Stupid diet tricks

[haha]

Ditto, I don't know what it was. Most of my grandparents and great grandparents lived into their late 70's or early 80's despite living and working in pit villages and all of them being heavy smokers.

My favorite was the great grandfather that I knew very well, as I used to run errands for him. He was a coal miner and was already in the reserves when WW I started so he served in France in the trenches from 1914 through to being discharged "60% disabled" in 1919. That was according to his military record that DW found on a trip to the national archives in Kew a few years ago. His record shows medical leaves for "normal" stuff such as dysentery & hemorrhoids, as well being gassed twice and gun shot wounds to the arm. He also won the Military Medal during one action re-supplying a gun post that had been isolated.

After the war he went back down the mine and in 1938 fell down a mineshaft resulting in having his right leg amputated just below the knee. He then had a "wooden leg" and used to walk with the aid of a cane.

Here is a photo of him on his 90th birthday (I'm the tall one at the back in blue V-neck sweater). He died aged 92.

He was still a very vigorous looking man. I bet he was quite proud of all of you!

Ha

 

[Alan]

He was still a very vigorous looking man. I bet he was quite proud of all of you!

Ha

Thanks, he was a great guy, and when he wanted quiet in a room full of kids he would rap his cane loudly against his leg and we'd promptly shut up as we were all in [-]fear[/-] awe of him.

 

[haha]

Though working hard on the farm all day doesn't really resemble spending an hour on an elliptical...

My maternal great-grandmother likely never gave a thought to how much fat or how many carbs she ingested.

She died of atherosclerosis. She was 89...

I agree with you about the differences from physical work and an hour doing cardio, likely with an HR moitor strapped to your chest, so you don't stray out of the "training zone".
Congrats to your G-Gma. Seems like the atherosclerosis did not affect her much.

Ha

 

[Bestwifeever]

My grandparents were extremely active farmers in a small Iowa town with typical country nutrition. Granddad had adult onset diabetes and a stroke in his mid 60s and spent his last 10 years in a chair or bed. Grandma had was physically very healthy and happy but suffered from dementia starting in her mid 60s until she died in her early 80s, I don't think their health issues were caused or ameliorated by diet or activity.

Other grandfather worked in a mailroom his whole life; fatal heart attack at 54. Other grandmother died in her late 70s from "old age" in a nursing home--no specific illness, no dementia.

So who knows.

 

[RonBoyd]

We never had headllines like this before either:

U.S. Military Says Kids Too Fat To Fight

According to a nonpartisan national security organization of senior retired military leaders, one of the greatest threats the U.S. Military faces is … obesity. ... Being overweight or obese is the number one medical reason why young adults cannot enlist. When weight problems are combined with poor education, criminal backgrounds and other disqualifiers, an estimated 75 percent of young Americans could not serve in the military if they wanted to.”

 

[haha]

Plenty of thin men in Africa who might like a better paid war job than what they can find at home. Worked for the Romans, for a time anyway.

Outsourcing, it's the American Way.

Ha

 

[Alan]

Plenty of thin men in Africa who might like a better paid war job than what they can find at home. Worked for the Romans, for a time anyway.

Outsourcing, it's the American Way.

Ha

If you served your time in the Roman army, 20 years I think, you got to be a citizen of Rome. As you say, it worked for about 2,000 years.

 

[NW-Bound]

If you served your time in the Roman army, 20 years I think, you got to be a citizen of Rome.

Darn! Twenty years is a long time to try to survive, dodging hot oil poured from castle wall tops, as well as rains of arrows from the towers. I surely hope there was a hefty COLA'd pension to go with that.

Hmm... On the other hand, it may be worse having the fate of the peasants inside the walls that they tried to scale.

If it's not one thing, it's another! That's what one of my friends likes to conclude about almost anything.

 

[Alan]

Darn! Twenty years is a long time to try to survive, dodging hot oil poured from castle wall tops, as well as rains of arrows from the towers. I surely hope there was a hefty COLA'd pension to go with that.

Hmm... On the other hand, it may be worse having the fate of the peasants inside the walls that they tried to scale.

If it's not one thing, it's another! That's what one of my friends likes to conclude about almost anything.

Very true.

A few years ago they found some letters written, but had not been sent home, by soldiers who manned Hadrian's wall in Northumberland. (Wall built by the Romans from coast to coast in northern England to keep the Scots out). There was a lot of buzz at the time at what historical insights they might bring.

Turned out the letters were just as you'd expect from many soldiers guarding a border. It was boring, the food was terrible, and they wanted warm socks sending 'cos it was fr***ing freezing.

 

[RonBoyd]

If it's not one thing, it's another!

Oh! Who could forget Gilda Radner AKA Rossana Rosaanna Danna. I tried to find a clip in which she said that... surprisingly could not. I did, however, find her Audition Tape.

Gilda's Audition - YouTube

 

[Nords]

We never had headllines like this before either:
U.S. Military Says Kids Too Fat To Fight

One cynical response to that commentary would be that it was never a problem during conscription. Anyone deemed too fat to fight at recruit training got plenty of support and education with innovative weight-loss techniques and frequent followup.

When a neighbor's son joined the Marines on DEP a couple years ago, they took plenty of guys who were out of standards. Then they spent the next nine months on supervised 3x/week workouts before they were allowed to get on the plane to recruit training. That appeared to be sufficient motivation.

A few years ago they found some letters written, but had not been sent home, by soldiers who manned Hadrian's wall in Northumberland.
There was a lot of buzz at the time at what historical insights they might bring.

... that military logistics and mail delivery haven't improved in over two millennia?

 

[smr91481]

Going back to the original topic... I think eating meat and vegetables instead of processed foods makes perfect sense, but what would someone like myself do? Even at 31 I still eat like a 5 year old. I dislike most vegetables. All I ever really eat in the form of vegetables are canned green beans, sweet peas, and corn. I've tried forcing myself to choke down tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, etc. but with no luck. I'm very much a meat and potatoes guy.

 

[RonBoyd]

Going back to the original topic... I think eating meat and vegetables instead of processed foods makes perfect sense, but what would someone like myself do? Even at 31 I still eat like a 5 year old. I dislike most vegetables. All I ever really eat in the form of vegetables are canned green beans, sweet peas, and corn. I've tried forcing myself to choke down tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, etc. but with no luck. I'm very much a meat and potatoes guy.

If you have no "health" issues and you are happy with your weight, you need change nothing. Everyone's personal dietary requirements are different. However, they do change sometimes. That's why you need to be constantly vigil by having regular checkups... and step on the scale every few months..

 

[smr91481]

My health seems to be fine according to my numbers from my last physical. But I am overweight and could stand to lose about 40 lbs. I do workout most days of the week now and have lost about 25-30 lbs in the last year but I seemed to have stalled because of my eating.

 

[RonBoyd]

But I am overweight and could stand to lose about 40 lbs.

canned green beans, sweet peas, and corn... and potatoes

So you like the high carbohydrate vegetables. Yeah, the taste of Sweet (sugar) is a hard habit to break. I note that you like potatoes which, actually, have no taste. Wouldn't Cauliflower be an acceptable substitute?

I do workout most days of the week now and have lost about 25-30 lbs in the last year but I seemed to have stalled because of my eating.

See my earlier post about exercise. And get your hands on any of the books I referenced.

In any event, you seem to have answered your own question --"but what would someone like myself do? " In order for things to be different, something has to change... you.

 

[smr91481]

I've tried cauliflower once. I ate it, but had to force it. I thinks the it's just a texture thing or all mental. I guess the only good option is to keep working on forcing more vegetables.

My wife couldn't believe it last weekend when I cooked omelettes and instead of only ham and cheese, this time I added finely chopped sautéed mushroom and onion.

 

[RonBoyd]

I've tried cauliflower once. I ate it, but had to force it. I thinks the it's just a texture thing or all mental. I guess the only good option is to keep working on forcing more vegetables.

My wife couldn't believe it last weekend when I cooked omelettes and instead of only ham and cheese, this time I added finely chopped sautéed mushroom and onion.

My suggestion of cauliflower was because, like eggs ... and potatoes, you can do some much with it. For instance:

Mock Mashed Potatoes (Cauliflower) Recipe (Do a Search -- there are a kagillion similar recipes on the Internet.)

Mushrooms and onions are good choices. Start there and gradually experiment with the other "acceptable" veggies.

 

[RonBoyd]

Super Starch?

Introduction to Superstarch – Part I

Introduction to Superstarch – Part II

My name is Ryan Flaherty and I am the founder of Prolific Athletes LLC, a sports performance training company based in Carlsbad, California, that specializes in teaching athletes of all levels to be fast and injury free. We train all types of athletes including professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB, Olympic Track and Field athletes, NCAA All Americans, and high school athletes all the way down to middle school all-stars. Our facility is focused on two very important athletic principles, which are speed and injury prevention. ...

... We also have a large NFL combine training program that prepares future NFL stars for the NFL combine and draft. I work with over 100 NFL players including: Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Donovan McNabb, Vince Young, and Vincent Jackson. ...

Over the course of my career I have tried a lot of supplements. I’ve used whey protein, casein protein, egg protein, branch chain amino acids, glutamine, creatine monohydrate, waxy maize, pre-workout supplements…the list goes on and on. I am not a big proponent of supplement use with my athletes because it’s a slippery slope with the lack of research associated with a majority of these products. I emphasize getting their nutrients from food as opposed to using supplements and I preach high fat, low carbs, and eliminating sugar from their diets. Most recently, however, I have become a huge fan of Super Starch.

I have about 20 NFL athletes that are currently using Super Starch. I train a NFL athlete for a total of 5 months throughout the year. ... A big misconception is that elite athletes don’t struggle with weight issues. I have professional athletes I train who have struggled with their weight for years. Most of these guys have a target weight that they have to be when they report to the NFL team they play for and if they fail to meet the weight expectation, they can either get released or fail their physical. I have actually seen the biggest benefit of Super Starch with the 300+ pound NFL athletes because it gives them an energy source that will keep them burning body fat while they train. This past summer I had a defensive tackle from a NFL team go from 340 to 315 pounds just by using Super Starch and removing all other supplements that contained sugar from his diet.

What do you see as the benefit of Super Starch for average people and their relatively more moderate exercise regimen?

I think the benefits would be the exact same benefits as the athletes I work with: it’s convenience for people who don’t have the luxury of being able to time their meals with meetings, the fact that it will keep them burning fat and not spike insulin levels, and providing a steady carbohydrate energy source.

The manufacturer's home page for those interested in pursuing this further (I have no connection to them... in any way.):

Generation UCAN ® | Healthy Energy Powered by SuperStarch

 

[HFWR]

The big knob for weight loss (or gain, for that matter) is calories consumed. Period. You will never lose weight without a calorie deficit. There are limits, of course, in that a "starvation" diet will slow your metabolism, negating the benefits.

Having said that, "what" you eat has a lot to do with body composition and health. But it doesn't matter if you eat grass-fed beef and organic vegetables, if you consume more calories that you expend, you'll gain weight. It's harder to over-consume vegetables, though. (And I don't really consider corn or potatoes "vegetables", as such.) Try getting fat eating salad...

The primary reason to vegetables, and fruit if yoy have no metabolic challenges from sugar) is the micronutrient content, and fiber.

**Not to be construed as medical advice. See your doctor. Avoid driving until you know the effects. Look both ways before crossing the street. Stand up straight. Stop making faces, your face will freeze like that. Don't forget to floss. Say please and thank you. Your mileage may vary. If your erection lasts longer than four hours, call your neighbor...

 

[RonBoyd]

if you consume more calories that you expend, you'll gain weight.

This is true but not in the sense of obeying Newton's Third Law -- that requires a "closed System" and the human body is hardly that.

It is true in the sense that if your body stores those calories as body fat, you will gain weight. However, if your body uses those calories as fuel, you will not. That is what Taubes' book title is all about -- "Good Calories, Bad Calories."

If you eat the proper food, calories don't count.

For me personally (and YMMV) "proper" food does not include most carbohydrates.

 

[mickj]

If you eat the proper food, calories don't count.

+1

 

[smr91481]

Ok so you are me today... You were running late this morning and didn't bring your lunch to work, so you are forced to grab something from a fast food place nearby... What are you ordering?

 

[RonBoyd]

Ok so you are me today... You were running late this morning and didn't bring your lunch to work, so you are forced to grab something from a fast food place nearby... What are you ordering?

Water

 

[Alan]

Ok so you are me today... You were running late this morning and didn't bring your lunch to work, so you are forced to grab something from a fast food place nearby... What are you ordering?

Earlier this year we stopped at a Wendy's while traveling and before we went in I decided was going to have a salad. While standing in line we had time to look at the menu on the board which calories etc listed against item.

The salads were far more calorific than one might expect. I had a burger, no fries.

 

[RonBoyd]

... and have lost about 25-30 lbs in the last year but I seemed to have stalled because of my eating.

This article may give you some direction:

How to Add More Fat to Your Low Carb Diet for Nutritional Ketosis