Best macros for weight loss

neanderthin wrote: »

The "Mediterranean Diet" and the "Standard American Diet" have virtually the same macro percentage breakdown.

According to the WHO, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain have the highest rates of childhood obesity, which also happen to be on the Mediterranean Sea.

Dan Buettner from "Blue Zone" fame is also on a tour promoting his new book, so that's been in the news more lately and how fabulous it is when people adapt the blue zone diet in the big apple (NYC) as an example and are getting healthier. More fruits and vegetables is covering a lot of territory lately and it can be found everywhere. Somehow I'm thinking he's not promoting Casu marzu a maggot infested sheep's cheese from Sardinia.


https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/332526/Eurohealth-25-1-7-10-eng.pdf

Are the childhood obesity levels higher than the US? Depends on what you're comparing them to. I don't see a lot of obese children here. Some--yes. Just like I see some adults. They stick out because they're not the norm.

Never eaten or seen the cheese you're mentioning. I guess it's a rarity--but thanks for mentioning it. If I see it in the stores, I'll let you know.

snowflake954 wrote: »

neanderthin wrote: »

The "Mediterranean Diet" and the "Standard American Diet" have virtually the same macro percentage breakdown.

According to the WHO, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain have the highest rates of childhood obesity, which also happen to be on the Mediterranean Sea.

Dan Buettner from "Blue Zone" fame is also on a tour promoting his new book, so that's been in the news more lately and how fabulous it is when people adapt the blue zone diet in the big apple (NYC) as an example and are getting healthier. More fruits and vegetables is covering a lot of territory lately and it can be found everywhere. Somehow I'm thinking he's not promoting Casu marzu a maggot infested sheep's cheese from Sardinia.


https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/332526/Eurohealth-25-1-7-10-eng.pdf

Are the childhood obesity levels higher than the US? Depends on what you're comparing them to. I don't see a lot of obese children here. Some--yes. Just like I see some adults. They stick out because they're not the norm.

Never eaten or seen the cheese you're mentioning. I guess it's a rarity--but thanks for mentioning it. If I see it in the stores, I'll let you know.

Sorry, I meant to say highest childhood obesity in Europe. No Italy is pretty good overall actually, the US is about double. The US had obesity rates like Italy of around 20% overall back in the 60's. Then again France is about half of Italy. South Pacific Islanders take the big prize.

No the cheese isn't actually legal but apparently can be found on the black market or made traditionally, it just something that has been eaten for centuries and it was for survival reasons and not health, people can die from it but it's still consumed in Sardinia. Quite the story I thought, humans are quite adaptive and survival can be the mother of invention. Traditionally they're quite the smokers apparently, like over half the population, but has gone down significantly, kinda weird, but maybe not. Some of the traditional foods of Icaria of Nuoro province the actual "blue zone" within Sardinia is pretty fascinating where cheese and dairy consumption is about 1/3rd of their calories. France does have a similar cheese if I'm not mistaken. Not sure I could eat it, maybe. Apparently the larvae must be living and they can jump apparently, so kind of creepy really.

I also heard that Italy is in the process of banning laboratory grown meat to help protect Italian culture. Have you heard anything about that? Curious.

neanderthin wrote: »

snowflake954 wrote: »

neanderthin wrote: »

The "Mediterranean Diet" and the "Standard American Diet" have virtually the same macro percentage breakdown.

According to the WHO, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain have the highest rates of childhood obesity, which also happen to be on the Mediterranean Sea.

Dan Buettner from "Blue Zone" fame is also on a tour promoting his new book, so that's been in the news more lately and how fabulous it is when people adapt the blue zone diet in the big apple (NYC) as an example and are getting healthier. More fruits and vegetables is covering a lot of territory lately and it can be found everywhere. Somehow I'm thinking he's not promoting Casu marzu a maggot infested sheep's cheese from Sardinia.


https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/332526/Eurohealth-25-1-7-10-eng.pdf

Are the childhood obesity levels higher than the US? Depends on what you're comparing them to. I don't see a lot of obese children here. Some--yes. Just like I see some adults. They stick out because they're not the norm.

Never eaten or seen the cheese you're mentioning. I guess it's a rarity--but thanks for mentioning it. If I see it in the stores, I'll let you know.

Sorry, I meant to say highest childhood obesity in Europe. No Italy is pretty good overall actually, the US is about double. The US had obesity rates like Italy of around 20% overall back in the 60's. Then again France is about half of Italy. South Pacific Islanders take the big prize.

No the cheese isn't actually legal but apparently can be found on the black market or made traditionally, it just something that has been eaten for centuries and it was for survival reasons and not health, people can die from it but it's still consumed in Sardinia. Quite the story I thought, humans are quite adaptive and survival can be the mother of invention. Traditionally they're quite the smokers apparently, like over half the population, but has gone down significantly, kinda weird, but maybe not. Some of the traditional foods of Icaria of Nuoro province the actual "blue zone" within Sardinia is pretty fascinating where cheese and dairy consumption is about 1/3rd of their calories. France does have a similar cheese if I'm not mistaken. Not sure I could eat it, maybe. Apparently the larvae must be living and they can jump apparently, so kind of creepy really.

I also heard that Italy is in the process of banning laboratory grown meat to help protect Italian culture. Have you heard anything about that? Curious.

I know the media and the general population are strongly against lab meat. As for smoking, there's still a lot of people smoking. That could also contribute to thinness--people eat less, taste buds are shot. Now they must smoke outside, but it's a problem even then. This summer at the beach the wind was blowing their smoke our way.

Lots of unusual traditional cheeses here. Some are aged in caves, others are wrapped in grape leaves and doused in red wine before aging. These are just a few examples. It's not just Italy. Isn't the most expensive coffee in the world made from coffee beans excreted by an animal? It might make an interesting thread........

snowflake954 wrote: »

Another tidbit on obese children in Italy. When I first arrived here I had many cultural clashes. I remember my MIL seeing a very fat baby and going on and on how beautiful it was. I thought it was way too fat, but I came to realize that her generation wanted children to be fat. They were behind medically here and she came from a southern village. Fat children had a higher chance of survival than thin ones when they caught childhood illnesses. It's in the mindset of certain parts of the country still. The children are expected to slim down as they grow.

Yeah, I've heard that before. I agree with your assessment about infants.

When I was researching childhood obesity it was interesting that young children ages 5-9 is where the highest percentages of fat were found and in Italy, boys fell in and around 20% and girls around 14%, but the groups that were aged 10-19 that statistic was cut pretty much in half, with 11% for boys and 8% for girls. Some of that decrease can be accounted for in natural increases in obesity over time from the effects of the socioeconomical impact from increased consumption of junk food and sugar, but nevertheless that variable showed up across the board. I believe most of that was based in overall movement of the 2 groups where the younger were more restricted in their freedoms and movement in comparison to say teenagers that were living a full and productive life, comparatively speaking. No proof just my thoughts on it.

Yeah there a few coffee's from different animals where they're marketed. One of the places I shop carried some with a price tag of around 100.00 a lbs. He said it was from tigers but I'm not sure about that. I've heard of coffee from elephant poo but it's not something I'd be interested in at that price and I'm a coffee person. I have paid a lot for some single estate organic coffee from Africa and South America for crazy money my friends say, lol. I would definitely try it, I just wouldn't pay that much, I think it's mostly marketing and it is a good story for sure.

Mazintrov13 wrote: »

Fattyohfat wrote: »

My goal is...
50% protein
30% carbs
20% fats
I eat a lot of grass fed beef, chicken, eggs, salmon, bacon, cruciferous vegetables, some brown rice, some legumes, and avocado or olive oil.
Like a few others have said I don't get bogged down by the percentages. If I eat protein the most in a day I am happy.
I have found in order not to be hungry I also include 1 protein shake a day as a snack or drink as part of a meal. I am a big fan of Ensure™ MAX Protein.
So far down 40 lbs in 2 months.

40 pounds in 2 months seems like a massive drop, how much weight have you got to lose?

Started at 462 OFFICIALLY, need to get down to 265-275 to have surgery says the orthopedist. I imagine a lot of that weight was water weight. I was put on a diuretic when diagnosed with diabetes along with metformin which has wiped my appetite.

neanderthin wrote: »

The "Mediterranean Diet" and the "Standard American Diet" have virtually the same macro percentage breakdown.

According to the WHO, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain have the highest rates of childhood obesity, which also happen to be on the Mediterranean Sea.

Dan Buettner from "Blue Zone" fame is also on a tour promoting his new book, so that's been in the news more lately and how fabulous it is when people adapt the blue zone diet in the big apple (NYC) as an example and are getting healthier. More fruits and vegetables is covering a lot of territory lately and it can be found everywhere. Somehow I'm thinking he's not promoting Casu marzu a maggot infested sheep's cheese from Sardinia.


https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/332526/Eurohealth-25-1-7-10-eng.pdf

Why yes, yes they do.

However, the "Western Pattern Diet" (formerly known as the "Standard American Diet") is less nutritious, more caloric, and associated with poor health outcomes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_pattern_diet

The Western pattern diet is a modern dietary pattern that is generally characterized by high intakes of pre-packaged foods, refined grains, red meat, processed meat, high-sugar drinks, candy and sweets, fried foods, industrially produced animal products, butter and other high-fat dairy products, eggs, potatoes, corn (and high-fructose corn syrup), and low intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pasture-raised animal products, fish, nuts, and seeds.[2]

Dietary pattern analysis focuses on overall diets (such as the Mediterranean diet) rather than individual foods or nutrients.[3] Compared to the "prudent pattern diet", which has higher proportions of "fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and poultry", the Western pattern diet is associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease and obesity.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_diet

The Mediterranean diet is a diet inspired by the eating habits and traditional food typical of southern Spain, southern Italy, and Crete, and formulated in the early 1960s.[1] It is distinct from Mediterranean cuisine, which covers the actual cuisines of the Mediterranean countries. While inspired by a specific time and place, the "Mediterranean diet" was later refined based on the results of multiple scientific studies.[2]

The principal aspects of this diet include proportionally high consumption of unprocessed cereals, legumes, olive oil, fruits,[3] and vegetables, and moderate consumption of fish, dairy products (mostly cheese and yogurt), and meat products. Olive oil has been studied as a potential health factor for reducing all-cause mortality and the risk of chronic diseases.[4]

The Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality in observational studies.[5] In 2017, the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition published evidence that the Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of heart disease and early death.[6] The Mediterranean diet may help with weight loss in obese people.[7]

You're right to avoid extreme fad diets. A balanced diet with a mix of healthy fats, proteins, and carbs can help you stay satisfied and avoid cheating. The suggested ratio of 5-15% carbs, 25-35% protein, and 45-65% healthy fats can work for many. Just remember, what works best can vary from person to person. It's important to find a sustainable approach that fits your needs and preferences. Consulting with a healthcare professional or dietitian can be helpful, and long-term sustainability is key.