Obesity Discussion Forums

[bigdaddy38]

I was watching the news this morning and they were talking about a couple different exercise myths, so I thought it would be fun to start a thread where people could get answers for the questions they had and we could dispell myths. My background in case your wondering is over fifteen years in the heath club industry(i'm good at helping people but can't control my own weight)I started as a personal trainer after studying physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, etc, and then went in to management stressed out and got fat. So ask your questions and if I dont know the answer I will see if I can research it and give an educated answer.

[bigdaddy38]

the first two myths that I would like to address are Muscle turns in to fat, if I don't use it or exercise, and Muscle speeds metabolism.
Not true muscle does not turn in to fat this is physiologically impossibe what happens is with lack of exercise and being sedentary you lose muscle, and as you gain bodyfat it covers your muscle, so losing muscle is not good but there is a thing called muscle memory that implies that once you have had the muscle even if you lost it, gaining it back is not as hard as never having it in the first place. This brings us to the second muscle speeds metabolism, this is true your body burns a certain amount of calories per day based on how much lean body mass(muscle and bone) you have, so by increasing your lean body mass you burn more calories all the time even at rest.

[ccwilloe]

does fat get stored in fat cells?

if so, then when losing weight... when you burn fat...

do you burn the fat within the cell or the whole cell...

the myth (or fact) that i've heard is that you retain the fat cells in your body but burn the amount of fat within the cells... so as you diet and lose weight, you still retain all the fat cells.

[bigdaddy38]

Originally Posted by ccwilloe

does fat get stored in fat cells?

if so, then when losing weight... when you burn fat...

do you burn the fat within the cell or the whole cell...

the myth (or fact) that i've heard is that you retain the fat cells in your body but burn the amount of fat within the cells... so as you diet and lose weight, you still retain all the fat cells.

Let me answer your questions first then I will elaborate on them.
first off yes fat does get stored in fat cells, then when you burn fat you burn the fat within a cell not the cell its self.

fat cells never leave when you burn the fat within them they collapse and are smaller so they don't cover your six pack abs anymore but they are still there. Current studies show that you can increase the amount of fat cells in your body but not decrease them so if you become obese like myself you have many more and larger fat cells than the average person, but this has no affect on your weight, it's still a matter of calories in vs calories out burn more than you eat and you will be fit and healthy.

[bigdaddy38]

I'm bored and since nobody has posted any questions I thought I would tackle the myth of "spot reduction" this is the myth where people think that by doing situps or crunches that they can get rid of the pot belly, or that by doing lunges you can get rid of the fat on your thighs or butt. This just is not true while doing these exercises will build muscle and firm and tone under the fat you still have to get rid of the fat, and it is impossible to target burning fat in specific region of the body. Fat burns off of the body evenly or off of certain areas based on genetic predisposition, the areas that are usually the last to lose the fat are the abdominal area on men, and the thigh and butt area for woman.

[madjac]

If you were to purchase a piece of exercise equipment, what would be the perfect choice? I have used elliptical trainers in the past, and I would love to have one, but is there anything else that would be better?

[bigdaddy38]

Originally Posted by madjac

If you were to purchase a piece of exercise equipment, what would be the perfect choice? I have used elliptical trainers in the past, and I would love to have one, but is there anything else that would be better?

Since you like the elliptical I'm guessing that your talking about cardio equipment right? Cardio equipment depends on a couple things like if one particular piece of equipment causes pain and others don't for example a lot of people can't use an upright bike because it hurts there knees or hips so they use a recumbent bike instead. Since you like the elliptical trainer I would say that it probably doesn't bother you to use it. The problem with owning one piece of cardio equipment is that you have to change your routine every 4 to 6 weeks or your body adapts to it and the benefits of using it lessen its called "adaptation" of course you can change your resistance level, the program you use, and hill level to change it up but beware the boredom factor also. What ever machine you pick keep in mind that the more muscle groups that you have moving at one time the more calories you are burning, by the way I did 30 minutes in the elliptical today myself, not bad for a 390lb guy, it's also my favorite machine. hope this helped.

[madjac]

That is wonderful!!! Thanks for your input. The first time I got on one, I thought I was going to die after 2 minutes. I pushed myself on and kept telling myself 2 more minutes. In about a week I was doing 30 minutes. It has been a while since I have used one, since I no longer go to the gym, but I am thinking of purchasing one.

[bigdaddy38]

I was going to tell you that your better off going to a gym if your not afraid to just because of the variety of equipment, I just started going back about three weeks ago and couldn't even do 15 minutes but the human body adapts pretty fast.

[bigdaddy38]

I decided I would use this thread to track my progress also, I weighed in this morning at 389, not bad considering I was almost at 400 and I have only been going back to the gym and eating heathy for three weeks, I figure if I can lose 5lbs a week I will be down to a weight that I havn't seen in years by around the end of the summer.

[Treasure]

I have a myth to ask you about! You said that you're planning to lose 5 pounds a week. I've always heard that over the long term, it's not healthy for people to lose more than 2-3 pounds a week. Is that just some random recommendation or does it have to do with percentage of total weight?

[bigdaddy38]

Good question, I'm answering this purely on what I have heard over the years, I really don't think there is much in the way of scientific fact to support any stance on this subject. First off it's not unhealthy to lose more than 2-3lbs per week which is what is recommended, if you are taking a multi vitamin, and have a well balanced meal plan. the main concern if you lose to much to fast is that you won't get the proper nutrition that your body needs, one of the trainers on biggest loser actually mentioned this to one of his trainees a couple weeks ago and some of them were losing 8 to 10 lbs on some weeks. Another thing that I have always felt is that if you are severly overweight it will not harm you to lose more than a couple pounds a week since we have so much to spare, but again you have to make sure your getting your vitamins, don't buy one of those over the counter one a day vitamins they are junk, buy one at a nutrition store that was made using "chelation" I think I spelled it right, anyway this is a process where they wrap the vitamin in an amino acid so you absorb more of it rather than your stomach just destroying most of it, hope that helps.

this bannana cracks me up.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Treasure

I have a myth to ask you about! You said that you're planning to lose 5 pounds a week. I've always heard that over the long term, it's not healthy for people to lose more than 2-3 pounds a week. Is that just some random recommendation or does it have to do with percentage of total weight?

You are correct, it's not really healthy to lose more than that per week, however when many start their new eating changes they lose a lot of water weight at first which can cause them to lose a little extra for the first few weeks.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by bigdaddy38

Since you like the elliptical I'm guessing that your talking about cardio equipment right? Cardio equipment depends on a couple things like if one particular piece of equipment causes pain and others don't for example a lot of people can't use an upright bike because it hurts there knees or hips so they use a recumbent bike instead. Since you like the elliptical trainer I would say that it probably doesn't bother you to use it. The problem with owning one piece of cardio equipment is that you have to change your routine every 4 to 6 weeks or your body adapts to it and the benefits of using it lessen its called "adaptation" of course you can change your resistance level, the program you use, and hill level to change it up but beware the boredom factor also. What ever machine you pick keep in mind that the more muscle groups that you have moving at one time the more calories you are burning, by the way I did 30 minutes in the elliptical today myself, not bad for a 390lb guy, it's also my favorite machine. hope this helped.

I agree that multiple forms of cardio are good, but if you're stuck with one piece of equipment, you can change up your routine drastically by doing different programs, different time lengths, different inclines, different resistance levels, and say high intensity interval training in there too....

[MikeB]

Cardio equipment = a good pair of shoes
Go walk, jog or best yet walk a mountain or some hills, put some weighed wrist bands on and go to town. I use exercise equipment but if you can't afford it, all you need are shoes (or winter boots)

[Steve]

Originally Posted by bigdaddy38

I'm bored and since nobody has posted any questions I thought I would tackle the myth of "spot reduction" this is the myth where people think that by doing situps or crunches that they can get rid of the pot belly, or that by doing lunges you can get rid of the fat on your thighs or butt. This just is not true while doing these exercises will build muscle and firm and tone under the fat you still have to get rid of the fat, and it is impossible to target burning fat in specific region of the body. Fat burns off of the body evenly or off of certain areas based on genetic predisposition, the areas that are usually the last to lose the fat are the abdominal area on men, and the thigh and butt area for woman.

Since you like playing guru, I was wondering if you have seen the literature as it relates to the alpha and beta receptors as well as the role of insulin and chatcholamines in fatty acid mobilization in trouble spots?

Spot reduction is *for the most part* a myth in the context most use it.

But there are ways to 'entice' problem spots where there happen to be more alpha receptors and less blood flow to transport fatty acids. But none of this really applies to most on this forum.... only really lean people.

[bigdaddy38]

Originally Posted by Steve

Since you like playing guru, I was wondering if you have seen the literature as it relates to the alpha and beta receptors as well as the role of insulin and chatcholamines in fatty acid mobilization in trouble spots?

Spot reduction is *for the most part* a myth in the context most use it.

But there are ways to 'entice' problem spots where there happen to be more alpha receptors and less blood flow to transport fatty acids. But none of this really applies to most on this forum.... only really lean people.

Well Steve its not that I like playing guru, its just that I know a lot about health and fitness and I thought I would share it with people. I will be the first to admit if I don't have an answer to something and I have never heard what you are talking about and could not find any info on the web about it either, but I bet most doctors couldn't even answer your question so I don't feel bad. If it really doesn't apply to people on this forum why are you asking it?

[Steve]

Originally Posted by bigdaddy38

Well Steve its not that I like playing guru, its just that I know a lot about health and fitness and I thought I would share it with people. I will be the first to admit if I don't have an answer to something and I have never heard what you are talking about and could not find any info on the web about it either, but I bet most doctors couldn't even answer your question so I don't feel bad. If it really doesn't apply to people on this forum why are you asking it?

Well Bigdaddy, I just wanted to see how well versed you were on the subject. And here's something for you to think about; it may not apply to the forum in general but it sure as shit applies to your statements about spot reduction.

And if you think doctors are well versed in physiology, you better think again. Walk into any office and ask about fatty acid mobilization, transport, and oxidation and the majority won't know how to respond.... let alone info regarding alpha receptors, beta receptors, insulin, and catecholamines as they relate to fatty acid oxidation.

I've been chatting on forums for quite a while and I have a personal pet peeve with people who like to 'play guru.' Sure, you explain that's not what you're trying to do, but it comes across that way based on my perspective. My apologies if it isn't true. If you know you're stuff.... great! I'm all for that. However, I'm not for people show-boating. I'd much rather if you know your stuff, that you spend it directly going around and answering questions, as forums like this are loaded with them.

I really don't mean to come across as defensive as I am.... and if I had the time, I'd probably go back and edit this to a more friendly stance. But I don't.

My main qualm stems from the fact that you gave your bio:

My background in case your wondering is over fifteen years in the heath club industry(i'm good at helping people but can't control my own weight)I started as a personal trainer after studying physiology, biomechanics, nutrition

Yet don't seem to understand the endocrinology of it all. It's one thing to have once-upon-a-time ago studied a few subjects. It's another to stay up-to-date on the current literature.

[bigdaddy38]

Don't worry about toning down your post I'm not offended, we both have our opinions. As far as staying up to date on current information, one thing I learned in the health club business is that it always comes back to the basics, every year there is some new breakthrough information, and every year we find out that some of that breakthrough information is incorrect, basic science and physiology is not going to change anytime soon. The good thing is its America and we can agree to disagree

[Steve]

Point = missed

I'm not saying the fundamentals aren't the most important apsect of it all. I wholeheartedly agree.

I'm saying if you put yourself in a position of authority, even though the basics are what matter most, you damn well better stay abreast of what's going on in the field