

Learning to Eat Well and Stay Healthy - stock_toaster
http://howtoeatandlive.com/2012/01/learning-to-eat-well-and-stay-healthy/

======
b3b0p
These health posts never turn out good. It always ends up with hackers/geeks
arguing how to eat, lose weight, be healthy, etc and so forth. No one agrees.
There is too much arguing about what is right, wrong, can't be done, you have
to eat this... as if nothing is safe to eat now.

Anyway, I don't want to argue or comment that certain foods are evil, carbs
are bad and should be avoided, or about anything what Gary Taubes said or
published. Everyone is different and different things work for different
people. That said, I would like to link a very good post on Reddit with a list
of studies that I think people should peruse and possibly reference for the
future.

[http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/nv8ip/do_you_have_a...](http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/nv8ip/do_you_have_any_bookmarks_to_pubmedscientific/c3c904n)

Some highlights that might be of interest and relevance to the OP and
comments:

\---

Calories

Detailed explanation of how calorie counts are derived, analysis of whether
low-carb/high-protein diets can provide a metabolic advantage.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8561057>

"We conclude that a calorie is a calorie."

Similar weight loss with low- or high- carbohydrate diets.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671>

"The results of this study showed that it was energy intake, not nutrient
composition, that determined weight loss in response to low-energy diets over
a short time period."

Energy intake required to maintain body weight is not affected by wide
variation in diet composition.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1734671>

"Even with extreme changes in the fat-carbohydrate ratio (fat energy varied
from 0% to 70% of total intake), there was no detectable evidence of
significant variation in energy need as a function of percentage fat intake."

Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for
weight loss.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025815>

"This study showed that independently of the method for weight loss, the
negative energy balance alone is responsible for weight reduction."

\---

Carb Timing:

 _Greater Weight Loss and Hormonal Changes After 6 Months Diet With
Carbohydrates Eaten Mostly at Dinner_

[http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby2011...](http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby201148a.html)

\---

Fructose

 _The bitter truth about fructose alarmism_

[http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-
ab...](http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-
fructose-alarmism/)

 _Debunking Lustig and the fear of fructose. Health implications of fructose
consumption: A review of recent data. No relevant data accounting for a direct
link of moderate fructose and health risk markers._

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21050460>

\---

Glycemic Index

 _There are large problems with isolating foods cased on the glycemic
index/load. First, food is rarely eaten in an isolated way. Fat, protein,
fiber count, etc. will all slow down digestion. Second, there is evidence to
support that it doesn't even make a difference in weight or blood markers._

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17413101>

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20504977>

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16629877>

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17923862>

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17823436>

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16177201>

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12458971>

\---

Vegetarians

 _Vegetarians have a reduced skeletal muscle carnitine transport capacity.
Vegetarians have reduced muscle carnitine transport capacity . Carnitine helps
fat burning and build bone._

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21753065>

\---

(I hope I did this right so it's formatted in a legible way.)

Edit: formatting and added a couple more links.

~~~
shralpmeister
Actually this post exemplifies the problem by hijacking an otherwise helpful
thread with a crapload of handpicked pubmed citations.

~~~
b3b0p
Good point, I didn't mean that at all. I was looking over all the comments and
remembered what these types of posts turn into. I had no intention to hi-jack
anything. Noted for future postings as something to consider.

------
hmottestad
I'll be looking forward to hearing updates.

I used to live next to a rehab center here in Norway. They used to take in a
lot of traffic accident victims, but had recently started taking in obese
people.

Their focus was on making permanent changes to their day to day routine.
Reintroduce the home cooked meal with plenty of vegetables and little fat.
Getting away from the processed foods and especially sugar contents. I
remember on an open presentation I attended that they explained how a packet
of cookies contained as much energy as an entire dinner, and if you ate it
quick enough almost all of it would simply go to fat storage because you
couldn't possibly use all that energy fast enough unless you were running the
entire time.

They said the key to weight loss is not to focus on the weight loss but rather
on permanent changes to your diet and lifestyle. Make vegetables, salads and
fiber the norm, not the exception. But this usually requires managing the rest
of your life better. All it takes is a tough week at work for you to go back
to frozen pizza and soda, and never turn back.

------
mark_l_watson
Summary: the kind of food matters. Avoid processed foods and too many carbs.

My family switched to a Pescetarian diet (vegetarian, but with some seafood).
Even _totally_ enjoying my food, I started to lose more weight than I wanted
to so I added a fourth meal most days and my weight stabilized where I want it
(I am 6'4" tall, and my preferred weight is 200 pounds).

Also, I personally love carbs: I eat lots of cauliflower, carrots, some pasta
and whole wheat bread. It is a matter of seeing what diet works for you as an
individual.

------
mcargian
_I don’t eat much of any refined foods anymore, few if any carbs (bread,
pasta, cake, bagels, etc), and lots of good quality meat, seafood, and
vegetables._

This is the what I did as well, dropped 25 pounds from 200 to 175 over a few
months. And gained 5 back when I started eating more breads again.

I'm not sure what new topics are going to be covered as the evils of refined
foods and bad carbohydrates have been rehashed since _The Zone_ almost 20
years ago, but I'm glad to see Jeremy reiterating the success he had for
others to follow. I'd be curious if there will be a section on stamina - I
still crave my evil carbos at the holidays.

~~~
jerf
One possible topic, which I may be reading in since it's on my mind, is the
well-known "problem" with sticking with lower carb diets. I've been ruminating
a post on the topic myself, but the core is that it comes down to two basic
problems: One, willpower, since we're surrounded by terrible, yet yummy food,
all the time, and two, flavor. It is occasionally mumbled, instead of yelled
loudly as it should be, that if you want to eat healthy on the long term it
isn't just a matter of cutting out something, you need to be _happy_ with the
food. And in particular, "The Standard American Diet - carbohydrates" isn't a
very pleasing diet. It's very easy for it to become monotonous and feel
restrictive.

But I'd submit that's an indictment against the standard diet, not the "-
carbs". It's taken me a while to work out how to deal with the correct diet
longterm, but it has involved using a lot more oils (sesame, olive, etc), more
butter, more oriental ingredients, and learning a lot more about French
cooking. And you have to erase the last vestiges of the false idea that fat is
bad, and realize that _low-fat_ is bad and is the fad diet, and it should be
entirely stomped out of your dietary plans. Now I don't have problems eating
properly for years without backsliding; as tempting as the carbs can be, they
just aren't as good as what I'm making myself. They're a hollow pleasure.

~~~
phillmv
Sigh.

It makes me sad to read all of these posts because, without any exaggeration,
I find bread to be one of the best pleasures in life, and living off
sandwiches means it constitutes a fair amount of my diet.

If only living healthily didn't involve so much work, like actually learning
how to take care of yourself, i.e. cooking, exercising regularly, etc.

~~~
dualogy
If only, if only! Well good news for you, 99% of the work has been done by
others, by decades of validating or falsifying theories and suspicions,
measuring anything from calories to hormonal changes, all the combinations of
various exercise levels and diet etc. and so on and so forth.

Now all _you_ have to do is decide whether the quality-of-life for your next
few decades is worth the trouble of doing a bit of reading, such as half an
hour a day for a few weeks or so... and trying the game challenge of seeing if
and how much you can affect change in your home-grown lifestyle habits, you
know, just for kicks.

------
jjm
I went nutritarian after checking out "Eat to Live". Starting at the same time
as Jeremy and odly enough weighing the same as him but now weigh 159. After a
while you lose the need or taste to eat refined flour, dairy, and lots of
meat.

It's not a diet, but a life style change. I recommend it to anyone willing to
try it.

------
gibsonf1
A great book for getting into the science behind not eating flour/sugar/rice
is "Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of
Diet and Health" by Gary Taubes. After reading it I completely changed my diet
and only wish I could have known earlier.

~~~
yummyfajitas
Here are 15 studies showing that diet composition doesn't matter much and the
most important thing is calories in/calories out.

[http://examine.com/faq/what-should-i-eat-for-weight-
loss.htm...](http://examine.com/faq/what-should-i-eat-for-weight-loss.html)

Here is a detailed debunking of Taubes science.

[http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-h...](http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-
hypothesis-of-obesity.html)

The only known benefit of a low carb diet is that some people are more willing
to stick to it than other types of diets.

~~~
valuegram
I've trained and assisted 100s of people with fitness and nutrition. This is
flat out wrong. I have yet to see any recent credible research that says all
calories are equal. It is a fact that hormonal response varies widely based on
where that calorie is coming from.

Out of curiousity I clicked on one of the articles you linked to: "...during a
6-wk period of hospitalization. Consequently, 43 adult, obese persons were
randomly assigned to receive diets containing 4.2 MJ/d (1000 kcal/d) composed
of either 32% protein, 15% carbohydrate, and 53% fat, or 29% protein, 45%
carbohydrate, and 26% fat."

A 6-week period with only 43 participants? ...how does this get published?

~~~
astral303
Did you peruse the summary only or actually look at the study?
<http://www.ajcn.org/content/63/2/174.full.pdf> 6 weeks in a hospitalized
environment with a consistent daily diet as measured/provided by the
researchers, with a 14-hr fast before and after the 6 weeks. There are
statistically significant correlations for some variables and insignificant
for others. If the half of 43 participants was all over the map, then I'm sure
it wouldn't have passed muster.

I'm not saying this study is _the answer_ , nor does the study attempt to
claim that. But to declare it as unworthy of publishing seems extreme.

~~~
valuegram
Good points. It was harsh and not entirely relevant. I'm just passionate about
the topic because of my experience. I could find outdated "scholarly papers"
that say the world is flat. I didn't have enough time to dig up counter
research. Will do now. Thanks for keeping me honest!

------
richardburton
This is great. Last year I broke my shoulder and could not run or swim for 4
months. I got fat for the first time in my life. I was eating loads and doing
nothing. After months of physical therapy on my shoulder I was ready to start
getting back into shape. My regime was simple:

    
    
      - Kitesurf lots (really fun and uses a lot of energy)
      - Swim lots (if there was no wind)
      - Never eat processed foods.
      - Drink a pint of milk before and after exercise sessions.
    

Done.

Going to the gym demoralised me. Kitesurfing is addictive. I think finding a
form of exercise you love is akin to finding a job you love. When you love
something you want to do more of it.

If you have to force yourself to go to the gym you will fail. I want to go
swim because I have nearly drowned kitesurfing big waves in Ireland and never
want to experience that again. These external pulls and internal pushes are
what keep me fit. Not a New Year's Resolution.

~~~
sireat
The first three are pretty reasonable, but what is the idea behind drinking
milk before and after exercise?

Wouldn't you be more likely to regurgitate your stomach's contents by drinking
milk before exercise?

I have some bad experiences from eating and then exercising...

~~~
matwood
_but what is the idea behind drinking milk before and after exercise?_

If you look at the recommended macro percentages (carbs/fat/protein) for
pre/post workout drinks milk matches it almost exactly and is typically
cheaper than protein shakes.

 _Wouldn't you be more likely to regurgitate your stomach's contents by
drinking milk before exercise?_

Believe or not, your body can learn to deal with it. Look at ultra-marathoners
who can eat pizza while on the run.

------
radicalbyte
It's easier said that done.

At the end of 2009 I dropped form 240lb to 180lb by a combination weight
training and switching to a low-carb high protein diet for 6 days a week with
the 7th day being a pigout (to trick your metabolism out of starvation mode).

I managed to maintain my weight around 185lb throughout 2010. With a big drop
in the summer (cycling a total of 70km every day to work and back works
wonders).

The problem is that the diet is really hard to stick to, so in 2011 I
gradually switched back to a mixed diet. Which meant that sweet stuff was back
on the agenda.

Fast forward to 2012 and I'm back at 230lb (although more muscular). I'm
switching back to a health diet but I'm not cutting the carbs as much.

This time I'll eat more low GI carbs and less protein. Going for something
similar to what Jeremy is doing (eating better, but nice food).

------
ecaroth
Good article - The thing that motivated me to get into fitness & health years
ago was somebody telling me that you wouldn't believe how much more exciting
and fun almost every activity in your life is when you are healthy & in shape.

(Shameless Plug Warning!) Relating to a healthy & fit lifestyle, I have been
working on a side project to help people stay fit, happy, and healthy at their
desk during the workday and was created out of my own need & desire to not
have a lifetime of working at a desk affect my body & mind too much. The
'nutrition' portion of the app is forthcoming, but it's 80% complete and I
encourage everybody to do your body a favor and check it out!
(<http://www.fitbolt.com/>)

------
latch
Sugar: The Bitter Truth (which made top story on HN a while ago) is a great
1h30 video to watch about this: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM>

~~~
lena
It is great indeed, and nobody would recommend people eat lots of sugar, but I
found this a good article with some nuances about the specifics mentioned in
that long video: [http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-
ab...](http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-
fructose-alarmism/)

------
FrankenTan
Appearently, losing weight also changes how your metabolism works, and in part
you burn _less_ calories from the same activity.

Of course, these are 'simply' obstacles to be aware of and problems to go
around, not something that stop you in your tracks.

An interesting article on the topic:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-
pope-...](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-
trap.html)

~~~
aaxe
Terrible article

1\. Extreme weight loss 2\. No control 3\. Recipients re-gain some weight with
no more oversight.

Shocking!

------
chrisguitarguy
> The number of calories wasn’t my problem. The source of calories was my
> problem.

This.

A few more tips:

1\. Eat more frequently. 5-7 small meals of high quality foods each day.

2\. Aim for 90% compliance to the diet. Eat clean foods 90% of the time, have
a "cheat" meal once or twice a weak. Good for your sanity and metabolism.

~~~
AznHisoka
Although many people recommend eating many small meals, it doesn't let your
insulin levels return to baseline levels. As a result, you're training your
body to not get its energy from body fat.

It's a lot to read, but this article explains it:
<http://gettingstronger.org/diet/>

Basically, we need to gradually give up snacking if we want to lose weight,
then just stick to 3 meals a day, and if you're ambitious do intermittent
fasting.

~~~
dualogy
Intermittent fasting is the greatest thing ever. In fact, I do eat 5-7 meals a
day. But they're all squeezed in a 4-6 hour window. The remaining 18-20 hours
I "almost fast". Almost meaning: water-teas-coffees (no milk/sugar in either)
all allowed, a-very-few-fresh-veggies-or-fruits too, but fresh is the key here
and it's not for the energy -- just for loading a few
enzymes/vitamins/minerals.

Basically you can feast on as much food as desired and even any kinds of carbs
etc. and never get too fat / always stay skinny! Quite amazing. Now calories-
in-vs-out still holds but no-one on intermittent fasting will consistently eat
3000-5000 calories day in, day out -- plus the body is tuned and trained to
burn body fat for energy on a daily -- _daily_ \-- basis.

~~~
michaels0620
How many days in a row do you tend to fast for or is it something you just do
now? I have started doing it and have found it not to be as difficult as I
thought it would be.

For me, trying to eat 5-7 small meals a day is like asking an alcoholic to go
to a bar 5-7 times a day but only order Pepsi. Also, people were always
telling me that I should eat a good breakfast and lunch so that I wouldn't be
as hungry at dinner time but that's not how it turned out for me. I ate the
same amount at night regardless of what I ate before.

From a compliance stand point it has worked well; even though I don't eat
during the day, I don't eat any more than usual at night. I do get some hunger
pangs around 11 but they go away after a little while. It also feels good to
be able to exert some control over a part of my life that I have struggled
with.

~~~
dualogy
"How many days in a row do you tend to fast for or is it something you just do
now?" -- have been doing this on a daily basis since 2nd October 2011 (so
exactly 3 months now), never broke the fasting pattern I described above so
far. I went from 5-7-meals-a-day frequent-feeding to intermittent fasting
"cold-turkey" -- although the only real change is how your meals are timed. Do
you spread them over the course of 16 hours ("normal" eating) or 4-6 hours
(intermittent fasting) per day.

Note this is not a health hazard as long as daily nutrient and caloric needs
are met every day.

Working out daily in a fasted state, starting the feasting-phase as soon as
possible after the work-outs.

------
Cl4rity
I am so sick and tired of all of these misinformed blog articles and comments
about clean food versus unhealthy food. Good calories versus bad calories. Do
these writers even know what a calorie is? It isn't intrinsically good or bad.

If you're eating 6,500 calories per day in lean meats, fish, nuts, vegetables
and fruit, I absolutely guarantee you will become fat without rigorous
physical activity.

Calories in/calories out is what matters when it comes to weight. If your
concern is cholesterol or blood sugar, on the other hand, your diet and
genetics play a huge role in that.

Let's not forget about the teacher who ate nothing but Twinkies and cupcakes
for several weeks and lost a tremendous amount of weight and lowered his
cholesterol.

[http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/...](http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html)

Now, I'm not suggesting that anyone go on a Twinkie diet, but the biggest
takeaway from what that professor did is that the amount of calories you
consume is important when it comes to weight loss, and subsequently lowering
cholesterol.

~~~
nosequel
Actually you are most likely wrong. There is really good evidence that the
number of calories don't matter and that the type of calories are everything.
People associate the number of calories as mattering because they change other
things at the same time. Please watch videos from Gary Taubes who wrote "Good
Calories Bad Calories" and "Why we get fat".

Here's his google talk: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6vpFV6Wkl4>

On a personal note, I lost 40 lbs and I eat far more calories now than I did
before. Open you mind for a bit and really watch that video, you might be
convinced that what you think about calories are all wrong. I certainly
changed what I thought was true as fact.

~~~
b3b0p
This is nearly a 90 minute video of Gary Taubes, do you have any other
sources? A pubmed study for example or similar?

~~~
nosequel
If you watch for only 10 minutes you hear no less than 5 or 6 sources that he
gives. If you are too lazy to watch a video, than no number of sources are
going to help you.

------
mhartl
This post is really just a teaser for possibly interesting posts to come. In
that vein... Dear everyone who has a blog: make sure there's an easy-to-find
link to your RSS feed. (There's one here in the comments, which proves my
point.)

------
bitops
I started a GitHub project for folks to share recipes they like, that are
healthy (with a dash of "sinful" thrown in).

<https://github.com/bitops/good-eats>

------
erkin_unlu
hey this is just an intro!

and a little advice, try to eat low glycemic indexed foods all the time, they
will make you feel full all the time and they are generally quality food that
everyone needs to have. Plus, you will not have to take in-between meals
'cause you won't be hungry ; )

~~~
egwor
(Since I didn't know...) A link to more info on low glycemic indexed foods:
<http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/>

------
d3x
I was diagnosed w/ crohns when I was 16. I struggled with it my whole life; in
and out of hospitals and on/off different meds. At 19 I learned about the
Macrobiotic Diet and my life was never the same. It was hard to stay on the
diet and make it stick so I created a tool that helps me track and balance my
diet. Because I like building things I also added 450 or so other diets and it
has become by permanent side project. Right now only me and a few friends are
using it (web version) and the app will be in the app store in a few weeks
then I am thinking about opening it up to the public to see if its something
that anyone else would want to use. All of the diets I have seen mentioned on
this thread are supported so if anyone would like access let me know
email/city and I will try and get things up and running for you.

~~~
AznHisoka
I definitely would like to try this. Can you send me a link to it?
vzhou218@gmail.com

