Walk like the Amish

[Tinker]

You're right, John. It's a combination of diet and exercise which is recommended by every sane physician whose work I've read.

BUT! I know at least a dozen people who swear that they can lose weight by finding the right diet and sticking to it. It's a good thing that they haven't put money on it.

Exercise also increases blood flow to the organs (including the brain), and blood with healthy amounts of oxygen in it (induced by exercise, unless you're into O2 doping ) refreshes and invigorates the organs.

I have a personal belief that blood flowing at a quicker rate through the body (such as caused by exercise) acts like water in a creek bed, washing away the trash sitting along the banks by way of HDL, the good cholesterol, acting as a sand blaster of sorts. At the very least, exercise stretches the arteries and veins, possibly keeping them from premature hardening.
The above is specuation, of course, but let me have my illusions. Thanks

[hikerboy57]

exercise alone does not lead to weight loss.Im pretty thin, 5'10" 165 lbs, and every time I section hike, I actually gain weight as what little body fat gets burned off and I end up increasing muscle mass, which is heavier than fat.
Tinker, I agree that good exercise does help to keep the blood flowingclean out some of the crap in the arteries. grape seed or pine bark extract is also excellent for helping to reduce plaques in the arteries. These are both powerful antioxidants, about 10-20x that of Vitamin C.

[Tinker]

Good info on the antioxidants. Thanks.
I have to admit that, when it becomes painfully obvious to me that I need to lose some weight (like after the holidays) I cut down on both fatty foods and carbohydrates, filling up on green veggies (most have less sugar than orange or yellow veggies), and drinking large quantities of water before each meal. It's quite possible to exercise and not lose weight unless you're conscious of what you eat as well, so I'll concede with this parting statement: For a healthy overall individual, a proper diet and exercise are both important. Whichever one you think you need to work on most, get to work on it.

Now I'm hungry.

[johnnybgood]

Good information on the green veggies in regards to having less sugars than their yellow & orange counterparts.
I have always heard that drinking lots of water before eating leaves one filling more full and also flushing toxins out of the kidneys. Another trick to eating less that you might what to try Thanksgiving Day is putting smaller quanities of food in your plate. Going one step further , use a smaller plate with larger utensils . This gives you less room to pile on the food and a perception that the amount eaten is of a larger quantity .
When it comes to food servings the average American eats more than they need to , or body wants.

[bfayer]

WOO someone needs to work on reading their statistics


That was a small but measurable increase from 62.2% the previous year. The survey finds that 36.6% of Americans are overweight and 26.5% obese.

And that is only because they use an arbitrary definition of "overweight" and "obese". In 1997 when the CDC changed the definition of "overweight" and "obese" about 30 million people who were "Normal" one day were "Overweight" the next. I am not saying that most people cannot use to loose some weight, just that statistics are only as good as the definitions used to make them.

By the way, since then, they have found out that people that fit into the zone between what was normal and now overweight (by the new standards, 27 compared to 25 BMI) live longer. In fact most overweight (not obese) people live longer than Skinny (normal weight) people.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/...ess_deaths.htm

overall health and how you take care of yourself is a much better indicator of life expectancy than weight.

[MuddyWaters]

Losing "weight" is easy. Losing fat is less so.

"Weight" is composed of muscle, glycogen, fat, and water

Generally, a person restricting their calories can lose ~ 65% fat and 35% muscle'/protein tissues. (Its been studied). The "high protein" diets claim this wont occur if you have a high protein intake. Wrong. It still does.

To avoid losing excessive muscle, the body needs a reason to keep it, hence excercise, creating a need for muscle, especially with resistance training, is desireable, but not necessary. This is why some people who starve themselves just end up looking flabbier and smaller and less healthy, not at all like the ripped fitness models they would like to look like.

When you do cardiovascular excercise for ~20 min, the amt of calories burned while excersizing is small (200) , but the body's systems have "inertia". They are slow to rev up, and slow to slow back down. Once you get it revved up into the calorie/fat burning mode, it continues that for a long time afterwards. That is where the real weight is lost, during the first hour AFTER excersize. This is when you avoid eating to lose fat most rapidly. You may burn additional couple hundred calories during that hour. The total for the day is then a significant deficit, even without trying to restricting calories.


All sounds good, but doesnt work out that way in reality. Even with resistance training, and a high protein intake, if you lose more than 2 lbs per month, you will lose muscle too.

One thing to be aware of , is if your sweat smell like ammonia/urea you should stop excersizing. That is a sign that protein (muscle) is being broken down.

[jimtabor]

I am 5" 8" and was 165 pound 25 years ago. I got down to 170 a few years ago after walking 5 to 10 miles per day and looked like I was just released from a prison camp. 180 to 185 is a good weight for me . I walk and run 30 to 40 miles a week . But my last visit to the Doc I was told I was obese.

[bpitt]

WYOW.....weigh your own weight, you heard it here first.

[DapperD]

It seems the Amish community know a thing or two about staying thin and relatively healthy.
The average Amish man walks 18,000 steps daily while everyone else takes about half as many steps on an average day.

I found it interesting that the Amish still eat like everyone pre World War II rural America did , which consisted of a high fat diet rich in lard , bread and drank milk unprocessed straight from the cow.
http://walking.about.com/cs/measure/a/amish010704.htm

This should be a wake up call for those that remain sedentary , getting unhealther by the day causing premature heart disease along with diabetes.

After reading this article I think I'm going to take a long walk.

They say that walking is among the best exercises to be described as a pure fat burning activity. People who walk everywhere and/or a lot tend to be in good shape. The Amish I am sure do not only do a lot of walking, but they also do a lot of physical labor (farming and contruction). So yes living a highly physical lifestyle will get you and keep you in condition. And coupling that with eating plenty of high quality foods that you grow and raise yourself is going to add to your overall health, strength, vigor, and vitality.

[Sierra Echo]

This thread has me envisioning Weird Al Yankovic in his amish get up making fun of thru hikers. Would make for an awesome video.

[Wise Old Owl]

OK without coming off sarcastic - I am so glad that Jhonnybgood posted this thread - confirmation of some of mine and I plan to share this with my overbearing 70+ dad.... who still chastises me about weight.

Thank you for this new take.

[veteran]

[AndyB]

Amish? Really? We have a thread about Amish?

[3_dogs]

Didn't you know that 68.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot?

One of the first things I learned in grad school was, "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics."

[10-K]

I just scanned this thread and didn't read it completely - my apologies if this is redundant....

When people say "I exercise.' that's like saying "I play sports." - the exercise continuum is so large that it could mean anything from water aerobics to running an ultra-marathon and anything in between.

Saying "Exercise alone isn't effective for losing weight." is not a 100% factual statement. What kind of exercise? How long are you doing it?

In my "real life" I ordinarily run/walk/hike at least 70 miles a week ( I try for 10 miles a day, average). Given that the body is built for efficiency and the fact that I've been doing this for years I'd guesstimate that I burn roughly 4500 calories for every 70 miles I cover by foot.

That's very close (about 70%-80%) of my daily caloric intake over 2 days.

[The Solemates]

This should be a wake up call for those that remain sedentary , getting unhealther by the day causing premature heart disease along with diabetes.

there is an underlying presumption made here that Amish people are diagnosed with heart disease and/or diabetes at a lower rate than non-Amish people. this is probably true, but could just as easily NOT be the case. any research to support?

[Pedaling Fool]

Another trick to eating less that you might what to try Thanksgiving Day is putting smaller quanities of food in your plate.

I never restrain myself on special get togethers, if anything I'll starve myself a little before them. But I guess it's a good tactic for the rest of the year.

[johnnybgood]

Amish? Really? We have a thread about Amish?

The topic is indirectly related to hiking since it involves walking and the benefits it has to overall health . There happens to be a thread about college football currently receiving a ton of attention and having absolutely nothing to do with hiking.

[Hikerhead]

Amish women are hot = BTU = Heat = Stove = Backpacker cooking. There I fixed it for ya.

[Wise Old Owl]

Amish women are hot = BTU = Heat = Stove = Backpacker cooking. There I fixed it for ya.

apparently you discounted the lack of electric attraction or lust.....


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