Obesity is now an illness.

[Lord_Ashtar]

@yosemite

You know, I am getting more than a little tired of having to define what is and is not “mean,” and you are obviously not paying attention when you keep on adding these lame little “yosemite will think this is mean” asides to every comment you make. Give it a rest, it is way off the mark and (in my estimation) shows how you just aren’t putting any effort into comprehending.

Whatever, dude.

Whatever yourself.

First of all, that’s the first time I’ve done that. Show you’re not putting much effort into remembering who’s saying what.

Second, I was expecting you (based on your comments so far in this thread) to lambast me for not having any compassion for people who “couldn’t read”.

Like you said, whatever dude. I think I’m done here.

[yosemite]

@Lord Ashtar

Whatever yourself.

First of all, that’s the first time I’ve done that. Show you’re not putting much effort into remembering who’s saying what.

Mea cupla. You didn’t say it before. But you certainly can read and you certainly were capable of reading my multiple explanations about what was and was not “mean.” So, like I said, you weren’t paying attention.

[Boo_Boo_Foo]

@CanvasShoes

Sure no problem. I have a few websites, one from a doctor, an MD who specializes in fitness medicine, and a few cites from personal trainers and those in the “biz”.

The most easily broken down substance in our bodies is NOT fat, but muscle. So, now our heroine is 10 pounds lighter, but 4 pounds of that was muscle, so once she starts eating normally (as her body WILL drive her to do eventually), she now has four fewer pounds of muscle with which to burn the fat.

You’ve made some rather asinine statements there.

(1) Muscles do not burn fat. Like ever. Muscles are actually biorganic electrical motors which consume voltage via a molecule called ATP. The voltage is leveraged via a combination of glucose and glycogen which is provided by the liver.

(2) There is only one thing, and absolute ONLY one thing which determines whether body fat reserves are tapped into - and that’s the human body’s blood sugar levels. Every claim otherwise is bogus. Blood sugar levels are like the fuel-air ratio in an internal combustion engine. The human body has an optimum blood sugar range and if that level gets too high the excess blood glucose is stored as body fat. If it gets too low, body fat is converted into blood glucose and glycogen. In short, we fast every night when we sleep. And it’s the liver which plays the single most crucial role in body fat reduction.

(3) Only during periods of extreme starvation (such as being stranded in a desert for over 7 days) will the human body turn to atrophying muscle as a means of energy supply, and almost always only after body fat reservers plunge to a precipitously 6% or lower. The assertion that the human body will readily perish or atrophy muscle mass in favour of body fat is pure bullshit. It’s a very convenient assertion if you like to present yourself as a de facto expert however.

(4) You made your comments above with such authority, as such inarguable statements of fact, that you simply deserve this post. I have no dog in this fight regarding the obesity issue. I have no judgments to make regarding people who wish they were thinner or whatever. Nonetheless, this remains the Straight Dope Message Board and the mission statement remains “Fighting Ignorance” and your assertions above are sufficiently misinformed to deserve this rebuke.

[CanvasShoes]

@Boo Boo Foo

You’ve made some rather asinine statements there.

(1) Muscles do not burn fat. Like ever. Muscles are actually biorganic electrical motors which consume voltage via a molecule called ATP. The voltage is leveraged via a combination of glucose and glycogen which is provided by the liver.

(2) There is only one thing, and absolute ONLY one thing which determines whether body fat reserves are tapped into - and that’s the human body’s blood sugar levels. Every claim otherwise is bogus. Blood sugar levels are like the fuel-air ratio in an internal combustion engine. The human body has an optimum blood sugar range and if that level gets too high the excess blood glucose is stored as body fat. If it gets too low, body fat is converted into blood glucose and glycogen. In short, we fast every night when we sleep. And it’s the liver which plays the single most crucial role in body fat reduction.

(3) Only during periods of extreme starvation (such as being stranded in a desert for over 7 days) will the human body turn to atrophying muscle as a means of energy supply, and almost always only after body fat reservers plunge to a precipitously 6% or lower. The assertion that the human body will readily perish or atrophy muscle mass in favour of body fat is pure bullshit. It’s a very convenient assertion if you like to present yourself as a de facto expert however.

(4) You made your comments above with such authority, as such inarguable statements of fact, that you simply deserve this post. I have no dog in this fight regarding the obesity issue. I have no judgments to make regarding people who wish they were thinner or whatever. Nonetheless, this remains the Straight Dope Message Board and the mission statement remains “Fighting Ignorance” and your assertions above are sufficiently misinformed to deserve this rebuke.

They’re not “my” statements, I provided the sources from which I got this information.

[CanvasShoes]

Sorry, guess I shouldn’t be so short.

1. Muscles do not burn fat. Like ever. Muscles are actually biorganic electrical motors which consume voltage via a molecule called ATP. The voltage is leveraged via a combination of glucose and glycogen which is provided by the liver.

(2) There is only one thing, and absolute ONLY one thing which determines whether body fat reserves are tapped into - and that’s the human body’s blood sugar levels. Every claim otherwise is bogus. Blood sugar levels are like the fuel-air ratio in an internal combustion engine. The human body has an optimum blood sugar range and if that level gets too high the excess blood glucose is stored as body fat. If it gets too low, body fat is converted into blood glucose and glycogen. In short, we fast every night when we sleep. And it’s the liver which plays the single most crucial role in body fat reduction.

I provided some of my cites, and references from where I got my information above in previous posts.

(3) Only during periods of extreme starvation (such as being stranded in a desert for over 7 days) will the human body turn to atrophying muscle as a means of energy supply, and almost always only after body fat reservers plunge to a precipitously 6% or lower. The assertion that the human body will readily perish or atrophy muscle mass in favour of body fat is pure bullshit. It’s a very convenient assertion if you like to present yourself as a de facto expert however.

Right, a desert island, and 7 days. Did you miss my example above about especially young teens going on starvation diets to look like Britney? Most last a lot longer than 7 days. I know I could go for weeks on just one tiny meal a day when I was young and resilient. And as to the “all body fat will be used up first” sorry I call bs on that one. It can and has been tested with subjects undergoing BF meeasurements.

4. You made your comments above with such authority, as such inarguable statements of fact, that you simply deserve this post. I have no dog in this fight regarding the obesity issue. I have no judgments to make regarding people who wish they were thinner or whatever. Nonetheless, this remains the Straight Dope Message Board and the mission statement remains “Fighting Ignorance” and your assertions above are sufficiently misinformed to deserve this rebuke.

Well, once again, they weren’t “my” statements. Any “authority” you percieved was because I have the utomost trust and belief in my sources, especilly since their information has worked so well for me and for many, many other people.

It was information from sources which are medical and those who are in the fitness industry, including an MD whose specialty is fitness.

[CanvasShoes]

@CanvasShoes

…utomost…, especilly since their information has worked so well for me and for many, many other people.

.

Grrr, could there BE any more typos??? That’s it, I’m cutting these darn fingernails.

[Kallessa]

@Lord Ashtar

(Warning to yosemite: I may begin to sound mean here)

I interpret the above as the information and resources are available to them, for free even, but they don’t want to use them.

:rolleyes:

Man, i should have realized that with everything I posted, this would be the only thing you’d comment on. What a waste.

[tdn]

@Boo Boo Foo

(1) Muscles do not burn fat. Like ever.

Source? I have one that states the exact opposite.

Which just goes to show you that “just go to the library and find out the facts” is pretty much bullshit. There is so much contradictory literature out there that it’s hard to know what’s what. I’m starting to mistrust everything I read or hear on the subject. I honestly be not surprised to find out that we have no fucking clue about why people get fat or how they can get thin. It all seems like so much guessing, and yet people have no trouble preaching their “facts” with all the enthusiasm of newly born again Christian.

Or chanting a mantra like a Hare Krshna.

I’ve spent a lot of time and energy on the subject, and now I feel more ignorant than ever.

[CanvasShoes]

@tdn

Source? I have one that states the exact opposite.

Which just goes to show you that “just go to the library and find out the facts” is pretty much bullshit. There is so much contradictory literature out there that it’s hard to know what’s what.

Yeah, I was kinda chuckling about that too last night. Plus boo boo either didn’t notice, or didn’t READ that I stated that I wasn’t posting the scientific explanation, for that you’d have to go to the site, and that I was just posting the gist of it. Which is, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn, hence, the more calories you can consume, and you’ll be SMALLER, tighter and more fit.

[/quote]
I’m starting to mistrust everything I read or hear on the subject. I honestly be not surprised to find out that we have no fucking clue about why people get fat or how they can get thin. It all seems like so much guessing, and yet people have no trouble preaching their “facts” with all the enthusiasm of newly born again Christian.

Or chanting a mantra like a Hare Krshna.

I’ve spent a lot of time and energy on the subject, and now I feel more ignorant than ever.
[/QUOTE]

Please don’t tdn, the sites I pointed you to are good ones based on several decades of knowledge by body builders and weight lifters. It does work. As I said, I’ve been fairly knowledgeable about fitness since my teens, but I didn’t really understand, or get into the weight lifting side of it until about 8 years ago. Like a lot of people, I got into it to lose weight, and gradually ended up learning more and more about it, even though I “only” teach aerobics and dance, I definitely incorporate knowledge about weight lifting and push my fellow PE instructor’s classes on my own students who are asking about fat loss.

Which brings up another pet peeve, we want to lose fat, not necessarily weight. That’s one thing that sends people, at least girls, running for the starvation diets in the first place, “oh Britney only weighs X pounds, I weight X + 5 I must be a COW”. Um, no perhaps your lean body mass is more than hers, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re big.