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CICO is not the whole equation

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  • geneticexpectations
    geneticexpectations Posts: 146 Member
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    That's cool. I understand and accept that there is a difference in perception of what food means to each of us.

    Let me ask another hopefully provocative question - and this is in the light that I am a quality over quantity guy, ie, I do "primal" dieting sticking to whole foods, buy all my meats pastured/grassfed from individual farmers etc.

    WHO DO THE CEO's OF BIG FOOD LIKE BETTER?
    (ie, the people who make billions$$$$ off of non-whole foods, not like the farmers who I buy from who just get by).

    Me

    or

    You (Referring to the people who responded to my recent post).

    ??????

    Honest question, do you feel you are somehow morally superior to eating from local farmers and pastured/grassfed meats? If we go down this route, do you also suggest non GMO organic as well? Because not all of us have 2-3x the budget to afford that, not the want to. Nor do we all have the ability to obtain those foods easily. And I am certainly not driving an hour or two just to get that kind of foods. Luckily, my local grocery stores source locally grown/raised foods. So at the same time, I am supporting both a large business and a local business.


    Also, just because I fully support big business, why would it mean that I automatically eat crap food? Do I incorporate treats.. absolutely. But it's not a large part of my calories and I still get more whole foods than most.

    No I don't feel that I am morally superior. I was using my stance as a counter example to "the CICO" from the eyes of big business. Apologies if it came across as that way.

    We don't suggest any of these things because of what you said, even if we can afford them ourselves. Food is a spectrum of choices and some are better choices than others, . Some are also not accessible to certain individuals due to cost and geography, so those obviously must be taken into account. But even then, all individuals do have choices that ARE accessible. We do educate on the spectrum of food choices to help someone make better food choices within the portions of the spectrum that are available to them.

    That's pretty awesome that your grocery stores source those things. Great that you eat a lot of whole foods.

    I'm not unsupportive of big business, I'm just unsupportive of big pharma and big food in general.

    Sorry, but I find that sad. What big pharma and big food has accomplished has been remarkable. Without the billions invested by these entities, our society would never be what it is today. They have eradicated a lot of diseases, improve conditions that would never be controlled without medicine and been able to produce lots of foods for millions. And without them, most of our scientific break through's would never have occurred due to lack of funding.

    And don't get me wrong, there has also been cooperate greed, and I get that, but without those entities, my wife would be dead and so would most of her family.

    I'm sorry to hear about your wife and her family's close call. That must have been rough.

    More physicians are now airing on the side of trying to prevent the big ticket "western" diseases from happening in the first place, but is that in the best interest of drug companies?

    From the sounds of your post, it seems like there is a very very strong support for big pharma and big food on your part, and I am getting the sense that that is shared among many of the forum members who have a similar line of thinking. This may explain a lot of what I see now that I think about it.

    I'm not directing this at you, I'm just thinking out loud... If the line of thinking is that weight loss is the focus, and that CICO is the (only) law that governs it, and that no food can be bad for you and are just vehicles for various macro and micro nutrients, food is food, and big pharma and big food are seen as positively instrumental entities in our society (even saviours).... no wonder many have emotionally negative reactions and outright denial to the things I have been posting. It's certainly another level of challenge to breakthrough to the masses.

    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.

    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.
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
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    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.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    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.
  • geneticexpectations
    geneticexpectations Posts: 146 Member
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    psuLemon wrote: »

    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.

    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.
  • geneticexpectations
    geneticexpectations Posts: 146 Member
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    That's cool. I understand and accept that there is a difference in perception of what food means to each of us.

    Let me ask another hopefully provocative question - and this is in the light that I am a quality over quantity guy, ie, I do "primal" dieting sticking to whole foods, buy all my meats pastured/grassfed from individual farmers etc.

    WHO DO THE CEO's OF BIG FOOD LIKE BETTER?
    (ie, the people who make billions$$$$ off of non-whole foods, not like the farmers who I buy from who just get by).

    Me

    or

    You (Referring to the people who responded to my recent post).

    ??????

    Honest question, do you feel you are somehow morally superior to eating from local farmers and pastured/grassfed meats? If we go down this route, do you also suggest non GMO organic as well? Because not all of us have 2-3x the budget to afford that, not the want to. Nor do we all have the ability to obtain those foods easily. And I am certainly not driving an hour or two just to get that kind of foods. Luckily, my local grocery stores source locally grown/raised foods. So at the same time, I am supporting both a large business and a local business.


    Also, just because I fully support big business, why would it mean that I automatically eat crap food? Do I incorporate treats.. absolutely. But it's not a large part of my calories and I still get more whole foods than most.

    No I don't feel that I am morally superior. I was using my stance as a counter example to "the CICO" from the eyes of big business. Apologies if it came across as that way.

    We don't suggest any of these things because of what you said, even if we can afford them ourselves. Food is a spectrum of choices and some are better choices than others, . Some are also not accessible to certain individuals due to cost and geography, so those obviously must be taken into account. But even then, all individuals do have choices that ARE accessible. We do educate on the spectrum of food choices to help someone make better food choices within the portions of the spectrum that are available to them.

    That's pretty awesome that your grocery stores source those things. Great that you eat a lot of whole foods.

    I'm not unsupportive of big business, I'm just unsupportive of big pharma and big food in general.

    Sorry, but I find that sad. What big pharma and big food has accomplished has been remarkable. Without the billions invested by these entities, our society would never be what it is today. They have eradicated a lot of diseases, improve conditions that would never be controlled without medicine and been able to produce lots of foods for millions. And without them, most of our scientific break through's would never have occurred due to lack of funding.

    And don't get me wrong, there has also been cooperate greed, and I get that, but without those entities, my wife would be dead and so would most of her family.

    I'm sorry to hear about your wife and her family's close call. That must have been rough.

    More physicians are now airing on the side of trying to prevent the big ticket "western" diseases from happening in the first place, but is that in the best interest of drug companies?

    From the sounds of your post, it seems like there is a very very strong support for big pharma and big food on your part, and I am getting the sense that that is shared among many of the forum members who have a similar line of thinking. This may explain a lot of what I see now that I think about it.

    I'm not directing this at you, I'm just thinking out loud... If the line of thinking is that weight loss is the focus, and that CICO is the (only) law that governs it, and that no food can be bad for you and are just vehicles for various macro and micro nutrients, food is food, and big pharma and big food are seen as positively instrumental entities in our society (even saviours).... no wonder many have emotionally negative reactions and outright denial to the things I have been posting. It's certainly another level of challenge to breakthrough to the masses.

    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.

    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.

    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.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    WOw.

    How did this thread become such a train wreck
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,688 Member
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    The only thing CICO adherents want is for people to stop conflating nutrition and weight loss. If you eat too much of the healthiest, cleanest foods, you will not lose weight. In order to lose weight, you need to eat less food energy than your body is using on a daily-ish basis.

    To say that the laws of thermodynamics do not apply to the human body is utterly ridiculous. It's akin to saying that we can't measure the distance a car has driven in kilometres because a car is a complex machine with hundreds of moving parts and half a dozen or more onboard computers. A kilometre is a kilometre just like a calorie is a calorie. We do not create energy out of nothing despite being incredibly complex organisms.

    CICO is important for people to understand so that they are not frustrated, discouraged or overwhelmed. If you tell someone they can eat all the same foods, just less of them, they are more likely to be successful in their WEIGHT LOSS than if you tell them they have to follow a strict, restrictive food plan, not eat the things they enjoy and eat a whole bunch of things they don't enjoy all while eating less food than they are used to. Baby steps.

    I suspect a lot of people's journey mirrors my own: first I reduced my calorie intake. Then, when I found I was not full enough or satiated on the foods I was used to eating due to the smaller portions, I explored nutrient rich, healthier food options that filled me me up for longer periods of time within my reduced calorie budget. Due to necessity, my diet has changed gradually, in a manageable way that I am comfortable with and now includes healthier options than it used to but it all started by altering nothing other than food quantities. Nutrition came after weight loss. I tried your prescribed method for 20 years but weight loss did not follow when I focused on "clean eating" and I'm sure I'm not alone in this experience.

    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

  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    That's cool. I understand and accept that there is a difference in perception of what food means to each of us.

    Let me ask another hopefully provocative question - and this is in the light that I am a quality over quantity guy, ie, I do "primal" dieting sticking to whole foods, buy all my meats pastured/grassfed from individual farmers etc.

    WHO DO THE CEO's OF BIG FOOD LIKE BETTER?
    (ie, the people who make billions$$$$ off of non-whole foods, not like the farmers who I buy from who just get by).

    Me

    or

    You (Referring to the people who responded to my recent post).

    ??????
    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?)
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    @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.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    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!