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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?
Replies
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cmriverside wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »Chef_Barbell wrote: »curiouskate wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »curiouskate wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »curiouskate wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »curiouskate wrote: »I never listened when people told me the dire statistics until I became one. I used to get mad at the suggestion, in fact. And remember that "20% success rate" includes anyone who kept off 10% of their weight loss. Heck, by that standard I won! But I don't consider gaining back 90% of what I lost success at all. I doubt many people would.
I know this is a futile effort because people generally never think bad things could happen to them, but I just wish I personally had been more humble and less arrogant in the past. It stings to eat those words, it really does. I remember getting real mad at this one woman who said she regained because her child died. I feel so bad about that now- wish I could apologize to her. But I did not understand how it happens. Now I do, from watching all my WL friends and myself.
Also there's nothing special about MFP. People have been calorie counting for decades, it's just that now there's an app. Weight Watchers is basically calorie counting and it has the same dismal long term success rate of anything.
re: the bold section. What are you referring to when you "this is a futile effort"?
Trying to tell people about what happens to most people who lose weight. Nobody wants to hear it. I get that.
Why would they? It's the glass 3/4 empty point of view. Most would rather hear abut the 1/4 glass full.
Totally agree. But I think it makes more rational sense to be realistic. Know that if you are going to be in that small minority it is going to be a challenge forever. Never get complacent. And even if you believe you can do it, know that things are going to change in your life and you might not know now how you will handle it. And mostly I wish people had more compassion for ourselves and others. I keep saying this, but the people who were losing weight when I did, ~10 years ago, we were the "heros" and "success stories." It doesn't insulate you. The "success stories" of today may find themselves in my shoes 10 years from now. Statistics say most will,
I get what's bothering me about your narrative.
You aren't accepting responsibility for your weight regain.
It just happened, gosh darn it all.
How's that for an unpopular opinion?
And in your opinion, it will just happen to all of us, like it "just happened" to all those other people you keep mentioning.
Not one of them was responsible, those pounds just threw themselves at you poor defenseless people.
You didn't overeat a single thing.
You didn't stop weighing yourself and ignore the weight creep.
You didn't notice your clothes getting tighter and having to buy new sizes year after year after year.
It just bloody happened.
That's the difference between success stories and all the folks you knew.
People who succeed, and people who try to succeed nip bad behavior in the bud somewhere along the way by owning that behavior.
Even now, you still sound like you're playing craps instead of undertaking the task of managing your weight when you talk about being back here on MFP.
Good luck with that.
Wow. And that wasn't smug?
No it was honest.
Your honesty could do with a touch of compassion...
I have compassion for her and her struggles, and if this weren't the debate forum, my reply would have been different.
She wanted to be confrontational starting with her first post in this thread.
Where I part company is how she wanted to drag everyone else down into her way of thinking. Her point in coming here didn't need compassion, imo.
None of us owe her anything, but of course would offer compassion if she posted elsewhere, but surely here in debate, her motives in posting what she posted were questionable in the first place.
All true. I gather I fell victim to seeing only a snippet of the dialogue...
My unpopular opinion is that you should have to tick off every post in a thread before you post, or you have to admit up-front that you haven't read the thread. Then we can ignore at our convenience.
I would if it were not for the fact that most are fodder...
Sometimes I am convinced half of you are paid by someone to post here, or we all just have way too much time on our hands.
No pay, but retired . . . and I need to spend hours on the internet every day to maintain my credentials as a sparkly unicorn special snowflake postmenopausal hypothyroid 61-year-old sedentary woman who maintains in the 120s at 2000+ calories daily.
'Cos if those credentials won't make me unpopular around here, nothing will.
or, you know, a hero.6 -
I thought every one got a cheque each month based on how many posts they had made. You can always tell when I have seen a nice pair of shoes, I up my posts so I can afford them.
Hey @AnnPT77, just realized- I maintain 100-105 at 1600 cal, if I gained a bit of weight I could probably be a special snowflake too.
Cheers, h.
(This post gets me $50closer to those shoes)10 -
middlehaitch wrote: »I thought every one got a cheque each month based on how many posts they had made. You can always tell when I have seen a nice pair of shoes, I up my posts so I can afford them.
Hey @AnnPT77, just realized- I maintain 100-105 at 1600 cal, if I gained a bit of weight I could probably be a special snowflake too.
Cheers, h.
(This post gets me $50closer to those shoes)
@middlehaitch, I believe 100-105 at 1600 meets the snowflake criteria in our age bracket, and you're unquestionably special. Keep in mind that I'm officially "not petite" at 5'5", formerly 5'6" (sigh). And I'm counting on you to hold the "older women can't/don't/won't recomp" sparkly unicorn corner, as - sadly - I love rowing way too much, and lifting not nearly enough, to even try.
BTW, I have seen the rate schedule, and I hope you're claiming the senior consultant bonus rate. 7 -
estherdragonbat wrote: »Can you refer me? I want in on that program!
It's like an MLM thing, but I can definitely hook you up.
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I would maintain at 2200 right now, but I'm a few years behind you two. I'll be 55 in a few weeks.
You two have given me goals to aim for in the next 6-7 years
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Okay. I think this one may be unpopular, but every woman I know well enough to discuss weight management with, actively thinks about and works at maintaining a healthy weight. They may never have been classified as "overweight" simply because they stopped/reversed the weight gain when their pants start to get too tight.
It may look easy to an outsider, but it isn't. It is absolutely crazy to think that once you achieve a certain weight you can coast and ride easy. It is a lifetime of taking care of yourself and prioritizing your health.
While I'm sure there are healthy weight people who absolutely never think about it, I think they are the unicorns. They might not obsess about it as much and simply eat less when they feel the extra pounds coming on.
That's been me my entire adult life. The most I've ever been above my ideal weight it 12 pounds, and that was well within a healthy weight, still. I consider myself pretty good at weight loss because, every few years, I need to lose a little to fit into my jeans comfortably again. Being so close to my goal means I have to be pretty exact to lose weight without undernourishing myself.
My unpopular opinion: fitness trackers are silly and overpriced.
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Mezzie1024 wrote: »Okay. I think this one may be unpopular, but every woman I know well enough to discuss weight management with, actively thinks about and works at maintaining a healthy weight. They may never have been classified as "overweight" simply because they stopped/reversed the weight gain when their pants start to get too tight.
It may look easy to an outsider, but it isn't. It is absolutely crazy to think that once you achieve a certain weight you can coast and ride easy. It is a lifetime of taking care of yourself and prioritizing your health.
While I'm sure there are healthy weight people who absolutely never think about it, I think they are the unicorns. They might not obsess about it as much and simply eat less when they feel the extra pounds coming on.
That's been me my entire adult life. The most I've ever been above my ideal weight it 12 pounds, and that was well within a healthy weight, still. I consider myself pretty good at weight loss because, every few years, I need to lose a little to fit into my jeans comfortably again. Being so close to my goal means I have to be pretty exact to lose weight without undernourishing myself.
My unpopular opinion: fitness trackers are silly and overpriced.
They're fun and motivating for some of us, though. It's quite silly, but I take my move reminders seriously. I got one with move reminders to fight off adaptive thermogensis from long term dieting, figuring 10 minutes of movement an hour would compensate for that. Of course I could set a timer and accomplish a same thing, but that wouldn't be cool and purple and give me data to crunch!8 -
My unpopular opinion: running and lifting weights are not the be-all and end-all of exercises.
Yes, cardio will improve the cardiovascular system and burn calories, but it doesn't have to be running.
Some type of resistance will help maintain lean muscle mass, but it doesn't have to be lifting weights
Weight bearing exercise will help maintain healthy bones, but it doesn't have to be running.
Me, I swim and walk. Pulling my body through the water is great resistance AND cardio at the same time. Swimming also works all of the major muscle groups. Walking is weight bearing and cardio (as long as you keep up a good pace).14 -
I don't know how unpopular it is, but it seems to be uncommon. Yes, life happens, and occasionally you will have setbacks, but how you react to those setbacks goes a long way towards long-term success.
I've been working towards a healthy weight since 2008. I've had injuries and medical conditions that temporarily reversed PART of my weight loss, but not all of it (gained back 25lbs out of 60+ lost due to being on crutches 2x in 15 months). I've dealt with the deaths of family members, I've had major job stress. I've gone on vacations. Guess what? After all of those potential setbacks I'm back to 60+ lbs lost. The only ones that really caused any kind of real weight gain were the medical ones. I never gave up. Sometimes weight loss wasn't the primary focus, but none of those events were a valid excuse to nullify all my efforts to date and give up completely. I maybe wasn't 100%, but I NEVER GAVE UP. And now I am closer than every to goal. I refuse to be a victim, and as a statistic, I'm apparently already in that "lucky" 20% due to the amount of weight loss and the length of keeping at it. Unpopular?
maybe not, felt that with the various negative posts about long-term weight loss over the past few days I wanted to reaffirm that you CAN be in the 20%. You have to put the work in.
Oh, and when things are stressful in my life, my health efforts are like an anchor. When it feels like I'm surrounded by chaos, I like knowing that how I treat my body and what I feed it are always under my control. Yes, even when you are at a work function or an event where someone else is providing the food, YOU control what & how much you eat. You can certainly control whether you track.
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I don't know how unpopular it is, but it seems to be uncommon. Yes, life happens, and occasionally you will have setbacks, but how you react to those setbacks goes a long way towards long-term success.
I've been working towards a healthy weight since 2008. I've had injuries and medical conditions that temporarily reversed PART of my weight loss, but not all of it (gained back 25lbs out of 60+ lost due to being on crutches 2x in 15 months). I've dealt with the deaths of family members, I've had major job stress. I've gone on vacations. Guess what? After all of those potential setbacks I'm back to 60+ lbs lost. The only ones that really caused any kind of real weight gain were the medical ones. I never gave up. Sometimes weight loss wasn't the primary focus, but none of those events were a valid excuse to nullify all my efforts to date and give up completely. I maybe wasn't 100%, but I NEVER GAVE UP. And now I am closer than every to goal. I refuse to be a victim, and as a statistic, I'm apparently already in that "lucky" 20% due to the amount of weight loss and the length of keeping at it. Unpopular?
maybe not, felt that with the various negative posts about long-term weight loss over the past few days I wanted to reaffirm that you CAN be in the 20%. You have to put the work in.
Oh, and when things are stressful in my life, my health efforts are like an anchor. When it feels like I'm surrounded by chaos, I like knowing that how I treat my body and what I feed it are always under my control. Yes, even when you are at a work function or an event where someone else is providing the food, YOU control what & how much you eat. You can certainly control whether you track.
If the medical issues you're talking about are being on crutches, that didn't cause weight gain. Eating more calories than your activity level while on crutches caused the gain.
Congrats on your loss.
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »Chef_Barbell wrote: »curiouskate wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »curiouskate wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »curiouskate wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »curiouskate wrote: »I never listened when people told me the dire statistics until I became one. I used to get mad at the suggestion, in fact. And remember that "20% success rate" includes anyone who kept off 10% of their weight loss. Heck, by that standard I won! But I don't consider gaining back 90% of what I lost success at all. I doubt many people would.
I know this is a futile effort because people generally never think bad things could happen to them, but I just wish I personally had been more humble and less arrogant in the past. It stings to eat those words, it really does. I remember getting real mad at this one woman who said she regained because her child died. I feel so bad about that now- wish I could apologize to her. But I did not understand how it happens. Now I do, from watching all my WL friends and myself.
Also there's nothing special about MFP. People have been calorie counting for decades, it's just that now there's an app. Weight Watchers is basically calorie counting and it has the same dismal long term success rate of anything.
re: the bold section. What are you referring to when you "this is a futile effort"?
Trying to tell people about what happens to most people who lose weight. Nobody wants to hear it. I get that.
Why would they? It's the glass 3/4 empty point of view. Most would rather hear abut the 1/4 glass full.
Totally agree. But I think it makes more rational sense to be realistic. Know that if you are going to be in that small minority it is going to be a challenge forever. Never get complacent. And even if you believe you can do it, know that things are going to change in your life and you might not know now how you will handle it. And mostly I wish people had more compassion for ourselves and others. I keep saying this, but the people who were losing weight when I did, ~10 years ago, we were the "heros" and "success stories." It doesn't insulate you. The "success stories" of today may find themselves in my shoes 10 years from now. Statistics say most will,
I get what's bothering me about your narrative.
You aren't accepting responsibility for your weight regain.
It just happened, gosh darn it all.
How's that for an unpopular opinion?
And in your opinion, it will just happen to all of us, like it "just happened" to all those other people you keep mentioning.
Not one of them was responsible, those pounds just threw themselves at you poor defenseless people.
You didn't overeat a single thing.
You didn't stop weighing yourself and ignore the weight creep.
You didn't notice your clothes getting tighter and having to buy new sizes year after year after year.
It just bloody happened.
That's the difference between success stories and all the folks you knew.
People who succeed, and people who try to succeed nip bad behavior in the bud somewhere along the way by owning that behavior.
Even now, you still sound like you're playing craps instead of undertaking the task of managing your weight when you talk about being back here on MFP.
Good luck with that.
Wow. And that wasn't smug?
No it was honest.
Your honesty could do with a touch of compassion...
I have compassion for her and her struggles, and if this weren't the debate forum, my reply would have been different.
She wanted to be confrontational starting with her first post in this thread.
Where I part company is how she wanted to drag everyone else down into her way of thinking. Her point in coming here didn't need compassion, imo.
None of us owe her anything, but of course would offer compassion if she posted elsewhere, but surely here in debate, her motives in posting what she posted were questionable in the first place.
I don't care how people respond here, but I didn't find her confrontational. Maybe her post speaks more to me than others; I guess that could be the case. I find her no more confrontational than you or some of the others. You are both just stating what you believe.12 -
I don't watch television and I like discussions anyway. But if there's someone playing folks to comment, I'd like that gig.2
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I don't watch television and I like discussions anyway. But if there's someone playing folks to comment, I'd like that gig.
You have to be willing to spend your earnings on frivolous shoes and not food.
Unless of course the shoes are made of chocolate covered cheesecake. Win win.
Cheers, h.5 -
I don't find weight loss surgery the easy way out. You have to change how you eat 100% or your stomach will stretch out and you will gain. The restrictions are much less forgiving than with calorie counting.
I've decided i'm going to get it after fighting for years to lose 80 out of 160 pounds needed and gaining it back. I've been fat since i was 4 and ive been trying to lose weight my whole life- im 26 now and know its not coming off without help!
Statistically, it won't stay off if I do it alone. I can lose weight the natural way and lose weight fine and will do so until my surgery. But if I did it naturally, there is way less of a gaurentee of if staying off. Even less of a gaurentee of it staying off 5... 10..30 years from now. I'm done fighting my weight forever. I don't want to care about food and obsess over calories forever. WLS will be freedom! I'm doing it so I don't regain, not because calorie counting is too hard.
Just offering a different perspective.1 -
There's no guarantee with WLS either. The stats are better, but I wonder if all else were equal (super serious decision made, some medical support, education, so on) if the stats would be more similar, if we compared like to like. (I also, as mentioned upthread, lost 50 lbs, regained over time, and lost again, and don't think of that as making the first lost worthless or a failure.)
I don't think WLS is the easy way out, but I am bothered by it being promoted as the answer (I guess because I am really leery of serious surgery and making drastic changes to parts of the body when that can be avoided). And given that it STILL requires habit changes over time and not overeating and so on, I don't see why you could not use the tools that are used to be successful at that to be successful at a way that does not require surgery. Unless you think it will be easier in some way.
I don't judge people who have it -- they are them, I am me, and I am not in their place -- but I honestly do not understand making the choice. Not when there are other options, at least (urgent health situations aside).
That's not meant to be antagonistic and I wouldn't raise it with someone who didn't want to talk about it, but I am curious about this sometimes.8 -
My dad and sister have both had it. Both had tried losing weight numerous times in the past and failed. As had I. Jury's out for me on this attempt. In my case, though, I'm something of a foodie and I'm a vegetarian with a lot of legumes and grains in my diet. From what I could see of the pre- and post-surgery diet, it was going to require a much more drastic change to my way of eating than I was prepared to make.
For Dad and Sis, the surgery seems to have been a good choice. It's been a few years and while some weight has crept back, they're both much better than they were prior. For me... I'm eating less, moving more, and seeing results.13 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »There's no guarantee with WLS either. The stats are better, but I wonder if all else were equal (super serious decision made, some medical support, education, so on) if the stats would be more similar, if we compared like to like. (I also, as mentioned upthread, lost 50 lbs, regained over time, and lost again, and don't think of that as making the first lost worthless or a failure.)
I don't think WLS is the easy way out, but I am bothered by it being promoted as the answer (I guess because I am really leery of serious surgery and making drastic changes to parts of the body when that can be avoided). And given that it STILL requires habit changes over time and not overeating and so on, I don't see why you could not use the tools that are used to be successful at that to be successful at a way that does not require surgery. Unless you think it will be easier in some way.
I don't judge people who have it -- they are them, I am me, and I am not in their place -- but I honestly do not understand making the choice. Not when there are other options, at least (urgent health situations aside).
That's not meant to be antagonistic and I wouldn't raise it with someone who didn't want to talk about it, but I am curious about this sometimes.
I know it's not the easy way out. Not from personal experience but from watching others in my life who have had it.
No one talks about the down side of it like lack of vitamin/mineral getting absorbed...or the loose skin that can be difficult, or the constant lethargy due to lack of calories or the chance of complications...
one of my friends almost died after his small intestines got a hole due to WLS.
I have another person in my life who is gaining it back...
My sister is pre op atm...it's not easy. I've talked to her lots...
depression, anxiety, poor self esteem, poor nutrition etc.
all issues and there is more...2 -
My unpopular opinion: running and lifting weights are not the be-all and end-all of exercises.
Yes, cardio will improve the cardiovascular system and burn calories, but it doesn't have to be running.
Some type of resistance will help maintain lean muscle mass, but it doesn't have to be lifting weights
Weight bearing exercise will help maintain healthy bones, but it doesn't have to be running.
Me, I swim and walk. Pulling my body through the water is great resistance AND cardio at the same time. Swimming also works all of the major muscle groups. Walking is weight bearing and cardio (as long as you keep up a good pace).
I agree that there is more to fitness than running and lifting weights, but I believe that they are at/near the top for optimizing your efforts, ie, I think your cardio fitness ROI for the time spent running and strength benefit ROI for lifting are difficult to match with other exercises.5 -
Bry_Lander wrote: »My unpopular opinion: running and lifting weights are not the be-all and end-all of exercises.
Yes, cardio will improve the cardiovascular system and burn calories, but it doesn't have to be running.
Some type of resistance will help maintain lean muscle mass, but it doesn't have to be lifting weights
Weight bearing exercise will help maintain healthy bones, but it doesn't have to be running.
Me, I swim and walk. Pulling my body through the water is great resistance AND cardio at the same time. Swimming also works all of the major muscle groups. Walking is weight bearing and cardio (as long as you keep up a good pace).
I agree that there is more to fitness than running and lifting weights, but I believe that they are at/near the top for optimizing your efforts, ie, I think your cardio fitness ROI for the time spent running and strength benefit ROI for lifting are difficult to match with other exercises.
I actually read a study that said that walking was better because even tho running is one of the best cardio exercises, the injuries you will get...not might...but will get outweigh it's benefits in comparison to walking.
For example I can run 3 miles in 30mins...or I can walk 3 miles in 45mins...
I do both to be frank...run and walk...I lift too...
but I do agree any form of resistance training is amazing....I've seen the results in others who don't lift...0 -
Bry_Lander wrote: »My unpopular opinion: running and lifting weights are not the be-all and end-all of exercises.
Yes, cardio will improve the cardiovascular system and burn calories, but it doesn't have to be running.
Some type of resistance will help maintain lean muscle mass, but it doesn't have to be lifting weights
Weight bearing exercise will help maintain healthy bones, but it doesn't have to be running.
Me, I swim and walk. Pulling my body through the water is great resistance AND cardio at the same time. Swimming also works all of the major muscle groups. Walking is weight bearing and cardio (as long as you keep up a good pace).
I agree that there is more to fitness than running and lifting weights, but I believe that they are at/near the top for optimizing your efforts, ie, I think your cardio fitness ROI for the time spent running and strength benefit ROI for lifting are difficult to match with other exercises.
I actually read a study that said that walking was better because even tho running is one of the best cardio exercises, the injuries you will get...not might...but will get outweigh it's benefits in comparison to walking.
For example I can run 3 miles in 30mins...or I can walk 3 miles in 45mins...
I do both to be frank...run and walk...I lift too...
but I do agree any form of resistance training is amazing....I've seen the results in others who don't lift...
My main goal for running is to push my HR up to a certain level for a sustained period of time, which doesn't happen with walking (walking is still important, I do walk several miles per day, but it is just incidental versus regimented walking for exercise). I do agree the injuries are inevitable with running.2
This discussion has been closed.
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