How Do We Solve a Problem Like Obesity?

[AmericanFan]

12 minutes ago, Aufc said:

 

I actually dont agree cardio is key. For an obese person, it is mostly about their diet. Making small changes would see big improvements. Yes if they moved more as well then that is going to increase their improvements but it is pointless doing 10,000 steps a day if you are still eating 6,000 calories a day.

The issue with diet drinks is that people think, because they have no calories, they can drink them freely. The reality is that drinking these excessively is also linked to increased health risk. So yes you may lose weight if you drink 5 cans of diet coke a week instead of full fat but it also brings the risk of other health issues

Cardio burns calories more effectively than anything else, therefore it is key for everyone.

For an obese person, of course cleaning up their diet would be first, but cardio is second. And saying 10K steps would be pointless no matter how much you eat is entirely inaccurate. It would lessen the amount of weight put on. What's better, walking 10K steps with a bad diet or walking 500 with a bad diet?

Drinking less than one diet drink a day over the week isn't going to kill you and is by far better for you than drinking regular drinks.

[Jambomo]

Since I started losing weight and counting calories, the one thing I noticed is that even when you follow a healthy diet it’s really easy to overeat the calories you need even just through normal meals with weighed out ingredients.

Eating healthy food helps but you still have to look at how much you eat as well. 

[HibsFan]

8 minutes ago, Jambomo said:

Since I started losing weight and counting calories, the one thing I noticed is that even when you follow a healthy diet it’s really easy to overeat the calories you need even just through normal meals with weighed out ingredients.

Eating healthy food helps but you still have to look at how much you eat as well. 

Portion control is definitely an overlooked aspect in all of this.

I reckon if you asked the average person on the street to pour out a recommended portion of rice or pasta*, most would overpour.

*Two things that most people would look at and say "relatively healthy" (especially the wholegrain/wholewheat versions), but can be a massive amount of carbs and significantly calorific if eaten excessively.

Edited March 5, 2021 by HibsFan

[Fullerene]

46 minutes ago, BFTD said:

The fizzy drink thing is odd; I've seen/heard countless people say that diet drinks stop people from losing weight, but they never give a reason how that's possible. I don't know how it stands up to basic scrutiny that consuming something with next to no calories will keep you fat.

IIRC the argument is that it might not contain sugar but it gives the impression it does.  You then develop a craving for sugar and especially since your diet drink did not provide it.  Thus you end up eating more sugary food than you would have otherwise.

[BFTD]

28 minutes ago, Aufc said:

The issue with diet drinks is that people think, because they have no calories, they can drink them freely. The reality is that drinking these excessively is also linked to increased health risk. So yes you may lose weight if you drink 5 cans of diet coke a week instead of full fat but it also brings the risk of other health issues

 

Other than caffeine, which really isn't a good thing, I'm not seeing how people come to that conclusion without disappearing down the rabbit hole of aspartame conspiracy.

You see a lot about people who drink sodas with artificial sweeteners ending up with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc. Well, yeah - they're also eating a lot of cheesecakes too. I don't understand the logic of how it's somehow down to the zero calorie drinks.

[AmericanFan]

4 minutes ago, HibsFan said:

Portion control is definitely an overlooked aspect in all of this.

I reckon if you asked the average person on the street to pour out a recommended portion of rice or pasta, most would overpour.

For sure. But eating low-calorie, high-dense foods is key aspect in that as well.

[BFTD]

Just now, Fullerene said:

IIRC the argument is that it might not contain sugar but it gives the impression it does.  You then develop a craving for sugar and especially since your diet drink did not provide it.  Thus you end up eating more sugary food than you would have otherwise.

Yeah, I get that. But most people who drink diet sodas would be drinking the standard type with all the sugar otherwise. I doubt there are many people who led a sugar-free life until they tried Coke Zero, and now they can't stop eating Snickers bars.

[AmericanFan]

2 minutes ago, Fullerene said:

IIRC the argument is that it might not contain sugar but it gives the impression it does.  You then develop a craving for sugar and especially since your diet drink did not provide it.  Thus you end up eating more sugary food than you would have otherwise.

I know this isn't your argument, but if that's the argument, then the diet drink has nothing to do with it.  You can't gain weight from diet drinks because they have no calories. It's literally impossible to gain weight from something that has no calories. Blaming the diet drink for added consumption of other foods doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

(For the record, I'm not advocating one drink diet drinks three times a day or anything, but they're a good substitute for regular soft drinks or for a lot of people getting your sweet tooth filled)

[HibsFan]

10 minutes ago, AmericanFan said:

For sure. But eating low-calorie, high-dense foods is key aspect in that as well.

Absolutely, that's why I've found myself firmly on Team Couscous since the days of Zemmama and Benjelloun stoating around EH7. 

Edited March 5, 2021 by HibsFan

[vikingTON]

12 hours ago, NotThePars said:

Ah yes but the social/ lifestyle issues directly correlate from the economic problems many people face.

 

He'd know all about that, being a fat jakey in his personal life.

[Aufc]

Portion control is definitely an overlooked aspect in all of this.
I reckon if you asked the average person on the street to pour out a recommended portion of rice or pasta*, most would overpour.
*Two things that most people would look at and say "relatively healthy" (especially the wholegrain/wholewheat versions), but can be a massive amount of carbs and significantly calorific if eaten excessively.

I did an 8 week plan a year or so back. Thought i ate well before. I was eating well but my portion control was wild compared to what it should have been. Was a bit of an eye opener but very helpful.

[Aufc]

Cardio burns calories more effectively than anything else, therefore it is key for everyone.
For an obese person, of course cleaning up their diet would be first, but cardio is second. And saying 10K steps would be pointless no matter how much you eat is entirely inaccurate. It would lessen the amount of weight put on. What's better, walking 10K steps with a bad diet or walking 500 with a bad diet?

Regarding your last sentence, I dont think it really matters. If you are doing either with a shit diet then you will put on weight. You will just put on weight faster with the 500 steps

[BFTD]

Incidentally, excessive consumption of caffeine eventually results in urinary incontinence.

According to a mate.

Edit: also, this thread title keeps reminding me of The Sound of Music.

Edited March 5, 2021 by BFTD

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, Jambomo said:

I think that’s a good point. The link between health and obesity isn’t quite the full picture.

The constant focus of linking being overweight to being unhealthy means that people who are unhealthy but not fat, don’t think there is any issue either. A lot of people now gauge their health by how far they are and you do hear people say “I’m not fat so I can eat what I like” which isn’t really true.

It would be better to educate and help diets be healthier overall, make convenient food healthier (a bit like the video on Japan a few pages back) and take the focus off the link between being fat/skinny.

Erm no. Fully 64% of the UK population are overweight or obese right now. Obesity is the condition that has stacked ICU wards in this country with Covid patients. Until those critical facts change, we absolutely should be placing the focus on fat v skinny. That is the immediate problem. 

Once we've solved that, then we can focus on overall nutrition. Anything else is simply ignoring the enormous elephant in the room. 

[AmericanFan]

1 minute ago, Aufc said:

 

Regarding your last sentence, I dont think it really matters. If you are doing either with a shit diet then you will put on weight. You will just put on weight faster with the 500 steps

Correct. But cardio is still key for weight loss no matter who you are.

Obviously for an obese person, the first thing is to get their calories reduced from whatever they are eating to less than 2000.

Then they eventually need to start cardio to start burning more calories to get in a calorie deficit.

But if all I did was ride a bike every day for 8 hours, I could eat 5K calories and not put on weight because I'd be burning more calories than I consumed.

[NotThePars]

10 minutes ago, virginton said:

He'd know all about that, being a fat jakey in his personal life.

And he was an absolute shagger. That's dialectics, baby!

[craigkillie]

19 minutes ago, BFTD said:

Other than caffeine, which really isn't a good thing, I'm not seeing how people come to that conclusion without disappearing down the rabbit hole of aspartame conspiracy.

You see a lot about people who drink sodas with artificial sweeteners ending up with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc. Well, yeah - they're also eating a lot of cheesecakes too. I don't understand the logic of how it's somehow down to the zero calorie drinks.

I had a former work colleague who used to make a big deal of the fact that I had a can of Pepsi Max most days with my lunch, whilst all the while shovelling down about four coffees a day herself.

[BFTD]

5 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

I had a former work colleague who used to make a big deal of the fact that I had a can of Pepsi Max most days with my lunch, whilst all the while shovelling down about four coffees a day herself.

"You need to drink more water. It would be so much better for you"

"This is 96% water"

[HibsFan]

On 04/03/2021 at 10:13, Day of the Lords said:

Absolute certainty this thread will be nuked by the end of the day

By my count we're now into day two, so it appears that HibsFan's threads are bombproof; the posting equivalent of a nuclear bunker. 

[Aufc]

Correct. But cardio is still key for weight loss no matter who you are.
Obviously for an obese person, the first thing is to get their calories reduced from whatever they are eating to less than 2000.
Then they eventually need to start cardio to start burning more calories to get in a calorie deficit.
But if all I did was ride a bike every day for 8 hours, I could eat 5K calories and not put on weight because I'd be burning more calories than I consumed.

I suspect if you had an obese person eating 5,000 calories and told them to change to 2,000 calories then they would maybe manage it for a day but it wont be sustainable. They would need to start with a reasonable calorie intake of maybe around 4000 with some exercise thrown in. Then you can reduce the calorie intake as they begin to lose weight.

Whilst I am saying that something needs to be done, i appreciate that there needs to be some thought behind it for each individual to ensure it is sustainable.

I take my hat off to anyone that has lost a significant amount of weight.