Don't do this...

A place to discuss health and fitness, healthy diets. A fit body makes for a fit mind.
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Ben
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Don't do this...

Post by Ben »

Hi all

I've decided to add the newspaper article as a caution against those of you who may want radical weight loss as portrayed on programs like "The Biggest Loser". The program being talked about in the following article, is Australia's version of the program. If any of you are desirous of radical weight loss - discuss it with your doctor or dietitian.
kind regards

Ben
GROSSLY overweight, out of condition and addicted to junk food. This year's Biggest Loser contestants were a sorry bunch when their weight loss ''journey'' began screening a fortnight ago. Many tipped the scales at more than 170 kilograms.

Now, just weeks after taking up exercise, participants in Channel Ten's hit weight loss show are preparing for a marathon.

In a move that has horrified sports physicians, contestants will tackle the gruelling 42 kilometre road race after only 11 weeks of training.

This man wants to be the biggest loser: http://www.theage.com.au/national/this- ... -nyiu.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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Guy
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Guy »

Although their intentions are good (the contestants) it is unfortunate that these people are willingly being used like circus animals by the TV producers presumably for ratings.
Four types of letting go:

1) Giving; expecting nothing back in return
2) Throwing things away
3) Contentment; wanting to be here, not wanting to be anywhere else
4) "Teflon Mind"; having a mind which doesn't accumulate things

- Ajahn Brahm
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Ben
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Ben »

Hi Guy
I couldn't agree more. I confess to having watched one or two episodes of the original US series when it first came out. I stopped because I noticed within myself voyeurism and shaudenfreude manifesting.
kind regards

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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Cittasanto
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Cittasanto »

not very PC this but at least in the old fashioned freak shows they knew what they were there for (and got paid.)
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He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
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Kim OHara
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Kim OHara »

Manapa wrote:not very PC this but at least in the old fashioned freak shows they knew what they were there for (and got paid.)
I really don't think anything has changed, then.
:juggling:
... Except that these people do presumably have options for alternative employment, which means they have a bit more freedom.
Really, 'Reality TV' ought to be on the list of classic oxymorons, with 'military intelligence' and 'economic rationalism'.
:stirthepot:

Kim
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Try to put down the entire burden of the five aggregates, not just a few kilos.
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Ben
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Ben »

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:Try to put down the entire burden of the five aggregates, not just a few kilos.
Wise words indeed Bhante. But for many of us, our motivation for physical wellbeing maybe so that we can continue to walk on the path for as long as possible during this rare human rebirth.
metta

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
Mawkish1983
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Mawkish1983 »

At this stage, unfortunately, for me it's just about a fear of death. Here's hoping I get over that soon :)
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Butrfly_Nirvana
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Butrfly_Nirvana »

I don't know about the rest of you here, but for me since learning and being mindful in applying the Middle Path, I have actually found myself not over eating, or eating junk. Mainly because I'm seeing it as cravings, that cause suffering...the result? I'm now in my 8th month of pregnancy and have only put on 10 pounds! :) I am eating really healthy and paying attention to serving sizes. I don't miss the junk, and while others are amazed by this, it just makes sense.

I feel bad for the people on these shows because obviously something is not right within their lives/selves besides the numbers on the scales. I think that if they were to instead be shown the lessons Buddha taught they could find the same comfort we have, and in effect apply it and see even more lasting results. Just my two cents.
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Ben
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Ben »

Nice observation BN.
No doubt, obesity is just a symptom of a much deeper problem.
kind regards

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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baratgab
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by baratgab »

Butrfly_Nirvana wrote:I feel bad for the people on these shows because obviously something is not right within their lives/selves besides the numbers on the scales. I think that if they were to instead be shown the lessons Buddha taught they could find the same comfort we have, and in effect apply it and see even more lasting results. Just my two cents.
The sad thing is that, apart from the extreme cases, it's not that much about overeating, but about a wrong cultural conditioning regarding what to eat and in what ratio. :( In almost all of the recent traditional cultures, in the past 10 000 years or more, people lived on mostly starches (like grains and potato), vegetables and fruits, and they didn't have any problem with obesity; or with any other ills of civilization, for that matter. Even today this can be (and has been) verified in the rural areas of the eastern countries.

The metabolic pathway of transforming carbohydrates into fat is called "de novo lipogenesis", and it doesn't work well in humans. We tend to burn the extra calories from carbohydrates with the process of thermogenesis, that is, as body heat. On the other hand, fat can be readily stored by the body as fat. And there is a conflict between carbohydrates and fats. Since carbohydrate is the preferred energy source of the body, the presence of sugars and starches in the diet prevents the usage of the fat depositories, and at the same time encourages the deposition of dietary fat in the fatty tissue. The main agent of this process is insulin, which is also the main agent in the carbohydrate metabolism. This is the half-truth basis for the low-carb diets like the Atkins. But the truth is that the macronutrient what people should reduce in the diet is not carbohydrate, but fat. We have very little actual fat-requirements in adulthood, and it is just for omega-6 and omega-3 fats, like the omega-3 fat ALA, which can be converted by the body to EPA and DHA (though, the current excess consumption of omega-6 fats, i.e. as vegetable oils, hinders this metabolic pathway).

Basically, if one follows a carbohydrates-based diet, there is no need to limit the food-intake or to do strenuous exercises just for the sake of keeping a healthy body weight. The problem with the "low-fat" diet is that they are usually not "low-fat" at all, due to the culturally conditioned inclusion of heaps and heaps of animal-based foods and refined fatty products, like margarine and vegetable oils. Most (staple) unprocessed plant-based foods have naturally low fat content, and a lot of fiber, resulting in less calorie-density.

According to my best understanding, the science is already pretty clear on this subject, backed up with not just theoretical knowledge, but also with epidemiological studies and controlled experiments. There are some minor conflicting organizations, like the Atkins group, the Weston Price Foundation and some interest-groups of the big-businesses (i.e. Center for Consumer Freedom). But the main issue is that nutrition, burdened with habits and consumerism, is a huge boat that needs a lot of time to change direction. Even with the tobacco case, we needed several decades to get from the "advertisements with doctors" state to the "banned in public places and sold with warnings" state. Meanwhile, people suffer, and often blame themselves needlessly.
"Just as in the great ocean there is but one taste — the taste of salt — so in this Doctrine and Discipline there is but one taste — the taste of freedom"
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Pax
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Pax »

baratgab - very interesting post, I'll have to do some more reading...thank you.
alan
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by alan »

Oh my. Baratgab's post is so distressingly inaccurate I just want to run out of the room and scream.
Look up thermogenesis on Google. Investigate for yourself the different fats.
Most (fat) Americans follow a high carb diet, it is the bane of modern culture.
Sorry to be abrupt, it would be better to go point-by-point with a counter argument, but I'm not sure anyone cares enough to read it.
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baratgab
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by baratgab »

Pax wrote:baratgab - very interesting post, I'll have to do some more reading...thank you.
I think it's a very good idea to research this subject; there are much to learn and earn, especially if you are interested in the ethical and environmental aspects too. By the way, if you have some heart problems or type-2 diabetes, I can suggest some specific sources about dietary ways to arrest and reverse them; in matter of months in the first case, and, I think, in matter of weeks in the second case. Biologically plausible explanations and supporting scientific literature given; used by practicing physicians on real patients with success; can be tried out without any dangers, and there are no drugs or any other "wonder" products to buy. Feel free to PM me. :smile:

Though, it bears to mention, again (especially after seeing alan's post), that there are views on nutrition that are almost completely opposed to my view (and incidentally, to many universally accepted scientific theories too). I can't really comment on the Atkins and Weston folks, and I won't argue with or about them. I believe it is up to each individual to find out where is the validity. This is like the Theravada/Mahayana/Vajrayana thing in Buddhism; or maybe a much valid parallel is the issue of climate change vs. climate skeptics. :smile:
Last edited by baratgab on Sun Feb 14, 2010 4:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Just as in the great ocean there is but one taste — the taste of salt — so in this Doctrine and Discipline there is but one taste — the taste of freedom"
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Butrfly_Nirvana
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Re: Don't do this...

Post by Butrfly_Nirvana »

While I am certain there are 'baseline' rules/guidelines for human nutrition, don't forget that each person may have different needs or requirements. Not all women are pregnant, not all people have heart conditions or diabetes, and so on. So basically it should be encouraged that every person research what is the basic guidelines for eating healthy, add in to that mix whatever specific needs or concerns they personally have, and then select the best method/style/diet/etc that works for them, and of course, do it in accordance to the Middle Path (in other words don't beat yourself up for an 'off' day that included two slices of pie instead of one!). :)
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