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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?
myheartsabattleground
Posts: 2,040 Member
in Debate Club
I believe WLS is cheating.
51
Replies
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myheartsabattleground wrote: »I believe WLS is cheating.
I definitely don't believe surgery is cheating. I have strong views against it, but don't think it's an easy way out at all.54 -
Unpopular where? People have different opinions and some will agree wih you and others disagree, and you'll most likely not find anyone who thinks 100% what you think. I've also had to change my view on some topics and I reckon that isn't going to change.
But okay. I have pet peeves.
I think WLS is plain wrong. Operating on a healthy stomach and forcing people to starve themselves instead of improving eating habits, attitudes and environment. In the future it's going to be viewed the same way lobotomy is viewed today: Torture, barbaric, cruel.
Daily activity is all over more important than exercise. Incorporating movement into our daily life makes it more natural and easy and more likely to stick. Exhausting oneself to burn calories is futile. Enjoying sports is something completely different.
Some foods are deliberately made to be irresistible and not satisfying and too easy to overeat, just for easy profit. Many people could make their lives easier by avoiding certain foods. But you can't forbid them, that will just increase desire. Setting some boundaries is necessary.
Intermittent fasting is a faddy and silly name for not eating the whole damn time. It is not some magical way to be able to eat more while burning more fat. It's a way to control your eating. Having regular feeding times and cutoffs for eating creates easy boundaries. It's the same as "meals" and "skipping breakfast".
BTW, breakfast is the first meal of the day, so you can't really skip it unless you don't eat for at least 24 hours.
Snacking is contributing to the obesity epidemic. I am all for reintroducing meals. If IF can do that, I may have to settle for that solution.
Quick and easy is killing us. Good food takes time and is worth waiting for.
Healthy food does not cost more. It takes an effort, but so does "unhealthy" food. It's just another set of efforts, another way of thinking and organizing things.
MFP is wonderful, but there are some important things that should have been fixed. Weight loss rate should be in line with amount to lose, moderation could be better, food database is a mess, food diary is slow.
Enough for now.186 -
kommodevaran wrote: »I think WLS is plain wrong. Operating on a healthy stomach and forcing people to starve themselves instead of improving eating habits, attitudes and environment. In the future it's going to be viewed the same way lobotomy is viewed today: Torture, barbaric, cruel.
Daily activity is all over more important than exercise. Incorporating movement into our daily life makes it more natural and easy and more likely to stick. Exhausting oneself to burn calories is futile. Enjoying sports is something completely different.
Snacking is contributing to the obesity epidemic. I am all for reintroducing meals. If IF can do that, I may have to settle for that solution.
This, this and this too for me. Also, what you eat matters - there's good foods and bad foods.
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Blaming your metabolism is such a cop-out.
Nothing drives me crazier than someone telling me they can't lose ANY weight because their metabolism is too slow. It's simple, CICO. Yes there are cellular differences in how your body metabolizes things, but at the end of the day, if you burn 2000 calories and only put in 1500, you're going to lose weight. Your metabolism is not some magical thing that defies the laws of thermodynamics.147 -
There's nothing wrong with aspartame. I dare not mention this in public.205
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It's unpopular to say that you exercise for calories, many often feel the goal would be superior if it's done for fitness. I exercise for calories and I don't mind not being superior. Fitness and enjoyment are just pleasant side effects.
Many would discourage eating when not hungry. I don't find anything wrong with that. If my calories are accounted for, you bet your boots I'm going to eat hedonically and enjoy every single bite without the least bit of guilt, and I don't consider it to be an unhealthy relationship with food. I think it's perfectly normal to eat for the sole purpose of enjoying food as long as it's not detrimental to the weight loss process as a whole.
Many people would consider going very low on calories after a high calorie day to be detrimental and something that could fuel a binge and restrict mentality. I'm not afraid of these tactics because I've never had an eating disorder and it's all calculated, planned, and relatively anxiety-free. I do it as a "naturally thin people mimicking" strategy not as a punishment. The way you mentally approach such a practice makes all the difference.
If a high protein diet is not sustainable I feel it's perfectly okay to eat as much protein as is reasonably manageable. I feel for some people "high protein" is the new "low carb" (which was the new "low fat"), that is, a rigid panic inducing requirement for weight loss with no middle ground. A person's goals don't need to be identical to everyone else's, so if slightly higher muscle loss (the difference is not even that large) is an acceptable tradeoff for someone, then so be it.
I don't believe that crash dieting is always bad. I'm very careful when I voice this opinion and I don't voice it often because it may be mistaken for promoting crash dieting for everyone, but there are cases where I believe it could be okay.
I don't think people "need" to lift any more than they "need" to run. It's perfectly okay to not enjoy lifting and you're not inferior if you don't.
Yes, I like using the treadmill. Sue me.135 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »I think WLS is plain wrong. Operating on a healthy stomach and forcing people to starve themselves instead of improving eating habits, attitudes and environment. In the future it's going to be viewed the same way lobotomy is viewed today: Torture, barbaric, cruel.
Daily activity is all over more important than exercise. Incorporating movement into our daily life makes it more natural and easy and more likely to stick. Exhausting oneself to burn calories is futile. Enjoying sports is something completely different.
Snacking is contributing to the obesity epidemic. I am all for reintroducing meals. If IF can do that, I may have to settle for that solution.
This, this and this too for me. Also, what you eat matters - there's good foods and bad foods.
This. There are junk foods.48 -
You can keep your coffee and banana "pre workout" and you can pry my C4 out of my cold dead hands.52
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myheartsabattleground wrote: »I believe WLS is cheating.
Nah...I don't believe it's cheating at all. It's a tool to help lose and manage/maintain weight. The people i know that have had WLS still have to work hard at losing or maintaining weight. Some people have success with other tools others fail with them and generally this is their tool of last resort.
My opinions are quite bland - generally do what's healthy, sustainable for the long term and works for you, for some people that is keto, lchf, paleo, primal for others its calorie counting, weight watchers, jenny craig, intuitive eating and so forth.
I would be interested to understand why you think WLS is cheating?
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amusedmonkey wrote: »It's unpopular to say that you exercise for calories, many often feel the goal would be superior if it's done for fitness. I exercise for calories and I don't mind not being superior. Fitness and enjoyment are just pleasant side effects.
Many would discourage eating when not hungry. I don't find anything wrong with that. If my calories are accounted for, you bet your boots I'm going to eat hedonically and enjoy every single bite without the least bit of guilt, and I don't consider it to be an unhealthy relationship with food. I think it's perfectly normal to eat for the sole purpose of enjoying food as long as it's not detrimental to the weight loss process as a whole.
Many people would consider going very low on calories after a high calorie day to be detrimental and something that could fuel a binge and restrict mentality. I'm not afraid of these tactics because I've never had an eating disorder and it's all calculated, planned, and relatively anxiety-free. I do it as a "naturally thin people mimicking" strategy not as a punishment. The way you mentally approach such a practice makes all the difference.
If a high protein diet is not sustainable I feel it's perfectly okay to eat as much protein as is reasonably manageable. I feel for some people "high protein" is the new "low carb" (which was the new "low fat"), that is, a rigid panic inducing requirement for weight loss with no middle ground. A person's goals don't need to be identical to everyone else's, so if slightly higher muscle loss (the difference is not even that large) is an acceptable tradeoff for someone, then so be it.
I don't believe that crash dieting is always bad. I'm very careful when I voice this opinion and I don't voice it often because it may be mistaken for promoting crash dieting for everyone, but there are cases where I believe it could be okay.
I don't think people "need" to lift any more than they "need" to run. It's perfectly okay to not enjoy lifting and you're not inferior if you don't.
Yes, I like using the treadmill. Sue me.
2 of the fittest people I've ever known "went to gym for the beer"62 -
Don't hate me but the whole "you can be obese and healthy" mindset is absurd to me. Define healthy. You mean to tell me your joints don't ever hurt? You aren't at risk for more diseases than if you were of a normal weight? Be honest with yourself! Let's stop sugar coating (no pun intended) this by calling it "body positivity."188
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PED's are not the devil and can be used safely and responsibly.17
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Don't hate me but the whole "you can be obese and healthy" mindset is absurd to me. Define healthy. You mean to tell me your joints don't ever hurt? You aren't at risk for more diseases than if you were of a normal weight? Be honest with yourself! Let's stop sugar coating (no pun intended) this by calling it "body positivity."
Except you can be obese and healthy... You can't be overfat and healthy, but obese is a BMI term that has no relationship to fat.62 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »I definitely don't believe surgery is cheating. I have strong views against it, but don't think it's an easy way out at all.
I really worry that the research about long-term side effects is not complete enough. I know that for some people, if their lives are at risk, they might feel they don't have another choice, but I do worry it will hurt their health long-term. It doesn't sound easy, even if all goes well. But for many people they even have complications, like infections, and then it's excruciating.
I do wonder if, as we learn more, we'll later regard these surgeries as primitive and harmful. But this fall under "I wonder" more than "I'm certain."22 -
I believe fast food is toxic and should only be eaten if last/only food on the planet. Very unpopular view here on MFP.
I believe that HAES is a ballocks
I believe that being healthy and fit is the true body positivity and self love...not this pretend love for self while destroying ones body through obesity and neglect.66 -
Personally I've found that as the weight has come off, I've become less tolerant of people making excuses as to why they can't lose weight themselves.
Related, I always roll my eyes when someone justifies their weight by bringing up the outliers - "Tom Brady is obese per the BMI charts". Nearly 40% of Americans are obese, but a quick look around makes it clear that it's not because 40% of Americans are NFL-caliber quarterbacks.134 -
Personally I've found that as the weight has come off, I've become less tolerant of people making excuses as to why they can't lose weight themselves.
This is definitely an issue for me. It is hard for me to listen to people complaining about their weight or health and then listen to all the excuses about why they "can't". I am not talking about actual diagnosed by an MD/DO/licensed health professional medical issues, but "I'm too busy" 'I could never do that" "I don't want to eat salads all day".
If they don't say anything, fine- I am going to assume that they are doing their own thing. But don't *kitten* about yourself and then DON'T DO ANYTHING TO CHANGE. Drives me a little nuts.46 -
Penthesilea514 wrote: »Personally I've found that as the weight has come off, I've become less tolerant of people making excuses as to why they can't lose weight themselves.
This is definitely an issue for me. It is hard for me to listen to people complaining about their weight or health and then listen to all the excuses about why they "can't". I am not talking about actual diagnosed by an MD/DO/licensed health professional medical issues, but "I'm too busy" 'I could never do that" "I don't want to eat salads all day".
If they don't say anything, fine- I am going to assume that they are doing their own thing. But don't *kitten* about yourself and then DON'T DO ANYTHING TO CHANGE. Drives me a little nuts.
Yes. This drives me crazy too. If you aren't losing weight, and doctors can't find a reason why, then you aren't losing because you aren't trying hard enough.
As for unpopular beliefs, I am on a ketogenic diet... so, I feel like my whole WOE is unpopular lol, or maybe too popular to the point of trend, depending on who you talk to.
I drink diet soda (Coke and Fresca mainly) and I don't feel bad about it. Aspartame for the win!
I think low-fat "diet" foods like low fat salad dressing, half and half or creamers, cookies/crackers etc. are weird and probably no better for you in the long run than just eating the real thing (I know this makes my diet soda love hypocritical lol).
28 -
I'm against any position that encourages victim status - HAES, slow metabolism, FA...certainly not a popular opinion as the world has rejected any notion of personal responsibility and accountability and solely devoted to casting blame on something or someone else.
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I believe that weight loss pills are cheating (even if they did work) and almost certainly bad for you if they do. (I also acknowledge that I have a moralistic view of this that isn't totally rational, but is strongly held.)
I am glad I did 1200 when I first started and think it can be reasonable for people with a lot to lose and that it's often easier to have a big deficit then and then raise calories as you go on.
I do think HOW one eats matters, but I think it's often pretty individual because a lot of it depends on the person's particular tendencies, how they have been eating, etc. (I also don't think this is particularly unpopular, but I guess I'm playing off what some others have said).
I HATE grazing/snacking. I do think it works for some so wouldn't say people shouldn't do it, but I strongly dislike how eating lots of mini meals is promoted and dislike snacking quite a lot for myself.
I don't think most of the foods that people claim are manufactured to be hard to stop eating and so on even taste good, at least not compared to foods that don't get called out as problematic, but have as many calories and are homemade (or made at a good restaurant or bakery). The reason the latter tend not to be overeaten as much is just that they are time-intensive or expensive, and that there's more likely to be a situation that discourages overeating when they are eaten, not that they are truly easier to not overeat than the other stuff.
I don't believe most people who claim they'd look gaunt at a healthy BMI, but I also don't care enough to want to change their mind or disagree with them, and think being a stable weight that's a 26 or 27 is probably healthier than killing yourself to stay a 24 if that's difficult for you.
I think having some urge to tell other people they are fat and that it's not healthy, as if they didn't know it, means there is something wrong with you. (I feel the same way about people who go up to smokers and tell them it's not healthy.)
I think most people who claim they overate/overeat because they were starving all the time are fooling themselves. If they were starving and found cookies (or whatever) non filling, they could have eaten cheese or carrots or a hard boiled egg or chicken or whatever. I think most people overeat because they aren't paying attention to how much they eat, are surrounded by tasty food, and eat it because it looks tasty.45 -
Everyone who loses weight is suddenly an omg-bikini competitor.
61 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »It's unpopular to say that you exercise for calories, many often feel the goal would be superior if it's done for fitness. I exercise for calories and I don't mind not being superior. Fitness and enjoyment are just pleasant side effects.
Many would discourage eating when not hungry. I don't find anything wrong with that. If my calories are accounted for, you bet your boots I'm going to eat hedonically and enjoy every single bite without the least bit of guilt, and I don't consider it to be an unhealthy relationship with food. I think it's perfectly normal to eat for the sole purpose of enjoying food as long as it's not detrimental to the weight loss process as a whole.
I don't run 40-60 miles per week so I can choke down a bunch kale.
180 -
Packerjohn wrote: »AlabasterVerve wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »I think WLS is plain wrong. Operating on a healthy stomach and forcing people to starve themselves instead of improving eating habits, attitudes and environment. In the future it's going to be viewed the same way lobotomy is viewed today: Torture, barbaric, cruel.
Daily activity is all over more important than exercise. Incorporating movement into our daily life makes it more natural and easy and more likely to stick. Exhausting oneself to burn calories is futile. Enjoying sports is something completely different.
Snacking is contributing to the obesity epidemic. I am all for reintroducing meals. If IF can do that, I may have to settle for that solution.
This, this and this too for me. Also, what you eat matters - there's good foods and bad foods.
This. There are junk foods.
I don't think you're allowed to say that on MFP. You're allowed to eat cocaine laced with gasoline as long as you measure it to the gram on a food scale and fit the calories into your day.185 -
I don't know that it's unpopular but here it is sort of frowned upon to not brag about the amounts of ice cream you can fit between two poptarts, but eating whole, nutrient dense foods > than filling your macros with that sort of thing. I mean, I still do sometimes but that's neither here nor there lol25
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amusedmonkey wrote: »It's unpopular to say that you exercise for calories, many often feel the goal would be superior if it's done for fitness. I exercise for calories and I don't mind not being superior. Fitness and enjoyment are just pleasant side effects.
Many would discourage eating when not hungry. I don't find anything wrong with that. If my calories are accounted for, you bet your boots I'm going to eat hedonically and enjoy every single bite without the least bit of guilt, and I don't consider it to be an unhealthy relationship with food. I think it's perfectly normal to eat for the sole purpose of enjoying food as long as it's not detrimental to the weight loss process as a whole.
Many people would consider going very low on calories after a high calorie day to be detrimental and something that could fuel a binge and restrict mentality. I'm not afraid of these tactics because I've never had an eating disorder and it's all calculated, planned, and relatively anxiety-free. I do it as a "naturally thin people mimicking" strategy not as a punishment. The way you mentally approach such a practice makes all the difference.
If a high protein diet is not sustainable I feel it's perfectly okay to eat as much protein as is reasonably manageable. I feel for some people "high protein" is the new "low carb" (which was the new "low fat"), that is, a rigid panic inducing requirement for weight loss with no middle ground. A person's goals don't need to be identical to everyone else's, so if slightly higher muscle loss (the difference is not even that large) is an acceptable tradeoff for someone, then so be it.
I don't believe that crash dieting is always bad. I'm very careful when I voice this opinion and I don't voice it often because it may be mistaken for promoting crash dieting for everyone, but there are cases where I believe it could be okay.
I don't think people "need" to lift any more than they "need" to run. It's perfectly okay to not enjoy lifting and you're not inferior if you don't.
Yes, I like using the treadmill. Sue me.
I exercise for fitness...but also for IPAs on the patio. No way I could maintain my weight and enjoy my IPAs if I didn't ride as much as I do. I even have a jersey that says "I will ride for beer"...
I think when people mention this, it is usually more in reference to someone already eating in a substantial deficit and then thinking they need to do all kinds of incessant exercise to make that energy gap bigger rather than feeding their fitness.31 -
Then I mean "overfat." Whitney from that show comes to mind. All about the body positivity yet it doesn't take a genius to see she is unhealthy. Given the platform, IMO the message she is trying to send is ambiguous to say the least.stanmann571 wrote: »Don't hate me but the whole "you can be obese and healthy" mindset is absurd to me. Define healthy. You mean to tell me your joints don't ever hurt? You aren't at risk for more diseases than if you were of a normal weight? Be honest with yourself! Let's stop sugar coating (no pun intended) this by calling it "body positivity."
Except you can be obese and healthy... You can't be overfat and healthy, but obese is a BMI term that has no relationship to fat.
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TeacupsAndToning wrote: »
I drink generic diet coke. I might as well be drinking antifreeze!31 -
Not just for weight loss but for everything in their lives going "wrong." No sense of accountability. It's getting worse now because the youth are on to it. It's the schools fault, etc. etc. Mom can call and make excuses for me.... (I'm a mom of teenagers and the things my kids tell me are unreal!)I'm against any position that encourages victim status - HAES, slow metabolism, FA...certainly not a popular opinion as the world has rejected any notion of personal responsibility and accountability and solely devoted to casting blame on something or someone else.
30 -
Not sure if it's unpopular.. but I primarily lift weights for aesthetics and physique improvement. Yes I love doing it and getting stronger is also a goal, but that is not why i do it. It means doing hip thrusts before anything, even if it means my other lifts like squat and deadlift suffering as a result. I prioritize aesthetics over PRs. Will that ever change? Maybe, maybe not.
Another one is I don't like too much muscle on my upper body and core. I like my arms to look a bit stick-like when I don't flex. I have a certain look for myself I like to maintain when I wear my clothing. Don't get me wrong, I love how muscular arms and thick wide abs look on other women and I appreciate the work that goes into it, but it is not for me. And believe me I know it is not easy to do and actually get bulky but because I have run two bulk cycles I had to be very particular on my upper training as to not over build them.39 -
Not just for weight loss but for everything in their lives going "wrong." No sense of accountability. It's getting worse now because the youth are on to it. It's the schools fault, etc. etc. Mom can call and make excuses for me.... (I'm a mom of teenagers and the things my kids tell me are unreal!)I'm against any position that encourages victim status - HAES, slow metabolism, FA...certainly not a popular opinion as the world has rejected any notion of personal responsibility and accountability and solely devoted to casting blame on something or someone else.
What is truly sad is that this mindset of failure infects everything else in life. There is never an opportunity for growth with this mindset. No reason or rationale to change or modify behavior.
A very effective and influential tool to persuade people to your cause, but devastating to society and everyone it touches.18
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