Exercise is useless for weight loss

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My experience and millions of other experiences have now been verified by researchers.

Exercise will not help you lose weight.

Nobody wants to hear that. They want to know that a 20-minute walk will take off those five extra pounds (or those 20 extra pounds) we all carry.

Well, that ain't going to happen.

The ONLY (I'm shouting) way to lose weight is to eat smaller portions.

The problem of obesity can be solved by rightsizing our meals.

Weighing the Evidence on Exercise - NYTimes.com:

“In general, exercise by itself is pretty useless for weight loss,” says Eric Ravussin, a professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., and an expert on weight loss. It’s especially useless because people often end up consuming more calories when they exercise. The mathematics of weight loss is, in fact, quite simple, involving only subtraction. “Take in fewer calories than you burn, put yourself in negative energy balance, lose weight,” says Braun, who has been studying exercise and weight loss for years.

But in the exercising group, the dose of exercise required was nearly an hour a day of moderate-intensity activity, what the federal government currently recommends for weight loss but “a lot more than what many people would be able or willing to do,” Ravussin says.

Exercise for many women (and for some men) increases the desire to eat. Read more...

Doctors say KFC is more like Philip Morris

Just when you think some of the fast food restaurants might do something right, they do it wrong.

Baltimore Sun: Docs down on Double-Down: "Is it a sandwich or a controlled substance?

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine says the new KFC Double Down, the bunless fried-on-fried wonder that started shortening American lifespans today, should be treated like the latter.

The committee has asked KFC to market the Double Down as if it were tobacco or alcohol, which means not advertising it within 500 yards of a school or otherwise promoting it to kids."

"Just as many young people don't understand the risks of tobacco, they often do not realize that high-fat, meat-heavy meals greatly increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and some types of cancer," Susan Levin, the committee's director of nutrition education, wrote in a letter to David C. Novak, chairman of Yum! Brands, Inc., KFC's parent company.

The Double Down is a bacon-and-cheese sandwich that uses two fried chicken fillets in place of bread. It has 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium.

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16 Ways To Change Your Child’s Diet

Image by Paull Young via Flickr

Sometimes we just don't know what to do.

With obesity reaching epidemic proportions, there's very little a parent can do, except start in your own home.

Here's 16 tips to change your child's diet (and your own).

16 Ways To Change Your Child’s Diet From Habit To Healthy | Health Reform

Jamie Oliver’s Ideas to Reduce Obesity

Jamie Oliver -- the winner of the TEDprize -- has 4 simple ideas for reducing obesity, and they are not the typical ideas.

• Every child in the U.S. should learn to cook 10 meals before leaving high school.

• Supermarkets should appoint “food ambassadors” to explain to customers how they can prepare local, fresh and seasonal foods.

• Food companies should make education a central part of their business.

• Food labeling should be improved to accurately warn people about unhealthy food.

"I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity." -- Jamie Oliver

What do you think? and read more...Jamie Oliver’s Ideas to Reduce Obesity

Here's one issue all Americans agree

Despite the giant schism in Washington D.C., there is one issue we all agree. No one can debate the science, or the giant cost to the nation. That issue is child obesity.

We all now know that those extra pounds cause a host of debilitating diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Plus throw in poor self-esteem, and depression. And the costs are jaw dropping.

Obesity costs the country $147 billion a year. Every 7 years that's $1 trillion (with a "T").

OK, we know the effects. What's the solution?

It's incredible simple and frustratingly complex. On point for the nation is a leader with the power to change things.

USATODAY.com reports the U.S. will aim to eliminate child obesity in a generation:

Today, the self-described "mom in chief" -- Michelle Obama -- is launching Let's Move, a campaign to help other parents deal with a national health crisis she describes in epic terms.

The goal: to eliminate childhood obesity in a generation.

Obama says she will use all the power of her White House pulpit to promote a multifaceted campaign that will include more healthful food in schools, more accurate food labeling, better grocery stores in communities that don't have them, public service announcements and efforts to get children to be more active. Some of her plans, such as tax incentives for businesses, will need congressional approval.

"The first lady having a huge microphone and a spotlight is really helpful," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says. "It's a big health crisis. We need to involve not only the kids but the families."

"Childhood obesity is a no-downside issue," says Boston University journalism professor Elizabeth Mehren, who has written extensively about political spouses. "It's something that mothers can connect to, so it fits in with her 'first mom' agenda."

At the same time, "it's a back-door connector to that very pressing issue for her husband: health care."

Check out the entire article. It has a lot of great information

What can you do? Just one thing. Start with your family and start tonight. Skip McDonald's or KFC today. Start slow. Pick up a pre-cooked chicken and pre-chopped veggies. Let's start there, and we'll wean ourselves off the fast foods, to the slow and better foods.

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• Michelle Obama Kicks Off Campaign To Fight Childhood Obesity (huffingtonpost.com)

Obama's first small step against obesity

The Obamas have started to lead the charge against obesity.

From CNN.com: First lady Michelle Obama helped break ground on a new White House "kitchen garden" Friday. It will be the first working garden at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a so-called "victory garden" at the height of World War II.

This time, however, the enemy is obesity. The first family is hoping to send a clear message to a fast food-driven nation that often seems to be losing the battle of the bulge.

"We're just hoping that a lot of families look at us and say this is something that they can do and talk to their own kids about and think a little bit critically about the food choices that they make," presidential mother-in-law Marian Robinson said

How to lose 100 pounds

After losing 94 pounds, there's just one question everyone has for me: how did you do it?

I thought I'd answer that question with the details of my journey for the past 10 months.

The easy answer is that I changed.

I changed everything. I changed how I thought about food. I changed how I ate. I changed what I ate. I changed how much I ate. I changed when I ate. I changed on what I read about food. I started this blog to encourage other people and to help change America.

I'm exactly the same husband, father and brother I always was, but I'm totally different than the obese alien that took over my body.

It must have been that alien that forced me to eat a large pizza 10 months and 1 day ago. My mind was saying stop, but those alien hands kept shoving that pizza in mouth.

That night I weighed myself (why?). Two hundred and ninety pounds. Just a biscuit (and gravy) away from 300 pounds. Morbidly obese.

I could play with my 6-year-old, but after five minutes I was tired. I’d love to do yard work, but after 10 minutes I’d have to rest. I hated to go any where. The seat belts on the plane were too tight. My shirts were too tight. My belt was too tight. Even my shoes were too tight.

That night 10 months ago, as I headed to bed the angel of weight came and visited me. My wife and son were in Florida, and I was finishing the rest of the pizza. (I’m already 290 pounds, what’s two more slices?) I looked up and the angel said, “lo, behold an obese man.”

And I was suddenly changed.

I got on-line with Nutrisystem. I had seen their ads and even had a flyer from one of the mailers, but I suddenly found myself picking out food on their website. Now I had thought of all the excuses: it’s too expensive, the food won’t taste good, it won’t work, I won’t have any energy, I’ll cheat anyway…you've heard them all before. You've made them all the before.

So I’ve decided to share my secrets on what works for me. And I’m convinced these same techniques will work for you. For the next few blogs, I’m going to tell you the best ways to lose 100 pounds.

Continued tomorrow.

NY Times asks: Should government regulate your eating habits?

Do you think government should play a role in trying to change people’s eating habits? That's what the NY Times asked today.

And the thoughtful responses are on the side of regulating people's eating habits.

On the other side are the typical arguments that basically government has no right to regulate anything.

Here are some samples:

Public health issues are a huge expense to the community from provision of services to lost productivity.

Yes Government has a right to “dictate” policy on this just as it has a right to dictate policy on drugs, alcohol, road-rules, safety and other health issues.

USA has a high proportion of unhealthy people due to poor diet and exercise. Time to fix it.

— Posted by Dean

It is not necessary to dictate how we eat, but gov’t could require that restaurants display information, like labels on packages.

— Posted by Realist

As the mother of an overweight child, I believe that her problems began in school. There is no mandatory Physical Education program in Florida. The cafeteria’s menu is appalling; soda and junk food snack machines everywhere; candy as reward for work well done. Something needs to be done. If the government would mandate meaningful P.E. programs from elementary thru high school. Make cafeteria food healthy. Ban soda and junk food machines.

— Posted by Debra

I don’t see why not. Someone’s got to tell us what to do in this area since we Americans have shown ourselves unable to 1)make the right choices; 2) get off our very large lazy asses and make a proper dinner with nutritious meats and vegetables and 3)critically think about the “food” products that are being pushed on us by large manufacturers.

As a world traveler, I’m constantly amazed that the quality of food eaten by the majority of the people in many developing countries is much higher quality than here in the richest country in the world. We are pathetic.

— Posted by Gail Porter

If people want to kill themselves through a lifetime of gorging on fat and fast food, that’s fine with me, as long as I don’t have to pay for or subsidize their health care–but we all know that’s not going to happen. I don’t think the government is dictating anything. It’s a public policy issue. The Mayor has every right and, some would say, responsibilitiy, to set this policy. It’s really no different than the smoking ban. In fact, some would argue that poor diet (coupled with decreasing levels of exercise) cause more health-related problems that tobacco smoking. Personally, I say cheers! to the man for calling it as he see’s it.

— Posted by Doctor D

Let's outlaw food buffets!

Ramsey Campbell reports in the Orlando Sentinel on March 31 a disturbing sight:

It was hard not to stare at the couple at the next table. They must have each weighed close to 500 pounds.

Needless to say, it was an all-you-can-eat Lake County restaurant. And management looked understandably worried.

Admittedly an extreme case, the scene still exemplified this country's growing battle with obesity.

Restaurants here tend to pile on food and drink without limit, sensing correctly that we see gluttony as a good thing.

And the fast-food industry has grown because of competition among restaurants over which could serve the largest portions.

What if Philip Morris was allowed to have a smoke shop where -- for a prix fixe -- smokers could have all the cigarettes they wanted? Or, how about, the more they smoked, the cheaper the price got?

Why...we'd outlaw that practice in minutes.

But someone eating themself to death, or worse yet, eating just enough to get diabetes or heart disease, is allowed -- even, encouraged -- to do that daily.

Obviously, some people cannot control themselves. The definition of an addict.

It's clear: We must outlaw food buffets!

We all are thinking the same

Two items:

1. Today as I was shopping at the local grocery store chain, I became convinced that all of America wants the RightSize portions. The check clerk -- a 40-something Hispanic lady -- mentioned to me that it's great I was buying all these vegetables. Well, I rarely, if ever, strike up a conversation with strangers, but I said, yes, you need to eat your vegetables, but just as important to eat the right portions. And immediately she jumped on that and said, "I know, I know, I tell my husband all the time. You must eat just this much," and she made a fist.

Here's a lady -- totally different in so many ways from me -- and she's thinking the exact same thing. We -- white, black, Hispanic, Asian -- have to start eating the RightSize.

2. On the radio today it was mentioned that obesity -- the WrongSize -- is the new smoking. It costs America more money and causes more illness than cigarettes. No matter what you eat, if it's the RightSize you'll be healthier.