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The lowest fat % I had in my lifetime was 18% and I looked very lean. I'm at 22.6% (last I tested) and it looks great - you can see definition and there isn't a lot of inches to pinch, though of course there is some. I can live with that. I like the muscular look myself.
Omg, yes @ carbs don't make you fat. I am half Japanese, and I grew up in Japan. Oftentimes, all three meals of the day would include rice. My mother prepared mostly fish and vegetables for meals. In Japan, the rice is considered the main dish while everything else was considered a side dish. Portion sizes are way smaller. My mother in law worked in Japan as a DoD teacher, and she came back to the U.S. with small drinking glasses which are standard in Japan, but my husband calls them "mini Japanese cups." Many people walk and ride their bicycles in Japan. In fact, many ride a bicycle to the train station and then continued their commute on foot.
My sister still lives in Japan, and she said the obesity rate is increasing in Japan because portion sizes are starting to increase, and the Western diet is catching on.
Nevertheless, Japanese people have survived on rice, noodles and bread for centuries and maintained lean physiques. As others have said, I think it's a combination of portion size, quality of food and physical activity. In the U.S., we create a lot of gimmicky fad diets and perpetuate a lot of health mumbo jumbo.
They eat less processed foods, they dont have as many fast food places, they home cook,they walk more, they are more active, almost everyone I know has at least one physical active hobby, less acceptance of fat people = you take more pride in appearance, smaller portions, less accommodations for fat people, less drive-thrus, less restaurant eating, more smaller meals, less soda/ice tea, more drinking of water, fat shaming.
However, every year I go home to Germany, I see more and more overweight people everywhere. So, it is just a matter of time until they catch up to American obesity.
The food that I've had in Europe consisted of smaller portions, but those portions made you feel very full. They don't have all of those additives and processed stuff that the American food industry puts in the food. My French friend told me that she was going to take me to McDonald's in Paris because the McDonalds there doesn't taste anything like an American McDonalds. Portions are smaller and no additives are in the food. Prices are higher.
It is considered very rude to walk and eat on the street at the same time in Paris. No one walks around holding a cup of coffee. They do walk a lot in Paris, but not any more than we do here at home in NY. I did see joggers, but not too many gyms as we have them here on just about every corner. I saw quite a few heavy people in Paris, but they were generally older. I didn't see any young heavy Parisians. They do like their chocolate, but they eat basically a sliver or tiny pill amount almost daily. I have a few Parisian friends, all older, and they are all on the heavy side. They do a lot of walking and Paris is not very handicap accessible.
American food just doesn't taste good and somehow, it doesn't make you feel less hungry so you eat more of it. IMO, even the food in Canada tastes different and better.
My French friend told me that she was going to take me to McDonald's in Paris because the McDonalds there doesn't taste anything like an American McDonalds.
Very true. And it's not just taste; the food is of completely different makeup and composition.
There's no way McDonalds in other countries could sell the type of junk passed off in the US. The people in those countries would not buy it, and not eat it. If America ever woke up and put a real emphasis on health, MickeyDs would have to change their ways here too, but that will probably never happen.
American food just doesn't taste good and somehow, it doesn't make you feel less hungry so you eat more of it. IMO, even the food in Canada tastes different and better.
You need to get better at finding food. American food is fine, it's just that McDonald's and even Apple Bee's are not very good. New York pizza is mostly awful, which was kind of surprising given how much NY is know for its pizza. I expected it to at least be halfway decent but then NY is a big city. You can certainly find food that isn't as bad as your pizza is.
You need to get better at finding food. American food is fine, it's just that McDonald's and even Apple Bee's are not very good. New York pizza is mostly awful, which was kind of surprising given how much NY is know for its pizza. I expected it to at least be halfway decent but then NY is a big city. You can certainly find food that isn't as bad as your pizza is.
To each his own. New York pizza is damn good to me.
To each his own. New York pizza is damn good to me.
I'm sure there is good pizza in New York, just not the dollar slice stuff. It's good for the price but you're not exactly going to get good ingredients at that price. Cheap cheese, vegetable oil, and a dab of some canned tomato paste. Not bad for a dollar but you get what you pay for.
The food that I've had in Europe consisted of smaller portions, but those portions made you feel very full. They don't have all of those additives and processed stuff that the American food industry puts in the food. My French friend told me that she was going to take me to McDonald's in Paris because the McDonalds there doesn't taste anything like an American McDonalds. Portions are smaller and no additives are in the food. Prices are higher.
It is considered very rude to walk and eat on the street at the same time in Paris. No one walks around holding a cup of coffee. They do walk a lot in Paris, but not any more than we do here at home in NY. I did see joggers, but not too many gyms as we have them here on just about every corner. I saw quite a few heavy people in Paris, but they were generally older. I didn't see any young heavy Parisians. They do like their chocolate, but they eat basically a sliver or tiny pill amount almost daily. I have a few Parisian friends, all older, and they are all on the heavy side. They do a lot of walking and Paris is not very handicap accessible.
American food just doesn't taste good and somehow, it doesn't make you feel less hungry so you eat more of it. IMO, even the food in Canada tastes different and better.
I dunno. I went to Canada recently and had a bagel at Tim Horton's. It was OK because it was an everything bagel with lots of flavor to it, but it wasn't like a real bagel texture-wise. It was regular bread with a hole in the middle.
I'm sure there is good pizza in New York, just not the dollar slice stuff. It's good for the price but you're not exactly going to get good ingredients at that price. Cheap cheese, vegetable oil, and a dab of some canned tomato paste. Not bad for a dollar but you get what you pay for.
That's a relatively new thing, the 99 cent and dollar pizza places.
You can get better pizza in the city and in New Jersey, too.
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