not sure if trolling./...

That's not it at all.
Unsaturated fats have the same double bond.
The only difference between monounsaturated fat and trans fat is that with unsaturated fat, the hydrogen atoms are all on the same side, whereas with trans fat they "flip sides" at the double bond (ie the hydrogen atoms left of the double bond are on one side, and the hydrogen atoms right of it are on the other).
It seems like a small geometry change and it is, but that causes its physical properties to be completely different (and just so happens to be very, very harmful).

Harmfully delicious!

Which probably has a lot to do with how the body regulates energy expenditure and metabolism. The more you run (or any other specific activity) the more your body adapts to reduce the energy needed, go figure, it pays (genetically) to be efficient. The problem with a "western" lifestyle is its sedentary nature (terrible on its own) and the gross excess of terrible food.

That said, if you just want to lose weight count calories in and out.

Great for you guys, then. Although I don't find high fructose corn syrup to taste TERRIBLE, it's nothing like sugar.



Thank you for clearing that up.



Ah, I see. Thanks for the details, especially since they're present apparently more than normal in a lot of other foods as well.



Ah, I see (again), that's very fascinating.

It's indeed a (hopefully) universally accepted fact that it's healthier to for a person to move around more than what the current lifestyle of sitting in an office and driving a car demands, but I think the bigger problem here is the chemical makeup of what's going into our bodies. The crappy food being produced today has a lot of weird stuff in it that creates compounds harder to digest and break down. More importantly, it likely has a lot of shit that messes with the body's equilibrium, leading to people "needing" more of it for whatever false biological reason the brain and body have decided on, plus the natural equilibrium weight of your body likely going up to ridiculous levels.

But yikes, I'd never "just want to lose weight" by simply counting calories. :/ I'd rather eat more veggies than starches than just cutting back on starches, for example. I think that balancing everything (such as my diet) is the best way to get me healthy all-around.

We like to eat food that triggers a dopamine response. It takes impulse control and self-monitoring to keep that sort of temptation in check.

Denying temptation does not come naturally, it must be learned and constantly reinforced.

Of course! But if there's an addictive chemical a person doesn't know is in their food when they eat it, they're going to eat a lot of that "good" food without really knowing why. By the time they notice a problem is going on the brain is already addicted, and the deck is stacked against them depending on the severity of the situation that they go into with likely inadequate or no weapons to use.

It's times like this that people need serious behavioral AND biological aid. The behavior-based stuff we've got CAN work, but I think it'll be ultimately ineffective if it's not paired with some sort of biochemical response to this whole thing too.

This post was edited by catkaboodle on Aug 1 2012 05:37pm

What addictive chemicals? Dopamine is a powerful reinforcer, but the case isn't nearly as self-defeating as apologists want to make it out to be.

Both of these have been generally disproven, so be careful when using them for judgment. There are far too many exceptions to generalize for or against certain foods or trends like trans/sat fats ex: some are the healthiest foods on earth.

The 'law of thermodynamics' fallacy of calories in/out has been disproven too. The body has thousands of regulations interacting to influence your metabolism, in many cases reducing net calorie gain just stalls your metabolism proportionally and leaves you with the same initial net increase.

The best option is to find someone who is already healthy with a similar body type and mimic their diet/lifestyle. Some consistently healthy things though are natural, raw, and local foods; rigorous exercise 2+ times a week; and of course limiting serving sizes. People who eat less than 1800 calories a day are proven to cause less oxidative damage to their bodies over time, essentially slowing the aging process.

This post was edited by EndlessSky on Aug 1 2012 06:01pm