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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?
Replies
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I agree with this, and our bodies are equipped with ALL the right things to allow us to just ride and feel our hunger. But I think it takes a lot to really be able to listen to your body in that aspect at this point in human life for many different lifestyle reasons, which makes it a little unrealistic for most people now.
I think awareness and mindfulness of what you're doing is important and calorie counting taught me how to be better with this. I haven't logged anything in over 4 years now, but I'm still mindful of what I'm doing. I also have "rules" that I live by and make exceptions to those rules from time to time, just not most of the time. My diet is also heavily whole foods based and I'm pretty active which makes it somewhat difficult to overeat.
I know a lot of people say they will track forever, and there are probably a few who will, but I don't think logging into perpetuity is something the vast majority of people can or will do...I certainly couldn't envision spending the next 40-50 years keeping a detailed food diary. A mere 9 months of it made my head a bit squirrely as it was.4 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
Just goes to show what an interesting term "junk food" is. Two people can use it and mean very different things.
It's very interesting. You need to deconstruct the burger ingredients, form them into a "proper" meal, then call it a fancy name. It stops being junk food right away, and may even be called "healthy" and "high protein".10 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
Just goes to show what an interesting term "junk food" is. Two people can use it and mean very different things.
I would be less kind and replace the word "interesting" with "useless."14 -
I would be less kind and replace the word "interesting" with "useless."
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amusedmonkey wrote: »
It's very interesting. You need to deconstruct the burger ingredients, form them into a "proper" meal, then call it a fancy name. It stops being junk food right away, and may even be called "healthy" and "high protein".
Yeah, if I told you that I was making a hand-formed freshly-ground beef patty served on an artisan roll with aioli, local greens, heirloom tomatoes, bacon from a heritage pig, and small-batch cheese, most people probably wouldn't call that junk food . . . even if the macros were pretty much the same as another, less fancy, hamburger. Or maybe people would. I can't even guess anymore.13 -
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Ya'll will slaughter me here but I believe there is more to CICO than meets the eye. Human body is not a car engine, it is much more complex. There are multiple variables that can throw the math off. Heck even the calorie intake and burn measurements are often extremely imprecise. Until they invent some sort of an implant that measures exactly how much is consumed and burned, I will remain skeptical. That being said, I still log calories, since it is a working method, albeit imperfect.9
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veronikamellon wrote: »Ya'll will slaughter me here but I believe there is more to CICO than meets the eye. Human body is not a car engine, it is much more complex. There are multiple variables that can throw the math off. Heck even the calorie intake and burn measurements are often extremely imprecise. Until they invent some sort of an implant that measures exactly how much is consumed and burned, I will remain skeptical. That being said, I still log calories, since it is a working method, albeit imperfect.
It's still cico at the end of the day no matter how difficult it is to figure out the in or out.13 -
veronikamellon wrote: »Ya'll will slaughter me here but I believe there is more to CICO than meets the eye. Human body is not a car engine, it is much more complex. There are multiple variables that can throw the math off. Heck even the calorie intake and burn measurements are often extremely imprecise. Until they invent some sort of an implant that measures exactly how much is consumed and burned, I will remain skeptical. That being said, I still log calories, since it is a working method, albeit imperfect.
Variables don't invalidate the equation though...the problem I think is that a lot of people take the number some calculator spits out at them and they take it for gospel. That number is only intended really to be a reasonably good starting point...once you have your own data, you can pretty well dial things in.
When I was logging, I was precise enough with calories in and out...but I didn't simply rely on the data base (especially for expenditure)...I verified entries myself and used numerous other sources to help validate my exercise expenditure.8 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Late to the party but... I will try to hit one that hasn't already been stated I don't think.
Convenience foods (frozen meals, skillet meals, ready rice, even <gasp> Hamburger Helper) can taste good AND be a part of a healthy, nutritious overall diet?
Does this mean I eat only convenience foods? Nope.
Does this mean I can't cook? Nope.
Do I have a damaged palate? Nope.
Do I ignore nutrition? Nope.
Do I think the ingredients are going to have a negative impact on my health in the short or long term? Nope.
Does it mean that I'm a busy working mom who prefers sometimes to rely on a frozen breakfast bowl (Egg whites, turkey sausage, breakfast potatoes and cheese) microwaved for 3 minutes for 240 cals and 22 g of protein rather than cooking something similar myself (which I could, but would take much longer to prepare)? Yep.
I've mostly cooked from scratch over the last almost 20 years. I've lately surrendered when it comes to brownies, something my OH likes on hand for a bedtime snack. He was paying $5 for five brownies, which I thought was way too much, so when I moved in I started making brownies. I couldn't get them to come out the way I had in mind for look and texture, and after trying recipes from the JOC, ATC, the Cuisinart food processor cookbook, I finally thought that what I had in mind may have come from a box, and sure enough, it was the Dunkin Hines and/or Betty Crocker mixes. (Ghirardelli mix also failed.)
For a special occasion like someone's birthday, I would still use the JOC recipe, but oh boy is it a pain - chop the baker's chocolate, heat the chocolate (carefully), cool the chocolate (but not too much), more dishes, more expense.
With Dunkin Hines it's ready to go in the over by the time the oven comes to temperature. And it's cheaper, with less cleanup. But since it doesn't taste quite right to me, probably due to artificial vanilla, I don't overindulge, which I was doing with the other brownie recipes.
So now I'm wondering what other convenience food I can add to my repertoire and am reminded that I used to like Zatarain's.2 -
Heres one: If you don't break a sweat during your workout you aren't working out.
I find it amazing that so many out-of-shape people in my gym never seem to experience any discomfort and can walk out as clean and as dry as they walked in.
... or maybe it's just me. I end up looking like a miserable wet dog even on days where it's all weights and no cardio. lol
... or maybe they are in shape and I'm out of shape. hmmmmm7 -
veronikamellon wrote: »Ya'll will slaughter me here but I believe there is more to CICO than meets the eye. Human body is not a car engine, it is much more complex. There are multiple variables that can throw the math off. Heck even the calorie intake and burn measurements are often extremely imprecise. Until they invent some sort of an implant that measures exactly how much is consumed and burned, I will remain skeptical. That being said, I still log calories, since it is a working method, albeit imperfect.
This is not nearly as imprecise as you think. There is very little variation in BMR in a population of people at a given height and weight. Even in extreme circumstances where a metabolic disorder clinical results how a variation of ~5%. That equates to 80 kcals/day on a 1600 kcal/day budget.
Perfection is not necessary...it very seldom is. Accuracy and precision are fit for purpose.1 -
jseams1234 wrote: »Heres one: If you don't break a sweat during your workout you aren't working out.
I find it amazing that so many out-of-shape people in my gym never seem to experience any discomfort and can walk out as clean and as dry as they walked in.
... or maybe it's just me. I end up looking like a miserable wet dog even on days where it's all weights and no cardio. lol
... or maybe they are in shape and I'm out of shape. hmmmmm
I have a friend who is always front and center in cardio glasses and works out hard but she doesn't ever sweat. Some people just don't sweat much and it really isn't an indication of how hard you worked out.14 -
WinoGelato wrote: »
Awesome. Let me tell you about my typical weekday. Wake at 5:30 am. Spend about 30 minutes with morning routine. 6-6:15 am I check emails that came in overnight from Europe and Asia for work and answer any which are critical. Work out from 6;15 -7:15 am. 7:15-7:30 get my kids (6 and 8 year old boys) up and get them ready for the day (breakfast, make sure they got dressed, brushed teeth, etc, pack lunches for them). 7:30-8am I get ready for work. 8-8:30 I gather everything up for myself (computer, breakfast, lunch) and the kids (backpacks, water bottles, lunches, and the stuff they need for evening activities as well), drive to drop them off at school and then get myself to work by 8:30 or 8:45. I heat my breakfast up (if hot breakfast like a breakfast sandwich or bowl) or eat the yogurt, granola, and fruit I brought from home while I am getting situated in the office. I am in meetings most of the day, and when I do break for lunch, I either have leftovers from a meal that I cooked myself the night before, or I have a frozen meal that I can heat up. I eat at my desk and go for a 30 minute walk at lunch. I work till 5:30 and leave to get my kids by 5:45 or 6pm, then take them to soccer or baseball practice, tutoring, scouts. Sometimes multiple activities in the same night. The whole time I am trying to walk, as well as check more emails on my phone, sometimes calls with Asia while I am at the ball field. We usually get home from the activities by 7:30, at which point I help them with homework (15-30 min) and then have to figure out dinner. Yes, I like to cook and am not bad at it - but on nights like this often hamburger helper with a salad, or a skillet meal, or grilled cheese and tomato soup wins. I get that together while the kids are in the bath, we try to eat around 8pm, and then I spend about an hour putting them to bed and reading to them. By the time I get them in bed it is after 9pm and I have to clean up the kitchen, lay out clothes for the next day, - sometimes if I do want to cook myself a nice meal I do it after they have gone to bed and I eat around 9:30 pm. I spend about an hour just vegging out, watching TV, before getting ready for bed around 10:30, reading for a half hour or so, and finally go to sleep around 11 pm so I can get up and do it all over again.
I can see how that makes me sound lazy.
But thank you for making the point about why my opinion that these foods are a helpful addition to my life is unpopular.
Thanks for showing me the other side
If i was a single parent like you and didnt get home til 7:30 , i totally get doing the quick convenience meal thing in this case. Also i'm only a few years older than you and my kids are in their mid 20's, I can't imagine having young kids at my age, let a lone working full time on top of it, Id be a mess! I just don't have the energy or patience for small child parenting anymore, so mucho respect to you for that.
And FTR I'm in bed at the time you get home, so our lives are chalk and cheese. SO yes, if i had everything you have on my plate I'd probably do the same things as you.
Edit:typo's6 -
I'm late to this party but as a fairly recent WLS patient, the first page of this thread was a bit eyebrow-raising to me in regards to the assumptions and opinions. So let me break it down...
1. I lost 115lbs through a diet and exercise program that long and very troubling, and ultimately stalled out. I lived in a weight loss stall, doing everything right, following my doctors and nutritionist's guidelines, and the scale wouldn't budge. I was repeatedly sick and had to have several surgeries. The slow weight loss caused major hormonal issues that cost me internal organs in the long run, and likely my ability to have children as well. After over a year of seeing zero movement, even after attempting to "kick start" with medications, extensive research into the matters of obesity as well as the clear recommendations of my physicians is what kicked me from being stubborn to accepting surgery. My insurance wouldn't cover any supportive aggressive weight loss care, but the longer I stayed at a weight over 400lbs (I started at 535lbs), the more likely it was that I would develop things like diabetes and need to have more organs surgically removed. I worked for 5 YEARS to lose my excess weight and made it only 115lbs. At this point, there is a growing amount of research that suggests that at a certain weight level, successful loss is nearly impossible.
In short, not all of us just turned to it as a quick solution or a last resort I screwed up my life and can't afford to wait any longer due to heart disease point.
2. I have a diagnosed eating disorder, but not binge eating disorder. I'm complex anorexic/bulimic. Weight loss surgery, for me, had nothing to do with forcibly keeping my food intake down, but rather altering the absorption rate of calories; that is, effectively, removing my body's ability to absorb calories for now, because I don't need them, I have plenty stored. I had the type of surgery I had (RNY) specifically because it can be reversed later on if my malnutrition issues recur later in my life.
3. It's certainly not an easy thing to do... It's not easy to go through 6+ months of evaluations, dietary restriction, bloodwork, imaging and psychological/physiological counseling... this being BEFORE you have surgery. Then to dedicate that you'll essentially pay for a physical every 6-12 months for the rest of your life (more frequent in the beginning) is really a serious financial burden.
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My decision came after 5 years of serious struggling. It is certainly safer, healthier and more successful in these last 7 months since my surgery than it was the 5 years before that... and certainly for the years prior to that even, before I started trying to lose.
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All this being said, however, my unpopular opinion is also about WLS. I think far, far too many people are allowed to have the surgery. I think it's reprehensible that it can be purchased as an outpatient elective surgery that doesn't require a person to go through any evaluation, and often only requires a massive colon cleansing beforehand. I think a LOT of people do it because they are tired of working hard, or have never really worked on it at all, and they lie to pass the tests.
These are the same people that attend support groups and try to equate their journey with mine, and I get very snooty about it. You are not like me. I don't sit here mourning the food I can't eat anymore (most of the time anyway... a girl sometimes just wants a scoop of ice cream dangit) and I went into it knowing it would hurt, it could kill me, and I might be a case study some day... But I never thought it was the easy answer, and I certainly tried my damnedest to accomplish my goal without it.
So I get really flipping tired of people lumping me in with those assumptions. I guess that's the point of the thread. But it sure seems easy to say "WLS is cheating" from the outside...
But all WLS does, unless you have an RNY or DS, is restrict how much volume you can put in your stomach. The weight loss doesn't happen simply because you starve. It happens because you stick to the diet plan and have a LOT of dedication to the goal, and you use it as a tool to keep you on track... Just like people that curb appetite with mints or exercise a lot more to grant themselves calories for treats... We all find the ways we need to go in order to make it happen.
Acting like your way is better simply because you didn't ask for medical intervention to get there doesn't make you better or more successful, or mean that your journey was much more difficult. Maybe if you all saw how much I cried in a mix of defeat and disappointment in myself when I was preparing for my first appointment, you'd understand. I wasn't excited; I felt like a failure.40 -
@Quasita thank you for the amazing testimony1
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@Quasita in a lot of objections I've seen to WLS, people have specified that they object to this when one only has 50-100 or so pounds to lose. I myself have said on other threads that I have no objections to WLS for people like in My 600 Pound Life. I really get how it is necessary and life saving at that point. 600 pounds isn't the magical cut off number for me and I don't know what is, just that I think WLS to lose only 100 pounds is ill advised. So someone in your situation would get no flack from me 1
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@kshama2001 Funny thing is, I feel similarly from this side of the fence. When I'm in conversations where a person's starting weight is equal to my goal weight (My surgery goal weight is 240lbs... I'm 6'1" though, and currently about 65lbs from this high end goal) I get pretty frustrated. I don't know why they would elect to do a sleeve, effectively amputate their stomach, for 50lbs... But I often remind myself that we cannot compare sorrows and conditions to people that aren't us.
I catch a lot of flak, actually. Even my insurance company turned me down, despite having a BMI at surgery time over 50, because I wasn't "sick enough" to warrant the surgery. I had to appeal and prove that doing it would be less expensive in the long run. I have always been able bodied and capable of moving around. Even at 535lbs, I was able to go party all night, walk for miles, I was training for 3-4 hours a day at one point. And yeah, even my own family asked if it was really necessary.
However, now I'm 7 months out and have dropped over 100lbs since surgery, and most of those opinions have changed. These people see my eating habits and exercise have essentially stayed stable, but that the weight is coming off. I attribute it specifically to my inability to absorb and store fat, and my limited ability to process carbs.
Mostly, I feel sad for people that feel they need surgery to hit what I considered to be my first big milestone (50lbs). I can kind of understand 100lbs, especially for a shorter woman where that might constitute her being 2x her normal body weight... But the times it is saddest, for me, is when I converse with people that tell me they tried for 6 months then had surgery, where their most concentrated effort to try was during the diet leading to surgery, and prior to that, only stints on things like SlimFast.4 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
Yeah, if I told you that I was making a hand-formed freshly-ground beef patty served on an artisan roll with aioli, local greens, heirloom tomatoes, bacon from a heritage pig, and small-batch cheese, most people probably wouldn't call that junk food . . . even if the macros were pretty much the same as another, less fancy, hamburger. Or maybe people would. I can't even guess anymore.
As a vegan you may have to just trust me on this - there will be no comparison in taste.
I haven't had a fast food burger since seeing the ammonia plants in Food, Inc., but for discussions like this, I had a bite of my OH's BK burger and it's just not the same as what I make at home or get at non-fast food chain restaurants.3 -
veronikamellon wrote: »@Quasita thank you for the amazing testimony
Thanks dear. I just wanted to share, because I think it's important to recognize (as many know anyway) that not all stories are the same, and we all have a different springboard for the things we do.2 -
jseams1234 wrote: »Heres one: If you don't break a sweat during your workout you aren't working out.
I find it amazing that so many out-of-shape people in my gym never seem to experience any discomfort and can walk out as clean and as dry as they walked in.
... or maybe it's just me. I end up looking like a miserable wet dog even on days where it's all weights and no cardio. lol
... or maybe they are in shape and I'm out of shape. hmmmmm
In a well air conditioned gym I will not break a sweat while getting in a very good workout with weights. My ex, OTOH, would sweat like a pig in the same gym.
In the summer when humidity and heat is high I will sweat upon walking out the door.0 -
I get my cardio in two main ways: 1) Fitness glider for 60 minutes. 2) Walking 2-3 hours either in a single stretch or 2 walks in the day at a 'leisurely' pace. If I get 2 hours of walking in, I skip the glider.
(Sometimes, if I want to mix things up on the strength-training end, I'll do a workout that involves cardio and dumbbells, but that's maybe a once-a-week thing. Usually, I just do a strength-training workout plus the glider.)
The glider makes me sweat. The cardio-dumbbell workout makes me sweat. The walks? Not so much unless it's a hot day. But I still get a workout.1 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Adding:
6. I think it's fine if people want to substitute whatever for whatever and still call it pizza, or ice cream, or whatever. It's just a name. No one should be mocked for doing what they want/need to do to meet their goals.
Adding:
7. Yoga, done right, over time, in a studio, or at home if VERY well versed, CAN BE a fabulous strength training routine.
I lifted from 1996-2015. I added Pilates in 2013?ish and added Yoga in 2015. In Dec, 2015 I dropped lifting altogether for Yoga. I have seen great gains, more definition.
Yoga done right can be a progressive strength training approach.
I mostly do a power yoga, some Yin, some Vinyasa flow. I work with a great studio and some amazing teachers.5 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »Counting calories each day for a few years is one thing. But for those that do it, do you really envision doing it for 25+ years to come?
Since I'm already 61, I sure as heck hope so.18 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »
It's very interesting. You need to deconstruct the burger ingredients, form them into a "proper" meal, then call it a fancy name. It stops being junk food right away, and may even be called "healthy" and "high protein".
Heh, same as pizza. Bread, meat, veggies, cheese. Perfectly acceptable in a sandwich, "junk food" when it's round.3 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »Counting calories each day for a few years is one thing. But for those that do it, do you really envision doing it for 25+ years to come?
Nope. My unpopular opinion is that it's a diet, not a lifestyle change (FOR ME). I like my lifestyle just the way it is, thank you very much. What I CAN see myself doing is counting calories for 1 month every year for the next 25+ years. Although I need to get better at that...I tend to let it go for a few years, then I need to diet for a few months.0 -
Anyone can DEFINITELY improve on any body part they want. Hard work, discipline and consistency isn't in many people's daily regimen's, so kudos to those that do have it.
I suppose I agree that genetics have a role to some degree, I just think WAYYYYYYY too many people use that as a cop out to quit or make an excuse. I will not use that excuse ever even if I am not "genetically" able to grow huge arms, whatever that means. I agree that muscle insertions and bone structure, things like that, can make it hard, but I still think genetics is a terrible excuse, unless you have TRULY done everything you can, and until the day you die, you always have another day to work.
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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jseams1234 wrote: »Heres one: If you don't break a sweat during your workout you aren't working out.
I find it amazing that so many out-of-shape people in my gym never seem to experience any discomfort and can walk out as clean and as dry as they walked in.
... or maybe it's just me. I end up looking like a miserable wet dog even on days where it's all weights and no cardio. lol
... or maybe they are in shape and I'm out of shape. hmmmmm
I row regularly in a double (2-person rowing shell), with two different people. Me, I sweat like a lawn sprinkler. I'm that wet dog. M, my most frequent double partner, also sweats copiously. J, the other partner, might sweat a little if it's 90+ degrees F, otherwise, not much. Boat speed similar. Fitness pretty similar. I think all of us are getting a similarly good workout. I worry that J could have health issues if it's really hot outside, though. So far, hasn't happened.2 -
I think I jumped onto the wrong conversation. Not much understanding for those of us who are getting started on a new plan. I take full responsibility for my obesity- I have consistently eaten way too much food and exercised very little for many years. My joke was always, "It's not easy to maintain a figure like this." Most people thought it was funny except the people determined to feel sorry for me which, let's be clear, is a form of judgement. I have never expected or wanted anyone to feel bad for me, blamed anyone else for my weight, or missed out on things I wanted to do. Let's face it, I'm less active because I don't necessarily enjoy the activities others love. You might say it's the whole chicken vs egg thing but I was there. I've never been very active and have to make myself get out there and get physical every single time- it's never because it sounds like fun to me. I like healthy foods and I like junk foods and I eat a bunch of both. Seriously, kale, sweet potato, brown rice and a small pork chop for dinner one night, then Mac Donald's for lunch the next day. But I'm healthy whether you want to hear it or not. By all medical and mental health measures, I'm a healthy woman. I want to have more energy and I want to be thinner because clothes so I'm here to try to move the needle in that direction. Lot of judgy people around here though. Maybe I need to stay out of the chats and just do my thing. Yeah. Good luck to y'all. Be nice though, ok?4
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Lol, loving the replies!!! I too drink Diet Coke and luurrvveee white pasta!!!0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q84nfWkLsYU
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