
What I Have Learned About Health and Fitness - kilian
http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/2010/03/01/trainer-tells-all-what-i-have-learned-about-health-and-fitness/
======
malbs
I pretty much agree with everything that guy says.

Thought I'd just chime in with some personal experience here. I'd let myself
get to a pretty sorry state, top end 118 kg. I basically said enough was
enough, and got my bike out of the shed and started riding to work - a breezy
downhill 10 minute ride in to work, a more difficult 30 minute climb home.

So, last week of September 2009, my 33rd Birthday, 118 kg. Right now, 16th of
March, 96.6 kg.

Basically I do about 30 minutes cycling 5 days a week (work commute). And
maybe 1 - 2 hours of "liesure" riding on a Saturday or Sunday (~50km
distance).

In terms of working out - I don't go to a gym, and never will. I do pushups
(close hands, wide hands), squats (varying on weights in hands/arm positions),
pullups, and I bought a 1.5m piece of latex rubber that I throw around a pole
and pretend I'm on a rowing machine. I work out for 30 - 40 minutes, 2 - 3
times a week.

I gave up drinking beer _every_ day. And I might have a couple over a weekend.
I still have pizza and chocolate bars, but I limit the intake of said items. I
also started practising intermitten fasting (Basically you have dinner on the
thursday night, and on the friday you skip breakfast and lunch, and eat dinner
again on Friday night)

Here's a chart for the last few months of weight loss:
<http://www.arcturus.com.au/weight_trend_%28kgs%29.png>

The only thing that I can suggest to you, is, that whatever you choose to do,
you have to enjoy it, it must NOT be a chore, and you need to keep doing it
indefinitely. Going to the gym was definitely OUT as far as meeting those
goals, but getting up before my kids, and spending 30 minutes doing
calisthenics, 2 or 3 times a week? I can do that for the rest of my life.

ps I hate to run.

~~~
happenstance
Would love to bicycle to work. Here in the USA, _very_ few people do so
because (A) there's almost no room on the road and (B) motorists are almost
always in a big hurry and not paying attention to anything except lights,
police, and other cars.

I lived near a university once where there were some bike paths and it was
really great.

~~~
malbs
I ride with a constant fear that someone driving a car while sms'ing (or
twittering?) their friends while driving will be the end of me.

------
kilian
"The eat low-fat advice was the biggest health disaster in the last 30 years"

Literally everywhere I look this appears. Research (that I've seen) has been
ridiculously supportive of this, and I find myself edging towards primal more
and more (cutting out grains and sugar whenever I can) but I still can't
believe why this whole anti-fat movement came about. It can't be _all_
politics, can it?

~~~
sliverstorm
It's not _all_ politics. What I've read so far says it happened because
scientists figured out how to measure blood cholesterol, and learned that fats
increased it. That was (iirc) the core of the 'health disaster'.

~~~
pasbesoin
In an organic chemistry class in '85, a (admittedly fairly bright and clued
in) professor described to us that while people were worrying about saturated
fats, research was starting to show that partially hydrogenated oils (aka
"trans fats") might well pose a much larger health risk.

It only took 20 years to work its way into the public/popular media. (In the
meantime, a lot of margarine was sold -- and a lot of angioplasties and
bypasses.)

Running was supposed to destroy one's joints. Now, we learn that when it is
not overdone (too much in too short a period of time or with too little prior
conditioning), it actually strengthens joints.

I've become increasingly skeptical of new health effect claims, particularly
when they aren't backed up by detailed, specific (to the aspect of health
under consideration), and longitudinally significant evidence.

(Oh, and remember when vitamin D was considered one of the less significant
vitamins (once you had enough in your diet to prevent rickets)?)

[Meta: Sigh, I have indeed become that "grumpy old man".]

~~~
jerf
[Meta: Sigh, I have indeed become that "grumpy old man".]

I don't know. Assuming you went through the normal college course straight out
of high school I'm ~12 years younger than you but I've been coming around to
the same conclusions. Personally I think between the internet and some other
things it's just that we're getting the data now that says that we need to
tune our trust of science down a bit. I still think it's the best way of
learning there is, it just isn't as powerful in practice as we'd like.

I remember thinking in the 1990s that as I read about the history of various
sciences, the only fields where the dominant consensus didn't spend long
periods of time being dead wrong were fields too young to _have_ a dominant
consensus. (Perhaps not in those words at the time, but along those lines.) I
recall seeing the casual assumption that all that stuff was in the past, and
wondered what major sciences were actively wrong. It turns out that in fact
they weren't all exactly right and indeed I think that some entire major
fields were wrong at the time.

(Bringing up the interesting question of who is wrong today? Back then I could
mouth the words but hadn't really internalized the idea, but now I seriously
wonder, who is wrong today in a way that I don't even suspect? The odds of it
being "nobody" are basically zero.)

~~~
whatusername
"we need to tune our trust of science down a bit"

Science != popular reporting/understanding of science.

But the point about some of our understanding being wrong is right on the
money.

~~~
jerf
I am not talking about popular reporting of science. I am talking about
science.

Recently a paper went by on how something like 90% of medical studies are not
able to be replicated in follow-up studies. If you really understand science
_qua_ science (as opposed to science-as-religion-substitute), you should
understand this isn't a minor interesting tidbit to be discarded, this is a
dagger to the heart of the field. Other fields seem to be having similar
problems.

I reiterate, science is still the best we've got and I don't anticipate a
replacement. But the evidence strongly suggests that the quality of the real
science being done is a lot lower than it may appear at first glance, or what
some people would have you believe.

~~~
jerf
Coincidentally, this just came up:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1199230> It is almost exactly what I
mean. Unfortunately, if the results are sufficiently bad there's actually no
salvaging the science; meta-analysis can improve things but still requires
good data to start with.

------
stse
There's some good things and some bad in this post, but because he doesn't
back things up it's basically just a list of opinions. That's what causing the
problems in the first place, people relaying on catchy one liners instead of
doing the basics right.

~~~
sili
I think a lot of his points follow the back-to-the-basics line. Especially
that simple running and push-ups at home can be a better step towards health
than joining a gym. I eventually got tired of paying hundreds in gym fees and
havin go find at least an hour a day to go to one. All that only made me slack
off. So made a decision to simpply a few miles each day. Right out of my
office door with no excusses.

~~~
stse
Some people likes the routine of going to the gym, others rather do something
at home. Whatever works for the moment and keeps you enjoying it is great.

What I mean by doing the basics right is that if you're out of shape, there's
no need to be guinea pig.

Eat or drink less of stuff that has too much or too quick energy i.e. fat and
sugar. Avoid too much alcohol. Eat normal amounts of protein and carbohydrate
with high GI and drink water, keeping you from having cravings. Exercise both
anaerobically and aerobically, with warm-up and stretching. Get enough rest.
Do it all regularly and measure the progress.

~~~
daveungerer
_Eat normal amounts ... of carbohydrate with high GI..._

You can't call that getting the basics right, as if it's some well established
fact. Citation needed.

EDIT: The modern diet, with all its refined white flour, has a much higher GI
than in the past. (White flour has a much higher GI than fruits and vegtables,
for a start). What do you think is responsible for the rising diabetes
epidemic?

~~~
stse
I'm sorry, I of course meant _low_ GI. Which is in line with _"less of stuff
that has [...] too quick energy"_ and _"keeping you from having cravings"_ ,
i.e. keeping your blood sugars stable. But I didn't write that, so good of you
to call me out on it!

~~~
daveungerer
Yeah I should have figured. Just didn't want anyone who didn't know the
meaning of High GI to form an incorrect impression.

------
teye
_Diet is 85% of where results come from…..for muscle and fat loss. Many don’t
focus here enough._

I'm blown away by friends and acquaintances who put so much effort into
exercise and are unwilling to change their diet. Cutting out sugar and flour,
for example, will lead to greater weight loss than jogging an hour a day (for
the average American male).

Average caloric intake from sweeteners alone: 152.4 lbs/yr / 365 days/yr *
453.6 g/lb * 4 calories/g = 757 calories

Average calories burned in an hour of jogging for an average-weight male: 728
calories

<http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf>
<http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/sm00109>

------
yesimahuman
IMO more people should lift weights and listen to what bodybuilders have to
say about health and fitness. They know the ins and outs of "building" the
body, yet everyone looks at them with disgust. Listen to their advice and
understand that you will never look that way unless you have good muscle
building genes and you deliberately work to attain that physique.

~~~
stse
Most people don't want nor need to train and look like a bodybuilder.
Bodybuilders do things that might be great for aesthetics, but not always
necessarily straight forward nor healthy for the beginner. If you feel that
you are at a decent level of fitness and want to take it to the next level, I
would first look at the strength and conditioning programs of "normal"
athletes.

~~~
bricestacey
Most "normal" athletes simply live a lifestyle unbeknownst to them. It's just
"natural" to be that way. Any bodybuilder has had to actively shape their
appearance, which is the ultimate test for anyone actively wishing to modify
their fitness or appearance.

------
jplewicke
I think the most important thing you can do to make exercise a persistent part
of your life is to make it a social activity. At this point, I don't run to
stay fit. I do it because it's a great way to hang out with my friends while
doing something fun. Physical activity doesn't have to be medicalized or
mandatory -- it's actually much more enjoyable as an activity you share with
others. Going for a comfortable run with a few friends or going rock climbing
with a buddy is addictively fun -- I just wish I had the time to meet up for
it daily instead of only 1-3 times per week.

If you're in Boston and thinking about starting to run, I've had a great time
running with The Most Informal Running Club Ever on Saturday mornings --
<http://informalrunning.com> . Nothing beats getting together with 30-60 new
and old friends, running by the Charles at a distance and pace of your
choosing, and then hanging out with them all for a potluck breakfast.

Our culture for some reason thinks exercise is prescription medicine that
should be taken in secret. It turns out that exercise is just like food --
best enjoyed in a convivial group.

~~~
dkarl
Making it social is very effective. People who have a history of giving up on
exercise often find that it's much harder to let other people down than to let
themselves down.

Being social enough to benefit from this idea but not social enough to enjoy
making smalltalk with a bunch of strangers, I never liked the club idea. For
those who are less social like me, competitive amateur sports leagues that are
segregated by ability and age are a nice alternative. Typically, facility
access requires games to be strictly scheduled, ensuring that people play
instead of chatting. The competitive aspect ensures a good workout, and there
are options to play as an individual (singles tennis and racquetball) or as
part of a team (softball, soccer, basketball.)

Team sport leagues usually provide some way of signing up as an individual.
Either they'll place individuals with teams who need players, or they'll
create "house" teams made entirely of people who signed up as individuals. You
might be embarrassingly bad, but you probably won't be the worst. If you're
playing in the lowest skill level for your age, nobody can really complain --
if they want better teammates, they should "level up" and play in a higher
category.

------
mootothemax
I think lots of people have lost basic common sense when it comes to fitness
and health.

I got used to my colleagues complaining about how much I ate, somehow I
deserved to be fat and yet wasn't.

Now, I _hate_ walking with a passion, can't stand it. After ten years of
living in London I'd also got rather bored of taking the tube everywhere. So I
cycled everywhere: my daily commute, going out socialising, visiting friends,
going to get the shopping and so on. So I was getting - as a minimum - 30
minutes of healthy exercise 5 days a week. At the weekend, sometimes I'd go
for a cycle, but pretty much well only if I was going to meet someone, so
again it was pretty short, maybe 10 minutes in each direction.

Then a colleague started to copy me. Guess what? Taking exercise - no matter
if it's only 20 minutes - that often really works. Stop going to the gym for
hours at a time, just spend 20 minutes working out somewhere every day and
you'll be able to eat what you want and make other people jealous ;-)

------
jamesbressi
I cannot agree more about skipping breakfast. Skip breakfast = lost weight +
less cravings.

Let me add to this list: STOP drinking anything but water past 9a.m. -- coffee
until 9a.m. & martinis or wine occasionally at night are fine though ;)

Avoid eating low-fat anything and diet anything.

~~~
acgourley
Why not? Caffeine works more efficiently when taken in more frequent and
smaller doses. Furthermore constantly taking in caffeine will suppress hunger.
If you're concerned about the sugar in many drinks, you should call that out.

~~~
jamesbressi
Water works the same as you mention about caffeine without any side effects or
potential thereof: energy leveler and producer + appetite suppressant.

I'm not calling sugar out what-so-ever. I said avoid diet and low-fat
anything... normally things are low fat and diet because they have a sugar
substitute. Maybe you missed that? What I was calling out is stay away from
artificial.

------
bigboss23
Sorry dude you are totally wrong. Bodybuilders are not natural. It is
impossible to achieve even 20% of the mass that they have accumulated
naturally. Being in the industry and meeting/knowing numerous professional
bodybuilders the reality is JUICE. Natural growth is a rare phenomenon unless
you are deficient in myostatin. Or first time weight lifters can achieve
noticeable increases in mass but the drop off rate is huge and maintenance is
nearly impossible. Every physical body that you see and say ohh man I wish I
looked like that is probably a product of steroid use.I'm not talking about
Brad Pitt in fight club because thats just a function of low bodyfat (even
then he could have took a cutter like winstrol or anavar, who knows with
hollywood. Go talk to the 300 cast about juice) The silly thing is a lot of
people do not know they may have used steroids. For the past 12-15 years many
supplements marked as pro-hormones (think andro, poor mark mcgwire) were sold
as legal products and once the slow ass FDA catches on it gets added to the
wonderful reference book of anabolic steroids. Many legal supplements are
still in the pipeline and on their way over to the illegal garbage bin.
Another reason why following bodybuilders is pointless b/c the workouts they
throw in Flex magazine are too difficult and can result in over-training for
the average/normal person.

ultimately its about incentives. The fitness industry is a SHAM. Most
supplements will not work unless they are some form of endogenous test.
Creatine what a joke.

At the end of all this I am not promoting living a non-healthy life style.
There are wonderful benefits to moderate cardio and low calorie diets.

I can go on and on and on. But I just hate not having the truth out there and
the whole world fooled.

Lyle mcdonald at www.bodyrecomposition.com is the real deal. The guy has great
advice and he is a no nonsense dude. The only thing we disagree on is natural
growth. I feel as if his assumptions for growth are too high.
www.steroidology.com is another great site for users and non. I work with a
few natural folks and some add 20 lbs but it is not that noticeable (b/c its
never pure lean body mass). The only way to naturally mimic roid effects is
through protein timing which has a 1% success rate.

Reality is, what you want to look like is impossible. If you want to shed 20
lbs of fat sure thats doable naturally but achieving a sick looking fitness
cover body requires 250 mgs of test to the upper right glute area twice a
week. Good luck folks.

~~~
bgnm2000
"Every physical body that you see and say ohh man I wish I looked like that is
probably a product of steroid use"

This is absolutely insane. I've been bodybuilding for 10 years. I workout 9
times a week. I have a crazy strict diet. I have abs, and consider myself
someone with a good amount of mass. Spending this much time in the gym, I know
plenty of people like myself. To say "they're all on roids" is something a
lazy person would say as a reason why they can't accomplish that. I've never
taken roids and I never plan to.

Nutrition, weight gain/loss, is all science. Roids are not needed. It's just
hard work and commitment - something most people do not have.

------
fsniper
I pretty much agree with everything he says too. But the most important one
liner he tells is "All diets fail over the long run….but lifestyle changes
last". I was 115 kg or over 5 months ago and now I'm 85 or lower (170cm
height).

Just lowered my daily meal sizes and unsafe food intake (like fries or rice).
I still eat chocolate or deserts. But rarely and not much. I do still eat
chips but few. Doing daily 30-45 minutes of home exercises.. I'm still
overweight but with this life style I will not be for longer.. I really like
the dialogue of Mr.Hel's and Mr.Diamonds from Travenian's Shibumi: "You don't
drink, Mr. Hel? he asked. But I do, as you see. It is only that I don't find
two sips of wine more delicious than one..."

Looking to your wardrobe and finding your clothes are not wearable because
they are too big is priceless!

------
Mc_Big_G
_Eating 6x a day provides no metabolic advantage for losing weight than 2-3x a
day…it’s still about calories and blood sugar/insulin control_

I totally disagree with this one. I've used this technique in the past and
just started using it again with good results. I have not started eating less,
I just break each meal into 2 parts and eat them 2 hours apart. So, instead of
over-eating and sometimes feeling really full, I feel "just right" alll day. I
have also noticed that I don't get those wild cravings for something to eat,
which usually results in a bag of cookies from a machine. I've also lost 4
pounds since I broke up my meals.

~~~
corruption
As usual, lifestyle guidelines only apply to the portion of the population
that the author is from.

There is growing evidence that genetic regulation of satiety is quite strong,
and therefore people with a worse genetic profile may benefit from an increase
in meals.

There are also many potential benefits to increasing eating frequency to those
predisposed to poor blood glucose control, which we know _is_ highly genetic.

------
acgourley
I feel like I've seen pretty good evidence against a few of his points. I wish
he provided more qualification and references. It makes me not want to trust
anything else he says.

~~~
zackattack
When you don't back up YOUR claim (which sounds like anecdotal evidence from a
non-professional) it makes me not want to trust anything YOU say.

------
ledger123
"Diet is 85% of where results come from"

I thank Michael Pollan for a simple and motivational advice which works. He is
a must read for anyone concerned with diet.

------
known
Drink lots of hot water instead of Coke/Pepsi.

~~~
sdevlin
Why _hot_ water? And how hot?

~~~
known
Drinking hot water

    
    
        will prevent chronic diseases
        help digestion system    

And drink hot water as many times as possible.

------
ericsessions
Sounds a lot like what CrossFit teaches.

------
zackattack
Yeah, pushups are definitely a miracle upper body workout. I wonder if there
is an equivalent for legs??

~~~
malbs
squats. standard, hindu, with extra weight, without extra weight, squats with
raised arms, squats with arms in a Y shape.

squats squats squats.

I try and do at 3x50 sets for 150 squats 2 - 3 times a week. Basically first
set of 50 is without weights, second set of 50 is with 10 kilos of weight
plates in my hands. 3rd set of 50 is with 20kg of weight plates in my hands.
The 3rd set hurt.

------
danbmil99
why the f would anyone want to look like a bodybuilder? I care about _health_
, not cheesy looks

------
marknutter
_insert obligatory complaint about the relevancy of this article on HN_

~~~
henrikschroder
Think of it as hacking your body. Think of it as a long-running science
experiment where you are your own test subject, and where you can measure and
graph your progress every day, where you can test hypotheses and see their
result, etc.

------
iskander
>If you eat whole foods that have been around for 1000s of years, you probably
don’t have to worry about counting calories

Total rubbish. Calories are calories. I have a picky palate (I like things
this person might call "whole foods"), but I eat too much. Hence, a belly.

~~~
jodrellblank
Not total rubbish and calories aren't calories.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM>

Fructose, sucrose, ethanol, metabolised differently to glucose and via
pathways which cause increased energy storage as fat, decreased ability to
sense fullness and stop eating, decreased ability to release energy from fat
and use it, and more unpleasant byproducts.

You eat the wrong things, hence you don't feel full as you should, hence you
eat too much, hence a belly. (Maybe).

