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Lies about nutrition and diet

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George1012

Bluelighter
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Dec 3, 2016
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149
Good day. I've attempted to lose weight a lot before and have done all sorts of diets. Everybody seems to agree, calories in calories out and that eating even just a few extra over your daily 'limit' will add x amount of weight. I think a lot of nutrition information from these 'experts' are lies. They came up with the term calorie as a unit of energy burned by fire, burned by FIRE not biological organisms that breath, move, eat and sleep.

I have gone to nutritional 'experts' and they've told me exactly how many 'calories' I should be eating a day and of what kind. I tried that many times and no matter how healthy of a diet I follow, counting up to a measly 2000-2500 a day was just not enough. I began to feel seriously deprived and I couldn't get my work done. My physical and even mental performance suffered. After awhile I'd get frustrated and lose control and eat way more then I expected. It just seems like a vicious lie to keep us all in a cycle of guilt. We have pressure to look a certain way, be a certain weight or we're despised by society. Its like they want us to develop an ED

Every year it seems like some food we thought was 'healthy' gets deemed unhealthy, and vice versa. Experts say adults should eat 2000-2500 calories a day, 300-500 extra for active. I followed that advice too and adding an extra piece of bread or an extra handful of nuts did not suffice either. In order to be able to perform optimally in the days I was running cross country and working 6-8 hrs a day I needed at least 4000 of these 'calories' which everyone deemed unnecessary when a nutritional expert would recommend maybe 3000 tops. If I were eating that little when I was running I would've been a twig so fast. I was already pretty thin in he cross country.

I counted accurately and weighed my food. Either we're meant to feel mildly hungry to borderline famished all the time or this nutrition information is utter BS. On my personal experience I didn't do well when I was hungry all the time. I couldn't think straight. I was tired and irritable all the time and even became depressed. This seems like a one size fits all solution but there are too many body types, metabolisms, and lifestyles to consider. If your 'diet' isn't working and you feel famished all the time to the point of nausea you should probably stop and reevaluate your lifestyle. I did and it paid off and I'm feeling so much better. Its important to eat what your body craves. The whole, 'when you feel hungry you're really thirsty' is also bs. When I'm thirsty I crave water. When I'm hungry I crave food. Its as simple as that. If you're craving a cookie or a brownie instead of a salad or a bag of carrots then you probably need sugar.

Obviously eating more then you need will lead to weight gain over time, and certain foods will definitely get you pretty big but you can still indulge on a fairly regular basis and go over this 'limit' and be fine. This defies that 'calories in calories out rule' that if you eat an extra 500 on x day you need to burn that 500 or it will inevitably lead to say 0.02 lb of fat and it simply isn't true. Theres too much all or nothing, one size fits all thinking in this. I know people in my life who are hell bent and so miserable over their diets, who have fat in weird places, strange deficiencies, etc, because they follow this fallacy, because their diet is so out of balance. I feel bad for them because I was once there and it is crappy to feel like you have to eat a certain way to be a certain way. Over time eating less will slow your metabolism anyway.
 
So... what are you saying? It's irrelevant how much we eat or what we eat, our body type and caloric need is genetically pre-determined and outside of our control?

Obviously there are genetic differences that influence everyone's caloric need, and you're totally right that a one size fits all approach isn't going to work for everyone. However I would dispute that this is a lie, I mean, nutrition is a science and it's not like these experts are just pulling random facts out of thin air. The one size fits all approach is needed because there ARE some basic rules that do work for the majority of people, human beings are not SO different that for some of them, cabbage is a staple food and for others, ice cream is a vital source of nutrition. We are all pretty similar overall.

Also diet obviously isn't the whole story when it comes to general health, I would say that your friends with "fat in weird places" probably need to look at their exercise routine if their diet is on point. Although if they have "weird deficiencies" obviously this is a dietary issue - and if they do indeed have some deficiencies that have been verified by blood tests (ie, you're not just guessing because they look miserable) then a nutritionist should be able to quickly advise how to address this.

Of course, if you're in good shape, feel healthy, and are happier eating whatever you want and don't find that it affects your health, then by all means, don't bother with being careful and eat what you want (within reason to some extent though, surely). On the other hand if you are prone to overeating and feel miserable if you don't overeat, this might point to some other medical issue that is leading to low energy levels.

In general I really don't think that the fact that you and a few of your friends have had a bad experience with dieting is, realistically, grounds for you to declare the entire field of nutritional science bullshit, and all nutrition experts malicious liars who are just trying to make our lives miserable. I hope that after giving this a little consideration you'll agree.
 
It's amazing how so many people struggle to have a simple dialogue with their own bodies. It's always telling you what it needs if you actually pay attention!
 
Keep it simple stupid.

Personal health isn't objective, it's subjective.

Eat as much healthy food as you'd like, learn good recipes and how to take care of your body.

The self confidence and care that comes through being healthy, and knowing how to make healthy food is hot even if you're obese.
 
What experts say is usually just hype drummed up and perpetuated by the media. People who focus on that will forever find themselves in circles of anxiety, because that's how the story sells.

My advice is simply to try and eat pretty much whatever our ancestors ate (prior to the processed/consumer food industry), because that is what we have evolved to do. Don't try and compensate with vitamins, as to me this is just another symptom of our surplus based consumer culture, and only addresses parts of the puzzle.

If you're trying to lose weight and not doing so, then I'd strongly consider being honest about your consumption and reassessing. I've seen numerous TV shows whereby people claim to eat very little and are then monitored, and they are usually genuinely surprised at the extent of their harmless snacking when they see what it amounts to.
 
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Eat six small meals a day and excercise 5 days a week. Drink alot of water and make sure you eat meats veggies and nuts. Stay away from sugar. You need to reset your hypothalamus gland and the only way to do that is hcg injections.
 
Sugar is bad news. When I cut sugar out of my diet completely, including using it in coffee, I crave it much less and I crave food in general less.
 
This isn't fucking rocket science.

You consume a finite amount of energy. If you consume less than that amount, you will lose weight. Yes, there is a lot more to it than just that. But that's the basic maths of the situation.

Eat less than you use. People put SOOOOOO much effort into saying you gotta do it this way or that way. I say people are different. Figure out a way that YOU can sustainably consume less than you use. And then you'll lose weight. Ideally you should do it as slowly as possible. Absolutely no more than 2lb a week. Apart from that, don't over think it.

Yes there is a basic nutritional requirement to be considered too, but so long as you're in your 20s and don't say, eat absolutely nothing but rice and water or something similarly constrictive, odds are you'll be fine as far as nutrition goes. Otherwise there are supplements. But there is no point in coming up with a diet so complex and difficult you won't actually sustain it.

People keep trying to focus on a catch all "perfect" diet. As a result they fail entirely which is even worse for your long term health than if you'd accepted an imperfect but much more sustainable (for you) diet and lost weight in it.
 
I lift a lot so I NEED to eat a lot. At least 3000 calories or more. On hard training days ill shovel down 5 to 6k calories. I don't count things down to the exact number, just a rough estimate.

Input = Output. Someone sitting on the couch all day eating 5000 calories of del taco burritos is going to be a lardass compared to someone that is active.
 
chompy said:
I lift a lot so I NEED to eat a lot. At least 3000 calories or more. On hard training days ill shovel down 5 to 6k calories. I don't count things down to the exact number, just a rough estimate.

Input = Output. Someone sitting on the couch all day eating 5000 calories of del taco burritos is going to be a lardass compared to someone that is active.
Click to expand...

You'd have to be doing a LOT to be using up an averaged 5000 calories a day. Like, soldier in a war zone kinda a lot.

Reminds me of my brother, he hates restricting what he eats but he wants to lose weight so he's always wanting to just exercise more instead. I generally tell him it's just not realistic to exercise enough to make the difference he'd need by not simply eating less. I suppose if you were already pretty fit to start with and say, worked as a removalist or something you could. But he can't.

I have an advantage. I'm a heroin addict I barely eat anything anyway.
 
I eat a clean diet because my body operates best without inflammation. I find that I don't think of calories at all, eat to my fill, sit on my ass, and still keep my 60 pound weight loss from two years ago.

My son lifts and often has 4000 calories a day, only to fast soon after. He taught himself nutrition and his body is finely tuned. He has a neuromuscular disease and a full spinal fusion, so to say that he is disciplined for the right reasons is an understatement. He's currently applying to grad school for PT.
 
Hard to know without knowing all the factors here like if you're on medication or if you've had your thyroid tested.
 
Coley, your info is basically good, but I need to do a shout-out to my fellow herbavores--vegetarians and vegans. It is very easy to get enough protein without eating other living beings or their byproducts. You actually said it in your post--nuts and veggies! There are combinations of healthy carbs, like brown rice and quinoa, combined with beans and/or nuts, that will satisfy your body's need for protein. It's fairly difficult to be a vegan unless you buy and cook all your own foods, so I am a serious vegetarian, but vegan--that's more in moderation. I rarely eat eggs and I don't use cows' milk to drink or in cereal, but occasionally do eat some yogurt made from actual milk, and once in a while cheese.

The substitutes are actually pretty good, but if you go to a restaurant, or your friend who isn't a vegan's house, you're probably going to be served the real thing. Since I consider hurting my friends' feelings a greater harm than consuming an ounce or so of real cheese now and then, I don't bring it up. If they eat at my house, they're going to get substitutes (and they know it!), and they hardly ever even know the difference. Everyone who knows me knows I don't eat meat--I don't make a big deal out of it, I just eat the other things, like I'm going to do at Thanksgiving dinner.

Your other food advice was great--especially about staying away from sugar. Switching to artificial sweeteners is unhealthy as well, especially aspartame (NutraSweet in the US, which they are now discovering may be a neurotoxin under certain conditions and a carcinogen as well) The newest ones, like Stevia, are supposed to be safe, but it's just better to avoid them if possible. I

f you switch your sugared soda pop to artificially sweetener soda pop and drink just as much, you won't lose a pound because of it. I don't know the science, but it has to do with your body's interaction with the chemicals in the sweetener. There's nothing better to drink than plain old water! If you currently consume a lot of sugar in drinks, you can try what I did. I made myself drink a glass of water before I let myself have a glass of pop (sugared or diet) Eventually I lost my taste of soda pop, which is, in general, a very unhealthy item.

One more caveat about sugar: Once you start reading labels for nutritional information, you'll discover that there are hundreds of names for sugar. The worst is "high-fructose corn syrup." That is a sweetener that is ten times sweeter than plain sugar made from processing corn. It's in soda pop, but you'd be amazed at all the other things that it's in--catchup, soy sauce, breakfast cereal, yada yada. The problem with it is that sugar will help to make you feel full when you eat it, but high-fructose corn syrup doesn't do the same thing in your brain. You just keep on craving more sweets, instead of getting satiated. The best thing is, as you said, eat tons of veggies to get full, and beans and nuts. Nuts are high in fat, so you don't want to overdo with them, though!

Also, keep an eye on fruit and fruit products. If you're going to eat fruit, eat the actual fruit itself, not the juice. Fruit juice is really high in sugar, and though it's natural, you're depriving your body of the fiber and other good things that are in natural fruit. The six small meals a day and exercise is also right on! Sometimes people feel like they just can't get going with exercise, not enough money to join a gym, foot problems, etc. If you've been sedentary a long time, start slow. Put some shoes on--or don't, I love to go barefoot myself, but have a lot of scars on my feet from doing so--and just walk around the block. If you get short of breath, slow down. It's just making the commitment to moving your body every day. I fall down on my commitment all the time, but then I just forgive myself--beating myself up accomplishes nothing--and pick myself up, and try again the next day.

One question: What are hcg injections and where do you get them? I've never heard of that. Thanks, Namaste.
 
There is a lot of different health information out there full of contradictions so it is hard to know what is what even if our intentions to eat healthy are pure. There is opposition to the calorie theory of weight gain in particular among low-carb advocates. We can gain weight with certain medications even if we do not change our diet which shows that it is not just about the amount of calories that we consume.

While I like the idea of following my cravings but I do think our brains may have been hijacked in our modern society by food products that are extremely palatable compared to what we used to eat. I think pleasure is an important part of diet but just because something is pleasurable to consume doesn't mean it does the body good.
 
What about hormones, thyroid, adrenals, diabetes, celiac disease? IMO if your diet isn’t working you need a test to help determine best foods so the diet caters to your needs. Then you can listen to your body and your body will perform.
 
Less eat, more exercise. Listen your dody and do DNA test, its tells you what you can and cant eat ;)
 
There are TDEE calculators that seem to be pretty close to what I eat if I painstakingly log every calorie, grams of protein and carbs. If you are active, then eating a lot of calories is normal. Eat more protein if you feel hungry. Carbs are good for you too. Lift heavy and eat big. The more muscle mass you have the faster your body will burn off the fuel you put in.
 
I love it!!!!! Lift Heavy and eat big! That is so healthy for you <3 To count my macros i used to use an amazing app called LIFESUM, very cool, helped me to reach my goals. Now i don't do it as anything i eat i kind of know whats what without app.
 
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