Tom,

Just throwing my $0.02 in here..

You wrote:

> 3. All calories are not equal. Those wishing to lose weight
> frequently go into extreme low fat high carb diets. Protein around
> 15%. Guess what since this type diet has become popular we have
> developed far more fat people in the USA especially. To fatten a pig
> a diet of 61% carbs, 29% fat and 10% protein is recommended by the
> USDA. So how can someone hope not to gain weight if they follow a
> similar diet.

Not all carbohydrates are made the same, just like fats, etc. The 
complex carbo's (such as potatoes) are really the major ones to 
limit/avoid if you can help it. The complex carbohydrates are the 
major culprit behind that "nappy feeling" people get after some large 
meals. They are also especially bad as for bumping your blood sugar 
levels (which really causes the insulin to make you sleeeeeeppppy). 

Now, as to why there are more fat people, it's not just the diet. You 
forget that as a "populus" we're much more sedate then the rest of 
the world. Americans tend to work their 8am-6pm shifts, have their 
45 minute drive home, then have dinner, then sit in front of the 
idiot boxes (being replaced by the pea-sea). 

30 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week, of vigorous aerobic activity will 
help cure a lot of that. However, as a wise man once said, the 
journey of a 1000 miles begins with the smallest step, and that first 
step is the doosey. 

You then write:

> 4. We should eat carbs, no doubt about that. However as far as
> living is concerned a person can live with out any carbs in their
> diet, You cannot live without fat, and you cannot live without
> protein. Your body has the ability to convert fat or protein to
> glucose.

Yes, this is true. Your body can sustain itself on protein and fats 
alone. As a matter of fact, several diets (such as "the Zone" or 
"Atkins") take advantage of this. Your body after being on heavy 
proteins and minimal to no-carbs goes into a ketogenic state. The 
most noticeable effect of this is an immediate loss of 8-14lbs of 
"water weight" within the first two weeks. Yes, for a short period of 
time your body will become a "fat burning machine", but as soon as 
you step off of that ketogenic diet you start putting the weight back 
on. Another, very important and crucial fact you omitted, is staying 
on a super protein/fat diet for a long period of time can do 
perminant kidney damage. That's one of the reasons why people on 
ketogenic diets are advised to drink at least 1-2 gallons of water 
daily. 

I think JJ mentioned Arnold Schwarznegger and the fact that he is on 
kidney dialysis. This is undoubtably a result of years of abuse 
(steroids) and high protein diets. 

> 5. We should get our carbs in the form of fruits, colorful veggies,
> greens etc for the vitamins and cancer fighting ingredients.

I agree with you on this except one thing. I also believe fruits 
should be limited (not excluded) because of the natural sugar 
content. Remember, we're talking about people who are overweight, and 
Dan was using 40%+ as a figure. Diabetic symptoms can occur by 
overdoing it on the sugars, even simple sugars like those found in 
fruits. One or two portions a day of fruits are good for the body 
(vitamins, fiber), but diets such as the "grapefruit diet" should be 
avoided for other problems (total lack of protein, too many simple 
sugars). Veggies on the other hand are very good for you with the 
exception of "heavy veggies" (potatoes) which too much of can be a 
bad thing. 

Leafy greens, squash, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc. are really good 
for you. 

Legumes (beans, peas, etc). are also an excellent source of protein 
and carbs, however I HIGHLY advise anyone who is eating canned beans 
to carefully read the label and find out what they're getting. My 
father-in-law, who is diabetic, got serious blood sugar issues after 
eating kidney beans, and when we looked at the packing ingredients, 
low and behold "packed in sugar", others are packed in cane syrup, 
etc. On ANY canned product you should read the label (BTW, the "Goya" 
brand doesn't seem to have the sugars), and the sugars are a bad 
thing.

You then write:

> 6. Your activity level has a lot to do with how much of each
> category you need.  Also each individual responds differently to
> different diets

Yes. People need to realize diet alone isn't enough. Exercise is 
crucial, and that's probably the single biggest thing that John Q. 
Public is missing.

You write:

> 7. High carbs cause an immediate rapid rise in insulin and causes Glucagon
> to remain the same or actually fall. Many who follow hi carb diets
> experience a drastic energy fall off in a couple of hours and become quite
> hungry , frequently they desire more carnbs (sugar) and when it is not used
> in exercise it convers to fat. The person may starve them selves and still
> gain weight. Other individuals do well on hi carb diets. I for one do better
> with less carbs.

Complex carbs are very bad. This causes that "energy drain". Go out 
and stuff yourself on bread and potatoe salad for lunch and watch how 
productive you are in the afternoon sometime. It's scary.

> 8. High protein diets keep the metabolic rate high, it satisfies the
> appetite and it preserves lean body mass. If followed correctly a high
> protein diet will produce Lower Cholesterol, more HDL, lower triglcerdies,
> reduces (yes reduced) risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure and a
> stable blood sugar level.

But they can cause perminant kidney damage. Protein is good. If 
you're building muscle mass protein is really good. But people need 
to realize that ketogenic diets (such as Atkins) can be dangerous.

> 9 A high fat diet may produce dramatic weight loss but it may also cause a
> decrease in muscle mass, strength and endurance. However fat is essential
> for energy and is essential for  safe health. the zero fat diets that so
> many strive for in the USA is dangerous.

On fats saturated is the biggy to avoid. Natural fats like in nuts (I 
like guacamole) are ok. But high fat diets just cause you to lose 
mostly water weight. Sorry, but any diet where they say "for a snack 
have pork rinds and regular sour cream" (atkins) is wrong.

Going vegetarian is one possible solution, but it's not easy to do 
for most, and without the proper knowledge difficult. Vegan is too 
damn tough for all but the die hardest. And meat eating isn't a bad 
thing either. The best thing is to just go on a well balanced 
nutrious diet and regular exercise.

You do touch on eating at multiple different times, and I want to 
comment on this. You are, of course, correct on this. I see too many 
people who want to lose weight and try to do it by starving 
themselves. YES you need to cut back your intake a little bit, and 
increase your output, BUT cutting down to 800 calories a day only 
sends your body into metabolic shutdown. As a result you'll find it 
almost impossible to lose weight no matter how hard you workout. What 
happens is, as you aluded to, the body "thinks" it's being starved 
and decides to store as much fat as possible. It burns fat and 
converts all calories it can to fat. The problem is that 1g of fat 
produces a hell of a lot of energy, and your metabolism slows down to 
a crawl. Staggering your meals is great, and having "light snacks" 
throughout the day doesn't hurt. However, you can't eat "ding dongs" 
or "little debbies" as the snack, you need to go with something 
healthier like carrots, apple slices (the snack is a great time to 
have the two fruits), maybe some nuts.

Also, another thing is people need to learn to eat slower. The 
stomach takes 15 minutes to tell the brain it's full. If you eat too 
fast (I'm VERY guilty of this) you can stuff yourself to oblivion 
before your tummy says "I'm full". Forcing yourself to eat slower, or 
portion controlling the meals, helps out there..

I could go on and on about this, but I'm rambling and someone is 
supposed to be here in 10 minutes to look at my old drysuit. 

I hope all is well, now let's get back to talking about exercise.. I 
did 29 miles last week, and it was supposed to be an easy week. I'm 
actually starting to worry that I might be overtraining a little bit.

8 miles on Saturday, right in the middle of Paynes Prarie. The funny 
thing was jogging back to the lot around 3 miles away I passed some 
"weekend bikers" who were looking at me like "what the hell are you 
doing out here?".

And of course, M,W,F are my heavy weights days. After weight training 
I did a quick 5 miles on the treadmill. I originally said I was 
going to only do 4, but after mile 3 I decided to go for 4.5, then at 
4 I decided 5, at 5 miles I was thrown off for hogging the treadmill. 
Can you believe how rude some people can be?? ;-)

How about you?

Ken

> 
> 11. You can follow the same type diet as either a veggie or meat eater. If
> you research ot out(non meat manufacture research) you will discover that
> red meat up to three times a week has benefit, but more than 3 times a week
> is additive to cancer and other health related problems. As a meat eater I
> do red meat about two times a week, fish once or twice, and chicken once or
> twice. Various beans, and nuts make up other ways to get protein plus
> supplements. To make this effective you should eat at least 4 times a day or
> as Dan has posted as often as 6 times a day. Sounds funny eat more often and
> enjoy a more stable body weight but it is true. We could write volumes on
> how your body starts into what it sees as starvation after too long a break
> in between meals or when on a low calories diet. It actually produces fat to
> preserve itself under these conditions.
> 
> Ther are a lot of good resources to read on diet and the effects of food on
> the body and the efects of protein, fat and carbs but for most it would be
> prudent to take the trouble to sitdown with a really knowlegdgeable
> professional (most definitely not the average MD, but if you find an MD who
> is into nutrition they are quite often an excellent consultant) and design a
> personal diet. It may change your life style. A good nutrition consultant
> will also insist you workout and will more than likely have you do
> resistance training to build muscle and burn more calories plus a CV program
> for your overall health.
> 
> Tom
 
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