Exercise Doesn't Help Us Lose Pounds

Parent Cafe
121

<p>It’s not the actual cooking that’s my problem. It’s the planning it out in advance, and having the necessary ingredients in the house. I have limited storage space (no pantry closet) and I hate shopping. I also hate having to buy a whole jar of something to use 3 tablespoons for a recipe I am trying that I may or may not like. Since I hate shopping, I go thru the store as fast as I can. Since I’m not an avid cook, I don’t think in advance about what to make. Result? We have the same boring meals over and over again, because I buy the same basic staples week after week. When I do come across a recipe, I don’t seem to have the self-discipline (or follow through or whatever) to remember to write all the ingredients down on my shopping list and buy them.</p>

<p>Of course when I DO write a shopping list, half the time I leave it on the kitchen counter anyway. :confused:</p>

122

<p>

</p>

<p>This is so true for those really comfortable in the kitchen, but I have lots of friends who aren’t. It takes 10 minutes to broil fish and less to steam some veggies to accompany it. If you need a carb, TJ’s sells brown rice you can microwave right from the freezer that’s not bad. Throwing in a chicken to roast takes a couple of minutes. Throwing any meat on a gas grill is also little effort.</p>

<p>I love to cook so it took me a long time to understand that many are intimidated in the kitchen.</p>

<p>Lafalum, you’re a great candidate for trying the Bittman videos which you can find on the NYT website. He makes it very simple to produce a healthy meal. Keeping some onion, garlic, olive oil, broth and a few spices on hand is really all you need to make fresh, tasty food. Then just a quick stop 3 times per week for meat, fish and veggies. And while I don’t like frozen fish or veggies, you can certainly keep some meat in the freezer.</p>

123

<p>Be aware that Taube presents his work in a more forceful way than the science really is. Another book that goes down the same path is Protein Power, which I found more enjoyable (and much shorter). The mechanisms are not that well understood and both tend to cherry pick anecdotes.</p>

<p>Michael Pollan in Omnivore’s Dilemma makes an interesting point: that we produce over 400 calories more per day per American. We consume much of that increase. Much of the increase is in sugar, particularly corn sugar. That is at least a fact - or two.</p>

<p>Not long ago, getting enough food was difficult. We have social programs that give aid to families and children, including food at schools. When I grew up, we were contributing to end hunger in Appalachia. There is still hunger in the US, but apparently the extra 400+ calories produced a day are being consumed. </p>

<p>As an example of how confused we are, we don’t know exactly how dietary cholesterol affects individuals or why it rises in some and not others. (We understand some of the biochemistry, etc. but not how that works in you and you and you.) We know it on average raises cholesterol. We only recently focused on transfats - which were previously emphasized as being better for us. Your body produces the vast majority of your cholesterol, so people like Taube claim - may be right, may be partly right, etc. - that it’s too much sugar (corn again), but we don’t know. That’s why the best predictor of heart disease is not your cholesterol level but your family history.</p>

124

<p>When I was overweight- I was exhausted all the time and I would snack in an effort to increase my blood sugar to give me a little boost.
It is ironic that by changing my habits ( and finally sleeping more) I have more energy even though I am older.
I like to cook- & I can cook great meals, but not everyday :o - it takes a lot of concentration & don’t ask me to bake cause I forget to set the timer.
( Plus it takes time away from digging in the yard)</p>

<p>You don’t really have to follow recipes but if you can grow rosemary in a pot on your porch & maybe remember to keep some other herbs in your freezer , you can make things taste a lot better. ( improving taste seems to reduce hunger for me)</p>

<p>I like to take a whole chicken, rub it with an organic lemon ( then stuff it in the cavity along with some rosemary sprigs) and rub stone ground mustard around outside and roast it in the oven. Prep only takes a few minutes, and you have chicken for sandwiches.</p>

<p>It’s harder if you have kids at home who are always hungry. My youngest has a huge appetite, but she can be really picky ( which I thought she would grow out of).
I would finally find something she liked, but when I would make it again, she wouldn’t eat it. :(</p>

<p>Discouraging. So I look for things to make that don’t require a loan or an emotional investment.</p>

<p>I miss my rice steamer ( I haven’t found a similar one yet, but I haven’t looked for a while)
while the rice was steaming- I could put veggies in the top tray.
I know rice is high glycemic, but it digests well & doesn’t cause problems for my joints.</p>

<p>I think it can be really hard to change your mindset- especially when those around you eat alot.</p>

<p>For example both my brother and my mother are overweight and it has been affecting their health for sometime. My brother is currently living with my mom, and while they both talk about the things they are going to do to lose weight, in the meantime, they both enjoy the high fat, high salt foods that my brother ate when he was a teen to gain weight.</p>

<p>When they go out to eat, that is where they go- to get grinders or pizza with extra meat.
They figure " it isn’t that often"…* but it is*. They eat that way at least once a week and the rest of the time they load up their plates at home. </p>

<p>My theory is- for at least some of these folks is that they eat- to push down the feelings they don’t want to deal with- numbing themselves.</p>

<p>Finding other ways to deal with the stress besides eating has helped to make me feel better.
I didn’t do it to lose weight specifically, but to address things long term- not the short term burst of eating ice cream for breakfast ;)</p>

<p>I was lucky in that I had never been overweight or had eaten much more than I needed to live till I was in my 30’s- so I didn’t have the mindset of needing a huge plateful to feel satisfied. I think if the problem is longer standing, then it takes a longer concentrated effort to change a pattern.</p>

<p>I think it can be self defeating when we think that others have it easier regarding weight control. It doesn’t matter for our own body how much someone else can eat without seemingly gaining an ounce.</p>

<p>It also might be, that they are much more active than we realize.
For example- even when I don’t go to the gym I do exercises all through the day.
I touch my toes or do other stretches every time I go to the toilet. same thing any time I am waiting. ( although if I am in public- I probably will just practice standing on one leg) I rarely take an elevator, even when I have packages, and I save gas ( and parking fees) by leaving my car, or not moving it when I have errands farther away.</p>

<p>People are getting younger and I think effort to stay active is why.</p>

125

<p>lergnon…confused is a good word.
Eggs are bad…turned to no, they’re actually OK.
Low fat cookies are usually made with more sugar…great.
Eat low fat…no eat low carb…no eat good fats. </p>

<p>Bottom line, I agree with the premise in Michael Pollan’s books. “Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants” </p>

<p>Unfortunately, our country subsidizes the corn industry - which bolsters all those low nutrition, highly-processed foods. Low income folks buy these foods cause they’re cheap, and end up eating LOTS of junk. And getting hungrier because it doesn’t stick. And they get fat as a result. The biggest predictor of obesity is your socioeconomic status. It’s a sad state of affairs.</p>

126

<p>The other thing about highly processed foods is that they are not filling. The ending overeating book claims restaurants use high calorie processed foods because you can eat several courses of these.</p>

<p>I also agree with Pollan.</p>

127

<p>I have been favored by the genetics gods; luckily for me, while I might put on an extra 5-to-10, I’ll never be obese. </p>

<p>I was at the gym a little while ago and saw a woman I had never seen there before, who must be at least twice as big as I am. She was working out with one of the trainers. I’m trying to be a generous person, and I thought to myself, “Good for her.” A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and she’s taking the first step.</p>

128

<p>“Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants”
____________^^^^^^^^ This appears to be the hard part for many people.</p>

129

<p>One needs to focus hard on changing one’s habits. It’s hard in the beginning, but if you determine that that’s your new “norm,” then you’ll get used to it after about two months, I think.</p>

130

<p>I use Retin A too. I’ll be honest here–for that youthful look there’s nothing like Botox and filler products. Shaves 10 years off!</p>

131

<p>^^^
umm, I think this needs to be re-directed to the 50 plus moisturizer thread!</p>

132

<p>whoops…too late to edit</p>

133

<p>With all these new food theories out there, including the Pollan books, I’ve been thinking of going on a diet (not a reducing) of only “whole foods”, just to see if I can do it and to see how it affects me. I eat pretty healthily already but even the “healthy” brands of cereals and crackers for example, are mostly sugars. It wouldn’t be hard for me to stick to fruit, veg, whole cooked grains like rice, barley, quinoa, etc, even some meat or seafood here and there. But then how about pasta? Or canned fish? It’s a slippery slope.</p>

134

<p>

I agree… but I think cultural environment also plays a major role. You simply don’t see as many heavy or obese people anywhere else in the world. There have been studies showing that Japanese who move to the U.S. experience the same weight gain and health problems as Americans once they adopt our diet and lifestyle, so this is not simply a genetic issue.</p>

<p>I recently read two books on a similar theme, “French Women Don’t Get Fat” and “Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat.” Both authors told the story of how they came to the U.S. after high school, gained 25 pounds here and returned home to families that were shocked by their weight gain. They go on to explain how they lost the weight and how people stay slim in their home countries and they describe the diet and lifestyle differences they believe contribute to weight problems here.</p>

135

<p>I agree about the cultural influence. Let’s face it, the standard American diet is horrible. And it’s cheap and easy to get. Think about going to an amusement park or the boardwalk at the shore. How easy is it to get good quality whole food? Salt, fat and sugar are in abundance. Every try to buy a piece of fruit in places like these?
Here in America, we make it easy to get fat. Yeah, folks are overeating, but as someone mentioned, it’s partly because junk food is cheap, addictive and doesn’t keep you satisfied. Add some bad genes and you’re done.</p>

136

<p>There’s a book I read several years ago, called When I Was Puerto Rican, in which the main character talks about US “nutritional experts” telling the Puerto Ricans that they should eat more canned fruit. Of course, that stuff is packed in heavy syrup, while fresh fruit grows abundantly throughout the island . . . This was during the 1950s, when the country thought industrialization would save our souls.</p>

137

<p>One of my mid-term goals early this year was to be able to wear my wedding and college rings and I checked this morning and I’m quite a bit closer to doing that. I’m a few millimeters away. I also went into my closet and tried on a few old clothes and I’m going to wear them to work today. Most of current clothes are now too big and I may have to spend a few bucks buying a few items for work. One other thing about changing weight is the expenses in clothing.</p>

<p>My wife grew up in a very poor environment (third-world country) and she did put on a little weight in her 40s which she took off with walks in the morning. She has never been a big eater.</p>

138

<p>i made a commitment to exercise this summer (and it’s really hard to do that when you go from doing nothing at all it seems over the winter;).
have gone to the gym (interval training) and have been riding my bike. happy to report that i’ve lost some inches (can wear a smaller size) and a few pounds (but have lots to go).<br>
i decided to work on the exercise commitment first and didn’t specifically diet (worried it would derail the exercise commitment). a one thing at a time approach. in recent weeks i’ve made some attempts to improve diet…i like the idea of the mediterrean diet…far less meat, more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains. i hope to now work towards adopting more healthy eating.<br>
it all gets pretty confusing to me…i want to gain muscle (and I have)…but… at the same time…i want to see more pounds drop on the scale…any suggestions?</p>

139

<p>It all comes down to calories, whether you burn more of them through exercise or take fewer in by eating fewer calories. It may be that eating more foods less dense in calories may feel satisfying. My approach this past week was to just eat 800 to 1200 calories per day (just dinner).</p>

140

<p>BCEagle- I enjoy your posts but I got to tell you that you are making the nutritionists and other diet experts cry.</p>