diet and exercise – Page 2

Diet Research? It must be January.

Yes indeed, it’s the first week of the year, and that means millions of Americans are trying to shed between 5 and 500 pounds. Some scientists were even willing to stick their necks out there and say fructose is a culprit in weight gain (a culprit not the culprit). Check the archives and you will find me many times saying that every weight loss diet that works requires drastically reducing if not altogether eliminating added sugars.

So Loyola University wants to help you out. They’ve got what they think are the top 4 reasons diets fail. Let me save you some reading:

Underestimating calorie intake (e.g. eating too damn much)
Overestimating activity and calories burned (e.g. imagining that an amble around the mall is just like a 5 mile run)
Poor timing of meals (the dreaded “starvation mode“)
Inadequate sleep (having a job and other responsibilities)

Really? I’m on board with reasons 1 and 2, although I see them as two sides of one coin. But do they really think that sleep is a bigger issue than unrealistic expectations in the first place, or diet plans that are for whatever reason unsustainable? Do they think that eating at the wrong time is truly a bigger issue than unsupportive friends and family who –subtly or openly — undermine the dieter’s efforts?

Want to lose weight without torturing yourself? Try eating reasonable portions of real food: plenty of veggies; adequate protein; no sweets, no crap that comes out of a box, no food-like chemistry sets. Hey, it’s no dumber than the other diets you’ve tried over the years.

In Closing: free classes; Downtown Vegas and F15; maybe now somebody will ask banks to follow the law pretty please?; Onna–bugeisha; ha!; conform or be called a terrorist; Malala; why oh why did Texas give him a second term?; more employment data than you probably want; somebody inform Scalia that 24 is not a documentary; the estate tax is not a wealth tax, it’s a wealth moving into the hands of someone who didn’t actually earn it tax; it turns out you need facts before you can figure out what to think about them; well that’s gonna have conservative panties in a wad; the Romney Loophole; is anybody surprised by this?; and I think Brent may have been playing Black Ops 2.

Music Bonus: Apocalypse Someday

Happy Solstice! Since you are reading this, it would appear that the world did not in fact end today.

Have some bonus links about Christmas.

In Closing: TSA; diet and diabetes; I bet we could create some jobs building and repairing infrastructure (nah, that costs money!); political suicide; don’t confuse us with facts; and how nuts do you have to be to get fired from Al Qaeda?

Music Monday: Happy Hanukkah

Comrade Misfit already posted the Adam Sandler Hanukkah song, so here is something different….

In Closing: staying in shape while traveling; what?; duh; it never was the union’s fault; backfired; surprise, most doctors are bad a math; and 10 things you probably didn’t know about Christmas.

To the Lady in Workout Clothes ahead of me at the Grocery Store

Hey dear, let me tell you why you’re never going to lose that 10 to 20 pounds around your hips and waist and why your hubby is never going to lose the gut unless you change your ways.

I’m not going to put all the blame on the expensive whole wheat crap that you think is good for you, even though you should probably only eat half that at most, and even though there is a case to be made for that being your biggest problem. Many experts think that’s good stuff, but you still should put some of it back on the shelf.

I’m not going to be too hard on you for the gallon of frozen yogurt. Again, you think you’re doing the right diet thing, even though it’s still got far too much sugar in it to be truly healthy. Maybe you only eat a tablespoon a day? Maybe I wasn’t close enough to see that it was one of those fat-free or sugar-free chemistry sets masquerading as real food?

I’m not going to put all the blame on the plentiful sports drinks in your cart, even though there is simply no way you are working out hard enough for them to be beneficial to you. Have you ever looked at the nutrition panel? It’s probably replenishing every calorie you “worked” off, and many of those drinks contain corn syrup. If you seriously worked out hard enough for these to be a good idea, you would never dream of wearing your disgusting sweaty workout clothes to a grocery store — even fresh out of the wash!

I am going to rag on you just a little bit for the 3 boxes of different kinds of crackers. For pity sake, if you want to eat something that goes crunch, try an apple or a carrot! You might get some vitamins out of the deal.

I am going to rag on you just a little bit for the fact that the only protein I saw in your cart was a pound of ground beef. Come on, that’s going to last a week? If you don’t eat some protein, your body is just going to steal it from your muscles. In case you didn’t know, muscle is what keeps you from looking like a complete blob.

But the one thing that I think is your biggest problem was the stack of 6 frozen pizzas. That proves that you only give the faintest lip service to eating healthy: pizza is neither low carb nor low fat. Ever. Just, please, tell me that’s not a one week supply. Lie to me if you must. You want a pizza? Learn to make that stuff from scratch. I can guarantee you’ll eat less of it because it’s harder than stuffing that frozen crap in a hot oven, it will be better tasting because you’ll use better ingredients, and healthier. Why healthier? You’ll actually burn some calories kneeding the dough, shaping it, and putting quality stuff on top!

Want to make that gut vanish? Try eating real, minimally processed food. Sure, you’ll have to spend more than 3 minutes preparing it, but you and your husband will both be better off.

I’d like to say at least your dog eats well, but you didn’t buy any dog food.

In Closing: would you like to play a game?; playing it safe; poverty tax; ever wonder what the numbers mean?; duh; travel tips; “let’s just take these laptops with no anti-virus to a hacker’s conference! What could possibly go wrong???”; parks; make “the Pill” OTC, prevent abortions; we don’t need “administrators” with no common sense having any authority over children, ever, for any reason.

Music Monday: Musicology and Modern Popular Music

Free term theme idea: Recurring Thematic Material in the Collected Works of Flo Rida.

If one were to listen to his entire discography, how many songs would seem to reference oral sex?

Regrettably, there doesn’t seem to be an official music video I could embed.

In Closing: a bounty I hope gets paid; waaah, the media isn’t telling why it might be a good idea to shoot 14 year old girls in the head for wanting an education (damn liberal media!); maps; quiet victory; this could be a bumpy election; confession; she’d be a Saint even without the Pope’s say-so; who needs effective antibiotics anyway?; science literacy; duh; and just say no.

Music Monday: Inspiration, Part 2

Last week I said I had two inspiring videos. This is the other one.

It took guts to make this video. But no, don’t go off the antibiotics until the whole run is done, ever, ok?

In Closing: gee I wonder why; some negatives??; this could be bad; “How dare researchers publish research that isn’t about what we think it should be about!”; War on Drugs is still a fail; and unemployment.

Music Monday: Inspiration, Part 1

When I was first losing weight and trying to get fit, there were two music videos that I found inspiring. This is the positive one:

Madonna was 40 years old when this was shot, and a new mom. Ok, I couldn’t afford personal trainers and dietitians, but I could watch what I ate and work out.

In Closing: scandal; what about S-Mart?; depressing graphic; some people need to grow up; this could be a problem; history we don’t talk about; and Nipplegate .

Apparently She Got Religion

Maybe you remember a while back that I ragged on Paula Deen for the hypocrisy of hyping cake on the same magazine cover proclaiming she was going to talk about living with diabetes.

Well, that’s still bad. But at least she seems to be getting her own dietary house in order.

This week’s People Magazine features Paula on the cover, 30 pounds lighter than she used to be. She’s eating fruits and vegetables — without reducing them to cake form first. She’s giving up some of the decadent stuff she’s made over the years. She’s trying to exercise. And she’s trying to give up smoking.

Credit where credit is due. Keep up the good work, Paula.

In Closing: maybe letting the kid roast was higher “risk” than letting her have sunscreen (should people with that little judgement be in charge of children, ever?); sad; the problem isn’t really what they think; the Truth about Fast And Furious; get used to it! It’s a medical term for crying out loud! VAGINA!!!; physical activity and breast cancer risk; and a dictator’s worst nightmare.

Things I Learned from the President

Nixon:

It’s possible to proclaim innocence too much.
Clean air and water are good things.
Chinese food is tasty!

Ford:

Be Careful!
Sometimes success is stepping up when you happen to be in the right place at the right time.

Carter:

It’s possible to be a good man and not-so-good a President.
Telling people the obvious won’t make you popular. Sometimes they just don’t want to hear it.
Being too diplomatic can backfire.

Reagan:

Sometimes a pithy one liner is the best “argument.”
Don’t lose track of reality when you are negotiating.
Call it “supply side” or call it “trickle down,” it still doesn’t work.
Tell an outlandish enough lie, and somebody will call you on it.

Bush 41:

Don’t make a pithy one liner you can’t keep.
It doesn’t pay to lose track of the little people and their concerns.
If you feel sick, you shouldn’t go out.
It takes a lot of skill to pretend to not know something that theoretically should have been discussed with you in the room.
You’re never too old to do something fun just because you want to on your birthday.
All your sons can’t grow up to be “the smart one.”

Clinton:

Take credit for things you do — or good things that happen when you’re in charge.
Do your dry cleaning promptly.
Sex with the help is a bad idea.
If someone wants to hurt you bad enough, they will find a way.
Just because you walked to McDonald’s doesn’t mean a cheeseburger is good for you.
Repeating one meme over and over is almost as good as a pithy one liner.
Don’t lose track of the important stuff. Stand your ground when it’s important.

Bush 43:

There are no Illuminati.
People will do almost anything if it’s for “safety” and “security.”

Obama:

We can elect a black man President and still have a big race problem.
“Liberal” and “Conservative” have changed so much that we call Mr. Obama a Liberal despite the fact that he’s well to the right of Mr. Nixon.
We really do have a plutocracy.

Technically I was alive during the Johnson Administration. I don’t remember any of it.

In Closing: death penalty; Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill isn’t over yet; Hurricanado; Women’s Equality Day; the sad state of humans when it comes to searching; terrorism since 9/11; this could be part of the illegal worker problem; school quality; why The Steve resigned now; debt; decoding book reviews; the role of metabolism in weight loss; Cheney takes credit (bet he never travels outside the country again); and Chemistry.

Two and a Half Men

Thank heaven for Alan Grayson and — still! — Howard Dean. Harry Reid? Not so much.

If you don’t read Toothpaste for Dinner, you should!

In closing: 10 ways to get fat; pretty pictures; revisionist “history” (go ahead and read the Constitution, Newt); fearmongering; reality check. Sorry, I’m just not feeling like a long post right now.