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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?
Replies
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So many excuses out there for what amounts to laziness and gluttony. That's what bugs me. There are a ton of people who just don't want to do what needs to be done because the status quo is easier and feels comfortable.30
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »The concept of intuitive eating. The idea that we are somehow supposed to know when to start or stop eating to maintain a subjective weight is entirely absurd. The endless threads of people leaving MFP and starting up again give a small degree of insight into this.
Expecting people to manage a checkbook without balancing is a little more plausible because once your expenses overtake your income, the consequences are immediate and direct. There are no such immediate consequences in weight management.
I love this. I do think there are alternatives to calorie counting that work, but they aren't intuitive eating and require some kind of monitoring.
Sure, some people don't have to think about it, perhaps, but they didn't get fat.
Why would intuitive eating mean not thinking about it?? It's quite the opposite really.
Intuitively, adverb: without conscious reasoning; instinctively.
What else would it mean?17 -
That cardio isn't for "fat burning". So many roll their eyes at me, but hey it's true.
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
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WayTooHonest wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »WayTooHonest wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »WayTooHonest wrote: »coreyreichle wrote: »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.
You REALLY have no idea what women's hormones do to our bodies, do you love? Decreased estrogen, slower metabolism, affects our ability to metabolize sugars, bone density declines, and SO MUCH MORE...all medical facts.
From the Mayo Clinic:
"The hormonal changes of menopause make you more likely to gain weight around your abdomen than around your hips and thighs."
But apparently both my GP and my OB/GYN don't know what they are talking about, either. It's not as simple as CICO once you cross 40. It's so much more complicated now that our hormones are shutting down. That's science, friend.
Fun Fact: Men have the same problem, they are now starting to call it MANopause. Just wait.
That quote is about the differences in where fat is stored on the body. That is clearly related to hormones. But you seem to be arguing that a menopausal body can store energy even when in a deficit. What is the source for that?
That quote is one part of a whole statement. No, what I said is that menopause and the loss of hormones slows the whole process down. Never said it couldn't be done (congrats to the lady above who lost 90#). In fact, I said, and I quote "Decreased estrogen, slower metabolism, affects our ability to metabolize sugars, bone density declines, and SO MUCH MORE...all medical facts." I have a bad habit of going to reputable medical sites and peer reviewed journal articles, but I am not a physician so what do I know.
Decreased estrogen is a given. But slower metabolism and loss of bone density are not. They can be combatted with proper diet and exercise. This is why resistance training is more important than ever during and after menopause.
Oh, it's a given, but you are correct, we can do things to combat them. Weight lifting is the one I feel is most important, because of the resulting increase in bone density. That being said, I ALWAYS say that it doesn't matter what workout a person chooses to do, as long as it is one they enjoy and will stick to.
I found a great link from the Women's Health Research Institute @ Northwestern University that shows what menopause does to the body (well...great being relative, because allthethings actually suck...)
http://menopause.northwestern.edu/content/how-hormone-depletion-affects-you
Bone loss is not a given. At least not according to my DEXA. And the type of workout does matter for this particular subject. Enjoy it or not, if you want to keep bone density you need resistance.6 -
stevencloser wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »The concept of intuitive eating. The idea that we are somehow supposed to know when to start or stop eating to maintain a subjective weight is entirely absurd. The endless threads of people leaving MFP and starting up again give a small degree of insight into this.
Expecting people to manage a checkbook without balancing is a little more plausible because once your expenses overtake your income, the consequences are immediate and direct. There are no such immediate consequences in weight management.
I love this. I do think there are alternatives to calorie counting that work, but they aren't intuitive eating and require some kind of monitoring.
Sure, some people don't have to think about it, perhaps, but they didn't get fat.
Why would intuitive eating mean not thinking about it?? It's quite the opposite really.
Intuitively, adverb: without conscious reasoning; instinctively.
What else would it mean?
subconscious thought?2 -
My opinions (potentially unpopular depending on the thread)
1. Counting calories in maintenance is neither obsessive nor a consequence of failing to learn my body's hunger signals
2. You don't have to start your weight loss efforts eating the way you plan to eat for life. I started off eating primarily packaged food because of automatic portion control and easy calorie estimation. My food choices gradually shifted to include more nutrient-dense fresh and homemade items as I got more confident in my ability to manage my portions when there was more than one serving available.
3. There's no such thing as cheating at weight loss, it's not a game where someone else gains weight if you lose it. Some methods are more sustainable than others, some depend on outside support (WLS, diet pills, liposuction, etc.) that may cause a person to fall back into bad habits as soon as the support is withdrawn, and some are downright dangerous (VCLDs and street drugs come to mind).38 -
Pie is the perfect food.
There. I said it.53 -
- Personally, I exercise for the calories, not for fitness. While I'm at it
Doing cardio does help me lose weight, i would rather exercise more, than eat less.
The things that bug me:
- No one will ever convince me that drinking diet soda aka aspartame regularly will not eventually have detrimental effects.
- People who claim eating foods out of a packet/microwavable meals or out of a tin is just as healthy as eating fresh foods.
- I unequivocally do not support the HAES movement.
- Weight loss surgery.. It is easier for them to get their stomach stapled then to take responsibility and go through the hard yards of eating appropriate calories. Yes, WLS is hard, but counting calories and learning to say no seems to be harder for the people who take this route.
- The people who brag that "I lost all of my weight eating junk food everyday". This is not something to be proud of.
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GiddyupTim wrote: »Pie is the perfect food.
There. I said it.
This isn't unpopular...this is just fundamental fact. To dispute this...another level of Hell would have to be constructed for such heresy.26 -
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."
NO.. my joints don't hurt (well, unless I do some crazy amount of an activity like a full day hike on tough terrain and to be fair, the joints hurt then as well when I was in a healthy BMI range too)
My V02 max is in a healthy range, my BP is in a healthy range, my cholesterol is in a healthy range, my glucose is in a healthy range. I can swim a mile in 45mins. I can hike all day without issue. I can bench 150lbs, squat 225lbs and deadlift 340lbs. At 44, I take no medications. I have no daily aches or pains. For the last 10 years, I've seen a dr only once per year for my annual checkup. Heck.. even my waist to hip ratio fails just under line.
I wonder when the idea of "greater" risk becomes meaningless. When I look around at my healthy weight peers and see so many on blood thinners, BP meds, insulin, etc it just makes me wonder if these higher risk factors really have anything to do with the number on my scale or are more just a factor of unhealthy lifestyles.
So yeah, my unpopular opinion is YES you can be healthy and overweight (even obese to an extent), provided you maintain an active lifestyle with mindful approach to cardio fitness, strength and flexibility and eat enough of the right foods to give the body the right nutrients it needs.30 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »The concept of intuitive eating. The idea that we are somehow supposed to know when to start or stop eating to maintain a subjective weight is entirely absurd. The endless threads of people leaving MFP and starting up again give a small degree of insight into this.
Expecting people to manage a checkbook without balancing is a little more plausible because once your expenses overtake your income, the consequences are immediate and direct. There are no such immediate consequences in weight management.
I love this. I do think there are alternatives to calorie counting that work, but they aren't intuitive eating and require some kind of monitoring.
Sure, some people don't have to think about it, perhaps, but they didn't get fat.
Why would intuitive eating mean not thinking about it?? It's quite the opposite really.
Many people who claim we should be able to "intuitively eat" mean we should be able to just eat and not have to every think about it and we just won't want to eat too much. That's what I think is unrealistic.
I can maintain or lose without counting, but I do other things, like watch portion sizes, avoid snacking (or actively pay attention and compensate), make sure I am reasonably active. But that's something more than just going by "instinct." It's mindful.
I guess it's just semantics but I think mindful eating and intuitive eating are the same thing. Intuition is something that must be mindfully adhered to. It's usually by ignoring our intuition that we run into problems.
I think some people use intuitive eating to mean the same thing as mindful eating, although I prefer the latter term.
However, as GottaBurnEm noted, there have been people lately claiming that it's some sign that humans are messed up that we have to think about it at all, and that means that only sick people (or mentally ill) get fat or some such nonsense. In accordance with that some use the term "intuitive eating" to mean "don't have to think about it."5 -
WayTooHonest wrote: »
That's the secret, eh? M&Ms for every meal of the day! I think I'd be willing to make that sacrifice.8 -
I don't think drinking extra water has any health benefits... it just makes you pee a lot.
I don't think watching carbs is necessary (unless you have a metabolic disorder that necessitates it)
I think diet soda is totally fine!25 -
I think that we in the UK have refrigerated ready meals that are just as healthful as home made. And a wide variety. They are not packed with salt as always asserted and are made shelf stable by carefully controlling the temperature during cooking. Literally the same as you could make at home from an ingredients perspective. And they range from indulgent right the way through to low calorie and gluten free etc, budget to splurge. I actually think some people would eat better if they used these meals more!
I think 99.9999% of women can absolutely be within the healthy BMI range without being skin and bone and that it's not in the least bit bogus for us. If you're sub 21% BF at BMI of 25 I want to shake your very strong hand.22 -
I value my real life experience and what my body is telling me 1000% more than I value anybody else's opinion with regards to eating habits/food.32
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WayTooHonest wrote: »coreyreichle wrote: »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.
You REALLY have no idea what women's hormones do to our bodies, do you love? Decreased estrogen, slower metabolism, affects our ability to metabolize sugars, bone density declines, and SO MUCH MORE...all medical facts.
From the Mayo Clinic:
"The hormonal changes of menopause make you more likely to gain weight around your abdomen than around your hips and thighs."
But apparently both my GP and my OB/GYN don't know what they are talking about, either. It's not as simple as CICO once you cross 40. It's so much more complicated now that our hormones are shutting down. That's science, friend.
Fun Fact: Men have the same problem, they are now starting to call it MANopause. Just wait.
I turn 55 this year and have lost nearly 70 pounds over the last 18 months. Guess I'll have to wait a little longer.13 -
I believe diet drinks are the very devil and cause more harm than good.
That Paleo is an excellent way to eat but it's not truly what Paleolithic humans would have eaten.
Many fruit and veggies now lack decent levels of nutrients due to overfarming and leaching of soils therefore supplements are vital for long term good health.
And that diet pills, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, weighty loss surgery are as "natural" as any other weight loss method and NOT cheating if it achieves the end result, just as a smoker using g nicotine patches is not cheating.4 -
Well because it has no scientific proof that it is. It's an opinion of yours and that's not proof.I believe fast food is toxic and should only be eaten if last/only food on the planet. Very unpopular view here on MFP.
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
Since the thread is asking for "unpopular opinions" nothing wrong with me expressing one of my "unpopular opinions." As for scientific proof, there is a lot of proof out there that fast food is "not good." So makes you go hmmmm.if it's not good, then what is it? What is the opposite of good, Elmo? Let's watch some Sesame Street and learn what "not good" means together.11 -
Well because it has no scientific proof that it is. It's an opinion of yours and that's not proof.I believe fast food is toxic and should only be eaten if last/only food on the planet. Very unpopular view here on MFP.
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
Since the thread is asking for "unpopular opinions" nothing wrong with me expressing one of my "unpopular opinions." As for scientific proof, there is a lot of proof out there that fast food is "not good." So makes you go hmmmm.if it's not good, then what is it? What is the opposite of good, Elmo? Let's watch some Sesame Street and learn what "not good" means together.
Not good: anywhere in the range from neutral to bad because this is not an on-off switch.
Also, proof or "proof". Cause there's "proof" the earth is flat but no proof.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/175361946 -
What works for one person may not work for someone else. Yes, it boils down to CICO, but there are all kinds of ways people achieve that successfully. I don't think the prescriptive responses here in the forums are especially useful.19
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Well because it has no scientific proof that it is. It's an opinion of yours and that's not proof.I believe fast food is toxic and should only be eaten if last/only food on the planet. Very unpopular view here on MFP.
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
Since the thread is asking for "unpopular opinions" nothing wrong with me expressing one of my "unpopular opinions." As for scientific proof, there is a lot of proof out there that fast food is "not good." So makes you go hmmmm.if it's not good, then what is it? What is the opposite of good, Elmo? Let's watch some Sesame Street and learn what "not good" means together.
it's also been proved that by eating just fast food you can do the following:
1. Lose weight
2. lower blood pressure
3. lower cholesterol numbers
4. meet required macros even surpass RDA Min.
All this from eating just fast food...sounds "good" to me.
The "not good" is the excess fast food...large sized this...large sized that.12 -
I've got a laundry list of unpopular opinion puffins. I think:
- people who "run for the health" are stupid
- there's nothing wrong with artificial sweeteners
- there's nothing wrong with sugar, either
- superfoods are a *kitten* marketing term
- organics aren't better for you
- supplements mostly suck
- barring documented medical need no one needs vitamins of any kind
- BMI is a crock of *kitten* at the individual level
- "no pain no gain" is a idiotic fitness meme
- there's no reason why more healthy food has to be less flavorful than crappy food
- eating better food costs less, not more
- alcohol is a treat item, not a daily indulgence
- a proper salad is a thing of beauty, and delicious
- you have to squat
- weight loss surgery is a medical intervention for a mental disease
25 -
Christine_72 wrote: »- Personally, I exercise for the calories, not for fitness. While I'm at it Doing cardio does help me lose weight, i would rather exercise more, than eat less.
The things that bug me:
- No one will ever convince me that drinking diet soda aka aspartame regularly will not eventually have detrimental effects.
- People who claim eating foods out of a packet/microwavable meals or out of a tin is just as healthy as eating fresh foods.
- I unequivocally do not support the HAES movement.
- Weight loss surgery.. It is easier for them to get their stomach stapled then to take responsibility and go through the hard yards of eating appropriate calories. Yes, WLS is hard, but counting calories and learning to say no seems to be harder for the people who take this route.
- The people who brag that "I lost all of my weight eating junk food everyday". This is not something to be proud of.
Yeah it is. Why is stating a fact called "bragging"?11 -
CipherZero wrote: »I've got a laundry list of unpopular opinion puffins. I think:
- people who "run for the health" are stupid
- there's nothing wrong with artificial sweeteners
- there's nothing wrong with sugar, either
- superfoods are a *kitten* marketing term
- organics aren't better for you
- supplements mostly suck
- barring documented medical need no one needs vitamins of any kind
- BMI is a crock of *kitten* at the individual level
- "no pain no gain" is a idiotic fitness meme
- there's no reason why more healthy food has to be less flavorful than crappy food
- eating better food costs less, not more
- alcohol is a treat item, not a daily indulgence
- a proper salad is a thing of beauty, and delicious
- you have to squat
- weight loss surgery is a medical intervention for a mental disease
You need to add "in the long term" to this statement.7 -
CipherZero wrote: »I've got a laundry list of unpopular opinion puffins. I think:
- people who "run for the health" are stupid
- there's nothing wrong with artificial sweeteners
- there's nothing wrong with sugar, either
- superfoods are a *kitten* marketing term
- organics aren't better for you
- supplements mostly suck
- barring documented medical need no one needs vitamins of any kind
- BMI is a crock of *kitten* at the individual level
- "no pain no gain" is a idiotic fitness meme
- there's no reason why more healthy food has to be less flavorful than crappy food
- eating better food costs less, not more
- alcohol is a treat item, not a daily indulgence
- a proper salad is a thing of beauty, and delicious
- you have to squat
- weight loss surgery is a medical intervention for a mental disease
HFCS is not sugar, and there's not yet enough data to be certain it's as safe as sugar.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »coreyreichle wrote: »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.
Perhaps. You will lose fat. But not necessarily weight. Menopause plays all kinds of fun games with your hormones.
You sure as hell ain't going to gain muscle. Perhaps retaining fluid that would make it seem like you aren't losing. I promise you, if you're losing fat, you're losing weight. Unless your bones start abnormally growing or something. There's only so many substances you can lose/gain in your body.3 -
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.
Absolutely (we have similar quotes about various athletes)
Also, when you see stories of massive people who can't get out of bed because of their weight, simple answer - instead of bringing them pizza and full calorie coke, bring them a light salad and some water. Bring them only a reasonable amount of calories for a normal weight - even 2000 calories is probably a big drop in their current intake. If they can't get out of bed they can't go hunting for something else! Once they've lost enough weight to move themselves then they can eat junk if they choose to go to the shops to buy it. Am I being harsh?
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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."
NO.. my joints don't hurt (well, unless I do some crazy amount of an activity like a full day hike on tough terrain and to be fair, the joints hurt then as well when I was in a healthy BMI range too)
My V02 max is in a healthy range, my BP is in a healthy range, my cholesterol is in a healthy range, my glucose is in a healthy range. I can swim a mile in 45mins. I can hike all day without issue. I can bench 150lbs, squat 225lbs and deadlift 340lbs. At 44, I take no medications. I have no daily aches or pains. For the last 10 years, I've seen a dr only once per year for my annual checkup. Heck.. even my waist to hip ratio fails just under line.
I wonder when the idea of "greater" risk becomes meaningless. When I look around at my healthy weight peers and see so many on blood thinners, BP meds, insulin, etc it just makes me wonder if these higher risk factors really have anything to do with the number on my scale or are more just a factor of unhealthy lifestyles.
So yeah, my unpopular opinion is YES you can be healthy and overweight (even obese to an extent), provided you maintain an active lifestyle with mindful approach to cardio fitness, strength and flexibility and eat enough of the right foods to give the body the right nutrients it needs.
Until you realize all your internal organs are riddled with fat deposits, that visceral fat is proven time and time again to be a huge risk factor for multiple major diseases. Yes, you may be "healthy" now but you're not noticing the cellular changes. Our joints were not made to handle this kind of weight. You may not have pain today but you will have it eventually, and far faster than your lower weight counterparts.
My BP was within normal range when I was dangerously pre-eclamptic with my twins, with over 80lbs of retained fluid on board and rapid protein loss that had me far too close to krumping than I wanted--does that mean I was healthy because my BP was ok? My blood sugars were ok?
And besides, if you're overweight or obese you're not really eating the right foods in the right amounts to get it the nutrients it needs.18 -
Eating McDonalds on a regular basis is fine.13
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The whole notion of 'functional strength' and that compound lifts are the be all and end all.
Newb's concentrating on only compound lifts and not doing enough to build whats most important...mind muscle connection.
Dedicating whole workouts to just abs....fkn LOL.
The notion that a calorie is a calorie, no if one causes me to hold more water then they're not equal when it comes to my goals...which leads me to another...
Water has just as much as a detrimental effect on the appearance of a physique than fat.
The stigma attached to PED's...yet it's socially acceptable to take something that literally disables you (alcohol). People wasting time chasing ever dwindling results when they could transform their life, yet they're too scared of the social stigma to do what should be seen as normal.
People being too reliant on what hey read rather than walking the walk. I will nearly always put more value on the advice of someone who's actually where I want to be, than some skinny fat MFPer clutching a science paper.
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