What you do not actually say here is why I think people are getting fat. My point: You would buy fresh vegetables and make the salad. Most everyone else wants to buy something at the salad bar or pre-made. Salad bar or pre-made costs a bunch because you are also paying someone else to do all the work involved in preparing the food. Most people I know at the office don't prepare a lot of what goes into their meals. When we make meals here they are all prepared from base ingredients. Heck, we have to pick our lettuce before we make a salad. All of this food prep takes time and energy, time away from the TV and energy to get your fat *** off of the couch. As Gary has indicated, if you want to slim people down you have to change their whole lifestyle not just the food they eat. That is what will be impossible.
When one looks at the obese they shouldn't immediately pass judgement. In some regards the medical community and Big Pharma are responsible. Four years ago I watched my wife who was a size 5 gain 70 pounds in just under three months. We spent the first two years dealing with it as a thyroid issue while I had a marriage being put to the test by a wife that no longer wanted to be social and would often have breakdowns. My then "Obese" wife was working out and eating healthy with "Whole Grains" and other foods that were supposed to be great for her and the weight stayed on and even got worse. We went to six different thyroid doctors and they put her on medications that never regulated the thyroid and she was scolded by one for her diet and lack of exercise as he implied she was not following the regimen, I nearly was arrested that day and a doctor still walked these parts scared to death of me for what I said after he insulted my wife. I think half the clinic ran for the front door when i unleashed. Two years ago my wife went to Doctor Mercola who is considered amongst endocrinologists to be a witch doctor. The man discovered what was wrong with my wife in a matter of hours. Her problem now had a name and it was Hoshimoto Thyroiditis. She was prescribed Armour for her Thyroid and was immediately put on a Protein based shake diet to get her weight down initially. Within a few months she lost 40 pounds and started to feel healthy again, our marriage became a much easier endeavor. Today she is still battling her urge to eat normal crap food and has to maintain a mostly Gluten free diet but she does cardio kick boxing three times a week and walks a couple of miles every day. What we went through changed my outlook because I always thought fat people were lazy. I know understand that the bigger the person is the harder it is to do physical activities. Some may have gotten there with bad diets but there are also many with disease that have caused it. My wife is currently part of a free study on Hoshimoto Disease being run by a couple of doctors and Gina Lee Nolan from Baywatch. She has become an advocate for her disease and recently helped a former employee of mine by getting her to a doctor that diagnosed her with the same condition after Endocrinologists told her she had no issues other than an underactive thyroid. The disease my wife has can be deadly if not kept in check and the best thyroid doctors in Chicago failed to diagnose it, that alone has me worried that we often pass blame on people and not always their medical status.
Mercola is awesome. I don't buy into everything he says but he has a much better handle on true health than 99% of our doctors out there. And don't get me started on big Pharma.... I'm kind of like your wife (ha, bet that line scares you!!), I did the low-fat, grains, fruits and tiny bits of lean meat eating for a long time. I totally turned into a blimp and was very sickly. I had to turn to porterhouses and green leafy things to lose weight and get healthy. I'm still porky but not like before and I can actually walk around without being in constant pain or having tinnitus and vertigo. Haven't needed my asthma or allergy meds in more than 10 years.
I have to agree with Hook. I am concerned for the kids. There are a number of things that have lead to kids being feed poorly by their parents. Lack of time, lack of knowledge, lack of caring, etc. I'm not saying the government should get involved, but some of the "diets" kids are being fed by their parents is child abuse in my book. Right up there with smoking in a house or car around kids. Bruce, I get what you're saying. Drinking and drinking related accidents are a terrible problem. I don't think this is really which one is more important. I do think obesity needs to be addressed more. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "I never knew that" while volunteering at fitness/heath related events. Information is just a click away, but the problem is so many websites have terrible or misleading info. I'm not saying its the teachers' job to teach proper eating habits. Unfortunately, teaching kids at a young age can be productive. Their parents' sure as hell aren't teaching them. I don't see why kids shouldn't be offered a course in proper eating and exercise. Much like sex ed. raceway, it sucks your wife has to deal with that condition. You're right, I don't know a person's circumstances that led them to be obese. I certainly don't judge them as a person for their appearance. With that said, I would venture to guess less than 1% of the obese people in this country have a condition or disease that caused their obesity. Most cases of obesity are caused by a lack of knowledge, laziness, or both.
Not picking on you, Christine, just using your example. That is what most people would think is "eating healthy", even though it is not. There is a lack of information concerning good eating habits. If I asked 100 random people to describe what is a good "diet" (I hate that word), I would be surprised if 5 knew the answer.
If SHTF then everyone will start starving right away anyway. And with the USA following in the footsteps of fiscal irresponsibility and world domination same as the USSR it wont be long until it happens. China could crash the US financial system simply by dumping their dollar inventory for anything else they want. Lucky thing the Euro is crashing and there is no other choice for them right now besides dollars. So there is such a thing as too lean. It has just been a long time since too lean meant fatally lean. WW1 Europe was the last time anyone in the developed world starved in large numbers. My grandparents lived through those times and they said it was the skinny ones who died off first. Ok back to the present. Our best bet is probably fat and fit. So we need more exercise and sports involvement by the masses of our humanity. Fitness awareness, with walking, hiking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, and the many indoor machines is the only hope of coping with instant hamburgers and pizza on every street corner.
Is that a serious statement? I'm not trying to be a ****, because I do that a lot, but I honestly don't know if that is a joke.
Jamie Oliver is awesome. You would think he was the anti-christ by the way he gets treated at some schools, or by school administrators. Watching that show is glaring example that schools are willing to feed the kids in our school systems complete crap if it means they can save money. Sad thing is most of the country doesn't care, so it hardly gains any attention.
It's why we pack every day. Jamie's show was awesome. I still remember watching that episode and my wife crying when they ate those nuggets of death.
Vito, it's not the lack of information... it's that people are being told the wrong information. (like I was) This has been happening ever since Ancel Keys flawed but institutionalized lipid hypothesis which is pushed by our government, since McGovern, under the guise of the food pyramid. Many health care professionals don't know the truth and of those that do, most are afraid to say anything to contrary of the general consensus. Between being labeled as quacks or fear of malpractice lawsuits... can't say I blame 'em. But even armed with good information... I bet we'd still have an obesity issue. Eating at buffets is a big part of our hick culture around here (woot.. I love me a buffet!). I practice some degree of self-restraint at such establishments... but wow... there's a serious lack of willpower and/or responsible choices on display at these places. It can be downright scary.
Yes, school cafeteria food is a joke. I remember eating pizza or a hamburger and fries, every freaking day of my for 7 years during junior high and high school. Luckily, my parents still fed me healthy food at home, and I was quite active with sports. But a lot of kids do not that opportunity. They eat crap at school, then again at home, and since they are raised on this, they never know any better. Once their metabolism slows down as they get older, they gain weight. And fast food can be addictive. Your body craves the sugar and sodium.
As do we. We used to let our daughter pick one day a month for "hot lunch", but that only lasted two months. She said the food tasted terrible and she was hungry again an hour later. Its not that hard to teach kids to eat properly, and when you do, junk food will taste like its sounds...like junk.
LOL. When I was in middle school I could only afford .50 worth of food at the cafeteria. So I bought either the milkshake or the fries. I knew neither was a good choice.... but I didn't care. :D
Misinformation is absolutely a huge problem. There is a lack of good information, and it gets lost in the loads of bad info. I don't doubt that obesity will always be a problem due to the amount of processed and unhealthily prepared foods. I still think we would see a decrease in obesity if people knew the damage they were doing to their body, or their kids' bodies. Ever see "The Biggest Loser"? Most of the contestants break down in tears during the consultation with the doctor. They had no clue the damage they were doing. I'm not saying that is going to stop everyone, but its a start. I like to think people have some good in them. If they knew what they were putting in their kids' bodies, the damage its doing, and the future habits they are creating, I'd like to think most would not feed their kids that way. If adults want to eat poorly, that is their choice. Its the kids that concern me as many don't have a choice, then they learn bad habits that carry on to adulthood, and then passed on to their children.
I was at Chic-Fil-A yesterday waiting in line at the drive through. I witnessed an obese woman fall off the sidewalk and she could not get herself up. Several people nearby helped her to her feet...barely. It was hard to watch. She didn't get the hint either....she went right on inside.
Lots of good discussion on here. I don't have much to add other than I agree there is TONS of bad information out there and I think because of that people tend to overcomplicate things . I know one person does not make a study, but about 3 years ago, I made a signifcant effort towards cutting out as much processed foods as possible and eating real, whole foods. Yes I still have the occasional pizza, ice cream etc, but really not a whole lot of "junk". I do still have an affinity for cereal, but I try & avoid the real sugary stuff. My energy levels are awesome. I never get an afternoon crash at work, I swear I need less sleep each night, and my digestive system thanks me. Like someone else stated too, once you get used to eating good, you don't want junk food anymore.
