Fad Diets and Factoids--Where They Come From

Maribeth:

You're doing a great service by posting this sensible information. Bulletin boards like these are so full of myth and misinformation, and are in desperate need of a little scientific common sense. Thank you very much!
 
Thank YOU!

You are most welcome! I thank you for reading my stuff. This really is a passion and I get on a roll very easily.

BTW, just read a piece in the paper on eating low cal to increase your life span. This is by no means a new concept--eating speeds metabolism, and that speeding metabolism could be considered to shorten lifespan to a degree--if you adhere to the idea of the wearing your body out theory.

On the other hand, there's use it or lose it, which I tend to follow. And, the eggheads who I knew that were practicing the low cal eating looked horrible--pale, no muscle tone, hair lifeless and limp. Besides, if I have to eat like a Survivor contestant from here on out, who the heck wants to be 150 years old?

Maribeth
 
Maribeth, I just have to thank you -again- . When I first started reading about the low carb thing I had issues with it. (maybe because I could never totally give up my carbs). I always try to buy whole wheat pasta and bread and brown rice. I would look at the lable and think "look what people are missing out on!" All these vitamins and fiber and even PROTIEN!!! I have found some whole wheat rolls in the freezer section that are wonderful!! I had never heard about high fiber foods not really giving you as many calories. I still love my white bread things too -pizza crust happens to be my favorite- . But whole wheat things make you feel good when you eat them because they are so nutritious!

Thanks for all your hard work!

Susan
 
RE: Thank YOU!

Maribeth,

Hey great article and information! :) I'm in a neuroscience program and a few months ago we had someone come and present about the low calorie diet thing. They put animals on a diet where they basically ate half as much because they ate every other day. Anyways, the animals showed major differences in risks for Alzheimer's, like the formation of plaques and tangles in the cortex. I wish I could remember more about it (I can't even recall his name right now), but it was a very convincing case. I think their theory was that being on a low calorie diet sort of "toughens up" the nervous system somehow and makes it more resisitant to harmful chemicals and stresses.

The funny part of it was that my buddies in the lab went out to eat with this guy after his talk and evidently he ordered two HUGE platters off the menu and ate every bit of it... I guess maybe he was on an eating day! :)

Love to hear this information. Thanks very much for telling us about it.

Amanda
 
Hey, Maribeth!

Just wondering what your opinion or advice is on cellulite??? I know it is just another fancy name for FAT, but do you think that it is more genetic then say eating "fatty" foods. Or, can you give any advice on how a person who works her tail off can make it ALMOST disappear? I work very hard at each & every workout and get sooo discouraged with this. My diet is not 100% clean, but I do try to make good choices most of the time. Thanks for your time and knowledge!

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
RE: Hi Cari & Maribeth!

I would love to have a web page....any hints on how to get this venture started?
 
RE: Hi Cari & Maribeth!

It's actually really easy. I went to www.namesecure.com and picked out a name I liked. Since I knew I was starting a fitness coaching business I looked for something with "fitness coach" in it. It is pretty cheap for a web domain, $24 a year (with namesecure; others cost more). Then you will need a web host. I recommend trying www.tripod.com. They have a sitebuilder which is very easy to use and you don't need to know html. Tripod will let you use their services for free (www.ivillage.com also does, but their customer support is lacking), and you can pay $4.95 a month for no banner ads and more space and stuff. Of course I pay that (which is still so cheap!) because this is a website for my business.
I have been using sitebuilder for a while now and if you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.

P.S Honeybunch and Maribeth, I'm taking the ACE PT exam next Sat. so wish me luck!!

Cari
 
Thanks, Cari!

VERY interesting website!!! Lots of info. Thanks for sharing. I would love to read the June issue also. BTW, you look GREAT! You can tell you "practice what you preach"! THANKS again!

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
RE: Hey, Maribeth!

Hey, Debbie!
From everything I know and can gather, neither diet nor exercise prevents the dimpling of the skin. It is due to connective tissue fibers running perpendicular to the surface of the skin--where the fibers attach to underlying tissue, they pull on the surface of the skin, making little indentations. Since there's always a bit of sub-Q fat, once the fibers form, there's always a little bit of a dented appearance. If the amount of fat in the area increases, the appearance of dimpling will, too.

Sadly, yes, it is genetic--both the tendency to form the perpendicular connective tissue fibers in the first place, and the tendency to store fat in the areas where these fibers tend to form. The fitter you are, the less dramatic the appearance, but even if your bodyfat is at a very low level, if you have a genetic predisposition to this, you will still notice dimpling.

The endermologie technique seems to help for some people. The reasons why are unclear--possibly the agressive massaging action breaks up some of the connective fibers--but it isn't permanent. For me, self tanner is a boon--brown legs don't show the lumpiness as much, IMHO.

Wish I could say that diet and exercise would get rid of it, but it doesn't, primarily because it is more a function of connective fibers than one of excess fat.

Maribeth
 
Hi, Lori,
From everything I was taught and have read (from reputable sources, that is), any drink that contains no sugar, caffeine or caramel (diet decaf sodas) and contains no calories counts towards your water intake. Basically this includes decaf tea, sugar-free Koolaid, Crystal Light, Diet Snapple and other similar beverages. It doesn't include decaf coffee, though, and to tell ya the truth, I don't remember exactly why.

I don't count any of the above towards my water intake (which is about a gallon per day), though. I drink tons of stuff all the time--yes, Diet Coke is one of my best friends--and drinking lots helps me feel full when I get severely tempted to snack recreationally.

I'll check a couple of sources and see if I can find out why decaf coffee isn't counted when decaf tea is and let you know.

Maribeth
 
Thank you, Maribeth!

I think??? Ha! I figured this would be the answer. I must admit, it has gotten better since I have really been kicking butt with my workouts. It does look BETTER, (not GREAT) when I lose some body fat. I'll just keep plugging away from here on in and also thank my ancestors for this "GIFT"! Again, thanks for all your time and info.

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
Oops, I forgot--don't count carbonated beverages, either. Pretty much just plain water, decaf tea, and non-carbonated sugar free drinks are good to go.
Maribeth
 
Check your e-mail. ;-)

Keta. :D

[link:home.attbi.com/~marwrihu/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html|Home Page]

[link:mykbtfit.net/|KBT Forum]
 
Hello Maribeth,
Thanks for all your wonderful information.
I have a question about coffee.I have read that it causes
insulin problems.Is this true? I generally have one cup
in the morning with no-fat creamer.
I just started drinking coffee this year and have kind of
noticed that I am a little heavier.I'm just wondering if its the
coffee.
Also one more question.In your workouts how many cardio
and how much weight traing do you do per week.
And do you just use Cathe's tapes.
Thanks so much,
Vonnie
 
Maribeth,

Question for you ... I'm hoping that you can help me out pretty easy here.

Other Carbohydrates ... what makes up other carbohydrates? Man, I've been searching for the answer to that question for some time now. All I've gotten thus far that's concrete is sugar alcohols. Do you have details to that question?

Thanks so much.

Keta. :D

[link:home.attbi.com/~marwrihu/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html|Home Page]

[link:mykbtfit.net/|KBT Forum]
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-03-02 AT 10:42PM (Est)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-03-02 AT 10:38 PM (Est)[/font]

Ohhh, Keta, never mind--I know which other carbs you are referring to now--the ones listed as "other carbs" on the labesl. They are any chemical compound that fits the scientific definition of a carb, but traditionally isn't considered one. Sugar alcohols fall into the category, glycerine is one that has been recently added to it, too. Question is, do they act as a carb in the body?

Keta,
Which other carbs are you referring to? Fibrous carbs are those which have very long carbon chains. Non-fibrous ones are those of a small enough molecular structure to be digested and absorbed. Tell me if this wasn't what you were getting at.

From a strictly scientific standpoint, by definition, a carbohydrate is either a polyhydroxy aldehyde or ketone or compounds that yield polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones on hydrolysis (got this straight out of one of my biochemistry texts). From a practical standpoint, carbohydrates are chains of carbon molecules with oxygen and hydrogen attached.

All carbohydrates are composed of simple sugars. They come in three basic sizes--small, medium and large, depending on how many simple sugars are grouped together. Their major roles in the human body are to provide energy and to spare protein from breakdown for energy generation. Carbs appear in virtually all plant foods and in one animal food--milk.

Although demonized by a variety of popular fad diet plans, carbs are the body's preferred source of energy. In a carb depleted state, the body tends to start to break down amino acids (protein components) to make the glucose (carbohydrate) it requires to live. While some fat will be broken down also, there are several amino acids that are used preferentially, so any diet that causes carb depletion typically results in a loss of muscle mass.

Hope this helps!
Maribeth
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-04-02 AT 09:45AM (Est)[/font][p]That's what I thought. It's everything else that's a carb that's not sugar or fiber. In other words, everything and anything else, a.k.a. who knows.

You know what? I'm so glad to read your writings and I hope you hear from my friend soon.

Those fad diets are just that fad diets. I'm coaching a girl right now about how to make changes to her diet and she was scared to death that I was going to totally revamp her diet with things that she doesn't like or even know about. I only made two small changes to get her started and then we'll make two more in a few weeks.

I get so tried of telling people that carbs are not bad, they are what the body uses for fuel and that the body doesn’t want to use protein for fuel. The amino acids need to be used to build and repair all tissue, not just muscle. But there is this craze right now going on about Atkins. It's gotten some media attention. I'd really like to know out of all the people who started it, how many of them actually stayed on it for life? I would suspect that it's extremely small, indeed.

What do you think?

Keta. :D

[link:home.attbi.com/~marwrihu/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html|Home Page]

[link:mykbtfit.net/|KBT Forum]
 
Keta,
It includes ANYTHING that doesn't fit the definitive profile of a fat (having a fatty acid attached) or a protein (having a nitrogen/amino group attached)--whether it acts as a carb in the body or not. It even includes things that are non-caloric, which to me, is nonsensical--if it doesn't contribute to the nutrient or fiber picture, why classify it as a carbohydrate? I wish they'd decided to list these substances under "Other ingredients" vs other carbohydrates--I think it would be less confusing.

It is frustrating to try to explain this stuff--not because it can't be done, but because so many fitness professionals haven't been armed with the knowledge and understanding to provide thorough and scientifically sound reasons for why things happen. For example, on the Adkins diet, not so many people understand about the thermic effect of protein, or the fact that all the consumed protein not used for muscle and tissue rebuilding/maintenance is broken down and converted to glucose for energy or for storage as fat.

They also don't understand that there are amino acids that the body uses preferentially over fat for gluconeogenesis, meaning that when there isn't glucose available, the first thing the body does is tap its protein stores--not fat stores--to make it. When the number on the scale reads less and/or girth measurements are smaller, few seem to realize that the decrease can be contributed to a large degree to a loss of intracellular water and muscle mass, rather than any great amount of fat.

Oh-oh, I feel a rant coming on....I'll stop here for now. Hope I do hear from your friend. This is my passion--the more places I can get the word out, the better I like it! Thanks again for the opportunity!
Maribeth
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top