# Exercise........away the pot.



## sags (May 15, 2010)

I woke up the other day........and presto there it was..........a pot belly.

So I was wondering if there is an exercise that I can do...........with due consideration of bad ankles, bad knees, and a painful hip......all due to walking for 40 years on concrete factory floors.

We have a free membership to a private club with a fully equipped gym and swimming pools.

I was told swimming is good to take off the weight.............but I would have to do laps and I am not that strong a swimmer, and I would have to go back and forth across the shallow end...........floundering grandly in the process.

How about riding the stationary bike? Will that take off the pounds and be easier on my joints than walking the treadmill?

I got to get moving and do something................or I won't be able to see my toes anymore.

Basically............I need to burn off calories I think.

But do it in a gentle way...........any advice?


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Stationary bike is pretty gentle and can help your overall mobility - why don't you start there? There may also be "aquafit" classes that allow you to do some things in the water that aren't laps. Are there circuit machines? Those can also be helpful with overall range of motion, flexibility and conditioning. Good luck!


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

Any kind of exercise can be a good way to burn calories. You'll probably have to experiment to find out which activities your various body parts can handle.

It probably goes without saying that eating less will also help in this endeavor. Regardless - exercise is good and should be done.

I like MG's suggestion of aquafit - my wife does that sometimes and it's definitely a good option for someone needing a low-impact activity.

Stationary bike sounds good - try it out. What about a real bike? Far more interesting if you can handle it.

Swimming is very good exercise - you should consider taking some lessons. Eventually you'll be a strong swimmer.

One of the great things about swimming is that along with using quite a few body parts - you can use different props to work out only the upper body or only the legs. Using a board and kicking will obviously work the legs (and you don't need to know how to swim), using a pull buoy means you can just use your upper body which is great if the legs are having problems.

Final advice - try to find different activities you can do. It's too boring to only ride the bike or only swim all the time. If you can figure out two, three or more activities that work for you - that allows for a more interesting workout schedule.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Ellipticals are good no/low joint pressure/low impact machines.......get a good one though, the low enders are generally junk..........look on Kijiji, there are always people who buy equipment and never use it, (but they often have overinflated ideas of what a 'used' unit is worth......50% and more off sales are common in stores for new units, so factor this into whatever offer you might consider making).


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Thanks MG..........sounds like what I need.

Are you supposed to really go at it.........and get the heart pumping?

Or a more leisurely pace for a longer period of time.

Lots of time..........I am retired.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I never thought of a board in the pool..............and a bike for outside might work.

Maybe a bike ride every day and then some time in the pool would do the trick.

Thanks...............


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## bayview (Nov 6, 2011)

Apart from exercise, the other key part is the diet- reduce unhealthy carb and reduce/eliminate sugar.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Agreed that diet is an important part of it. Some people can lose weight from exercise alone, but they're in the minority; the best results come from a combination of both. And exercising more usually makes you hungry, so you tend to offset some of the calories lost by eating more than you did previously.

I burned a little over 500 calories today riding my bike outside, but when I got home I was so ravenous that I had an apple (100 calories) and later a bowl of cereal with soy milk (about 280 calories). So instead of burning 500 calories my net burn was 120. If I drink a glass of orange juice I'd be down to a net of almost zero.

If you jogged from the bottom to the top of the Empire State Building and ate a Snickers bar when you reached the top, your net calorie burn would be zero.

So diet has to play a role.

Unfortunately there's no way to burn fat preferentially so you lose it in just one area. Building muscle in your abs isn't going to get rid of a pot belly, it'll just make your abs look nicer when you lose the fat. But you have to lose fat overall.

I come from a long line of tall skinny guys with pot bellies, and the only way for me to lose mine is to bring my weight way down -- I'm 6'4" and currently weigh 176 pounds and have a bit of a belly; to lose it completely I'd have to get down to 170 or so, which makes me very skinny overall.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

If you're not sure about intensity for cardio, you can try a heart rate monitor. This helps you to monitor your intensity and adjust accordingly.


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## 6811 (Jan 1, 2013)

andrewf said:


> If you're not sure about intensity for cardio, you can try a heart rate monitor. This helps you to monitor your intensity and adjust accordingly.


If you haven't already, you might want to check with your doctor before starting anything strenuous.


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## steve41 (Apr 18, 2009)

And then there is the following take....



> The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine published joint guidelines for physical activity and health. They suggested that 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five days a week is necessary to “promote and maintain health.” What they didn’t say, though, was that more physical activity will lead us to lose weight. Indeed, the best they could say about the relationship between fat and exercise was this: “It is reasonable to assume that persons with relatively high daily energy expenditures would be less likely to gain weight over time, compared with those who have low energy expenditures. So far, data to support this hypothesis are not particularly compelling.” In other words, despite half a century of efforts to prove otherwise, scientists still can’t say that exercise will help keep off the pounds.


The counter hypothesis to "energy in=energy out" is much more compelling, IMHO.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

brad said:


> I'm 6'4" and currently weigh 176 pounds and have a bit of a belly; to lose it completely I'd have to get down to 170 or so, which makes me very skinny overall.


I'm 6'0" and 170 lbs, so I can see that 170 at 6'4" would be too low.


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## steve41 (Apr 18, 2009)

Another thing about swimming is that the body, in order to keep the body temperature up in relatively colder water, will tend to want to deposit fat to insulate. Compare the physiques of a distance runner with a competitve swimmer.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Nemo2 said:


> I'm 6'0" and 170 lbs, so I can see that 170 at 6'4" would be too low.


Not necessarily -- much depends on bone structure and body type. I'm fine-boned, so 6'4" and 170 doesn't make me look anorexic or anything, but I have to go that low before my belly disappears and I have a healthy waistline measurement. Even now at 176 my waist is around 36" -- I'd like to get it down to 34 or so; I felt best when my waist measurement matched my inseam (34" for both!). But it's hard to sustain that as one gets older. ;-) Right now my target is 175 and I'm almost there (I was up to 185 in February so I've been exercising more and eating less to bring the weight down gradually); I'll try to stabilize at that weight for a while and see if I feel like dropping further.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

sags said:


> Are you supposed to really go at it.........and get the heart pumping?


Not exactly.




sags said:


> Or a more leisurely pace for a longer period of time.


I would tend toward this approach, but I would try for a pace that is a bit more than leisurely.

If you are interested, there are books written about this topic or you can hire a coach who will help you figure this stuff out if you want to be fairly detailed.

However, in general I've found that lower/medium intensity workouts for extended times have the best benefit for burning calories.

If you aren't going hard enough, then even a long workout won't burn a lot of calories for the time you are putting in. If you are going hard, you might burn more calories/minute - but you won't be able to sustain the effort for that long. If you can find some medium ground, then you can do something like a 1-2+ hour bike ride and burn a decent number of calories.

Of course, you have to work your way up to be able to do a decent workout. Start slow & short and go from there.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Good advice from Four Pillars there -- there is a widespread myth of a fat-burning zone, which doesn't exist despite many claims to the contrary, but the key is that while you will burn more calories with high-intensity exercise than low-intensity exercise over the same period of time, low-intensity exercise is easier to sustain so you may end up burning more calories because you can exercise for a longer period.

I just had a lesson in that myself: When I row in the mornings on my rowing machine, I usually go at it pretty hard for 30 minutes, but I only burn about 400 calories in the process. When I ride my bike outdoors, I usually ride longer and typically burn 500 calories or more -- not because I'm biking intensely but because I ride for closer to 50 minutes; biking is less intense than rowing, especially where I live since there are no hills. If I rowed on my rowing machine for 50 minutes I'd be a puddle of protoplasm on the floor afterward. When we use our bikes for touring, we typically burn upwards of 3,000 calories per day, even though we go at a fairly leisurely pace. It's the time and distance that matter in that case.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

brad said:


> biking is less intense than rowing


It doesn't have to be though. You could go faster on the bike (but watch for cars). Not easy to do tho.

That reminds me of one other thing - some activities can't be done as leisurely as others. Cycling is a great example of where you can ride a slow pace if it's flat and not windy and burn less calories than if you were just walking. Or you can do all out intervals.

The point is that if you are doing something that doesn't really have a 'leisure' speed, doing the lowest effort could still be a decent workout.

Things like jogging come to mind. Swimming where you are just kicking with a board is another - if you do a leisure speed for that, you won't move. And since you (Brad) mentioned it - cycling in hilly terrain doesn't have a leisure speed either.


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## steve41 (Apr 18, 2009)

There is a sea change afoot in the exercize/diet community.... it pits the conventional 'energy balance' hypothesis against the 'endocrinology' hypothesis. This is a fairly dense description of the issues, but well worth the read.... *BMJ article*


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

brad said:


> Not necessarily -- much depends on bone structure and body type. I'm fine-boned, so 6'4" and 170 doesn't make me look anorexic or anything, but I have to go that low before my belly disappears and I have a healthy waistline measurement. Even now at 176 my waist is around 36" -- I'd like to get it down to 34 or so.


I wear 33" waist jeans/pants, and feel comfortable at 170, (wouldn't mind being, say, 168 to allow for a little indulgence, but my wife doesn't agree that it's necessary).......trying to maintain 70 minutes a day, (in 2 sessions), pretty much 7 days a week, on the elliptical at the 'interval' setting........and, when the weather improves, we'll go back to doing stairs, (there's a set of 59 wooden stairs near us, and my maximum, last October, shortly after my 70th birthday, I did 125 repeats....just over 4 times the number of steps to the CN Tower pod....which, oddly enough doesn't bother my cartilage absent knees).


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

I found it helpful to combine my interest in investing with exercise. I have an old computer hooked up to a small flat screen TV and watch BNN's market call when I'm on the treadmill or doing weights. 

However, although exercise helps, I've found diet (but not dieting) is the best way to lose weight. Basically you want to rearrange the typical food pyramid and move fresh vegetables and fruit to the bottom (the biggest part of your diet).


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## nakedput (Jan 2, 2013)

lol at the everyone in this thread overcomplicating things. Eat less, exercise/lift more. That's all you need to do. calories in, calories out.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

nakedput said:


> Eat less, exercise/lift more. That's all you need to do. calories in, calories out.


I disagree.
It is not as simple as that.
Far more important than calories in/out is _where_ those calories are coming from.

Would you say it is a healthy lifestyle if your calories are coming from burgers and cola every day, even if you are exercising all those calories each day?

The type of ingredients in your food, where it came from, how it was prepared, and how it was served and eaten, are very important aspects of overall health.

They cannot be ignored.
Saying that health and fitness is all about calories in/out, as if it were a computer program, is a gross over-simplification.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

nakedput said:


> lol at the everyone in this thread overcomplicating things. Eat less, exercise/lift more. That's all you need to do. calories in, calories out.


Lol at you for not actually reading the thread. A number of people said precisely what you said.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> Saying that health and fitness is all about calories in/out, as if it were a computer program, is a gross over-simplification.


I agree. The basic approach works (if you want to lose weight, consume on average fewer calories than you burn) and has worked for millions of people. But there are two important caveats:

1. It doesn't work for everyone; I think there are genetic factors involved. Some people (about 40% of the population according to estimates from Peter Attia, who works with Gary Taubes) are sensitive to carbs and if they don't limit their carbs they will gain weight even if they consume fewer calories than they burn. I don't have this problem; case in point yesterday I had toast for breakfast, cereal for a snack, pasta and beer at supper, and I weigh half a pound less than I did yesterday. I have a fairly high-carb diet and I've lost 9 pounds since the middle of February. But plenty of other people would gain weight eating the way I do. I think genetic differences play a big role here.

2. As HaroldCrump says above, you want the calories you ingest to come with nutrients and good stuff, because we shouldn't just aim to lose weight, we should aim to be fit and healthy. What you eat matters, regardless of what theories you believe about the causes of obesity.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

Unfortunately, nothing that is worthwhile is simple. 

That said - if the OP wants to lose some weight and wants to try some exercise to do it, nothing wrong with giving a try. 

He can worry about diet later.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

Sags, the most important thing is to find something you enjoy to do physically and will stick with as part of your lifestyle. Even better if you have a mate that gets involved it will make it even easier. Try some different activities and see what you enjoy and what could stick as part of a regular routine- something like 4-5 days/ per week for 30+ minutes that you could build up to. Change it up a bit if you're getting bored. Set goals if that works for you. This is the most important key to staying with it. 

Most people start off with way too much ambition and/or with things they really aren't interested in and burn out quickly. Their workout is too much of a chore. Do a 5 minute bike ride, swim or equivalent to start a few days a week and add 1 minute each day or each week for example. If you can do that you will start to see results and will naturally want to change other habits (eating) as well, and learn more about various activities and a more healthy lifestyle. Read a few books on fitness, have a look at Canada food guide and review what you're ingesting now. Adjust accordingly starting with the low hanging fruit. LOL. I went from sedentary -couldn't run around the block in my late 30's to running my first full marathon within 11 months using this type of approach.

Losing weight is very simple once you adopt an overall healthier lifestyle. It's not nearly as complicated or difficult as others make it out to be. If you're sedentary now, with some bad eating habits it will be easy to see results.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

To add to RBull's comments......make whatever exercise you choose into something you _do_........it'll become automatic......no "Will I, won't I", you'll do it without weighing the options because that's what you 'do'.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Thanks for the helpful comments everyone.

For me, given the achy breaky joints and the sciatica nerve damage.........I think recovering more mobility will also be a big plus.

I definitely need to change my eating habits..........as I tend not to eat too much............but at the wrong times.

I am going to try an combination of stationary bike and then going for a swim after........gotta cool down anyways.

It is all included in our rent...........so may as well make use of the facilities.

I played hockey and baseball right up to age of 50........which is great to keep in shape.......but paying for it now.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

A "pot" is usually a sign of excess carbs (carbs/sugar > more insulin > more fat cells storing glycogen > "pot belly").
I don't think you should risk aggressive exercise.
Stationary bike and swimming sound like an excellent way to start.
Combined with reducing your intake of refined carbs and sugar.


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## NorthKC (Apr 1, 2013)

As with every exercise when you first start out, start slow. It'll be a pain to do as you want to go much faster but take it easy for the next couple of weeks, gradually increasing the time with your exercie. This will reduce the risk of injury and ensure a better chance of sticking with your new lifestyle.

Don't forget the rest days in between your heavy workout days. Good luck!


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> A "pot" is usually a sign of excess carbs (carbs/sugar > more insulin > more fat cells storing glycogen > "pot belly").


Actually it's more complicated than that:

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.ca/2013/04/glucagon-dietary-protein-and-low.html

From the article: "Beef and fish release as much insulin as brown rice. Pasta (white or brown) and porridge release less insulin per calorie than cheese, beef and fish. Donuts are only 25 percent higher than fish. According to the paper, the five lowest-insulin foods tested were (from lowest to highest) peanuts, eggs, bran cereal, white or brown pasta, and grain porridge. Doesn't sound very low carb, does it?"


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

Just stick to the Canada Food Guide-and limit processed foods...eat appropriate quantities and get some regular activity in. 

A pot is simply taking in more calories than are being burned, along with a persons natural body type spelling out where to most easily begin storing fat. 

Many people get way too concerned over specificity on exact foods rather than food groups, and also about specific exercise HR target zones. For someone just trying to stay reasonably healthy and active it's way too much information. Like someone with 25K learning how to trade options and on margin etc. Just eat sensibly and get moderately active. If you're a serious athlete (and I've been one) you will need to fine tune diet and training, and numerous other things in your life to maximize performance.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Diet is more important than exercise especially if your abiliity to exercise is limited.

Harold and Brad are right. Cut out carbs.

Short answer: eat fresh fruit and vegetables and nothing else. Fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch, steamed vegetables for supper. I have done this and lost weight, and it doesn't matter how much I eat. I could eat 10 times a day until it was coming out my ears and it wouldn't make any difference, I would still lose a pound a day.

As long as I laid off the starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, beans and peas).

If you can do this for a week or 2 your pot will disappear. It gets boring after a while so add some protein foods like chicken, meat, fish, eggs and cheese. Even beans if you like. But use them as a garnish or side dish to the main meal of salad or vegetables.

There are other details to it. But I know that if you do just what I say, nothing more, you will lose weight.

No coffee, tea, no salt, sugar, nothing, no beer, are you kidding beer is the most fattening thing there is.

Another good thing to tighten up the tummy muscles is laying cement blocks. I never lost so much off my waistline so fast as I did when I built a garage out of cement blocks.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> Harold and Brad are right. Cut out carbs.


Actually I didn't say cut out carbs ;-) I can lose weight eating a high-carb diet, no problem -- I have carbs every day (bread every day, pasta fairly frequently, potatoes once or twice a week) and have lost nearly 10 pounds since February. But some people are more sensitive to carbs, and reducing carbs helps them lose weight faster. I'm skeptical of any diet that cuts out entire food groups; unless you have to lose weight quickly for medical reasons I think it's best to live on a diet that you can sustain for the rest of your life, not just the next few months while you lose weight. Losing weight is relatively easy; keeping the weight off is the bigger challenge. If you just switch back to your old diet after you've lost weight, you haven't solved the problem.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

brad said:


> From the article: "Beef and fish release as much insulin as brown rice. Pasta (white or brown) and porridge release less insulin per calorie than cheese, beef and fish. Donuts are only 25 percent higher than fish. According to the paper, the five lowest-insulin foods tested were (from lowest to highest) peanuts, eggs, bran cereal, white or brown pasta, and grain porridge. Doesn't sound very low carb, does it?"


The author is ignoring how the body, over time, adjusts to lower levels of insulin secretion.
Part of the problem with a high refined carb diet - comprising of the types of foods the author mentions such as white pasta, donuts, etc. - is the blood sugar yo-yo throughout the day.
The idea of a low[er] carb diet is not the nominal amount of insulin secreted, but the balance of glucose in the blood stream throughout the day.
The body does tends to adjust the level of insulin required to be released over time.
Higher protein and fat content creates a better balance throughout the day, rather than looking at each individual food item in isolation.

To suggest that pasta created from refined flour and donuts loaded with sugar have the same effect on body's insulin balance as meat and fish is highly misleading, regardless of who this dude is.

Also, diet goes well beyond hormones.
_Where_ your food comes from, and _how_ it is prepared is of paramount importance.
Refined flour pasta created from extruded grains are _not_ a good source of carbs, or any nutrients for that matter, regardless of what it does to insulin, glucagon or other hormones.
It is the process of high heat and high pressure extrusion that is the problem.

Similarly, cheese made from re-assembled milk ingredients and mixed with carrageenan would be a problem, not how much insulin it generates.

Donuts secrete only 25% more insulin than fish, so that's supposed to make it ok?


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> To suggest that pasta created from refined flour and donuts loaded with sugar have the same effect on body's insulin balance as meat and fish is highly misleading, regardless of who this dude is.


I think you need to read the entire article, not the little excerpt I posted; you'll see that he's hardly advocating eating donuts, white flour, etc. He's just pointing out that looking for low-insulin foods is not the way to reduce circulating insulin. "This dude" is a highly respected neurobiologist and biochemist who studies obesity at the University of Washington. 

The conclusions at the bottom of his article are:

"Together, this paints a complex picture, suggesting that the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets for fat loss in overweight people:

-Depends at least in part on increased protein consumption.
-Probably does not require a reduction of insulin secretion, but may involve an increase of glucagon.
-Probably does not involve direct effects of glucagon on fat cells, but could relate to glucagon's effects on satiety, and perhaps other effects in the brain.

Beyond the metabolic/hormonal effects of low-carbohydrate or high-protein diets, these diets may also be effective because of changes in the reward and palatability value of the diet (and food variety, a related factor). Getting rid of pastries, donuts, soda, fries, and pizza goes a long way, and taking one or more items off the table (e.g. bread) tends to reduce total food intake even if everything else remains the same. The potato-only diet is a good example of this. Over on Mark Sisson's forum, a number of people have been repeating Chris Voigt's experiment of eating nothing but potatoes, with similar weight loss results. To be clear, I'm not recommending this approach, but it certainly illustrates the power of a monotonous diet. Interestingly, besides being extremely filling per calorie, potatoes are also one of the most insulin-stimulating foods, according to the paper cited above."


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

brad said:


> Beyond the metabolic/hormonal effects of low-carbohydrate or high-protein diets, these diets may also be effective because of changes in the reward and palatability value of the diet (and food variety, a related factor). Getting rid of pastries, donuts, soda, fries, and pizza goes a long way, and taking one or more items off the table (e.g. bread) tends to reduce total food intake even if everything else remains the same.


I don't think that is the reason low-carb diets are effective.
Such diets are effective not because it reduces the total amount of calories consumed (which is what he means by taking items off the table), but because the _quality_ of the food consumed increases.
Refined carbs are replaced by more complex carbs, such as vegetables, which tend to be fresher and healthier in general.
Refined carbs are also replaced by more fish, meat, and other types of protein and fat-rich items that contains very key nutrients such as CLA and Omega 3 fats.

In fact, chances are the total calories consumed probably go up rather than down.

I do admit that looking simply at the insulin factor as a food selection criteria is not the way to prepare a diet plan.
But a low carb meal plan comprising of high quality fats and proteins is not the worst way either.

Dr. Richard Bernstein's monumental work on diet programs for those with diabetes has this central theme.
It is heavily focused on minimizing the effects of insulin yo-yo.

I'm sorry I am not convinced at all by this article.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

That's to be expected, there's a lot of division of opinion about the causes of weight gain and the reasons for the effectiveness of low-carb diets.

It's clear that the science is far from settled, because you have examples of people losing weight very effectively on a diet of 100% potatoes or Hostess Twinkies, and entire populations who live on diets of 80-90% simple carbohydrates with low rates of obesity, and yet on the other hand there are many examples and studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of low-carb diets.

At this point, most of the websites on these topics are simply demonstrations of confirmation bias: someone thinks they have it all figured out and they amass dozens or hundreds of studies and anecdotal examples to support their position. But the fact that people on all sides of these arguments can do the same thing makes it clear that the science is far from settled. Nobody actually knows why various diets work, nor do we understand all the factors that cause people to get fat.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> Donuts secrete only 25% more insulin than fish, so that's supposed to make it ok?


That's the shiny film on the donut? Just wash off the insulin secretion and you are good.

For a PhD, the choice of grammar is a little poor.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Sampson said:


> ... the choice of grammar is a little poor.


when it comes to written language, it's always friday casual at cmf forum

(signed)
stream of consciousness cookie


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

If you eat mostly fresh fruit and vegetables and cut out junk food and beer you can hardly go wrong. It's too easy to get caught up in the details and forget the big picture, and it's better to do something good for yourself now, than to wait till you have a PhD before you begin.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Yeah, I follow the "eat a little of everything and not too much of anything" diet. I eat veggies, fruit, fish, chicken, eggs, bread, pasta, and occasionally red meat. But there are plenty of things I won't touch, like soda (I think I had a can of Coke about six years ago, and I started drinking a San Pellegrino soda last month but couldn't finish it, it was too sweet). For me it's all about quantity and also eating only when I'm hungry. If I eat because I'm stressed or bored, that's when I start gaining weight.

It's amazing to see how little we actually need to eat in order to thrive. I know I've posted this before, but the exercise guru Jack Lalanne lived on an amazingly spartan diet for someone who worked out heavily for two hours every day. From his obituary in the NY Times (he died from pneumonia at age 96)

"He ate two meals a day and shunned snacks. Breakfast, following his morning workout, usually included several hard-boiled egg whites, a cup of broth, oatmeal with soy milk and seasonal fruit. For dinner he took his wife, Elaine, to restaurants that knew what he wanted: a salad with raw vegetables and egg whites along with fish — often salmon — and a mixture of red and white wine. He sometimes allowed himself a roast turkey sandwich, but never a cup of coffee."

He didn't just survive on this diet, he was strong: "At 60 he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat. At 70, handcuffed and shackled again, he towed 70 boats, carrying a total of 70 people, a mile and a half through Long Beach Harbor."


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

My hatred for my job is immense, but it does require 8 hours of continuous moderate exercise, with many short bursts of intense exertion. My diet isn't what it should be, but "thanks" to my job I will always be fit while I work in this industry. 

I took my wife's pedometer to work last year - in excess is 20,000 steps in an 8 hour shift....


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

Sags

Try doing a lot of talking. I know this guy that never shuts up & is thin as a rake his mouth is always going but it has no time to chew food.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

Take up golf(great for socializing and it is challenging)join a group of guys in a club or with friends you already know(doesn't have to be expensive)You wont even realize your walking 70,000 yards a game.....Just don't drink beer lol.
I use to work at a golf course and the senior men(who didn't ride carts)were all in great shape,you put in a lot of miles covering 18 holes.Not sure if you are a golfer.2 kinds of people-those who love golf and those who hate it-no in between....It is a great game once you develop skills.


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

donald said:


> Take up golf(great for socializing and it is challenging)join a group of guys in a club or with friends you already know(doesn't have to be expensive)You wont even realize your walking 70,000 yards a game.....Just don't drink beer lol.
> I use to work at a golf course and the senior men(who didn't ride carts)were all in great shape,you put in a lot of miles covering 18 holes.Not sure if you are a golfer.2 kinds of people-those who love golf and those who hate it-no in between....It is a great game once you develop skills.


Surely you mean "7000 yards" per game? I've yet to see a 70,000 yard course!


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

Ya typo 7000 yards....lol


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

Jon_Snow said:


> Surely you mean "7000 yards" per game? I've yet to see a 70,000 yard course!


If you hit the ball poorly enough, you can make a course a lot longer. Not sure about 70,000 yards tho.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I've lost over 60 lbs over the last couple of years. It has been ALL through my diet, and very little through exercise. Weight is lost in the kitchen, health is built in the gym (or through exercise)

The things I have done are:
- drink more water (I cut out most drinks except coffee, skim/almond milk, and the very occasional juice or diet coke). 
- Eat more veggies and fruits.
- Eat frequent meals and snacks, so 3 meals, and 3 snacks a 
- Have a small amount of protein with each snack or meal, this has been critical for portion control
- Cut out refined sugars
- Reduce refined carbs, including breads and grains. 


I have generally been the mind set of all or nothing, and have really been working on just making 'better' choices eat day. Nothing has to be perfect, but if I can do better than I normally would, that has really helped.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Four Pillars said:


> If you hit the ball poorly enough, you can make a course a lot longer. Not sure about 70,000 yards tho.


Reminds me of the first time I ever went golfing. I lost 27 balls by the first 8 holes, had to borrow a few to get through the next whole before I could buy more balls at the club house. I was getting so frustrated I stopped counting my strokes after almost 200 strokes, and it took me 8 hours to finish the 18 holes. I had sun stroke by the end of it. 

I guess the bright side was I got to hit the ball more times than most people do in a few games, so go 'value' for my money.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

8 hrs?im guessing the course marshall had the day off lol.How many people played through you?That is a painful round of golf p.a!I'm going to guess mini golf is more your speed eh?Hope you were buying the ''gentle'' used balls @ the pro shop lol


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Yep, 8 hours. It was on a first and last date with this guy that was supposed to 'teach me'. I warned him I had never golfed but would be a good sport. 

He also asked me to carry his clubs because he was too cheap to rent those little pull carts.

The Marshall actually didn't say anything. It was a quiet day because it was so freaking hot and there were ALOT of play throughs. it was also possible that the marshall didnt see us since i was in the bush so often. I know a little group of grannies who were at least 70 passed us.

I did buy the used balls. Many I only hit once, I bought 36 more, but only used about 12 more on the last 9 holes. That was mainly because I stopped golfing and started batting and throwing the ball. I found I am better at base ball still. I am also sure the jerk I was with was finding my balls and keeping them as when he 'lent me one'. I swear it was one I had lost earlier because of a special marking. I think I spent $50 in balls AND to add insult to injury I paid for both our green fees because he left to do something when we first got there, and didn't even offer to pay me back.

Still, it was the best first date story for me to laugh at. I do play golf now, but I took lessons and had to go to a lot of Texas scramble tournaments with work and beer to try again.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

wow that is a bad date!Im surprised you didn't split after 9,18 holes of golf is a tough first date!(under the best of conditions)I can't imagine expecting a women to pay let alone my green free.Where did you meet the loser?Texas scrambles are fun....so is night golf golf with glow in the dark balls.


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## nakedput (Jan 2, 2013)

HaroldCrump said:


> I disagree.
> It is not as simple as that.
> Far more important than calories in/out is _where_ those calories are coming from.
> 
> ...


the quality of calories matter if you are looking at building an impressive physique, but if you want to lose a little bit of weight and don't really care too much about bodybuilding, the calories in/out 'diet' suffices. 

This comes from a few years bodybuilding experience. I can almost guarantee I have a better physique than anyone on this forum, and I eat whatever the hell I want (although don't eat to many carbs/soda/sugar) as long as I am under my calorie maintenance. I especialy eat a lot of fats.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

"better physique" may be in the eye of the beholder. If you're a body builder you like that look. I've been a marathoner for many years and much prefer a lean looking frame. Which is better or more impressive? 

Essentially I think we agree, calories are important when you're very serious about maximizing the potential of your body type and your athletic performance. 



nakedput said:


> the quality of calories matter if you are looking at building an impressive physique, but if you want to lose a little bit of weight and don't really care too much about bodybuilding, the calories in/out 'diet' suffices.
> 
> This comes from a few years bodybuilding experience. I can almost guarantee I have a better physique than anyone on this forum, and I eat whatever the hell I want (although don't eat to many carbs/soda/sugar) as long as I am under my calorie maintenance. I especialy eat a lot of fats.


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## mind_business (Sep 24, 2011)

I haven't read the whole thread, but if you're considering cycling ... make sure you have a bike that is properly fitted to your body. Also, if you use your gears improperly, you can do further damage to your knees. You want to make sure you use an easy gear that doesn't put too much pressure on your knees. 

My suggestion would be to try swimming. Aquafit, or lane swimming. It's a good cardio workout and easy on the joints.

Good luck!


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

I find the best way to loose weight is to put something into your life that happens every day. 

We started to set the table for dinner with smaller plates. We never just cook a meal for one sitting. There is always planned left overs, and then the left overs from that become lunches in little containers packed into the office. So just having a smaller plate helps you to put less food on it. 

For breakfast we started to set the table the night before, so some thought went into it. Frequently we have toast, a slice of side bacon, and yoghurt with fruit. So smaller fry pan for the bacon means you cook less. 6 pieces of bread set out on top of the toaster for the four of us means mom and dad get one piece, and the kids two. Yoghurt gets dished out with a small spoon so less ends up in the samll fruit bowl. Skim milk for the coffee. 

Lunches are always brown bagged. More salads and fruit, less sandwiches sort of thing.

Combined with walking the three km to and from work instead of driving has means that I spend about 60 minites of the day walking, and I quite enjoy the time. If not too cold or rainy, a great time to read. (suburban walk, no one to bump into.) 

Typically I loose about 0.75-1kg per week doing this for the first 6 weeks, then the loss slows down to .5kg per week. 
Then a holiday season occurs, and the process begins agian.


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