This gallery explains why millions of Americans are obese…

WendyTerry420

No real food pics in this thread... Highly disappointed and leaving this here:

Thank God for sanity! It's no wonder you are on my FL! :drinker: :flowerforyou:

Jestinia

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

The Big Gulp is cheaper, but people aren't substituting a Big Gulp for dinner. People are drinking the Big Gulp with dinner or in the middle of the afternoon.

And, if you've ever looked at a cookbook from the 50s or 60s, you won't see any healthy recipes. They were crammed full of fat and calories. Perhaps people ate less, but the quality of the food was not any better.

Smart people who have time to cook and money to buy better food aren't. In my college days I substituted soda and maybe a candy bar for real food every day.

Edit: I eat food full of fat and calories every day now. But because I kicked carbs out of the equation, I don't eat 3000 calories a day of it. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than processed crap from the grocery store.

WendyTerry420

This is what we call "cherry picking." For starters, EVERY single "20 years ago" item is something you can still purchase today. Plus the "today" pictures are all extreme examples, and nowhere near accurate with either the stats or the commonality.
You can still buy small french fries, you can still buy 7 oz sodas (in glass bottles or cans,) you can still buy smaller bagels. Also, I LOVE the comparison between a plain cup of coffee and a "mocha coffee." Yeah, because those are exactly the same thing. Why not compare it to a regular cup of coffee? Oh yeah, because then it wouldn't be a wildly ridiculous calorie count to scare people with.
In short, the only thing this gallery explains is the fact that the person that made it is clueless.

The point isn't whether or not people can buy things in smaller portions today, it’s the fact that many don’t.

20-30 years ago most people were drinking regular brewed coffee with cream and sugar (as depicted), not 300-500 calorie cappuccinos and other fancy high calorie drinks available at every gas station or at a Starbucks on every corner. I would find it amazing if you weren't aware of this.

20 years ago McDonald's was making a KILLING selling Supersized french fries and sodas. I find it amazing that you are not aware of this. 20 years ago Dunkin Donuts was selling plenty of flavored coffees and iced coffees in various sizes (I bought them all the time when in high school.) Apparently you aren't aware of that either.

None of what you posted is relevant. These things really haven't changed like you think they have.

People in their 20s don't exactly remember buying anything 20 years ago! :laugh:

It was twenty years ago when I was in college and away from home for the first time. And yes, we sure as hell had cappuccinos and mochas. I drank a 24oz cup of it on my way to class every morning. I even remember that it was 89 cents after taxes.

AntWrig

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

The Big Gulp is cheaper, but people aren't substituting a Big Gulp for dinner. People are drinking the Big Gulp with dinner or in the middle of the afternoon.

And, if you've ever looked at a cookbook from the 50s or 60s, you won't see any healthy recipes. They were crammed full of fat and calories. Perhaps people ate less, but the quality of the food was not any better.

Smart people who have time to cook and money to buy better food aren't. In my college days I substituted soda and maybe a candy bar for real food every day.

Edit: I eat food full of fat and calories every day now. But because I kicked carbs out of the equation, I don't eat 3000 calories a day of it. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than processed crap from the grocery store.

Wut?

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Did bigger serving sizes make people fat?

OR

Did fatter people demand bigger serving sizes?

ndj1979

There is way more to it than that. All you have to ask yourself is why Americans choose to eat larger portions. In many cases it is a matter of money.

Given a choice between $10 worth of healthy, filling food that only contains a portion of the calories you need to not starve to death versus $10 worth of unhealthy food with 3000 calories that you won't stop eating until it's gone, leaving you in a surplus, which will you choose?

If you're overweight and intent on losing weight despite the discomfort, you might choose to starve. Otherwise, you can't choose to starve so you will gain weight. The food won't be nutritious and may contain harmful ingredients that will shorten your life, but no one is going to choose to die in months due to starvation over maybe dying fat and sick some undetermined decade down the road.

WHAT???? My brain hurts just reading this...

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

so your saying people now a days substitute a big gulp for dinner?

Also, "home cooked" does not automatically default to "healthy" . If I take some lard and fry up some chicken and eat that every night, is it healthier because it is "home cooked"?

Jestinia

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

The Big Gulp is cheaper, but people aren't substituting a Big Gulp for dinner. People are drinking the Big Gulp with dinner or in the middle of the afternoon.

And, if you've ever looked at a cookbook from the 50s or 60s, you won't see any healthy recipes. They were crammed full of fat and calories. Perhaps people ate less, but the quality of the food was not any better.

Smart people who have time to cook and money to buy better food aren't. In my college days I substituted soda and maybe a candy bar for real food every day.

Edit: I eat food full of fat and calories every day now. But because I kicked carbs out of the equation, I don't eat 3000 calories a day of it. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than processed crap from the grocery store.

Wut?

Short version: My theory, admittedly based largely on personal experience is this- it isn't the food we're being offered that is the problem. It is the change in income and lifestyle that makes us all run around like headless chickens hitting up the gas station and the drive through and making actual regular meals out of that crap instead of shopping the produce and meat aisle and cooking real food at home.

WendyTerry420

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

The Big Gulp is cheaper, but people aren't substituting a Big Gulp for dinner. People are drinking the Big Gulp with dinner or in the middle of the afternoon.

And, if you've ever looked at a cookbook from the 50s or 60s, you won't see any healthy recipes. They were crammed full of fat and calories. Perhaps people ate less, but the quality of the food was not any better.

Big Gulp is cheaper now? Which 7/11 store did you find one for under fifty cents?

ndj1979

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

The Big Gulp is cheaper, but people aren't substituting a Big Gulp for dinner. People are drinking the Big Gulp with dinner or in the middle of the afternoon.

And, if you've ever looked at a cookbook from the 50s or 60s, you won't see any healthy recipes. They were crammed full of fat and calories. Perhaps people ate less, but the quality of the food was not any better.

Smart people who have time to cook and money to buy better food aren't. In my college days I substituted soda and maybe a candy bar for real food every day.

Edit: I eat food full of fat and calories every day now. But because I kicked carbs out of the equation, I don't eat 3000 calories a day of it. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than processed crap from the grocery store.

Wut?

I second the what...

so your saying that be eating less food you consumed less calories????

Holly_Roman_Empire

People don't get fat because food gets bigger. Food gets bigger because people demand it.

Has anyone seen the new 1-lb Snickers bars? 2,070 calories! Sure, the wrappers say "Slice and Share", but you know the manufacturers are just making them bigger because "King size" isn't enough anymore.

Is this really a thing?! I'm thinking it's a great stocking stuffer. :happy:

WOW!!! Slice and share? Hahaha, I'd like to meet the person that's going to take a knife to that and give pieces away!

ndj1979

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

The Big Gulp is cheaper, but people aren't substituting a Big Gulp for dinner. People are drinking the Big Gulp with dinner or in the middle of the afternoon.

And, if you've ever looked at a cookbook from the 50s or 60s, you won't see any healthy recipes. They were crammed full of fat and calories. Perhaps people ate less, but the quality of the food was not any better.

Smart people who have time to cook and money to buy better food aren't. In my college days I substituted soda and maybe a candy bar for real food every day.

Edit: I eat food full of fat and calories every day now. But because I kicked carbs out of the equation, I don't eat 3000 calories a day of it. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than processed crap from the grocery store.

Wut?

Short version: My theory, admittedly based largely on personal experience is this- it isn't the food we're being offered that is the problem. It is the change in income and lifestyle that makes us all run around like headless chickens hitting up the gas station and the drive through and making actual regular meals out of that crap instead of shopping the produce and meat aisle and cooking real food at home.

your theory = fail...

I run my own business and have a hectic lifestyle...I still manage to work out six days a week, eat healthy, and hit my macros. So I guess my personal experience trumps yours...or perhaps, you should not extrapolate your experience and apply it to everyone else?

Jestinia

There is way more to it than that. All you have to ask yourself is why Americans choose to eat larger portions. In many cases it is a matter of money.

Given a choice between $10 worth of healthy, filling food that only contains a portion of the calories you need to not starve to death versus $10 worth of unhealthy food with 3000 calories that you won't stop eating until it's gone, leaving you in a surplus, which will you choose?

If you're overweight and intent on losing weight despite the discomfort, you might choose to starve. Otherwise, you can't choose to starve so you will gain weight. The food won't be nutritious and may contain harmful ingredients that will shorten your life, but no one is going to choose to die in months due to starvation over maybe dying fat and sick some undetermined decade down the road.

WHAT???? My brain hurts just reading this...

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

so your saying people now a days substitute a big gulp for dinner?

Also, "home cooked" does not automatically default to "healthy" . If I take some lard and fry up some chicken and eat that every night, is it healthier because it is "home cooked"?

Yes, I know they do because I have done it. It's energy that keeps you going shortterm that makes you sick and fat longterm. And I am no fan of chicken (it doesn't agree with me) but I just fried up some beef in coconut oil and it was a damn sight healthier than Mac N Cheese and a coke. I lose weight on it, too. Because it fills me up, making me want less calories every day.

ldrosophila

Did bigger serving sizes make people fat?

OR

Did fatter people demand bigger serving sizes?

I think its both. We demanded more value for our dollar.

Jestinia

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

The Big Gulp is cheaper, but people aren't substituting a Big Gulp for dinner. People are drinking the Big Gulp with dinner or in the middle of the afternoon.

And, if you've ever looked at a cookbook from the 50s or 60s, you won't see any healthy recipes. They were crammed full of fat and calories. Perhaps people ate less, but the quality of the food was not any better.

Smart people who have time to cook and money to buy better food aren't. In my college days I substituted soda and maybe a candy bar for real food every day.

Edit: I eat food full of fat and calories every day now. But because I kicked carbs out of the equation, I don't eat 3000 calories a day of it. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than processed crap from the grocery store.

Wut?

Short version: My theory, admittedly based largely on personal experience is this- it isn't the food we're being offered that is the problem. It is the change in income and lifestyle that makes us all run around like headless chickens hitting up the gas station and the drive through and making actual regular meals out of that crap instead of shopping the produce and meat aisle and cooking real food at home.

your theory = fail...

I run my own business and have a hectic lifestyle...I still manage to work out six days a week, eat healthy, and hit my macros. So I guess my personal experience trumps yours...or perhaps, you should not extrapolate your experience and apply it to everyone else?

How much do you spend every week on groceries?

red_road

not to mention the average size drink now is 20oz

True, I notice a lot of bottled water is 20 oz. And the most common drink size ordered when I worked fast food was the 20 oz. But when you fill those 20 oz. cups up 1/3 full of ice (company standard) then it fits 12 oz. of soda perfectly. I know this because one time our soda machine went down and we had to run to the store and buy cans to keep things running for a few hours. And very few people ordered their drinks light or no ice in the four years I worked in the fast food industry.

Oprah ruined fast food companies ice for me. Anyone else remember that episode when the little girl tested the ice from various restaurants? Although in all fairness there is probably a lot of gross *kitten* in the rest of the food i eat there and the ice issue is just the tip of the iceberg.

BikerGirlElaine

Also, "home cooked" does not automatically default to "healthy" . If I take some lard and fry up some chicken and eat that every night, is it healthier because it is "home cooked"?

Hey now, nothing wrong with lard. It's a crap-ton better than crisco, which is what people were using as a replacement for lard for decades.

Lives2Travel

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

The Big Gulp is cheaper, but people aren't substituting a Big Gulp for dinner. People are drinking the Big Gulp with dinner or in the middle of the afternoon.

And, if you've ever looked at a cookbook from the 50s or 60s, you won't see any healthy recipes. They were crammed full of fat and calories. Perhaps people ate less, but the quality of the food was not any better.

Smart people who have time to cook and money to buy better food aren't. In my college days I substituted soda and maybe a candy bar for real food every day.

Edit: I eat food full of fat and calories every day now. But because I kicked carbs out of the equation, I don't eat 3000 calories a day of it. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than processed crap from the grocery store.

Wut?

Short version: My theory, admittedly based largely on personal experience is this- it isn't the food we're being offered that is the problem. It is the change in income and lifestyle that makes us all run around like headless chickens hitting up the gas station and the drive through and making actual regular meals out of that crap instead of shopping the produce and meat aisle and cooking real food at home.

Still makes no sense. June Cleaver frying chicken in her heels and pearls was no more offering her family a healthy meal than the mom who swings through KFC on the way home from work.

Jestinia

Also, "home cooked" does not automatically default to "healthy" . If I take some lard and fry up some chicken and eat that every night, is it healthier because it is "home cooked"?

Hey now, nothing wrong with lard. It's a crap-ton better than crisco, which is what people were using as a replacement for lard for decades.

Yep. So is butter. But I'm furious because today I checked the ingredients list on my butter. It has natural flavoring in it, which is code for chemical additives I don't want and don't need. Is nothing sacred anymore?

Holly_Roman_Empire

There is way more to it than that. All you have to ask yourself is why Americans choose to eat larger portions. In many cases it is a matter of money.

Given a choice between $10 worth of healthy, filling food that only contains a portion of the calories you need to not starve to death versus $10 worth of unhealthy food with 3000 calories that you won't stop eating until it's gone, leaving you in a surplus, which will you choose?

If you're overweight and intent on losing weight despite the discomfort, you might choose to starve. Otherwise, you can't choose to starve so you will gain weight. The food won't be nutritious and may contain harmful ingredients that will shorten your life, but no one is going to choose to die in months due to starvation over maybe dying fat and sick some undetermined decade down the road.

WHAT???? My brain hurts just reading this...

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

so your saying people now a days substitute a big gulp for dinner?

Also, "home cooked" does not automatically default to "healthy" . If I take some lard and fry up some chicken and eat that every night, is it healthier because it is "home cooked"?

Yes, I know they do because I have done it. It's energy that keeps you going shortterm that makes you sick and fat longterm. And I am no fan of chicken (it doesn't agree with me) but I just fried up some beef in coconut oil and it was a damn sight healthier than Mac N Cheese and a coke. I lose weight on it, too. Because it fills me up, making me want less calories every day.

Just give up. You're not going to win this argument.

Jestinia

Let me try another way. Do you think Americans decades ago maybe cooked more nutritious food at home and used little portions of unhealthy foods outside the home as treats?

Compared to now, when many people eat these foods as their main meals?

And which is cheaper? A homecooked meal of 1000 calories, or a giant soda?

The Big Gulp is cheaper, but people aren't substituting a Big Gulp for dinner. People are drinking the Big Gulp with dinner or in the middle of the afternoon.

And, if you've ever looked at a cookbook from the 50s or 60s, you won't see any healthy recipes. They were crammed full of fat and calories. Perhaps people ate less, but the quality of the food was not any better.

Smart people who have time to cook and money to buy better food aren't. In my college days I substituted soda and maybe a candy bar for real food every day.

Edit: I eat food full of fat and calories every day now. But because I kicked carbs out of the equation, I don't eat 3000 calories a day of it. Unfortunately, it is far more expensive than processed crap from the grocery store.

Wut?

Short version: My theory, admittedly based largely on personal experience is this- it isn't the food we're being offered that is the problem. It is the change in income and lifestyle that makes us all run around like headless chickens hitting up the gas station and the drive through and making actual regular meals out of that crap instead of shopping the produce and meat aisle and cooking real food at home.

Still makes no sense. June Cleaver frying chicken in her heels and pearls was no more offering her family a healthy meal than the mom who swings through KFC on the way home from work.

Yes she was, because at home the kids weren't getting a KFC meal with processed biscuits and soda and maybe a side of their admittedly tasty fries.