I can't trust people who say...

[Maris Stella]

I can't trust anyone who claims that all modern ailments are the result of one specific food item. You know, the "If we just stopped eating soy/gluten/saturated fat/grains/sugar/meat/dairy/eggs/[insert "bad" food of choice here], we'd completely erradicate heart disease, diabetes, and cancer!" crowd.

 

Also, claims that paleo is "exactly like how our paleolithic ancestors ate!" will always get an eye-roll from me. Paleo is a great way of eating for a lot of people, but I'm sorry, if you're not getting a substantial amount of your protein from termites and grubs, you aren't eating exactly like our paleolithic ancestors. And that's not even getting into the likelihood that "Grok" ate things like "paleo cookies." (Which is not to say that Grok wasn't missing out, since I've had some damned fine paleo cookies.)

 

This. drives. me. so. insane. Bugs aside, even the plants and animals we eat today have been fundamentally changed by selective breeding. To say that we "evolved" to eat the paleo diet is just absurd, as is the incredibly patronizing and annoying lecture that I hear all the time, that eating any other way is unnatural.

 

I'm not saying that the paleo diet can't be good for people -- I'm all for cutting crap out of your diet. Getting away from things that are over-processed and -refined is great. But man. If I hear one more person talk about evolution without any scientific understanding...

 

Which is really the root of my "I can't trust people who say," as I think it is for most people in here. Between the absolutisms and the faulty understanding that people have of scientific principles/biology, we've got an unending supply of BS to listen to.

 

My personal favorite though is "eating for your blood type." I recently endured a lecture from a very close friend who has struggled with her weight for about 6 years, telling me that she "really believes" in eating for her blood type, blah blah blah. That people with her blood type tend to be overweight, and the only answer is a diet very much like the one she prefers anyway....(aka, that one that made her overweight in the first place).

 

Yeah. We have the same blood type. 

[cline]

I love you guys.  This thread is filled with awesome and nerdiness.

 

I totally agree with Zorch re: "it's easy"/"it's impossible" to the extent that when people say "Oh, I can't give up bread" I retort "people manage to give up heroin which is really hard to do".  You can do it.  It's a choice. You may choose to not give it up - cool.  Fine.  But don't say you can't.  You can. 

 

And here's my new one:  I can't trust people who say "it's gluten free!" about shit that ain't got gluten in the first place. Seriously - someone in my office the other day with high quality dark chocolate proclaiming it's the best brand ever b/c it's gluten free!  Whee! Aren't I excited?  no.  I said "Is your milk gluten free?".  No kidding - she said she'd have to check.  Me:  aren't certain things naturally gluten free like real milk, veggies, meat, dark chocolate (that is still just dark chocolate)?  Her:  oooohhhh... huh.... I wonder. 

 

I walk around the house now saying "honey, want some water - it's gluten free!"

[Maris Stella]

I once encountered someone seriously wondering if an orange was gluten free. It's an epidemic. 

[Maris Stella]

I love you guys.  This thread is filled with awesome and nerdiness.

 

I totally agree with Zorch re: "it's easy"/"it's impossible" to the extent that when people say "Oh, I can't give up bread" I retort "people manage to give up heroin which is really hard to do".  You can do it.  It's a choice. You may choose to not give it up - cool.  Fine.  But don't say you can't.  You can. 

 

THAT IS SUCH A GOOD LINE!!! I am using that.

[PrincessHeather]

I once encountered someone seriously wondering if an orange was gluten free. It's an epidemic. 

 

I try to stay gluten free, but there is a LARGE number of foods that I don't need to check for gluten... I don't need special brussels sprouts or chicken thighs or apples to know they won't bloody have gluten in them! Not hard to figure out haha.

[Cameron]

It's already been mentioned, but I won't trust the advice of anyone who isn't in better shape then me. When someone who is morbidly obese tells me I'm not eating enough, I just smile and ignore them. Or if someone who isn't in good shape tells me I work out too much or too little, they get ignored to. As far as I'm concerned, the only people whose advice you should be following are the ones who have proven that advice works with their own bodies. Then they might be worth hearing out.

 

As far as the whole gluten thing: I think it comes down to most people not even really knowing what gluten is and where it comes from. Combine that with all of the super-processed foods in the grocery that contain gluten even when you wouldn't expect it, and I don't really blame people for assuming gluten is in everything. Sure, oranges obviously don't have gluten, but most people don't think that much about it.

[PrincessHeather]

As far as the whole gluten thing: I think it comes down to most people not even really knowing what gluten is and where it comes from. Combine that with all of the super-processed foods in the grocery that contain gluten even when you wouldn't expect it, and I don't really blame people for assuming gluten is in everything. Sure, oranges obviously don't have gluten, but most people don't think that much about it.

 

True enough, but that's a part of the problem I think. People will spend an inordinate amount to time researching the car they buy or the phone they use, but very little time investing in knowledge about one of the most fundamental human acitivities: preparing and eating food! It's among the things that are truly necessary for survival, yet people ignore its importance and don't bother to understand that certain foods are not good for certain people.

[Zorch]

Using "big-boned" as an excuse is annoying. No reason you can't be healthly and big-boned, you will just have a higher number on the scale.

 

I have a similar disdain for anyone that blames "genetics" as an excuse.  Yes, there are superhuman genetic freaks out there(See: Michael Phelps, Adrian Peterson, and others) as well as individuals who are at a legitimate genetic disadvantage, but the majority of people can get good results from good effort.  And EVERYONE can improve, regardless of what their ultimate potential might be.

[Cameron]

True enough, but that's a part of the problem I think. People will spend an inordinate amount to time researching the car they buy or the phone they use, but very little time investing in knowledge about one of the most fundamental human acitivities: preparing and eating food! It's among the things that are truly necessary for survival, yet people ignore its importance and don't bother to understand that certain foods are not good for certain people.

 

Definitely true, I'm still learning about the intricacies of food. But even basic experimentation would do people a lot of good. I think a lot of us have a tendency to get overwhelmed, and then we just forget about it altogether because it's complicated. But just trying things clears things up a lot. Just dropping most processed and fried foods made me feel way better overall. When the results are that obvious, you don't even need to worry about the science behind it. I just know that crappy processed and fried food makes me feel sick, and so I avoid it. And yet, it took me years to figure that out!

[Kunai]

I have a similar disdain for anyone that blames "genetics" as an excuse.  Yes, there are superhuman genetic freaks out there(See: Michael Phelps, Adrian Peterson, and others) as well as individuals who are at a legitimate genetic disadvantage, but the majority of people can get good results from good effort.  And EVERYONE can improve, regardless of what their ultimate potential might be.

Too many all or nothing people in my opinion. Like if you can't run a marathon than there is no point running at all.

[Katariana]

I have a similar disdain for anyone that blames "genetics" as an excuse.  Yes, there are superhuman genetic freaks out there(See: Michael Phelps, Adrian Peterson, and others) as well as individuals who are at a legitimate genetic disadvantage, but the majority of people can get good results from good effort.  And EVERYONE can improve, regardless of what their ultimate potential might be.

 

I totally agree ! A good majority of my family is really overweight, and I never wanted to be that way. Sure, in high school I was kind of on the chubby side, but by the time I hit 18 I decided I didn't care how hard it was, I wasn't going to accept "well, my family/genetics is overweight/I have a slow metabolism" as an excuse. I figure if I can do it, 95% of other people can do it.

[Cameron]

I have a similar disdain for anyone that blames "genetics" as an excuse.  Yes, there are superhuman genetic freaks out there(See: Michael Phelps, Adrian Peterson, and others) as well as individuals who are at a legitimate genetic disadvantage, but the majority of people can get good results from good effort.  And EVERYONE can improve, regardless of what their ultimate potential might be.

 

So much this!

 

It drives me absolutely nuts, and part of it is because I used to honestly think that way. I always assumed I didn't have the potential to be fit and muscular. One of  my best friends is, and I was always kind of vaguely jealous that he was in such good shape, as if he was just naturally like that. It wasn't until last year that I really took stock of the situation, realized that he was fit as a result of a lot of hard work, and resolved to actually put some hard work in myself before I resigned myself to a life of sloth because of "genetics." I'm still just at the beginning, but the more I progress, the more I realize I have a lot more potential than I originally thought.

 

So, when I hear people blame their genetics, after barely giving fitness a chance, I just want to scream at them "stop making excuses and just give it an honest try!" Not a couple 5 minute jogs before you give up because you didn't see immediate results. But a real, honest try. It can take months of consistent hard work to see results. An awesome quote I came across today that I think applies here:

 

"In a year, you'll wish you had started today." A year from now you could be in amazing shape, but you have to get started today! If I had started this journey a year ago, instead of just 4 months ago, what kind of shape would I be in today? That's the kind of thing people need to think about.

[ScrabbleGirl]

"In a year, you'll wish you had started today." A year from now you could be in amazing shape, but you have to get started today! If I had started this journey a year ago, instead of just 4 months ago, what kind of shape would I be in today? That's the kind of thing people need to think about.

That is brilliant. I love that. 

[Waldo]

Most people, aside from outright beginners, tend to at least have a somewhat valid point of view. Sure there is a lot of bad advice out there, but most of it comes from people selling stuff to noobs. Simply ask yourself if money can be made off this bit of info (including selling books), if so, move along.

In the end you need to find guides that have walked the walk down a path you'd like to go down, and try not to get stuck with a group of hikers that are lost.

One thing that you will find (not as strong of a trend here), sadly people don't tend to listen to post-goal folks all that much.

[Nomad Jay]

That's why I like this article : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1489946/

Raw data should have to be shared!! For the good of all! Especially data funded by tax dollars.

Much agreed! I have issue with academic publications that charge researchers to submit and then charge everyone to access, particularly in an age where the overhead costs for storage and dissemination are trivial.

[Flex Luthor]

Have I mentioned how much I hate excuses? God I hate excuses with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns. An excuse being ANYTHING that you let stop you from what you really want. History shows us again and again people that have overcome "impossible" odds when really, all they did was take action instead of make excuses.

[Katariana]

You know, that really bothers me too. I wonder sometimes if I could meet someone from history if they wouldn't be anything spectacular - just motivated. Because nearly every single person I meet just makes excuses for one thing or another. 

 

I know its not fitness related - but I usually feel when I start at a new company that I have higher expectations of upper management or my supervisor, only to be let down by their abilities. I spent 2 years at an internship at NASA - and only learned that I never ever wanted to work there. It's like every expectation I have turns out to be just people fumbling around. No wonder Napoleon got so far, he just took charge and did something. /sigh

[ScrabbleGirl]

One thing that you will find (not as strong of a trend here), sadly people don't tend to listen to post-goal folks all that much.

 

That's mainly because the post-goal folks know how hard it is, whereas lots of people peddling their diet ideas etc are trying to sell people a quick fix. It's easier to believe that if you eat three bags of spinach on the Second Sunday of every Month that has an R in it, the weight will just "fall off", rather than believe that really what you need to do is eat well and exercise. 

[PrincessHeather]

It's true. The real answer is just so boring, people don't want to hear it. "I ate healthy food, not too much of it, and I exercised a lot. It was hard and dull, and took months of consistent work."

 

It's just not sexy, and it doesn't sell well.

 

That's pretty much what Steve's article was all about here: fitness at it's essence, is boring and the biggest hurdle to it is simply deciding to do it or not.

[geegeemcgee]

I have a similar disdain for anyone that blames "genetics" as an excuse.  Yes, there are superhuman genetic freaks out there(See: Michael Phelps, Adrian Peterson, and others) as well as individuals who are at a legitimate genetic disadvantage, but the majority of people can get good results from good effort.  And EVERYONE can improve, regardless of what their ultimate potential might be.

'Genetics' is my mother's FAVOURITE excuse. When I was a child she used to tell me I didn't stand a chance, because I had inherited the same body that she had inherited from her own mother. I absolutely believed her. I was ashamed of my body and my 'bad genetics' from grade 4 onwards.

She still says it. My poor younger sister is convinced that she will never be 'beautiful' and she feels completely powerless. It breaks my heart. 

'Genetics' is a powerful and damaging mindset, however I can't say I harbour any form of disdain toward people who use it as an excuse. 

[Katariana]

Yes! It totally convinces you at a young age that you're stuck that way. There's not a point in trying because you weren't born skinny. Well, you can change that at any point, but its hard to know that in high school when you've already heard for 10+ years that you don't stand a chance.

[PrincessHeather]

 I'm infected.... by your genetics! 

 

Sorry, couldn't help it!

[Waldo]

That's mainly because the post-goal folks know how hard it is, whereas lots of people peddling their diet ideas etc are trying to sell people a quick fix. It's easier to believe that if you eat three bags of spinach on the Second Sunday of every Month that has an R in it, the weight will just "fall off", rather than believe that really what you need to do is eat well and exercise. 

 

Though it really isn't that hard.  The hard part is the first month, and reevaluating when/if things stop working.

 

Generally there are long stretches where losing is a habit and a way of life, it becomes your new normal and isn't particularly difficult to maintain.  

 

Most highly motivated people that make it into their 2nd month and have strong results backing up their changes will make it close to whatever finish line they set for themselves.  The ball is rolling, they have momentum, and no routine or diet adjustments are necessary until they near the end.

 

Where is becomes hard is the shifts in your habits that are required afterwards, post-goal requires neither the habits you had before you started losing, nor the habits you developed while losing, it requires an entirely new set of habits.

[minderly]

Yes! It totally convinces you at a young age that you're stuck that way. There's not a point in trying because you weren't born skinny. Well, you can change that at any point, but its hard to know that in high school when you've already heard for 10+ years that you don't stand a chance.

That's hard in the reverse too. My mom has been really fit her entire life, and beautiful. People always said it would just naturally come to me as well. And for a while, I was fit though I ate like a 12 year old boy going through puberty. Then I stopped dancing and my metabolism slowed down and I realized, my mom works really hard to be fit. She works out every day!

[MariahSnow]

'Genetics' is my mother's FAVOURITE excuse. When I was a child she used to tell me I didn't stand a chance, because I had inherited the same body that she had inherited from her own mother. I absolutely believed her. I was ashamed of my body and my 'bad genetics' from grade 4 onwards.

She still says it. My poor younger sister is convinced that she will never be 'beautiful' and she feels completely powerless. It breaks my heart. 

'Genetics' is a powerful and damaging mindset, however I can't say I harbour any form of disdain toward people who use it as an excuse. 

 

My mother uses this for everything! She constantly told me that she struggled with math when she was a kid and so (to my kid ears) it sounded like it was okay if I sucked at math too. Turns out, I don't suck at math, I just always assumed I'd never be good so what's the point in trying? She also told me that she and my father were never really all that athletic, so whenever I am disappointed by progress I always think, "well I'm just not that athletic". That's like saying a cheetah isn't a good runner. We are born to move, jump, run, play, and while some people may be better at throwing or whatever, there's no reason you can't be good at something. Michael Phelps didn't just wake up and win a gold medal one day. He spent years and years training.