I know why Americans are so damn fat ! (Vitamin D, Venice, Michigan)
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i think age does play a part. So does age and too much dieting. I do remember what I weighted in high school and it was a heck of a lot less than now. I wasn't skinny. In fact I was probable a few lbs over weight even though I am very tall. Then I started putting weight on: took it off and back and forth. About 20 years ago the putting it on was pretty easy even though I walked several mornings a week and I am pretty much aware of what I eat and drink. OK, so maybe that extra glass of wine could be cut out. I have a few friends who were obese and for health reasons decided to lose a lot of weight: a few lost 50 or more lbs and they are those fairly close to my age: they look awful: the skin sags enough when you age, losing too much weight even if you are exercising certainly doesn't look good, but I am sure they are healthier. One gal did it slowly by simply cutting out a few calories a day. She looks great.
Now, on a positive note: last night we did our family gift exchange and it was amazing the gifts our kids and grand kids (all adults) gave to each other: almost everything was based around exercising and keeping in shape. I was very impressed. They all work out and it shows. Good for them.
I counted 42 different high-sugar breakfast cereals at my local Wal-Mart today. 42 !
The least-busiest aisle was produce and the biggest queue was at the pre-cooked lunch counter.
The 300lbs lady in front of me at the check-out was so fat she was in a motorized wheelchair provided by the store to help her shop because walking was too much of a strain.
She had her son with her who I would say was about 14-years-old and he must have weighed 200lbs.
Her final bill came to $96 dollars - there wasn't a single piece of vegetable or fruit among what she'd bought and virtually everything was food which didn't need any preparation other than opening a packet.
I guestimated 75% of the people in the store were obese.
There just doesn't seem to be a lot of shame about being fat in America these days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn
Your story is very sad....your observation in the check out line.
This is terrible.
I don't think everyone realizes how much obesity costs our society. There's 400-600lbs people in hospitals. Workers have to break their backs moving them around. They can't work so we pay for their medical bills. On top of it, many of the hospitals still have unhealthy menus. So, they can gain even more weight while in the hospital. When people are that large they often have heart, diabetes, breathing issues, skin wounds that require a massive amount of special supplies and a special bed. A few of my co-workers have been injured recently, because overweight patients need to be re-adjusted in their hospital beds often, and it leads to strains and back issues. Some are extremely demanding, pushing their call light every few minutes to move them, make a sandwich, get them soda from the fridge, etc.
When I worked on an ambulance they need specialized equipment, including winches to extricate people from their homes. Sometimes, walls needed to be removed.
Last edited by Matthew_MI; 12-25-2018 at 08:52 AM..
i think age does play a part. So does age and too much dieting. I do remember what I weighted in high school and it was a heck of a lot less than now. I wasn't skinny. In fact I was probable a few lbs over weight even though I am very tall. Then I started putting weight on: took it off and back and forth. About 20 years ago the putting it on was pretty easy even though I walked several mornings a week and I am pretty much aware of what I eat and drink. OK, so maybe that extra glass of wine could be cut out. I have a few friends who were obese and for health reasons decided to lose a lot of weight: a few lost 50 or more lbs and they are those fairly close to my age: they look awful: the skin sags enough when you age, losing too much weight even if you are exercising certainly doesn't look good, but I am sure they are healthier. One gal did it slowly by simply cutting out a few calories a day. She looks great.
There is so much truth to your comments.
I've been giving it a lot of thought this year as I lost 70 pounds in a bit over a year. I had been fat for only a short time (1-2 years max) and it has been a long struggle, I'm now down to BMI 22 so I'm normal now, and I have noticed some of the effects which I attribute to age and diet. Fortunately my weight loss taking place for more than a year (slowly) probably helped me, my theory is it may have given my skin more time to adjust to the smaller amount of guts inside.
In the end I decided that being healthy is the most important thing, feeling good and energetic second, and when it comes to my attractiveness to the other gender I guess I'll just bet that having a few wrinkles and sags beats having a pot belly, love handles, and a big rear end.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita
Now, on a positive note: last night we did our family gift exchange and it was amazing the gifts our kids and grand kids (all adults) gave to each other: almost everything was based around exercising and keeping in shape. I was very impressed. They all work out and it shows. Good for them.
My kind of people! I haven't bought anything "gifty" lately but yesterday I was pondering my fitness program and wanted to use the body fat monitor at my LA Fitness, but they closed early. I looked on Amazon and they have the same Omron monitor for $35, so my Xmas present will be here Thursday.
I have a step-on scale with body fat readout (and BMI) but fat testing involves a small electric current, and in a step-on scale it can measure only body fat below the waist. The ideal BF monitor would have you stand on two electrodes and hold two others; that would get the best result of your WHOLE body.
I bought the Omron to measure BF through my arms and chest, it's a hand-held monitor. If nothing else I'll have two opinions of my body fat. I think the hand held will be a better indication of my body fat, and body fat is really more important than BMI. When you have a good BMI you should switch over to monitoring body fat, not BMI.
Just to add, BMI is a screening tool. It is a pop replacement for a full health assessment, but I think it is productive for people to use all the tools they have to achieve the best health they can.
My Fitbit has changed my life this year. (Any fitness watch would.) It keeps refocusing me on my goals. Each night before bed I go through ALL the readouts on my Fitbit app and scale app. Some may think obsessing is bad, but my obsessing combined with my sometimes not perfect diet control are working for me. Today I am 2 pounds above the exact middle normal BMI for my height.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthew_MI
I don't think everyone realizes how much obesity costs our society. There's 400-600lbs people in hospitals. Workers have to break their backs moving them around. They can't work so we pay for their medical bills. On top of it, many of the hospitals still have unhealthy menus. So, they can gain even more weight while in the hospital. When people are that large they often have heart, diabetes, breathing issues, skin wounds that require a massive amount of special supplies and a special bed. A few of my co-workers have been injured recently, because overweight patients need to be re-adjusted in their hospital beds often, and it leads to strains and back issues. Some are extremely demanding, pushing their call light every few minutes to move them, make a sandwich, get them soda from the fridge, etc.
OMG I cannot imagine an obese patient patient has no nutritionist working with them.
The sad thing is that most people could be physically fit if only they went to the effort to exercise and to eat a healthy diet.
It seems simple but most of America missed the message, particularly if you subtract that lucky group who seems to have perfect health without doing anything. I have perfect health but I have to work my butt off for it.
On top of it, many of the hospitals still have unhealthy menus.
That's for sure.
A few years back my gall bladder blew up and they had to remove it the old fashioned way.
I was in the hospital for a week. They knew I was a diabetic, yet were still trying to feed me sugar!
I told them that they were not going to feed me that crap. I also had to tell them how much insulin to give me.
How is it possible that a hospital doesn't know a damn thing about diabetes??
I spent a couple weeks in Italy back in the summer. Long story, but this was entirely on the company's dime.
The food and wine there were amazing. I ate like a pig. Drank like a fish. Held back on nothing.
Two strange results that I noticed: Normally I have heartburn if I eat/drink too much too late in the evening. No heartburn whatsoever while I was there. And I ate late... and drank an inordinate amount.
Also I *lost* weight. No kidding... two weeks of binging on the best food and wine I've ever had, and I came back 5 pounds lighter.
I think American food is low-quality sugar-laden garbage. Not sure what else I can conclude.
Your story sounds strange but I learned long ago to not totally discount things people tell me just because they are surprising and outside my ordinary.
I am an amateur chef and gourmet, and I am totally convinced that a Mediterranean diet is much better than even a good American diet. And I mean diet as the food you eat year round.
I am also very strong on Asian food and I don't understand quite why it's healthy. Note that I have maybe only 2-3 bites of rice with an Asian meal. The rice would be too much carbs, but Asians get along fine eating what I presume is traditional. It is well known that Asians often live very long lives. Part may be hereditary but lifestyle figures into everybody's life, and diet is one of the biggie lifestyle choices.
I spent a couple weeks in Italy back in the summer. Long story, but this was entirely on the company's dime.
The food and wine there were amazing. I ate like a pig. Drank like a fish. Held back on nothing.
Half of my family is Italian, so I've known some great cooks.
The best was my aunt, who came over after WWII. She would make an amazing spread.
To her, if the man wasn't fat, she didn't cook good enough.
She'd always say "You too a skinny, you no yeet!!".
I can assure you, when we went over to her house, I ate.
Your story sounds strange but I learned long ago to not totally discount things people tell me just because they are surprising and outside my ordinary.
I am an amateur chef and gourmet, and I am totally convinced that a Mediterranean diet is much better than even a good American diet. And I mean diet as the food you eat year round.
I am also very strong on Asian food and I don't understand quite why it's healthy. Note that I have maybe only 2-3 bites of rice with an Asian meal. The rice would be too much carbs, but Asians get along fine eating what I presume is traditional. It is well known that Asians often live very long lives. Part may be hereditary but lifestyle figures into everybody's life, and diet is one of the biggie lifestyle choices.
It's been a LONG time since I lived in Japan, but what I noticed about the Japanese is that, while they had rice at every meal, portions were much smaller than what we eat. The walked a lot everywhere, and they ate no sugar, no sweets, no baked goods. Rice was pretty much their *only* simple carb. They would occasionally have sweet buns and other treats at festivals. Even those fillings were made with "sweet beans." One of their grocery stores had beautiful pastries, mini-cakes. When I ate them, I thought the were terrible. They used very little sugar if any. I'd probably enjoy them more today.
It's been a LONG time since I lived in Japan, but what I noticed about the Japanese is that, while they had rice at every meal, portions were much smaller than what we eat. The walked a lot everywhere, and they ate no sugar, no sweets, no baked goods. Rice was pretty much their *only* simple carb. They would occasionally have sweet buns and other treats at festivals. Even those fillings were made with "sweet beans." One of their grocery stores had beautiful pastries, mini-cakes. When I ate them, I thought the were terrible. They used very little sugar if any. I'd probably enjoy them more today.
Sumo wrestlers eat a lot though. Not all Japanese are motivated to be slim or to eat supposedly “healthy.”
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