> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Regarding number one, not only are people eating "comfort food" because
> of their high stress levels. The longer working hours and longer
> commuting time means less time to get exercise.
>
> I'll add a couple:
>
> 6) Your body hungers for nutrients as well as calories. If you fill
> it with high calorie, low nutrient food (ie. junk food) you will still
> be "hungry" and tend to overeat. If you eat quality (high nutrient
> value) food, you will be satisfied with less.

There have been a couple of studies that indicated that any natural
(inherent) human food selection was supplanted by learned behavior by about
age 3. Except for the genetic sugar preference.

However - my personal observations and experience indicate to me that the
studies are not totally correct-
IMHE, the "hunt for calcium" is one that is around long after age 3, and
lack of sufficient calcium maintains hunger even after sufficient calories
are ingested.
IMHO, the old diet trick of eating plain yogurt or tuna fish to suppress
appetite has some basis in fact. Both are high in calcium, and appetite
seems to be suppressed by eating foods high in calcium and readily digested
(note that apparently some plant calcium and calcium supplement types are
not readily digested)

>
> 7) Especially for women, there is a huge pressure to be THIN.

Blame the AMA - what do you call a 6 ft 3 man who weighs their old
recommended weight of 165 pounds?

"Turn so I can see you"

It's
> not unusual for girls to start dieting when they're in elementary
> school.

Which is absolutely foolish, given that children don't grow steadily, but
they grow in spurts - and they add on fat to prepare for the several spurts.
Children are not little adults, nor do they grow on the same timetable as
other children.

> This messes up their natural metabolism and starts a lifetime
> of yo-yo dieting, where they always gain a little more than they lost.
> I think the constant emphasis on thinness also makes some women just
> give up. "I can't be a size 8, so I might as well be an 18" mentality.
>

A 220 pound man can lose a pound or more every three days on a 1200 calorie
balanced diet and exercise.

A 150 pound woman will lose a pound every two weeks on 1200 calorie diet -if
she is strict in her diet and exercises.

Why? Total weight, compositon of weight, and difference in efficient use of
energy.

Man has more muscle per pound of weight than woman, and muscle weight burns
at 6 times the rate of fat weight.

That 220 pound man with a relatively healthy 20% body fat has 175 pounds of
non-fat burning tissues. Fat is stored in sheets to protect organs from
impact rather than under the skin.

The 150 pound woman with a relatively healthy 30% body fat has 100 pounds
of non-fat burning tissues. And women have subcutaneous fat that insulates
and holds in energy.

Since women must diet long-haul to lose fat rather than weight, they need to
change eating habits and have great patience.

fwiw....