My father’s been “dieting” for 10years now, and compensating calories through the bar in the evening. He is active (gym 3x a week atleast, for over a decade) where he lifts and runs and wants to lose his beer belly. He is type 2 diabetic with high bloodpressure. He isnt too eager to listen to any advice from me(like stop going to the bar and eat real food more) or read about dieting online, so I was wondering if you know any good books I can get him. Because of his diabetes he obviously can’t do any fasting stuff.
You may want to start off with books on motivation and change. If he sits in a bar and has a few drinks each night he has probably found a like-minded group of “friends” that do the same. The group gives him solidarity even if he knows what he is doing is bad for himself. Until he is ready to change you will find yourself fighting an uphill battle.
I may have just told you what you already know but I don’t have any real advice. Except to read books, written by much smarter people than myself, dedicated to the issue.
Yeah I was thinking the book would include dietary advice like “alcohol is not good for your beer belly”. Giving him a book called “drinking problems?” is a little bit too straight forward haha.
However, what books do you think are good on motivation/change then?
Be blunt and tell him you want to see him live longer/ watch you grow up, grandkids grow up(if he has any). Then develop diversions from the bar, at first it doesn’t have to be every night, but have a heathly family dinner night or family bowling night(avoiding the crap bowling alley food).
Since he’s active already try to get him to join a club sports league of some sort…tennis, basket ball etc.
If alcohol is really a problem then consider dragging him to AA, they are slightly cultish but most (not all) successfull quiters I’ve met did it via AA and it automatically replaces the drinking buddies…Again only relevant depending on the type of drinking he’s doing.
[quote]NikH wrote:
He isnt too eager to listen to any advice from me(like stop going to the bar and eat real food more) or read about dieting online, so I was wondering if you know any good books I can get him.[/quote]
Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan is my go-to for people who want/need a non-aggressive, simple to understand intro to healthful eating - not necessarily bodybuilding-eating, but plain old healthful eating.
It’s full of of nutritional concepts, only taking about 1-2 pages each, that he can read and consider, instead of it being a strict guide with rules like “Eat no less than 20 grams of protein and no more than 15 grams of sugar per meal” or something rigid. Even if he only adopts two or three bits of advice, it’ll be a step forward.
Examples from the book:
- Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
- Have a glass of wine with dinner.
- Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
- Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.
Etc.
Some are a little hokey, but the overall ideas he’s promoting are solid. It’s written by the same guy who did In Defense of Food.
They discuss a lot of the same topics. In Defense of Food is much more in-depth (the why’s) and Food Rules is more practical and straight-forward (the what’s and how’s).
Everyone should read these books - they are completely fascinating and cover some case studies of patients who fasted and the results they saw. This was not just for weight loss purposes but overall health in general.
Some of the science is outdated in them but I feel like the observations should not be ignored. Why they have for so long is beyond me.
The Fasting Cure, Upton Sinclair
The Science and Fine Art of Fasting, Herbert M. Shelton.
Scientific Fasting: The Ancient and Modern Key to Health, Linda Burfield Hazzard
Some of the relevant points taken from the texts is that people who had a hard time putting on weight were able to much easier put weight on after fasting - beyond what they started at. Overweight people not only lost weight but were better able to keep their bodyweight in a more healthy range. There are some other fascinating observations related to the curing of diseases as well.
Their main thesis is that all organic diseases are the result of poor nutrition and the only way to cure them is to eliminate the toxins that cause them from the body through hygienic fasting. They contend that nature is the only cure to any disease.
[quote]NikH wrote:
Because of his diabetes he obviously can’t do any fasting stuff.[/quote]
This is sheer nonsense.
What he cannot do is eat stuff that turns to glucose.
Recommending fasting to the average person who just wants to be healthy seems like a great way to turn them off from diet and exercise completely. Most people enjoy food and fasting as a “lifestyle” isn’t a great long term solution for the general population.
Also the original post seemed to point towards alcohol related calories being the main problem.
Good Calories, Bad Calories By. Gary Taubes
Having my students read this right now. Very enlightening.
[quote]Mdgray82 wrote:
Recommending fasting to the average person who just wants to be healthy seems like a great way to turn them off from diet and exercise completely.[/quote]
I post not necessarily for the benefit of the OP but for other readers too who might be intrigued enough to do their own research.
Thanks Chris and caleb for your contribution! I will look onto them.
Mdgray82 I dont live at my parents place anymore so family meals might be a problem.
Lifticvsmaximvs what do you suggest by eating stuff that doesnt turn to glucose? fatty acids? Diabetics have high risk of getting hypoglycemic when fasting and when eating getting finally getting really high blood sugar. It’s not recommended for diabetics to fast.
[quote]NikH wrote:
Thanks Chris and caleb for your contribution! I will look onto them.
Mdgray82 I dont live at my parents place anymore so family meals might be a problem.
Lifticvsmaximvs what do you suggest by eating stuff that doesnt turn to glucose? fatty acids? Diabetics have high risk of getting hypoglycemic when fasting and when eating getting finally getting really high blood sugar. It’s not recommended for diabetics to fast.
[/quote]
I am not an MD so take this with a grain of salt.
I know it’s not recommended but fasting cannot hurt a diabetic - in fact ketoacidosis really only is a danger to type i diabetics who don’t produce any insulin.
Type II Diabetes is caused by over-stimulating the pancreas to produce insulin and the resulting diminished efficacy of the hormone insulin due to that over-stimulation. The only way to cure diabetes is to reduce stimulation to the pancreas and allow it to heal naturally.
Diabetics should not eat any refined sugar and reduce all carbohydrate consumption to a bare minimum.
Fasting - pardon the pun - is a much faster cure than merely dieting alone.
Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint approach will help reverse his type-2 and hypertension.
And I agree with what LIFTICVS has posted here, at the least that should spark further research on one’s own.
[quote]calebsmitty wrote:
Good Calories, Bad Calories By. Gary Taubes
Having my students read this right now. Very enlightening. [/quote]
x2 or even Why we get Fat, by Taubes a condensed version of the above and a suprisingly good read. Also has some good lectures on youtube