SanteMulberry Member

^^THIS^^

^^This^^ Ultimately, it's all about the calories burned and the calories eaten. BUT, keeping insulin (the fat-storage and "fat-protecting" hormone) in check is a large part of activating glucagon (the fat-activating hormone--making body fat available for burning as energy) in the body. Many obese people find that a lower…

I carry nuts or seeds in my purse at all times. Sometimes I carry cheese and a bit of cut up apple too if I am going to be out for quite a while. Most days, I have cheese and some kind of fruit for lunch anyway. Two ounces of a good aged organic cheese and half an organic apple is a pretty satisfying lunch with a cup of…

I agree, it is not true that you won't utilize Vitamin D supplements unless you get daily sun exposure. I get little to no sun exposure for six months of the year and yet my doc says my levels are just fine (I take a minimum of 2,500 units year round).

There are full-body sunlamps available now (not cheap) that you can use to get your Vitamin D naturally. But beware tanning parlors as the type of lamps that they typically use put out ultraviolet A rather than ultraviolet B (the one you need in order to manufacture Vitamin D). Also, if you are going to go the supplement…

You are right--it is so important to the prevention of cancer that the Canadian Cancer Society now recommends that every Canadian get a minimum of 2,000 units per day during the winter. They also warn against using sun screen during every exposure to the sun in the summer as sun screen blocks the making of Vitamin D in the…

Raw egg white is bad for you if eaten frequently over the long term--depletes your body's supply of a specific B vitamin. But no worries about eating raw egg yolk--that's the most nourishing way to eat egg yolks (and there is a LOT of powerful nutrition in egg yolks). So I often eat my eggs "sunny-side up" with the yolks…

Mary Poppins!

Here's an interesting clip from Larry King Live (Joy Behar is hosting for him on this clip). Her guests include Andrew Weil, M.D. They discuss the research that strongly suggests that those who are genetically predisposed to obesity (apparently,about 60% of us) just cannot handle excessive carbs, and particularly sugar,…

Yes--exercise, and particularly weight-lifting is an important part of weight maintenance, but for those who do not, can not or will not exercise, carb restriction (especially sugar elimination) is the answer. I have osteoarthritis and even though I do intense cardio sessions at the pool, most other exercise is difficult…

Yeah--that's the main problem I have with weight-loss surgery--it can lead to severe malnutrition if an attempt is not made to watch nutritional levels. That's the problem I have with the "IIFIYM" approach. When you eat junk food, it crowds out nourishing fare. On a calorie-restricted diet, that can lead to chronic…

Excellent! Congratulations! :flowerforyou:

The best option is to get added sugar out of the diet. It is addictive and obesity is the result but obesity is just part of the trouble that sugar causes. Research done by the team of Richard J. Johnson (head of the renal division at the medical center at the University of Colorado) has pretty well proved that it is sugar…

The only problem I have with many dieticians is that many of them counsel seriously obese people to go low-fat and high carb. Granted, going very low fat will take weight off, but it exacerbates obesity-causing blood sugar issues (and yes, ALL obese folk have blood sugar issues whether they are diabetic or not). Since the…

Yes, there are a LOT of sad stories from the weight-loss surgery annals.

While I agree that weight loss surgery is unnecessary and may be a real health risk, I speak from experience when I say that going lower carb (not very low carb, mind you) is the only way to avoid regain. I was a yo-yo dieter for years--I was always either on some kind of calorie-restricted diet (and some of them were…

Totally agree with this. A friend of mine had the surgery three years ago and all was swell at first--she lost 136 pounds and was thrilled. BUT, now she is starting to have a lot of digestive issues. Has a fair number of days when she doesn't get out of bed. Who wants to sign on for that? My experience has been the same as…

^This is true. But it is somehow easier to overtrain with cardio than with weight-lifting because with weigh-lifting, you are typically following a program geared to you. With running or bicycling, for example, there are no set programs and the "runner's high" often seduces many into overtraining. I suspect that…

Too much cardio destroys muscle mass (it is catabolic)--not good for calorie burning. It also "teaches" your body to be VERY efficient in the way that it uses calories--not good for calorie burning. Weight-lifting (either body weight or actual weights) on the other hand, causes bigger muscles (it is anabolic) which burn…

My experience to a T. I have not been able to be as active on other diets. My healthy, slow-loss diet has enabled me to do things I never thought I could.

Your mistake was going low protein and very low fat--it will make you sick (as evidenced by your hair falling out). Good thing you didn't stay on it. You need at least 45 grams of healthy fats per day to stay in the pink, long-term. The whole low fat/no fat thing has been awful for people.

I know that I got very sick when I went on a very low calorie diet with no concern for proper nutrition. After I recovered, I regained all the weight plus more. :frown: I have been on my present program for about 3+ years (but I didn't join MFP till last year) and in all that time, I have not gained an ounce--only gone…

Unfortunately, the Chinese are into "organic" products. The only problem is that they might not have drug or pesticide residue in them but they almost certainly will have heavy metals and other pollutants because the irrigation water that they use over there is HEAVILY polluted from many years of industrial waste being…

You'd pay over $6 a dozen here for organic, pasture-raised eggs. We get our organic eggs from a local producer for about half that amount.

Because some people (especially small women) must skate dangerously close to the absolute minimum of sustenance in order to shed body fat. When she restricts calories to that point, every mouthful must be a nourishing one or she will get sick (been there, done that, I didn't like it, no one does). There is no room for the…

Well--it's a little more complicated than that (it's not linear) but for our purposes, it will work. :smile:

That is why eating good fat is important. You must eat fat to burn fat. You need a MINIMUM of 45 grams of fat every day just to stay healthy. Fat is vital to every hormonal process in the body. The walls of every cell in our body are primarily composed of fat. Essential fatty acids are just that--essential. The no fat/low…

I only eat steel-cut oats because they do not contribute to high blood sugar the way that those packets of instant oatmeal do. Plus, I like the nubbly texture of steel-cut oats as opposed to the pasty texture of regular oatmeal. Steel-cut tastes way better too and they have a higher amount of protein. With a generous…

You betcha! I find pool exercise is one of the best for lightening moods (nothing hurts, unlike going to the gym sometimes). The people in my class will often come in to the class looking kind of glum--but they always leave smiling and happy. :smile:

If your hamstrings are tight, your quads are probably even tighter--they work in opposition to each other to keep you standing up, but the muscles on the front of the body are almost always stronger because we use them more and they are bigger to start with (although I'm told that bigger doesn't necessarily mean stronger).…