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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?
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So for anyone who would like to read more on "cake culture" and its impact from a public health viewpoint s well as tips to beat it, here is a quick article from a health insurance webpage: https://www.aviva.co.uk/private-health-insurance/health-tips/healthy-eating/article/beat-office-cake-culture/.15
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WinoGelato wrote: »Today I learned that bringing cake into work is not a nice thing to do. Wow. What's next? Saying bless you to someone who sneezes is an insult? Opening a door for someone who has their hands full is degrading?
Yes as it indicates a religious thing...
Yes because if it's certain people they feel it makes them look weak....
*rolls eyes* political correctness to an extreme is on it's way....6 -
This is really funny. The opinion that is unpopular on a calorie counting, weight watching forum is one that thinks cake culture in unhealthy and not nice. Whereas the opinion that IS popular is the cake culture is perfectly healthy (in moderation and with personal accountability) and representative of people being nice and kind. Cake culture is strong on this site. Lol....
I find it quite encouraging. It means some people actually understand the relevance of context and dosage in their diet.17 -
So for anyone who would like to read more on "cake culture" and its impact from a public health viewpoint s well as tips to beat it, here is a quick article from a health insurance webpage: https://www.aviva.co.uk/private-health-insurance/health-tips/healthy-eating/article/beat-office-cake-culture/.
This is the first sentence:You’re sitting at work when your colleagues come over with the biscuit tin and you can’t help but tuck in. Before you know it, you’ve eaten five or six chocolate digestives without even noticing – we’ve all been there.
I don't even understand the language.
Are we taking a nap with a laxative? I don't...
I actually do understand it, but ya know.17 -
I have found the "secret" to beating "cake culture".
"No, thank you..."25 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Today I learned that bringing cake into work is not a nice thing to do. Wow. What's next? Saying bless you to someone who sneezes is an insult? Opening a door for someone who has their hands full is degrading?
Welcome to PC and microaggressions, where the absurd has become the norm.
These sentiments tell you more about the individual protesting and how toxic their thoughts are. This is nothing more than an exercise in projection.11 -
I must say, the more this is discussed, the more I'm happy with cake culture. Because cake. But only if it's good cake.17
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VintageFeline wrote: »I'm sad for all the cakes feeling terrible now.
Just because someone has a desk job doesn't mean they're lazy AF. They just happen to have a job that isn't active. I'd say the bigger problem here is a culture of screens as entertainment in their various forms than the bringing of cakes to work. People who are more active have little issue fitting in calorie dense deliciousness into their day and why shouldn't they if they can.
Side note: cake doesn't give you cancer because of its toxicity, straw man to compare it to cigarettes.
Not really a straw man as studies have shown that being overweight is as bad as smoking insofar as risk of premature death. Cake can make you overweight...especially as part of a program of unhealthy snacking whilst doing sedentary activities. Both obesity and smoking increase the risk of cancer. It doesn't matter how the cancer is caused ( toxicity vs. Excess fat) you still die.
But the cake isn't in and of itself toxic. You could overeat chicken and broccoli, it would be hard granted but the outcome would be the same as overeating the cake. So is chicken and broccoli also unhealthy? Is that a chicken and broccoli culture?
Do you see where the cigarette comparison doesn't work? Cigarettes, in any dose or context are bad. All the time everywhere always. The same can not be said for food, cake or not.14 -
VintageFeline wrote: »I'm sad for all the cakes feeling terrible now.
Just because someone has a desk job doesn't mean they're lazy AF. They just happen to have a job that isn't active. I'd say the bigger problem here is a culture of screens as entertainment in their various forms than the bringing of cakes to work. People who are more active have little issue fitting in calorie dense deliciousness into their day and why shouldn't they if they can.
Side note: cake doesn't give you cancer because of its toxicity, straw man to compare it to cigarettes.
Not really a straw man as studies have shown that being overweight is as bad as smoking insofar as risk of premature death. Cake can make you overweight...especially as part of a program of unhealthy snacking whilst doing sedentary activities. Both obesity and smoking increase the risk of cancer. It doesn't matter how the cancer is caused ( toxicity vs. Excess fat) you still die.
Seriously dude, you have an eating disorder.
I work in an office, and the there are a large variety of people here. There's a group that bikes for miles before/after during lunch. Another large group converted an unused storage room into a large lifting area. (They brought in those cushiony floor mats, a power cage, several squat racks, etc). Yes, there are some overweight people here as well. I would estimate they make up about 25% of the people here. (Several hundred peeps in this building.) So not the majority by any means.
Sharing food to express friendship has been the cultural norm for humans for thousands of years.
Perhaps you have a problem with cake. You need to learn to deal with it, or you will not be successful. Understand, not everyone needs to lose weight, has diabetes, or other health issues. Cake is not a deadly food.19 -
VintageFeline wrote: »I must say, the more this is discussed, the more I'm happy with cake culture. Because cake. But only if it's good cake.
You need to check your cake-privilege at the door.
:laugh: 9 -
I wish my office had a cake culture.
11 -
Censorship is telling an adult they can't bring a cake to work because a child can't handle its presence there.25
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VintageFeline wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »vegaslounge wrote: »I'm late to the thread (it's been a fun read!) but figured I'd throw in my two cents...
I hate the "my coworker is trying to sabotage my weight loss by bringing in treats!" whine. And I don't just say this as a coworker who brings in said treats, I say it as a human being who has free will and doesn't have a paranoid chip on her shoulder, chocolate or otherwise.
You are not so special, and the world not so petty, that Becky from accounting is trying to derail your – yes, YOUR! PERSONAL!– weight loss goals. Even if she is, you aren't tied to your office chair while she crams cookies fois gras-style down your gullet (if this is the case, I think OSHA would be a better organization to contact than MFP). Occam's razor would say that your coworker is trying to be nice and, also, you aren't the only person in the office, buttercup. Maybe Josh from marketing or that guy who delivers the mail whom you've never bothered to learn the name of would like an afternoon pick-me-up.
The "solutions" to this "problem" are usually just as bad. I especially hate the, "throw it away in front of them, they'll get the hint" one. Again, I AM that coworker who brings in homemade goods, and based on feedback, I am a damn good cook. I've also lost 35lb in the last year. I love to bake (it's very soothing) but I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I undoubtedly make more than I know I'd eat for weeks. So, why not share the bounty? Honestly, if a coworker accepted a brownie and then made sure that I saw them throw it in the trash, I wouldn't "take the hint" that I'm not supposed to bring in treats. I'd be a little hurt because I put time, money and effort into doing something nice for the office and you're frankly coming across like a world-class kittenhole and remarkable egotist for no good reason. Even if your coworker is bringing in dollar-store doughnuts, they spent their money to be nice. Hell, my supervisor's treat last month sent me into anaphylaxis and I don't shout "murderer!" every time I see her (sometimes. Not every time.)
Maybe I'm completely wrong. Maybe there really are Brazil-esque businesses where your coworkers surround you chanting "EAT! THE! CAKE!!! EAT! THE! CAKE!!!" and you get a zap to the cajones if you refuse. Is that what real office jobs are like? I've worked in non-profits my professional career, we're kind of the hippies of the corporate world.
I personally think this cake culture is a damaging maladaption. It's not a "nice" thing to bring in fat pills. It's definitely a bad thing to do. But because we have a cake culture in offices, it's almost expected that everyone take their turn bringing in sugary, fatty foods with which to tempt each other. Also to order and share a cake when a coworker has a birthday...yuck. It's just not a healthy practice for us humans to have adopted and yet we have and there's all kind of societal expectations around accepting the food, taking your turn to bring in food, etc. The sooner gone the better.
You've inspired me...I plan to bring in donuts for my team tomorrow.
Seriously, there's no reason we can't eat sweets in moderation, especially as part of a celebration of a person and/or their achievements.
Lol. I hate sweets. Cannot stomach icing...so sweet my teeth hurt. So to me, it's torture to have to pretend to eat some kind of gooey treat. Blerg.
So don't eat it? Plenty of people turn down the treats brought in. NBD.
Communal sharing of food at times of celebration is as old as humans are. To make out it's some kind of modern cultural scourge is again pretty odd. Eat it or don't and move on with your day.
I was going to jump in with this, but you said it so much better!2 -
annaskiski wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I'm sad for all the cakes feeling terrible now.
Just because someone has a desk job doesn't mean they're lazy AF. They just happen to have a job that isn't active. I'd say the bigger problem here is a culture of screens as entertainment in their various forms than the bringing of cakes to work. People who are more active have little issue fitting in calorie dense deliciousness into their day and why shouldn't they if they can.
Side note: cake doesn't give you cancer because of its toxicity, straw man to compare it to cigarettes.
Not really a straw man as studies have shown that being overweight is as bad as smoking insofar as risk of premature death. Cake can make you overweight...especially as part of a program of unhealthy snacking whilst doing sedentary activities. Both obesity and smoking increase the risk of cancer. It doesn't matter how the cancer is caused ( toxicity vs. Excess fat) you still die.
Seriously dude, you have an eating disorder.
I work in an office, and the there are a large variety of people here. There's a group that bikes for miles before/after during lunch. Another large group converted an unused storage room into a large lifting area. (They brought in those cushiony floor mats, a power cage, several squat racks, etc). Yes, there are some overweight people here as well. I would estimate they make up about 25% of the people here. (Several hundred peeps in this building.) So not the majority by any means.
Sharing food to express friendship has been the cultural norm for humans for thousands of years.
Perhaps you have a problem with cake. You need to learn to deal with it, or you will not be successful. Understand, not everyone needs to lose weight, has diabetes, or other health issues. Cake is not a deadly food.
My office work culture mirrors (or is perhaps worse) than the country as a whole, with perhaps over 70% overweight. How you guys ended up with a workforce of only 25% overweight is amazing, someone should do a case study on your culture!
Our corporate wellness group is desperately trying to get our overweight workforce to adopt healthier lifestyle habits with dismal results The smoking area outside is bustling as is the cafeteria section that sells fried and breaded food. Our site fitness center is never busy and the people there are the ones that need it the least. Charity fundraising entails selling donuts and walking tacos to hundreds of people who would not be able to buy them if the elevator broke down and they had to climb a flight of stairs or two. "Cake Culture" is not an urban legend, I see it in practice all the time.
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VintageFeline wrote: »I'm sad for all the cakes feeling terrible now.
Just because someone has a desk job doesn't mean they're lazy AF. They just happen to have a job that isn't active. I'd say the bigger problem here is a culture of screens as entertainment in their various forms than the bringing of cakes to work. People who are more active have little issue fitting in calorie dense deliciousness into their day and why shouldn't they if they can.
Side note: cake doesn't give you cancer because of its toxicity, straw man to compare it to cigarettes.
Not really a straw man as studies have shown that being overweight is as bad as smoking insofar as risk of premature death. Cake can make you overweight...especially as part of a program of unhealthy snacking whilst doing sedentary activities. Both obesity and smoking increase the risk of cancer. It doesn't matter how the cancer is caused ( toxicity vs. Excess fat) you still die.
Cake doesn't "make you overweight". Eating too much overall does. This comparison is a stretch that is beyond ridiculous. It's not the individual food item that is to blame, it's the person that eats too much of it. That's should be obvious.6 -
Bry_Lander wrote: »annaskiski wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I'm sad for all the cakes feeling terrible now.
Just because someone has a desk job doesn't mean they're lazy AF. They just happen to have a job that isn't active. I'd say the bigger problem here is a culture of screens as entertainment in their various forms than the bringing of cakes to work. People who are more active have little issue fitting in calorie dense deliciousness into their day and why shouldn't they if they can.
Side note: cake doesn't give you cancer because of its toxicity, straw man to compare it to cigarettes.
Not really a straw man as studies have shown that being overweight is as bad as smoking insofar as risk of premature death. Cake can make you overweight...especially as part of a program of unhealthy snacking whilst doing sedentary activities. Both obesity and smoking increase the risk of cancer. It doesn't matter how the cancer is caused ( toxicity vs. Excess fat) you still die.
Seriously dude, you have an eating disorder.
I work in an office, and the there are a large variety of people here. There's a group that bikes for miles before/after during lunch. Another large group converted an unused storage room into a large lifting area. (They brought in those cushiony floor mats, a power cage, several squat racks, etc). Yes, there are some overweight people here as well. I would estimate they make up about 25% of the people here. (Several hundred peeps in this building.) So not the majority by any means.
Sharing food to express friendship has been the cultural norm for humans for thousands of years.
Perhaps you have a problem with cake. You need to learn to deal with it, or you will not be successful. Understand, not everyone needs to lose weight, has diabetes, or other health issues. Cake is not a deadly food.
My office work culture mirrors (or is perhaps worse) than the country as a whole, with perhaps over 70% overweight. How you guys ended up with a workforce of only 25% overweight is amazing, someone should do a case study on your culture!
Our corporate wellness group is desperately trying to get our overweight workforce to adopt healthier lifestyle habits with dismal results The smoking area outside is bustling as is the cafeteria section that sells fried and breaded food. Our site fitness center is never busy and the people there are the ones that need it the least. Charity fundraising entails selling donuts and walking tacos to hundreds of people who would not be able to buy them if the elevator broke down and they had to climb a flight of stairs or two. "Cake Culture" is not an urban legend, I see it in practice all the time.
...and it's every individual's choice whether they partake in those things or not. We make our own decisions and we live with the results. Life is funny that way.
From the directions this discussion has taken (not singling out any one particular person), I'm not quite sure if some people are advocating for a totalitarian environment where everybody is compelled to eat, live and exercise a certain way or what.7 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »
I'll stick with my strong heart and plentiful food from weightlifting and HIIT. More bang for the buck.
Not in my experience. Can't sustain HIIT long enough to burn any meaningful amount of calories, and whatever I burn I eat back twofold or more because it increases my hunger substantially. Now don't get me wrong, no one has to do cardio (or weight lifting, or HIIT for that matter), but you can't call any form of exercise a waste of time because there are clear benefits to being active, health and otherwise.
Yes, sitting on your *kitten* is a much greater waste of time.
Since I don't like exercising in general, I'm going to spend the least amount of time possible to get the greatest benefit which means high intensity. I just want to get it over with so I can get back to thing I enjoy.
And that's totally alright! It's just, this sounds more like preference than opinion.
Nah, I still am not a fan of cardio(but it's better than nothing). I believe there are much greater benefits from high intensity exercise.
How do you know you don't burn as much calories doing HIIT? I believe that much shorter, high intensity exercise may not burn as much at the time, but the residual calorie burn from greater muscle stimulation lasts much longer resulting in more CO.
EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consunption) for HIIT is 14%, for Low Impact Steady State it's 7%. That's the % of residual burn of calories burned during. FWIW. HIIT can't be done for very long so the overall burn is not that big. If you could do 30 minutes of HIIT, your Butner with EPOCH would be about the same as 60 minutes of LISS but who can do 30 minutes of HIIT??
This would depend on the intensity of the HIIT. And as @GottaBurnEmAll stated not all "HIIT" is equal. To me, HIIT means the intervals are 100% all out.
That is the HIIT I'm talking about and in exercise physiology circle based on studies, that is the commonly accepted number. This was discussed in detail on the Lyle McDonald article sjomial linked to. It is also the number Dr. Brad Shoenfeld uses. It pretty objective and not really the subject of much speculation as to variance.
Less that 100% all out would not technically be HIIT but would be considered interval training. The EPOC would fall somewhere between LISS and HIIT depending on intensity. All HIIT is not equal because the Marketing woo machines call everything HIIT today. Things like 1 hours HIIT classes. If you can do it for 1 hour, it ain't HIIT!!
PS: The link sjomial gave is the 2nd in a series of in depth article about the subject and references a lot of the current research. If that is the link you are kind of dismissive of in one of your posts above, I suggest you didn't read it thoroughly. There are links to both the initial article in the series and the following ones at the bottom of the one posted.
I did read it, but I'll look at the references too. My main leaning to HIIT over cardio is that it is closer to weightlifting in it's muscle building potential... if I am not mistaken. However, I pretty much just lift and try to stay away from all that gross running stuff...
The studies that showed muscle building improvements were done with untrained subjects. In someone like you are me doing weight training that has not been demonstrated. In a trained individual, the benefit is primarily increase in VO2 max. HIIT in trained subjects provides cardio benefit.
If you read the series of articles, he covers all of this.
Ah..
So, I understand how HIIT would not improve muscle building in someone who lifts. But wouldn't it build muscle in someone who typically only does cardio (steady state)?
Possibly, I don't know. It wasn't one of the scenarios addressed.
It should. Think of HIIT (or any cardio workout) as a VERY long weightlifting set using VERY light weights. For example, if you're riding a bicycle for an hour and keep an average cadence of 80 rpm on the pedals you've just done 4,800 repetitions. That'll build muscle.
Personally, I don't think this deserved multi-woo-ing. Yeah, it's maybe a bit over generalized: Saying "any cardio workout" goes a little far; it really needs to have some form of workload progressivity to it, or the point of diminishing strength returns comes really soon.
At the same time, it's true that serious cyclists don't seem to have tiny, feeble quads, and not all of them lift as a sideline.
Workouts exist on some kind of theoretical continuum, or even multi-dimensional space. They work strength, CV fitness, flexibility, gross or fine coordination, etc., in different proportions, and with respect to different body parts or regions. Generically, cyclists don't look like runners, runners don't look like rowers, etc. While this is partly intentional adaptation tailored to the sport, it's partly adaptation caused by the sport.
Edited: typo5 -
Bry_Lander wrote: »annaskiski wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I'm sad for all the cakes feeling terrible now.
Just because someone has a desk job doesn't mean they're lazy AF. They just happen to have a job that isn't active. I'd say the bigger problem here is a culture of screens as entertainment in their various forms than the bringing of cakes to work. People who are more active have little issue fitting in calorie dense deliciousness into their day and why shouldn't they if they can.
Side note: cake doesn't give you cancer because of its toxicity, straw man to compare it to cigarettes.
Not really a straw man as studies have shown that being overweight is as bad as smoking insofar as risk of premature death. Cake can make you overweight...especially as part of a program of unhealthy snacking whilst doing sedentary activities. Both obesity and smoking increase the risk of cancer. It doesn't matter how the cancer is caused ( toxicity vs. Excess fat) you still die.
Seriously dude, you have an eating disorder.
I work in an office, and the there are a large variety of people here. There's a group that bikes for miles before/after during lunch. Another large group converted an unused storage room into a large lifting area. (They brought in those cushiony floor mats, a power cage, several squat racks, etc). Yes, there are some overweight people here as well. I would estimate they make up about 25% of the people here. (Several hundred peeps in this building.) So not the majority by any means.
Sharing food to express friendship has been the cultural norm for humans for thousands of years.
Perhaps you have a problem with cake. You need to learn to deal with it, or you will not be successful. Understand, not everyone needs to lose weight, has diabetes, or other health issues. Cake is not a deadly food.
My office work culture mirrors (or is perhaps worse) than the country as a whole, with perhaps over 70% overweight. How you guys ended up with a workforce of only 25% overweight is amazing, someone should do a case study on your culture!
Our corporate wellness group is desperately trying to get our overweight workforce to adopt healthier lifestyle habits with dismal results The smoking area outside is bustling as is the cafeteria section that sells fried and breaded food. Our site fitness center is never busy and the people there are the ones that need it the least. Charity fundraising entails selling donuts and walking tacos to hundreds of people who would not be able to buy them if the elevator broke down and they had to climb a flight of stairs or two. "Cake Culture" is not an urban legend, I see it in practice all the time.
That's pretty much the way is it where I work, except we don't have a site fitness center (and we have over 4,000 people on site so not a small sample size regarding the 70% overweight/obese).2
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