Sources: how to lose weight
After the staggering volley fired by Team Conan this week, I scrambled to find data to back what I assumed intuitively – that a large part of the outpouring we saw online was the result of a fortuitous overlap between the users of Facebook and Twitter and Conan’s natural audience. But I couldn’t find it. Found a variety of ratings data, and a slew of often conflicting information about who uses which online tools. But I couldn’t make my point.
That annoys me. I like to think that I’m a data guy. I like when I can compare two random, disparate data sets and think about how they overlap. I like things like the Times‘ recent maps of Netflix rentals by zip code.
Therefore, I love WolframAlpha.
At first glance, the website is nearly incomprehensible. It really should just be this:
That little box actually works. It’s like Google for data. Try, for example, entering your birthdate, including year, the city where you were born, and the word “weather”. Watch what happens.
There isn’t data for every city, but the depth of what they have is remarkable. At the very moment I was born, for example, the temperature was just starting to creep up from about 72° on a cloudy, humid day.
Here’s another thing to try. In that same box above, write “life expectancy”, your gender, the word “born” and your birthdate. Add your country for more specificity.
According to the vast pool of data WolframAlpha aggregates, I’m supposed to live to be 77.3 years old. Or, also according to WolframAlpha, until October 6, 2052. Good to know.
These self-indulgences aside, WolframAlpha has a remarkable breadth of information – heavily mathematical and scientific, but by no means exclusively. Get the nutrition information for a S’more. Learn how much you can make pursuing an acting career. There’s information about your first name, and my last name. Track the goddamn space station.
Created by Mathematica developer Stephen Wolfram (watch his mind-boggling introductory video), WolframAlpha takes the information accessibility goals of Google one further – it aims to make it actually usable. Which is where WolframAlpha gets frustrating: one wants it to have more than it actually does. It doesn’t, I can tell you, have TV ratings.
“We'll be able to know real-time if they're inactive, if they're active,” said Donna Spruijt-Metz, a USC child obesity expert in charge of the project.
The devices are made possible by advances in technology such as accelerometers that can measure the duration and intensity of a workout. They also use Bluetooth-enabled cell phones that can take pictures of meals and send information back.
Will all this wizardry lead to a slimmer society? Scientists say there's reason to hope. Getting an accurate picture of what people eat and how often they move around will help researchers develop personalized weight-loss advice.
Obesity is epidemic in the United States with two-thirds of adults either overweight or obese. It's a major health concern for children and adolescents, who are at higher risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes as they grow older.
A federally funded pilot project by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana is exploring whether people can lose more weight when tracked by technology.
Participants carry around Blackberry Curves to snap pictures of their meals and leftovers. They also wear a quarter-sized device on their shoe that counts the number of steps they take.
Counselors pore over the incoming data and give individually tailored health advice through e-mail or telephone. Every month, the participants get their weight checked, and their progress is compared against a separate group that receives only generic health tips.
The study involves just seven people, but researchers eventually hope to have 40.
“It's highly personalized. You get feedback very quickly,” said Corby Martin, who heads Pennington's Ingestive Behavior Laboratory.
By using technology to capture eating and exercise details, researchers hope to bypass self-reporting that can sometimes give an incomplete picture.
But some medical experts are concerned about ethical questions. Even if people agree to be tracked, researchers worry about intruding into the rest of their lives and the lives of those around them.
“As a researcher, I'm a professional voyeur, and I like to find out whatever I can about human subjects,” said William McCarthy, a professor of public health and psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. “But if I were a subject, I'd be concerned about the level of detail that's being captured about my behavior from moment to moment.”
University of Pittsburgh engineer Mingui Sun has developed a necklace equipped with a video camera that records where a person goes and what he or she eats. Before a researcher sees the data, it's filtered by a computer that blurs out other people's faces.
The device is not smart enough to know whether the wearer ate a Big Mac or tofu. So a researcher inputs the food, and the computer calculates the portion size, calories and nutrients.
Sun's lab workers are wearing the prototype, and he hopes to test it on real people by the middle of the year.
Another concern is whether people, particularly youngsters, will stick with it.
Fellow Pittsburgh researcher Dana Rofey recently completed a study of 20 overweight female preteens and teens who wore armbands tracking the number of steps taken and calories burned daily.
Researchers found the armbands were worn 75 percent of the time. Though the study did not include a comparison group, researchers were pleased with the high compliance rate.
On a recent weekday, Castillo and another study volunteer, 13-year-old Eric Carles, headed straight from school to the USC lab, where they strapped the sensors on and went through a sort of circuit training. The project manager timed them as a postdoctoral student recorded the session through a one-way mirror.
Through periods of sitting, standing and exercising, they chatted about scary movies and upcoming exams. Wearing the devices felt “weird” to Castillo initially, but she has since grown used to it.
Castillo admits she doesn't exercise as she often as she would like and has a sweet tooth for chocolate. Carles, who plays after-school sports, confesses he eats a lot. The teens were willing to try anything to help them lose weight.
After enduring more than two hours of required physical activity, the two were allowed to do whatever they want. Researchers called it “free living,” and it offered a glimpse into the activities teens would choose when they test the sensors at home.
The two chose to play a music video game. With Castillo on drums and Carles on the guitar, they rocked out to Duran Duran and Bon Jovi as researchers looked on.
weight management
Liking what you see in the mirror is an integral component to a positive self-image. Looking at a muffin top exploding over the waistband of your favorite jeans (if you can get your butt into them) is guaranteed to make one at least slightly depressed. We've all been there.
“How did this happen…I really need to lose some weight!” you mumble to yourself. Your friends snickeringly agree. This is the point at which you will most likely start planning which of the hot new diets promising 20 lbs in 10 days you'll try this time.
“If a diet promises quick, easy weight loss it's a red flag!” warns Anne Moselle, a registered dietitian specializing in weight management, sports nutrition and heart disease at Valley Care Medical in Livermore, California. “People are always looking for a quick fix in our society of instant gratification.”>
It's easy for dieters to forget that it took months or even years to gain the weight they so desperately want to lose. So we'll set unrealistic goals and expect the unwelcome pounds to disappear within a matter of weeks. Preferably by next weekend. Actually, right now would be ideal!
Before you go and make any rash and desperate decisions about how you'll drop those extra pounds, let's go over some of the worst ways to try to lose weight quickly.
The No White Things Diet – Elimination of all white food products, including white sugar, white flour, white potatoes, white rice, and all things made from those ingredients. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong! That stuff is in everything! I found myself skipping meals and being a killjoy at dinner parties because I couldn't find anything to eat that didn't have at least ONE of those ingredients in it.
High Protein/Low Carbohydrate – I like meat, but gimme a break! Eating an entire cow is not my idea of a good time. I did lose a few pounds but my breath was hummin' and I was constipated beyond belief. Hey, you need to know these details! The end of this diet came about rather abruptly. My mother , a registered nurse, told me a horror story about a patient coming in with impacted bowels after being on Atkins. The solution to his problem ultimately involved a doctor, a hand, a rubber glove and lube. You figure it out.
The Low Fat Eating Plan – We all got duped by this diet when it first hit in the early 1990s. Somehow we looked only at the fat grams and totally ignored calorie count, sugar, carbohydrates, and lack of nutrition like protein and calcium. All we cared about was that what we put in our mouths was low fat. An entire industry of low-fat cookies, cakes and snack items was borne! We were all in low fat hog heaven until we realized we weren't losing an ounce. Some time after that we were told by these same experts that we needed fats after all… something about Omega 3s and Omega 6s. I muttered to myself “these people don't know what they are talking about!” and I decided to eat whatever I wanted. Once again.
No Food After 6 PM – I don't know about you, but once I embarked on a vigorous exercise program, I needed to eat more food and more often, not less. I tried not to eat after 6 o'clock but I kept waking up in the wee hours of the morning with my stomach growling. I figured its better to eat a snack at 9:00 if I am hungry than to starve myself and chow down like a trucker at 2 a.m.
Fasting – Certainly there are cultural associations connected with fasting that are important to in certain religions. But I am not religious and am not part of a culture which embraces starvation! There are several varieties of fasting diets such as the fresh fruit juice fast (I bought a juicer!), the Hollywood diet, and Beyonce's lemon juice and maple syrup fast. You certainly lose weight on all of them since you aren't eating, but you also lose muscle tissue and your sense of humor. And as soon as you eat food again, the weight comes back.
Stomach Surgery – Though there are some medically necessary reasons for such surgery when someone's health may be affected, it has become apparent that too many people turn to surgery purely for aesthetic reasons. I consulted Anne for her thoughts on bariatric surgery. “Like I said before, people look for a quick fix, and this is the most drastic choice. There are many side effects which must be considered.” Apparently some of the side effects can be quite serious … ulcers, gallstones, anemia, and malnutrition. Pounds of loose skin may need to be surgically removed after such significant weight loss occurs. “You still have to learn to make lifestyle changes – eating less, choosing healthier foods, and moving more…the surgery alone can't help” Anne concluded.
Diet and Weight Loss Pills – Fat burners, diuretics, fat blockers and thyroid boosters all fall under this category. Hoodia, Acai Berry pills, Fen-Fen, Hydroxycut, green tea capsules, and Alli are popular over-the-counter choices. Fat blockers are alleged to absorb and encapsulate fat to pass through the body without being absorbed. Burners and boosters are purported to increase the metabolic rate and help burn fat. With so many of these products being recalled by the FDA over the past 15 years, lawsuits flying, people falling dead with heart attacks and strokes, one could be thin and in a casket. Not my idea of a good time.
Cabbage Soup Diet – This diet is supposed to work on some chemical basis, provide fiber and fill you up before you eat the prescribed snack portion meal. I made a huge pot of this stuff and was so grossed out I threw it all in the garbage disposal. This diet lasted about 3 hours.
Prepackaged Meal Plans – Sure you lose weight because your calories are controlled, but you never really learn about handling real food responsibly. And have you seen how much sodium is in those meals? Anyone with high blood pressure and sensitivities to salt should check the labels on any prepackaged meals carefully. They're also full of processed ingredients and additives. Since portions are controlled, these plans are a very attractive option for those who want to lose weight without having to think too much. But what happens when the little boxes stop coming? “Most people just go back to their old way of eating, and that's when weight gain starts again,” said Anne.
The Grapefruit Diet – Grapefruit was reported to have magical super powers… I forget what they were. Anyway, I hate grapefruit. But I ate some after every meal as instructed. Never noticed anything but a bitter taste in my mouth. I had to have candy afterwards to get rid of that god-awful taste, which of course defeated the whole purpose. I didn't lose a pound!
Getting Out of the Diet Trap
Eliminating entire food groups is not healthy. Research has proven over and over again that the human body needs a variety of foods for maximal health. Impatiently demanding that the weight be gone yesterday sets you up for dangerous yo-yo dieting and long-term weight loss failure.
The bottom line is that any diet at all is the worst way to lose weight, because 95% of people gain the lost weight back, and more. If we look at those statistics another way, it seems crash dieting is the best way to GAIN weight!
If you're having trouble losing weight on your own and want to get out of the diet trap, the support of a nutritionist will allow you to learn new ways to approach your relationship with food, develop new skill sets, and resources that benefit a healthy lifestyle. That kind of support is always the best option for weight loss.
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