I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was taking part in "Dry January". I didn't make a big song and dance about it, but I decided to go for a calendar month or so with no alcohol. A few people have asked me about my experience, so here are a few points. Why take a break from drinking? Alcohol is an interesting topic. As a drug it is widely accepted in society, central to so much of our socialising and leisure. There seem to be lots of health benefits - so we are told - yet there are also a lot of problems in terms of health, relationships and lifestyle that come from drinking. Over a few years I'd begun to become aware and then concerned that I was drinking too much and too regularly. I am in a busy and stressful job and sometimes a glass of wine after work to relax is really helpful. But over time, one glass became two. Two glasses became ....I might as well finish the bottle. A habit got established....and was starting to get too e...
.......interesting things about fitness, strength, diet and performance.
Comments
I can't help but think he knows that he's manipulating the audience when he tosses out phrases like "a fit 240lb. guy". Outside of the NFL, how many of those are there?
The last three minutes of the video go to discussing how HARD it is to lose weight. It's always been hard to lose weight. And pretty well everyone that has managed to go from "fat" to "not" agrees that it's worth the effort. It would seem to be his unstated opinion that it isn't.
He finally says something I think is tough to argue: That extreme and unsafe weight loss measures are no good. But he implies that the government is telling us that they are.
This guy should be in politics, not pop-science.
And two, I think there is something to be said for a minimum amount of muscle tissue and it being protective, regardless of body fat and metabolic disorders.
Heavier people have more muscle tissue. It's required for movement. That extra muscle mass probably has some protective effect.
I haven't investigated this. It's just observations I've noticed in working with severely overweight people.
And I'm oversimplifying but I think somewhere in there is merit for the additional muscle tissue. And once that tissues starts operating in a manner other than activities of daily living, drastic improvements in health can be seen. Even when they are still on the high end of the bmi scale (> 30).
Those are my thoughts.
Brian
1) The explosion of Type 2 diabetes in the last 10-20 years, a largely preventable disease, and the huge medical costs involved with its treatment (although excessive weight may be one of the *symptoms* of Type 2 rather than the cause: overconsumption of refined carbs and sugar/fructose; and resulting insulin resistance)
2) The crushing of the joints that eventually takes place with obesity (although a lot of skinny people are getting their knees replaced these days too, partly because of excess running rather than weight!)
3) The "starving from within" that can take place among the obese (an element of insulin resistance; see the book Body By Science, which briefly discusses this state).
4) Cardiac remodeling; the heart gets bigger hauling all that extra weight around, and this probably isn't benign.
and on and on...I'm sure I've missed some. The point made by the previous comment hit the nail on the head, that muscle and lean body mass is most protective; the "excessive weight is benign" argument is a bit of a straw man.
Before I understood that carbohydrates were making me fat, I’d try eating less, lose a few pounds, then stall, then give up. Then I’d look at myself in the mirror after my morning shower and think, “You fat @#$%! Why don’t you just stick to a diet and get rid of this blubber?” This is what 40 years of bad dietary advice has done to millions of people.
It is about carbs