SpiceUmUp said:
Daph, what is your point?
So your clever and self serving little diatribe, which others following this thread have (more wisely than me) ignored, is obnoxious, worthless and ill considered. Worst, it is ignorant and insulting.
SO what was your point? Was this a way of saying “HA I am better than you, I am an athlete, I am in good condition I am fit”? Well bravo. To bad you were born without any sense of compassion or sensitivity.
What's my point?
Here's my point. ALL the literature in medicine, diet, fitness notes that the key to maintaining ideal weight -- BMI, fat %, height to weight, however you want to measure it -- the key is to consume fewer calories than you metabolize.
That's the major premise in the syllogism.
The minor premise is --
All humans metabolize more calories when they exercise regularly. The reasons for this are:
Exercise increases metabolism -- not just during the exercise, but for about 6 to 8 hours after the exercise.
Exercise metabolizes fat. Exercise burns carbohydrates too, but "fats burn in a carbohydrate flame." You can look up this quote. It occurs again and again in the literature.
Exercise metabolizes fat.
Exercise increases lean body mass. Lean body mass is muscle. Muscle burns calories. The more lean body mass you have, the more calories you burn. This is basic exercise physiology.
The obvious conclusion, derived from the major and minor premise is that exercise is fundamental to weight loss.
Moving on . . .
The literature in exercise physiology and weight loss notes time and again that the body is a self-conserving organism.
When calories are restricted, the body shuts down metabolism in an effort to conserve the organsim. You don't want to shut down metabolism. You want to increase metabolism.
The means to increasing metabolism is exercise. The literature is all over the internet and every place else you might look.
But Covert Bailey MD in "Fit Not Fat" outlines it all in simple, accessible form where it's all put together for you and available in one small book.
Just for the record --
Daphne Du Libre is a pun on a classic European bike race -- the Dauphine du Libre. Back when I was in high school, circa early 1960's, I raced bicycles. I was 5' 10" and weighed 145 lbs. Just for the record, Daphne Du Libre is a pun. I'm a guy. I've done everything on a bicycle that Spice Em Up claims to have done. We used to regularly ride the "Mt. Hood Loop" -- Portland, Govt. Camp on Mt. Hood (elevation 5,000') Hood River, Portland, about 220 miles with a major mt. pass.
I did Forest Grove to Tillamook -- 50 miles, 1,600' climb, in under three hours. Ate lunch and did the return in sub three hours, un-paced. 1988. I was 40.
I'm 57, retired (disabled veteran). I'm still 5' 10", but I weigh about 215 most days. Body fat runs 25% on a good day -- 23% to about 27% most of the time.
Back in 1990 -- 15 yrs ago -- I was 13% body fat--about 185 lbs.
A year ago, 2004, I was doing a lot of physical labor in the course of cleaning up a new property / home purchase. I was 199 lbs and getting fit.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and affective disorders concomitant to my disability rating co-conspired to balloon my weight out to about 225 lbs.
I'm back to 215 most days.
My strategy is to exercise and get fit. I ride bikes, surf, hike, work in the yard (3.5 acres -- more "pastures" than "lawn.")
I also work hard to eat "real food" -- unprocessed, whole foods. I try to stay away from processed food. If it's a "meal in a package" I'm going to pass. I have a weakness for chocolate and Snickers bars.
What's my point?
My point is that the key to attaining ideal body weight is to become fit. If you're fit, you will attain ideal body weight. If you attain ideal body weight, you will be fit.
Obesity in the USA is the biggest health issue on the horizon. It ties into heart disease, which kills more Americans every year than most everything else except cigarette smoking.
But obesity is currently in a position to surpass cigarette smoking as a health issue in the USA.
What's my point?
My point is that you don't get fit by starving yourself to death.
You get fit through exercise. And getting fit is what it means to maintain an ideal weight. Fit people maintain an ideal weight. You can't reach an ideal weight without becoming fit.
It's about exercise. It's not about starving yourself.