[jazzcourier]

The procedure i detailed is not an easy one to adapt to. It took me a good six months of  trial  and error before i mastered the "Dr. Strangelove diet...or stop worrying and start loving the bomb" It was the greasy,spicy Mexican food i craved and the adjacent margarita's,but i finally killed that beast and in one year and a half i lost 150 pounds and regained my health and continue to follow the plan. With the exception being "vacation trips" where the red meat,salt and muffin monsters lurk at every conceivable turn and the "forbidden " food list i created is a challenge.The world went to sleep one night and woke up putting cheese on everything !
   It is easy to see that the real "just say no" campaign should have been directed to fast food,it is cheaper than any other food.It is on every corner and you don't even have to get out of your car to get it.It is the real killer in this society and it is pushed at us everywhere and they want our kids on it too,so they give them toys and little playgrounds and some clown to make it all happy and fun. By my estimation Ronald McDonald should weigh about 450 pounds,yet somehow has managed to appear "fit",even in the baggy suit?
         I just offer these comments and suggestions for those that might benefit from them.If you want to sit around and eat pizza and drink beer and bags of Ruffles and Oreo's.Knock yourself out.I am not the food Police.

[Tyson]

Solution - just start taxing the sh!t out of fast food places to force the prices to rise, and then take the extra tax revenue to fund health care and weight management programs for the obese.

[cujobob]

Fast food does not have to be insanely bad for you.  Those restaurants give customers what they want.  I ran a fast food restaurant a few years back...I ate fruit and yogurt parfaits, sliced grilled chicken, and a side salad and was in perfect health eating there every day of the week (twice a day).  Restaurants give portions that are too large for anyone...but that's what the customer wants.  The situation is very complex...fast food is cheap, but if people were to eat what was healthy and not what looked most appetizing, they wouldn't have any issues eating right.  Healthcare and nutritional programs would be a total waste.  We need to change the culture if we want to see real change.  Clean, safe, public parks...better education, less stressful lifestyles, etc.  Eating is a hobby to us and that's the problem.  It's fuel.

[cujobob]

So are you saying that there is no evidence that avoiding fast food, salt, sugar, beer, butter, fried foods is beneficial? Or that eating fruits & vegetables instead of the above has no benefit? That exercise and staying hydrated hasn't been shown to have any benefit?

I would think purely from a caloric intake & expenditure there would be a demonstrable improvement, but maybe scientific evidence is pointing for me to head to KFC and DoubleDown then plop down on the sofa and down a six pack to wash down all the grease.

Jim C

There are general rules which are helpful, but our bodies are all somewhat unique, too.  Give your body the best chance at success, IMHO.  Your kid might not become a genius by going to private school, but he/she was put in a good position for success.

[Eric]

Solution - just start taxing the sh!t out of fast food places to force the prices to rise, and then take the extra tax revenue to fund health care and weight management programs for the obese.

The problem is that we are so far in debt, that any additiona revenue will not go for that. And if the taxes are high enough, there won't be any extra revenue.

[JohnR]

Sounds like you need to change your diet for a month and see how you feel.

I did already (much more than a month) - what I was asking was more about when I'm told that I'm not getting this or that I should do that, what do I say? It "seems" to be working pretty well.... but how do you KNOW whether it is or not? (Or for that matter, does this question even make sense...)

Oh - I didn't actually do the water thing...

[JohnR]

Its been touched on here but going to a blood chemist can do some real good.

What's a blood chemist? A test? I can see some reasons to get formal/chemical testing but then again, we're also seeing in these threads that as the scientific knowledge evolves about how our bodies work that recommendations change, findings become placed in a broader context in which additional factors influenced or counteract results, and so on. It's almost like it's become a "wait and see" game.

[JohnR]

Veggies aren't boring, I love good veggies, as long as they have enough salt, spice, and olive oil.

Heh. It's winter here so soup is reeally excellent. I should stop fiddling around on the computer and go and make it! An easy way to get loads of veg.

[JohnR]

There is no scientific evidence for your diet.  For instance, here's a meta-analysis of studies regarding saturated fat and heart disease:
...

To repeat, your diet has no scientific evidence behind it.

Hey Bob... well, there must be scientific evidence for something - isn't there? What is that something?

[Wind Chaser]

Heh. It's winter here...

What does that mean?  Put on a windbreaker?  Turn the AC down a notch?  What kind of temperatures are we talking about?  Just curious.

[Folsom]

I did already (much more than a month) - what I was asking was more about when I'm told that I'm not getting this or that I should do that, what do I say? It "seems" to be working pretty well.... but how do you KNOW whether it is or not? (Or for that matter, does this question even make sense...)

Oh - I didn't actually do the water thing...

That is the funny thing... sometimes you feel much worse before you feel better. Often your body needs to detoxify itself but will refuse to do so until it gets enough of the good stuff it likes. An example would be if you have lots of bad bacteria in your system like in ears, skin, bladder, and intestines. When that stuff dies off it is not pleasant.

Yet another reason narrowing down what kind of diet will work best for you with genetic markers.

Oh and you might end up looking like you took a few years off (in the right direction) from really good changes.