Subject: alt.support.diet FAQ, part 3/3
Date: Mon, 08 Apr 96 01:16:53 GMT
Summary: monthly FAQ list for alt.support.diet
X-Newsreader: News Xpress Version 1.0 Beta #4


continued from part 2


*    Do I need to take a supplement (vitamin/mineral pill) while
     dieting?
A balanced diet (see "Food Pyramid") which is low in fats,
sugars, and alcohol and is adequate in calories (no fewer than
1200 cal/day for women, 1400 cal/day for adolescent girls, 1600
cal/day for men) may contain sufficient vitamins and minerals to
meet the FDA's recommended Daily Value.  However, not many of us
meet those requirements every day, and some physicians and
researchers feel that the FDA's recommendations regarding many
vitamins and minerals are too low to promote optimal health.
(The recommended Daily Values are intended to prevent deficiency-
related diseases such as scurvy and pellagra; they do not
necessarily reflect the amount of a vitamin or mineral needed to
sustain an adequate reserve against illness or injury.)  If you
do decide to take a vitamin/mineral supplement as insurance
against an inadequate diet, you should look for a brand which
contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, and keep in mind
that excesses (amounts greater than 100% of the FDA's recommended
Daily Value) of certain vitamins and minerals, in particular
Vitamin A and iron, can be toxic.

*    What is chromium?  Can taking a chromium supplement help me
     lose or maintain weight?
Chromium is a nutrient which plays a factor in maintaining blood
glucose (sugar) levels.  Chromium occurs naturally in the diet,
and is found in foods such as brewer's yeast, whole grains,
liver, and shellfish.  Individuals whose diets consist mainly of
processed foods may not have an adequate intake of chromium;
symptoms of chromium deficiency include weight loss and
impairment in the body's ability to maintain blood sugar levels.
Although there is no recommended daily allowance for chromium, a
daily intake of between 50 and 200 micrograms (ug) is recommended
by many physicians and nutrition experts.  Chromium is available
in several forms, including inorganic chromium, high-chromium
yeast, chromium picolinate, and chromium polynicotinate.  Of
these, chromium polynicotinate seems to be the best absorbed.
While chromium does seem to be of benefit in regulating blood
sugar in diabetics, its role in weight loss or maintenance for
non-diabetics is not yet clear.  Some individuals who have made a
conscious effort to raise their chromium levels through diet
changes or dietary supplements have reported that chromium does
seem to lessen their cravings for sweets, but I am unaware of any
formal studies that support this.  Additional information on
chromium picolinate is available via WWW at the URL
http://www.lifelines.com/libry1a.html#Chromium Picolinate.


-Exercise-
*    I need to lose weight, but I really hate to exercise.  Can I
     lose  weight by eating a low-calorie diet without
     exercising?
It's possible; many dieters (especially women) avoid exercise at
first and rely on low-calorie diets for weight loss.  However,
these same dieters often find that exercise can be the key to
restarting weight loss that has suddenly stopped (see the section
on plateaus), and most people who successfully maintain their new
weights find that exercise is a necessary component of a
maintenance plan.  Another benefit of exercise (especially
anaerobic exercises such as weight lifting--see section on "What
is anaerobic exercise?") is that it can increase the amount of
muscle tissue in your body--the more muscle you have, the more
calories you burn.

*    What are the most effective types of exercise for losing
     fat/weight?
Those that cause your heart rate to increase to 65-80% of the
suggested maximum heart rate for your age group (which can be
determined by subtracting your age from 220), and which will keep
your pulse at that rate for at least 15-20 minutes continuously
(i.e., "aerobic", or "oxygen-using" exercises).  Depending on
your current fitness level and how hard you work, many exercises,
sports, or tasks can be aerobic in nature.  You don't necessarily
have to jog or go bicycling; you can count walking, dancing, or
vigorous housework (e.g., vacuuming) as exercise so long as it
causes your heart rate to stay in that 65-80% range CONTINUOUSLY
for 15-20 minutes.  Note:  While swimming qualifies as an aerobic
exercise and does appear to provide all the cardiovascular
benefits of other aerobic exercises, it appears to be less
effective for weight loss than other exercises. Swimmers tend to
have higher fat levels than other athletes; this may be because
fat provides buoyancy and insulation against cool water
temperatures.

*    How hard do I need to exercise?
Hard enough to get your heart beating fast, but not hard enough
to exhaust you; this is the pace at which your muscles burn fat
most efficiently.  Exercising HARDER than this causes
carbohydrates (sugars) to be burned, NOT fat.  (For a detailed,
easy-to-read discussion on this subject, check out _The New Fit
or Fat_, by Covert Bailey.)  There are several ways to tell
whether you're exercising at the proper intensity:
a)   heart rate*:  Determine your MAXIMUM safe heart rate by
     subtracting your age from 220, then exercise hard enough to
     bring your heart rate to 65-80% of your maximum.  For
     example, if you're thirty years old, your maximum heart rate
     is 190, and you should aim for a heart rate of 123 to 152
     while exercising.  If you're not in great shape (just
     starting to exercise, recovering from a minor illness,
     etc.), you should aim for the lower end of your range.
     Taking your pulse during exercise can be tricky, since
     you'll usually need to stop jogging, dancing, or whatever,
     to accurately feel your pulse (at your wrist or at your
     carotid artery, which is located at the side of your neck
     just under the jaw).  Stopping for too long, however, can
     cause your pulse to drop down out of your target range.
     Measure your pulse briefly (Covert Bailey recommends 6
     seconds, other authorities recommend 10 or 15 seconds), then
     multiply that figure by the correct amount (10, 6 or 4) to
     determine your average pulse per minute.

     (* If your normal, resting heart rate isn't somewhere around
     70-80 beats per minute, the "maximum safe heart rate"
     formula above may not be an accurate indicator of exertion
     for you; use the "talk test," explained below, instead.)

b)   "talk test":  This method doesn't require that you stop
     exercising, but it can earn you some odd looks out on the
     jogging track.  :)  Try speaking out loud as you exercise--
     if you have enough breath to speak easily, without gasping,
     but NOT enough to sing, then you're doing just fine.
c)   getting warm or working up a sweat:  the least precise of
     these methods. If you exercise in warm conditions, you
     should exercise hard enough to work up a light sweat.  In
     cold conditions, it's sufficient to work hard enough to make
     yourself warm.

Keep in mind that as your fitness improves, you will have to work
harder to get your heart rate up, so keep checking your pulse (or
using the talk test) even if you've been exercising for some
months.

*    What is anaerobic exercise?
Anaerobic exercise is activity which promotes the growth of
muscle tissue, as opposed to burning fat tissue, which is the
point of AEROBIC exercise.  Anaerobic exercise involves pushing
your muscles to the limits in order to encourage them to grow to
meet the demands that you put on them.  Unlike aerobic exercise,
anaerobic exercise is short and intense.  Weight lifting, sit-
ups, push-ups, chin-ups, and squats are all examples of anaerobic
exercises.

Anaerobic exercise does not cause weight loss; in fact, those who
exercise anaerobically on a regular basis may find themselves
actually gaining some weight due to the increase in muscle mass
(even though their bodies are becoming leaner and trimmer, since
muscle is denser than fat).  However, anaerobic exercise is an
important part in overall fitness precisely because of that
increase in muscle.  Your muscles, after all, are what do the
work that burn calories, and the more muscle you have, the more
calories you burn.

*    How often and how long do I need to exercise?
In short, you should exercise aerobically as often as you can.  6
or 7 times a week is not excessive, although if you work out this
frequently, you might wish to alternate exercises from day to day
(e.g., walk or jog one day, bike the next) to avoid stressing the
same sets of muscles repeatedly.  Most authorities recommend a
minimum of 20 minutes of aerobic exercise per session, and at
least 3 sessions per week.  Ideally, you should also include 2 or
3 sessions of anaerobic exercise per week to increase strength
and build muscle mass.  (You should always allow 2 to 3 days
between anaerobic workout sessions to permit your muscles to
recover and to prevent injury.)

*    How many calories do different types of exercise burn?
For those who like tables, here's a table from _The Family
Fitness Handbook_, Bob Glover and Jack Shepherd, p. 185.  These
numbers are probably geared towards those who are just starting
to exercise; people who are already fit may burn calories at much
higher rates than those listed here.

Exercise                               ~Calories burned/minute
-------------------------------------  -----------------------
Cross-country skiing                            10-15
Running                                         10-12
Handball/Squash/Racquetball (singles)            8-11
                            (doubles)            6- 8
Canoeing/Rowing                                  7-11
Swimming (crawl stroke)                          8-10
Biking                                           5-10
Jumping rope                                     7-10
Tennis (singles)                                 7-10
       (doubles)                                 5- 7
Ice- and roller-skating                          5-10
Walking                                          5- 7
Dancing (rock/disco)                             4- 6
        (square, western, polka)                 5- 8
        (aerobic class)                          5- 8

If you're into numbers, this may look discouraging.  Seen from a
"input equals output" standpoint, it appears that you'd need to
run for nearly an hour to burn off a 560-calorie Big Mac.  The
wonderful thing about exercise, though, is that it raises your
metabolic rate, EVEN AFTER YOU STOP EXERCISING.  The effects of
exercise linger for some time after you stop moving, and in time,
regular exercise will cause your body to burn fat far more
efficiently than it did when you were inactive.

*    Does "passive exercise" (e.g., toning tables) work?
Toning tables may help relax tense muscles, but they certainly
don't WORK your muscles, which is what you must do to burn
calories.  Other gimmicks such as jiggling belts, rollers that
"knead" fatty areas, electrical muscle stimulators, body wraps or
suits, and the like, do NOT promote calorie burning. Some of
these devices (like body wraps or sweatsuits) do cause fluid loss
(sweating) which results in lower weight and body measurements,
but these losses are fleeting.  A couple of glasses of water, and
you're right back where you started.

*    I move around a lot during the day; I try to use stairs
     instead of elevators, park my car on the far side of the
     parking lot, etc.  Would I qualify as a "moderately active"
     person?
Not unless you really do move around a LOT.  According to
physicians and dietitians, a moderately active person is one who
exercises at least 30 to 60 minutes per day, whether all at once
or spread out through the day.  Every little bit of exercise that
you get helps, but most of us do need to include a regular
exercise program in our daily routines to meet that 30-60 minute
requirement.


-Motivation-
*    I've started a diet and exercise program, but I'm finding it
     really hard to stay on track.  Any suggestions?
Eating tips:
-    Make sure that the eating plan you're following--whether
     it's a commercial plan like Weight Watchers or one you
     devised yourself--suits YOUR needs and cravings.  Do you
     need the control of weighing and measuring every bite that
     you eat, or do you need the freedom of eating whatever
     quantities of lowfat, nutritious foods that satisfy your
     hunger?  Do you feel most in control if you eat 3 meals a
     day, or if you "graze" on 5 or 6 small meals throughout the
     day?  Do you need to ease into a new eating plan gradually,
     adapting to new lowfat, high-fiber foods week by week, or
     would you be more motivated by going "cold turkey" on junk
     foods?  Do what works for YOU, which may not be at all the
     same thing that worked for your best friend, husband, etc.
-    Don't beat yourself up if you "fall off the wagon" and
     indulge (or even overindulge) in something you think you
     shouldn't have eaten.  An episode of uncontrolled eating
     does NOT mean that you or your diet failed, just as a minor
     fender-bender doesn't mean that you or your car are totally
     unworthy of ever appearing in traffic again.
-    When it comes to improving your health, doing SOMETHING, no
     matter how small, is always better than doing nothing.  You
     may not be willing or able to adopt all of our suggestions
     regarding nutrition and exercise, but everybody can work
     some of these changes into their lives.  Try switching from
     whole milk, regular mayonnaise and salad dressings to their
     nonfat counterparts.  If you just can't live without meat,
     eat meat, but eat leaner cuts and smaller portions.  If you
     can't exercise every day, at least take the stairs or walk
     around the block every once in a while.  The more you can do
     the better, but even the smallest changes can improve your
     long-term health and your self-image.

Exercise tips:
-    Don't overdo it; start out gradually.  The point is NOT to
     exhaust yourself.
-    Try a variety of different exercises:  walking, biking
     (outdoors or stationary bike), skating/rollerblading,
     dancing (in a class, to a tape, or put on some peppy music
     and make up your own steps), trampolining, hiking, etc.
     Even if you don't find an activity you LIKE, maybe you'll
     find one you can tolerate.
-    Try listening to music, books-on-tape, or motivational tapes
     while exercising; maybe you can distract yourself.  (Be
     extremely cautious and alert when using personal stereos
     with headphones outdoors, since these devices may leave you
     unable to hear approaching cars, bicycles, etc.)
-    Consider the possibility of "double-density" exercises:
     combining exercise with other activities that you do enjoy,
     such as reading or watching TV while riding a stationary
     bicycle, or using walks to catch up on quality time with
     your significant other or your kids.
-    Every little bit of exercise helps, so work in some extra
     motion whenever you can.  Take the stairs instead of the
     elevator, park well away from buildings (if it's safe to do
     so), etc.  Healthy people are ACTIVE people; overweight
     people are good at finding ways to conserve their energy.
-    Try biking to work, school, etc.  People commute up to 30
     miles each way.  This can be done in ALL weather that's
     passable by four-wheel-drive cars, day or night, and it's no
     less safe than in a car.  Your exercise time is largely time
     you would have spent commuting anyway, and you save tons of
     money.  [I strongly recommend John Forester's _Effective
     Cycling_ (MIT Press) for information on how to do this
     safely and comfortably.--kfl]
-    If your destination is 5 miles away or less, consider
     walking or jogging.
-    Stick with your exercise plan until it becomes a habit, one
     that you'll miss if you skip it too often.  Probably very
     few people really enjoy brushing their teeth, but just as
     few would want to skip doing so for three or four days.


-Information available via the Internet-
*    Newsgroups
The following newsgroups discuss nutrition, fitness, overweight,
etc., and may be of interest to those who read a.s.d.:
     alt.food.fat-free:  very lowfat (7-15% of calories from fat)
          food and cooking; a la McDougall/Ornish/Pritikin/Mirkin
     alt.food.low-fat:  lowfat (less than 30% calories from fat)
          eating
     alt.support.big-folks:  fat-acceptance with no dieting talk
     alt.support.diet.rx:  discussion of medications used in
          weight control (such as phentermine and fenfluramine)
     alt.support.eating-disord:  eating disorders (anorexia,
          bulimia, etc.)
     alt.support.obesity (moderated):  weight loss
          support/resources for persons 100 lbs. (45 kg.) or more
          overweight
     misc.fitness.misc:  physical fitness, exercise,
          bodybuilding, etc.
     misc.health.diabetes:  diabetes and hypoglycemia
     rec.* and rec.sport.*:  various newsgroups on specific
          sports, e.g., rec.running, rec.sport.rowing, etc.
     rec.food.veg, rec.food.veg.cooking:  vegetarianism and
          vegetarian cooking
     sci.med.nutrition:  nutrition and diet
     soc.support.fat-acceptance:  similar to alt.support.big-
          folks, but a little more focused

*    Mailing lists
FATFREE:  Michelle Dick's mailing list for the discussion of
extremely lowfat vegetarian eating.  For more information on the
mailing list, send e-mail to FATFREE-REQUEST@FATFREE.COM; put the
command "info" (without the quotes) in the SUBJECT LINE of your
message.

CLUB-100:  Mark Mitcham's mailing list for persons 100 lbs. (45
kg.) or more overweight. (alt.support.obesity grew out of this
list, and messages from the newsgroup are echoed to the list.)
For info on Club-100 (e.g., the charter, etc.), send an e-mail
message to LISTSERV@UNM.EDU; put the command "Info Club-
100_Mail_List-L" in the BODY of the message.  To subscribe to
Club-100, send e-mail to LISTSERV@UNM.EDU; put the command
"SUBSCRIBE CLUB-100_MAIL_LIST-L Firstname Lastname" (without the
quotes) in the BODY of the message, where "Firstname Lastname" is
replaced with your name.  (If you wish to remain anonymous, you
may use a pseudonym.)

LOW-CARB DIETS: Nancy Milligan <NPM@NMCS.COM> has started a
mailing list specifically for the discussion of the Carbohydrate
Addict's Diet and other low, or modified, carbohydrate diets such
as Dr. Atkins' diet.  To subscribe to the mailing list, send an e-
mail message to LOWCARB-REQUEST@NMCS.COM and put the command
"join lowcarb" (without the quotes) on a line by itself in the
BODY of the message.  Nancy has also written a low-carbohydrate
diets FAQ; you can get a copy of the FAQ through e-mail by
sending a message to LOWCARB-REQUEST@NMCS.COM and putting the
command "send faq" (without the quotes) in the BODY of the
message.  Nancy also has a Web page, which includes the low-carb
FAQ and recipes, at http://nmcs.com/lowcarb/.  You may also use
your WWW browser to join the mailing list by using the form at
the same URL.

FATLOSS:  Scott Compton's Fatloss Support mailing list, which
provides one-on-one information and support to those who wish to
lose excess body fat.  To join the list, send e-mail to
MAJORDOMO@LIST.STANFORD.EDU and put the line "subscribe fatloss-
support" (without the quotes) in the BODY of your message.

*    URL's (Universal Resource Locators, for those with World
     Wide Web access).  Note that some sites listed here are run
     by commercial organizations; inclusion of a site does not
     constitute an endorsement or recommendation of their
     product(s).
alt.support.obesity FAQ:
  http://www.unm.edu/~markm/asofaq.html
alt.food.fat-free FAQ:
  ftp://ftp.fatfree.com/FAQ/alt-food-fat-free-faq
Chromium picolinate info:
  http://www.lifelines.com/libry1a.html#Chromium Picolinate
Fatfree Web page:
  http://www.fatfree.com/
Good Health Web (misc. health news, searchable health-related
articles, etc.):
  http://www.social.com/health/index.html
The Hacker's Diet (written by John Walker, a software engineer
who lost--and kept off--a large amount of weight using common
sense techniques; features Microsoft Excel worksheets to help you
track your progress):
  http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/hackdiet.html
Hopkins Technology (nutrition software publisher) Web page;
features "Ask the Dietitian":
  http://www.hoptechno.com/
Dr. Ben Krentzman's Web page on "The Science of Obesity and
Weight Control":
  http://www.loop.com/~bkrentzman/
Low carbohydrate diets (CAD, Atkins) info:
  http://nmcs.com/lowcarb/
Medical Science Bulletin on obesity (includes info on
phentermine):
  http://pharminfo.com/pubs/msb/obesity.html
Medical Sciences Bulletin on serotonin and eating disorders
(includes info on fenfluramine):
  http://pharminfo.com/pubs/msb/seroton.html
NutriGenie's (nutrition software publisher) Web page:
  http://pages.prodigy.com/CA/nutrigenie/
Stanford University School of Medicine's "Understanding Obesity
and Weight Loss" Web page:
  http://www-
med.stanford.edu/MedSchool/DGIM/Teaching/Modules/obesity.html
Information on TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly):
  http://fox.nstn.ca/~rms/

---

     a.s.d FAQ Bibliography and Recommended Reading
     ----------------------------------------------

Abraham, Suzanne and Llewellyn-Jones, Derek, _Eating Disorders:
     The Facts_, Oxford University Press, New York, 1984 (ISBN
     0-19-261665-X)

Bailey, Covert, _New Fit or Fat_, Houghton Mifflin Company,
     Boston, 1991 (ISBN 0-395-58564-3)

Bailey, Covert, _Fit or Fat Target Diet_, Houghton Mifflin
     Company, Boston, 1984 (ISBN 0-395-51082-1)

Colvin, Robert H. and Olson, Susan C., _Keeping It Off:  _Winning
     at Weight Loss_, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1985 (ISBN
     0-671-53294-4)

Forester, John, _Effective Cycling_, 6th edition, MIT Press, 1993
     (ISBN 0-262-56070-4)

Foreyt, John P. and Goodrick, G. Ken, _Living Without Dieting_,
     Warner Books, 1994 (ISBN 0-446-38269-8).  The authors, who
     are Ph.D.'s associated with the Baylor College of Medicine
     and its Nutrition Research Clinic, discourage restrictive
     dieting and encourage slow weight loss through lifetime
     modifications in diet, exercise, and attitude.

Gershoff, Stanley W., _Tufts University Guide to Total
     Nutrition_, Harper & Row, New York, 1990 (ISBN
     0-06-015918-9)

Glover, Bob and Shepherd, Jack, _Family Fitness Handbook_,
     Penguin Books, 1989 (ISBN 0-14-046863-3)

Heller, Rachael and Richard:  _The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet_,
     _The Carbohydrate Addict's Gram Counter_, and _The
     Carbohydrate Addict's Program for Success_.

Jonas, Steven and Aronson, Virginia, _I-Don't-Eat (But-I-Can't-
     Lose) Weight Loss Program_, Rawson Associates (Macmillian
     Publishing Company), New York, 1989 (ISBN 0-89256-3435)

Lampert, Leslie, "Fat Like Me," _Ladies' Home Journal_, May 1993,
     pp. 154-155, 214-215.

"Losing Weight:  What Works, What Doesn't," _Consumer Reports_,
     June 1993, pp. 347-352.

Morgan, Elizabeth, _Complete Book of Cosmetic Surgery_, Warner
     Books, New York, 1988 (ISBN 0-446-51370-9)

Moynahan, Paula A., M.D., _Cosmetic Surgery for Women_, Crown
     Publishers, New York, 1988 (ISBN 0-517-56429-7)

Netzer, Corrine T., _Complete Book of Food Counts_, Dell
     Publishing, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-440-20854-8)

Nutrition Action Healthletter, published by the Center for
     Science in the Public Interest.  1-year subscription (10
     issues) available for $24US from CSPI, P.O. Box 96611,
     Washington, DC  20077-7216.  This is the group that
     publicized the high levels of fat in Italian, Chinese, and
     Mexican restaurant foods, and in movie theater popcorn.
     Each newsletter is packed with the latest findings in
     nutrition research, reviews of (and recipes from) health-
     conscious cookbooks, and recommendations on the best and
     worst fast foods/prepared foods.

"Rating the Diets," _Consumer Reports_, June 1993, pp. 353-357.

Robertson, Laurel, Flinders, Carol and Godfrey, Bronwen,
     _Laurel's Kitchen_, Bantam Books, New York, 1976 (ISBN
     0-553-22565-0)

Roth, Geneen. Feeding The Hungry Heart: The Experience of
     Compulsive Eating. Signet, NY. 1982. ISBN: 0-451-16131-9.
     In this book, Ms. Roth points out the reasons that people
     overeat, and the metaphor that eating is feeding a different
     sort of hunger:  Love.  Included are passages written by
     students in Ms. Roth's class, which teaches people to love
     themselves and thus break free from the destructive cycle of
     overeating.

Roth, Geneen. Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating. Signet, NY.
     1984. ISBN 0-451-16834-8.  As a follow-up to her previous
     book, Ms. Roth details her personal program for successful
     weight-loss from an emotional standpoint.  Although this
     selection does not discuss healthful eating, it is an
     excellent supplement to a nutrition book, because it
     examines the emotional issues involved in undertaking any
     weight loss program.

Roth, Geneen. When Food Is Love: Exploring The Relationship
     Between Eating And Intimacy. Dutton, NY. 1991. ISBN:
     0-525-24967-2.  Ms. Roth completes her theme in this last
     book by discussing the concept of replacing love with food.
     She points out that people often use food as a means of
     avoiding intimacy, and explores ways to heal "the hurting
     child."

Scanlon, Deralee and Strauss, Larry, _Diets That Work_ (updated
     edition), Lowell House, Los Angeles, 1992 (ISBN
     0-929923-71-5)

Silverstein, Alvin and Virginia, _So You Think You're Fat?_,
     HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1991 (ISBN
     0-06-021641-7)

Stare, Fredrick J., Aronson, Virginia and Barrett, Stephen, _Your
     Guide to Good Nutrition_, Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New
     York, 1991 (ISBN 0-87975-692-6)


---
Kimberly B. Churchwell: kchurch@ionet.net, kchurchwell@bix.com
TANSTAAFL, but even so, I never quit hoping.
