"Fed Up" (documentary about obesity in America)

I just finished watching a very interesting documentary on obesity in America and found it pretty eye-opening.  It discusses how we're quick to blame obesity on the person though it goes into how the food companies are so much to blame and the politics behind it.  Also just how much the whole "calorie counting" thing is a bit of a myth and all calories are NOT the same - specifically just how terrible sugar (in any form: natural cane sugar to high fructose corn syrup) is.  I'd recommend watching!  It's well done though very cliche/generic documentary film-making (editing, music score, structure, etc.)  You can stream it here:

http://moviehdmax.com/watch/1b5157a937/fed-up-2014

I finally got around to watching Super Size Me. That was an eye opener too. You can see this physically fit 185 pound man gain weight & lose energy in the first week. And he does it for 30 days! His blood sugar and cholesterol sky rocket! I'll go check out the link you posted in a bit. Might even download it to my iPod and watch the video while on the elliptical machine.

I want to watch "Fed Up".  With where I am with my weight right now, that would be good for me to watch.

I've said it before, but being a true believer based on experience, I gotta say it again.  New Years 2010, I cut all sugar out of my diet.  No exericise, just cut out snacks with sugar as well as food that breaks down into sugar quickly. Basically I went on a diabetic diet, only eating sugar free snacks and meals (which they've improved so much that I couldn't complain - the food tasted great !) 
The result ?  In 4 months I lost 30 pounds. JUST from cutting sugar ! I never even exercised ! When I started, I was 210... today I'm at 170.  I could stand to lose another 10 pounds, but I feel comfortable where I'm at :-)

Carbs are the killer.  Keep your total daily carb intake below 50 and you should see weight loss.

Super Size Me is crap.  Watch Fat Heads which is done by a nutritionist/comedian.  It was entertaining and enlightening.  The guy from Fat Heads requested the data from the Super Size Me guy and they never gave it to him.

^Well, from the Fed UP documentary, they argued that carbs are not indeed the issue.  Rather, it's how our body processes them.  Carbs from some foods are processed differently than sugars which basically get turned straight to fat.

I haven't looked into it too deeply so I am certainly no expert.  But what they said seemed to make sense and is definitely worth looking into.

I know this is gonna sound crazy but I went on a high carb diet in 2001 and lost 100 pounds. No kidding. But it was my intake is what helped me lose. Slim Fast diet, which is 2 shakes a day... Which is pretty much high carb sugar water. Then a banana or an orange in between shakes, which are even more carbs. Granted I also started running 3 miles a day... Fast forward to 2015 and I run 3 miles a day and still eat garbage. I don't gain any weight but I don't lose it either. And when I mean garbage, I don't mean fast food hamburgers because I don't eat that stuff or french fries. It's stuff like cookies or snacks at work that keep me from losing. I eat plenty of healthy stuff but have too much access to junk.

As for the link above, had some probs at first but downloading now..

MikeInFla wrote:

As for the link above, it asked me to sign up.... With credit card. I'm not gonna go that even if it is free.

Really?  I just clicked on it again and it didn't ask me...  Did you hit "watch now" or click on the streaming video player below?  I don't know what the "watch now" button is but I just watched it from the video player on the link with no issue.

Just like music tastes, everyone's metabolism is different.  And where cutting sugar will work well for one person, it may not work for others.

I just know that I cannot become a runner.  After breaking that ankle two years ago and having the steel plate put in, I can't run across a gymnasium without my whole lower leg swelling up.

One can eat a high carb diet and lose weight with exercise.  And by high carb I'm talking processed sugars and/or wheat/grain products, not fresh fruits etc.  The big problem is that when your carbs are out of balance it causes your cholesterol to quit functioning as it's supposed to and rather than repair arterial walls, it plugs them up.  Which is one reason "healthy" people can have heart attacks and/or heart disease.

I'm still overweight but I've lost 20 pounds at the beginning of this year and have kept 15 of it off.  Instead of focusing on weight loss, I'm trying to eat healthier.  And I'm not talking about salad diets.  Rather just eating whole foods and staying away from processed garbage and "diet" food.  I still have a soda and goodies here and there but my main diet is whole, natural food.  Real butter, real sour cream, meats & cheeses, vegetables etc.  After the holidays I'm going to go on a very low carb diet again and get under 300.  I haven't been under 300 in over 15 years.

Another thing I do is I quit telling myself I can't have certain things. I'm an adult and I can eat whatever I like.  I just choose not to eat that.  Sure it's a mind game but as soon as I tell myself I "can't have", I really want what I can't have.  So, I "can have" but I choose not to.

I'm just sharing what I have learned and what has worked for me.  Low carb has worked well with me and even cut my once nasty sweet tooth down quite a bit.

Interesting.

Personally, I'm not really concerned about which diet is the best. I think it's important that we're eating balanced diets, getting enough activity, and have a healthy relationship with food. Make sure you are eating enough of the different food groups, change things up/have fun, find something that you enjoy and gets you moving. There's a lot of good information about the different food groups. Don't become afraid of different foods. A slice of pizza or cake will not make you gain 100 lbs or fat. Having them every once in a while will be okay. Foods like those are foods that are fine sometimes. Not something you eat that often. Become familiar with serving sizings. I notices that serving sizings according to the USDA are often different than what is on packages. Additionally, pay attention to cues that your body is giving and listen to them.

alldatndensum wrote:

I just know that I cannot become a runner.  After breaking that ankle two years ago and having the steel plate put in, I can't run across a gymnasium without my whole lower leg swelling up.

You can also try walking, using an elliptical, or swimming, which I believe have lower impact.

alldatndensum wrote:

I just know that I cannot become a runner.  After breaking that ankle two years ago and having the steel plate put in, I can't run across a gymnasium without my whole lower leg swelling up.

I can't either due to a heel spur. So my podiatrist recommended using an elliptical machine which is low impact on the knees and feet. Took so getting used to but I try to "run" 3 miles a day on it. Yeah it's not the same as hitting the pavement but its better than nothing.

I finally watched that film this weekend with my wife.
All I can say is holy cow!  I had no idea I was eating that much sugar!  Going to start today on greatly reducing my sugar intake.  For lunch today I ate an egg and an English muffin...unless they have found a way to sneak sugar into eggs that means only 1 gram of sugar (in the muffin).

yeah I watched it too and have been trying to watch sugar but the problem is that it is everywhere these past couple of weeks (and weeks to come) with the unlimited supply of Christmas goodies. I still have been hitting the fitness center every day but the intake of junk food is higher than what a 3 mile "run" on the elliptical can chop off. I'll get there but will take some time. Had a piece of wheat toast with honey this morning. Yeah it's natural but it's pure sugar. Here are some honey facts:

According to nutrition data, a typical batch of honey supplies:

• 82% sugar, by weight.
  
  
• Half of that sugar (40% of total weight) is fructose.
  
  
• Contains only trace amounts of vitamins and minerals.
  
  
• Honey contains various antioxidants (1).
  
  
• Its relative glucose and fructose content can vary greatly and its Glycemic Index ranges from low to high (2 – pdf).
  
  

There are certain factors that can be measured in the blood which are strong indicators of health and risk of disease in the future. Cholesterol, triglycerides and blood glucose are particularly important.
Diabetics have big problems with all of these.
In a randomized controlled trial of 48 diabetics, those fed honey for 8 weeks lowered their body weight, triglycerides and total cholesterol while their HDL cholesterol increased.
However, HbA1c (a marker of blood glucose levels) also increased, which is bad (3).
Another study in healthy, diabetic and hyperlipidemic subjects revealed that (4):

[list="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 1.5em; color: rgb(25, 25, 25); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"]
[*]Honey raised blood sugar less than dextrose (glucose) and sucrose (glucose and fructose). It stilldid raise blood sugar, just not as much.

[*]Honey reduced C-Reactive Protein (CRP) – a marker of inflammation.

[*]Honey lowered LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides and raised HDL cholesterol.

[*]Honey also lowered Homocysteine, another blood marker associated with disease.

[/list]
Unrefined honey contains an abundance of various antioxidants that can have major implications for health. Generally speaking, antioxidants in the diet are associated with improved health and lower risk of disease.


Obviously, all of that copied from a random website but interesting anyway.

When I lost all my weight back in 2013, it wasn't what I was eating. It was how much I was eating. Nothing else works for me.

I just recently read Gary Taubes' "Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It", which boiled it down mostly to keeping your blood sugar level in check (which likely varies per person). In other words, pretend you're a diabetic since most Americans are borderline anyway with the amount of sugars we consume. Elevated insulin levels cause the carbs to be stored in fat cells. While he still included a bunch of the research he found (he's a science writer, not a doctor), this book was a much more simplified version of his earlier one, "Good Calories, Bad Calories", where he apparently went much more in depth into more past studies. In fact, if you want the skinny, just read the second part of "Why We Get Fat". As an engineer, I was surprised to learn calories in < calories out does not mean you'll lose weight (regardless of whether you exercise). Of course, there are exceptions at least in the short term.

topshot rhit wrote:

.... As an engineer, I was surprised to learn calories in < calories out does not mean you'll lose weight (regardless of whether you exercise). Of course, there are exceptions at least in the short term.

It's like our bodies haven't heard of thermodynamics or something!

I'm not very popular when I say this, but it's truth - Someone who's 350 pounds didn't just wake up one day like that. It's a process. And anyone who notices their weight increasing by 20, 30, 40 pounds, needs to look into doing something about it asap. It's much easier to lose 30 pounds than 150.  All my years in the medical field have been very eye-opening to obesity in America and it's also been heartbreaking. I've seen patients crying and even suicidal cuz they're 200 lbs overweight... but again, they didn't wake up one day with 200 extra pounds.  I am sympathetic to the person who has weight issues, the ones who gain weight VERY easily, but those who don't DO something about it early in the game are shortening their lives and will be miserable with multiple health problems.

But just cuz I said this doesn't mean if you ARE 40+ pounds overweight then it's too late, or it's too hard to lose the weight, I encourage anyone and everyone to lose that weight. In my case, I was 50 pounds overweight by the end of 2010. I not only felt like crap all the time, but with my spinal degeneration, I was in MUCH worse pain carrying that "male-pattern-gut". Once I lost it, I could feel a huge difference in my posture that was affecting my pain.

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

I'm not very popular when I say this, but it's truth - Someone who's 350 pounds didn't just wake up one day like that. It's a process. And anyone who notices their weight increasing by 20, 30, 40 pounds, needs to look into doing something about it asap. It's much easier to lose 30 pounds than 150.  All my years in the medical field have been very eye-opening to obesity in America and it's also been heartbreaking. I've seen patients crying and even suicidal cuz they're 200 lbs overweight... but again, they didn't wake up one day with 200 extra pounds.  I am sympathetic to the person who has weight issues, the ones who gain weight VERY easily, but those who don't DO something about it early in the game are shortening their lives and will be miserable with multiple health problems.

How dare you suggest that my obesity is my own fault. Someone else has to be to blame, it can't just be my poor eating habits and lack of exercise. It's KFC's fault for making such tasty fried chicken!
(I hope it is obvious that I'm joking here).

I've been attacked in the past for saying someone "didn't just wake up one day 80 pounds overweight" and that it needed to be dealt with early in the game... that's why I gave the disclaimer - haha !
Your joking is what some have said to me in all seriousness.  It's kinda sad.

Staybrite wrote:

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

I'm not very popular when I say this, but it's truth - Someone who's 350 pounds didn't just wake up one day like that. It's a process. And anyone who notices their weight increasing by 20, 30, 40 pounds, needs to look into doing something about it asap. It's much easier to lose 30 pounds than 150.  All my years in the medical field have been very eye-opening to obesity in America and it's also been heartbreaking. I've seen patients crying and even suicidal cuz they're 200 lbs overweight... but again, they didn't wake up one day with 200 extra pounds.  I am sympathetic to the person who has weight issues, the ones who gain weight VERY easily, but those who don't DO something about it early in the game are shortening their lives and will be miserable with multiple health problems.

How dare you suggest that my obesity is my own fault.  Someone else has to be to blame, it can't just be my poor eating habits and lack of exercise.  It's KFC's fault for making such tasty fried chicken!
(I hope it is obvious that I'm joking here).

With a slick enough lawyer, you could win a big cash settlement from them.  Or, I bet you could get permanent disability for an eating disorder that you couldn't help.

alldatndensum wrote:

Staybrite wrote:

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

I'm not very popular when I say this, but it's truth - Someone who's 350 pounds didn't just wake up one day like that. It's a process. And anyone who notices their weight increasing by 20, 30, 40 pounds, needs to look into doing something about it asap. It's much easier to lose 30 pounds than 150.  All my years in the medical field have been very eye-opening to obesity in America and it's also been heartbreaking. I've seen patients crying and even suicidal cuz they're 200 lbs overweight... but again, they didn't wake up one day with 200 extra pounds.  I am sympathetic to the person who has weight issues, the ones who gain weight VERY easily, but those who don't DO something about it early in the game are shortening their lives and will be miserable with multiple health problems.

How dare you suggest that my obesity is my own fault.  Someone else has to be to blame, it can't just be my poor eating habits and lack of exercise.  It's KFC's fault for making such tasty fried chicken!
(I hope it is obvious that I'm joking here).

With a slick enough lawyer, you could win a big cash settlement from them.  Or, I bet you could get permanent disability for an eating disorder that you couldn't help.

Hey now there's a thought! Of course if I won I probably wouldn't ever be allowed in another KFC...oh man that would be terrible!

Staybrite wrote:

Hey now there's a thought!  Of course if I won I probably wouldn't ever be allowed in another KFC...oh man that would be terrible!

But you'd have enough money to hire somebody to go for you.