Weight-Loss Dead or Alive?

[Fitness Over 50]

I am referring to calories. Are most of the calories you eat dead or are they alive?

Here is a thought - if you eat mostly dead calories, how can you feel vibrant and alive?

Dead or alive calories is not something most of us have ever thought about. But we should. When it comes to calories, we count them. We count how many calories we eat, without considering if they are good or bad calories. If you are going to count calories, count the bad ones. Place less emphasis on counting the good calories.

A few years ago when I read "Fit for Life", I was introduced to eating live foods. Ever since, I am aware of the daily breakdown of my food. I make sure that I eat as much live food as possible.

The following is an excerpt from "Fit For Life". It made a lot of sense to me. Hopefully, it will make sense to you as well. This post may get a little long, but the following is extremely interesting.

"I have always found calorie-counting to be such a bore. It is a depressing way to determine what to eat. I implore people to forget about calories and think of high-quality food. Calorie counting is a very antiquated and ineffective means of trying to regulate one's weight. It looks viable in theory, so does the theory that the sun orbits the earth. Calorie counting is an unrealistic gauge by which to measure one's progress. That is why so many calorie counters do not find the results they are looking for, even though they diligently count their calories.

I remember once going into a very nice restaurant in Palm Springs for breakfast. This establishment prided itself on the fact that everything on the menu had the number of calories indicated next to it. Here is why calorie counting is practically worthless:I worked out two possible breakfasts from the menu. both had three items. One was 220 calories, the other 190. Well, if were operating under the delusion that a calorie is a calorie and I should eat fewer at a meal whenever possible, I would have opted for the breakfast of 190 calories. But understanding the principles of Natural Hygiene as I did, I unhesitatingly had the 220 calorie breakfast. Lucky for me. You see, thinking that a calorie in a food that has been denatured, devitalized and otherwise processed to death is just like a calorie in a fresh, unadulterated food is folly of the highest order. All cars are cars too. Would you rather have a broken down old jalopy with no brakes that barely runs or a shiny new Rolls-Royce? Both are cars, but one can endanger your life while the other can serve it. So it is with calories. One kind can add weight to your body, another kind can supply the energy to help you lose weight. When dealing with calories, it is a classic instance of quality being of far greater importance than quantity.

The 190 calorie breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal, one piece if wheat toast and cream cheese. The 220 calorie breakfast was a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, a slice of fresh melon in season and a bowl of fresh strawberries. Now that you have a clear understanding of eating foods high in water content, properly combined, I'm sure you can see why i opted for the 220 calorie meal. The 190 calorie breakfast was three items devoid of water. It was a protein (cream cheese) and two carbohydrates (toast and oatmeal). It would have sat rotting in my stomach for some six to eight hours, robbing me of my precious energy, supplying no nutrition and leaving a thick layer of toxic waste to clog my system. It would have done absolutely nothing to assist in my desire to lose weight. It would have added weight. The 220 calorie breakfast was all high water content. No putrefaction or fermentation and the resulting distress to my system. it passed through my stomach in less than half an hour and was actually supplying me with real energy within an hour. My system was helped, not prevented from cleansing itself of waste, because my elimination cycle was not thwarted"

I hope the above excerpt makes sense to you. There are several references made to principals that are outlined by the author in other parts of the book. I suggest you get the book and read it. It will without a doubt help you to lose weight and gain energy.

So, if you are still weighing yourself and counting calories - STOP DOING IT. Instead look in the mirror and start eating better quality food.

Peter
Fitness Over 50
Get Up And Get Out There

 

[KaraCooks]

That entire article is a crock.

"dead calories"? Puh leeze. Give me a break.

People need to quit cloaking weight loss and being healthy in all kinds of psychobabble and made up science.

It's very basic. Eat healthy foods. Eat real foods. Eat reasonable quantities. Quit demonizing food.

That's it.

 

[KaraCooks]

The 190 calorie breakfast was three items devoid of water. It was a protein (cream cheese) and two carbohydrates (toast and oatmeal. It would have sat rotting in my stomach for some six to eight hours, robbing me of my precious energy, supplying no nutrition and leaving a thick layer of toxic waste to clog my system

I'm sorry .. I can't resist. This is such bullcrap.

Oatmeal is full of protein and *gasp* beliee it or not ... WATER. Wow. It's a complex carb that includes a lot of minerals and vitamins and is satiating, which means it keeps you feeling fuller for longer - not because it's "rotting" in your stomach (what utter bs) but because it takes your body longer to process a complex carb.

I personally would not choose to eat whole grain toast AND oats at the same meal - but there's nothing wrong with a slice of whole grain toast. Again, whole grains have protein and other minerals in them.

Cream cheese can be high in fat, yes, but it's also full of calcium, vitamin D, protein, and other nutrients. A light cream cheese would be better than full fat, but it's not going to "rot" in your stomach.

OTOH< a breakfast of juice (in other words, drinking a glass of sugar water w/out any of the fiber and bulk benefits of eating the whole fruit), plus 2 more high sugar fruits will spike your insulin, pass through your system quickly, and leave you more hungry than you were before you ate.

Now, combining the two .. perhaps a bowl of oats with strawberries, or the toast with the fruit ... THAT is a healthy balance.

Not this garbage about "rotting" food and "dead" calories.

 

[Jericho]

....um.


I'm confused. Is this promoting the Raw diet cause man has been cooking food since we discovered fire.

And you know how food digests right? It doesn't matter what the food is made of. The stomach holds a little under 2 quarts (1.9 liters) of semidigested food. That food remains in the stomach for three to five hours. The stomach slowly releases food to the rest of the digestive tract. Fifteen hours or more after the first bite started down the alimentary canal (digestive tract, which begins at the mouth), the final residue of the food is passed along to the rectum and is excreted through the anus as feces.

sorry if that was too disgusting but food doesn't ROT in your stomach.

Lord I am sorry but this isn't science.

 

[Jericho]

know your sources

Among other things (you really should read this article)...

The American College of Life Science, where Diamond got his "doctoral" degree, was formed in 1982 by its president, T.C. Fry, whom Harvey calls "today's most eminent, active proponent of Natural Hygiene . . . a most brilliant spokesperson for health." Although Fry obviously has high native intelligence, he admitted in a recent radio debate that he was a high school dropout. He also told me that viruses do not exist and that it was just coincidence that smallpox and polio epidemics ceased when people were immunized against the viruses that cause these diseases. According to the Life Science catalog (a booklet called Careers in Health):

Whereas medical practitioners look to drugs . . . Life Science presents an entirely different approach. We hold that exuberant and radiant health is normal and natural. We hold that suffering and ailments are abnormal, unnatural and unnecessary . . . Cease to indulge in the causes of disease and disease will not occur.

The catalog also claims "you can become an expert nutritionist in less than a year" by taking the school's 111-lesson correspondence course. Students can acquire a certificate of proficiency after 32 lessons, a "bachelor of science degree" after 58 lessons, a "master of science degree" after 84 lessons, and a "doctor of philosophy degree" in nutrition science at the end.

Presumably flushed with the success of his star pupils, Fry announced this year that tuition for his nutrition course would rise from $875 to $1,250 and that graduates could expect to earn $500 to $1,000 per month from home on a part-time basis. But the future of his school is uncertain. In 1982, the Texas Commissioner of Higher Education ordered Fry to "cease and desist advertising or otherwise offering degree programs without a Certificate of Authority from this agency." Fry replied that his school was exempt from the law because it was a religious institution but later said that it had left the state. In 1986, when it became clear that the school was still operating in Texas and would not stop voluntarily, an injunction was obtained forbidding Fry, the College of Life Science, and the American College of Life Science from using the word "College" or granting academic credits or degrees.

 

[Andy2]

The American College of Life Science, where Diamond got his "doctoral" degree, was formed in 1982 by its president, T.C. Fry, whom Harvey calls "today's most eminent, active proponent of Natural Hygiene . . . a most brilliant spokesperson for health." Although Fry obviously has high native intelligence, he admitted in a recent radio debate that he was a high school dropout. He also told me that viruses do not exist and that it was just coincidence that smallpox and polio epidemics ceased when people were immunized against the viruses that cause these diseases. According to the Life Science catalog (a booklet called Careers in Health):

Sad thing is this guy has likely lined his pockets using false ideas about living and dead calories ect ect., because people are so ready to believe was some quack doctor recommends.




Still, it was a pretty entertaining idea LOL

 

[Jeanette401]

Uh, I'm still kind of squicked out about the idea of 'live' calories. I keep picturing popping live mice down my gullet like a snake!

... Pretty much everything I eat was 'alive'. While I agree that processing food, and even cooking food makes a difference... it's not like a banana is going to feel pain when you bite down into it.

I have to agree with Kara, that oatmeal + strawberries sounds like a best of both worlds option though! Certainly better than Orange Juice which, farm from being 'alive' is just as processed as rolled oats.

Incidentally, the whole premise of the book "Catching Fire, How Cooking Made us Human" is that not only did humans eat cooked food since we mastered fire, but that cooking food was responsible for several evolutionary changes that actually let us become 'human'. Including the smaller teeth, smaller stomachs, ability to get adequate nutrition for our big ole' brains etc. Very interesting read. And makes more sense than the 'live food' debate. ... Is yogurt live or dead food by this definition?

 

[KaraCooks]

Is yogurt live or dead food by this definition?

Good point. Technically once you harvest the strawberry, isn't it dead? I mean you've cut the stem, removed it from it's source of nutrients, it's not going to grow any more - in fact it'll rot in the bowl if it's not eaten. So the strawberry is just as "dead" as the oats.

 

[ocd]

The numbers for those breakfasts don't add up to me.

190 calories split between oatmeal, whole grain toast and cream cheese would have to be a very tiny portion of each.

A slice of whole grain toast by itself is at least 100 - 110 calories and that's assuming it's dry without butter or margarine, Oatmeal weighs in at 150 calories per 1/3 cup dry, and cream cheese I am guessing here but I would have to estimate at least 90-100 calories a tablespoon.

On the other side 250 ml of orange juice is about 110 calories, I am not sure on the fruit.

But none of that adds up to me. Numbers that don't add up suggest a made up scenario to me.



On an average day I have a breakfast in the 500 calorie range, 3/4 of a cup dry oatmeal cooked, a piece of fruit like a banana sliced into it, and milk, with a glass of milk on the side, skim of course.

 

[Kayshiz]

It would have done absolutely nothing to assist in my desire to lose weight. It would have added weight. The 220 calorie breakfast was all high water content. No putrefaction or fermentation and the resulting distress to my system. it passed through my stomach in less than half an hour and was actually supplying me with real energy within an hour.

You act as if the calories of the food play less, nay any, of a role in weight loss compared to how long the food stays in your stomach.

 

[whiskeytangofox]

The numbers for those breakfasts don't add up to me.

190 calories split between oatmeal, whole grain toast and cream cheese would have to be a very tiny portion of each.

A slice of whole grain toast by itself is at least 100 - 110 calories and that's assuming it's dry without butter or margarine, Oatmeal weighs in at 150 calories per 1/3 cup dry, and cream cheese I am guessing here but I would have to estimate at least 90-100 calories a tablespoon.

On the other side 250 ml of orange juice is about 110 calories, I am not sure on the fruit.

But none of that adds up to me. Numbers that don't add up suggest a made up scenario to me.



On an average day I have a breakfast in the 500 calorie range, 3/4 of a cup dry oatmeal cooked, a piece of fruit like a banana sliced into it, and milk, with a glass of milk on the side, skim of course.

Agreed. This morning I had 50g oatmeal. It came to 180 calories.

This article was crazy and hilarious. Half way through I actually began to enjoy it.

 

[ocd]

Agreed. This morning I had 50g oatmeal. It came to 180 calories.

This article was crazy and hilarious. Half way through I actually began to enjoy it.

I have been following the thinking that breakfast should be one of if not the biggest meals of the day.

So I try to go with roughly 500 with each meal, in reality I probably get a little bit more for dinner still, old habits are hard to break, and I do exercise after dinner and breakfast so my thinking is I need those calories.

It's working so far anyway.

 

[whiskeytangofox]

I have been following the thinking that breakfast should be one of if not the biggest meals of the day.

So I try to go with roughly 500 with each meal, in reality I probably get a little bit more for dinner still, old habits are hard to break, and I do exercise after dinner and breakfast so my thinking is I need those calories.

It's working so far anyway.

Dude, nothing has to be anything. It's all about what is best for you. Calories in and calories out.

 

[Jeanette401]

I go with the idea that the meal closest to when I weight lift should be the biggest meal of the day Try to convince my body those calories should go to muscles!!

Hopefully my muscles won't be too upset about the dead food.

Incidentally, it's my understanding that raw foods tends to linger longer in the digestive tract than cooked food. Because the cooking helps break them down. So... which calorie is the Rolls Royce again? I saw a shiny thing and got distracted!

 

[ocd]

I go with the idea that the meal closest to when I weight lift should be the biggest meal of the day Try to convince my body those calories should go to muscles!!

Hopefully my muscles won't be too upset about the dead food.

Incidentally, it's my understanding that raw foods tends to linger longer in the digestive tract than cooked food. Because the cooking helps break them down. So... which calorie is the Rolls Royce again? I saw a shiny thing and got distracted!

I guess that's kind of what I do, I have a big breakfast and run after breakfast, then a moderate lunch, a bit larger dinner and run after dinner.

If I can't hold out I will have a snack in the morning, it's a long time from breakfast at 6am till lunch at noon.

I will be so damn happy when winter is over and I can spend more time biking outdoors and get off the treadmill.

 

[Jeanette401]

I'm definitely looking forward to warmer weather - and it seems like some people do better with big breakfasts, and others don't. I do my workouts in the evening, so I try to schedule the most calories for then.

 

[arkangel888]

Most calories we eat are alive, meaning that they deposit to the daily amount of calories consumed in food. in my opinion a good program and a healthy diet will keep you up an running. I have been using a good program and I'm confident that I can keep this on.