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And solving lung cancer is simply a matter of getting people to not smoke. Having tried and failed for 15 years to just "eat sensibly", I can promise you there

And solving lung cancer is simply a matter of getting people to not smoke. Having tried and failed for 15 years to just "eat sensibly", I can promise you there is a whole lot more than just wanting to be able to have your cake and eat it, too. And lest you think it's just a will-power thing, I spent years on narcotics for pain management and had few problems getting off those. The deck is stacked incredibly against obese people. To wave it off like that is to vastly underestimate the root causes.

mrtron 15y ago
It is a lifelong marathon. If you are serious about solving the weight problem, let me suggest a viable long term solution. Gain muscle mass. Let's say you are 250 pounds and extremely weak. You may hit the gym and burn 200 calories. Gain a large amount of strength, and you suddenly burn 400 calories in the same session. I haven't encountered a physically fit individual who has struggled to lose weight. However many fit individuals have a hard time maintaining a comfortable weight due to eating habits/will power. Also a huge problem with the "eat sensibly" concept is the deck is stacked against you in the US. Portions are huge and calorie dense. I would bet you could not maintain your current weight living in Asia.
- malbs 15y ago
  Typical diets are to blame too. I can not completely back this up, but it is well known in body building:- Person begins to diet, they actually do lose weight (rather than just the usual water weight), but up to 25% of the weight they lose is actually lean mass, that is muscle. Your body devours itself when it is lacking caloric input, via fat reserves, and muscle tissue. In order to minimise the muscle loss and maximise fat loss, you need to be doing an appropriate amount of strength training, as well as eating enough protein. The worst possible outcome is that you do a number of cycles of a diet, with zero strength training, and every time you gain weight after a diet, you've gained more fat, and are now the proud owner of a body with even less lean mass. Muscle burns energy even when idle, fat does not. So you are spot on, the easiest way to lose fat is to gain muscle mass. Most of us are physically piss weak and shouldn't be.
- aantix 15y ago
  Quoted from Lyle McDonald, one of the most respected individuals on the topics of exercise, diet, and nutrition : Q: Does adding muscle burn more calories? A: "Some of this also comes from the still gross misconception that ‘muscle burns a ton of calories’ (a myth I took apart in Dissecting the Energy Needs of the Body – Research Review). That is, they hope to jack up metabolic rate by increasing muscle mass. Which is a futile activity because the effect is minimal (on top of the fact that the obese are already carrying extra muscle mass). A pound of muscle burns about 6 calories at rest, you have to add a ton to impact on metabolic rate (see also the next issue I discuss, low metabolic rate isn’t a problem). And that takes a lot of time, time better spent focusing on active fat loss." http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/training-the-obese-beginner-part-2.html http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/training-the-obese... http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dissecting-the-energy-needs-of-the-body-research-review.html http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dissecting-...
  - nazgulnarsil 15y ago
    the claim is not that muscle sitting still burns more calories but that a very high weight exercise session burns more calories than a low weight exercise session. if you don't lift heavy things regularly you aren't weak because your muscles can't lift that weight. you are weak because your CNS is not used to firing in a coordinated manner needed to activate all the muscle at once. this is where "newbie gains" come from, you aren't changing anything just learning to use what you already have. until you build up this coordination you are literally incapable of actual strenuous exercise.
  - ssharp 15y ago
    If you manage your heart rate properly, you can burn a lot of calories when lifting, close to par with traditional cardio activities. Most people don't lift this way, but doing so can help you reach your fitness goals more efficiently.
  - cglace 15y ago
    "A pound of muscle burns about 6 calories at rest" Is that per hour or per day?
- sorbits 15y ago
  I haven't encountered a physically fit individual who has struggled to lose weight I do daily exercise, have done strength training for years, and am careful of what I eat and how much of it — even with this scheme it’s not easy to keep my weight at its present level, so while I’m definitely physically fit, it is a big struggle to avoid gaining weight. If I compare my activities, food intake, etc. to those of my slim peers, it’s clear that the cards are just stacked differently.
  - Herring 15y ago
    >I do daily exercise, have done strength training for years Mixing those two is a bad sign, because strength training takes a while to recover from. You might be doing something wrong -- how much do you squat?
    - sorbits 15y ago
      You might be doing something wrong I am aware of restoration period for muscle tissue rebuilding — I have struggled with this for 10+ years (getting my BMI down from above 28 to around 22 in that period) and have of course read plenty related to weight loss (metabolism, calories, strength-training) hoping to find the silver bullet, but there is none (for me), it’s just a lot of hard work, hence why I felt mrtron’s comment deserved a reply.
      - Herring 15y ago
        Well I don't know any of that unless you post your back squat. If youre doing strength trainng correctly, the absolute lowest you should be lifting is 250lb for the back squat after at most 6 months. You might get better results with less work if you do it correctly.
yummyfajitas 15y ago
I do think it's a will power thing, or maybe a planning thing. Losing weight is simple - weigh your food, track the calories, and don't exceed your daily calorie limits. People often refuse to do this or cheat when they do, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Of course, I don't think there is anything wrong with using technology to have your cake, eat it too, and not get fat.
- suivix 15y ago
  It is simple like walking from New York to Florida and back, over and over, is simple. You just put one foot in front of the other.
  - Tichy 15y ago
    And if you did that, you'd probably lose weight, too :-)
- gte910h 15y ago
  It's more complicated than that. Dieting itself saps your willpower (related to glucose in the brain). Letpin issues plague for at least a year after you lose the weight (making you overly hungry), making it extremely likely you'll gain the weight back and more. Willpower can stop you from originally gaining the weight, but once on, it's a different story, and one that society doesn't really solve yet in a repeatable fashion.
  - yummyfajitas 15y ago
    Letpin issues plague for at least a year after you lose the weight (making you overly hungry), making it extremely likely [that you will choose to eat more food than you need to maintain a healthy bodyweight and] you'll gain the weight back and more. Fixed that for you.
- SoftwareMaven 15y ago
  And a calorie is just a calorie, right? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15588283 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15588283
joesb 15y ago
Many people have lung cancer even if they don't smoke, and many also died old without lung cancer despite smoking all day.

mrtron 15y ago

It is a lifelong marathon. If you are serious about solving the weight problem, let me suggest a viable long term solution. Gain muscle mass. Let's say you are 250 pounds and extremely weak. You may hit the gym and burn 200 calories. Gain a large amount of strength, and you suddenly burn 400 calories in the same session. I haven't encountered a physically fit individual who has struggled to lose weight. However many fit individuals have a hard time maintaining a comfortable weight due to eating habits/will power. Also a huge problem with the "eat sensibly" concept is the deck is stacked against you in the US. Portions are huge and calorie dense. I would bet you could not maintain your current weight living in Asia.

malbs 15y ago
Typical diets are to blame too. I can not completely back this up, but it is well known in body building:- Person begins to diet, they actually do lose weight (rather than just the usual water weight), but up to 25% of the weight they lose is actually lean mass, that is muscle. Your body devours itself when it is lacking caloric input, via fat reserves, and muscle tissue. In order to minimise the muscle loss and maximise fat loss, you need to be doing an appropriate amount of strength training, as well as eating enough protein. The worst possible outcome is that you do a number of cycles of a diet, with zero strength training, and every time you gain weight after a diet, you've gained more fat, and are now the proud owner of a body with even less lean mass. Muscle burns energy even when idle, fat does not. So you are spot on, the easiest way to lose fat is to gain muscle mass. Most of us are physically piss weak and shouldn't be.
aantix 15y ago
Quoted from Lyle McDonald, one of the most respected individuals on the topics of exercise, diet, and nutrition : Q: Does adding muscle burn more calories? A: "Some of this also comes from the still gross misconception that ‘muscle burns a ton of calories’ (a myth I took apart in Dissecting the Energy Needs of the Body – Research Review). That is, they hope to jack up metabolic rate by increasing muscle mass. Which is a futile activity because the effect is minimal (on top of the fact that the obese are already carrying extra muscle mass). A pound of muscle burns about 6 calories at rest, you have to add a ton to impact on metabolic rate (see also the next issue I discuss, low metabolic rate isn’t a problem). And that takes a lot of time, time better spent focusing on active fat loss." http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/training-the-obese-beginner-part-2.html http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/training-the-obese... http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dissecting-the-energy-needs-of-the-body-research-review.html http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dissecting-...
- nazgulnarsil 15y ago
  the claim is not that muscle sitting still burns more calories but that a very high weight exercise session burns more calories than a low weight exercise session. if you don't lift heavy things regularly you aren't weak because your muscles can't lift that weight. you are weak because your CNS is not used to firing in a coordinated manner needed to activate all the muscle at once. this is where "newbie gains" come from, you aren't changing anything just learning to use what you already have. until you build up this coordination you are literally incapable of actual strenuous exercise.
- ssharp 15y ago
  If you manage your heart rate properly, you can burn a lot of calories when lifting, close to par with traditional cardio activities. Most people don't lift this way, but doing so can help you reach your fitness goals more efficiently.
- cglace 15y ago
  "A pound of muscle burns about 6 calories at rest" Is that per hour or per day?
sorbits 15y ago
I haven't encountered a physically fit individual who has struggled to lose weight I do daily exercise, have done strength training for years, and am careful of what I eat and how much of it — even with this scheme it’s not easy to keep my weight at its present level, so while I’m definitely physically fit, it is a big struggle to avoid gaining weight. If I compare my activities, food intake, etc. to those of my slim peers, it’s clear that the cards are just stacked differently.
- Herring 15y ago
  >I do daily exercise, have done strength training for years Mixing those two is a bad sign, because strength training takes a while to recover from. You might be doing something wrong -- how much do you squat?
  - sorbits 15y ago
    You might be doing something wrong I am aware of restoration period for muscle tissue rebuilding — I have struggled with this for 10+ years (getting my BMI down from above 28 to around 22 in that period) and have of course read plenty related to weight loss (metabolism, calories, strength-training) hoping to find the silver bullet, but there is none (for me), it’s just a lot of hard work, hence why I felt mrtron’s comment deserved a reply.
    - Herring 15y ago
      Well I don't know any of that unless you post your back squat. If youre doing strength trainng correctly, the absolute lowest you should be lifting is 250lb for the back squat after at most 6 months. You might get better results with less work if you do it correctly.

yummyfajitas 15y ago

I do think it's a will power thing, or maybe a planning thing. Losing weight is simple - weigh your food, track the calories, and don't exceed your daily calorie limits. People often refuse to do this or cheat when they do, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Of course, I don't think there is anything wrong with using technology to have your cake, eat it too, and not get fat.

suivix 15y ago
It is simple like walking from New York to Florida and back, over and over, is simple. You just put one foot in front of the other.
- Tichy 15y ago
  And if you did that, you'd probably lose weight, too :-)
gte910h 15y ago
It's more complicated than that. Dieting itself saps your willpower (related to glucose in the brain). Letpin issues plague for at least a year after you lose the weight (making you overly hungry), making it extremely likely you'll gain the weight back and more. Willpower can stop you from originally gaining the weight, but once on, it's a different story, and one that society doesn't really solve yet in a repeatable fashion.
- yummyfajitas 15y ago
  Letpin issues plague for at least a year after you lose the weight (making you overly hungry), making it extremely likely [that you will choose to eat more food than you need to maintain a healthy bodyweight and] you'll gain the weight back and more. Fixed that for you.
SoftwareMaven 15y ago
And a calorie is just a calorie, right? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15588283 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15588283

joesb 15y ago

Many people have lung cancer even if they don't smoke, and many also died old without lung cancer despite smoking all day.