Dude... BMR, BMI, Chinese Zodiac and your astrology sign are all in about the same sphere of usefulness when it comes to analyzing the metrics of health. Not to sound too conspiratorial, but if you read about something in a diet book, it's bullshit. Same goes for any diet that suggests you eliminate any one of the three meta-nutrients. What you guys are describing are the symptoms of starvation... not starvation itself. You've probably heard this before, but sugar (glucose) is an insulinemic hormonal trigger. Insulin is a storage hormone ("let's save this nutrition for later... in fat cells"). Your body quickly gets used to processing insulin, and becomes extremely sensitive to changes. When that intake falls, your hormonal response is that you are starving, even if you have plenty of food in your stomach. Cue symptoms. I don't know what kind of dieting you guys have been trying, but those starvation symptoms are totally unnecessary. I've worked with people who want to lose weight, and most of them lack the mindset to get it done. Everyone wants to look better when they're at the beach. But I think it takes a sort of rock-bottom moment that most people never reach because it's so easy to just be a slob. And that's where my lack of sympathy comes into play. Edit: Combining posts... If you guys haven't yet, watch Weight of the Nation - the HBO documentary. I think it does a poor job covering exercise, but all the dietary stuff is excellent. I think you can still stream it without a subscription. (http://www.hbogo.com --> Documentaries --> Documentaries A-Z --> Weight/Nation 01-03)
Yes I have heard this, and I knew intellectually I wasn't actually starving, but that doesn't change how it felt. And it's not like I never had discipline, I lost 70 pounds in high school and kept it off for four years, but all it took was a slip up here and there to put most of it back on after college. No fad diets for me, pretty much ate the DASH diet before it had a name (I was a nutrition major for a while and was paranoid about unhealthy food). There's been a lot of percentages thrown around about how many people have genetic issues that make them fat versus people just being lazy, I don't know what the percentages actually are but it breaks my heart when is see talk like this and know that most people would look at my family as a bunch of slobs that can't control their food, when most of them have good discipline, but just don't see results from most diets. Not sure where I'm going with this, I'm not knocking what you're saying, most people I've tried to help lose weight (a lot of people asked for help when I dropped the weight in high school) were just lazy too, but I think it's tough for me to see fatty bashing without getting a little defensive.
Understandable. What makes me angry is that the deck is stacked. If an average American follows the status quo - eats what's advertised, and does the activities that he's encouraged to do - he will be unhealthy. No way around it. But my pet theory holds. If a person is a member of a status quo, they know it. And even if they don't like what they see in the mirror, knowing subconsciously that everyone else is looking at the same thing, they become complacent. "Dieting" is a non-solution. And if the thing you need to do is nothing short of 'a complete overhaul of the most basic human functions' (which is what real weight loss is)... then complacency will make you fail.
First YouTube result for 'Kaiser Thrive' - their preventative care/exercise ad campaign: That's some bullshit. Tried running, but there's someone faster than you? Quit. The exercise machine you bought never gets used? Return it. Rode your bike, but some guy who was working really hard passed you? Don't do that shit again. The gist of that ad is that you should find a physical activity that you like, and do it. Even if it's walking. The status quo is comfort. Normal people trying to get healthy should just do their darndest to get out there and walk around in some nature. Unless you are 500 pounds or 90 years old, walking is not exercise. Muscular hypertrophy is triggered, literally, when muscle tissue is torn asunder by external stress and needs to be repaired with protein. It hurts. If your exercise program does not cause you pain, it is next to worthless. Same goes for diet. If you are not aggressively researching and putting real thought into the fuel you put in your body, you'll either be treading water or sinking.
Consider me a member of the 10%. I was born with a non functioning thyroid gland and have been on an ever increasing dosage of synthetic thyroid ever since. Despite being on a dosage my doctor insists is correct, I still experience unexplained bouts of depression and about a 10lb weight gain by looking at anything that looks remotely appetizing. Since I was about 13, I have used the majority of my time, money and effort in battling this deficiency in my body, and it is fucking exhausting. I have never been below 15% body fat and that was after playing a Division I sport in college and taking ephedra when it was still legal. When I get into "workout" mode, it means going into seclusion for 6 months, as the smallest slip up in diet sets me back a month. My fitness/life balance has to be so heavily tipped in favor of fitness just so I don't wind up being 400lbs by the end of the holiday season. So yeah I take exception when someone skinny assumes I am lazy, lack self control or gives me shit when my moobs start coming back. I know there are others who have it worse than me. I am thankful I wasn't born grossly disfigured or missing limbs, or not being fatter than I am right now. Having said that, I believe in many areas and social settings, I face worse discrimination than gays because of the way I was born. I know this is a contentious statement but I 100% stand behind it. Now I do not think gays and fatties are immune to any ridicule. Yeah there are lazy fat shits out there rascal'ing around Wal-Mart and gays who deserve ridicule because they exhibit other socially undesireable traits, or are just plain funny. I will let Louis Ck put it more eloquently than I can.
What I have found, is that exercise other than the kind that pushes you, is not worthless. It just has no bearing on weight loss. "Finding your thing" will not help you lose weight. Your diet has an exponentially bigger impact on weight loss than your exercise program. It's strange how long it takes for people to understand that, because of the constant promotion of exercise = health. Run a mile, burn about 140 calories. Drink a Coca-cola? 140 calories. It takes 2 seconds to change your mind to drink water instead of Coke (or Coke Zero instead of Coke, if we're talking weight loss and not health); but it takes more time, gear, an extra shower . . . to go run. I run 3-4 days a week and have been a regular jogger since I was 8 years old. But, especially now that I'm in my mid 40's, I can't just add on a few miles to lose weight. I have to cut something out of my diet. BUT . . . the "Find your thing" idea is useful. If you find your thing, and you're comfortable with that, it can change your mindset to making healthier choices about eating, drinking less, stopping your heroine use and all that. All of that seems like common sense, but it's the same with addicts or alcoholics - you have to figure it out for yourself, even if you've heard it thousands of times, and know you're making bad choices.
Agreed. I like cycling. I do it often, but if I don't push myself, I don't see gains. For dieting, my benchmark is to average 100 calories every waking hour, or 300 calories every three hours. I eat whatever I want, and frequently break this rule. Making fun of people who are different is just something to do. After all, the humor in every joke is the truth that lies behind it.
Out of curiosity, why is it that you feel you can't add a few more miles? Is it a question of time? I know many people in their 40's who run ultramarathons regularly, and didn't even start running as early as you.
Virtually every person who has struggled with weight loss experiences a yo-yo effect in their weight. They'll lose weight by cutting calories, and then put them right back on as soon as their discipline falters. And the reason they put the weight back on, is because they are told that diet is more important than exercise. The bolded portion above is technically correct - you will lose more weight by forgoing the Coke - but incomplete. Person A: 5'10" 185lb male. One year earlier, he was 170lbs, but gained the weight by shifting his distance runs into interval sprints and aggressively adding volume to his Olympic lifting regime. Person B: 5'10" 185lb male. One year earlier, he was 200lbs, but lost the weight by simply eliminating refined sugars from his diet. The two men sit down together at the same restaurant and order the same 800 calorie meal. Person A will need to eat again in a few hours to maintain the gains he's made. Person B will need to go down to 300 calories for his next meal, and he'll be hungry. Where Person B will simply eat 200 fewer calories, Person A eats the calories, and then burns them pushing a 225lb sled until he can't stand (takes about 11 minutes, btw). The net effect is not the same. They're both back at zero for calories, but Person B has just increased his resting metabolic rate. More or less permanently. A fat guy who sheds a bunch of blubber is still a just fat guy metabolically - and he'll look the part again sooner or later. Complacency with exercise is why people fail after dieting successfully for 6 months. I guess. So long as they know that the activity itself isn't really making them healthier. Edit: I wrote 'meta-nutrients' in an earlier post because I'm retarded. Meant macro nutrients.
It's here somewhere Then again taking comedy feedback from someone with a holocaust joke in their sig might not be a good call.
Isn't making fun of someone with Down Syndrome kind of pointless? It's not like they would get the joke. Focus: I would say there's still a social stigma around making fun of both fat AND gay people. It seems like the only subgroup you can actively criticize these days is smokers. I think Super Size Me brought up a great point when it pointed out the irony in it being socially acceptable to publicly shit on smokers, but not fat people, especially when both are arguably an unhealthy life choice. Personally, I'm an equal opportunity offender. If I see a guy who is two shots of tequila away from redecorating my house, I'm probably going to make a comment. Likewise, if someone walks (or waddles) by that could be visible from space, well I'm probably going to drop a funny there too.
As dixybandit pointed out early in the piece if you see a fat bastrad in the supermarket you know that basket isn't going to be full of fruit and veg. Our neighbours (mum, dad & 3 kids) are all chubby fucks, every week their recycling bin is full to capacity, we only put ours out every 4-6 weeks, fresh fruit, veg and meat doesn’t leave a lot for the recycling man. While I’m ranting, fat fuckers at the gym on treadmills, walking at 3MPH for 15 minutes won’t do shit, in fact the 600ml of Fatoraid you sucked into your greasy piehole just made you go backwards, drink water you fucking moron. These people are the ones who whine “I’ve tried exercise and it didn’t work” I have little tolerance for fat bastards because my treacherous bastard of body really wants me to become one. If I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and didn’t go to the gym 3 times a week as well as going on runs and long walks I would probably be 15kg heavier inside 3 months. One more thing, comparing fat people to gays is like comparing Diabetes to AIDS. Both are conditions that can be harmful to your health, one is caused by something going into your mouth in an irresponsible manner the other by something going into your bottom. Irony?
I'm sorry Frylock, but this fat vs gay thing is the stupidest discussion I've ever seen on this site. I don't see anything wrong with making fun of fat people. If people are going to make fun of me for being short (something I can't actually change) then I don't see why being fat isn't fair game. The only area I really have a problem with is making fun of people who are seriously disabled. At least to their face. Anyone who would actually feel the need to make fun of a retard for being stupid while said tard is around is both extremely insecure and a massive douche.