8 ms·

Learning to Eat Well and Stay Healthy

91 points by stock_toaster 15y ago

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
hmottestad 15y ago
I'll be looking forward to hearing updates. I used to live next to a rehab center here in Norway. They used to take in a lot of traffic accident victims, but had recently started taking in obese people. Their focus was on making permanent changes to their day to day routine. Reintroduce the home cooked meal with plenty of vegetables and little fat. Getting away from the processed foods and especially sugar contents. I remember on an open presentation I attended that they explained how a packet of cookies contained as much energy as an entire dinner, and if you ate it quick enough almost all of it would simply go to fat storage because you couldn't possibly use all that energy fast enough unless you were running the entire time. They said the key to weight loss is not to focus on the weight loss but rather on permanent changes to your diet and lifestyle. Make vegetables, salads and fiber the norm, not the exception. But this usually requires managing the rest of your life better. All it takes is a tough week at work for you to go back to frozen pizza and soda, and never turn back.
mcargian 15y ago
I don’t eat much of any refined foods anymore, few if any carbs (bread, pasta, cake, bagels, etc), and lots of good quality meat, seafood, and vegetables. This is the what I did as well, dropped 25 pounds from 200 to 175 over a few months. And gained 5 back when I started eating more breads again. I'm not sure what new topics are going to be covered as the evils of refined foods and bad carbohydrates have been rehashed since The Zone almost 20 years ago, but I'm glad to see Jeremy reiterating the success he had for others to follow. I'd be curious if there will be a section on stamina - I still crave my evil carbos at the holidays.
- apinstein 15y ago
  I found this talk by Dr Lustig very interesting. It's about the biochemistry of why refined foods and sugars make us so unhealthy and overweight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM I've never had a weight problem, though in 2002 I started eating more healthfully (inspired by "whole foods", paleo, etc to try to get more energy and be healthier) and I actually dropped 30+ pounds. I was not even trying to lose weight and basically ate whatever I wanted that fit into a "whole foods" diet. I've remained a thundering, intimidating 150 lbs for years. :)
- jerf 15y ago
  One possible topic, which I may be reading in since it's on my mind, is the well-known "problem" with sticking with lower carb diets. I've been ruminating a post on the topic myself, but the core is that it comes down to two basic problems: One, willpower, since we're surrounded by terrible, yet yummy food, all the time, and two, flavor. It is occasionally mumbled, instead of yelled loudly as it should be, that if you want to eat healthy on the long term it isn't just a matter of cutting out something, you need to be happy with the food. And in particular, "The Standard American Diet - carbohydrates" isn't a very pleasing diet. It's very easy for it to become monotonous and feel restrictive. But I'd submit that's an indictment against the standard diet, not the "- carbs". It's taken me a while to work out how to deal with the correct diet longterm, but it has involved using a lot more oils (sesame, olive, etc), more butter, more oriental ingredients, and learning a lot more about French cooking. And you have to erase the last vestiges of the false idea that fat is bad, and realize that low-fat is bad and is the fad diet, and it should be entirely stomped out of your dietary plans. Now I don't have problems eating properly for years without backsliding; as tempting as the carbs can be, they just aren't as good as what I'm making myself. They're a hollow pleasure.
  - phillmv 15y ago
    Sigh. It makes me sad to read all of these posts because, without any exaggeration, I find bread to be one of the best pleasures in life, and living off sandwiches means it constitutes a fair amount of my diet. If only living healthily didn't involve so much work, like actually learning how to take care of yourself, i.e. cooking, exercising regularly, etc.
    - dualogy 15y ago
      If only, if only! Well good news for you, 99% of the work has been done by others, by decades of validating or falsifying theories and suspicions, measuring anything from calories to hormonal changes, all the combinations of various exercise levels and diet etc. and so on and so forth. Now all you have to do is decide whether the quality-of-life for your next few decades is worth the trouble of doing a bit of reading, such as half an hour a day for a few weeks or so... and trying the game challenge of seeing if and how much you can affect change in your home-grown lifestyle habits, you know, just for kicks.
- sliverstorm 15y ago
  I completely adore breads, (more than any other food) so for me giving them up isn't an acceptable option. The question becomes, what breads are best? (Or least bad, depending on your outlook) Somewhat tempering my approach is the fact that I don't really believe they can be 100% evil. Like alcohol, we've been consuming bread for thousands of years. Like alcohol, I bet you can consume a certain amount of the right types without a significant penalty.
FrankenTan 15y ago
Appearently, losing weight also changes how your metabolism works, and in part you burn less calories from the same activity. Of course, these are 'simply' obstacles to be aware of and problems to go around, not something that stop you in your tracks. An interesting article on the topic: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-...
- aaxe 15y ago
  Terrible article 1. Extreme weight loss 2. No control 3. Recipients re-gain some weight with no more oversight. Shocking!
erkin_unlu 15y ago
hey this is just an intro! and a little advice, try to eat low glycemic indexed foods all the time, they will make you feel full all the time and they are generally quality food that everyone needs to have. Plus, you will not have to take in-between meals 'cause you won't be hungry ; )
- egwor 15y ago
  (Since I didn't know...) A link to more info on low glycemic indexed foods: http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/ http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/
chrisguitarguy 15y ago
> The number of calories wasn’t my problem. The source of calories was my problem. This. A few more tips: 1. Eat more frequently. 5-7 small meals of high quality foods each day. 2. Aim for 90% compliance to the diet. Eat clean foods 90% of the time, have a "cheat" meal once or twice a weak. Good for your sanity and metabolism.
- rimantas 15y ago
  "Frequent meals increase metabolism" is pretty much a myth, isn't it?
  - chrisguitarguy 15y ago
    Yes. I didn't say they did. Frequent meals keep you less hungry in between meals -- less chance for making a bad decision.
    - SkyMarshal 15y ago
      Frequent meals isn't gospel, though. Art de Vany, originator of Paleo, counters that if you're on a diet that satisfies your appetite, like Paleo, it's better to eat larger portions less frequently, to maximize the amount of time your metabolism can focus on processing the insulin and then fat already in your body. Constantly eating all day instead focuses your metabolism on digestion. Of course, if your diet doesn't satisfy you and keeps you hungry between meals, then frequent healthy meals and snacks might be a better option to, as you say, reduce temptation to eat bad stuff. Try both, figure out what works. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/04/new-evolution-diet-insulin-and-obesity-how-to-eat-like-a-caveman.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/04/new-evoluti...
- cellularmitosis 15y ago
  Interestingly, this article and these comments mirror much of what's in "The 4 Hour Body" by Tim Ferris. Very interesting read (he goes so far as to have an insulin probe implanted to measure real-time glycemic index).
gibsonf1 15y ago
A great book for getting into the science behind not eating flour/sugar/rice is "Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health" by Gary Taubes. After reading it I completely changed my diet and only wish I could have known earlier.
- yummyfajitas 15y ago
  Here are 15 studies showing that diet composition doesn't matter much and the most important thing is calories in/calories out. http://examine.com/faq/what-should-i-eat-for-weight-loss.html http://examine.com/faq/what-should-i-eat-for-weight-loss.htm... Here is a detailed debunking of Taubes science. http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-h... The only known benefit of a low carb diet is that some people are more willing to stick to it than other types of diets.
  - valuegram 15y ago
    I've trained and assisted 100s of people with fitness and nutrition. This is flat out wrong. I have yet to see any recent credible research that says all calories are equal. It is a fact that hormonal response varies widely based on where that calorie is coming from. Out of curiousity I clicked on one of the articles you linked to: "...during a 6-wk period of hospitalization. Consequently, 43 adult, obese persons were randomly assigned to receive diets containing 4.2 MJ/d (1000 kcal/d) composed of either 32% protein, 15% carbohydrate, and 53% fat, or 29% protein, 45% carbohydrate, and 26% fat." A 6-week period with only 43 participants? ...how does this get published?
    - astral303 15y ago
      Did you peruse the summary only or actually look at the study? http://www.ajcn.org/content/63/2/174.full.pdf http://www.ajcn.org/content/63/2/174.full.pdf 6 weeks in a hospitalized environment with a consistent daily diet as measured/provided by the researchers, with a 14-hr fast before and after the 6 weeks. There are statistically significant correlations for some variables and insignificant for others. If the half of 43 participants was all over the map, then I'm sure it wouldn't have passed muster. I'm not saying this study is the answer, nor does the study attempt to claim that. But to declare it as unworthy of publishing seems extreme.
jjm 15y ago
I went nutritarian after checking out "Eat to Live". Starting at the same time as Jeremy and odly enough weighing the same as him but now weigh 159. After a while you lose the need or taste to eat refined flour, dairy, and lots of meat. It's not a diet, but a life style change. I recommend it to anyone willing to try it.
mark_l_watson 15y ago
Summary: the kind of food matters. Avoid processed foods and too many carbs. My family switched to a Pescetarian diet (vegetarian, but with some seafood). Even totally enjoying my food, I started to lose more weight than I wanted to so I added a fourth meal most days and my weight stabilized where I want it (I am 6'4" tall, and my preferred weight is 200 pounds). Also, I personally love carbs: I eat lots of cauliflower, carrots, some pasta and whole wheat bread. It is a matter of seeing what diet works for you as an individual.
latch 15y ago
Sugar: The Bitter Truth (which made top story on HN a while ago) is a great 1h30 video to watch about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
- lena 15y ago
  It is great indeed, and nobody would recommend people eat lots of sugar, but I found this a good article with some nuances about the specifics mentioned in that long video: http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/ http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab...
richardburton 15y ago
This is great. Last year I broke my shoulder and could not run or swim for 4 months. I got fat for the first time in my life. I was eating loads and doing nothing. After months of physical therapy on my shoulder I was ready to start getting back into shape. My regime was simple: - Kitesurf lots (really fun and uses a lot of energy) - Swim lots (if there was no wind) - Never eat processed foods. - Drink a pint of milk before and after exercise sessions. Done. Going to the gym demoralised me. Kitesurfing is addictive. I think finding a form of exercise you love is akin to finding a job you love. When you love something you want to do more of it. If you have to force yourself to go to the gym you will fail. I want to go swim because I have nearly drowned kitesurfing big waves in Ireland and never want to experience that again. These external pulls and internal pushes are what keep me fit. Not a New Year's Resolution.
- astral303 15y ago
  +1 on finding the exercise you enjoy doing. Just as a caution though, if anyone is reading this and is on the fence about taking up exercise and starting going to the gym, please give it a shot and don't assume you'll be demoralized. You never know until you try. For me, going to the gym turned out to be quite moralizing, as it put me in that "exercise mode" (surrounded by exercisey stuff). I also associated it with getting better/fitter, so going to the gym == improvement == positive feelings. Some of my friends hate running and love biking. I love running. If you told me 3 years ago that I'd be saying that last thing, I would be laughing in your face in disbelief. But you never know till you try.
  - richardburton 15y ago
    Agreed. I should have elaborated more. The reason I found the gym demoralising is because I was overweight and was surrounded by these greek gods. Now that I am fit again I really enjoy going into the gym with the goal of improving my fitness for kitesurfing. I go to the gym with my physical performance instead of my physical appearance in mind. That is the best reason to go.
- sireat 15y ago
  The first three are pretty reasonable, but what is the idea behind drinking milk before and after exercise? Wouldn't you be more likely to regurgitate your stomach's contents by drinking milk before exercise? I have some bad experiences from eating and then exercising...
radicalbyte 15y ago
It's easier said that done. At the end of 2009 I dropped form 240lb to 180lb by a combination weight training and switching to a low-carb high protein diet for 6 days a week with the 7th day being a pigout (to trick your metabolism out of starvation mode). I managed to maintain my weight around 185lb throughout 2010. With a big drop in the summer (cycling a total of 70km every day to work and back works wonders). The problem is that the diet is really hard to stick to, so in 2011 I gradually switched back to a mixed diet. Which meant that sweet stuff was back on the agenda. Fast forward to 2012 and I'm back at 230lb (although more muscular). I'm switching back to a health diet but I'm not cutting the carbs as much. This time I'll eat more low GI carbs and less protein. Going for something similar to what Jeremy is doing (eating better, but nice food).
d3x 15y ago
I was diagnosed w/ crohns when I was 16. I struggled with it my whole life; in and out of hospitals and on/off different meds. At 19 I learned about the Macrobiotic Diet and my life was never the same. It was hard to stay on the diet and make it stick so I created a tool that helps me track and balance my diet. Because I like building things I also added 450 or so other diets and it has become by permanent side project. Right now only me and a few friends are using it (web version) and the app will be in the app store in a few weeks then I am thinking about opening it up to the public to see if its something that anyone else would want to use. All of the diets I have seen mentioned on this thread are supported so if anyone would like access let me know email/city and I will try and get things up and running for you.
- AznHisoka 15y ago
  I definitely would like to try this. Can you send me a link to it? vzhou218@gmail.com
- gommm 15y ago
  I'd be interested too, email is hn@gom-jabbar.org, city is shanghai
b3b0p 15y ago
These health posts never turn out good. It always ends up with hackers/geeks arguing how to eat, lose weight, be healthy, etc and so forth. No one agrees. There is too much arguing about what is right, wrong, can't be done, you have to eat this... as if nothing is safe to eat now. Anyway, I don't want to argue or comment that certain foods are evil, carbs are bad and should be avoided, or about anything what Gary Taubes said or published. Everyone is different and different things work for different people. That said, I would like to link a very good post on Reddit with a list of studies that I think people should peruse and possibly reference for the future. http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/nv8ip/do_you_have_any_bookmarks_to_pubmedscientific/c3c904n http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/nv8ip/do_you_have_a... Some highlights that might be of interest and relevance to the OP and comments: --- Calories Detailed explanation of how calorie counts are derived, analysis of whether low-carb/high-protein diets can provide a metabolic advantage. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8561057 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8561057 "We conclude that a calorie is a calorie." Similar weight loss with low- or high- carbohydrate diets. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671 "The results of this study showed that it was energy intake, not nutrient composition, that determined weight loss in response to low-energy diets over a short time period." Energy intake required to maintain body weight is not affected by wide variation in diet composition. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671 "Even with extreme changes in the fat-carbohydrate ratio (fat energy varied from 0% to 70% of total intake), there was no detectable evidence of significant variation in energy need as a function of percentage fat intake." Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for weight loss. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025815 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025815 "This study showed that independently of the method for weight loss, the negative energy balance alone is responsible for weight reduction." --- Carb Timing: Greater Weight Loss and Hormonal Changes After 6 Months Diet With Carbohydrates Eaten Mostly at Dinner http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby201148a.html http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby2011... --- Fructose The bitter truth about fructose alarmism http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/ http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab... Debunking Lustig and the fear of fructose. Health implications of fructose consumption: A review of recent data. No relevant data accounting for a direct link of moderate fructose and health risk markers. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21050460 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21050460 --- Glycemic Index There are large problems with isolating foods cased on the glycemic index/load. First, food is rarely eaten in an isolated way. Fat, protein, fiber count, etc. will all slow down digestion. Second, there is evidence to support that it doesn't even make a difference in weight or blood markers. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17413101 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17413101 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20504977 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20504977 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16629877 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16629877 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17923862 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17923862 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17823436 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17823436 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16177201 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16177201 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12458971 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12458971 --- Vegetarians Vegetarians have a reduced skeletal muscle carnitine transport capacity. Vegetarians have reduced muscle carnitine transport capacity . Carnitine helps fat burning and build bone. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21753065 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21753065 --- (I hope I did this right so it's formatted in a legible way.) Edit: formatting and added a couple more links.
Cl4rity 15y ago
I am so sick and tired of all of these misinformed blog articles and comments about clean food versus unhealthy food. Good calories versus bad calories. Do these writers even know what a calorie is? It isn't intrinsically good or bad. If you're eating 6,500 calories per day in lean meats, fish, nuts, vegetables and fruit, I absolutely guarantee you will become fat without rigorous physical activity. Calories in/calories out is what matters when it comes to weight. If your concern is cholesterol or blood sugar, on the other hand, your diet and genetics play a huge role in that. Let's not forget about the teacher who ate nothing but Twinkies and cupcakes for several weeks and lost a tremendous amount of weight and lowered his cholesterol. http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/... Now, I'm not suggesting that anyone go on a Twinkie diet, but the biggest takeaway from what that professor did is that the amount of calories you consume is important when it comes to weight loss, and subsequently lowering cholesterol.
- AznHisoka 15y ago
  Calories definitely do play a role, but when you gradually shift to a diet with mostly whole foods, and less processed foods, you start to feel the need to eat less. Most processed foods aren't filling and leave you wanting more. Also, they don't give you the nutrients you need. So it definitely does matter what type of calories you consume.
- nosequel 15y ago
  Actually you are most likely wrong. There is really good evidence that the number of calories don't matter and that the type of calories are everything. People associate the number of calories as mattering because they change other things at the same time. Please watch videos from Gary Taubes who wrote "Good Calories Bad Calories" and "Why we get fat". Here's his google talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6vpFV6Wkl4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6vpFV6Wkl4 On a personal note, I lost 40 lbs and I eat far more calories now than I did before. Open you mind for a bit and really watch that video, you might be convinced that what you think about calories are all wrong. I certainly changed what I thought was true as fact.
  - 15y ago
bitops 15y ago
I started a GitHub project for folks to share recipes they like, that are healthy (with a dash of "sinful" thrown in). https://github.com/bitops/good-eats https://github.com/bitops/good-eats
ecaroth 15y ago
Good article - The thing that motivated me to get into fitness & health years ago was somebody telling me that you wouldn't believe how much more exciting and fun almost every activity in your life is when you are healthy & in shape. (Shameless Plug Warning!) Relating to a healthy & fit lifestyle, I have been working on a side project to help people stay fit, happy, and healthy at their desk during the workday and was created out of my own need & desire to not have a lifetime of working at a desk affect my body & mind too much. The 'nutrition' portion of the app is forthcoming, but it's 80% complete and I encourage everybody to do your body a favor and check it out! (http://www.fitbolt.com/ http://www.fitbolt.com/)
mhartl 15y ago
This post is really just a teaser for possibly interesting posts to come. In that vein... Dear everyone who has a blog: make sure there's an easy-to-find link to your RSS feed. (There's one here in the comments, which proves my point.)

91 points by stock_toaster 15y ago

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

I'll be looking forward to hearing updates. I used to live next to a rehab center here in Norway. They used to take in a lot of traffic accident victims, but had recently started taking in obese people. Their focus was on making permanent changes to their day to day routine. Reintroduce the home cooked meal with plenty of vegetables and little fat. Getting away from the processed foods and especially sugar contents. I remember on an open presentation I attended that they explained how a packet of cookies contained as much energy as an entire dinner, and if you ate it quick enough almost all of it would simply go to fat storage because you couldn't possibly use all that energy fast enough unless you were running the entire time. They said the key to weight loss is not to focus on the weight loss but rather on permanent changes to your diet and lifestyle. Make vegetables, salads and fiber the norm, not the exception. But this usually requires managing the rest of your life better. All it takes is a tough week at work for you to go back to frozen pizza and soda, and never turn back.

mcargian 15y ago

I don’t eat much of any refined foods anymore, few if any carbs (bread, pasta, cake, bagels, etc), and lots of good quality meat, seafood, and vegetables. This is the what I did as well, dropped 25 pounds from 200 to 175 over a few months. And gained 5 back when I started eating more breads again. I'm not sure what new topics are going to be covered as the evils of refined foods and bad carbohydrates have been rehashed since The Zone almost 20 years ago, but I'm glad to see Jeremy reiterating the success he had for others to follow. I'd be curious if there will be a section on stamina - I still crave my evil carbos at the holidays.

apinstein 15y ago
I found this talk by Dr Lustig very interesting. It's about the biochemistry of why refined foods and sugars make us so unhealthy and overweight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM I've never had a weight problem, though in 2002 I started eating more healthfully (inspired by "whole foods", paleo, etc to try to get more energy and be healthier) and I actually dropped 30+ pounds. I was not even trying to lose weight and basically ate whatever I wanted that fit into a "whole foods" diet. I've remained a thundering, intimidating 150 lbs for years. :)
jerf 15y ago
One possible topic, which I may be reading in since it's on my mind, is the well-known "problem" with sticking with lower carb diets. I've been ruminating a post on the topic myself, but the core is that it comes down to two basic problems: One, willpower, since we're surrounded by terrible, yet yummy food, all the time, and two, flavor. It is occasionally mumbled, instead of yelled loudly as it should be, that if you want to eat healthy on the long term it isn't just a matter of cutting out something, you need to be happy with the food. And in particular, "The Standard American Diet - carbohydrates" isn't a very pleasing diet. It's very easy for it to become monotonous and feel restrictive. But I'd submit that's an indictment against the standard diet, not the "- carbs". It's taken me a while to work out how to deal with the correct diet longterm, but it has involved using a lot more oils (sesame, olive, etc), more butter, more oriental ingredients, and learning a lot more about French cooking. And you have to erase the last vestiges of the false idea that fat is bad, and realize that low-fat is bad and is the fad diet, and it should be entirely stomped out of your dietary plans. Now I don't have problems eating properly for years without backsliding; as tempting as the carbs can be, they just aren't as good as what I'm making myself. They're a hollow pleasure.
- phillmv 15y ago
  Sigh. It makes me sad to read all of these posts because, without any exaggeration, I find bread to be one of the best pleasures in life, and living off sandwiches means it constitutes a fair amount of my diet. If only living healthily didn't involve so much work, like actually learning how to take care of yourself, i.e. cooking, exercising regularly, etc.
  - dualogy 15y ago
    If only, if only! Well good news for you, 99% of the work has been done by others, by decades of validating or falsifying theories and suspicions, measuring anything from calories to hormonal changes, all the combinations of various exercise levels and diet etc. and so on and so forth. Now all you have to do is decide whether the quality-of-life for your next few decades is worth the trouble of doing a bit of reading, such as half an hour a day for a few weeks or so... and trying the game challenge of seeing if and how much you can affect change in your home-grown lifestyle habits, you know, just for kicks.
sliverstorm 15y ago
I completely adore breads, (more than any other food) so for me giving them up isn't an acceptable option. The question becomes, what breads are best? (Or least bad, depending on your outlook) Somewhat tempering my approach is the fact that I don't really believe they can be 100% evil. Like alcohol, we've been consuming bread for thousands of years. Like alcohol, I bet you can consume a certain amount of the right types without a significant penalty.

FrankenTan 15y ago

Appearently, losing weight also changes how your metabolism works, and in part you burn less calories from the same activity. Of course, these are 'simply' obstacles to be aware of and problems to go around, not something that stop you in your tracks. An interesting article on the topic: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-...

aaxe 15y ago
Terrible article 1. Extreme weight loss 2. No control 3. Recipients re-gain some weight with no more oversight. Shocking!

erkin_unlu 15y ago

hey this is just an intro! and a little advice, try to eat low glycemic indexed foods all the time, they will make you feel full all the time and they are generally quality food that everyone needs to have. Plus, you will not have to take in-between meals 'cause you won't be hungry ; )

egwor 15y ago
(Since I didn't know...) A link to more info on low glycemic indexed foods: http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/ http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/

chrisguitarguy 15y ago

> The number of calories wasn’t my problem. The source of calories was my problem. This. A few more tips: 1. Eat more frequently. 5-7 small meals of high quality foods each day. 2. Aim for 90% compliance to the diet. Eat clean foods 90% of the time, have a "cheat" meal once or twice a weak. Good for your sanity and metabolism.

rimantas 15y ago
"Frequent meals increase metabolism" is pretty much a myth, isn't it?
- chrisguitarguy 15y ago
  Yes. I didn't say they did. Frequent meals keep you less hungry in between meals -- less chance for making a bad decision.
  - SkyMarshal 15y ago
    Frequent meals isn't gospel, though. Art de Vany, originator of Paleo, counters that if you're on a diet that satisfies your appetite, like Paleo, it's better to eat larger portions less frequently, to maximize the amount of time your metabolism can focus on processing the insulin and then fat already in your body. Constantly eating all day instead focuses your metabolism on digestion. Of course, if your diet doesn't satisfy you and keeps you hungry between meals, then frequent healthy meals and snacks might be a better option to, as you say, reduce temptation to eat bad stuff. Try both, figure out what works. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/04/new-evolution-diet-insulin-and-obesity-how-to-eat-like-a-caveman.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/04/new-evoluti...
cellularmitosis 15y ago
Interestingly, this article and these comments mirror much of what's in "The 4 Hour Body" by Tim Ferris. Very interesting read (he goes so far as to have an insulin probe implanted to measure real-time glycemic index).

gibsonf1 15y ago

A great book for getting into the science behind not eating flour/sugar/rice is "Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health" by Gary Taubes. After reading it I completely changed my diet and only wish I could have known earlier.

yummyfajitas 15y ago
Here are 15 studies showing that diet composition doesn't matter much and the most important thing is calories in/calories out. http://examine.com/faq/what-should-i-eat-for-weight-loss.html http://examine.com/faq/what-should-i-eat-for-weight-loss.htm... Here is a detailed debunking of Taubes science. http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-h... The only known benefit of a low carb diet is that some people are more willing to stick to it than other types of diets.
- valuegram 15y ago
  I've trained and assisted 100s of people with fitness and nutrition. This is flat out wrong. I have yet to see any recent credible research that says all calories are equal. It is a fact that hormonal response varies widely based on where that calorie is coming from. Out of curiousity I clicked on one of the articles you linked to: "...during a 6-wk period of hospitalization. Consequently, 43 adult, obese persons were randomly assigned to receive diets containing 4.2 MJ/d (1000 kcal/d) composed of either 32% protein, 15% carbohydrate, and 53% fat, or 29% protein, 45% carbohydrate, and 26% fat." A 6-week period with only 43 participants? ...how does this get published?
  - astral303 15y ago
    Did you peruse the summary only or actually look at the study? http://www.ajcn.org/content/63/2/174.full.pdf http://www.ajcn.org/content/63/2/174.full.pdf 6 weeks in a hospitalized environment with a consistent daily diet as measured/provided by the researchers, with a 14-hr fast before and after the 6 weeks. There are statistically significant correlations for some variables and insignificant for others. If the half of 43 participants was all over the map, then I'm sure it wouldn't have passed muster. I'm not saying this study is the answer, nor does the study attempt to claim that. But to declare it as unworthy of publishing seems extreme.

jjm 15y ago

I went nutritarian after checking out "Eat to Live". Starting at the same time as Jeremy and odly enough weighing the same as him but now weigh 159. After a while you lose the need or taste to eat refined flour, dairy, and lots of meat. It's not a diet, but a life style change. I recommend it to anyone willing to try it.

mark_l_watson 15y ago

Summary: the kind of food matters. Avoid processed foods and too many carbs. My family switched to a Pescetarian diet (vegetarian, but with some seafood). Even totally enjoying my food, I started to lose more weight than I wanted to so I added a fourth meal most days and my weight stabilized where I want it (I am 6'4" tall, and my preferred weight is 200 pounds). Also, I personally love carbs: I eat lots of cauliflower, carrots, some pasta and whole wheat bread. It is a matter of seeing what diet works for you as an individual.

latch 15y ago

Sugar: The Bitter Truth (which made top story on HN a while ago) is a great 1h30 video to watch about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

lena 15y ago
It is great indeed, and nobody would recommend people eat lots of sugar, but I found this a good article with some nuances about the specifics mentioned in that long video: http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/ http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab...

richardburton 15y ago

This is great. Last year I broke my shoulder and could not run or swim for 4 months. I got fat for the first time in my life. I was eating loads and doing nothing. After months of physical therapy on my shoulder I was ready to start getting back into shape. My regime was simple: - Kitesurf lots (really fun and uses a lot of energy) - Swim lots (if there was no wind) - Never eat processed foods. - Drink a pint of milk before and after exercise sessions. Done. Going to the gym demoralised me. Kitesurfing is addictive. I think finding a form of exercise you love is akin to finding a job you love. When you love something you want to do more of it. If you have to force yourself to go to the gym you will fail. I want to go swim because I have nearly drowned kitesurfing big waves in Ireland and never want to experience that again. These external pulls and internal pushes are what keep me fit. Not a New Year's Resolution.

astral303 15y ago
+1 on finding the exercise you enjoy doing. Just as a caution though, if anyone is reading this and is on the fence about taking up exercise and starting going to the gym, please give it a shot and don't assume you'll be demoralized. You never know until you try. For me, going to the gym turned out to be quite moralizing, as it put me in that "exercise mode" (surrounded by exercisey stuff). I also associated it with getting better/fitter, so going to the gym == improvement == positive feelings. Some of my friends hate running and love biking. I love running. If you told me 3 years ago that I'd be saying that last thing, I would be laughing in your face in disbelief. But you never know till you try.
- richardburton 15y ago
  Agreed. I should have elaborated more. The reason I found the gym demoralising is because I was overweight and was surrounded by these greek gods. Now that I am fit again I really enjoy going into the gym with the goal of improving my fitness for kitesurfing. I go to the gym with my physical performance instead of my physical appearance in mind. That is the best reason to go.
sireat 15y ago
The first three are pretty reasonable, but what is the idea behind drinking milk before and after exercise? Wouldn't you be more likely to regurgitate your stomach's contents by drinking milk before exercise? I have some bad experiences from eating and then exercising...

radicalbyte 15y ago

It's easier said that done. At the end of 2009 I dropped form 240lb to 180lb by a combination weight training and switching to a low-carb high protein diet for 6 days a week with the 7th day being a pigout (to trick your metabolism out of starvation mode). I managed to maintain my weight around 185lb throughout 2010. With a big drop in the summer (cycling a total of 70km every day to work and back works wonders). The problem is that the diet is really hard to stick to, so in 2011 I gradually switched back to a mixed diet. Which meant that sweet stuff was back on the agenda. Fast forward to 2012 and I'm back at 230lb (although more muscular). I'm switching back to a health diet but I'm not cutting the carbs as much. This time I'll eat more low GI carbs and less protein. Going for something similar to what Jeremy is doing (eating better, but nice food).

d3x 15y ago

I was diagnosed w/ crohns when I was 16. I struggled with it my whole life; in and out of hospitals and on/off different meds. At 19 I learned about the Macrobiotic Diet and my life was never the same. It was hard to stay on the diet and make it stick so I created a tool that helps me track and balance my diet. Because I like building things I also added 450 or so other diets and it has become by permanent side project. Right now only me and a few friends are using it (web version) and the app will be in the app store in a few weeks then I am thinking about opening it up to the public to see if its something that anyone else would want to use. All of the diets I have seen mentioned on this thread are supported so if anyone would like access let me know email/city and I will try and get things up and running for you.

AznHisoka 15y ago
I definitely would like to try this. Can you send me a link to it? vzhou218@gmail.com
gommm 15y ago
I'd be interested too, email is hn@gom-jabbar.org, city is shanghai

b3b0p 15y ago

These health posts never turn out good. It always ends up with hackers/geeks arguing how to eat, lose weight, be healthy, etc and so forth. No one agrees. There is too much arguing about what is right, wrong, can't be done, you have to eat this... as if nothing is safe to eat now. Anyway, I don't want to argue or comment that certain foods are evil, carbs are bad and should be avoided, or about anything what Gary Taubes said or published. Everyone is different and different things work for different people. That said, I would like to link a very good post on Reddit with a list of studies that I think people should peruse and possibly reference for the future. http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/nv8ip/do_you_have_any_bookmarks_to_pubmedscientific/c3c904n http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/nv8ip/do_you_have_a... Some highlights that might be of interest and relevance to the OP and comments: --- Calories Detailed explanation of how calorie counts are derived, analysis of whether low-carb/high-protein diets can provide a metabolic advantage. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8561057 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8561057 "We conclude that a calorie is a calorie." Similar weight loss with low- or high- carbohydrate diets. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671 "The results of this study showed that it was energy intake, not nutrient composition, that determined weight loss in response to low-energy diets over a short time period." Energy intake required to maintain body weight is not affected by wide variation in diet composition. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671 "Even with extreme changes in the fat-carbohydrate ratio (fat energy varied from 0% to 70% of total intake), there was no detectable evidence of significant variation in energy need as a function of percentage fat intake." Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for weight loss. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025815 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025815 "This study showed that independently of the method for weight loss, the negative energy balance alone is responsible for weight reduction." --- Carb Timing: Greater Weight Loss and Hormonal Changes After 6 Months Diet With Carbohydrates Eaten Mostly at Dinner http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby201148a.html http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby2011... --- Fructose The bitter truth about fructose alarmism http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/ http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab... Debunking Lustig and the fear of fructose. Health implications of fructose consumption: A review of recent data. No relevant data accounting for a direct link of moderate fructose and health risk markers. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21050460 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21050460 --- Glycemic Index There are large problems with isolating foods cased on the glycemic index/load. First, food is rarely eaten in an isolated way. Fat, protein, fiber count, etc. will all slow down digestion. Second, there is evidence to support that it doesn't even make a difference in weight or blood markers. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17413101 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17413101 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20504977 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20504977 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16629877 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16629877 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17923862 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17923862 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17823436 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17823436 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16177201 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16177201 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12458971 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12458971 --- Vegetarians Vegetarians have a reduced skeletal muscle carnitine transport capacity. Vegetarians have reduced muscle carnitine transport capacity . Carnitine helps fat burning and build bone. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21753065 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21753065 --- (I hope I did this right so it's formatted in a legible way.) Edit: formatting and added a couple more links.

Cl4rity 15y ago

I am so sick and tired of all of these misinformed blog articles and comments about clean food versus unhealthy food. Good calories versus bad calories. Do these writers even know what a calorie is? It isn't intrinsically good or bad. If you're eating 6,500 calories per day in lean meats, fish, nuts, vegetables and fruit, I absolutely guarantee you will become fat without rigorous physical activity. Calories in/calories out is what matters when it comes to weight. If your concern is cholesterol or blood sugar, on the other hand, your diet and genetics play a huge role in that. Let's not forget about the teacher who ate nothing but Twinkies and cupcakes for several weeks and lost a tremendous amount of weight and lowered his cholesterol. http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/... Now, I'm not suggesting that anyone go on a Twinkie diet, but the biggest takeaway from what that professor did is that the amount of calories you consume is important when it comes to weight loss, and subsequently lowering cholesterol.

AznHisoka 15y ago
Calories definitely do play a role, but when you gradually shift to a diet with mostly whole foods, and less processed foods, you start to feel the need to eat less. Most processed foods aren't filling and leave you wanting more. Also, they don't give you the nutrients you need. So it definitely does matter what type of calories you consume.
nosequel 15y ago
Actually you are most likely wrong. There is really good evidence that the number of calories don't matter and that the type of calories are everything. People associate the number of calories as mattering because they change other things at the same time. Please watch videos from Gary Taubes who wrote "Good Calories Bad Calories" and "Why we get fat". Here's his google talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6vpFV6Wkl4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6vpFV6Wkl4 On a personal note, I lost 40 lbs and I eat far more calories now than I did before. Open you mind for a bit and really watch that video, you might be convinced that what you think about calories are all wrong. I certainly changed what I thought was true as fact.
- 15y ago

bitops 15y ago

I started a GitHub project for folks to share recipes they like, that are healthy (with a dash of "sinful" thrown in). https://github.com/bitops/good-eats https://github.com/bitops/good-eats

ecaroth 15y ago

Good article - The thing that motivated me to get into fitness & health years ago was somebody telling me that you wouldn't believe how much more exciting and fun almost every activity in your life is when you are healthy & in shape. (Shameless Plug Warning!) Relating to a healthy & fit lifestyle, I have been working on a side project to help people stay fit, happy, and healthy at their desk during the workday and was created out of my own need & desire to not have a lifetime of working at a desk affect my body & mind too much. The 'nutrition' portion of the app is forthcoming, but it's 80% complete and I encourage everybody to do your body a favor and check it out! (http://www.fitbolt.com/ http://www.fitbolt.com/)

mhartl 15y ago

This post is really just a teaser for possibly interesting posts to come. In that vein... Dear everyone who has a blog: make sure there's an easy-to-find link to your RSS feed. (There's one here in the comments, which proves my point.)