Posted on 08/22/2007 12:31:35 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
We are all going to die of something...but if is so much nicer to feel well and have energy while we’re inhabiting the planet than to feel slow and unwell. At least, I feel better when I exercise and eat right.
Well, some overweight people. Not all.
Three pounds? I've taken bigger dumps.
Portions are THE #1 culprit. Look at French food. Save for a few more natural ingredients, it’s certainly no lower in fat than American food - in fact, it’s higher.
But the PORTIONS are smaller, and they’re used to that. We’re used to larger portions.
Cutting portions is MUCH harder than eating healthier food IMHO. I can easily order a grilled chicken instead of KFC’s Original Recipe, but I will still eat “too much” of said grilled chicken.
“Many people likely think that excessive eating and zero exercise are the sole culprits for weight gain. The reality is that as few as 100 calories a day can make a major difference in weight gain or loss, according to LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Beth Reames.
Americans already are gaining 2 pounds a year, according to the University of California Wellness Letter. If you do the math, that converts into an average of just 19 extra calories per day. (One pound equals 3,500 calories. Multiply that by 2 for 7,000. Divide that by 365 days per year for 19.17.)
“Chances are you won’t keep track of 19 calories, but if you think in terms of 100 extra calories a day, you will gain 1 pound per month or 10 pounds a year,” Reames points out”
~snip~
entire article here...
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/food_health/nutrition/weight_management/As+Few+As+100+Calories+A+Day+Affects+Weight+Gain+Or+Loss.htm
In most cases, yes.
People walk less and eat horrible food and drink tons of sodas here. I just got back from 2 weeks in Sweden where people eat sensibly and don’t drink soda, and walk EVERYWHERE, or at least to the subway or bus station.
The good news is that in 2 weeks I got into great shape. The bad news is I’m now a functioning alcoholic.
But on a serious note, it’s not a hard issue to figure out. We eat too much crappy food and don’t exercise. Duh!
Of course it is ambiguous. I was speaking broadly.
And it is true. Catalysts are needed for many substances to react.
It isn’t really too bad to consume fats. Remember, a number of nutrients, including vitamins A and K, etc, are fat-soluble, meaning that the body needs the vitamins along with fat.
Muscle-loss is bad because it makes it much easier for the body to gain weight if the muscles aren’t present to burn the fat. Thing is, muscles are “twitched” by a minuscule, almost unnoticeable amount by the body each and every moment of existence, just so that the muscles may be ready to make larger moments on command or otherwise. Those minuscule oscillations help the body generate heat, which in turn, uses up energy.
Weight training improves muscle mass. Each time the muscle is strained beyond its ability, micro-trauma results on the muscle fibres. When the necessary rest is provided to those muscles, the body repairs them, but this time, makes them slightly larger than before. That’s how muscles “grow”. The only way to allow this growth is by weight training, with consistently increasing weights. Long durations of aerobics do almost nothing to gain muscle mass. Aerobics is good for fat loss. Weight training is essential for muscle gain. Together, the body can replace the fat mass with muscle mass, and continue losing fat even while resting. Overall, it helps keep body fat at a healthy percentage.
Exactly. Eat less, exercise more.
Burn 3500 more calories than you take in to lose a pound. There is no mystery to it.
I need to control portions but here are the “reasons” it’s hard:
-economy - bigger is more “bang for the buck” and I hate wasting money. I also don’t do leftovers that well. I just won’t eat them in many cases unless I force myself to. If I have my fiance around and we split it, that’s one thing, oftentimes though she’s not around.
-if I eat what really qualifies as a “portion” I’m hungrier when I finish eating than I was before I did - almost as if I’m “teasing” my stomach.
-getting a tiny portion in a restaurant just doesn’t seem manly.
Except for that whole thing of the eating itself being less enjoyable. I have to crack that nut. I just don’t enjoy a caesar salad as much as I enjoy a thick juicy steak.
That is true. But the instant foods are deceiving. People think they are eating a frozen, pop in the microwave rib sandwich. Then you read the ingredients and learn it was created in a chemistry lab.
The body stores to fat when it thinks it is starving. Denying the body raw food nutrition will do that. So the no nutritional value chemistry lab sandwich does a double whamy on the body.
Sly Stallone wrote a great book on diet and nutrition called “Sly Moves.” He doesn’t belive in diets, he just believes in good old fashioned common sense...and he believes in a super duper cheat day where you eat whatever you want. I recommend the book. I use it (I’m a woman, but his wife also has exercises in the book) and it’s made a dramatic difference in my life.
dude... your insides must be WRECKED!
hahahahaha
If you can’t control portions, try to do the next best thing. Pay for the amount of excess calories consumed by walking/ exercising that much extra, each and every day. If you eat more on a Sunday, earn the privilege by exercising more that day, or before that day. Never use the option of postponing it for the next day, because that way, procrastination sets in until you give up exercising altogether. Make this a habit, and it’ll only do good.
Of course, make sure you do the exercise appropriate for the condition of your body.
I've always hated running, even when I had to do it in high school to condition for wrestling. But I followed this plan exactly and it made it enjoyable. The first couple of weeks consist of mostly walking with intermittent jogging, then it slowly builds you up so that your body is prepared for more strenuous running. Now I'm trying to build up to 5 miles per urn instead of 3:
I barely eat and put on weight. The little guy who eats all the food in our house before anyone can get to it is a skinny little fellow.
You may eat just a little, but you may be eating the wrong things, even though you don’t eat much.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.