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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?
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Everyone who loses weight is suddenly an omg-bikini competitor.
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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.
I don't run 40-60 miles per week so I can choke down a bunch kale.
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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 -
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 -
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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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 -
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 -
I don't know how unpopular those are, but here they are:
- I don't think we should eat many small meals (to keep our sugar levels etc.)
- I am very skeptical about how much protein we really need (I don't have a definite answer though)
- I think cake is a cake, wether is paleo, keto, vegan..you name it
- I am skeptical about all supplements
- I think it's better to have a real sugar once in a while then artificial sweeteners
- I don't think that the water intake is that big issue as represented46 -
I don't think it's all about CICO.
I think there is good food and bad food, and I think what you eat matters.49 -
Tried30UserNames wrote: »I don't think it's all about CICO.
I think there is good food and bad food, and I think what you eat matters.
I agree with your part about the good foods and bad foods, but CICO is real, and backed by science, but I believe that people don't realize that eating bad foods and processed foods leads to your body not functioning properly, therefore lowering calories out unknowlingly, making it seem as though CI doesn't equal CO.31 -
I believe in good foods and bad foods, good carbs and bad carbs, good fats and bad fats.
I am pro GE/GMO labeling
I think artificial sweeteners are fine
I think WLS is sometimes the best option
I think if you have an obese child you are a poor parent48 -
This is fun, so I have to add to my post.
I think that everybody has to eat less/move more to lose weight, even if they are depressed, disabled, divorced, poor, a parent, hard working or hardly working.
I think that cookies, cake, ice cream and desserts should be eaten as occasional treats, so there is no need for "low cal" or "healthier" versions.
I hate the idea of healthy/unhealthy fat/carbs.
I resent the way structured eating somehow gets translated into self deprivation and lack of enjoyment. For me, having a semi-set meal plan gives me the opportunity to enjoy all kinds of foods without worrying about regaining.
I dislike when people don't or won't grasp the difference between simple and easy, between process and method, between necessary and effective action.23 -
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 love this post! I work out for extra calories the way a trained monkey dresses in a red uniform and dances for spare change just to get a few monkey snacks. Do I want a margarita? Why yes, indeed, I want one so much, I will run a 5K for it! Fitness and muscles are just a very, very nice byproduct.59 -
The only unpopular opinion about health and fitness is: "It's easy".19
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826_Midazaslam wrote: »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.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA you obviously haven't hit menopause yet.56 -
WayTooHonest wrote: »826_Midazaslam wrote: »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.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA you obviously haven't hit menopause yet.
Even if someone has hit menopause, they will lose weight if they burn 2,000 calories and consume 1,500 (consistently, over time).44 -
WayTooHonest wrote: »826_Midazaslam wrote: »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.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA you obviously haven't hit menopause yet.
Menopause or not, you still will lose weight if you eat 1500 calories, and burn 2000 calories.30
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