does food matter?

[juanbenae]

anybody familiar with this educational vid on nutrition called "food matters" http://www.foodmatters.tv/ just ordered it after a friend of mine who does not get excited about much shared his experience with it. being that i am trying to get healthier by stopping my smoking, trying to lower my weight & cholestoral to get my nasa provisional (my doc wont sign off on me going racing in my current state). explains how the garbage we eat is killing us and gives suggestions on how to eat & live better.

not generally one to jump on something like this, but since i am trying to get healthier the timing was right. anyone as moved as my bitter friend timmy house of pain by this or other self help stuff?

t

[dhoward]

Get a new doc.

[Zeke]

You are what you eat.

Originally Posted by milt

You are what you eat.

I must disagree! I am not \./

[dhoward]

Sez you...

[tabs]

let me tell ya about yesterdays Buffet...

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by dhoward

Get a new doc.

considered that, but took his accessment serious and used it as motivation to get healthy. i choose life.

[Dottore]

Absolutely it matters. We've just had a sad experience with this.

We have a nephew in Germany. 17 years old, bright and curious kid, both parents doctors. Plays violin, athletic, reads widely etc. etc. The perfect son in other words.

Last August his parents sent him to the US for 1 year on an exchange program so that he would become fluent in English. At the last moment, the place they had planned for him in Virginia cancelled, and they had to find another school and "host-parents" on short notice. What they found was a small town in Tennessee. The host parents were both school teachers—so it sounded good.

Fast forward one year: The kid is now with us on his way back to Germany. He's gained an enormous amount of weight, and is slow and lethargic. His eyes are dull. The only things he wants to do all day are eat and play with his computer and Ipod touch. Turns out his host family did not cook. At all. (WTF? How can families not cook?) So mornings they went to Hardees, for lunch it was Subway, and for dinner Burger King. And in between there were chips and ding dongs and ice cream. For a whole friggin year.

And at night these guys would hold hands and read the bible together etc, and now the kid has acquired this ridiculous primitive faith to boot. Asks me if I am"walking in the light" and shyte like this. Really tragic.

Honestly, this is criminal in my view. The kid has gone from a bright and curious child to a complete slug in one year.

Food matters. Sweet Jesus it matters!

[cgarr]

Originally Posted by milt

You are what you eat.

We are having wieners tonight!

[scottmandue]

FWIW I have dated two ladies in their late forties that looked like they were in their mid thirties.

They were vegetarians.

YMMV

[Hebrewhomeboy]

vegetarian isn't the answer. It's often a step above the "usual" american diet, since at least it helps you get rid of all the processed meats we consume, but a vegetarian diet is often too lacking in key nutrients, such as iron and obviously vitamin B12, which only comes from animal sources. However it is often a good way to cut calories.

Overly processed food is bad for you, plain and simple. In today's day and age, that's about all that people eat. Processed, starchy carbohydrates, low quality processed meats, and then companies put a "low fat!!!" sticker on it so people will think it's healthy. Low fat isn't healthy either, like so many people think. Doctors and nutritionists have been pushing for a low fat diet with tons of grains (i.e., carbohydrate rich foods with little true nutrition), and how's society doing today? More health problems than ever it seems, and everyone's getting diabetes.

I've been eating pretty healthy for the past few years, but about three months ago I decided to remove all processed food from my diet. The most processed thing I have is maybe some shredded sharp cheddar to sprinkle on my eggs in the morning. I eat a ton of fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, and lean meats. I feel fantastic, I don't suddenly get sleepy after eating, I'm fully of energy. And interestingly enough, I didn't work out for about 2 months, yet I lost no muscle and only the tinest bit of strength. You may want to look up the paleo diet. It does take more time, since you have to prepare food from scratch all the time, but it is a truly healthy way to eat. I love it.

[Tobra]

Toby,

I would also suggest that one day a week you fast. Drink plenty of fluids, juice, water, tea, but don't eat anything. This will sort of flush you out a bit. Picked this idea up from a bodybuilder guy I used to know. Drink tea instead of coffee, especially green tea, with lemon and honey.

I would second the suggestion of avoiding processed food. Read labels, if it has high fructose corn syrup, put it back. Don't eat stuff out of a can. Buy your food at farmer's markets, I am sure they have them someplace around Sunnyvale. Grow your own veggies, along with the fruit you have out back. Eat less beef, more fish. Avoid distilled spirits, if you must drink, drink wine or beer, and not crappy stuff.

One more morsel of wisdom from the great Satchel Page, "Avoid fried foods, they angry up the blood".

Toby

[HardDrive]

I have tried to write a response to this post twice. I'm resorting to bullet points.

1) Americans are fat pigs.
2) Americans who's parents were farmers are perfectly willing to eat food made in factories made by chemists, not cooks.
3) Americans use BS excuses like 'who has the time to cook?' to justifiy their consumtion of utter trash.
4) I'm ******* tired of hearing Americans talk about their weight and their inane drivel on and on about 'diet' products. My wife and I eat butter. I eat beef. We drink whole milk. And oddly, were not fat....how could this be?
5) THIS IS ALL REALLY OBVIOUS, and its irratating and exhausting to even hear about the subject of food anymore. AMERICANS ARE FAT PIGS BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE A FAT PIGS, SO LETS STFU ABOUT IT, M-KAY?

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Sorry for the rant.

[Tobra]

is it kicking you backwards page or two, making you lose all you type?

I have taken to opening a tab when starting a thread or planning to do any typing on one, I guess i should have reported the glitch to a moderator

honestly, the average American is a fat stupid pig, if you think about it.

[juanbenae]

i am really not that fat of a dude. it is the smoking and lack of exercise that has put me in this pickle. i eat pretty good dinner for the single man. salad, a lot of pork & chicken and a lightly steamed or grilled veggie every night. where i go wrong is that i dont skimp on the fixens, no fat free dressing, eat bread with every meal (i know this is bad cause it means the butter or spread comes out too) & sour creme for a tater & such. i just switched to 1% milk from 2, but its the spice & flavor requirements that kill me. a lot of marinades with soy, terriaki, on the tritip, my love of cheese, and other junk nearly offsets the good i do. i dont bring crap into the house in the way of cookies, chips, or ice cream. its more like fruit, yogurt, peanuts, & micro popcorn for special days.

i cant wait to get the video and gauge the inspiration it may provide. if timmy house of pain was moved i am pretty sure i might be. been nearly smoke free for 4 weeks monday and that feels the best and if 311 never goes racing if ive quit the camels i am way ahead.

i am dead center with floppy hat & shorts of this bap shot from 06 and im only about 8-9 lbs heavier today. cliff is 500 & we were at thunder hill



i prolly drink to much coors light too...

[bonkers]

The American diet is not only unhealthy but also supersized - when you eat out here, the portions are literally 1.5-2x as big as you need (and I'm not talking about Claim Jumper either - those are 3x or more). Thing is you don't even realize it because that's what you are used to.

Fad diets are not the answer: even if they work, the minute you stop following them you are going to revert to your old ways and start putting the weight back on.

Educating yourself and gradually improving your eating and exercise habits is the path to sustainable weight loss and better health. I have photos of myself 50lbs heavier to prove it.

[Tobra]

If you exercise in the AM, you raise your metabolism for a period of time, bumps you up to a fast idle, so you burn more calories sitting still.

Looking at weight alone can be deceptive. I am about 175# now, was about 190# in grad school. My body fat was under 5% then and my thighs were bigger than my waist from all the cycling. I ran a sub 5 minute mile the day after giving blood one time back then. Today I bet I cold not break 5 minutes to save my life.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by Dottore

Absolutely it matters. We've just had a sad experience with this.

We have a nephew in Germany. 17 years old, bright and curious kid, both parents doctors. Plays violin, athletic, reads widely etc. etc. The perfect son in other words.

Last August his parents sent him to the US for 1 year on an exchange program so that he would become fluent in English. At the last moment, the place they had planned for him in Virginia cancelled, and they had to find another school and "host-parents" on short notice. What they found was a small town in Tennessee. The host parents were both school teachers—so it sounded good.

Fast forward one year: The kid is now with us on his way back to Germany. He's gained an enormous amount of weight, and is slow and lethargic. His eyes are dull. The only things he wants to do all day are eat and play with his computer and Ipod touch. Turns out his host family did not cook. At all. (WTF? How can families not cook?) So mornings they went to Hardees, for lunch it was Subway, and for dinner Burger King. And in between there were chips and ding dongs and ice cream. For a whole friggin year.

And at night these guys would hold hands and read the bible together etc, and now the kid has acquired this ridiculous primitive faith to boot. Asks me if I am"walking in the light" and shyte like this. Really tragic.

Honestly, this is criminal in my view. The kid has gone from a bright and curious child to a complete slug in one year.

Food matters. Sweet Jesus it matters!

IMO, I would have checked out the host family a little better. Or canceled the whole trip for the nephew. In short, I don't blame them.

And no, food doesn't matter, moderation matters.

[HardDrive]

You don't look fat. Gotta give up those those ciggies though. Its a biatch, I know, I did it. I used the patch and it helped me.

Don't need to go off the deep end with the exercise. To often people get super gungho about some new exercise thing, buy equipment, and set crazy goals for themselves. Not suprisingly, they quickly burn out on it.

Do something simple. Go for a walk in the morning or at lunch time. If you have a decent place to go biking, try and go for a ride 2-3 times a week. Light weight training (low weight, high reps) is a great way to burn calories and build strength. Start off slow, and set long time horizons.

Originally Posted by car 311

i prolly drink to much coors light too...

[YTNUKLR]

Can you bike to work?

If you can, do that, you will notice a difference in less than 2 weeks. Think "spin", generally as low a gear as you can move your legs fast enough to keep up with. you'll also be saving gas money, which adds up quickly.

Great job on kicking the smokes.

When you wake up, do just 15 push-ups or crunches or something. It will wake you up immediately, and kick-start your metabolism. This is really easy. Later, move up in the number of reps and do multiple sets.

Yogurt, nuts, fruits, vegetables. Take fish oil capsules (tasteless) and make sure you are getting Omega-3 fatty acids every day (also walnuts, just eating fish, etc.) and probably fewer Omega-6 fatty acids. Fish is great for you but fish are increasingly found with elevated levels of heavy metals like mercury...I wouldn't be surprised if humans can no longer eat fish in the coming 50 years. Whole grains (brown rice instead of white rice, etc.), whole wheat as opposed to white bread. NO corn syrup, no processed sugar and junk; instead of a Snickers, have an organic 80% cacao dark chocolate bar, or a box of strawberries. And make sure to toss in a juicy Filet Mignon once in a while so you don't feel deprived.

"eat food. not too much. mostly plants."
-michael pollan

more here : http://www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=87