Americans still getting fat

[oakranger]

I was active in track from middle school to college.  By the time i finished school, i was 180 lbs. and 1% body fat. (That was in 2001)  From that time till now i let my self go and eat junk food, fast food crap and lots of pop. A month ago i was over 240 lbs and heading to some series trouble if i don't do anything.  
So i stop drink pop, eat unlimited veg and fruits, cut on carbohydrates, starting to run and drink lots of water.  in one month i lost 25 lbs and still loosing.  I have more energy, sleep better and having a better attitude with life. (oh, sex gotten better)  
It is that easy but you need to have the "i want to" attitude to loose weight.  I do understand that there are some ppl who are naturally big or have some e medical issue that nor matter what they do, the weight keeps building up.    

[Anodizer]

Got a good friend of mine I've known for about 10 years..
He and his family are the classic fat, out of shape, nearly obese typical American family..  
Their kids as well as themselves eat McDonalds or some other fast food several times per week out of "convenience" (laziness really)..
His 6 year old is the size of a 10 year old..  He's chubby for a kid his age and is abnormally large..  
All his kids have had health problems from ear-aches to tonsillitis..  They are constantly sick with something..
His wife used to be a slim 120 before all three kids..  However, she ballooned up to 220 lbs with the first kid and the weight
has never come off (not sure why he'd go ahead and have two more kids after that, but ok...)..  She's huge, he's huge..
Their 4 year old girl is beginning to show some development that shouldn't be happening until she's 12...
This is due to the hormones and steroids that reside in all that pre-packaged, pre-processed food/fast food....
 
People just don't understand how bad this stuff is for you...  And none of the   BS...  This stuff is really really bad for you and your kids..
Moderation is probably fine..  But multiple times per week because your too fat and lazy to actually cook something......??  


They never cook anything..  All they eat is fast food and prepackaged, pre-processed crap they you buy at Walmart and stick in the microwave..
They never eat fresh fruits or veggies..  The kids are conditioned by not likomg anything that is remotely good for them..  We are a society that
is driven on immediate gratification with minimal effort..

Convenience=Laziness....  Pre-packaged food is engineered to keep you eating more..  All your prepackaged and fast food contains huge amounts
of MSG..  MSG is what keeps you eating..  It's literally addictive like heroin..  If you stop eating foods with MSG, you will get sick from withdrawal for a short time, just like
heroin..
McDonalds, Burger King, all fast food and prepackaged preprocessed food is LOADED with the stuff..  

On the up swing, the entire fast food world as well as the prepackaged food industry have equivalents in the "real" food world that are much better for you...
It's just the fact that we as American's are bred to be lazy..  We are value convenience above all else..  This is what makes us fat and sick..

[WMLute]

Saw an interesting show the other day talking about dinner plate size.

It seems that over the years, especially the past 30 years, the average size of the dinner plate in America has increased.  Because the plates are so large now, a "normal" portion of food looks small.  So what ends up happening is Americans fill up their plates and end up comsuming much more food because of it.


It is somewhat like the above optical illusion.  Both orange cirlces are the same size but one SEEMS larger.  Same thing.  Put a cup of pasta on the smaller plate it fills the plate.  Put a cup of pasta on the large plate and it "seems" like not enough food.

[CAP1]

know one of the easiest ways to lose weight?

eat whatever you want. be at least a LITTLE active.....basic exercise, etc.

here's the trick.


eat slow

it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that you're full.

eat slower, you'll eat less, thus producing less body fat.

remember  i mentioned my brother? he had a weight problem. that's why he makes sure his daughter won't. he lost over 40 pounds, simply by eating slower.

[RufusLeaking]

I was diagnosed with diabetes about a year ago.  I lost 10% of my body weight, and the diabetes went away.

The key to losing weight?  Being hungry.

Not the standard American version of hunger - that they are not full - but an actual empty stomach.  The requirement to check my blood sugar helped with the self discipline to not eat constantly.

Regarding the BMI, it is skewed towards smaller people.  I was at my peak fitness leaving miltary training, and I would be "Overweight" on the CDC chart.

[crazyivan]

Drink a glass of water before you eat. Iv'e put on weight the last few years also. But I worked out everyday for 4 yrs so screw it !

[SEraider]

1. Eat organic (meat should be without hormones and antibiotics, no more 2x weekly).
2. Do not eat canned/ packaged foods.
3. Limit eating out.
4. Rarely eat fast food.
5. No coffee.  Ok, maybe a little.

Just from those simple things, you will notice within 2 weeks higher efficiency of your organ function and alertness.  My kids been eating since toddlers organic and they are healthiest than most of their peers.

Myth: Organic is expensive - it cost the same if you take leftover's to work and avoid eating out.  It comes out in the wash.

[Dawger]

Go on the internet and take advice on healthy living from a bunch of folks posting on an Bulletin Board for devotees of a video game.

You are guaranteed to live forever.

[Anodizer]

1. Eat organic (meat should be without hormones and antibiotics, no more 2x weekly).
2. Do not eat canned/ packaged foods.
3. Limit eating out.
4. Rarely eat fast food.
5. No coffee.  Ok, maybe a little.

Just from those simple things, you will notice within 2 weeks higher efficiency of your organ function and alertness.  My kids been eating since toddlers organic and they are healthiest than most of their peers.

Myth: Organic is expensive - it cost the same if you take leftover's to work and avoid eating out.  It comes out in the wash.

Absolutely....  
If people looked at grocery shopping as an experience instead of a pain-in-the-arse, they'd feel better as well as feel better about what they eat..
Even the meat/poultry/fish you buy at Walmart or what ever grocery store and cool yourself is loads better than any kind of pre-packaged/pre-processed/pre-cooked frozen crap..
We have a family of 4..  We take the kids everywhere we shop for food(about 4 different places) just so they can see what it's all about and where the stuff actually comes from..    
In the spring, summer and fall we hit one of the farmer's markets at least once a week..  The meat or fish may be of better quality at a different store than where we get most other things....
If you have kids, it all starts with them..  My 4 year old has had a McDonald's Happy Meal once after an outing to the Children's Museum with a bunch of other kids..  Since his system was not accustomed to all BS that resides in a McDonald's hamburger, he got sick and puked all over my buddy's van..  Since then, he wants nothing to do with McDonald's or fast food in general..  

This idea of actually cooking something is ludicrous and totally unreasonable for most people due to supposed time constraints..  Hence, they will remain uninformed and unhealthy, like most of the population..

 

[Anodizer]

Go on the internet and take advice on healthy living from a bunch of folks posting on an Bulletin Board for devotees of a video game.

You are guaranteed to live forever.

Stay fat.....Stay stupid...

[Denholm]

...My solution, force all fast food chain to close by 7 p.m, non of this "open till 1 a.m."...

Agreed. However, seeing that the government failed to get pizza chains to stop advertising their products at certain times of the day I doubt they will convince the restaurants to cut their profit margins by a HUGE hunk.

...and make them to make healthyer foods...

Once again, don't see how the government will force that many restaurants to change.

...Have all restaurants to cut trans fat, carbohydrates ect, and enough of make new junk food, pop, and other foods that causes people to be fat.

Okay, a little difficult to decipher what you were saying here. I'm assuming you want them to take unhealthy properties out of foods? If that's what you're saying, you already missed part of it. Carbohydrates = Energy. Our bodies require Carbohydrates to work, take them out and you're eating things even less healthy than the original product.

I do agree that some things need to be changed. However, getting it changed will be more than difficult. Not to mention the reaction from customers who realize their blubber-burgers no longer produce the same appeasing flavor.

[CAP1]

Go on the internet and take advice on healthy living from a bunch of folks posting on an Bulletin Board for devotees of a video game.

You are guaranteed to live forever.

 

[oakranger]

Go on the internet and take advice on healthy living from a bunch of folks posting on an Bulletin Board for devotees of a video game.

You are guaranteed to live forever.

 

And mostly right Denholm what you say.  U.S. government going to spend more money on health care plane rather than focus on where a lot of Americans problem, obesity.  As far as carbohydrates, yes they are energy but it is the the main source of energy that makes you fat.  I guess we are getting lazy like most of you stated.

Drink a glass of water before you eat. Iv'e put on weight the last few years also. But I worked out everyday for 4 yrs so screw it !

Never heard of that method.  How dose that work?
If anybody can find this info, what is the avg body weight for a solder in WWII, Vetnam and right now.     

[Denholm]

Water decreases the amount of space in your stomach. Therefore when you eat you fill yourself at a faster rate.

[CAP1]

someone up the thread had mentioned "forcing all the fast food outlets to close by 7pm". this is a VERY bad idea. good reasoning, but be careful with things like this.

 it becomes a slippery slope. today you agree to let the govt force a curfew on them, because you don;'t like the fact that kids are getting fat.

 what would then be next? close bowling alleys early, as they sometimes become hangouts for teens? it won't hurt anyone...the old people in the league should be home in bed before 8 anyway.
 how about if they decide that your favorite sporting goods outlet shouldn't be opened on weekends? and you work monday-saturday? but you wanted to go after work on saturday to buy that new hoyt compound bow? or that new glock?

see the point here? yes, i am  with this, because it's the little steps they work in.