Interesting approach to diet and health

[OneEyeJack]

Had a long talk with a neighbor. He was overweight, taking meds for cholesterol, high blood pressure and adult onset diabetes. An adult life of medical care, pills, exams, blood tests and dietitian approved diets did nothing to improve his situation and he was gradually gaining a few pounds a year. He searched and searched for a better way now that he was turning 50. Finally he tried something completely new. He started fasting 2 days a week and eating a generally healthy diet for 5 days a week. After 12 months he's off all meds and all the exams and lab work show him as normal. He's 6 feet tall and now weighs 175 down from 225 with no hunger pangs and no feeling of being deprived because he's on some new fad diet.

Here's the doctor that gave him the idea and the inspiration.

 

[901Memphis]

But the will power to not eat for so long would be insane

 

[Bandito440]

Mercola is an absolute quack. He was just fined for promoting indoor tanning beds that he claimed REDUCED cancer risk. He is a promoter of all things pseudoscience.

It's good that your neighbor's health is improving, but he could have done that through a proper diet with exercise and avoided that charlatan altogether.

 

[SZR48207]

Is he fasting for 2 CONTINUOUS days or alternate days? There is some scientific evidence that alternate day fasting is good for controlling blood sugar and aidong weight loss. Humans haven't always had the fortune of being able to eat 2000 calories each day so we have it in us to skip a day or two.

But these days there's so much advertising for food everywhere you go that it's hard to not get hungry.

 

[OneEyeJack]

He was following Dr. Mosley's example, not Mercola.

Following current expert medical advice to the letter for more than 10 years including an approved diet right down to quantity and quality did nothing. In fact the meds were probably harmful, kind of like a slow working poison.

Today he looks like a completely different person. The fasting appears to be the main difference.

 

[Olas]

Calorie intake : Exercise ratio is the first thing that should be considered in all cases of people getting fat.

 

[Kamele0N]

Originally Posted By: Olas
Calorie intake : Exercise ratio is the first thing that should be considered in all cases of people getting fat.


Just lower intake of carbohydrates...you are replacing them with fat from meat..fishes...especially omega3...

Carbohydrates represents sugar spikes in your blood...and because of that you are constantly hungry

 

[BeerCan]

Originally Posted By: Olas
Calorie intake : Exercise ratio is the first thing that should be considered in all cases of people getting fat.


Using the above simple method I lost over 60 lbs. CICO (calories in, calories out)

 

[jhellwig]

Originally Posted By: Kamele0N
Originally Posted By: Olas
Calorie intake : Exercise ratio is the first thing that should be considered in all cases of people getting fat.


Just lower intake of carbohydrates...you are replacing them with fat from meat..fishes...especially omega3...

Carbohydrates represents sugar spikes in your blood...and because of that you are constantly hungry


This is the only way I can loose weight.

 

[weasley]

Originally Posted By: BeerCan
Originally Posted By: Olas
Calorie intake : Exercise ratio is the first thing that should be considered in all cases of people getting fat.


Using the above simple method I lost over 60 lbs. CICO (calories in, calories out)


^^This^^

At the beginning of 2015 I was 43, 5'10" tall and weighed 205 lb. Whilst I was generally healthy, I had a BMI of 29.4. That is bordering on 'officially' obese. I'm a scientist so I took a long, hard look at my life and extrapolated... all I could see was a future of diabetes, heart disease and other health issues related to my weight and lack of exercise. So I set about changing it.

12 months later, at the turn of 2016, I was 44, 5'10" and weighed 166 lb. That's a BMI of 23.8, which is 'officially' "normal". Furthermore I was fitter, suffered less chest and viral infections and was generally happier. I also looked a whole lot better in a mirror and attracted a lot of comments about my weight loss.

One question I was asked a lot was "what's your secret?". People were expecting me to say I had used a specific diet plan, or found a superfood, or popped a wonderpill. My answer... "eat less, do more". All I did was find an app on my phone that I used to track my calorie intake and I dusted off my MTB and used it. At first I was doing 3-4 miles 3 times a week. By the end of the year I was going for 20-25 mile rides, all off-road and including some big climbs.

For me, and the way my brain works, I knew I needed some data to look at. So the app helped me by showing me how my actions were achieving results. For the first two weeks of the 'diet' I was constantly hungry, but I ignored it. I was on about 1,500 calories a day and, if I'm honest, it was a bit too few as I was tired and occasionally light-headed. But after 2 weeks the hunger stopped, as did the other symptoms. When I weighed myself after a month and saw I had already dropped about 6-8 lb that was enough motivation for me to carry on.

The biggest issue I had was having to replace my clothes as nothing fitted me any more! I now wear 32" waist trousers and 'medium' sized shirts and pullovers. I even buy "slim-fit" shirts and skinny jeans now, which before was out-of-the-question as I bought large clothes in order to conceal my size.

During my diet I never cut any specific food group out, I just ate a balanced mix of healthier options. More fruit and vegetables, less processed hydrocarbons. But still 'normal' food, just less of it and no snacks. I still had a glass of wine every so often and made sure I was never suffering emotionally because of a lack of food or treats. If I blew the calorie budget one day I would cut back over the next couple of days to balance it.

As somebody said above, CICO. Now I hope I have improved my chances of seeing my kids grow up and let them see me grow old.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Interesting approach to diet and health


Not so much really. Mercola is nothing more than a quack, as are those who follow him.

Good health really isn't all that complicated. Eat a balanced, whole food diet, stay away from processed factory foods, get lots of exercise, sleep well, and maintain a healthy mental state.

The only reason your neighbor lost weight was because he reduced his caloric intake. It's simple math; in order to loose weight just eat fewer calories, and what you do eat make it quality, nutrient dense calories. No special fad diets or pretending to eat like cavemen is needed.

 

[Al]

Fasting is good. As mentioned..exercise, calorie control, avoid lots of carbs, no sugar.

We'll see how your neighbor is in 2 years. 95% of people fail on their diets.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Good health really isn't all that complicated. Eat a balanced, whole food diet, stay away from processed factory foods, get lots of exercise, sleep well, and maintain a healthy mental state.


Too bad most people cannot see what's right in front of them and what their body is telling them. We all have the internal instinct that tells us the whole foods are better than processed foods, but there is an army of experts, doctors, scientists, etc. fighting our internal instincts with colorful and fancy packages, inaccurate nutritional facts, biased studies and heavy marketing. I can see why so many have a hard time with something as simple as food when they're daily being bombarded with ,oftentimes, conflicting information.

A family doctor of one of my work colleagues told her that the baby formulas available today are actually better than breast milk! Would you believe that?

Also, how many here think that drinking unpasteurized milk is dangerous?

 

[supton]

Do carbs count as processed food? I mean, take a grain, grind it up, mix it with other stuff, then bake it to make bread. Fair amount of processing if you ask me, even if it's not using all sorts of unpronounceable artificial stuff. I suspect rice is about the only American grain that isn't heavily processed before eaten. [And even then it's used as a bed for other stuff.]

I'm starting to wonder if there isn't something to be said for watching carbs (which would include sugar). That said, it's thought that carbs were important in the evolution of the brain--it's not known what came first, cooking food or the brainpower to figure out how to cook. Carbs may well be a brain food but too much of anything seems to always be a bad thing. I'm not convinced that replacing carbs with fats is a good thing; but then again, for years salt was the big bogeyman in the room, just bad for you. Until it wasn't. I suspect some of the nutrition guidelines aren't so well researched or are otherwise manipulated.

 

[cptbarkey]

Its really the glycemic index and load, rice and processed flour have a huge impact on blood sugar. see this for specifics http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods

 

[krismoriah72]

"abs are made in the kitchen" is still my favorite go to inspiration. I have seen both sides of the carbs vs no carbs diets while in college. I worked out with a few guys and on a whim we were discussing the 'soloflex' guy..if u remember he was the guy that had like 1% bodyfat and made you want to buy a soloflex.

Anyways...two of my friends decided to go opposite ways on diets, one low carb protein diet, the other all fiber. We later called the all fiber diet the 'poop diet'..lol. This was to last a semester..and at the end a posedown at the gym to see which diet was king. The low carb guy ate meats and some vegetables and cut out sugars and did the best he could to stay at low carb. The poop diet guy ate pinto beans, potato skins, raisin bran, oranges, apples, bananas, cabbage, salads...etc.

At the end of the trial...the poop diet guy won hands down. The change in his body was pretty amazing, he wasnt bulked but what we would call 'ripped'..you could see his ribs, and outlines of muscles. The low carb guy was more muscular and had added some muscle but his overall appearance was that he was bulkier.

The poop diet guy was my roommate, so i can vouch for his eating...he never ate any meat, just high fiber whatever...and it worked.

I have seen one guy since then on a similar diet..he ate beans for one meal a day and said he lost 10lbs in a month..just a can of beans whether pintos or baked beans..

I am copyrighting this diet now.. so if it works for you keep it to yourself.

 

[AuthorEditor]

I've gone low-carb and the weight just melts off of me, all while eating bacon and eggs for breakfast and steak for dinner, along with plenty of veggies too. The hard part about it is that the rest of the world is all carb, all the time making it hard to stick to. I've been invited to dinner where there really weren't a lot of choices to eat around the meal: chips and dip, lasagna with pasta on the side, cake and ice cream for desert. At work they serve bagels on one day, pizza on another day. On the highway and you need to eat you've got burger joints with hamburgers (OK but you need to skip the buns) and fries (bad). After awhile you get tired of eating salads with grilled chicken, which are usually available at fast food places these days. Actually, my biggest problem is that my wife and kids hate low carb and therefore it means I am on my own for meals, or I have to eat around what everyone else is having. I suspect there is a genetic component in what works and what doesn't. Low-carb meals appeal to me and I find I can eat plenty to feel satiated while still losing weight. Whatever you do, don't listen to your doctor--seriously, most of them haven't studied much nutrition since college, and even then it wasn't a major area of study. Plus, avoid all the pills they want to prescribe. Hint, if you look around the doctor's office and the people who work there aren't healthy looking don't take their advice on staying healthy.

 

[hatt]

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
"abs are made in the kitchen" is still my favorite go to inspiration. I have seen both sides of the carbs vs no carbs diets while in college. I worked out with a few guys and on a whim we were discussing the 'soloflex' guy..if u remember he was the guy that had like 1% bodyfat and made you want to buy a soloflex.

Anyways...two of my friends decided to go opposite ways on diets, one low carb protein diet, the other all fiber. We later called the all fiber diet the 'poop diet'..lol. This was to last a semester..and at the end a posedown at the gym to see which diet was king. The low carb guy ate meats and some vegetables and cut out sugars and did the best he could to stay at low carb. The poop diet guy ate pinto beans, potato skins, raisin bran, oranges, apples, bananas, cabbage, salads...etc.

At the end of the trial...the poop diet guy won hands down. The change in his body was pretty amazing, he wasnt bulked but what we would call 'ripped'..you could see his ribs, and outlines of muscles. The low carb guy was more muscular and had added some muscle but his overall appearance was that he was bulkier.

The poop diet guy was my roommate, so i can vouch for his eating...he never ate any meat, just high fiber whatever...and it worked.

I have seen one guy since then on a similar diet..he ate beans for one meal a day and said he lost 10lbs in a month..just a can of beans whether pintos or baked beans..

I am copyrighting this diet now.. so if it works for you keep it to yourself.

Looks like poop guy had a much more varied diet. He could have added some meat and other stuff in there and had the same results.

 

[cjcride]

A question. A couple hundred years ago all food was non processed yet life expectancy was lower. Not taking sides, just curious.

 

[AuthorEditor]

Quote:
A question. A couple hundred years ago all food was non processed yet life expectancy was lower. Not taking sides, just curious.

A couple of hundred years ago infant mortality was very high, many diseases had no cures, sanitation was terrible, accidents in many professions claimed many, it wasn't known how bad smoking is for you, etc.