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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »WayTooHonest wrote: »
A menopausal women who cannot lose weight, will not successfully recomp.
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
It's the much harder part no one likes.
But only some women report finding weight loss harder during menopause (I didn't for one, and a couple of others have commented similarly on this thread).
My intention is not to discount your or others' lived experience, though: Menopause (or aging, in some other respect) may well be a factor. But, since it's not universally a problem for all women in menopause, it makes me think there must be some other relevant factor(s) as well, though I have no idea what.
I doubt there are many problems with weight loss that are universal, but it might be safe to say that often it's harder during menopause or perimenopause. Many of the reasons are lifestyle based. And sometimes knowledge based. We are old enough to realize that some of the motivations of the young (he'll love me if I lose weight, everyone will envy me if I lose weight, life will be wonderful if I lose weight, etc.) simply aren't true.
Some are physical. With age and especially sedentary aging sometimes come bad knees, arthritis, or other ailments that make activity more difficult. And while increased activity isn't required for weight loss, it sure makes it easier. Then there are the varying symptoms of menopause itself. Mood swings, water weight gain, hot flashes, night sweats, etc.
I lost over 30 lbs during menopause but I did find it harder. Water weight was my nemesis. It's so hard to know if you are on track and really losing fat when you routinely gain and lose several lbs of water weight each week. I also had crazy mood swings, which luckily were lessened by exercise so that was actually a huge motivation to stay active for me.
TLDR: the process (CI<CO) is still the same simple formula, but there may be more factors working against you during menopause than before. Or there may not be. People are different.
I agree with what you're saying. The (frequently seen) short form "I can't lose weight (or can only lose slowly) because menopause" is seriously unhelpful - it's not a problem-solving orientation. In its extreme formulation ("can't"), it's tantamount to an excuse. "Hard" at least leaves room for some thoughtful analysis, and potential routes to achieving one's goals. If it were purely menopause that's the problem, it would be universal.4 -
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coreyreichle wrote: »
thanks for the insight2 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I think a bag of peanut M&Ms is great bike food. The bag stores easily, you can eat a few at a time then fold the corner so they don't spill out in your pocket, the sugar processes quickly so you can put the energy back into the pedals.
I disagree....#jollyranchers8 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »I think a bag of peanut M&Ms is great bike food. The bag stores easily, you can eat a few at a time then fold the corner so they don't spill out in your pocket, the sugar processes quickly so you can put the energy back into the pedals.
I disagree....#jollyranchers
gummy bears!7 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »I think a bag of peanut M&Ms is great bike food. The bag stores easily, you can eat a few at a time then fold the corner so they don't spill out in your pocket, the sugar processes quickly so you can put the energy back into the pedals.
I disagree....#jollyranchers
Skittles - nearly spherical bundles of unbridled joy!12 -
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.
Actually, your own profile says you have trouble having fun and doing things at your weight. "Always enjoyed being outside and active but struggles over the last few years packed on the pounds. Time to get back to having fun and need the body in shape to do so." You may not be in as bad shape as some, depending on your poundage, but your own words disagree with you. If you didn't have any trouble at all, as stated in paragraph 2, why are you on MFP trying to lose weight then? You're countering your own statements.11 -
CorneliusPhoton wrote: »Regarding WLS, I don't know if I'd call it cheating as much as I'd call it useless, expensive, and dangerous. You could simply adopt a post-WLS diet and come to the same result without all the vomiting and diarrhea. The only thing stopping you is your own discipline.
Vomiting and diarrhea? WTK? No one told me about that. How come I haven't had that yet? Dammit I'm missing out.
WLS has huge benefits for some people. No matter what YOU think, having a much much smaller stomach has given me the appetite control I've never had in my life. I have never felt full before but now I do after a small and healthy meal. So you are quite wrong.6 -
Exercise does not *have* to be sweaty and harsh to be effective.
Strength workouts do not mean you have to lift weights or go to a gym.
If you decide to take up running you DO NOT HAVE to run a 5K...1/2 marathon...or marathon...14 -
My unpopular opinions on health and fitness are:
I think there is a quality of addictiveness to sugar/sweetners. Food manufacturers know this, else they wouldn't add so much to processed foods to increase consumption and sales. It's not like heroine addiction, but it is there in our brain chemistry.
There is healthy food and there is junk food. The people living on fresh meats, fresh veggies, whole grains, etc are going to be healthier than the people living on fast food, twinkies, and soda. That said, you can still enjoy both in proper moderation, but moderation means something vastly different between the two.10 -
CorneliusPhoton wrote: »Regarding WLS, I don't know if I'd call it cheating as much as I'd call it useless, expensive, and dangerous. You could simply adopt a post-WLS diet and come to the same result without all the vomiting and diarrhea. The only thing stopping you is your own discipline.
Vomiting and diarrhea? WTK? No one told me about that. How come I haven't had that yet? Dammit I'm missing out.
WLS has huge benefits for some people. No matter what YOU think, having a much much smaller stomach has given me the appetite control I've never had in my life. I have never felt full before but now I do after a small and healthy meal. So you are quite wrong.
Glad that it has all worked out for you. But I'm sure that you have done enough research on WLS to know that not everybody has the same experience. I know 2 people who have been nothing but ill after having WL surgery, one of them had to have additional surgery to have it reversed. The other one is still trying to find the right WOE that doesn't make her feel sick. Those are not my opinions but experiences of people who have gone through it. My opinion is that all of that could have been avoided if they had adopted the post-surgery diet instead of being surgically limited to enforce it. Neither option is easy.2 -
Anyone who says My genetics in relation to weight loss
I hate these people with a fiery passion. My genetics are so screwed up I require $50,000+ a year in medications to stay alive and some reasonable measure of healthy - and the same medications increase the likelihood to grow and hide cancer until it's stage four. And yet I'm in the gym and watching my food because it god-damned works.14 -
JeepHair77 wrote: »It's pretty unpopular here, but I think it's just fine and dandy to drink "meal replacement" shakes or whathaveyou. They're easy and convenient and calories are easy to calculate and pre-log it's NOT necessarily a sabotage for maintenance. I'm on maintenance now and I still have a shake for breakfast or lunch sometimes for all of the same reasons.
I agree. I don't even HAVE breakfast so I can't see why IF is okay but a meal replacement isn't. Seems illogical to me but I have yet to spare a kitten on the opinions of others when it comes to my methods lol3 -
CipherZero wrote: »Anyone who says My genetics in relation to weight loss
I hate these people with a fiery passion. My genetics are so screwed up I require $50,000+ a year in medications to stay alive and some reasonable measure of healthy - and the same medications increase the likelihood to grow and hide cancer until it's stage four. And yet I'm in the gym and watching my food because it god-damned works.
I missed this one, but see it in the same way as my metabolism - it's excuse construction. After being diagnosed with cancer I spent a great deal of time doing research on coping and found a disproportionate number of elite level athletes, academics, etc. who were diagnosed early in their lives. I see this as a wake up call that life is short, precious, and not to be wasted a single moment.7 -
Derf_Smeggle wrote: »My unpopular opinions on health and fitness are:
I think there is a quality of addictiveness to sugar/sweetners. Food manufacturers know this, else they wouldn't add so much to processed foods to increase consumption and sales. It's not like heroine addiction, but it is there in our brain chemistry.
There is healthy food and there is junk food. The people living on fresh meats, fresh veggies, whole grains, etc are going to be healthier than the people living on fast food, twinkies, and soda. That said, you can still enjoy both in proper moderation, but moderation means something vastly different between the two.
Too bad none of us are coming out of this alive.13 -
Derf_Smeggle wrote: »My unpopular opinions on health and fitness are:
I think there is a quality of addictiveness to sugar/sweetners. Food manufacturers know this, else they wouldn't add so much to processed foods to increase consumption and sales. It's not like heroine addiction, but it is there in our brain chemistry.
There is healthy food and there is junk food. The people living on fresh meats, fresh veggies, whole grains, etc are going to be healthier than the people living on fast food, twinkies, and soda. That said, you can still enjoy both in proper moderation, but moderation means something vastly different between the two.
I would agree with this to a point. I think a sedentary person eating a diet of healthy foods is not likely to be healthier than a person who is active but eats a lot of junk food.12 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »exercising to lose weight is dumb. Especially spending time on a treadmill to justify a candy bar.
I'm a very short older woman. If I didn't exercise on my treadmill, I'd have the paltry caloric allowance of 1200 calories to create a 150 calorie deficit since my maintenance for being sedentary is 1,350 calories.
I don't want to eat like a toddler.
Can't say enough how awesomely true for me this is.
My (maybe) unpopular opinion:
Maybe you can eat crap food (hamburgers, soda, ice cream (weep a little), candy bars, milk shakes) and make it all fit into your calories for the day, but food is fuel for me, and my body doesn't function properly when I feed it garbage. Good for you if you can make it work. But I actually doubt even you (whoever you are) can make that work for a lifetime of health.8 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »exercising to lose weight is dumb. Especially spending time on a treadmill to justify a candy bar.
I'm a very short older woman. If I didn't exercise on my treadmill, I'd have the paltry caloric allowance of 1200 calories to create a 150 calorie deficit since my maintenance for being sedentary is 1,350 calories.
I don't want to eat like a toddler.
Can't say enough how awesomely true for me this is.
My (maybe) unpopular opinion:
Maybe you can eat crap food (hamburgers, soda, ice cream (weep a little), candy bars, milk shakes) and make it all fit into your calories for the day, but food is fuel for me, and my body doesn't function properly when I feed it garbage. Good for you if you can make it work. But I actually doubt even you (whoever you are) can make that work for a lifetime of health.
A hamburger is bread, meat, and maybe some toppings. A body can easily use bread and meat as fuel. It's carbohydrates, protein, and fat -- three things I'm eating every day anyway. Also consider the micronutrients it contains like iron, B12, potassium, and B6 and I'm confused as to why anyone would think a hamburger is "garbage."21 -
thewindandthework wrote: »More unpopular fitness opinions:
I think the word 'fitness' is meaningless without context. Fit for what, exactly?
Fittin'dis pizza in my face is what.26 -
Chef_Barbell wrote: »Derf_Smeggle wrote: »My unpopular opinions on health and fitness are:
I think there is a quality of addictiveness to sugar/sweetners. Food manufacturers know this, else they wouldn't add so much to processed foods to increase consumption and sales. It's not like heroine addiction, but it is there in our brain chemistry.
There is healthy food and there is junk food. The people living on fresh meats, fresh veggies, whole grains, etc are going to be healthier than the people living on fast food, twinkies, and soda. That said, you can still enjoy both in proper moderation, but moderation means something vastly different between the two.
Too bad none of us are coming out of this alive.7
This discussion has been closed.
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