Nutrition & Exercise Absurdity

jcmartin0313

Warning: This is a rant

After having lost over 100 pounds and being active on MFP for a few months I think people really over think nutrition and exercise, at least in the beginning. There is no doubt that someone who is training for a fitness competition, endurance event or strength training event need to watch his or her macro-nutrients closely and be keenly aware of how certain nutrition molecules affect performance and hydration. However, for people who seek a new fit lifestyle please stop getting weighed down in that quagmire. What you are doing to yourself is analogous to driving poorly because you are trying to understand vehicle mechanics the same way as NASCAR mechanics do even though you are simply a commuter.
There is NO shortcut or quick way to get fit. I had Lap-Band and while I consider it a miracle I now realize it is a miraculous adjunct and not a cure. There is only one way to loose weight and that is to first of all get off your a@@ and exercise, no matter how little you can do, anything is better than nothing. Secondly, incorporate obvious changes like reducing fast food and colas. Instead of sugary cookies eat fruit, etc. Anything grown in nature is better than anything refined generally. Once you make soem headway in the fight than you can begin to look more closely at macros.
We are derailing ourselves people.

bhankiii

You see a lot of absolutism on this site - what is or is not allowed if you want to do this or that diet plan. And you see someone posting about whether or not they're "allowed" to eat fruit, or corn, or dairy, or whatever, because they're on this particular diet then when you see their diary they eat crap all day long.

What I prefer to do is look at what other people are doing, do a little research on the interwebs, and adopt things that make sense to me for the way I want to live - because I know if I don't enjoy doing what I'm doing I'm not going to continue doing it.

The simple things do work - don't eat so much (that's the great thing about this site is it tells you how much you're eating), eat healthier things (less salt, less sugar, less fat, less chemicals), exercise more. Tailor your diet and exercise to your own tastes and personality.

(This is not to imply that I'm not fanatically obsessive about my own diet and exercise regime.)

mhuch110

Well said. I just had a conversation with my sister about how overwhelming this can all be...BMR, TDEE, to eat back exercise calories or not.....I can find 10 different places where my BMR is calculated 10 different ways. I've come to the conclusion that I'm no longer going to worry about it. I am eating healthier, exercising more, and slowly losing weight. Good enough for me.

wewon

Meh...

I tend to cut myself, and others, a lot of slack on this.

I lot of the too and fro that you are witnessing is really just the learning curve. People that have realized that something, that they may have held to their entire lives, is not working and they are looking for ways to change it, effectively, least painful and sustainable.

I'm willing to be that somewhere between pound #1 and pound #100 that you did a little back and forth until you could find something that not only worked, but became second nature as well.

TravelDog14

I agree jc.

I'm new to MFP and joined for the calorie tracking feature as I was probably eating easily 3-4000+ calories a day and not moving enough. MFP has helped me so much to realize that portion control and mindless snacking is my downfall.

Since I'm not here to diet but to readjust my poor eating habits into healthy ones I can't relate to the fanaticism about restrictive diets and exercise. My lifestyle with work and other commitments will never allow me to spend hours in the gym.

What works for others won't necessarily work for me. I'm not looking for the easy way but for the way that works for me to get my weight down 55 pounds and I'm fully aware that will take time if it's going to be for the long term.

I'm here to keep myself on track to a longer and healthier lifestyle.

Congrats to losing over 100 pounds, those of you that are so much farther along than I am are really an inspiration.

mjsunshine16

Well said!

jppd47

Anything grown in nature is better than anything refined generally.

A lot of people say this. Im not saying its wrong. But whats the difference between "natural" sugars and refined sugar. To me its the same. Refined sugar came from nature. Physiologically your body treats all mono and disaccharides alike.
I guess I just don't see how its different, are there other things added during the refinery process that make it "bad"

wewon

Anything grown in nature is better than anything refined generally.

A lot of people say this. Im not saying its wrong. But whats the difference between "natural" sugars and refined sugar. To me its the same. Refined sugar came from nature. Physiologically your body treats all mono and disaccharides alike.
I guess I just don't see how its different, are there other things added during the refinery process that make it "bad"

The sugar isn't the issue (in moderation) its the fact that in nature, sugar comes in the presence of fiber.

Only after refinement can you take in straight sugar.

TheNewDodge

Anything in addition to hitting your macros, getting your nutrients and eating at a deficit, I disregard

RhonndaJ

Thanks for expressing this. It's something that's been on my mind lately because I tend to get bogged down by details

jcmartin0313

Anything grown in nature is better than anything refined generally.

A lot of people say this. Im not saying its wrong. But whats the difference between "natural" sugars and refined sugar. To me its the same. Refined sugar came from nature. Physiologically your body treats all mono and disaccharides alike.
I guess I just don't see how its different, are there other things added during the refinery process that make it "bad"

There is plenty of research to suggest that natural sugars digest differently than refined sugars. However, in the beginning you want to stick basic ideas which include reducing the overall amount of sugar. If you have to eat or need simple carbohydrates a piece of fruit is always a better choice than an Oreo.

third_time_lucky

i have been knowN to try all sorts of mad diets, recently for instance, the soup diet. oh the dread if i ate something solid haha i even considered blending a doughnut! INSANE!!!!!!

my son recently found out he has an allergy to dairy, at the tender age of 5 he is coping well but it amazes me every day when i find a new food that i thought he would be allowed but cant!!

cant help but notice that this is what i have been doing to myself over the years! im trying to support him by not eating obvious dairy in front of him and all milk etc in our house now is dairy free, But really, I now figure every thing in moderation and to try and make the obvious diet choices.

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BLEND DOUGHNUTS BECAUSE SOME GLOSSY MAG SAID SOLID FOOD IS BAD

JUST EAT LESS CRAP AND MOVE MORE

EnchantedEvening

Sorry, but you lost me at "lap band".

It's like a poor person taking financial advice from someone who started out rich. Sure, the rich person still has to budget, but you had all this help and money to play with from the beginning. The poor person did not.

Starting fresh, without the aid/help of surgery, is much harder. Your lap band limits your portions for you instead of having to use willpower. When someone who had surgery tells me to simply "eat less", I cannot take them seriously. It's like someone on a trampoline telling me to simply "jump higher" when I'm on the ground.

bhankiii

Sorry, but you lost me at "lap band".

It's like a poor person taking financial advice from someone who started out rich. Sure, the rich person still has to budget, but you had all this help and money to play with from the beginning. The poor person did not.

Starting fresh, without the aid/help of surgery, is much harder. Your lap band limits your portions for you instead of having to use willpower. When someone who had surgery tells me to simply "eat less", I cannot take them seriously. It's like someone on a trampoline telling me to simply "jump higher" when I'm on the ground.

I haven't had surgery. Eat less.