Anyone else watch The Biggest Loser?

I'm going to go out on a limb here--the banning of trans fats will not significantly alter the incidence of coronary artery disease nor the death rate. That's not to say it shouldn't be done, but our expectations need to be realistic. I happen to think that the limb you are on is a rather strong one. I am no MD but I suspect that many lives could be saved each year by people eating a more balanced diet (not neccesarily devoid of trans fats or red meat either), exercising even a little bit (20 minutes of activity that will raise your heart rate above normal), and having regular checkups to monitor their well being (checking things like BP, Lipids, pulse, blood sugar, etc).

Hey I have a fat free yoghurt--blueberry...it's good to know I won't be clogging my arteries... ...wait a minute...what are all those scientific names in the ingredients list...I thought blueberry yoghurt was just stale milk and bluberries...perhaps a little sugar...:eek:

1. Avoid carrot sticks and celery! Anyone who puts these rabbit-food substances on a holiday buffet table is clueless of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls and pork ribs. Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, cigar in mouth, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO! What a ride!" :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: I think Dave "Chaos" Barra is serving up those pork ribs to us libertines at his house. I agree, you gotta walk on the wild side sometimes.

So we're back to Darwinism and its applicability? Or is that just apes? Are you restricting your calories, SCY? Or sticking with the "everything in moderation" theory? No apes or darwinism, just a scientific study about caloric restriction that is using monkeys for subjects. Their physiology is similar to ours and it is much easier to lock monkeys up and restrict their diet than to do the same to humans. Probably a bit of both actually. I seldom eat to the point of excess or feeling "bloated". It is also rare that I indulge in any one particular food at any one time. I am quite aware of what foods I eat and how much of them I eat. Not to the point of being obsessive but I am determined to remain thin and healthy through diet and exercise.

I am quite aware of what foods I eat and how much of them I eat. Not to the point of being obsessive but I am determined to remain thin and healthy through diet and exercise. Me too. But my wife thinks I'm obsessive. But are you living a stress-free meditative life as well? And if we're not, but we clean up our act later in life and become yoga junkies, does that get rid of/mitigate the stress-induced prior damage? I'm just wondering if there's any hope for me after retirement.

Stress free? Ha! Unfortunately not. Not since my hourly wage jobs have I been stress free, but I think I generally handle stress pretty well. I try not to stress about things that are out of my control, and often times that includes certain aspects of my health. I exercise regularly, eat pretty well, don't smoke, drink very little, etc. I do what I can to stay healthy but I am not going to stress about every little study that is released about how we need to take this and that vitamin but avoid bottled water and only sleep on your right side during a full moon. Life is too short to worry that much.

Holiday Season Party-Eating Etiquette, Rules & Tips From the King of Eating... When attending a Christmas/Holiday Party, here are some tips and Special Rules to make your time more enjoyable and guarantee a return invitation next year... 1. Avoid carrot sticks and celery! Anyone who puts these rabbit-food substances on a holiday buffet table is clueless of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls and pork ribs. 2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly! Like fine single-malt scotch or a great bottle-fermented trippel, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch or trippel! You can't find it any other time of year except now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip and contains 55 undeveloped chicken embyoes? Hell, it's vapors are fattening! It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas! Tax Season is right around the corner! 3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. If there are no mashed taters, smother your cheesecake in it! 4. Speaking of mashed potatoes? Always ask if they're made with skim milk, whole milk or heavy artery-clogging cream. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission or going to a Martini Bar and asking for a light beer... Just sick! If it's whole milk, it's socially acceptable and you really don't want to seem like an ungrateful guest, do you? However, if made with heavy cream, just eat it out of the bowl and offer to be adopted! These people are the real thing! Move in right away! Before they know what hit them! 5. Do not have a snack before going to a party ...in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello? 6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that gallon-vat of eggnog. 7. Mark your territory! If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like venison ribs, frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa or any form of home-made chocolate chip anything, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like beautiful XXXL Eeyore or Grumpy sweatshirts at the Disney store. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again. By the way, for you PC idiots, yes, Reindeer IS VENISON! 'Tis the season, ya know! Just like SPAM is made from people! It's made from PEOPLE, for Christ's sake! 8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? President's Day? 9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, c'mom, have some standards, Man! 10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible and experiencing pre-puke feelings when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, cigar in mouth, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO! What a ride!"

Angela Bassett (Hollywood) is on the air diet now. Donna The air diet? I hate Hollywood and its fixation with the anorexic look. Atkins, Mediterranean, air diet, South Beach diet, the cigarette diet ... I do know people who swear by the South Beach diet, but it's supposed to be a rough first two weeks. Thankfully, dieting is not regulated by the federal or state governments yet. I know one day my metabolism will probably slow to a crawl, but right now I don't diet at all. I just try to eat reasonably nutritiously, and I actually like fruit and salads. I snack all the time after 7:00 pm contrary to what Oprah says. I don't have too much of a sweet tooth fortunately. I'd rather drink my calories anyway. But really, the air diet? I'd rather die. Eating away from the far left.

Were any of these old folks living in the US? I wonder. If lifestyle is pivotal in aging and it's not just genes and Darwinism, I don't think so. I think aging varies across cultures. For example, I believe a big factor in aging is stress. We all seem somewhat stressed out. ...Shouldn't we be ingesting olive oil, veggies, fish and wine? Or is that new Mediterranean diet as bad as Atkins? I just know that all that organic, chemical-free stuff costs a lot of money at Whole Foods. I think the study included persons from all over the world in non-stressed out cultures. I'm screwed because I don't grow my own veggies,eat seeds, meditate or always purchase organic food. I have read that there is a theory that we should all starve ourselves. I think there are studies (are they on humans?) that say a severely restricted calorie diet may increase life span. But that doesn't sound any fun. You might not be damaging your DNA, but you're damaging the fun component of life. I'd rather eat and exercise. Interestingly, when I first started swimming again with a very informal masters group, the brochure I picked up was entitled "Fountain of Youth." I think exercise substantially helps. I have read that weight lifting helps too, even if may not help with particular swimming events like that 1650 you love. After 50, if you're not doing some resistance exercise, your muscle mass dramatically declines. If you lose muscle, you sap strength, lower your metabolism, put extra strain on the heart, and fail to help out your other systems. I'm thinking I should lift weights today.

Angela Bassett (Hollywood) is on the air diet now. That's what she calls it since she eats 3 apples a day, raw spinach, 20 almonds a day and water. She runs, lifts weights, looks great, but it sounds more like a coffin diet than air diet to me. Both my parents are in their late 90s now; smoked and drank heavy for years but stopped both when they entered their 70s. They eat balanced (except my mom--not much food at all), so I am hoping I got some of their genes to keep me around enjoying all you fine folks here at USMS.;) Donna