Weight loss - some honest data to consider

[Joyofsixreboot]

With a walk score of zero I still manage. I do have to dodge grain trucks and combines but.....;). Seriously, I stay active purposely but if I didn't push I'd get no exercise. Everything requires a car.

[Bluegoat]

Not sure how accurate it is.  My walk score is 0 too, but we walk all the time.  We enjoy walking for pleasure though and I guess that doesn't count.  One definitely can't walk to a destination where we live (shopping, work), but we enjoy walks to the creek or just around our roads (very few cars on our roads).  The scenery is quite nice and it can be common to see some wildlife.

 

Walkability score is more about the possibility of getting by without a car.  You can be in a rural area and hike 10 km a day, but if you can't get anywhere within a certain distance, the walkability score will be low.

 

Essentially, most people, even if they like to walk, will only routinely walk for daily errands if they take less than a given amount of time.  If you suddenly decide you need an ingredient or to pay a bill, and it will take half an hour to do it by foot, probably you will just drive.

 

So - walkability is based on calculating the distance between your home and the basic services people use most often - banks, grocery, schools, places to eat, as well as some information about things like sidewalks and type of roads.  It is somewhat limited though by the information that the map provides - it can't capture information that isn't there.

 

[redsquirrel]

I know this thread derailed a bit, what with discussions of town's 'walkability' and all, but I saw this article today and I can't help but post it.

 

Here is a link to the article about the study

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/why-it-was-easier-to-be-skinny-in-the-1980s/407974/?utm_source=SFTwitter

 

and here is the link to the actual study. You would have to pay to read it in full, but the abstract is available

 

http://www.obesityresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S1871-403X%2815%2900121-0/abstract?cc=y=

 

and here is a link to a release by a university that took part in the study

 

http://news.yorku.ca/2015/09/21/millennials-gen-y-need-to-eat-less-workout-more-to-stave-off-obesity-york-u-study/

 

A sample:

 

A study published recently in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice found that it’s harder for adults today to maintain the same weight as those 20 to 30 years ago did, even at the same levels of food intake and exercise.

 

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They found a very surprising correlation: A given person, in 2006, eating the same amount of calories, taking in the same quantities of macronutrients like protein and fat, and exercising the same amount as a person of the same age did in 1988 would have a BMI that was about 2.3 points higher. In other words, people today are about 10 percent heavier than people were in the 1980s, even if they follow the exact same diet and exercise plans.

 

Here is a the linked article on gut bacteria and how it can be changed by what we eat

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/12/10/250007042/chowing-down-on-meat-and-dairy-alters-gut-bacteria-a-lot-and-quickly

 

 

 

 

[Annie G]

The article on gut bacteria left me with more questions (I really just skimmed them so far). I would expect a meat and dairy rich diet to promote  microbes that 'love bile' because that helps to digest fats. So if you're eating more fats, doesn't your gut need more of those microbes to digest it? 

 

And maybe that explains this: I have some friends who are mostly vegetarian but will occasionally order a burger out. And then they say it 'made them sick'. Could that be because they bombarded their gut with a Culvers double cheeseburger when they haven't had meat in six weeks?  They use this scenario as proof that meat is unhealthy. I think the same kind of thing happened to me when I initially started eating a ton of veggies, including beans. The amount of fiber was greatly different than what my gut was used to and it took some time to adjust. 

 

Thanks for posting those articles- I'm going back and rereading them more closely. 

[Greta]

The article on gut bacteria left me with more questions (I really just skimmed them so far). I would expect a meat and dairy rich diet to promote microbes that 'love bile' because that helps to digest fats. So if you're eating more fats, doesn't your gut need more of those microbes to digest it?

Yeah, the article did say that one particular such bacteria has been shown to cause inflammation in mice. But it said that it isn't known whether that's the case for humans. I suspect it isn't. I'm pretty darn sure it isn't for me. I mean, I never eat strict carnivore or anything, but I do eat a significant amount of meat and cheese, and the only time I get inflammation is when I eat grains.

 

And maybe that explains this: I have some friends who are mostly vegetarian but will occasionally order a burger out. And then they say it 'made them sick'. Could that be because they bombarded their gut with a Culvers double cheeseburger when they haven't had meat in six weeks? They use this scenario as proof that meat is unhealthy. I think the same kind of thing happened to me when I initially started eating a ton of veggies, including beans. The amount of fiber was greatly different than what my gut was used to and it took some time to adjust.

 

Many years ago, I was a vegetarian for five years. When I decided to eat meat again, I knew I had to take it slowly, because my body had reduced the amount of HCl, bile, and certain enzymes needed to digest meat. So I introduced it in small amounts, but my body was apparently so happy to finally be getting some good protein, that it made me really hungry for it. So I over-indulged on a huge piece of grilled salmon, and paid a price. I went back to *gradually* increasing amounts after that, and I was fine. So I agree with you: our bodies do adapt to our diets, but that doesn't mean that other diets aren't healthy.

[redsquirrel]

Here is more about gut bacteria and obesity. I am not saying it corroborates or negates the previous one. It is just another article.

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-gut-bacteria-help-make-us-fat-and-thin/

 

http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/september2013/09162013obesity.htm

 

These look similar. For all I know they could be about the same mice, lol.

 

It mostly sounds like this area of study is in its very early stages. There is going to be a lot of vague and contradictory information. So, for now, I am just observing what is making the rounds and looking for trends etc. I suspect in 20 years we will know a whole lot more about this and this time will look like the dark ages, lol

 

 

[creekland]

 I suspect in 20 years we will know a whole lot more about this and this time will look like the dark ages, lol

 

:iagree:   The problem is that we can't put our lives on hold for the next 20 years and just wake up with our current age to resume life, etc.

 

It can be really tricky figuring out what to do about things (like diet) now.

 

I'm glad there are great brains out there working on these subjects.