Half of Taiwanese are overweight - really?

I agree. I had similar experiences. BMI does not equal body fat. Not at all.

Actually you do … but only at the gym. There are probably more guys at my gym who look muscular and/or cut than I ever saw back in the UK. OTOH there are many, many more flabby individuals who think a workout means sitting on a machine and playing with their iPhone for 15 minutes :fume: Or possibly a little nap on one of the ab benches. :unamused:

Actually you do … but only at the gym. There are probably more guys at my gym who look muscular and/or cut than I ever saw back in the UK. OTOH there are many, many more flabby individuals who think a workout means sitting on a machine and playing with their iPhone for 15 minutes :fume: Or possibly a little nap on one of the ab benches. :unamused:[/quote]

Actually, I am blessed as every morning I have to walk through the ranks of army and navy guys they send here to get/pick up gong wen, the bodygurads in their short sleeve guayaberas, plus our handsome cops doing the patrol of the premises. Boy, oh, boy. They are not that He-man/Hulk beasties as you see in US ROTC, but have these well built chest and square shoulders, flat bellies, well shaved and carefully cut hair and an overall pleasant friendly manner… sigh A smile every morning.

Then in the afternoon they start running around the compound… :discodance:

Something that was mentioned but needs to be highlighted again is the fact that the usual Taiwanese diet is mostly carbs. Protein is scarce in most local diets and the importance of eating protein is largely unknown. What’s considered a high protein diet here is usually not even adequate, let alone high.

So, any suggestions about how to remedy that? :slight_smile:

So, any suggestions about how to remedy that? :slight_smile:[/quote]
Probably adopt the American diet. It’s the most protein-rich, so it must be the best. :smiley:

Lot’s of protein is good when your on a muscle building path … people sitting on desk should adopt a lots of veggies diet, protein-carb balanced … low fat, not no fat!
Around Sanxia you see plenty of pot/rice belly types …

So, any suggestions about how to remedy that? :slight_smile:[/quote]
Probably adopt the American diet. It’s the most protein-rich, so it must be the best. :smiley:[/quote]

I’m trying to get rid of my “lard”, not the opposite! Besides, I don’t like Bacon, so the american diet is not for me :stuck_out_tongue:

youtube.com/watch?v=_xqmjZhqwt4

So, any suggestions about how to remedy that? :slight_smile:[/quote]
Probably adopt the American diet. It’s the most protein-rich, so it must be the best. :smiley:[/quote]

I’m trying to get rid of my “lard”, not the opposite! Besides, I don’t like Bacon, so the American diet is not for me :stuck_out_tongue:

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Restrict your caloric intake … 1,800 Kcal/day would be ok if you have low exercise regimen, no exercise would be 1,500 kcal/day … low fat, protein-carbs balanced (or maybe slightly more protein) … lots of veggies
Preferable, chicken/fish, lean beef or even lean pork. Omelets, (soy)milk(low fat), nuts
But, nothing beats exercise!

So, any suggestions about how to remedy that? :slight_smile:[/quote]
Probably adopt the American diet. It’s the most protein-rich, so it must be the best. :smiley:[/quote]

I’m trying to get rid of my “lard”, not the opposite! Besides, I don’t like Bacon, so the American diet is not for me :stuck_out_tongue:

[/quote]

Restrict your caloric intake … 1,800 Kcal/day would be ok if you have low exercise regimen, no exercise would be 1,500 kcal/day … low fat, protein-carbs balanced (or maybe slightly more protein) … lots of veggies
Preferable, chicken/fish, lean beef or even lean pork. Omelets, (soy)milk(low fat), nuts
But, nothing beats exercise![/quote]

uhm… My doctor in Barcelona told me that I should be on the 1000-1200 Kcal/day range… plus moderate exercise :noway:

Besides, I tend to avoid pork… it’s bad for my triglyceride count. I usually eat chicken, beef or fish if I can find it. I think the usual diet here in Taiwan depends too much on rice/noodles/various sauces. As it has been said before, too much carbs.

[quote]uhm… My doctor in Barcelona told me that I should be on the 1000-1200 Kcal/day range… plus moderate exercise

Besides, I tend to avoid pork… it’s bad for my triglyceride count. I usually eat chicken, beef or fish if I can find it. I think the usual diet here in Taiwan depends too much on rice/noodles/various sauces. As it has been said before, too much carbs.[/quote]

Depends on how much you want to lose in a short time … 1kg fat is about 8000-9000 Kcal … daily needed intake for men 2000-2300 depending on what you do to keep your weight stable. If you only eat 1,200 Kcal/day it’ll take you 10 days to lose 1 kg … but you need to see if your body can handle that over a longer time, and don’t forget that enough nutrients need to be available for your body. it’s better to go slow.

So, any suggestions about how to remedy that? :slight_smile:[/quote]

My suggestion would be to buy in bulk at Costco or get your meat from a local butcher and cook at home. I have steak most every night and the steak my wife makes is better than most steakhouses here. Good restaurant meat is hard to find IMO although roasted chicken, etc. is available in some places.
I also recommend that everyone take a protein supplement. Getting 23g of protein from whey is around 100 calories but that much protein from meat would be about 200 calories. Also, having a convenient whey protein shake (that didn’t have to be cooked) gives people an alternative to bread and other carbs that people too often snack on. It just makes sense.

So, any suggestions about how to remedy that? :slight_smile:[/quote]

My suggestion would be to buy in bulk at Costco or get your meat from a local butcher and cook at home. I have steak most every night and the steak my wife makes is better than most steakhouses here. Good restaurant meat is hard to find IMO although roasted chicken, etc. is available in some places.
I also recommend that everyone take a protein supplement. Getting 23g of protein from whey is around 100 calories but that much protein from meat would be about 200 calories. Also, having a convenient whey protein shake (that didn’t have to be cooked) gives people an alternative to bread and other carbs that people too often snack on. It just makes sense.[/quote]

Thank you. I’ll just check a shop near my place… I think they have whey protein :slight_smile:

Ah but there is a difference between processed and unprocessed calories. Do people know how calories are measured?

They literally burn the food to measure it’s calorific or heat content. How does that accurately relate to the human body? It doesn’t.
I still use the calorie amounts on packets as a guide though, especially for drinks.

EDIT- now they assign a value of Kcal per g of protein/fat/starch. Still a very crude method.

[quote=“Formosa Fitness”]Yeah, BMI is a poor way to measure fitness as this GIF shows:

But let’s be honest and admit there aren’t too many Taiwanese that look like the left![/quote]
Then you also need to be honest and admit that not too many Taiwanese look like the guy on the right! Sure, there are more and more fatties here, but compared to their counterparts in some western countries, they are downright skinny.

Also, there is absolutely no reason to look like the guy on the left unless you work as a professional bodybuilder or model. I mean, what’s the point carrying around all that excess weight, even if it’s muscle? It’s just a huge burden on your metabolism and the cost of maintaining it just for the sake of bulk is also insane (who in the world eats ten eggs and a steak every single day?) It’s like recommending that every person in the word should drive a monster truck. Imagine how life would be in Taiwan if everyone including their car were oversized.

[quote=“Formosa Fitness”]Well, I agree on the skinny fat part, at least. We get lots of Taiwanese that have so little muscle that even simple movements are hard for them to execute. I tried to teach 3 TV station workers in their early 20’s (all men) some basic fitness moves a few weeks ago and they couldn’t do any of them. My 40 year old wife could out lift and outrun them in anything because she works out hard and regularly. Many of the Taiwanese we see have very soft, doughy bodies and these young guys were no exception. The havoc that will wreck on their health is enormous but they were totally clueless.

It’s a myth that cardio efficiently burns fat, even though it’s technically correct. The problems are many but cardio does nothing to increase lean mass – muscle that is needed to burn calories and insure quality of movement. Also by relying on cardio alone, you’ll have to do a ton of it to burn calories. It’s not really the most efficient way to do it.[/quote]
Amen. There’s something seriously wrong under your clothes if you look my size but weigh 10-15 kgs lighter.

I am in contact with people from age 2 to 80 and all they way through most are obviously fat or skinny fat. :2cents:

[quote=“GC Rider”][quote=“Formosa Fitness”]Yeah, BMI is a poor way to measure fitness as this GIF shows:

But let’s be honest and admit there aren’t too many Taiwanese that look like the left![/quote]
Then you also need to be honest and admit that not too many Taiwanese look like the guy on the right! Sure, there are more and more fatties here, but compared to their counterparts in some western countries, they are downright skinny.

Also, there is absolutely no reason to look like the guy on the left unless you work as a professional bodybuilder or model. I mean, what’s the point carrying around all that excess weight, even if it’s muscle? It’s just a huge burden on your metabolism and the cost of maintaining it just for the sake of bulk is also insane (who in the world eats ten eggs and a steak every single day?) It’s like recommending that every person in the word should drive a monster truck. Imagine how life would be in Taiwan if everyone including their car were oversized.[/quote]

I wonder if the BMI standards are actually different for Taiwan and Western countries. Taiwan’s BMI says i’m obese when i actually have about average body fat. I have an athletic build and carry a bit of muscle, but i don’t look anything like the bodybuilder pictured above. I would be surprised if a health check in the states would make a similar assessment. Also, Taiwanese friends tell me i’m fat just because i have some mass to me. To them bigger=fatter. There is also genetic factors at work here. My father looks like a gorilla and has good muscle tone, but hardly does any physical activity. I spent my younger years pumping iron every day but never got close to being as muscular and strong as him. I’ve seen some Taiwanese that are naturally large and strong, but most are not, so most are either thin or fat and don’t have as much variance with muscle mass as other gene pools. Weight training is not as popular here, too.

What’s the point? Maybe because they want to. You don’t have to take it that far but there’s no reason not to if people want that.

Muscle is not a “burden” to the metabolism. Having more muscle and certainly the amount of training needed to maintain it greatly benefits the metabolism. Adults lose about .5% of their muscle mass per year due to inactivity and that loss greatly effects their quality of movement and lifestyle. Weight training and/or bodybuilding is a great way to maintain and build muscle, especially as they age.

What’s the point? Maybe because they want to. You don’t have to take it that far but there’s no reason not to if people want that.

Muscle is not a “burden” to the metabolism. Having more muscle and certainly the amount of training needed to maintain it greatly benefits the metabolism. Adults lose about .5% of their muscle mass per year due to inactivity and that loss greatly effects their quality of movement and lifestyle. Weight training and/or bodybuilding is a great way to maintain and build muscle, especially as they age.[/quote]
Ok, I’m not disagreeing with that. In fact, I agree that moderate weight training is great for that and I’m all for improving people’s fitness level. I’m just against the notion that everybody’s ideal must be to look like Hulk, which in my view has nothing got to do with fitness. IMHO, there’s nothing wrong with being on the skinny side, which btw is the norm in Taiwan. And the majority of people here don’t want to look like a 200 pound meat ball and they certainly don’t want their partners to look like one.

Quick question. I am trying to eat right ,but my life currently consists of mainly WORK. And its hard to get much exercise in. More then a few mins of walking a day.

I try to eat right and all that, but im around 30pct body fat (according to my scale) and thats of course too high. Would it benefit me at all to drink one of those cans of protein shakes for bfast? Currently not even eating much bfast due to time constraints.

Or would that not benefit me. I dont want to waste 2.50 usd/can on that if its not going to do me any good. It says it has 27gms of protein in each shake.