don't have any blood sugar issues and you are sleepy or sluggish after a meal, you did it wrong.  It may be that you ate too much or had the wrong type of foods for you personally-even if the foods you ate are healthy and natural.  But don't take my word for it.  You could start a food journal. Try to stick to whole foods and then jot down what your energy levels are after eating.  Let your feelings of wellness after eating be your guide. If you eat a lot of processed foods I'd start just swapping those out little by little, first.  

 

If you aren't exercising, the key is to decide that no matter what, you will and then like Nike says, "just do it"-even if it's just walking 30 minutes a day.  In a year the combination of any attention to both diet and exercise have the potential to make a big difference.  Good luck.

[st434u]

There's a problem with going just off of how you feel immediately after eating. For instance, if you had a huge cup of coffee, you'd feel pretty energetic for a few hours. But that doesn't mean that this will improve your health over the long term.

[Jakethehuman]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study

 

Whole foods plant based diet. 80% carbs 10% protein 10% fat

 

Exercise is just go for a walk, sign up at a gym with heaps of free classes. search basic gym routines literally pick any one of them and just do it for three months, specifics don't matter its the consistency. its really pretty simple mate

[fractional slacker]

As an aside, FWIW, I wanted to throw this out there, but didn't think it warranted a new thread. Is it just me, or there is a rough correlation between the r vs K reproductive strategy and exercise strategy? 
This is just my opinion, but I have noticed that those who primarily focus on cardio fitness tend to align with the r side, while those who focus on resistance training tend of align with the K side.
Way back in the 1970s Jimmy Carter was promoting this new thing called jogging.
Contrast that with Arnold Schwarzeneger.

[russoft]

As an aside, FWIW, I wanted to throw this out there, but didn't think it warranted a new thread. Is it just me, or there is a rough correlation between the r vs K reproductive strategy and exercise strategy? 

This is just my opinion, but I have noticed that those who primarily focus on cardio fitness tend to align with the r side, while those who focus on resistance training tend of align with the K side.

Way back in the 1970s Jimmy Carter was promoting this new thing called jogging.

Contrast that with Arnold Schwarzeneger.

prey gotta be able to run away. Predators gotta be strong enough to tackle their prey

 

In all seriousness, I really think it's foolish to focus on only one or the other. Cardiovascular fitness helps you live longer. Resistance training improves quality of life while you continue to draw breath.

[NumberSix]

So, I’ve lost about 25 pounds now.  Need to lose thirty more.  My muscles aren’t getting sore after exercise now but my joints are killing me.  Sucks to be old.  

A guy at the gym said the key to building muscle is taking supplements.  I haven’t had a chance to research it yet.  

This thread really represents the problem I have with figuring out a good diet and exercise plan.  There is a lot of conflicting info, and it would take weeks to wade through it all.
 

[shirgall]

A guy at the gym said the key to building muscle is taking supplements.  I haven’t had a chance to research it yet.  

 

 

During significant weight loss it's arguably better to focus on keeping the lean muscle you have rather than worrying about putting more muscle on. Tone tone tone.

[Kurtis]

For joint health, I like hot yoga. Going to help with your core and stabilizer muscles, flexibility, and cardio (due to the heat) also. Congrats on losing the 25 so far!

[J-William]

During significant weight loss it's arguably better to focus on keeping the lean muscle you have rather than worrying about putting more muscle on. Tone tone tone.

I've lost about 30 lbs over the last three months without any special exercise regimen. It was relatively easy.

 

I think all this exercise more and eat less stuff doesn't work out. If you're going to the effort of changing your diet most people won't have the willpower left over to also make it to the gym.

 

Willpower is a limited resource, if you force yourself to workout after spending all day avoiding tempting food you'll likely give in to late night ice cream bingeing.

 

Not to mention that building and repairing muscle requires consumption of more nutrients which is the opposite of losing fat.

[shirgall]

I've lost about 30 lbs over the last three months without any special exercise regimen. It was relatively easy.

 

Indeed, but the caution I was giving was about losing too much of weight from muscle mass. Admittedly I am emerging from a crash diet myself, lost 70 pounds in the last year.

[brucethecollie]

There's a problem with going just off of how you feel immediately after eating. For instance, if you had a huge cup of coffee, you'd feel pretty energetic for a few hours. But that doesn't mean that this will improve your health over the long term.

 

I can certainly see this as a distraction for someone trying to focus on how different foods affect their energy levels. Coffee tends to give people a type of energy that feels anxious and jittery. Ever felt tired and caffeinated?  It's not a good combination.  A little coffee is pretty good for some but others don't feel too well on it though our culture has really made coffee tempting and addicting (cappuccino anyone?)  We want to feel calm and have energy for what we need to do.  Most people can stand to have less coffee, I think. 

[Befree]

Eat plants and animals. Develop discipline with your cravings and eat sugar as little as possible. Cutting down on cabs has also been linked to improved immune system/mental function. Exercise, all I can say is establish your goals first. If you want to put up big numbers, research strength programs and get on one. If your goals are purely cosmetic, then get on a body building program. If you're exercising purely for immune system/mental function, then there are other health experts with insight about that.

Carbs*.

Good points.  I agree.

 

Paleo really improved my life.  For all those unfortunate/fortunate people out there, like me, who are allergic to just about everything that isn’t meat based. 

 

The exercise and sleep got a lot easier and funner after I fixed the diet.  It was kind of a positive snowballing effect after that.

[fractional slacker]

Recent article supporting post #19 about benefits of nightly mini fasting.  Is when you eat more important than what you eat?

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-americans-all-day-eating-20150924-story.html

[terk]

if you watch "That sugar film", which is a documentary that will help show you what we perceive as 'healthy' food is not actually healthy, because of all the refined sugar, and additives being pumped into processed food. It just goes back to as other members have already said, try to eat only Fresh food. Basically stay away from anything canned and packed with long shelf life. 

What I like to say, is that if it lasts long on the shelf it will last long on your waists. 

[thebeardslastcall]

if you watch "That sugar film", which is a documentary that will help show you what we perceive as 'healthy' food is not actually healthy, because of all the refined sugar, and additives being pumped into processed food. It just goes back to as other members have already said, try to eat only Fresh food. Basically stay away from anything canned and packed with long shelf life. 

What I like to say, is that if it lasts long on the shelf it will last long on your waists. 

That's a good way to look at it. Whether you eat a more carnivorous, omnivorous, or vegan diet, refined edibles are bad. Whatever food you eat you want to make sure it's unrefined, unprocessed, and high quality whenever possible, which means if you're eating meats that the animal ate a healthy diet too (like grass-fed versus processed grains for cows and preferably was able to move). I like the "If it can't go bad it's because it already went bad". If even bacteria won't eat the McFries it's because there's no food left in them in any reasonably digestable state.

[fractional slacker]

if you watch "That sugar film", which is a documentary that will help show you what we perceive as 'healthy' food is not actually healthy, because of all the refined sugar, and additives being pumped into processed food. It just goes back to as other members have already said, try to eat only Fresh food. Basically stay away from anything canned and packed with long shelf life. 

What I like to say, is that if it lasts long on the shelf it will last long on your waists. 

Refined white sugar is not innately bad. It's a source of cheap and tasty calories. HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) can be a problem, but HFCS is/was only introduced as a counter measure to sugar taxes and other anti sugar propaganda from years ago.

 

Processed food would continue to have a market in a free society. Processing is a way to increase efficiency. It's part of the reason we can feed 7 billion people. To the anti processed foodies, try not using heat, cooling, or salt on any food for a month or two. Food luddites need to lead by example.

[brucethecollie]

Refined white sugar is not innately bad. It's a source of cheap and tasty calories. HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) can be a problem, but HFCS is/was only introduced as a counter measure to sugar taxes and other anti sugar propaganda from years ago.

 

Processed food would continue to have a market in a free society. Processing is a way to increase efficiency. It's part of the reason we can feed 7 billion people. To the anti processed foodies, try not using heat, cooling, or salt on any food for a month or two. Food luddites need to lead by example.

Unprocessed salt is really healthy so I definitely use it on food  The refined version most people use has the wrong balance of sodium chloride and important minerals.  Sugar, from any source has been subject to all kinds of studies and the amount the body can handle is an extremely low amount (especially by our modern standards).  Heating certain foods often releases nutritional benefits (tomato) and is necessary for things like chicken.  Raw food is excellent, too.  The key, is to avoid processed/refined grains and to be very careful with the quantity and quality of any grains due to their impact on one's metabolic processes in the body.  Some people do try to lead by example.

[Steve Benson]

OMG so much misinformation in this thread I don't know where to start... maybe with some facts, some nutrition facts!

 

http://nutritionfacts.org

 

Seriously a great non-profit website where all the information in based on peer reviewed research. Enjoy!!

[shirgall]

OMG so much misinformation in this thread I don't know where to start... maybe with some facts, some nutrition facts!

 

http://nutritionfacts.org

 

Seriously a great non-profit website where all the information in based on peer reviewed research. Enjoy!!

 

The adjective "non-profit" is not an indicator of correctness. In fact, adjectives are not arguments at all.

 

THe good news is that they are hiring a fact checker. http://nutritionfacts.org/employment/fact-checker/

[Steve Benson]

The adjective "non-profit" is not an indicator of correctness. In fact, adjectives are not arguments at all.

 

THe good news is that they are hiring a fact checker. http://nutritionfacts.org/employment/fact-checker/

 

I agree that being non-profit is not an indicator of correctness. However, I chose to mention it as it is an indicator of bias.

 

I find the best sources of information regarding diet are the latest and major peer reviewed journals. In fact I find this true for most subjects, including my own field. The area of nutrition science, or 'diet' as this thread poses, is more open to funding bias than many other areas of science. For instance journals on the physics of plasma waves are not as heavily swayed by lobbying as say a journal that looks at the effect of red and processed meat or alcohol, or 50 years ago tobacco.

 

For those who are looking for good honest reviews from the largest and most recent nutrition journals but don't know where to start I do recommend this website. Also as a starting point in your own research it can be very helpful has all the work is well referenced, visiting the journal websites yourself and browsing around will lead you to some very interesting studies... and some total duds...