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CICO is not the whole equation

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  • Posts: 146 Member

    By losing the extra weight, while still eating grains, sugary foods, processed foods, fast food etc, I improved all my health markers/blood work panels-including normalizing a high/prediabetic glucose number. T2 has has killed several (obese) relatives of mine, and I'm the only one in my family who's stopped the progression of prediabetes. Now I'm successfully maintaining a bmi of around 20, still have consistent, good feedback from my doctor and I still eat grains, sugary foods, processed foods etc. I also eat veggies and fruit, lean meats, eggs, fish etc. My #1 focus continues to be CICO, and then I eat a varied diet of all the foods I enjoy. Food is food :)

    None of my immediate family uses prescriptions or need medications, so no warm, fuzzy feelings towards big pharma over here (besides vaccinations, they get kudos for those ). But, as I posted above-I'm all about inexpensive food so I'm good with big food lol :)

    Awesome, congrats, I'm glad things are going well for you
  • Unknown
    edited March 2017
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  • Posts: 559 Member

    I'm assuming that you are asking the question honestly and I could answer for hours, but it probably won't be well received by the masses here (because nothing I say on this subject is). My short answer is, just because a food is macro or micro nutrient neutral in the context of someone's daily goals does not mean that it doesn't have a widespread deleterious effect. Over a lifetime, even daily small amounts can add up to potentially large cumulative doses. One can argue, if it isn't necessary from a macro and micro N standpoint, why bother? But maybe that's just us and our line of thinking.

    Part of my mind has to ask though - has nobody ever tried to convince you that chronic disease could in fact be related to these big food produced twinkies independent of caloric content and macros?

    I am confused by what you are trying to say in this thread. CICO relates to weight loss alone and you keep bringing health into the discussion and not tying them together. If I want to lose weight I must burn more calories than I consume, period. "Quality" foods don't allow me to eat more than I burn and still lose weight and "bad" foods don't cause me to gain or maintain weight when I eat less than I burn.

    If I chose to tie in health to CICO then I can look at the nutrition profile of the foods I eat but I still lose or gain based on CICO alone.

    What do you find wrong with CICO and weight loss in a way that is not about overall health? It would help if you clarified your position on weight loss and calories and how "quality" impacts the loss or gains outside of CICO.
  • Posts: 146 Member
    edited March 2017

    My question would be if I got the ingredients from local farmers and made the Twinkies or something equivalent myself rather than buying them from a Big Food company, would you still have a problem with me including an occasional Twinkie in my diet if my diet overall was still mostly lean meats, fruit, veggies, etc.? (And I actually don't even like Twinkies and I don't eat them, I'm just curious).

    Regarding wording.. I don't have a problem with what anybody eats. b/c I'm not in charge of anybody but me. I think you're asking if I'd be ok myself eating it.

    But to your question, it depends on the actual ingredients more than where they come from. If the twinkie was made witha farmer's industrial seed oils, a bunch of sugar and grains, and mystery ingredients x, y, and z then no I wouldn't eat it. If it was made with natural fats (animal or coconut), crushed nuts, nut butter, fruit and magically tasted like a twinkie, or even just tasted kinda good, whether it came from a farmer or not, yeah I'd eat that.

    (Regarding the ingredients, I have no idea how to make a primal/paleo twinkie, I just made @#$ up).
  • Posts: 146 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »

    I support business... big and small. I do not fault those businesses for their drive to make a profit. I also support big and small pharma for all their valuable research... just like I support government for the same reason. I do not make judgments against everyone for the situations where greed was involved.

    Having said all that, I have a doctor who is not pill crazy when it comes to basic things that can't be treated and I appreciate his unwillingness to mask my symptoms with drugs. Instead, he would rather tell me natural and free remedies to solve many of my problems so when I really do need antibiotics that my body will respond well.

    And what are we in denial about? That food is just food? Does this mean that we don't care about our bodies because we dont' share the same jaded view that you hold? Do you honestly think that organic, or whatever food is somehow more beneficial to you outside of taste?

    The fact is, food has much less importance to your health, than not being over weight, exercise and genetics. Even with total crap diets, if you lose weight, all metabolic markers will generally improve. That doesnt' mean that we don't believe in eating a variety of foods and adequate nutrients. This also dont' mean that we don't want to support local industry. What it means, is that we understand that the most important factor is energy balance. Macro nutrient composition and micronutrients support satiety and health.

    You stated "The fact is, food has much less importance to your health". That's fact?

    I mean my stance is the opposite, I think food's influence on health is tremendous, but I preface it with I think or my experience is that this happens. Even though I believe strongly in it and my experiences support that, I still won't go so far as to say "That's fact".

    Filling in the blanks can lead to misinformation. But filling in the blanks conclusively can lead to immunity of information coming in.
  • Posts: 146 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »

    So if you take the healthiest, most nutrient dense foods possible and gain 40 lbs, how do you think your health will be affected?


    Dont' get me wrong, things like MUFA, fiber, whole grains and omega 3's can influence and improve metabolic markers, but how much compared to fat loss or exercise?

    Well, it would be affected negatively if you gain 40 lbs if that was the only variable we are looking at, but do you know many people who have gained that much on whole foods exclusively? I haven't come across that, but if I did, sure I would encourage them to eat less. But my sense of the quality of food being important to health wouldn't be affected by this scenario because I see weight loss as only one aspect of health, not a total reflection of health at all.

    My stance is (not fact, my stance is) based on literature I have reviewed and clinical applications on patients is that whole foods that contain Sat fat (animal or natural plant), MUFA, incidental fiber, DHA/EPA, the wide spectrum of minerals, the wide spectrum of B vitamins, Vit C, the fat soluble vitamins, antioxidants, CLA the list goes on, IN THE ABSENCE of whole grains, industrial seed oils, significant added sugar seem to get people off all or most meds, lead them to a decent amount of weight loss at the very least, and improve their function. The fat loss often does go hand in hand.

    Exercise is a tricky one. We can't be using it as a blanket statement anymore. Lots of low level movement is great, but people tend to overdo it on the intense stuff. In the cardiology circles, chronic cardio is being increasingly recognized as a risk factor for sudden cardiac death and cardiac arrhythmias. Short intense bouts of exercise with a good amount of recovery in between is seen as more beneficial in the more current literature.

    But that's my stance. Not fact, but just in keeping with my observations and readings.
  • Posts: 1,559 Member
    This site is designed to help you change your body weight either up or down depending on your needs. So yeah, CICO really is everything. How you do it is up to you, but the end result for a body weight change is CICO.
  • Posts: 38,458 MFP Moderator

    Well, it would be affected negatively if you gain 40 lbs if that was the only variable we are looking at, but do you know many people who have gained that much on whole foods exclusively? I haven't come across that, but if I did, sure I would encourage them to eat less. But my sense of the quality of food being important to health wouldn't be affected by this scenario because I see weight loss as only one aspect of health, not a total reflection of health at all.

    My stance is (not fact, my stance is) based on literature I have reviewed and clinical applications on patients is that whole foods that contain Sat fat (animal or natural plant), MUFA, incidental fiber, DHA/EPA, the wide spectrum of minerals, the wide spectrum of B vitamins, Vit C, the fat soluble vitamins, antioxidants, CLA the list goes on, IN THE ABSENCE of whole grains, industrial seed oils, significant added sugar seem to get people off all or most meds, lead them to a decent amount of weight loss at the very least, and improve their function. The fat loss often does go hand in hand.

    Exercise is a tricky one. We can't be using it as a blanket statement anymore. Lots of low level movement is great, but people tend to overdo it on the intense stuff. In the cardiology circles, chronic cardio is being increasingly recognized as a risk factor for sudden cardiac death and cardiac arrhythmias. Short intense bouts of exercise with a good amount of recovery in between is seen as more beneficial in the more current literature.

    But that's my stance. Not fact, but just in keeping with my observations and readings.

    Interestingly enough, my wife cannot eat seeds and has been recommend get more whole grains (seeds/nuts + diverticulitis = major issues). Ideally we work in fish 2 to 3x a week, and get the majority of our nutrition from fruits, veggies, meats and dairy.... so mainly whole foods.

    I do feel we share similar stances and with all the people I have worked with, have implemented this techniques of incorporating whole foods.. you know from big food ;), but I have also taught them about the basics of energy balance (CICO) as the foundation. Additionally, I have also taught them it's ok to incorporate foods into their diet that aren't typical diet foods or are treats because it addresses the psychological battle that is involved.. the exception is trigger foods (at least in the beginning). I do this because I know when I followed Paleo, the restriction would cause me to binge.
  • Posts: 146 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »

    Interestingly enough, my wife cannot eat seeds and has been recommend get more whole grains (seeds/nuts + diverticulitis = major issues). Ideally we work in fish 2 to 3x a week, and get the majority of our nutrition from fruits, veggies, meats and dairy.... so mainly whole foods.

    I do feel we share similar stances and with all the people I have worked with, have implemented this techniques of incorporating whole foods.. you know from big food ;), but I have also taught them about the basics of energy balance (CICO) as the foundation. Additionally, I have also taught them it's ok to incorporate foods into their diet that aren't typical diet foods or are treats because it addresses the psychological battle that is involved.. the exception is trigger foods (at least in the beginning). I do this because I know when I followed Paleo, the restriction would cause me to binge.

    I agree totally that we share similar stances. And I'm sorry about your wife's diverticulitis. But regardless of if we did share stances or not, what I appreciate more is a back and forth discussion without hard feelings or silly argument tactics etc.

    The psychological battle is something that I can totally appreciate. For most of my life (up until maybe 5 years ago) I couldn't get my hands off... pretty much any trigger food. In fact, most of my diet was what most would consider junk for a good 10 years. I think during that 10 years I may have had 3 vegetables. I knew that that wasn't the best idea, but I felt like I couldn't stop. I just ate and ate and ate and it was nothing good. Cravings 24/7.

    I used paleo versions of deserts as a transition, and then weaning off them wasn't too hard. But there was a point at which I didn't crave any of it anymore, and it's just somehow stayed that way for a good 5 years. I get a similar story from most who I advise as well. But I do understand the need for elimination of a psychological battle and everyone goes through that differently.
  • Posts: 146 Member

    There's actually quite a few here who've shared their stories of gaining weight while eating a whole foods/'clean' diet. I think at least one is participating in this thread, so maybe she'll chime in with her experience.

    I don't doubt that one can gain on whole foods. At times I've gone up a pound or two. Then back down a pound or two. But 40 lbs on a strict whole food diet? I don't disbelieve it if someone says that happened, I just haven't seen it yet.

    Maybe the avocado guy, if he can't stop eating avocados, but I can't seem to overeat on any whole foods and many share the same experience... like they are going to barf if they force anymore.
  • Posts: 7,122 Member
    WOw.

    How did this thread become such a train wreck
  • Posts: 49,294 Member

    If the laws of thermodynamics were so EASILY applied (of course they can be applied, just not EASILY) to the human body, there is a good chance I will have to find another line of work. I am employed because in practice, the application of these laws of thermodynamics are not translating to a reduction in obesity NOR ARE THEY TRANSLATING TO A REDUCTION OF DISEASE. We are a results oriented profession. We do what works for our patients. Telling them to eat less and move more only seems to translate to REAL WORLD RESULTS in a minority, which is not good enough given the scale of these problems. So we instead switch to what works.
    Obesity happens because of habitual behavior. And that's on the individual. Behaviors are learned and can be adjusted IF one is truly willing to do it. That can be evidenced time and time again.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • Posts: 1,297 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    What does this have to do with CICO not being the whole equation?
    How about this: why isn't the prison population full of obese people if quality of food REALLY matters?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    That's only really relevant if you're still talking ONLY about weight not health.

    If you want to look at the impact of food quality using prison populations you would need to compare the prevalence of disease amongst this cohort to those eating a 'better' quality but equal caloric diet in the community, in a similar socioeconomic group. Not just weight.

    (I don't know how to put all my qualifications in as a little footer so I'll just leave them off, heh?)
  • Posts: 16,049 Member
    @ninerbuff You bring up prison food quite a lot. Are you just guessing on the quality or do you know for a fact what prisoners eat?

    I don't know about the U.S, but here in Australia the food served in prison is infinitely better than what the majority of inmates eat on the outside.

    I know this because my ex is a prison guard in the mens jail, and i am well accustomed to what the women eat in the female prison.

    They have a choice of toast or cereal with real milk and fruit for breakfast.

    Lunch is usually meat and salad sandwiches/rolls. Alternated with cooked meals throughout the week.

    Dinner is meat and veggies or soup, pretty much normal food that normal people eat on the outside.

    Dessert could be icecream, jello, pudding, whatever.
  • Posts: 16,049 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »

    OMG that's the polar opposite of what they get here.

    But i guess we have to take into account the prison population.

    Australia 2016- Roughly 39,005 people incarcerated.
    America 2015 - Roughly 2.3 million incarcerated

    I hope i posted the correct numbers, it was like a maze trying to find these digits!
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