7 laws of lean people....tracking calories causes stress?

c2sky
c2sky Posts: 487 Member
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
So I saw this article posted on yahoo today. And while I agree with some of it, I disagree with some of the implications. For instance once of the laws is supposedly,

"lean people eat fat", so they have pictures of potato chips in the article, instead of fish, almonds, olive oil

Secondly, they said "lean people don't diet" Well, we've talked about the need to eat enough on so many threads, but there was a quote in the article that basicly said that tracking calories causes stress, which raises cortisol levels.

WELL MY OPINION IS THAT THANKS TO MFP, this is the first time, I have NOT been stressed about food ever. The only thing that would be better, was if someone prepared all my food for me. That's the hardest thing, is preparing healthy tasty foods, and vegetables, but my vegi mix has helped with that.

Please read the article and tell me your thoughts. I would LOVE to hear them.

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/7-laws-leanness

Replies

  • gazz777
    gazz777 Posts: 722
    A few minutes on MFP per day and I now have my life back !!!
  • Deckershann
    Deckershann Posts: 272 Member
    I feel like a lot of the "lean people laws" are somewhat exaggerated. Growing up with a mom who is five foot eight inches, and rarely weighed over 130-135 she is genetically lean. Her entire family is. That being said, no she doesn't diet...or count calories. She eats whatever she wants (within reason of course) but can eat butter like there's no tomorrow and...well she just doesn't put weight. I guess I'm just trying to say that there should be other things taken into consideration when interviewing lean people.

    All of this to say, I'm adopted...lol so no lean genes for me. MFP helps me so much too!
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
    Great article - Every time people ask me what I have done to lose the weight I tell them "What skinny people have done all their lives - eat properly and got off my couch!!"

    I totally agree with you that logging counting calories is actually less stressful for me - I suppose different people are different, but I stress if I cant log - and understand the consequences of the choices I am making.... being able to plan and then execute works well for me :-)

    I do think you have "misread" the fat one - LAW #2: Lean People Don’t Go Fat-Free - the photo with it is actually to show all the "bad" Fat Free options that most people flock to ....... Fat Free is normally higher in sugar - and not all that good choices...
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
    very interesting, thank you
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
    I think you'd have to really obsess over food to cause enough stress to raise your cortisol levels, and cause weight gain. For someone who is simply counting calories, I don't think it's an issue. For me, I LOVE number crunching. It's what I do for a living. I like this site, and actually enjoy the quantitative aspect of healthy living.
  • MuffinMan25
    MuffinMan25 Posts: 110
    Just because a person is "skinny" does not mean they are "Healthy". I know a bunch of skinny fat people that look sick all the time.

    Just sayin......:tongue:
  • SUgrad04
    SUgrad04 Posts: 59
    Part of the problem with stories like this is that they never go into the details about how the study was constructed, what exactly they were measuring, how big the sample was and where they found it, etc. It's easy -- and it sells-- to say something like "tracking calories causes weight gain" or whatever, but it's not necessarily true. Were the subjects overweight? How overweight? How low did they think their calorie level was supposed to be? How were they asked to track it? You just don't know anything about the other kinds of variables that could be at play.

    Overall, I thought the tips made sense, but kind of in a "duh, I could have figured that out myself" kind of way. Such is much journalism, alas.
  • supertracylynn
    supertracylynn Posts: 1,338 Member
    I agree for the most part with the general principles. That's pretty much it.
  • AlionaWise
    AlionaWise Posts: 7
    I read quickly this article... i am basically ok with what he said about fats but the chips picture is definately wrong. After all he should mention that eating fat is something that should be checked-in seriously. WIthout consuming fat even lean bodies cant exist in healthy world too long (I have an nearby example with a very sweet girl, my colleague, who reduced all fats and currently she struggles with not having baby, her cycle is out of control, her hair falls out tremendously, she is only 23 but her skin looks like she is over 30s)
    After all, naturally lean people basically have a good ancestors genetics, their metabolism is much faster then thoses with weaker genetics. I'd prefer to take this fact in count instead.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    I plan to be lean and eat potato chips. Heck, I eat potato chips NOW and I'm losing weight (mostly fat I hope!). Plenty of lean people (NOT skinny, lean muscular people) eat potato chips. And french fries. And pizza. and buffalo wings. The difference is, they don't eat them every day or twice a day and they don't eat junk food constantly - they eat it sometimes.

    I have several friends who have always been healthy weight - sure they fluctuate up a bit and have some fat to lose sometimes but I've never seen them get overweight. Three of them eat whatever they want -- but they just don't eat much naturally, they feel 'full' at a healthy portion size and stop eating. I've eaten with them lots, we get burgers and fries and whatever else, but when they are full they go "oh gosh I'm so full" and stop eating. and when they feel their pants get a little snug they think "I better not have those fries, I'm gaining weight" and they drop that pound or two without any effort.

    I have another friend who thinks she is 'fat' (she's very skinny) and works out like a FIEND and goes on all these mad little diets and then eats bad for a few weeks. She's also never been overweight because she already sees herself as fat, she's constantly dieting and working out. But she's lean - maybe a little on the skinny side but overall good muscle tone etc. I imagine her cortisol levels are higher than the people I talked abotu above.

    And then my OTHER friend hovers closer to the overweight line than the above people, he tends to go out and eat yummy things and as much of them as he wants -- but then the next day he eats very light and healthy to make up for it. He probably is most prone to struggle with weight but he doesn't see it as a struggle. When he's had a few bad days he makes a point of having a few good ones.


    Anyway I guess my point is - that article like much of the crap published in mass market news sites and magazines is stupid. Sure some of those things apply to some people. But lean people, like overweight people, are different. Overweight people tend to look at lean peopel and just feel like they have got some kind of special magic going on, and hey, some of them do, but lots of them have just set up routines for themselves that keep themselves from getting too heavy.


    *edit* PS: ALL of those people watch more TV than I do, on a scale of probably 10 hours more per week than I do. I own a TV to hook up the xbox and the DVD player to and thats all we use it for. I probably watch about an hour of TV a week on average. I don't enjoy it. And I'm fatter than all my friends. This article generalizes all of its points so high that it was sort of a fun and quick read but I don't really think most of the people on MFP who are actively engaged in talking about fitness will get a lot out of it.
  • johnwhitent
    johnwhitent Posts: 648 Member
    The media sensationalizes everything; it's just what they do. And I fall for it and read the articles! This one had some very basic helpful information but also some stuff that can easily be misconstrued and used to justify poor behavior. But on the chip comment, I see that totally differently. The article says that lean people don’t go fat free and it pictures fat free items to avoid – fat free chips and others. So it is not saying eat fats and recommending chips but rather that we should avoid fat free items. At least that is how I read it. It would have been much less confusing and more helpful had it gone on to talk about good fats vs. bad fats, etc. It really failed the reader there. The article is superficial and sensational and misses the opportunity to really help people and instead focuses on using sensationalism to get people to click on its headline. Boo media!
  • broadsword7
    broadsword7 Posts: 411 Member
    Hiya, interesting post, here are my thoughts. The article basically is designed to grab attention, as John says...media hyping. I got the feeling it was also trying to hype a book. But for the most part, I agree with the "laws" in the article with the following comments:

    LAW #1: Lean People Don’t Diet
    I agree with this in the sense that paying attention to what we eat should be considered a LIFESTYLE, not a DIET.

    LAW #2: Lean People Don’t Go Fat-Free
    I interpret this as avoid chemical junk that is not natural. If that's the case, I can agree with it.

    LAW #3: Lean People Sit Down to Eat
    If sitting down to eat means taking time to eat slowly and not wolfing down your food, and also, paying *attention* to what you eat, then yep, this is good.

    LAW #4: Lean People Know What They’re Going to Eat Next
    Good one. Good planning leads to good execution. It also means thinking. I think thinking is sometimes way underrated by people who don't.

    LAW #5: Lean People Eat Protein
    Yeah, and they eat carbs too. If all you ate is protein, I would wager you might not be very healthy. The key is finding the right balance, is it not? Basically I try to scout for good protein in whatever I eat, however I am looking at every nutrient and ingredient, not just protein. But agreed, and I do know I need to eat more protein.

    LAW #6: Lean People Move Around
    Um, yep.

    LAW #7: Lean People Watch Less TV
    Because maybe they are doing more of LAW #6?

    Anyway, that's my take. Be healthy and happy, yall!
  • Silverkittycat
    Silverkittycat Posts: 1,997 Member
    Throw out #3 and #4 and I can somewhat agree with the others. I believe genetics and never having been on a diet, or been overweight, play the most important part. Just my thoughts on the topic.
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