Weigh In: America and Weight

[AKA_Monet]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
Wouldn't it be best to eat breakfast when you start feeling hungry, rather than as soon as you get up. Some people may or may not be hungry when they get up. I know I am not usually hungry when I get up, but that's mostly because I usually have some sort of bedtime snack because I am a diabetic and it keeps me from having a hypoglycemic reaction in the middle of the night.

I think the research is suggesting that those who can make that distinction to eat when they are hungry rather than eat because folks say they must...

I know that it is unwise to grocery shop while one is hungry...

But that is different than eating when one is not hungry...

There are folks who have "Prader-Willi's syndrome" where food must be locked up because these folks cannot control their appetite and eat all the time. The defect can actually be measured neurologically... So these unfortunate individuals hoard food and find it impossible to turn off the ability to not be hungry...

In the weight management business, the idea to make money may not encourage folks to know when they are hungry or not... It may be an ugly secret...

But in the obesity research field, the idea to make money is to allow folks to eat whatever, whenever but never suffer the consequences...

I dunno which is worse...

[OUlioness01]

Originally posted by AKA_Monet
I dunno, but for me, I am unable to digest and keep down food if I eat early in the morning. I usually have to wait until 10 AM before I can keep food down. 9:30 AM at the earliest.

The reason I say this is because there are some people, like me, that have an unsettled stomach when they wake up in the morning. At best, I can only drink water without upsetting my stomach.

I seriously thought I was the only one whohad that problem. I can drink a small glass of orange juice in the morning (but generally not until i've been awake for at least an hour), but anything else will make me feel sick for the rest of the day. It's nice to know that other people can't eat breakfast.

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
Wouldn't it be best to eat breakfast when you start feeling hungry, rather than as soon as you get up. Some people may or may not be hungry when they get up. I know I am not usually hungry when I get up, but that's mostly because I usually have some sort of bedtime snack because I am a diabetic and it keeps me from having a hypoglycemic reaction in the middle of the night.

The reason for eating breakfast as soon as you get up is that, after eight hours (or twelve, or even more) of not eating, your metabolism has slowed to a crawl. By eating first thing in the morning, you "wake it up" and it starts burning more calories than if you wait until 11 to eat. It goes along with the theory that eating six mini meals a day, instead of three big ones, keeps your metabolism burning longer and thus burns more calories.

Of course if there's a medical reason why you can't eat breakfast then you shouldn't. But if you're looking to lose weight, eating breakfast as soon as you get up as opposed to later could help you out.

[lovelyivy84]

1. Atkins gets a really bad rap. There haven't been enough studies showing the long term effects in people who follow the diet PROPERLY (and don't just stop eating carbs). Folks who do it properly can eat healthy carbs like veggies (maybe not fruit), they just cut out high starch high cartb foods that if we're honest, NOBODY needs. People are generally scared off by induction, or take that to be representative of the entire diet and that's just not true.

2. Studies are showing, and people who lose a lot of weight seem to be responding to the idea that six meals a day makes it easier to lose weight. It's kind of a way of life, once you start it you will always eat smaller meals. You're never huingry so you "binge" less (emotional eaters exempt, because that's a case when it doesn't matter that you're not hungry)

3. Fructose is evil, and it's everywhere. It used to be recommended to diabetics because it didn't cause a spike in your blood sugar level, but more current studies show that your body does not process it as a regular carbohydrate and use it to replenish glycogen stores in general, instead it replenishes only glycogen stores in the liver. The rest goes straight to fat storage. Some health professionals who sell diet plans (Scott Connelly) link the increase in fructose use in food preparation to the increase in obesity in Americans. Try to go a day without eating eat, look for fructose in your foods. You will be surprised at how much is in food items- it's in bread for Pete's sake!

4. I tend to think that most diet plans will work to some extent for different people simply because it forces them to pay attention to every bit of food they put in their mouths. Of course I am still firmly committed to a high protein, high-fiber diet for KEEPING weight off, but if it's just about losing body WEIGHT and not FAT almost any program that calls attention to food intake will work. Calories in < calories expended.

[sigmagrrl]

I cannot follow any conventional diets due to the physical alterations made to my system.

The one thing that I find to be wacky is when they say things like"Don't eat (insert item here) after/before (insert time here) because (insert study finding here)." I don't know what to believe anymore!!!

[juniorgrrl]

Originally posted by lovelyivy84
1. Atkins gets a really bad rap. There haven't been enough studies showing the long term effects in people who follow the diet PROPERLY (and don't just stop eating carbs). Folks who do it properly can eat healthy carbs like veggies (maybe not fruit), they just cut out high starch high cartb foods that if we're honest, NOBODY needs. People are generally scared off by induction, or take that to be representative of the entire diet and that's just not true.

Thank you. I was so skeptical of Atkins before I tried it. Now, I look at what's IN my food, not just calories/fat. A lot of the foods on the diet are much more natural than traditional low fat, low calorie "prepared" foods.

Now, my diet consists mostly of very lean ground beef, tuna, chicken, medium eggs (not those freaky estrogen enhanced XL eggs), nuts and salads. Much more natural than the crackers I used to eat all the time that were filled with partially hydrogenated oils and weird chemicals.

Take a look at what's in butter vs low fat margarine. The fat and calorie content is about the same, but the ingredients in the margarine creep me out. I like that butter has 2 things in it: cream and salt.

I still eat carbs. But its not the bulk of my diet like it was before.

Originally posted by OUlioness01
I seriously thought I was the only one whohad that problem. I can drink a small glass of orange juice in the morning (but generally not until i've been awake for at least an hour), but anything else will make me feel sick for the rest of the day. It's nice to know that other people can't eat breakfast.

Same here! I actually had been avoiding this thread, but just checked in to see what was up.... and I found a legion of others like me!

[PiKA2001]

I cant eat breakfast as well. I need to be up for at least two hours before I cnat eat any kind of food.

[absolutuscchick]

Are y'all joking me?!!! I would die if I didn't have a healthy breakfast with protein and coffee/green tea!! I am such a breakfast obsessive!

[KSigkid]

The thing is, you can have an effective eating plan without going on Atkins or anything like that.

The secret is exercise - having a consistent schedule that includes both resistance training and cardio. If you do that, and limit the sugars and excess fats in your diet, you WILL lose weight and get into shape. Maybe not movie star or pro athlete shape, but you'll be healthy.

I've lost around 30-40 pounds since sophomore year of college, and am now a solid 170-175, depending on the week. I still give into my cravings once in a while (cookies, ice cream, a beer once in a while), but I've also taught myself to resist those cravings.

For most people (and I say most - I know some people must diet through more extreme means), eating reasonably healthy and excercising will get results.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by twinstars
Maybe it's getting more equal (guys are catching up with girls as far as worrying about their weight) but there's NO WAY that guys have it worse. Think about the stuff attractive girls have to wear- tight jeans, short, leg-baring skirts, little tank tops, bikinis, etc. Women's bodies are just so much more on-display all the time.

And just look at the incidence of eating disorders- women get them at least 10x more than men.

Anecdotal evidence: My parents came up to my college for graduation, and my dad remarked that he was surprised at the number of slightly chubby guys he saw, especially compared with the girls (most of whom, while not looking like supermodels or Playmates, are reasonably slim and cute and dress nice and wear makeup daily). The guys just don't have as much reason to care if they're carrying around 10 or 20 extra beer pounds. The same extra weight on a girl could make or break her hotness.

That is just plain wrong. Every guy I know seriously has to work hard to be fit. A girl just starves herself and can look good. I keep a food journal (thanks for the tip James), I drink powders at work and get made fun for it, people have no idea why I eat my meals in halves every couple of hours, and sometimes I even want to cry because I can't enjoy a damn beer.

Most of the guys I know work very hard to put on lean mass without getting bellies. When was the last time you hooked up with a guy with a flat chest? Probably never. When was the last time you hooked up with a guy who was fat? Probably never.

-Rudey
--If you're a guy and want to be in shape, you can't just starve yourself.

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by Rudey
...

-Rudey
--If you're a guy and want to be in shape, you can't just starve yourself.

If you're a girl and you starve yourself you won't be in shape either. The girl might be thin, but she's not in shape if she's starving herself.

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by Rudey
That is just plain wrong. Every guy I know seriously has to work hard to be fit. A girl just starves herself and can look good. I keep a food journal (thanks for the tip James), I drink powders at work and get made fun for it, people have no idea why I eat my meals in halves every couple of hours, and sometimes I even want to cry because I can't enjoy a damn beer.

Most of the guys I know work very hard to put on lean mass without getting bellies. When was the last time you hooked up with a guy with a flat chest? Probably never. When was the last time you hooked up with a guy who was fat? Probably never.

-Rudey
--If you're a guy and want to be in shape, you can't just starve yourself.

Very very true, and I think a point that a lot of people miss.
It's tough to draw the line between gaining quality mass and gaining too much mass. That's the point I'm at now - I'm at my ideal weight, but would like to get stronger, so it's tough to figure out what to eat or take to help make that difference.


You just always try to avoid what I call "fat belly-skinny arm" syndrome.

I'm lucky in that I have a girlfriend who honestly still would be with me if I was too heavy - but the truth is that if you are carrying too much, girls won't even look at you. When I was even a little chubby (as I said before, about 40 pounds more than I am now), it was tough to get girls to take a second look. Since I've been in shape, that has not been the case.

Collin

[MereMere21]

In reference to being treated differently when you are thinner/in shape - completely true....


When I was in high school, I was on the drill team and worked out like nothing else. I was 5'3" (on a good day) and weighed about 125, all of that muscle. I was also living in a small Texas college town.......not a good combination. Doors were opened for me, clerks practically tripped over themselves to help me, and waiters spent extra time at our table. Ha, now the flip side of that ~ older, married, and one baby later.....lets just say that 125 is a memory. I work out, try to eat right, but unfortunately it doesn't work like it did when I was in high school. It makes me sick that our society is so weight oriented when so many of us are overweight. Like another poster said - the ideal body weight for height I don't believe matches up. For example, 5'3" should be 130 max. For most people thats an unattainable goal so they don't even try.

oh and don't even get me started on the "mighty kids meal"

[krazy]

It is really important to eat a balanced breakfast, when you can. You obviously don't want to shove food down your throat if you are not hungry. All this talk about foods being "Evil" is absurd though. I will say it one more time... If you go around cutting things out of your diet, entire food groups especially, you WILL mess your metabolic rate up. Now, you do not have to listen to me, but I have so many relatives that have problems w/ weight, and I studied plenty of nutrition in school. I may not be as learned as AKA Monet, but I will tell you that if you don't EVER have certain foods, such as your favorite junk foods, you will drive yourself nuts, and end up binging on them. I have seen it happen so many times. My aunt told me that she went on the "protein diet" in the seventies, and lost weight, then gained more back when she began eating sensibly again. folks... you cannot be active w/out carbs, you cannot be healthy w/ being active. Good luck to everyone though.