Why the health appearance and physique of many LC authors is disappointing?
(98 posts) (46 voices)-
Niklas
MemberOften people on VCL or ZC diets say on forums that they got perfect lean bodies without exercising, actually living a very sedentary lifestyle.
Other say that according to friends they look 20 years younger, that their dendist could't believe how healthy their teeth was. The say they have a sparkle in the eyes and beautiful hair and what not.
How come then when I see people like Gary Taubes, Mary Enig, Dr. Eades, the late Dr. Atkins, Mary Vernon, Uffe Ravnskov they don't look younger than their age, they don't look lean and they don't look particularly healthy? The king of ZC "The Bear" in a photo when he was 58 year old looked extremely older than his age and not healthy at all. Anthony Colpo is young but look old and emaciated.
If I had to choose which diet I should follow based on how their proponents look I would abandon low-carb immediately and goes instead on the vegetarian diets of hot looking actors and actress.
Okay that was tongue in cheek but you know what I mean. So far Mark is the only exception. But he is young and I don't know what he will look like at 70. You can be healthy and lean at 80, just look at LaLanne and Clarence Bass.
Let's say Mark will be an healthy, strong and young looking 70 years old... why the others LC proponents don't?
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
enriquegp
MemberQuite simply, they eat too much of their low-carb fair.
If I may say so however, Dan Eades might not be as fit as Mark, but he does look rather healthy. He has a good complexion and seems to have smooth hair and healthy teeth. He looks better than most folks his age.
As for Colpo, he is a bodybuilding enthusiast and loves to get down to very low levels of bodyfat. But overall, I agree with what you have to say and have wondered these things myself. Another guy that comes to mind is Jimmy Moore. He describes himself as 'sensationally skinny" but is anything but. At 230 ounds he is just a few pounds lighter than Homer Simpson.But one thing is appearance, and another thing is health. Health meaning, the absence of disease and overall physical and mental well-being.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
erik.cisler
MemberTaubes - http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01079/health-graphics-20_1079475a.jpg
Colpo (emaciated?) - http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1378/1065199336_28bc32e6fe.jpg
de Vany (age 70-something) - http://smarterfitter.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/skitched-20080903-172641.jpg
Ravnskov (guy has a pretty decent "glow" about him) - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/UffeRavnskov.png
Enig (born in '31... 1931!) - http://www.maxcareindia.com/images/Dr_Enig.jpg
I guess I'm not sure what you're expecting. Should Mary Enig have a six pack, bulging hamstrings, and be able to squat 3x her body weight?
And really, Art de Vany looks reasonably fit, but can he fly? Exactly.
C'mon, Taubes - what's your Fran time?
Uffe, that wrinkle invalidates your entire thesis. Sorry.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Niklas
MemberUffe pic is years old when he was younger.
I saw Enig on a documentary and looked pretty frail, my grandmother is older, looks better and eats junk and smoke. Taubes is definitely overweight but you need to see him on television as I did, a pic is not enough. Colpo, 6-pack aside, looks older and tired for being a 30 year old. DeVany looks good.Posted 2 weeks ago # -
dragonmamma
MemberDon't forget the exercise component. I know lots of people here think that diet is 80% or 90% or even 100% of the equation, but I don't. I've been the same weight when exercising and when not exercising, and there's a world of difference between the two, and I'd say it's more like 40% exercise.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
AuH2Ogirl
MemberI always thought the Dr. Eadeses looked great. Mike Eades posts pics of them from time to time.
Mary Enig in 2007 at 76
http://www.nutritions-playground.com/node/34
I think she looks pretty damn good for 76Posted 2 weeks ago # -
OnTheBayou
MemberInteresting thread.
My father had very low body fat his whole life. Some of this matter was no doubt due to the fact he couldn't eat large portions after a stomach reducing ulcer surgery when he was 43. He didn't work out, ever, although he was always chore active.
He ate SAD, although our family was never huge on sugar foods other than ice cream.
I had a picture of him in my office, taken when he was 82, and women in their 30's would comment how attractive is was.
In Dad's case, diet was 100% of the equation!
(He is getting much closer to death. Losing weight, hardly eats. Still continent, can mobilize with assistance briefly. Amazingly, no pain from the cancer. I can assure you, calories DO count! I'm guessing he's getting a few hundred a day. He did see his 92nd BD almost two weeks ago.)
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
SerialSinner
MemberOn god where to start.
- first of all, the adequate comparison would be those same people on the SAD vs on a Primal/Paleo, not those people vs the rest of humanity.
- regardless, the people mentioned above look much much better than the average American. Don't beleive me? A short trip to any Costco should be enough proof.
- many people transition from the SAD to CW lifestiles and have a lot of damage to undo, some of which is probably irreversible.
- very low body fat and lack of wrinkles is not necessarily an indicator of good health
- finally, if your motivation for following the PB is looking like a (usually heavily photoshoped) Hollywood actor, you are evidently not getting it.Plus I think many people here look great. I am quite comfortable with my PB looks as well.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Odd, I think the Drs. Eades, DeVany, Taubes, and Colpo look pretty good and healthy for their age.
There are some LC celebs that aren't the pinnacle of health, but I think a lot of appearance is also highly dependent on their level of fitness and stress levels.
My goal is to be a healthy weight with good complexion and relatively good fitness level. I'm in that range right now. Of course everyone COULD be better or look like an elite athlete, but more important to me is attaining a good level of health and healthy weight range.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberI completely disagree with your assertion that the people you've listed don't look healthier and in better shape than the rest of us. You must have a standard of "looking healthy" that isn't realistic. The fact that Mark is 58 blows my mind. He looks like he's in his 30s. And I happen to think that Jimmy is frigging hawt.
Instead of assuming that your taste in looks is the standard, perhaps you could admit that your taste is your subjective opinion. It's certainly not an objective standard.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
dragonmamma
MemberOTB, don't underestimate the effect of being chore-active!
Trainer Alwyn Cosgrove says it much more memorably:
"As a young lad growing up in rainy Scotland, my Dad used to have me move shit around. I dragged logs, lifted rocks, chopped wood, moved sandbags (to stop the rain from flowing into the house from the hill outside) and generally did manual labor. In exchange for my labors, I received a few pennies to spend.
I thought my Dad was a cantankerous old bastard.
Little did I know he was apparently a master strength and conditioning coach and this was merely my GPP phase.
Now people all over the world pay Master coaches like my dad large sums of money for the pleasure of moving shit around backyard gardens all over the world.
Brilliant!"
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
go_ginger_go
MemberI've been thinking a lot about this. I think one of the reasons Mark's skin looks so young and glow-y is because he supplements and he also eats A LOT of raw veggies daily via his Big Ass Salad. I've noted that folks who eat raw look very young and their skin is dew-y.
I went back and looked at Jimmy Moore's food log as it had been a while since I read it. He drank 3 diet Cokes (0 carbs!) yesterday and the last time he had a piece of fruit was in October. His only vegetables seem to be the toppings of hamburgers. He's discovered some 0-carb bread, and he's eating the hell out of it. Subjective looks aside, there's no way he is healthy.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
nina_70
MemberHonestly I think most of them look pretty darn good for their age. But, really...health is not all about looking good. There IS a genetic factor, and there IS a difference between looking good & being healthy.
Hopefully my genetics will hold me up as I age, but being healthy is my primary goal.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Who or what is being used as a comparison to result in disappointment at the appearence of low-carb enthusiasts? I hope that it is not the artifical and augmented image of "youth" that is portrayed by highly manicured celebrities. This is not an indication of true health, but has unfortunately become the visual paradigm of health and beauty.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Milo
MemberI'm so glad this has been brought up! It's something I've thought about too, and it's definitely affected my opinion of different nutrition approaches. I think health and beauty are intertwined, and that physical appearance is not solely a vanity issue. To me, a body that is both healthy AND beautiful is a lean muscular body devoid of excess body fat with smooth skin and strong shiny hair. That is my own personal goal, and I am willing to try any dietary approach that will do that for me.
If you're going to be a guru or advocate for a particular style of eating, I think you need to look the part.
Jimmy Moore is definitely healthier now that he's not obese, but he and his wife are still overweight and lack muscle definition.Sally Fallon, a proponent of Weston Price, is also overweight:
http://hartkeisonline.com/wp-content/uploads/ho_monica.jpgSimilarly, Christina Pirello (who is a proponent of a vegan macrobiotic diet):
http://www.festaseattle.com/images/Christina2009-sm.jpgSure, these people are healthier/more beautiful now than when they first started out, but have they reached the pinnacle of how healthy/beautiful they COULD be?
When I was 20lbs over my current weight, I thought I was still healthy. Health is more than just absence of disease. Since I dropped my excess weight, I have more energy, I'm stronger, and my endurance has improved. I'm looking forward to losing even MORE weight and getting MORE health benefits because of it.
My current inspiration is Sugarfree Sheila http://sugarfreesheila.com/. I think she looks great, and since I currently look like her "before" picture, I want to follow what she did and see if I can get results similar to her "after" picture.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
I've never heard of Sugarfree Sheila before but her before pics were rawr.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
SerialSinner
MemberAesthetics are so subjective...
I, for example, find the pic where she's sitting in the table not attractive at all, because she looks too thin.
Most of my guy friends agree with me on that the most attractive women tend to be the ones who look properly equipped to make and feed babies, but are not overweight. Sugarfree Sheila looks way to "breakable" for my taste.
I find the differences in perception of attractiveness between men and women fascinating. And vice versa.
For example, many guys work-out to become massive meat-heads hoping to become more attractive to the average women. And many women think that being model-thin will make them more attractive to the average men...
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Wow, thanks for the sugarfreesheila link! She looks amazing!
I bear a resemblance to her "before" pictures too...Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Rose
MemberI believe many of these "hot looking actors and actress" actually eat low carb. But we must not forget the plastic surgery, and even non surgical treatments they would indulge in. Not to mention their fully equipped home gyms and personal trainers. I don't bother to compare myself to them, it's not reality by a long shot.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
BlazeKING
MemberRemember though, Mark hasn't been primal for a lot of his life.
They look somewhat frail because they are very lean at their age. We aren't used to seeing something like that unless they are bodybuilders/former models. They also aren't posing on a beach or wearing makeup. Notice, none of them are fat. Atkins though? I'm not sure he even followed his diet. He marketed it.
I'm not sure I would go zero-carb unless I knew that the animals I am eating have eaten grass and tons of nutritious plant matter. When you eat grain fed cattle you aren't getting much aside from the protein/fat. I think it's best to have veggies and fruits/berries for the long run and not just meat (unless perhaps it was hunted game)
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
@SerialSinner - I agree! Gotta have some meat on them bones.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
CaveGirl
MemberI agree about the fact that you have to look at someone's overall diet. Plus its also a matter of genes.
I was looking through the sugarfree site, but there is a pic of her eating at Boston Market (no big, I eat there too sometimes). She has a huge diet coke sitting in front of her! Low carb? Yes. Healthy? No in the least, but everyone has their vices.
Also, just to point out, she is eating the greenbeans from Boston Market. Here's the thing, if you check their website, over the greenbeans and the garlic spinach they have a "butter blend" cosisting mostly of soybean oil and flavor. Healtheir option is the mixed veggies (oilve oil base) or the creamed spinach (actually has milk and no soybean oil).
Goes back to my original statement, you have to really look at people's eating habits first.
I had a friend who did the low-carb thing and loss a ton of weight. Check his kitchen? Low-carb bread, lite OJ sweetened with Splenda (from Tropicana!), sugar free Jell-O packs, Atkins recommended deli-slices and sugar free sodas (we are talking 4-6 liters in the fridge at any given point).
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Mr B
MemberSerialSinner beat me to it. Sugarfree Sheila looks like she shoulda stayed Sugarful. 'Before' is much better.
Can't remember who said it up top about someone's LC diet being a bunch of processed crap.....I think that's key:
'processed crap'.
LC & ZC don't necessarily mean processed crap.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
ASnutrition
MemberThe problem with many of the famous low carbers out there are tackling health from one or two perspectives, leaving the rest of the factors dampering their appearance or at-least in your perspective.
Lets look at some low-carbers who tackle health in a hollistic way...
Mark Sisson, in 50s
http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/mark-sesson.jpg
Paul Chek (his metabolic type is fast-oxidizer, follows high protein/fat) about 45 46 now I think
http://www.thebodytailor.com/images/Deadlift.jpg
What were forgetting that "perfect health" can not only be reached by diet, or even with diet and exercise, you have to tackle it from every perspective. This is also a problem I see popping up here; people are trying to lose fat so quickly and with such a high priority, that they are forgetting about health. You have to become healthy first, especially when you start wanting things like a six pack.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Milo
MemberEven though I consider Sheila to be my weight loss role model, I'm also not down with the low carb frankenfoods. Right now, because I'm looking to lose weight, I'm attempting a low-carb Primal approach (a la Mark's carbohydrate curve), and then plan to maintain it PB style.
So, in a couple of months, I'll post my success story, and I can be the LC Primal spokesperson with the physique to match ;-)
(PS - I think Grokette looked more like Sheila "before" than Sheila "after")
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Katt
MemberTake into account that Sally Fallon eats a lot of grains. Sure, she processes them better, but her diet, while healthier than most, is still fairly high carb.
As for the rest, I think most of them look great. I like what Dr. Eades writes about, and I follow his blog, but I only peaked briefly at his show's recipes. Too many 'frankenfoods' that I would prefer not to eat.
Posted 2 weeks ago #
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