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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?
Replies
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I absolutely believe in the Hawthorne Effect--that people work harder when others are watching--therefore competitions in the workplace, having friends on FitBit and MFP make people reach their fitness goals faster.3
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k8andchr1smom wrote: »I absolutely believe in the Hawthorne Effect--that people work harder when others are watching--therefore competitions in the workplace, having friends on FitBit and MFP make people reach their fitness goals faster.
how is this unpopular?0 -
deannalfisher wrote: »k8andchr1smom wrote: »I absolutely believe in the Hawthorne Effect--that people work harder when others are watching--therefore competitions in the workplace, having friends on FitBit and MFP make people reach their fitness goals faster.
how is this unpopular?
Perhaps not in your life, but in my workplace. "Puts too much pressure on us" "I can never do as much/well as them so screw it" "I don't want people to know what I do"0 -
I think it depends on the person.2
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lemurcat12 wrote: »I think it depends on the person.
psychology of motivation would concur with you - its the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation - do you do it for you or do you need an external influence (either positive or negative)0 -
deannalfisher wrote: »k8andchr1smom wrote: »I absolutely believe in the Hawthorne Effect--that people work harder when others are watching--therefore competitions in the workplace, having friends on FitBit and MFP make people reach their fitness goals faster.
how is this unpopular?
On this thread, sometimes you don't know what's unpopular until you assert it.5 -
JerSchmare wrote: »Not my opinion; but, this is my doctor's opinion. And, it is unpopular in some circles. That is, if you take in fewer calories than are needed to maintain your body weight, you'll lose weight. I've never heard so many dissenting opinions to such an assertion - except for some political discussions.
I know. It’s crazy.
I have a “friend” IRL that think he eats more than he burns and loses weight. He eats LCHF. He also idolizes Dr Fung, and others. I’ve tried to point out to him that it is impossible to eat more than you burn. While he refuses to track calories, even for one day, he told me, “I know for a fact that I eat more than I burn and I lose weight. I don’t need to track my calories or prove anything to you”. Ok snowflake.
I know for a fact I'm earning more money than I'm spending but somehow my balance keeps getting smaller. Huh? No, I'm not keeping track of my spending, why?9 -
* I agree with your speculation that a "better" gut flora population would mean getting better access to nutrition from food, including calories. Keep in mind that the gut bugs themselves eat in order to live/thrive: Often, they're harvesting things that we don't digest, which is why certain types of fiber are important. (There's some speculation is that this is related to why people who ramp up fiber too fast can get gassy - bugs gorging and micro-tooting. ).
This is my new favorite term.1 -
VintageFeline wrote: »You must lift heavy. The rest of us who strength train in a different way are just spinning our wheels. Ah MFP, the church or Stronglifts.
I don't understand Halo top. Which means all the more for everyone else to have. That and it's not available here.
And you're damn right a large reason I cardio is to eat more. I've even started a bit of hiking as my calories are getting to a sad point as I creep towards goal.
The level of confirmation bias in "my meds are making/keeping me fat" threads.
lol! I bought into the "must lift heavy" mantra some years back... shoulders started getting wider, waist started getting boxed...Ummmm....I'm cool with all that. lol... Ill stick to lifting weights, but not as heavy as before and more reps, isolating muscles, and not just compound moves. Did SL 5x5 last time.......not my thing..didn't like how my shape was getting....but we live and we learn and do what's best for our personal goals. To each their own. If I do ever bulk and cut, it will be isolating muscles and not concentrating on compound moves cause I do not want my shape to be what it was starting to be last time when lifting heavy and doing just compound moves. lol
No offense to those who lift heavy..very admirable..just not what I expected it to be for my personal goals.5 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I think it depends on the person.
It does depend on the person. I work best when I work alone. I don't even do well with "support". It feels as if I need to meet some kind of expectation in return for the support, so if I do it solely for myself I tend to do better because I get to work flexibly the way that best works for me, focusing on the process itself instead of feeling pressured to deliver certain results. It's not about not being able to do as much as other people (that doesn't bother me one bit), it's more about having more freedom with my process.3 -
I'm largely the same, although sometimes training groups have been helpful in limited ways (I liked being able to do my long run with a group when marathon training one time, although I trained fine on my own another time too).
I'm not sure I totally buy into this (or any simplified theory), but Gretchen Rubin has this classification based on source of motivation (obliger = externally motivated, need things like accountability partners or commitment to a class, questioner = internally motivated, need to determine for yourself it is important, purely external doesn't work, upholder = motivated both internally and externally, rebel = struggle against strictures however imposed, even your own, need to find other strategies (like I'm sticking it to the man by doing this, I guess). ;-)
When I tested, I got questioner, and that fits with how I have effectively gotten fit. Tying it to an official class or another person doesn't work for me. A running group or Compu-Trainer class can IF I convince myself it fits into what I specifically want to do in some way. My best results have been when I plan out what I'm doing and really understand why and then work it (and I adore planning). Even telling people what I'm doing doesn't really work for added motivation, as I tend to feel now I'm doing it for them and it feels more stressful. Weird, but I think understanding it helps me work with it.
I never, ever got why people claimed an open diary was somehow relevant to their motivation before (you need others to tell you how to eat? you want others to comment on poor choices when they don't even understand your specific goals?) and I guess now I'm able to chalk that up to differences, although I still find it odd.4 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I'm largely the same, although sometimes training groups have been helpful in limited ways (I liked being able to do my long run with a group when marathon training one time, although I trained fine on my own another time too).
I'm not sure I totally buy into this (or any simplified theory), but Gretchen Rubin has this classification based on source of motivation (obliger = externally motivated, need things like accountability partners or commitment to a class, questioner = internally motivated, need to determine for yourself it is important, purely external doesn't work, upholder = motivated both internally and externally, rebel = struggle against strictures however imposed, even your own, need to find other strategies (like I'm sticking it to the man by doing this, I guess). ;-)
When I tested, I got questioner, and that fits with how I have effectively gotten fit. Tying it to an official class or another person doesn't work for me. A running group or Compu-Trainer class can IF I convince myself it fits into what I specifically want to do in some way. My best results have been when I plan out what I'm doing and really understand why and then work it (and I adore planning). Even telling people what I'm doing doesn't really work for added motivation, as I tend to feel now I'm doing it for them and it feels more stressful. Weird, but I think understanding it helps me work with it.
I never, ever got why people claimed an open diary was somehow relevant to their motivation before (you need others to tell you how to eat? you want others to comment on poor choices when they don't even understand your specific goals?) and I guess now I'm able to chalk that up to differences, although I still find it odd.
i just took the Gretchen Rubin test - i'm a total questioner with a dash of rebel (no surprise to anyone who knows me)1 -
JerSchmare wrote: »Jack Lalanes advice from 1960 was right on the money.
No coffee, no butter, no added sugar at all (because it's worse than cigarettes), no so-called "processed foods" (although he ate a bunch at restaurants so long as they added no salt and butter), and absolutely no dairy (because it's for suckling calves).
Really?
Okay, cool. I don't agree, but cool.11 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »I think it depends on the person.
It does depend on the person. I work best when I work alone. I don't even do well with "support". It feels as if I need to meet some kind of expectation in return for the support, so if I do it solely for myself I tend to do better because I get to work flexibly the way that best works for me, focusing on the process itself instead of feeling pressured to deliver certain results. It's not about not being able to do as much as other people (that doesn't bother me one bit), it's more about having more freedom with my process.
For training, if it's one other person, and our goals are nearly aligned, it's great, but groups for groups sake is just a distraction and annoyance, and some attempts at motivation(from people who don't or hardly know me) will just make me want to stop.0 -
You put it here, so we can talk about it here.
And thanks for quoting me before I fixed my suckling calf typo!
Do you really agree with all that (if so, whatever, cool, I am actually curious that's all) or are you just trying to be controversial?7 -
JerSchmare wrote: »I like Jack. I remember watching him on tv. I remember how bad information on dieting was. I remember how difficult it was to find information, and that while books were available, it wasn’t like now. So, you just went with the best you could. I think for the time, the info was pretty good. But, Jack was a bit on the extreme side of it. He was also a showman. But, he lived and breathed what he preached. I think the other group takes things too literally. I don’t like the debate. It’s too pendantic and too literal. People know what you mean but they pick apart every syllable to make stupid arguments. It’s more sport than discussion. Was Jack 100%? No. Was it pretty good advice for the time? IMO, Yes.
So it was exactly like now.6 -
Going to the library wasn't difficult, depending on where you lived, though. I was walking distance from two, not counting the one at my school. I also used to buy calorie counter paperbacks at the book store.
What I find has changed is that, thanks to the internet and nutritional info on packaging, it's much easier to get up-to-date info and I don't have to deal with the whole "I'm in Canada and most of the brands in the paperback are US-based and not available here and they don't have half the brands that are."
But that's just calories.
As far as nutritional info, I think there's always been conflicting data and stuff taken out of context (examples: people with diabetes generally need to watch carb and sugar intake, therefore everyone should restrict these; people with gluten sensitivities get sick when they eat wheat, therefore it would be beneficial for everyone to avoid it). The internet has given people a platform and a presence, to the point where it's difficult to know who's actually an authority and who's just claiming to be one. But overall, I think people generally know the basics and don't eat like they're the poster children for the recurring strawman argument on these boards, consuming nothing but french fries and Little Debbie's.4 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »JerSchmare wrote: »Jack Lalanes advice from 1960 was right on the money.
No coffee, no butter, no added sugar at all (because it's worse than cigarettes), no so-called "processed foods" (although he ate a bunch at restaurants so long as they added no salt and butter), and absolutely no dairy (because it's for suckling calves).
Really?
Okay, cool. I don't agree, but cool.
Lalane was a zealot and his professional image was intertwined with his lifestyle habits, so he was one of the rare people who could sustain this type of regiment. For the rest of us, this level of restriction is unsustainable and in light of current nutritional knowledge, unnecessary.7 -
estherdragonbat wrote: »Going to the library wasn't difficult, depending on where you lived, though. I was walking distance from two, not counting the one at my school. I also used to buy calorie counter paperbacks at the book store.
To be fair, I grew up in the 80s, but the 6 libraries that were within walking distance of where I lived were built before the 60s.
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JerSchmare wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »JerSchmare wrote: »I like Jack. I remember watching him on tv. I remember how bad information on dieting was. I remember how difficult it was to find information, and that while books were available, it wasn’t like now. So, you just went with the best you could. I think for the time, the info was pretty good. But, Jack was a bit on the extreme side of it. He was also a showman. But, he lived and breathed what he preached. I think the other group takes things too literally. I don’t like the debate. It’s too pendantic and too literal. People know what you mean but they pick apart every syllable to make stupid arguments. It’s more sport than discussion. Was Jack 100%? No. Was it pretty good advice for the time? IMO, Yes.
So it was exactly like now.
Sort, but different. In 1960, information was harder to get. You had to go to the library and do your own research. Since a lot of people wouldn’t do that, they just got whatever came over the tv, or word of mouth or the latest book diet fad.
Now, it’s the same problem, but too much information. And it’s hard for people to know what to do because of conflicting information. But, it’s all readily available.
Doubling down on speculation about times you weren't alive for, on a new and different thread? Too funny.
Might just as well speculate that because information was so rare and precious, people actually sought it out and engaged with it and thought about it, rather than using their mass-media-shortened attention spans on being slapped silly by a barrage of nonsense click-bait and memes all day long.
Truth, as usual, somewhere in the middle.10
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