Topic awaiting preservation: Universal Fat (Page 1 of 1)

Something I have recently been going through in English class is essay after essay about the growing problem of obesity. I have read essays from health professionals, journalists, and one from an obese woman, telling her story.

After reading those, watching a few clips from Dr. Phil (don't suggest it), and finally concluding with the movie, Super Size Me, I am convinced we have more than a problem on our hands.

If this is such a problem, as all these people seem to think, why does it get the back burner to some of the stupid issues going on today? Obesity is now recorded as causing many health related deaths second only to smoking. Why don't we wake up and smell the coffee? Why is it so hard to try and stop obesity from taking the lives of so many people?

"For reason is a property of God's...moreover, there is nothing He does not wish to be investigated and understood by reason." ~Tertullian de paenitentia Carthaginian Historian 2nd century AD

Smaller portion sizes. That is the key here, and dedication.

2 weeks ago I decided tha I was no longer allowed to eat any unhealthy snacks, I am not allowed to eat fast food, and if I eat at a restaurant I should eat only half of the meal and take the other half home with me.

I am not seeing any noticable results yet. Part 2 is to get on an exercise routine. We will see how that goes and see what happens.

I have to say that this problem is not on the back burner at all. It is just something that people do not want to deal with. It is not a comfortable thing. I can tell you right now that I am a littel hungry, and I am uncomfortable because of this. My stomach has been distended, and I it now has to shrink to come back in line with someone who eats a normal/healthy quantity of food.

I am able to do this, but most people can/will not be willing do something like this, it requires a lot of will power. You have to enjoy the challenge of it. You have to set your goals, you have to write them down, and you have to tell yourself that failure to reach these goals is not an option.

Dan @ Code Town

The problem needs to be addressed at all levels of society in order to see a real change. It will take several years to get the society as a whole to buy into the importance of eating right. It is no different than any other bad habits we get ourselves into, it requires self discipline to overcome. It starts with realizing there is a problem and then most importantly the desire to work against it. That last one is the most difficult.

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This conversation has come up quite a bit lately in my circle of friends and at my work. I wouldn't say that it's on the back burner, as WM said, it's just something people don't want to deal with. I think it's coming more to the forefront though. A few companies are now even offering perks to employees who have gym memberships.

I would like to point out, however, that there is a difference in being skinny and being healthy. I would like to see more of an effort to get people healthy rather than skinny. I also think people need to keep in mind that there's no "one size fits all" solution to weight loss. If I were to follow WM's routine, I'd be homicidal within a week.

There are alot of contributing factors to obesity. Some of them aren't all that easily overcome, such as a genetic predisposition, limited finances (it can be rather expensive to eat healthy), or mental health, but in my opinion, it mostly comes down to poor food decisions and people not being responsible for the amounts and types of food that they shovel into their mouths.

For me, I made a commitment to get healthy. It's working great so far but it's not always the easiest thing to do. I joined a gym that has a personal trainer on staff. I met with the trainer when I started, told her what my goals were and she and I worked out how I would best meet them. I meet with her every 5-6 weeks just to make sure I'm staying on track and to just touch base. My teenage son also started going to the gym with me, which has been great. It gives us time together and also works as a prod when I don't really feel like going. Plus, it will form healthy habits for him.

When I started, I didn't change my eating habits right away, as I didn't want to shock myself hahaha. I did slowly start changing my eating habits, and now eat pretty good. I don't deny myself anything. If I want some junk food, I have it, just in moderation. When it comes to food, moderation is key. Most resturants serve such large portions now, that they can easily be split to make a couple full meals. However, I do stay away from fast food as much as possible but even when I can't there's usually a healthier option to the giant burger dripping with bacon, cheese and all the toppings.

The side effects of this have been that I have lost weight, my energy levels are way up, I'm not tired all the time and I just overall feel better. Once I feel like these habits are firmly in place, I plan on quitting smoking. It's been one of the better decisions I've made.

There should also be much more information about ways of cooking your food. For example, there's a lot of ways of cooking food healthily; the one I'm particularily thinking of is steam: food tastes better when steamed, is more juicy and healthier. I have to say I'm horrified to see how much oil people use here, in England. They fry everything, most of the time with unhealthy oil (as it's cheaper). I have never been brought up like that in Switzerland, my mum hardly ever fries anything.
Also, we would very much benefit of being taught how to cook ingredients to make more interesting meals, rather than forcing bland vegs and crackers down our throat.
Obesity is a cultural problem to me. You mentioned big portions, that is true, they are massive in some countries. Again, in our culture, Everything has to be BIGGER. It's the culture of MORE & BIGGER & FASTER that is the trouble.
And just to remind you this, our vegetables and meats and stuff have hardly changed over the last centuries, it's only the way we prepare them.
And it is true to me I currently eat crap because of lack of money.

And nobody mentioned this: a healthy diet begins with healthy teeth and properly chewed food, never mind the kind of food you're having.

[edit] Oh and I forgot something: Obesity is actually part of a bigger problem to me: our culture tends to insist on spreading very wrong ideas to create financial benefit IMO. Who's ever heard of balancing one's consumption through any media? I myself tend to think I need to buy another packet of cigarettes when my current one is empty. I think I need to order a last pint ten minutes before last orders. More is best. Who can honestly say they are not like this these days? We live an extreme life, because of the fear of BOREDOM. [/edit]

(Edited by kimson on 09-06-2005 11:28)

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kimson said:

...I currently eat crap because of lack of money.

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This really caught my attention. Seriously? I would have thought that one could get a big bag of beans, another of rice, and a whole lot of healthy vegetables for a lot less money than other "crappy" type foods. Could you explain that a bit more, kimson? I'm really quite interested in the details of that statement.

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Well I had better add my two cents worth here, after all I have earned a living on and off since the 80's as a Personal Trainer....

The key to dropping body-fat is to increase your basal metabolic rate so that you are burning lots of calories and at the same time to decrease the amount of calories that get stored as fat.

Reducing your caloric intake is often one of the least effective ways to lose weight. If your body thinks it is facing starvation, it will burn calories much more slowly. The best approach is usually to keep your overall caloric intake where it is but divide it up over 6 to eight meals per day. This signals your body that it is time to burn as many calories as it can, because there are plenty to be had.

Learning how to use( but not abuse) carbohydrates and their accompanying insulin response is the key to decreasing calories stored as fat.

Last but not least- the more muscle your body has the more calories you burn , even while sleeping. Sure, all exercise will burn some calories will you are doing it, but resistance training results in an increase in muscle mass which keeps burning calories.

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Bugimus: This really caught my attention. Seriously?

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I think lack of money is a valid point, to an extent.

Natural foods, those which are not "processed", non-GM, and come without all the chemical preservatives, are much more expensive than the run of the mill "junk" foods which fill most supermarket shelves.

When supporting a family of four on $50 a week or less, which many American families do, it becomes nearly impossible to buy the quanitity needed to fill all the mouths without delving into the "junk". Vegetables are pretty pricey when talking fresh rather than canned or frozen also. (Which is why I love my garden in the summertime) We also have many households with two working parents, or even single people, always on the go and living off of microwavables and fast food.

Another factor we have to take into account the nasty inflation we have been dealing with, where we have seen food prices skyrocket over the past five years, at the same time seeing a drastic decrease in the quality of food because of corporate cutbacks to make a buck -- at least that is what I have always considered the culprit.

And yet another factor is the countless restuarant chains we have in this country which are able to buy up all the top quality foods in bulk and what is left over is sent to the supermarket. It may sound silly, but just think about the quanitity of food that goes through these places -- along with how much is wasted. I know you are a vegitarian Bugs, but have you seen the quality of meat nowadays? Let's put it this way, it has me considering giving up meat.

As I said though, I think it only plays a part to an extent.

While it may be feasable to eat rice and beans everyday, with a side vegatable, on $50 bucks a week, it certainly is not up to par with what many Americans are accustomed to. In short, we've been spoiled.

Perhaps it is time to stop buying our little rugrats so many video games, cell phones and iPods, cut down to basic cable (oh no!), and start concentrating a little more on health. Certainly is more important. Drastic changes in lifestyle need to be made, that much is apparent. But it is not only about getting the public to take their health more seriously, it is also about raising some hell about the quality of the food which is presented to us.

European nations are far ahead of us in this regard. From what I have read, it was public outrage that has kept GM foods out of their markets for so long. They seem much more aware of things like that over there while we waste away eating artery-clogging slop and watching American Idol, caught up in our materialist consumer culture.

Knowledge is power, and we are unfortunately a very dumbed-down and complacent population.

Ramasax
www.AmericanSerf.us

(Edited by Ramasax on 09-07-2005 02:33)

Ram, don't get on the "Europeans eat more conciously" bandwagon - it is namely not true - at least, not in Germany. The obesity rate here in Germany has skyrocketed to almost American levels, in children. The Adults are also overweight as a whole, but not as bad.

It is true that Europeans tend to watch the GM food issue a bit more - but not because of any silly "we want healthier food" issues - but because you seem to forget that Europe is a continent of lands, not states. They all compete against each other, and Agriculture is a very bitter battleground, indeed! GM type foods would give any land an edge in that battle - thus, most European governments are totally against such, due to the Farming Interests inland. Most europeans (at least, here in Germany) can't afford non-processed foods, for example in Marketplaces, etc - especially not the "Bio-products" (which are sometimes mislabeled) - the prices for fresh, homegrown fruits and vegatables, and better held and treated animal products (like meat and Poultry, egtgs, milk, etc) are so high, that they are like a special treat, that one maybe has 3~4 times a week, if one is lucky. They are more expensive than meat is (per Kilo), here in Germany!

Also, Fastfood has come to Europe in a storm - there are McDonalds, Burgerkings, Pizza Huts, Subways, Kentucky Fried Chickens, etc all over the place now (10 years ago, that wasn't the case!) - for example, where I live in Northern Germany, there was nothing of the kind as I first came here. In the space of 10 years there is now 3 McDonalds, 1 Burger King, and one Subway near me! (these are those that I know of) - not to mention the German equivalents of "fast food" Pommes Bude (which is basically kind of like the British Fish and Chips shops, but they have Fries, Wurst, and deep fried products, LOADED with fats of an unhealthy kind).

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The key to dropping body-fat is to increase your basal metabolic rate so that you are burning lots of calories and at the same time to decrease the amount of calories that get stored as fat.

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I think that sums it up in a nutshell. You can reverse that, and directly see why obesity is on the rise in developed countries. The question is WHY, not how.

Is it due to how humans are genetically disposed, to store fat? Considering how many are overweight, and how hard it is to actually keep that weight off, I tend to think there might be such reasons under the surface, which would explain much, especially in a figure and beauty weighted society.

I believe a lot of jobs and activities no longer are of a physical nature, in that one uses alot of calories to do them. Desk jobs (like mine, for example) mean sitting for long periods of time, which certainly is not calorie intensive. Hobbies and free-time activities like sitting at the computer, playing video games, and the worst of all, W-A-T-C-H-I-N-G TV does not burn many calories, when compared to the same length of physical activity.

Also, when one eats (thanks Norm! Good point!) and how often, tends to regulate how the body stores and uses energy. Because of TV, and jobs that are often shift work (meaning late evenings, or Nights) disrupts eating patterns badly, and that is never good, never mind the serious disruption of sleeping patterns (which shortens your lifespan).

(Edited by WebShaman on 09-07-2005 09:39)

WS: I was under the impression that Europe was more health-conscious than us here in the states. Thanks for clarifying, although I can only feel sorry that the fast food craze had taken over there too.

About the GM thing. Not being all that familiar with European trade battles, I was under the impression that the public is a lot more critical and questioning about GM food, not only because of the reasons you mentioned, but also because of the uncertainties and environmental risks that keep popping up.

Either way, we can say for certain that the media coverage over there on this issue far surpasses anything I've seen from American media -- practically nothing. I equated this with a more aware population.

Again, thanks for the "inside" view.

Ramasax
www.AmericanSerf.us

Don't get me wrong, Ram - I'm sure there are concious europeans in Europe - they jsut are not that common (at least, not in the area I am in - if you asked most people living where I am, they won't even know what GM is, and Fast Food, they consume all the time).

WebShaman | Asylum D & D | D & D Min Page

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Bugimus said:

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kimson said:...I currently eat crap because of lack of money.


This really caught my attention. Seriously? I would have thought that one could get a big bag of beans, another of rice, and a whole lot of healthy vegetables for a lot less money than other "crappy" type foods. Could you explain that a bit more, kimson? I'm really quite interested in the details of that statement. : . . DHTML Slice Puzzle : . . .

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OF course, Bugimus, I will try and develop my thoughts a bit more.
It is actually quite simple, but you need all the facts to understand: I have just moved in a new flat; I smoke but giving up very shortly, which will save me about £150 a month; I live with two blokes, my boyfriend and his best mate (I'm a girl).
We have got a nice kitchen with good equipment, the basic stuff to cook properly, but no room to put a table anywhere. First bad point: I like sitting at a table to have dinner, I don't know about you, but eating with a tray on my lap in front of the tele does bother me a lot. The lack of money here doesn't allow us to find a good solution to eat quietly. Eating like this stresses me.
So most of the time, let's say in the week, after work, I prefer having something quickly that fills me up. Second bad point. Then it all depends on what you call crap food, but to me, having baked beans and bread and sausages for every meal is exactly what I call crap food.
We took some time (almost two hours) to cook a roast dinner last Sunday, and I actually enjoyed that, but only because I had time and we all went to the shop to chose our food carefully. So yes I eat bad because of lack of money, but also lack of time. Third bad point. I haven't got the nerves to cook for ages after a day of work. I know it sounds really silly, but it looks like I've made a decision, at least for the time being.
Also, as quickly mentioned above, it takes a lot of time to chose your food carefully, which means getting the best quality for the lowest price. Unfortunately, I can spend some time in the week to do it, but for now I am trying to get organised for many other things.
And at last, the ideal thing to do would be to plan in the week end what we could have over the week, which I would really like to do eventually, but we have many things to sort out before, like making sure the amount of money we save each month will pay for our bills, and stuff like that.

And I don't even have enough money to buy a bed...

Again, see how much our culture influences our lifestyle? I realise that with a bit of will power I could sort out a few of these points, but for now I admit I prefer "eating crap". It's alright for a bit of course, but it won't be my lifestyle.

Fortunately, I never had to worry about weight growing up.. My parents made sure we were all active. During the summers we actually could not stay in the house. We had to be outside keeping ourselves occupied playing or bike riding or walking here and there. There was discipline for eating right and mandatory naps. In fact, we were not allowed to just go into the refrigerator when we wanted. It was not allowed. We had to eat at the allowed times.

Now as I am older my metabolism has slowed and I am not really overweight by a lot, but I could stand to loose 15 lbs to be slimmer.

To me, I see the younger children growing up today don't want to go outside. They are either watching too much TV, playing viedo games or on the internet and get no activity. Plus fast food is made so much more available and parents are just too tired from work to have the desire to cook a good meal when they get home , so the opt for fast food dinners, which are full of salt and fat. My tow sons are weight control minded. I don't buy sweets in the house like cookies, cakes, etc and never buy chips and snacks unless I am having a party. Its too much temptation to give in to sugar which converts to fat in the body very fast. I also cook with pam and never use veg oil or butter to cook. I am not big on red meat and try not to buy too much. We usually cook lots of poultry, fish and veggie dinners. I am big on soy products, but it can be expensive too.

I don't know how it is in other parts of the world such as the United States, but in the UK it is infactr cheaper to eat 'healthier', but due to lack of experience in shopping and an eye for what's really good for you, people often do think that buying fast food or processed food is a cheaper aternative.

The fact is if you want to buy lunch and youi're out in town, it is cheaper to buy a Mc Donalds Meal than a sandwich and a drink from a local delhi, it's also cheaper than buying a loaf of bread, some butter, some lettuce and some ham. BUT remember that the loaf of bread, butter, and ham will actually last you for 5 meals, so it is cheaper after alll!

How much does a bag of crisps(chips) cost? A darn site more than a couple of carrots or an apple, ewven dried fruit which is often packaged is relativley cheap compared to sweets and chocolate.

It really is to do with education and that's where Obesity needs to be stemmed, that and acceptance, people need to stop accepting being fat and work at changing their lifestyle. It's a hard thing to admit but there are plenty of people that have drastically changed, if not they die young.

Cheers,

Eating all healthy foods with non processed meats is more expensive based on my experience. I've done both for a family of 5. I can buy 3 nice boneless chicken breasts for about $6 or I can buy a box of processed boneless breasts (about 6-9) for approx $9.

Buying a good sized bag of grapes, strawberries or some nice apples is a hell of a lot more expensive here than a bag of potato chips and lasts just about as long in my house.

To offset costs, I try to always get my fruit and vegetables at the local farmer market. In the winter, I just have to shop smarter and not buy grapes at $5/pound. We eat more apples then

--Amerasu--

"You get what you pay for."

If you dump crap into your body it's going to give you crap in return. Eating right does cost a little more in the long run but for me, being healthy is worth the investment.

:::11oh1:::

http://www.medbroadcast.com/condition_info_details.asp?disease_id=95&dowhat=accept_disclaimer

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.
Isaac Asimov
US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 - 1992)

I have yet to find it expensive to eat foods that the body will do well on... Junk is not any less expensive than real food.

What is often expensive is buing things labeled 'Organic', or 'Free Range'. Whole foods don't have to carry those labels or live in the health food section of the store.

I live in a community that was named as having the highest cost of living in the Northwestern United States. Food must be flown in or shipped by barge. It costs me an average of $60 to by food for one week. And I go through 6150 calories each day....

norm, you know you could always move to down here and be my personal trainer and chef?! The pay is terrible and the weather's even worse, but still...... i could see about gettin you a discount ferry ticket

Having dealt with the shopping and cooking for a family of 4, I can agree that it is, in many aspects cheaper to buy 'crap' than good food.

But it all depends on what you are looking to buy/eat.

If your goal is a big 'sunday dinner' kind of roast beef dinner....then there are two problems right off the bat

1) yeah, it's gonna cost you

2) it's not really healthy eating anyway!

If your goal is sensible meals that are both good and good for you, you *can* do it for the same (or a similar, and in some cases cheaper) budget as you can processed 'crap' food, but you have to be able to do several things

1) shop effectively

2) know your way around a kitchen

3) devote the time to work with un-processed ingredients

4) commit to using all of what you buy, in a timely manner, as it won't withstand sitting in the cupboard for months like the meal-ina-box

I would say that it *is* easier to eat crappy.

But in my experience, if you (are able to) do things properly, it's not any cheaper.

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krets said:

Eating right does cost a little more in the long run but for me, being healthy is worth the investment.

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Of course, not everyone can afford making the investments they should, whether in money or time...

For an education of sorts google "universal fat".

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.
Isaac Asimov
US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 - 1992)

heh. wow.

ain't life just fucked?

Lacuna :

That is a very tempting job offer, especially with the discount ferry ticket. But since I'm currently trying my best to get transfered to Anchorage I must regretfully decline. Have you ever considered Anchorage? I hear they see the sun so often there that people have taken pictures of it.......

Anchorage huh? Sun....snow.... very tempting. I'll have to get back to you on that

While not everyone has the time or money, as krets said, it's a worthy investment. My monthly gym cost is $60 (that includes a key so I can go whenever I'd like, not only when it's open). That's about what I'd spend going out on a Friday night with friends. Easy trade-off.
Really, bottom line, it comes down to moderation, imo. 2 cookies rather than the whole damn package and spending less time in from of the boob-tube.

I'm more concerned with passing on good habits to my child. It amazes me to see how many kids are way overweight in my son's school. It's a fair number of them. It's quite sad. I'm fortunate that my son is very active in sports and isn't a couch potato but even if he wasn't, I couldn't let him just sit around and expand and do nothing about it.

As an American Bachelor, when I think of eating cheap, I think Ramen. I think the real case is just making sure your diet balances out, and not completely stuffing yourself. The only way any of this will really work though is excersise. I used to be one of these obese American teenagers, 5'7" and 195 lbsand no muscle what-so-ever. I played football in school and thinned out even though I didn't didn't change my diet any. The reason why excersise helps is simply like norm said:

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The key to dropping body-fat is to increase your basal metabolic rate so that you are burning lots of calories and at the same time to decrease the amount of calories that get stored as fat.

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As long as you can find ways to speed up your metabolism, you will lose weight whether you change your diet or not. However, this doesn't mean it is healthy. I was in good shape throughout my Army training, but during my deployment I don't get the chance to excersise as much as I should. I was starting to gain a few pounds here, so I started drinking more coffee, black coffee, due to limiting my sugar intake. The caffeine speeds up the metabolism, that's why it is a main ingredient in weight loss pills. I know this isn't healthy, but it's what I have right now, and I am losing those few pounds I gained here.
Ultimately, the more our societies go toward an automated world, individuals tend to have to use their freetime in order to get the excersise they need, and many don't want to do it. Jobs offering benefits for employess with gym memberships is a nice start, but still isn't enough to change this trend.

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Quidquid Latine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur ~
Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound