UK nerds: "The men who made us thin" is on.

[nanako]

New series on BBC 2 on the diet industry.

 

"The mean who made us fat" was quite good actually, and informative. Don't know if I actually want to know all the dirty secrets ...

 

On BBC2 from today and on iplayer.

[UltanBoyd]

I watched it last night on iplayer and was searching. Very interesting. 

 

I think it tries to make a point a little hard but BBC is wont to do so of late. It was also quite negative towards weight watchers I feel. 16% at or below target weight after 5 years but what about those that are still significantly lighter when they started? Does that not show how difficult it is to maintain weight without the support groups and when your diet is a diet and not a way of life?

 

For me watching it, I'm loosing weight through a caloric deficit but it's not a diet, it's getting myself back to a place where I can allow myself a little freedom again but until then I have to consider very carefully what fuel I'm adding to the mix. This seemed to suggest caloric deficits were useless (I'll pile the weight back on and more as I yo-yo) and that group meetings didn't work. 

 

The sugar/fructose dealings on the men that made us fat were everything we knew and a little more I think. However they targeted sugar (quite rightly) and exonerated fat (partially right) in a way which to me says go live off pork scratchings!

[UltanBoyd]

So the second of both was on, on Thursday. 

 

I think the only positive for the whole of the exercise industry from the guy was for Richard Simmons saying he gave therapy to people and that was why they got thinner. Interesting program even if the message from last week seemed to be don't bother dieting it doesn't work and from this week it was don't bother exercising it doesn't work (although there are some health benefits other than slimming)

[Hobgoblin]

I found them both pretty thought-provoking (like 'the men who made us fat') but found it really infuriating that the presenter didn't ever unpack what he meant by obese and overweight. So yeah, interesting but I'm struggling to apply any of the messages to my own fitness because they seemed to be; dieting doesn't work, fitness isn't an effective method of weightloss, everything makes us fat, we're all fat....argh! Did I miss the point or are you guys as confused as me?

[UltanBoyd]

I think the point it Diet doesn't work because people return to bad habits. You can't diet you have to change your eating paradigm though he didn't really point that out. Exercise is good for health benefits but not weight loss and he briefly suggested therapy helped people. So to me that says being realistic about what you eat (the 80/20 clean/dirty way of eating), exercise not as punishment but for health and mental fortitude and have good neighbours!

[Rostov]

It was quite sobering watching (the two I've seen so far, anyway).  I'm a few pounds off moving from weight loss to maintenance, and the stats on how many people put it all back on plus more were quite frightening.  I hadn't really considered that it might happen to me, not after over a year of working at it.  But what's so special about me?  Why should I succeed at keeping it off where others don't?  I think I have long term, permanent, sustainable diet and exercise habits, but it's just as easy for these to slip gradually as they were to establish gradually.

 

It seems like an odd series so far - part historical documentary, part business practice expose, part health advice, and sometimes I can't help thinking that it doesn't quite know what it wants to be.  The overall message isn't entirely clear, and perhaps there's too much focus on what doesn't work rather than on what does.  The old me might have watched that, thought "oh well...." and not bothered trying.

 

On the subject of UK docs, the Horizon programme the other week ("Monitor Me", I think) about the use of apps and mobile devices to self-monitor health and fitness was quite interesting....

[UltanBoyd]

I didn't catch that one. I'll look it up. I was filmed in the background at work for an episode of horizon last december that aired the other week. There's like a half second glimpse of me, not that I was hiding from the cameras or Iain Stewart or anything....

[Roughyed]

Quite a few programmes on at the moment -

 

Welcome to the world of Weight loss on BBC2 - Following a group through weight loss classes (mainly Rosemary Conley I think) 

 

Fat - The fight of my life on Sky Living - Trainer takes a year to get someone in better shape

 

There was some programme on ITV last week where a weight loss guru (detox is good type) ate a 'typical' UK womans diet and put on 5Lbs in one week.  (Her normal diet was 2000 calories, and this 'typical' diet was 2250...you can do the maths on that one!).  Quack science in the mainstream... 

[Omega v1.1]

 Quack science in the mainstream...

It's often a rarity to find any other kind of science in the mainstream. I blame Gillian the poo lady. Although she no longer has her strangle hold on TV nutrition like she used to, she certainly set a nasty precedent as to how health advice should be portrayed on the old telly box. Light on scientifically verified facts, heavy on sensationalism and stitching up unfortunate fatties so that the viewer can laugh at them and feel better about themselves.

It's enough to put you off your protein shake.

[UltanBoyd]

For all the bad said about Gillian McKeith I don't think the message was that bad. Eat less junk, eat real food. Oh and the state of your tongue and your poos can tell you lots about your body. I would like to see how aforementioned contestants are doing now. I also like that she didn't suggest diet so much as reapproaching food and shifting the whole paradigm. I do think that might have been lost on some people with talk of superfoods and rifling through poo!

 

1lb is what? 3500 calories? 250 calorie surplus each day * 7 Days = 1750 calories. So maybe half a pound weight increase!

 

However yes I agree, TV has been really dumbed down. Occasionally BBC4 puts something worthwhile on but I get annoyed at any engineering type program and the other half can't watch anything about pre-humans even the stuff with knowledgable people presenting. Dr Alice Roberts is an Osteoarchaeologist! She should know better!

 

Back on topic, I am quite looking forward to the next episodes!

[legangles]

I agree with UltanBoyd Gillian was on to something with the eat real food and know your body.

She then blew it on desperate attempts to cash in. All her 'foods' contained piles of sugar and many had to be withdrawn as they made health claims they couldn't back up.

Such a shame

[Roughyed]

In many ways she got results but not for the reasons she implied or wanted. She got them to cut out the rubbish (why they lost weight) but then used quack science to explain why.

From memory chloroform from seeds providing energy was one.

[Timmy M]

just watching ep 2 now and couldn't help but notice the irony of the Gustav guy saying that a successful diet pill would be the best thing since sliced bread