Waist not Weight

[BigDog]

Interesting 20/20 piece this evening. The argument from two doctors (with their new health book, "You on a Diet") ran like this:

Weight is not a predictor of ill health.
Waist line is a predictor of ill health as belly fat is a particular kind of fat.
Belly fat presses on the kidneys raising blood pressure.
Belly fat secretes enzymes that inhibit the production of insulin -> diabetes
and other stuff.

Their plan is getting rid of saturated or transfats, by educating yourself on how they can hide in food ingredient labels.

Eating the same meal for breakfast each day or lunch each day is a predictor of more successful "waist loss".

One of the women patients dropped several waist inches and her cholesterol and blood pressure dropped back into healthy realms.

For food, three meals, three snacks.
Breakfast: Protein shake
Lunch: Salad with chicken breast
Dinner: fish, rice, veggies.
Snacks: Yogurt, popcorn, apples, etc.

Thought you'd like to hear about it...

[kramday]

That is pretty close to what my trainer was telling me. Every few months (or longer if I'm being lazy about it) she takes my measurements. She said something to the effect that your stomach being bigger than your chest is a really dangerous indicator.

I am curious on the meals though. Are they suggesting alternating at all? Or just eating them when you can or are hungry. My current thing is to try and eat every three hours. So breakfast, then a healthy snack three hours later, then lunch, then dinner, then a smaller snack in the evening. By making a more conscious effort to do that, I have been able to fit it into my work schedule. (Well, so far, as it has been eleven days now. )

[Carlo]

Throwing in my 2 cents... Over the years and in training classes (never would have guessed I got certified as a ACE peer fitness trainer a few years ago would you ) the most consistent things I have been told are these.

1) eat less/better and exercise more - this is the biggest part. Increasing your exercise is always a good thing and combine that with educating yourself on what and how you eat. Nota a solve all but its where you start.

2) Spaced out smaller meals are better then a few big meals - I'm guilty here, especially when trying to blend my wife's and my schedule. I used to be bad when I was single too. This is one of the big areas I'm trying to improve.

3) Experiment with your food and find ones that work for you - not everyone can handle shakes and veggies all the time. Educate yourself on the foods you like/can learn to like and find a good mix of what you need.

4) Vary your exercise - this is important for several reasons. First if you only do the same routine all the time your body will get used to it and you will plateau(sp). In my own case unless I have a number of options I get bored as well. Variety keeps you interested and works different body parts. I don't mean just different gym routines either. I mean different activities.

5) This is a personal pet peeve from both the training and medical standpoint. Humans are Omnivores, not Herbivores(sp) or Carnivores(sp). All protein or no carb or all veggie diets are not healthy for you in the long term. The human body needs certain types vit/min/fuel/'stuff'
different sources. Eating red meat is not the problem. Eating carbs is not the problem. Eating too much of any one thing and too much of one thing all the time is a problem. (aka: I hate fad diets, I've seen too many people on them loose weight but look like crap because they screw up their system).

6) Snacks - deadly items. No cure for it we all do it, my best advice, try and keep as many out of the house as possible.

[amerigoV]

4) Vary your exercise - this is important for several reasons. First if you only do the same routine all the time your body will get used to it and you will plateau(sp). In my own case unless I have a number of options I get bored as well. Variety keeps you interested and works different body parts. I don't mean just different gym routines either. I mean different activities.

That was a key item that attracted to me to Karate -- you are always learning something new and pushing yourself to get better. It is very easy to plateau using a "conventional" workout.

[Carlo]

Yes, Thats one of the things I like about the school where I take Krav Maga(sp). They also offer boxing and kickboxing (several levels) so if your getting a bit tired of one you can mix it up to keep it fresh.

[BigDog]

4) Vary your exercise - this is important for several reasons. First if you only do the same routine all the time your body will get used to it and you will plateau(sp). In my own case unless I have a number of options I get bored as well. Variety keeps you interested and works different body parts. I don't mean just different gym routines either. I mean different activities.

That was a key item that attracted to me to Karate -- you are always learning something new and pushing yourself to get better. It is very easy to plateau using a "conventional" workout.

I'm glad I"ve got a basketball group again after a couple years. I find it pushes me to have a good cardiovascular workout that goes over a couple hours, it is stimulating to me competitively, and it is so many motions and skills that I never feel like I'm in a physical rut. Now to get in shape, I need to play 3-4 times a week, but there just isn't time for that. I'll fill in with running for now.

Yea, getting rid of the snacks, not eating in my car, deciding what I'll eat before we go out somewhere (so I don't go with my impulse and get something bad for me).

The point they made was just that statistically people who eat the same (good) meals every day, must mentally be attuned to that level of monotony, but they do better reducing "waist"

[Carlo]

To me that 'monotony level' is a risk/benift thing. You can train yourself to eat a specific diet yes, the question is what your personnal needs are. For me, I could make myself eat 'very healthy' but then I think I would loose some of the enjoyment of life by having to cut out almost all of the foods I like to eat (I'm Italian, I require pasta and tomato sauce on a regular basis ). Thats one reason I'm not a fan of canned diets.

I think Big Dog has the right idea. Cut out the snacks, if you do snack, eat better snacks, don't eat on impluse or in combo with certain activities (ie: smokers who quite tend to crave a smoke with a beer).

You need to look at what your overall goal is and what your base health level is. If you never did anything physical in your life and eat like a garbage truck then you will have more serious changes in your routine then someone who has a good base and is looking to shed a 'few' pounds or improve their level of fitness.

moderation and activity plus variety plus regular progress reviews.