i'm not fat, I'm just too short for my weight. I'm 6'2" and I should be 7''4".

Sounds great...

Weight Watchers is excellent - very balanced, and I fully understand the program - but I'm not into the meeting thing. My sister's a lifer and needs to relose a few pounds, so we're bouncing ideas off of each other.

One thing we've done is collected all the nutrition data from all the fast foods to see what can be safely eaten on the run.

Gary Taubes on weightloss and health
 

My doctor has been pushing me to read and follow the advice of Gary Taubes. Rather than just promote the concept my doc has been living it for a couple years now. He is in his 40s, serves as the sports doc for the local high schools, and is very active in hiking and biking. Despite that he (like me) struggled to drop that nagging 30 lbs of excess weight and he too suffered from higher cholesterol and blood pressure. After I saw him again last week he had lost the weight (most of it anyway) and said he was no longer on cholesterol & BP meds...

Anyway, here is his review of the Taubes book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" -

This week, 'Good Calories, Bad Calories' will be released in paperback form. Note that this is NOT a nutrition or diet book - it's a science book that everyone with an interest in nutrition, weight problems, health should take a look at. Author Gary Taubes is not trying to sell a diet program. Rather, this book stemmed from research that he was engaged in while looking at "bad science" for an article that he was writing for the journal, Science.

"Good science" occurs when an individual comes up with a theory and then tests it to make sure that the results are accurate and reproducible. The individual then publishes his/her findings in a manner that correctly summarizes the experiments' conclusions. When experiments are conducted and the published results are not what the tests demonstrated, that would be considered "bad science" (think propaganda).

During the course of his research into instances of "bad science," Taubes was startled to find that many nutritional/diet studies were just that - bad science. He then went back and examined studies of diet/nutrition, exercise, diabetes, lipids (cholesterol), etc and learned that almost everything we've been taught about obesity and diet is not supported by the evidence. For example, some people have been promoting low fat diets and increased exercise as what's best for humans to live long and healthy lives. It turns out that this is pretty much the opposite according to the legit scientific studies. Fat is not the evil that it's been made out to be. Instead, the culprit is sugars (and refined carbohydrates such as white flour) and their inherent ability to stimulate insulin production.

Insulin, as most are aware, lowers blood sugar. Most people are not aware, however, that insulin also deposits fat in the body (including inside of the blood vessels). This is an evolutionary thing. If you're, let's say, a saber tooth tiger that is eating it's fresh kill. It will gorge and the excess calories must be stored for another day because - after all - who knows just how long it will take before it can make another kill (days or weeks)? Insulin does this.

On a practical basis, many people snack on sweets (soda, cakes, candy) and eat meals that contain starches e.g. potatoes. This results in nearly elevated insulin levels throughout the day doing what it does best - deposit fat on the body. This is just one reason for why it's so hard for many people to lose weight. The excellent movie, Supersize Me, demonstrated this nicely. Most of Spurlock's McDonald's meals included large sodas and French fries. However, the guy who ate only the Big Mac's every day (Big Mac Man) did not gain weight!
High fructose corn syrup is another culprit in our lives. While it may not stimulate as much insulin as sucrose, it directly stimulates the liver to put out triglycerides which screws up the good cholesterol (HDL). This leads to heart ailments and strokes.
Taubes also discusses the impact that sugars (et al) have on common disease states. Just a few hundred years ago, missionaries and doctors studied native tribes in Africa, South Pacific Islanders, and Eskimos (among many others around the world). All consumed diets relatively high in fats and protein (and low in carbs). Think coconuts and ocean fish, for example. None of these groups suffered from heart disease, diabetes or any other chronic diseases. Even cancer rates were very low. Enter their exposure to western diet through trading: "Here. Try some of this sugar stuff. Let us show you how to make bread from this white flour." You get the idea. Soon after, all of these populations started to develop problems with obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The evidence is very compelling.
Be aware that I just over-simplified these concepts, but Taubes does a great job of laying out what the science really says about what really works for losing weight (cutting down sugars, refined carbs, etc) and what doesn't (dieting, exercise). Check out the Borzoi Reader's review of the book here. They summarize Taube's findings and even list what the science bears out. Better yet, if you have a difficult time controlling weight, diabetes, heart disease, etc, then pick up a copy and read/study it. I strongly recommend it.

Interesting, thanks for the post.

This was one of the OT posts that I didn't look at the date until the 3d page..

Also interested in the concept of starting young with fewer carbs and therefore not having the body "need" them in later life. My wife and I threaten to go on the "grace" diet (our daughter), who immediately stops eating when she's full and was raised on a very well balanced diet.

Anyway, I've been on the no starch, no alcohol diet for about 3 weeks and lost 3-4 lbs. No exercise yet and I've treated myself to chips a beers a few times. Trying to drop 5-10 before Oct when it's cool enough to run again around here...

I love running, especially on the beach, but I'm approaching 47 and my knees and back no longer tolerate the impact. I'm back into cycling (love being outside and going somewhere) and hit the gym 3x a week for a spin class and some light free weights.

Cutting/limiting alcohol from your diet will also help reduce your daily calorie intake. I did that for a while and immediately noticed a difference.

Interestingly, I've always "wanted" to eat more fruit but always chose something else--chips or whatever, I guess.

Now, I crave it. And our office now stocks big bowls of fruit and veggie trays, so that helps the grazing situation.

Ive recently switched from snacks/candy to fruit.
And cut way back on the chocolate milk and sodas.

Getting old sucks.

If your trying to loose weight, do yourself a favor, do not go to McDonalds, burger King etc... There is no healthy food on the menu and besides, these places are what get you fat, why go and tempt yourself with that crap? Why even bother analyzing their menus to see what is good, walking through the door or pulling up to the drive through of those places is a recipe for disaster all in itself.

There is no way that a Big Mac is healthier than Tuna on whole wheat, no way.

If you MUST eat on the run go to Subway, get a turkey on whole wheat, no cheese, and throw on some veggies and mustard, no oil no salt and pepper.

But to be honest, its a waste of money, in order to eat right you need to commit and prepare. That means preparing your food the night before for the next day. Forget eating out for a long while and forget drinking any alcohol for a long while.

There are a lot of great tips in this thread but to be honest, no club no program nothing is going to do it until YOU decide its time to stop screwing around and commit. Period.

Like I have said before, when I quit, drinking, caffeine and bad food the one thing I found hardest to quit was bad food. It was worse than drinking and caffeine combined.

I can see how using "fast food" and "nutrition" in the same sentence could be misleading. In reality, we rarely eat out - Trekkor has way too many years in the restaurant industry to find that appealing and I have a deadly serious frugal gene. :) So I do pack healthy edibles on a regular basis.

But we live a distance from town, and if we're caught out longer than expected, it is nice to know there are a few quick options, such as:

Subway is selectively doable; Taco Bell has a "fresco" menu that works; Jack in the Box has grilled chicken tenders for a quick protein fix; Trader Joe's has an interesting salad selection......

All in all, we're making a good start of it.

Jims,

One thing to remember is that not all of us can bring a lunch or eat at home most of the time.

I live on the road and Subway is a frequent option but there are times that you get tired of it, so resort to other things. Traveling is not easy from many aspects.

There are grocery stores too. Around here I can get hard boiled eggs in the deli dept and eat the whites. I can get lowfat pre-mixed tuna salad I can have a healthy sub or wrap made. There is a produce section where you can buy food by the piece. Yes, its not going to be as fast as a McDonalds drive through but its going to be better for you.

Personally, when I am in a weight loss phase, I treat it like a battle a personal war. I would never dare step foot in any fast food place no matter how much they try to convince you their food in healthy. They all load their food up with sodium in order to make it taste better.

Salads are another one, yes they are healthy, its the toppings that kill, loading them up with croutons bacon bits and creamy dressing is as bad as a cheeseburger.

Hey, look the bottom line is the 1st step towards getting healthy is being aware you need to. That first step has been taken now it is what you do from then on that makes a difference. Good luck to all of you in your quests. I know from personal experience, it is a tough battle, especially in fat America. Fast healthy options are hard to find in this society.

madamnbutterfly is Mrs. trek?

crazy!

i quit my desk gig and put myself in the field. i walk in a dark, muddy tunnel.

i also pack my lunch in. to much effort to walk out to eat, so i grub down with the miners. head lamp lunches. they rib me on my lunches. today will be a field day. i packed a salmon filet sandwich, yogurt, and fruit. washing it down with unsweet tea from a nalgene bottle. those guys eat fried chicken and junk with the dirtiest hands. they call it flavor.

dinner will be black bean salad. i typically eat normal. no hard rules, zero fast food. my office is next door to a mickyD's. the smells are intoxicating. i do admit to sniffing the french fry winds on occasion.

my tunnel day is about 2 miles of hiking. at home i will run 2-3 miles, which depend on the outside temp. hot = shorter jogs. i have dumped 20lbs, in about 4 months.

quit the booze. alchohol calories are brutal.

Your situation is unique, I am not sure how you guys can stay in shape, I did notice a lot of airports are now offering healthier options. I do not know how much down time you have but I would try to get some long walks or jogging in, you have a tough job sitting like that all day.

I went back outside as well, I am wearing many hats now, and working in the field has been very helpful in losing weight. I easily walk over 2 miles a day. Most of the time I am lightly jogging when I have to walk across a property to get there faster and to burn more calories.

My co-worker used to make fun of me too and now he is eating like me and lost 25 lbs already. He even hot his wife going and she has lost over 35 lbs. Its a good feeling to know your contagious in a good way. :)

Alcohol is the killer and I LOVE beer. Hence my having to get back on the stick and loose 5 lbs again. But, if I ignore this 5 will turn to 10 fast so a week or 3 of hard dieting and exercise and I will be back where I want to be and drinking beer again. :D

i read somewhere that one beer a day = 10 lbs at the end of the year.

i'll find the actual numbers, ironically the beer has fogged my memory banks.

I don't even like Coco-Roos but I was able to put away two bowls last night, with two glasses of red wine.

226...


Kt

224...


Kt