On fitness, diet and common (mis?)conceptions.

In My Humble Opinion
1

The topics of fitness and weight loss have been broached in various detail and zeal on these boards. Most recently in this thread, where **wasson, mermaid ** and several others respectfully disagreed with my advice on rapid weight loss.

*Given that on the day when they were handing out common sense, many of you went for seconds while, it seems, I was left holding the door, I’m in need of your informed opinions. :smiley:
<*very mild and good natured sarcasm - no need to get shorts knotted!>

My main contension is with the daily “recommeded” amounts of food and water for the average adult. Now I know that one needs to account for activity levels, metabolism rates, gender, various genetic tendencies, age, etc… But I want to talk averages which, by definition, applies to most people at large. No provisions are being made for people living in extreme circumstances or operating under extreme conditions. Joe and Jill Average doing a white colour job or very light labour. No real/chronic health issues.

These are my parameters so if you want to introduce physical disabilities, blood or eating disorders… start your own thread! :stuck_out_tongue:

So my main premise is that Joe and Jill Average eat/drink too much on a daily basis. I don’t mean the occassional (or regular) biggie meal at the local fast food joint - which is definately too much of a good(?) thing. I mean, even when we think we are being good with three balanced meals a day and foregoing that donut in the lunchroom.

What’s worse, we like to depend too much on the food pyramid and recommended daily allowances of water (Who come up with the latter anyway?).

I can only use annecdotal evidence and given that I’m as average a Joe as any, I guess it falls to me. Like most people I tend to put on weight when I don’t exercise and watch my diet. I’m average height and weight for my age. I’m fitter than most people my age and quite a few people a decade or two younger due to my exercise routines. I didn’t just see the light and become a fitness nut, I’ve been athletically active for most of my life, though when my kids were born I fell of the wagon for a few years and was as much as 60lb over weight. I’ve lost it several years ago and am maintaining a weight which I’m mostly happy with. I do this in two ways:

  1. I work out 1.5 to 2.5 hours a day, 4-6 days a week. I swim (if only to avoid drowning), bike (like a demon), and run (moderately well). I weight train and can do several sets of 10-15 chinups without much of a strain. I may be much more fit than most people at my gym but I consider myself to be just mid pack compared to my peers (fellow enthusiasts).

and this is where I’m going to catch hell:

  1. I eat basically once a day. Please, to exlain…:
    I start my day with a couple of cups of sweet coffee. I do my regular workout. I sip water as needed but rarely more than 20oz through my workout. If I remember, I’ll eat a powerbar with my coffee for lunch. I drink water through the day as thirst demands but I don’t walk around with a gallon jug in my hand like I’m expecting a sudden drought between the parking garage and the office. In the evening, around 6pm or so I eat a balanced dinner but not a binging feast. Then sleep and repeat.

I’ve had the above routine for the better part of 5 years and never once, not once, experienced dehydration (I live in NoVA and summers are hot). I bike an average of 50miles per ride in dead heat and manage to stay hydrated with a couple of bottles of water and some more through the evening after the ride as thirst demands. I don’t carbo load before the ride. I don’t bring a lunchbox of powerbars for the ride (usually a few carb gel pouches suffice).

So when I’m told that the above routine is terribly unhealthy, I have to question the common wisdom of what is necessary as part of daily food/water intake for Joe and Jill AVERAGE.

What say you? :slight_smile:

2

<shrug> I’m sure there’s something to be said for spacing out meals throughout the day to keep your gut active, but overall, if you’re at the weight you want to be and the routine works for you, I’m not going to criticize you. Sure, your diet isn’t how most people it, but who cares? It works.

Just keep in mind that it may not work for everyone. I simply don’t do well if I don’t eat every few hours; Mr. Athena, on the other hand, can easily go all day without eating. If I get hungry and don’t have something to eat, I rapidly decline. I start to get shaky. I can’t concentrate. I start feeling sleepy. If I let myself go too long without food, eating doesn’t fix it; I’m screwed for the rest of the day until my metabolism gets back on track.

Regular meals - sensible, healthy meals - keep me energized all day. If I tried to do your diet, I’d be miserable. There’s no way on earth I’d make it on one meal a day without feeling sick most of the time.

Still, I have no doubt it works for you. I’ve known others who eat like you do, and don’t seem to experience the swings that I do.

3

I certainly don’t want to tell you that you need to change your eating routines. My routines work for me. Some of my fellow enthusiast put away twice as much as I do and are rail thin. The food requirements vary from individual to individual. There are extremes at both ends of the curve.

All I’m trying to relate, is that my methods are not so strange or unhealthy as was suggested. It took me a while to settle on this routine. I was hungry quite often when I first started on this path and I slipped more than once. But when I stuck to it, I noticed desireable positive changes in how I felt. Over time, my metabolism adjusted and now I’m out of sorts if I break routine and have a lunch bigger than a salad.

I could argue that your metabolism would likely adjust as well and you could cut down on your food intake but what I think is irrelevant. I don’t even know that you need to reduce your food intake. You’d have to have your own reasons and desire to make it your personal goal. I’m not selling this as a miracle cure-all for everyone. I’m just saying people too easily sing the praises of the three balanced meals and water, water, water… It’s not necessarily a golden rule. Not much of guideline either, in my experience.

4

FWIW, I totally agree that the average American (even ones at normal weights) eats too much. I’ve been really interested in Calorie Restriction as a method for both optimal health and longevity. You might find the subject interesting too. There’s the society I linked (the message list is interesting although some of those guys take it too far), there’s a Yahoo groups that’s big into moderation in calorie restriction, and the granddaddy of calorie restriction was Ray Walford who also has a couple of interesting books out on the subject. Anyway, just FYI…

5

I totally agree with you tremorviolet. :slight_smile:

I’ve heard of this approach and related studies quite some time ago and it’s one of the things that led me to arriving at my current nutrition habits. I look at it with the same skepticism as I do the food pyramid. Good elements to take away and use but hardly the holy grail. I’m certainly not a hardliner on it and these folks do tend to take it to extremes I just don’t feel I want to go. I love to eat actually and I’m a great cook, so I don’t want to entirely deprive myself of that pleasure. :wink:

6

In regards to the main point that people eat and drink too much in a day, I completely agree.

Last summer, after knee surgery, and unsuccessful attempts to regain my running form, I took up cycling.

Well, in about October I started thinking about racing and joing a team.

Long story short, I also began eating less to help with weight loss, which is important in cycling. And, also important because I’d put on weight after the surgery.

Anyway, my activity level right now is as high as it’s ever been, and that includes when I was training for a marathon. I’ve already done about 1000 miles on the bike this year. And, I bet my food consumption is as low as it’s ever been, yet I’ve still been able to stay healthy and energized.

Fact of the matter is, people eat too much food on a daily basis, ESPECIALLY considering the activity level of most people.

I don’t poop nearly as much as I used to, though.

As to water, I never drink it, except during and after bike rides. On a day that I don’t exercise, typically the only fluids I have all days are a couple cups of coffee and a beer at night. The idea of drinking water all through the day sounds good, but I question its efficacy for ANYONE, athlete or not.

7

Seems like you don’t suffer dehydration issues either. Well, BOTH of us can’t be wrong! :smiley:

Would it make me a conspiracy theorist if I suggested that Pepsi and Coke, the two biggest water bottlers, are the ones responsible for the 8 bottles of water per day thing? :wink:

Curious to hear from any doctors, nurses or nutritionist on here about all this.

8

I’ve seen the “8 glasses of water a day” thing debunked before, but alas, I can’t seem to find a link.

I don’t think water will hurt you, but to hear some of these brainwashed dieters talk, it’s as if you simply cannot lose weight unless you force 64 ounces of water down your throat every day. By all means, stay decently hydrated. But for God’s sake, diet and exercise mean a hell of a lot more than drowning yourself in fluid.

I think people just like it because it’s easy. Dieting is hard. Exercising is hard. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day is easy.

9

I’m more worried about the effects of the coffee. I can only drink it sparingly since I have low Hb.
Why do you have to drink all that coffee if you feel so great?

10

As with everyone else, I agree that most people eat too much.

However, I’d say from reading your post, that you are not average at all. You have forced your body into this routine, so five years later it responds the way you want it to. Could everyone do this? No. Could I do this? No, and I keep in good shape. We all have different calorie needs.

I think your main question is your last: Is this unhealthy? For the average person, the truly average person, I think this would be pushing the limits. I’m suprised it works for you, but I believe you if you say it is true. As I said above, you have made it work. If you are in great shape, feel good, aren’t experiencing any health problems, lack of sleep, etc., then I would say you don’t need to change your routine.

Just remember that not everyone else can maintain your level of fitness. I have been blessed with a great metabolism, an athletic body, and so on, so I have an advantage over many other people when it comes to getting/staying in shape. I have learned over time, from helping many other people try to get in shape, coaching track for many years, and so on, that not everyone can accomplish the same levels of fitness because they have biological barriers that I don’t have to worry about.

Enough rambling from me…for now.

11

I eat one meal per day, from M-F. On Sat and Sun, I add in a small lunch.

My caloric intake is around 1500-1800 calories.

180 lbs. 5’ 10". Extemely active.
Caveat: on holidays, I eat anything and at anytime.

12

Wow, that’s a lot of calories in one meal! If I did that I’d sleep for hours afterward.

I agree that different things work for different people, but I could never do something like this. I need 3 meals a day and a couple of snacks to help keep my blood sugar stable and my calorie intake per day right now is about 1300-1500 (I’m trying to lose 5 more pounds).

13

Starting off the day with anything sweet raises blood sugar levels, which raises insulin levels, which prompts your body to store energy rather than discard or use it. Of course, it stores the energy as fat. The same thing happens when you eat one big meal a day.

For me, weight control has very little to do with calorie or fat intake. As long as I keep my blood sugar steady (by eating every two hours and avoiding simple sugars) I do fine.

Of course, the OP can get away with a lot more than me because of his exercise habits.