Do I go on a Diet or follow this Expat advice .

[1FinickyOne]

12 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

You're the first person I've heard saying reducing junk food won't help

except I didn't say that... 

[SuperSilverHaze]

On 2/9/2023 at 6:50 AM, nglodnig said:

I DREAM of being that weight

 

Here's a TRUE story - a colleague of mine used to make fun of my weight. His arms were like pipe stems, he only would only eat breakfast in the morning and ONCE A WEEK would have an evening meal (no lunch of course).

 

Sad to say, he's had a kidney removed, is riddled with cancer and has COPD (smoking Capstan Full Strength instead of eating didn't help).

 

Meanwhile I am overweight, some would way say obese - but I'm healthy.

 

Weight in itself is not an indicator of bad health unless there are other symptoms.

 

Which luckily so far I have none - blood pressure normal, for a start. I do exercise though but not a great deal and try and avoid carbs.

So, you are directly linking kidney removal and cancer to eating minimally? Lol. Keep fooling yourself

[SuperSilverHaze]

23 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

I don't personally have a sugar addiction and there are monk fruit sugars which though expensive surely do the trick... one of many problems is that they say that sugar is more addictive than opioids. Another problem is that it is in near everything in the supermarket - - further exacerbated by deceptive labelling manufacturers... and then, not all people are the same - - 

 

I was skinny as a rail before I was 30 - my eating habits were formed then, and anything was ok and as much as you want... then I started putting on weight - just a little - 2 lbs a year... but 25 years later, which goes by all too quickly, and you are +50 lbs... and it does not come off easy... 

Indeed

 

I did this calculation many years ago. I realized if I *only* gained a pound every year I would be 15 pounds heavier by 30yo from high school weight. I am now 60 and 15 pounds heavier than HS.

 

One pound a year (half kg) now at sixty one I'd have gained nearly 60lbs or 50kg thereabouts

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

Indeed

 

I did this calculation many years ago. I realized if I *only* gained a pound every year I would be 15 pounds heavier by 30yo from high school weight. I am now 60 and 15 pounds heavier than HS.

 

One pound a year (half kg) now at sixty one I'd have gained nearly 60lbs or 50kg thereabouts

Dieting is tough and usually not effective against time etc... I remember one time, starving myself and taking off 3 lbs in a month... then I had 1 hamburger and gained back 2 lbs... it becomes discouraging. One skinny friend once told me that he knew it was possible to lose weight because he saw holocaust pictures and they were all skinny. But we have food available everywhere and supermarkets and money... 

 

It is always annoying when skinny guys are so critical and have stories of having a big dinner and gaining 2 lbs and then dieting to take it off... which is different than dieting for 30 years and occasionally losing hope... and it is not as bad being overweight as some people imagine. Skinny people are often unhealthy and fat people can be healthy...  I have a very skinny friend my age, he eats the same as I do, but he looks terrible. His face is drawn and very old looking... 

[scubascuba3]

27 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

Dieting is tough and usually not effective against time etc... I remember one time, starving myself and taking off 3 lbs in a month... then I had 1 hamburger and gained back 2 lbs... it becomes discouraging. One skinny friend once told me that he knew it was possible to lose weight because he saw holocaust pictures and they were all skinny. But we have food available everywhere and supermarkets and money... 

 

It is always annoying when skinny guys are so critical and have stories of having a big dinner and gaining 2 lbs and then dieting to take it off... which is different than dieting for 30 years and occasionally losing hope... and it is not as bad being overweight as some people imagine. Skinny people are often unhealthy and fat people can be healthy...  I have a very skinny friend my age, he eats the same as I do, but he looks terrible. His face is drawn and very old looking... 

It's a shame when people think they have to starve themselves to lose weight

[SuperSilverHaze]

20 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

Dieting is tough and usually not effective against time etc... I remember one time, starving myself and taking off 3 lbs in a month... then I had 1 hamburger and gained back 2 lbs... it becomes discouraging. One skinny friend once told me that he knew it was possible to lose weight because he saw holocaust pictures and they were all skinny. But we have food available everywhere and supermarkets and money... 

 

It is always annoying when skinny guys are so critical and have stories of having a big dinner and gaining 2 lbs and then dieting to take it off... which is different than dieting for 30 years and occasionally losing hope... and it is not as bad being overweight as some people imagine. Skinny people are often unhealthy and fat people can be healthy...  I have a very skinny friend my age, he eats the same as I do, but he looks terrible. His face is drawn and very old looking... 

You friend probably looks that way not by how much he eats but what he eats.

 

Case in point many vegetarian look unhealthy

 

Losing weight isn't easy that's why you shouldn't put it on. When I hit 82kg alarm bells go off and I get my weight down. I'm now 77.5kg.

 

The only way for me to stay this weight is by watching what farang food I eat.

 

Skinny girls are sexy af

[scubascuba3]

Just now, SuperSilverHaze said:

 

Losing weight isn't easy that's why you shouldn't put it on. When I hit 82kg alarm bells go off and I get my weight down. I'm now 77.5kg.

 

You've got that right, need to act even when weight goes up a few kg otherwise it keeps going.

 

Fat people let it go too long

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

You've got that right, need to act even when weight goes up a few kg otherwise it keeps going.

 

Fat people let it go too long

One thing for sure, it doesnt get easier by the years, if you do not have the drive to start the change.

[simon43]

If you do want to change your diet for a more healthy alternative, the worst thing you can do IMHO is to go 'all in', with a sudden change in your diet.  Rather, make a small change by eating one type of 'healthy' food, but still also eating your favourite 'unhealthy' food in a smaller amount.  Gradually move over several months from unhealthy to healthy diet.

[Hummin]

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

If you do want to change your diet for a more healthy alternative, the worst thing you can do IMHO is to go 'all in', with a sudden change in your diet.  Rather, make a small change by eating one type of 'healthy' food, but still also eating your favourite 'unhealthy' food in a smaller amount.  Gradually move over several months from unhealthy to healthy diet.

I believe that is a individual thing, some manage to do a quick 180, others need to do it step by step.

 

When I decide to do something I do it 100% from start to my goal is reached, and I just cant do it half way or slowly step by step. 

 

 

[BigStar]

On 2/10/2023 at 11:50 AM, 1FinickyOne said:

Dieting is tough and usually not effective against time etc.

After your eating and drinking habits become part of your lifestyle, then it's not dieting, and it's not difficult. It's effective against time. Best read up on the many success stories.

 

On 2/10/2023 at 11:50 AM, 1FinickyOne said:

then I had 1 hamburger and gained back 2 lbs

With the bread, catsup contains sugar. Fries? Coke? Then you ate more after insulin dropped? Of what?

 

Too many unknown variables. But the overweight commonly assert they're not eating anything. Friend of mine often did that, before his heart attack.

 

On 2/10/2023 at 11:50 AM, 1FinickyOne said:

But we have food available everywhere and supermarkets and money... 

And a wide choice of low glycemic foods to purchase with the money, which is what I do. If that's all you've got to eat in the home, you'll eat it. Keep temptation out of reach.

 

On 2/10/2023 at 11:50 AM, 1FinickyOne said:

and it is not as bad being overweight as some people imagine.

Until the chronic diseases kick in earlier than they could have. Then the years of chasing docs and meds and eventually suffering. For some reason, our Longevity Scientists ignore that kind of stress. I'd find it a lot more stressful, esp. paying all the bills, than just maintaining a healthy diet and exercising a couple hours a week. So, what meds you on currently?

 

 

Earlier onset of morbidity means earlier chasing docs and meds, frailty, and not feeling well. AND dealing with that for a much longer period. Problems tend to get worse and worse. The meds may well help in that process.

 

Though ANF Poster Longevity Science promotes the mythical happy life with an early, quick death during a bonk, the reality is very different, as you discover in the Health forum. A browse through any diabetes forum  on the 'net might be enlightening.

 

A couple of old friends of mine are playing the long, slow endgame now. One can't remember where he is from day to day as he's into his 3rd month of rehab learning to walk again. Costing a fortune.

 

The other, now needing a wheelchair, is starting to look like a skeleton. He was once one of the naturally strongest people I've ever met. Diet and exercise were never his thing, though. Fact, he was rather contemptuous of my lifestyle. No more, though. He did diet for the last few years, owing to diabetes, but it was a case of too little, too late. Arteriosclerosis, stroke, falls . . . .  It ain't pretty. I'm accompanying him and his Thai wife to see a heart specialist again and see if further tests might help. Not optimistic.

 

On 2/10/2023 at 11:50 AM, 1FinickyOne said:

I have a very skinny friend my age, he eats the same as I do, but he looks terrible. His face is drawn and very old looking... 

Sounds like the poor diet's visible in his case but not in yours as fat gives you cover.

 

As to your point that dieting is harder for some, now that's quite true. Gary Taubes (our Nutritionists may now pause and make the sign of the cross) notes that

 

And the perspective of lean people—what they see—has been the determining factor in how the nutritional authorities have come to think about how all of us should eat.

     --Gary Taubes, The Case For Keto

 

So CICO (calories in calories out) won't work well for people w/ hormonal imbalances, notably insulin resistance. What may work for you is going low glycemic. If you keep your insulin low, then you don't get hungry. Takes a while to get to that state, maybe a month or so.

 

How to get motivated? Motivation is rather overrated. Discipline is key. Jack LaLanne, for example, didn't really enjoy lifting. Lee Priest, a competitive bodybuilder, was once asked what body part he most enjoys training? "None. I hate them all." I can relate. I do what I do to try to avoid the consequences of not doing it. 

 

But the best thing you can do for your motivation is GASP! read an entire book to understand the whole theory behind CIM (Carbohydrate Insulin Model). The loudest monkeys in the forest here know only CICO and will distort, misunderstand, or outright lie about what little they know about CIM. If you PM me, I'll see if I can't send you an e-book or two. 

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by BigStar

[Jingthing]

It's not about calories or will power. It's much more about HORMONES.

Simply counting calories and doing what you think is a deficit WILL NOT WORK because your metabolism will slow down dramatically, you will be miserably hungry, and you will stop losing weight, even start gaining it while feeling starved on the same calorie number. 

 

[save the frogs]

I would like to make a general comment for anyone who may be interested in trying to improve their health.

 

Remember Anthony Robbins? He was a motivational speaker. Companies would pay him big bucks to go motivate their employees. And it worked. After he motivated the employees, productivity improved. But there was one problem. A while after he left, the motivation wore off and the productivity went back to what it was before. 

 

So basically, the most important thing to do to try to improve your health is to motivate yourself daily or at least weekly. As often as possible. Since most people are not very good at motivating themselves, you need to rely on an outside source. 

 

Fortunately, there are a boatload of health bloggers out there. 

 

One thing you will notice is that many of these bloggers upload blogs daily. And one reason they do that is that is how they themselves stay motivated to strive for healthy habits. 

 

Watch them daily if possible. Most videos are under 10 minutes. 

You will learn tricks to tweak your diet. And most importantly, they will push you to stay motivated. 
Unless you keep motivating yourself with the help of these bloggers, you will fall back into your old ways. 

 

 

[save the frogs]

OP ... winners don't quit!

 

if you win the inner game, you win the outer game.

that's where the game is won.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by save the frogs

[BigStar]

9 hours ago, save the frogs said:

Fortunately, there are a boatload of health bloggers out there. 

 

One thing you will notice is that many of these bloggers upload blogs daily. And one reason they do that is that is how they themselves stay motivated to strive for healthy habits. 

But mainly they're relatively uneducated and need a source of income, rather like Pattaya vloggers. Poverty is an effective motivator, no question.

 

9 hours ago, save the frogs said:

Most videos are under 10 minutes. 

You will learn tricks to tweak your diet. And most importantly, they will push you to stay motivated. 

Mostly just a repetition of the usual tweaks they've read on various fitness sites, which have interest in offering paid solutions to the complexity they create. Mostly they won't work for the average schmuck, or won't work for long.

 

Part of the reason is an overemphasis on vanity, as the target market is young men hoping to attract babes. It's not enough, esp for old guys, who'll never get a second glance from any babes based on their appearance alone, fit or not. Also, the methods are often not suitable for older people anyway--beyond the obvious, e. g., cut out the junk food.

 

Me, I keep up w/ a few Twitter feeds about health & fitness from well-qualified sources, never bodybuilders, who keep up w/ the latest studies and also walk the walk themselves.

 

What's really most effective is personal counseling. That's the biggest reason Weight Watchers has been for decades a most successful weight loss program. People are too weak to go it alone. 

 

The gym is a good place to start (slowly, carefully) changing one's attitude. As George Sheehan said in Running And Being, the mind's first step towards self-awareness must be through the body. @ozimoronhas got it right, joined a nice gym and started working there with a personal trainer, taking diet seriously. One of the very few posters here who's ever made any change for the better, good on 'im. @backstreetis another who got serious while he still can. But--haven't heard from him in a couple of months. One may hope he's still at it.

   

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by BigStar

[save the frogs]

most bodybuilders are on steroids.

weight watchers ... not sure they advocate proper eating habits. 

personal trainers are costly ...

in the past, there were only books available. but 10 minute video clips daily keeps me motivated. 

 

[save the frogs]

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's not about calories or will power. It's much more about HORMONES.

food affects hormones.

some foods raise testosterone.

not sure if it's true, but just read that beer raises estrogen levels in men.

[intheheartoftheheart]

I've noticed all the older, shirtless sex tourists in Pattaya have the same exact body-figure of post-menopausal women.

The exact same women they've tried to escape back in the Midlands.

Quite entertaining to see.

 

It's gotta be the beer. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by intheheartoftheheart

[scubascuba3]

9 hours ago, save the frogs said:

but just read that beer raises estrogen levels in men.

Maybe explains the fat men with breasts you see walking about

[BigStar]

On 2/13/2023 at 7:38 PM, save the frogs said:

weight watchers ... not sure they advocate proper eating habits. 

Not an optimal diet, IMO. Nonetheless, it's among the most effective ever for losing weight. And it's consistent with ace ANF Nutritionist Principles, so it's surprising our ace Nutritionists never recommend it.

 

On 2/13/2023 at 7:38 PM, save the frogs said:

personal trainers are costly ...

Well worth it if that's what it takes. Note how we ignore all the expenses involved in the medicated lifestyle, except when looking for cheaper prices and insurance.

 

Most people stay with a trainer a few months and are then able to go it alone. A session with a trainer once a week or two is affordable.

 

On 2/13/2023 at 7:38 PM, save the frogs said:

in the past, there were only books available. but 10 minute video clips daily keeps me motivated. 

Now there are a vast number of resources online. Reading books gives you the motivation from a deep understanding of fundamental theory. Then you follow the best gurus online via tweets, youtube, and podcasts.

 

Podcasts are really best, but they tend to be lengthy. For example, Dr. Rhonda Patrick's recent conversation w/ Dr. Brad Schoenfeld weighs in at 2 hours. Joe Rogan and Peter Attia had a very informative conversation  (podcast #1735) for 3 hours, 21 min. But excerpts appear on youtube, which may be inspiring.

 

I immediately click away from some fit young twerp mouthing the usual fitness site bromides. A few will refer to studies, but their understanding of the studies can't be relied upon, no matter their "influencer" self-assurance.

[save the frogs]

yeah, not sure who those 2 hour podcasts are for.

some of them have the courtesy to break them down into 10 minute snippets.

but we're lucky to have access to world class researchers sharing their knowledge.