Women & Dieting

I certainly agree with that. I gave up sodas many years ago, and only have one on the rare occasion that I can't get anything else.

 

About once a year I enjoy an ice cold original Coca Cola.
That's about it for me.
I work with people who sit and sip soda all day long.

 

I like the small bottles of coke. what are they, 8 ounces?

 

Yeah. My dad and half his siblings are diabetic. Adult onset, which is the most prevalent form in the US these days. This form, Type 2 comes from a lifelong abuse of insulin production. On a high carb diet, sometimes even with exercise, your pancreas will actually stop being able to produce insulin. Or, so much insulin is released into the bloodstream to regulate blood sugar levels that it is no longer effective. This is known as insulin resistance.

If you lost in the gene lottery and have propensity towards obesity or propensity to insulin resistance, any kind of carbs will send you closer and closer to diabetes. Whole grain or not.

My dad was recently diagnosed with diabetes. If carbs are so good for you then why must he keep track of what he eats, limiting his intake of rice; which, being Asian is like asking a frog not to eat flies? He's still trying to regulate his diabetes with diet, but if his body keeps being pushed to overproducing insulin and blood sugar remaining too high, his pancreas will shut down, he will have to go on a lower carb diet and start taking insulin. My dad has been active all his life; from playing soccer all the way into the beginning of his military career to taking daily walks with my mom now. My parents are in their late 70's now, and ever since I could remember, my mom cooked low fat and low salt. I cook this way as well.

I've always been active myself. I played soccer through high school, excelled in track, walked onto the BU track team and after college picked up soccer again. Right now I go to the gym several times a week and ride my bike when I can. I could envy people like you, Baraka Guru, but that won't help me keep the weight off or keep me from becoming diabetic myself.

Don't assume that what works for you will work for everyone. As it is, with all the exercise and the dietetic control I exercise over my appetite, I could stand to lose 20 pounds. Right now I'm sitting at 23% body fat. Yeah. I could be more disciplined, I could always exercise more, too. I plan to get more serious again soon. The Atkins diet worked for me in losing excess fat. Please don't tell me I could lose more weight by eating more carbs. Been there, tried that. Doesn't work for me. Maybe I'm in the minority here when it comes to eating carbs, but looking at the rise of obesity and diabetes in the US, I seriously doubt it.

 

Having studied biochemistry, there are certain absolutes that will not change. Aka carbs are sugar. Too much sugar can and will lead to diabetes in some people, but in most people, will only lead to greater fat stores.

The definitive statement that 'carbs in and of themselves are not a problem' is true, but the US population eats too many carbohydrates at any given time. This is exactly why most of the people eating diets higher in carbs are fat. Diet (definition being 'what you put in your mouth to give your body fuel to continue to function properly') is not an 'across the board', 'everyone needs to eat meat' constant, nor is it good or healthy to eat too many carbs.

For example, your body can NOT produce certain amino acids. Although possible, it is difficult to eat the right combination of beans and lentils or some other seed type every day and get sufficient amounts of these amino acids for a body to function. However, most people have to eat some meat to get what their bodies require. So I could postulate that meat in and of itself is not bad, which is true also. Likewise, we need to have a certain amount of fat in our diet as well, because some fatty acid chains utilized in our bodies cannot be made from carbs. Therefore, we could say 'fats are not bad for you' as well.

Problems arise when this happens: When people go on diets, these so-called 'fad diets', they do so with the intention of going back to their old, unhealthy eating habits that were the cause of their weight gain as soon as they can. They lose the weight. The diet works. But every time, everyone gained back all the weight and more because they went back to their 'normal' eating habits; or diet. I propose this again: whatever diet works for you losing weight, stick to it! And exercise!

As a side note, several diets, including Atkins and the South Beach diet have a 'maintainance mode'. And every body is different. Some people can eat more carbs than others and maintain healthy weight in doing so. Others can't. The point is, that most of these low carb diets demand healthier eating from the get-go-- lose the complex carbohydrate/tasty comfort food/ bread/junk food and eat fruits and veggies instead. Doesn't that sound reasonable?

 

I think the media needs to take a lot of the blame for women being so obsessed with their bodies that they try these crazy fad diets that supposedly all the celebs are on. Magazines are constantly photoshopping pics of celebs and are so quick to jump on someone if they've put on a couple of pounds. Women can then become obsessed with what the "perfect" body should be. There is no such thing as the "perfect" body as everyone is different with how they are and what they like.

As long as you are healthy and happy with yourself, that should be all that matters. Although it's never that simple.

 

Yeah. Should I call you out on this? Already mentioned that complex carbs are broken down into simple sugars, and the body uses glucose the most. Admittedly, beta glycosidic bonds are probably better for you, but the end process is the same. And, I never said complex carbs were evil. I merely stated repeatedly that I, for one, cannot make 50-60% of my diet carbohydrates. And I stated WHY. Several times you and I have both stated that not everyone can eat the same diet as you or me.

This is probably a great topic for another thread, but the 'gluten-free' mania that is going on is fuelled by the fact that more and more of the general population is allergic in in varying amounts, to gluten, a protein fonud in wheat. Whole grains have unrefined flour, and are supposedly better for you because of high fiber content, but also have more gluten; which can cause allergic reactions and a whole host of other problems, of which do not exclude obesity. So, the obesity epidemic is a little more complex than what you've stated.

Conversely, it's OKAY if people choose to eat meat to get the essential amino acids and other nutrients in this manner. Not everyone chooses to be vegan.

Unfortunately, I have too many friends who have to take Lipitor or some other med to 'lower their cholesterol' to the perceived 'norm'. Some of these friends are sedentary, while others are extremely active, even more than myself and are still required by their doctors to take the meds. Nevermind that their grandparents who had high cholesterol, didn't exercise, or modify their diet from steak and potatoes, lived well into their 90's.

Your balanced diet does NOT look like mine. I could not stay thin on a diet like yours. I do much better on a diet that is higher in protein, lower in carbs and less, still, of fat.

Never said they were. At the risk of repeating myself again, it's TOO MANY carbs that's a bad thing.

 

Too many empty carbs is a bad thing. I find it baffling that all this talk is going on conflating broccoli and oatmeal with white bread and mashed potatoes. I would like to see the data supporting the theory that people eating a moderate low-fat diet consisting of about 50-60% complex carbohydrates is making people fat or causing diabetes. I will guarantee you the numbers are low making those who fit that category exceptions to the rule. A moderate low-fat diet consisting of about 50-60% complex carbohydrates is ideal for most people. And before you start mentioning all the fat people and diabetics around, I'll just stress these words moderate, low-fat, complex carbohydrates. Most people are not eating this diet. Because most people want to eat too much and eat too much of the wrong things. It's not complicated.

 

A large part of the problem with diet in America is the amounts of food that we eat. What you see in restaurants as 'diet portions' of food are really all any of us need to eat. Exceptions being professional athletes and others who have above average energy needs. A chicken breast the size of a 'deck of cards' a cup of yellow/orange/dk. green vegetables and a cup of brown rice (or relative equivalents) is all anyone needs at any one meal. The average American eats 2-3x (or more!) of what they need to eat every day. This is a huge problem, no pun intended, because you have people accustomed to seeing an adequate diet as restrictive.

My mother and stepfather have been eating this way for years. They split meals in restaurants and cook meals at home the size of which would be for one in an average home. They are in their late 60's-early 70's and they are very healthy. They are not stick thin, but, as you said Baraka, that is a totally different subject with its own associated problems for the American diet. They have weight where they are supposed to have weight. They have healthy circulatory systems and low LDL cholesterol and its relative healthy amounts of HDL cholesterol. They have healthy GI tracts. They are able to maintain an active lifestyle and do all the things they want to do. All the things that a healthy moderate diet, low in fat, high in complex carbs is known to do for the average person. Very few people maintain that kind of diet. So I tend not to listen to people who claim that their diet will make them fat. There's no way unless you have a thyroid issue or some other metabolic disorder that interferes with the body's normal chemical reactions.

 

(You are such a good Canadian boy!)

My grandpa lived until age 101 and I know from eating many breakfasts with him over my Ontario summers that he started every day of his life with a bowl of oatmeal. He also ate almost a half loaf of bread in the a.m. along with nearly a pot of tea then he went outside and was active (clearing brush, chopping wood, etc). or to his workshop (he built our cottages and the furniture within them) 'til lunch which always included stuff from the garden, then went back out until dinnertime. We ate vegetables & fruit from the garden including cabbage, lettuce, scallions, potatoes, green beans, cucumbers, I think chives and such and picked raspberries and rhubarb for our jams and tarts. The dinnertime meal did not include a lot of meat. 'Frank' started every day of his life by doing a series of stretches and if he couldn't work outside he walked 6-7 miles every day.
He's been dead 17 years and never was one for fad anything, including diets. No fat on the man, just lean muscle. In general, I think he did exactly what was right for him to live a long age span. Its probably unnecessary to say but he never smoked nor did he drink.
I'm totally on the oatmeal wagon. It is so satisfying! I'm not much of a cook but there's a wealth of ways to incorporate it (or sneak it) into various meals as well.

 

Sounds like Frank is very atypical. Most people today aren't anywhere near as active as that and don't eat near as well.

 

I know. I think though he was representative of the eating mindset at the time with the exercise to an extreme.

Frank (as he preferred to be called) certainly was atypical of now but pretty representative of a 100-year period when in some ways we lived better. In a nutshell he went from a 14-y.o. cook in a lumber camp in the Canadian west to a Sargent on the Toronto police force prior to his long 'retirement.' He ate hearty quite a lot because he burned it off with exercise. But no junk food, as it hadn't been invented yet.

I can't help but think that adopting/adapting the lifestyle would produce what some people seem to strive for.

Me, I'm too lazy.

 

I think there is little question that if people were as active as Frank, they'd have a lot less weight to carry around (assuming they also cut out the junk food).