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Show HN: App creates a meal plan that satisfies your nutrition constraints

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Re: Show HN: App creates a meal plan that satisfies your nutrition constraints

#101

Post by solarmist »

solarmist wrote: post #98

This is basically what I've started setting up for myself too. It's like recreating nutrisystem without the prepackaged foods. I love the idea, it needs more maturity though. Once the recipe database gets larger and there's more controls for foods and meals this will be a great tool. I'd love the ability to save favorite meals (and to build them myself rather than randomly generate them) which would show up more ofte…

I'd also love to be able to specify that I'm going to eat out for a meal and get suggestions for where to go and what to have.

Re: Show HN: App creates a meal plan that satisfies your nutrition constraints

#103

Post by corwinstephen »

derleth wrote: post #85
stef25 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> natural, unmodified food ie whole foods, and yes this is pretty much the only dieting advise you need.

No. The only dieting advice you need is to keep your calorie content in a reasonable range (roughly equal to expenditure to maintain weight, less than expenditure to lose) and make sure you're getting enough nutrients. It's possible to lose weight on a Twinkie diet. The person who did also improved his cholesterol levels: His LDL dropped, his HDL went up, and his triglycerides went down. http://articles.latimes.com/2…

I think it was Einstein who once said, "knowledge is not about what you've learned, it's about what you've managed to unlearn.". The old "calories in, calories out" adage is one of those things you have to unlearn, because as much as it seems to make sense, modern science has shown us that it's simply not true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z5X0i92OZQ&feature=youtu...

Re: Show HN: App creates a meal plan that satisfies your nutrition constraints

#105

Post by trontron »

corwinstephen wrote: post #103
derleth wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. The only dieting advice you need is to keep your calorie content in a reasonable range (roughly equal to expenditure to maintain weight, less than expenditure to lose) and make sure you're getting enough nutrients. It's possible to lose weight on a Twinkie diet. The person who did also improved his cholesterol levels: His LDL dropped, his HDL went up, and his triglycerides went down. http://articles.latimes.com/2…

I think it was Einstein who once said, "knowledge is not about what you've learned, it's about what you've managed to unlearn.". The old "calories in, calories out" adage is one of those things you have to unlearn, because as much as it seems to make sense, modern science has shown us that it's simply not true. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z5X0i92OZQ&feature=youtu...

most knowledgeable people disagree with him. for an intro look at his wikipage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lustig or i.e. http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab...

Re: Show HN: App creates a meal plan that satisfies your nutrition constraints

#106

Post by Swizec »

lrs wrote: post #80
Swizec wrote: post #70

I need a way to tell it that I want my calories to come from 60% carbs, 20% protein and 20% fat. I also want it to include protein in every meal. And as few simple carbs as possible. Fruit is fine-ish, but no processed sugar. Bread-like things should be limited to whole grain if at all possible. How do I do that?

Kind of a derail, but would you care to share the rationale behind the 60/20/20 macro ratio?

I exercise a lot -ish, with the goal of increasing my lean weight.

I need the carbs for energy so I can train, think and not sleep a lot. Because next to training, I also keep a somewhat busy freelancing schedule.

I need the protein for building muscle mass.

And I need the fat because fat burns in fat and you can't get leaner without consuming fat.

The idea is that you can't digest more than X amount of protein per day anyway (so 20% seems okay), you want fat, but too much fat will amke you fat (so 20% seems okay) and 60% carbs is pretty much what's left.

My biggest problem right now is that I don't eat enough carbs, but do eat too much fat. Protein is going pretty well.

Because here's the tricky part, once you let go of simple carbs (white flour, processed sugar etc.) it becomes really really really difficult to eat enough carbs. And a lot if not most of high protein foods (especially animal protein) are also high in fat.

For instance, an egg is something like 33% protein, 63% fat and 3% carbs.

PS: I got the 60-20-20 advice from Scooby -> http://scoobysworkshop.com/nutrition/

Re: Show HN: App creates a meal plan that satisfies your nutrition constraints

#108

Post by corwinstephen »

trontron wrote: post #105
corwinstephen wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it was Einstein who once said, "knowledge is not about what you've learned, it's about what you've managed to unlearn.". The old "calories in, calories out" adage is one of those things you have to unlearn, because as much as it seems to make sense, modern science has shown us that it's simply not true. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z5X0i92OZQ&feature=youtu...

most knowledgeable people disagree with him. for an intro look at his wikipage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lustig or i.e. http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab...

Sure, some people disagree, but you'd be farfetched to find anybody in history who proposed a new way of thinking who didn't have people arguing against him.

Furthermore, something being "unproven" (which is what his Wiki says about his propositions) is very different from it being "disproven." Even the most brilliant scientific breakthroughs of our time were, at the time of their inception, unproven.

Whether or not you agree, I still highly recommend watching the whole video. It's rife with good material for discussion.

Re: Show HN: App creates a meal plan that satisfies your nutrition constraints

#110

Post by trontron »

corwinstephen wrote: post #108
trontron wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

most knowledgeable people disagree with him. for an intro look at his wikipage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lustig or i.e. http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab...

Sure, some people disagree, but you'd be farfetched to find anybody in history who proposed a new way of thinking who didn't have people arguing against him. Furthermore, something being "unproven" (which is what his Wiki says about his propositions) is very different from it being "disproven." Even the most brilliant scientific breakthroughs of our time were, at the time of their inception, unproven. Whether or not…

Your posts are not straightforward. Here's the wiki quote: "By contrast, such a conclusion has been deemed unwarranted by medical experts and not confirmed by clinical research. For example, in one meta-analysis giving evidence opposite to Lustig's opinion, fructose consumption actually reduced blood glucose levels with no effect on body weight."

It's not "some people" but instead the clear majority of nutrition researchers / specialists. Your argument about "unproven" vs "disproven" is a straw man. Having extensive meta studies that show no support for Lustigs thesis is as close to disprove something as it is possible to do so in nutrition discussions (even though most nutrition studies have major problems in their quality and samplesize quantity).

Further, in your original comment you wrote "modern science has shown us that it's simply not true." and your only support for this was the linking of Lustigs youtube-video (which, to say it nicely, is at least heavily contested). I agree with you that there are many open nutrition questions (and that it is important to keep an open mind for new concepts / ideas), but to postulate that science has shown that "calories in, calories out" is wrong, is untrue. I think this is definitely the wrong place to have an indepth discussion about the topic, but i just couldn't let your original statement stand by itself without a reply.

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