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Cooking is cheaper than fast food if you know how to shop and how to prepare meals.
So because some obese people cannot be bothered to learn what is in their food then its the food's fault?
I am sorry, but these types of excuses are WHY we are at a 40% obesity rate. Personal responsibility seems to not even factor in.
Personal responsibility is absolutely a factor. But what I am trying to say is that it is not the only factor. How are people supposed to learn what is in their food? Who teaches them that? They read the labels and see "All Natural" or "Whole Grain" or "Reduced Sugar" and they seriously think that means it's healthy and it's a good choice.
Over the last 50 years, we have seen the decline of families where someone stays home, making preparing meals that much harder. We have seen the introduction of high fructose corn syrup and a boatload of other food additives. We have seen the beginning of widespread use of "Forever Chemicals", notably in the substantial increase in plastics. I am almost 48 years old. I remember when everything came in glass bottles. I ate and drank plenty of crap growing up in the 1970s. We had Froot Loops for breakfast, a bologna and cheese (processed, American) sandwich on white Wonder bread for lunch with a snack cake and some chips and maybe an apple that we never ate packed for our lunch. Dinner was tuna casserole and a salad consisting of iceberg lettuce, some tomato, and dressing out of a (glass) bottle. That was pretty typical, middle America stuff. Not at all healthy, but we weren't obese. But guess what? The Froot Loops on the shelf today are not the same as the Froot Loops I had when I was a kid. Same for everything else I listed. I think the frankenfood available today is a huge factor in what is making us heavier.
Yes, there is always a personal choice. But food companies are literally altering our biology so that our bodies literally tell us we need these foods. I'm not saying it's impossible to avoid the temptation - I do it. But it is much, much harder. It is akin to the tobacco companies adding nicotine to cigarettes. That doesn't make quitting smoking impossible, but it makes it much, much harder. The difference is, you can live without ever smoking another cigarette. You still have to eat. So imagine an addiction where you can't actually quit the substance you are addicted to. That's kind of the situation we're in with food. It's like telling an alcoholic that he can't quit completely, but he can only have one drink a day, and it has to be wine. How successful do you think that would be? But we ask people to do that with food all the time. And I know people are going to say, "But I don't eat crap." or "I only eat cake rarely as a treat." Well, good for you. But that's like someone telling the alcoholic that, "I only drink a glass of wine every now and then with dinner, so you can too." If it were that easy for everyone, no one would be an alcoholic or obese.
Last edited by CarnivalGal; 03-06-2020 at 02:45 PM..
People are busy, they are working numerous jobs, they don't have a local market, etc... True, that makes it tough to cook and eat healthy. However there is no need to throw health out the window because of it. Shop once a week, buy sale items. Dried beans and rice are VERY inexpensive and can be combined for complete protein. A whole chicken can make several meals. Frozen vegetables tend to be cheaper than fresh. Same with fruit.
If a person wants to lose weight and get healthy they CAN do it. Losing weight is hard - really hard, but it can be done. People do it all the time.
It's not quite that simple. Carbs stimulate fat production in the adipose tissue. Eating fats doesn't--actually slows it down..... (makes sense-- if you have fat coming in, no need to store it. High carbs and your caveman body figures hunting is bad and you've been reduced to chewing on weeds-- better start storing calories as fat.)
Starches are actually more problematic than simple sugars because you don't realize how many carbs you're taking in. A small (2oz) portion of pasta has as many gm carbs as 30 M&Ms ...and who limits themselves to 2oz of pasta at a time?
BTW- look up the nutritional content of broccoli. Except for the Vit C, you may as well eat sawdust. Very little nutrient content.
Nothing could be further from the truth! Broccoli is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Antioxidants can help prevent the development of various conditions such as atherosclerosis, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and more. It also aids in digestion, boosts immune function, helps prevent diabetes, reduces inflammation and more. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc) are some of the most valuable foods that you should include in your diet.
FYI...
[b]Nutrient Amount in 1 cup broccoli (76g)
Energy (calories) 24.3
Carbohydrate (g) 4.78 g, including 1 g of sugar
Fiber (g) 1.82
Calcium (milligrams [mg]) 35
Phosphorus (mg) 50.9
Potassium (mg) 230
Vitamin C (mg) 40.5
Folate (micrograms [mcg]) 49.4
Vitamin A (mcg) 6.08
Beta-carotene (mcg) 70.7
Lutein and zeaxanthin (mcg) 566 mcg
Vitamin E (mg) 0.11
Vitamin K (mcg) 77.5
While some quantities are small, it's great for you, especially compared to what many people eat.
A thought is to use a slow cooker. Throw some basic stuff into it before going to work and come home to a slow-cooked healthy and delicious meal--with lots of left-overs...
Lots of simple and easy--and inexpensive recipes on line.
It's not just expense. It's convenience. If you are working 12 hours a day, rely on public transportation, can barely afford gas to get to work, let alone an extra 10 miles because there is no grocery store near you, buying fresh produce all the time is just not practical. I don't see why you don't understand that not everyone can just swing by the store on their way home from work. I can, you can, but not everyone is in that situation.
Yes, you can buy pork for $2.99/lb. But you can buy a pack of hot dogs for a dollar. I can get a 2 pound bag of chicken nuggets for $4. I can get a pound of bologna for $1.50. I can throw in a loaf of white bread for another $1.50.
I really do get what you are trying to say, but I think you are really out of touch with the day-to-day decisions a lot of people have to make.
What you just explained are choices that people have to make. The difference between pork and hotdog really not that far in price. Pork chops for $4 can feed 3 adults. A pack of hot dogs cost $3 onsale and buns cost another $2.5, so assume you ate hot dogs for $5. That is a choice. People who are poor can get food stamps, it pays about $200 a month. Most people who make minimum wage a day can afford to spend $300/month on food in addition to food stamps.
Again, what you're posting is choices not forced.
Americans make bad choices, they have credit card debt, car loans/leases, smart phone bills. They just aren't frugal with things. Then spend the least amount on food. You're tell me that people who walk around with iPhones, wearing Air Jordan sneakers can't afford lettuce, onions, and ground beef?
The cheapest and most nutritious food on earth are eggs. You can eat eggs everyday and live well. A dozen eggs cost $2 and can feed a whole family for 2 days. I'm just amazed a lot of people don't eat eggs more.
It has the most complete protein.
I have went shopping with people, some of them in my own family and proved it to them.
At the end, all of them agreed that clean healthy food is cheaper, easy and saves times when shopping.
However, some of them went right back to eating junk.
Junk food is one of America's most addicting drugs.
There was one case where I got a call a few weeks later and the person said that I was wrong, clean food was more expensive. I went to their house and read their food journal.
The amount of food that they were eating was astronomical!
It added up to almost 7,000 calories a day and this person wasn't very active.
So, we worked on that and after they got their eating under control, they now agree with me and are doing great.
Wow that is insane. I have trouble eating 3,000 calories a day.
Personal responsibility is absolutely a factor. But what I am trying to say is that it is not the only factor. How are people supposed to learn what is in their food? Who teaches them that? They read the labels and see "All Natural" or "Whole Grain" or "Reduced Sugar" and they seriously think that means it's healthy and it's a good choice.
Over the last 50 years, we have seen the decline of families where someone stays home, making preparing meals that much harder. We have seen the introduction of high fructose corn syrup and a boatload of other food additives. We have seen the beginning of widespread use of "Forever Chemicals", notably in the substantial increase in plastics. I am almost 48 years old. I remember when everything came in glass bottles. I ate and drank plenty of crap growing up in the 1970s. We had Froot Loops for breakfast, a bologna and cheese (processed, American) sandwich on white Wonder bread for lunch with a snack cake and some chips and maybe an apple that we never ate packed for our lunch. Dinner was tuna casserole and a salad consisting of iceberg lettuce, some tomato, and dressing out of a (glass) bottle. That was pretty typical, middle America stuff. Not at all healthy, but we weren't obese. But guess what? The Froot Loops on the shelf today are not the same as the Froot Loops I had when I was a kid. Same for everything else I listed. I think the frankenfood available today is a huge factor in what is making us heavier.
Yes, there is always a personal choice. But food companies are literally altering our biology so that our bodies literally tell us we need these foods. I'm not saying it's impossible to avoid the temptation - I do it. But it is much, much harder. It is akin to the tobacco companies adding nicotine to cigarettes. That doesn't make quitting smoking impossible, but it makes it much, much harder. The difference is, you can live without ever smoking another cigarette. You still have to eat. So imagine an addiction where you can't actually quit the substance you are addicted to. That's kind of the situation we're in with food. It's like telling an alcoholic that he can't quit completely, but he can only have one drink a day, and it has to be wine. How successful do you think that would be? But we ask people to do that with food all the time. And I know people are going to say, "But I don't eat crap." or "I only eat cake rarely as a treat." Well, good for you. But that's like someone telling the alcoholic that, "I only drink a glass of wine every now and then with dinner, so you can too." If it were that easy for everyone, no one would be an alcoholic or obese.
Nothing has changed with High Fructose corn syrup in the last 40 years. What has changed in the last 40 yrs has been the massive increase of selection of highly processed fats/carbs and the ease of being able to obtain them. This in turns leads to massive overconsumption of highly processed foods.
What you just explained are choices that people have to make. The difference between pork and hotdog really not that far in price. Pork chops for $4 can feed 3 adults. A pack of hot dogs cost $3 onsale and buns cost another $2.5, so assume you ate hot dogs for $5. That is a choice. People who are poor can get food stamps, it pays about $200 a month. Most people who make minimum wage a day can afford to spend $300/month on food in addition to food stamps.
Again, what you're posting is choices not forced.
Americans make bad choices, they have credit card debt, car loans/leases, smart phone bills. They just aren't frugal with things. Then spend the least amount on food. You're tell me that people who walk around with iPhones, wearing Air Jordan sneakers can't afford lettuce, onions, and ground beef?
The cheapest and most nutritious food on earth are eggs. You can eat eggs everyday and live well. A dozen eggs cost $2 and can feed a whole family for 2 days. I'm just amazed a lot of people don't eat eggs more.
It has the most complete protein.
I think most Americans just don't care or are too lazy. I mean no wonder America is so obese. You can easily consume 1,000 calories at lunch just by eating a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, fries, and a coke at McDonalds. Imagine eating like that for breakfast and Dinner and throw in a few high calorie snacks throughout the day and you are easily over 3,500 calories without even thinking about it. Yet we have people trying to demonize single macronutrients as the culprit to obesity.
Fat storage is essentially just a part of the consumption and expenditure process.
You've misrepresented the conclusion of the study: liponeogenesis was in fact increased in subjects over-fed with carbs. There was no difference in whether glucose or sucrose was the source-- easily deduced because sucrose is just glucose plus fructose, and fructose is essentially interchangeable with glucose.
From your citation:
"Individual subjects showed characteristic amounts of de novo lipogenesis, suggesting constitutive (possibly genetic) differences.CONCLUSION: De novo lipogenesis increases after overfeeding with glucose and sucrose to the same extent in lean and obese women but does not contribute greatly to total fat balance."
It doesn't contribute to total fat balance because there are individual differences (genetics), as we all intuitively know. Fat people make more fat out of carbs than lean folks, but they both make fat out of carbs.
Nothing has changed with High Fructose corn syrup in the last 40 years. What has changed in the last 40 yrs has been the massive increase of selection of highly processed fats/carbs and the ease of being able to obtain them. This in turns leads to massive overconsumption of highly processed foods.
I agree. The few times we had french fries, Mom MADE them. She also made doughnuts. Both were messy and time-consuming (and fire hazards if you weren't careful). So, they were rare treats. Now you open the freezer and pull out microwave fries, or get Little Debbies out of the pantry or cal Grub Hub for some pizza or Kung Pao chicken.
And yesterday I just got my first FB post from someone all excited about Girl Scout cookies. I looked up her favorites (a peanut butter variety)- palm oil, high-fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, the usual crap. My late husband was born in 1938 and he remembered that the original Girl Scout cookies were baked at home by the girls themselves (or maybe their mothers). I bet THEY didn't use soy lecithin.
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