Are the poor fat?

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Replies

  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    [

    That's silly. I'm not going to ignore the actual content of your posts just because I'm not "supposed" to agree with her. Surely everybody knows teenage boys enjoy the luxury of growth spurts and high metabolisms, especially if they partake in after school sports or other physical activity. Mentioning your own teenage son could be relevant. Detailing your own eating habits when you were a teen dude would make sense. Citing your 5 year old girl, I mean is this for real?!? :laugh:

    And for the record, Confuzzled already made the best arguments against her own points. I don't know if it was this topic or elsewhere, but I thought she basically said that based on what she knows now, she would have reached out for help rather than try to handle it all alone. So personally I'm just reading and taking it all in. :smile:
    [/quote]

    The point is you are ignoring the point of my post, focusing on comparing a 5-year-old with an 11 year rather than taking into account the argument about portion sizes. I could have left out my daughters age and my argument would still stand. Reasonable portion vs excessive portion. How can cost be compared fairly here?

    Sports, no sports, metabolism, no metabolism, the poster I referred to was mentioning feeding her child a gluttonous amount of food. When she reaches 11 years old, I will not feed my daughter such copius amounts as it is completely unnecessary and therefore, relatively much, much cheaper.

    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt. If the lady feels it necessary to give that amount of food to her child, that is her prerogative, not a necessity. Although without my calculator which I love carrying around, recommended daily allowances of food for 11 year olds do not stretch to obesity-enticing portions. Normal portions of, yes, healthy food suffice and cost a fraction of what she is talking about.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    I bought chicken legs on sale.. spend 8.93 on them. there were 4 in the package.. they were huge.. My son ate 3 of them, along with a HUGE baking potato and a cup of peas.. that was after the cookies and granola bar he ate for a snack. he also had a Popsicle for dessert.

    So that's about 10 bucks for that meal right??

    That does not include his lunch/snacks for school
    (lunch meat usually on rye, yogurt, fruit, cheese stick, protein bar, granola bar, a few cookies or a pudding cup)

    or breakfast
    a HUGE bowl of cereal, we generally go through a box every 2-3 days. with milk or course and a banana

    I make him drink water as I don't purchase him drinks to take to school and we rarely purchase juice.

    So that' s 15-20 dollars a day I'd estimate.. JUST for my son.. as this is a pretty typical day for him. He's not supposed to eat 2 granola bars or 2 protein bars a day, but he does anyway.

    Then I have to eat.

    MdDonalds would have been much cheaper.

    This is an unbelievably sad story of ignorant parenting and bad habits. Go through your message again and actually realise the amount of food you are putting into your son. 3 huge chicken thighs, huge baking potato, followed by cookies, granola, and THEN a dessert.

    My daughter, although still only 5, is happy with a small chicken breast, some carrots and broccoli, a small portion of chips, and then some fruit for dessert, sometimes something sweet once every other day. Done. Doesnt need anymore. She is not mal-nourished, but of a good weight.

    Sometimes she will also go to McDonalds. Nothing wrong with that. Costs more than the meal above mind you.

    Your argument does nothing to support the fact that you think that healthy food is more expensive, but highlights gluttony and unneccesary eating. A sad story.

    WTF? Did you really just compare your 5 year old's eating habits to her teenage son? Yes, this is a story about ignorance!!

    Bit rich insinuating that I am ignorant, eh, siding with a woman who has openly admitted feeding her son, regardless of age, portions that would make even the most metabolistic adults obese. That is the main point here. Get a grip.

    That's silly. I'm not going to ignore the actual content of your posts just because I'm not "supposed" to agree with her. Surely everybody knows teenage boys enjoy the luxury of growth spurts and high metabolisms, especially if they partake in after school sports or other physical activity. Mentioning your own teenage son could be relevant. Detailing your own eating habits when you were a teen dude would make sense. Citing your 5 year old girl, I mean is this for real?!? :laugh:

    And for the record, Confuzzled already made the best arguments against her own points. I don't know if it was this topic or elsewhere, but I thought she basically said that based on what she knows now, she would have reached out for help rather than try to handle it all alone. So personally I'm just reading and taking it all in. :smile:

    Spurious judgements aside, the problem with her argument that healthy eating is so expensive that McDonalds would be cheaper is that she could have fed her son more protein and nutrients on just a few dollars for eggs and flash frozen veggies. Her choices weren't driven by nutrition and price, they were driven by novelty and subjective enjoyment.

    Hooray for this poster!!!
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    [

    That's silly. I'm not going to ignore the actual content of your posts just because I'm not "supposed" to agree with her. Surely everybody knows teenage boys enjoy the luxury of growth spurts and high metabolisms, especially if they partake in after school sports or other physical activity. Mentioning your own teenage son could be relevant. Detailing your own eating habits when you were a teen dude would make sense. Citing your 5 year old girl, I mean is this for real?!? :laugh:

    And for the record, Confuzzled already made the best arguments against her own points. I don't know if it was this topic or elsewhere, but I thought she basically said that based on what she knows now, she would have reached out for help rather than try to handle it all alone. So personally I'm just reading and taking it all in. :smile:

    The point is you are ignoring the point of my post, focusing on comparing a 5-year-old with an 11 year rather than taking into account the argument about portion sizes. I could have left out my daughters age and my argument would still stand. Reasonable portion vs excessive portion. How can cost be compared fairly here?

    Sports, no sports, metabolism, no metabolism, the poster I referred to was mentioning feeding her child a gluttonous amount of food. When she reaches 11 years old, I will not feed my daughter such copius amounts as it is completely unnecessary and therefore, relatively much, much cheaper.

    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt. If the lady feels it necessary to give that amount of food to her child, that is her prerogative, not a necessity. Although without my calculator which I love carrying around, recommended daily allowances of food for 11 year olds do not stretch to obesity-enticing portions. Normal portions of, yes, healthy food suffice and cost a fraction of what she is talking about.
    [/quote]

    Yes! I am focusing on what you posted! Since when is this not allowed on a public forum?! And I think you're still missing the point. If her son were Michael Phelps, is she supposed to say, sorry boy , but you can't eat copious amount of food? I mean look at her ticker, she knows a thing or two about what it takes to keep weight down. Geez. And her "teenage" son can't be 11, what's the matter with you? Okay fine if you insist I won't look to your posts to make sense anymore, instead la la la focusing on the "big picture"
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    Eggs are a complete protein source, and very economical. People don't choose Ramen because they don't have alternatives, they choose Ramen because their food choices aren't aimed at nutrition or at avoiding starvation, but at subjective enjoyment of food.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    Eggs are a complete protein source, and very economical. People don't choose Ramen because they don't have alternatives, they choose Ramen because their food choices aren't aimed at nutrition or at avoiding starvation, but at subjective enjoyment of food.
    Apparently that makes me not a person, because when I was choosing ramen, it was because I had a dollar with which to feed myself for the week. Thanks for dehumanizing me.
  • ascrit
    ascrit Posts: 770 Member
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    In my experience, eating healthy at lower costs can be easily achieved if you know what you're doing. Don't let yourself get fooled by the big food companies who want you to think that an over-processed meal in a box is somehow acceptable based on its cheap price.

    I just did a search for "healthy budget grocery list" and got a few links:

    http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/cheap-healthy-15-nutritious-foods-about-2-dollars

    http://www.youbeauty.com/nutrition/healthy-eating-on-a-budget-grocery-list

    http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/smart-shopping/the-fitness-dollar-menu-budget-friendly-groceries/

    http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/budget_cooking/7_day_budget_friendly_menu_plan_shopping_list
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    Eggs are a complete protein source, and very economical. People don't choose Ramen because they don't have alternatives, they choose Ramen because their food choices aren't aimed at nutrition or at avoiding starvation, but at subjective enjoyment of food.
    Apparently that makes me not a person, because when I was choosing ramen, it was because I had a dollar with which to feed myself for the week. Thanks for dehumanizing me.

    Victim mentality? That's what you are going with?

    Someone who really only has a dollar to feed themself for the week can get plenty of pasta, ramen, and canned veggies from a food bank cost free and use that dollar for something else, like a complete protein.

    If you went to any of the three food banks I work with locally, you could even get tinned chicken and salmon and tuna in pouches.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    Oh for goodness sake, your assertions are unrealistic and quite frankly tosh. There are people complaining on here that they spend $12 a day on one child, and are 'forced' to go to McDonalds because it is cheaper so telling me to find food for $12 a week really doesnt wash.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    [

    That's silly. I'm not going to ignore the actual content of your posts just because I'm not "supposed" to agree with her. Surely everybody knows teenage boys enjoy the luxury of growth spurts and high metabolisms, especially if they partake in after school sports or other physical activity. Mentioning your own teenage son could be relevant. Detailing your own eating habits when you were a teen dude would make sense. Citing your 5 year old girl, I mean is this for real?!? :laugh:

    And for the record, Confuzzled already made the best arguments against her own points. I don't know if it was this topic or elsewhere, but I thought she basically said that based on what she knows now, she would have reached out for help rather than try to handle it all alone. So personally I'm just reading and taking it all in. :smile:

    The point is you are ignoring the point of my post, focusing on comparing a 5-year-old with an 11 year rather than taking into account the argument about portion sizes. I could have left out my daughters age and my argument would still stand. Reasonable portion vs excessive portion. How can cost be compared fairly here?

    Sports, no sports, metabolism, no metabolism, the poster I referred to was mentioning feeding her child a gluttonous amount of food. When she reaches 11 years old, I will not feed my daughter such copius amounts as it is completely unnecessary and therefore, relatively much, much cheaper.

    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt. If the lady feels it necessary to give that amount of food to her child, that is her prerogative, not a necessity. Although without my calculator which I love carrying around, recommended daily allowances of food for 11 year olds do not stretch to obesity-enticing portions. Normal portions of, yes, healthy food suffice and cost a fraction of what she is talking about.

    Yes! I am focusing on what you posted! Since when is this not allowed on a public forum?! And I think you're still missing the point. If her son were Michael Phelps, is she supposed to say, sorry boy , but you can't eat copious amount of food? I mean look at her ticker, she knows a thing or two about what it takes to keep weight down. Geez. And her "teenage" son can't be 11, what's the matter with you? Okay fine if you insist I won't look to your posts to make sense anymore, instead la la la focusing on the "big picture"
    [/quote]

    So you are making a random assumption based on no knowledge whatsoever that the boy mentioned has the same athletic ability and nutritional requirements of Michael Phelps? Is this what every ... do you want to stop now? I liked swimming as a boy too, and playing football.... never remember eating £11 worth of food for every meal.

    In addition to what I said, as this is besides the point, you can eat healthily for less than £11 per meal, or are you just ignoring these basic obvious facts to suit your rhetoric.

    Nothing the matter with me. The post is called 'are the poor fat?', so which is a vast subject, not questioning the specifics of individual possibilities, which are pointless to the subject.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    Oh for goodness sake, your assertions are unrealistic and quite frankly tosh. There are people complaining on here that they spend $12 a day on one child, and are 'forced' to go to McDonalds because it is cheaper so telling me to find food for $12 a week really doesnt wash.
    Those 'unrealistic' assertions are from personal experience.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    Eggs are a complete protein source, and very economical. People don't choose Ramen because they don't have alternatives, they choose Ramen because their food choices aren't aimed at nutrition or at avoiding starvation, but at subjective enjoyment of food.

    Ramen isn't "enjoyable." It's cheap and filling.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    WTF? Did you really just compare your 5 year old's eating habits to her teenage son? Yes, this is a story about ignorance!!


    I caught that too. I hate to defend Confuzzled, but come on! I have a teenaged son who is rail thin and constantly eating. That's a teenaged boy for you. Comparing a male teen to a female barely out of diapers is rich.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    WTF? Did you really just compare your 5 year old's eating habits to her teenage son? Yes, this is a story about ignorance!!


    I caught that too. I hate to defend Confuzzled, but come on! I have a teenaged son who is rail thin and constantly eating. That's a teenaged boy for you. Comparing a male teen to a female barely out of diapers is rich.

    Do you read or just skim over the bits which you find most appealing to you and ignore the rest because you dont like it. If I have to explain to you again, the fact that my daughter is 5 is irrelvant. I give her sensible amounts of food that is necessary for her to be healthy. The other poster doesnt. Is that clear? If not, please ask, but if I have to explain again, I might have to charge you.

    I am not buying the bit about 'constantly eating' and still rail thin. The teenagers who I see who constantly eat funnily enough seem to be the overweight ones.

    Regardless, it is still completely unneccessary to feed the amounts of food mentioned to the average teenager. They arent special cases. This does not in anyway support the myth that the poor are fat because food is too expensive.
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    Eggs are a complete protein source, and very economical. People don't choose Ramen because they don't have alternatives, they choose Ramen because their food choices aren't aimed at nutrition or at avoiding starvation, but at subjective enjoyment of food.

    Ramen isn't "enjoyable." It's cheap and filling.

    They are not mutually exclusive.

    Not to mention, if your BMI is above starvation levels, "filling" is a subjective enjoyment, not a base requirement.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,268 Member
    BOOM
  • SCV34
    SCV34 Posts: 2,048 Member
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    Eggs are a complete protein source, and very economical. People don't choose Ramen because they don't have alternatives, they choose Ramen because their food choices aren't aimed at nutrition or at avoiding starvation, but at subjective enjoyment of food.

    Ramen isn't "enjoyable." It's cheap and filling.

    They are not mutually exclusive.

    Not to mention, if your BMI is above starvation levels, "filling" is a subjective enjoyment, not a base requirement.

    Like I mentioned in an earlier comment, I ate Ramen noodles and a cuccumber everyday for lunch because it was cheap and I had to live on a really tight budget. Yes, it is cheap and filling and I rather enjoyed them too. So win win for someone that ate them on a daily basis. Hard to beat 10 for $1! I was at my lowest weight too. So to answer the original question....poor doesn't always=fat.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    If referring back to the original question of whether healthy food is more expensive... no it isnt.
    If you're finding decent complete protein sources for the same prices at which one finds pasta and ramen, I'd love to know where you're shopping. If you have a grocery list that can keep a family of four fed on truly healthy food for $12/week, I'd also like that breakdown, because I know I can make 'cheap' food choices that can achieve that goal on that budget, but those choices leave out important nutrients and are extremely carb-dense.

    If those goals are out of reach at that budget, then I'll stand by my assertion, based on personal experience, that healthy food is more expensive.

    Eggs are a complete protein source, and very economical. People don't choose Ramen because they don't have alternatives, they choose Ramen because their food choices aren't aimed at nutrition or at avoiding starvation, but at subjective enjoyment of food.

    Ramen isn't "enjoyable." It's cheap and filling.

    They are not mutually exclusive.

    Not to mention, if your BMI is above starvation levels, "filling" is a subjective enjoyment, not a base requirement.

    I still keep Ramen in my cupboard, but I never eat it. My kids eat it occasionally, but it's there in case we run out of food right before payday.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    Are you kidding?? Comparing a sensible portion of food for your 5 year old daughter to that of my 14 year old son???

    My son is a 6 foot 3, 175lbs broad shouldered, football playing, 5k running. weight lifting, camping, swimmer solid skinny teenager. He's a size 32x33 in pants. (Which is at the low end of the "ideal weight" doctors what to see a person of this height be at. ) How does that amount of food amount to too much?? I actually do not think he brings enough for his lunch. I did tell him he should have eaten something else besides a 3rd chicken leg, but boys are also lazy in that they don't want to take a minute to make something else when there is food already hot and prepped. And due to conflicting schedules I am not always there to provide an alternative. He's bigger than (taller and broader) a lot of adults I know. he went snow cave camping and when the recommended meal plans for that came out I swear it was near 4000 calories per day on them!

    I fail to see how feeding my growing super active teenage boy enough food to fuel his body is bad parenting or ignorance? he ate all healthy food with a nice treat in there, because kids like treats. I really don't think you have any clue what you are talking about when it comes to feeding teenage boys.

    When my son does eat eggs he eats 5 or 6 at a time scrambled with cheese and whatever else I make him put in it, with a side of meat and potatoes and yogurt.

    If I was *still* poor. He'd not have had that much food available unfortunately. He's also not be this active or involved in as many activities as he is, so he wouldn't need as much. Because you know it all costs money. If he was 5, he would eat significantly less. When I was young and flat broke, I bought ramen because it was cheap and filling if I had a dollar and a stove. It definitely was not enjoyable nor did it taste good. Food bank are generally open 1 or 2 days a week, during working hours and where I used to live there weren't any close by and a lot of the foods they give you require cooking. (potatoes come to mind) If I could get to one, i'd have veggies for a day or two.. since I had no fridge they'd go bad pretty quick. And I could spend my dollar on what protein exactly??
  • ascrit
    ascrit Posts: 770 Member
    Relevant good news:
    Federal Government Expands Access To Healthy Food For Low-Income Moms And Babies
    A government program that gives federal food assistance to an estimated 9 million women and children is getting revamped for the first time in more than three decades. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — more commonly known as WIC — will now provide low-income Americans with more options for culturally specific food, as well as increase funding for some healthy options.

    Read more here: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/02/28/3344211/wic-update-healthy-food/
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    Another thought just occurred to me too. A friend of mine was complaining about all the goodies at her work place that people bring in. I remember when I worked back then, the break room would have food people brought in to snack on. It was never healthy and I'd eat a lot of it, because I was hungry and not eating regular meals or regularly. So the boss/co-worker brought in donuts/cookies/danish/sandwiches/etc.., i'd be the jerk who hate half of them before anyone else got any. Opportunity to eat was never passed by. If someone offered me the rest of their lunch that they couldn't finish i'd eat it, even if it was comprised of garbage foods.

    Another reason the poor can get fat.
  • bennettinfinity
    bennettinfinity Posts: 865 Member
    I've been poor... like 'will work for food' poor... i was skinny.
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
    Another thought just occurred to me too. A friend of mine was complaining about all the goodies at her work place that people bring in. I remember when I worked back then, the break room would have food people brought in to snack on. It was never healthy and I'd eat a lot of it, because I was hungry and not eating regular meals or regularly. So the boss/co-worker brought in donuts/cookies/danish/sandwiches/etc.., i'd be the jerk who hate half of them before anyone else got any. Opportunity to eat was never passed by. If someone offered me the rest of their lunch that they couldn't finish i'd eat it, even if it was comprised of garbage foods.

    Another reason the poor can get fat.

    I hear you regarding available food often not being the healthy kind, but you don't get fat without overconsuming. There can be all kinds of reasons for overconsuming, poverty included, but it isn't being poor that makes one fat.
  • chantels1
    chantels1 Posts: 391 Member
    The "poor" get food supplement (Food stamps, wic etc.) It is the lower middle class that cut out more expensive foods. Avocado are near $1.00 each. Those are luxury items for most lower middle class... A bag of mandarin oranges are $5.00, and so they are bought in limited quantities. Healthy eating is not as cheap, as ramen noodle, but then again neither is a trip to the Dr. for the lack of nutrition. I think convenience is more of an issue. If it's cheap and easy we will fore go healthy choices for convenience.
  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    Ok - I've been poor - actually still struggle paycheck to paycheck - but no longer receive SNAP assistance either.

    Being that I've had some experience trying to shop on a limited budget and feed teenage boys int he process (yes they can easily eat what the one mom claimed) I'll chime in on what I learned.

    You have to really WORK to find healthy foods that are affordable. I am married to a chef - trust me this came in handy during this period of our lives) because his education and knowledge allowed us to make things that were relatively healthy on the cheap! That being said several things became staples in our home as 'fillers' We ate tons of Pasta, rice, potatoes, starchy - yet fills the belly. Yes we worked in veggies, frozen and fresh as we found them on sale. We made stock out of what most people would consider 'garbage' parts when you cut up peppers, the carrot ends, the celery tops, etc. We learned what meats/meals would create other meals. Make a turkey, have a casserole, make turkey salad, then boil the carcass. Not all persons know to do this. Fortunately most of the family (only me!) has a genetic disposition to carry extra weight - the rest of the family borderlines on underweight! We got so good at it - it became a game - can we feed a family of 5 on less than $70 a week, plus extra bodies on occasion (friends/another couple/etc.)- and we did it.

    I used to drive a lady to the store, she didn't have a car, and on the first day of the month she would buy 35 Banquet TV dinners and her kids would eat 2 or 3 at a time (teens). All over weight - the whole family! I think education is important and sometimes the least healthy foods are the cheapest.
  • lemon629
    lemon629 Posts: 501 Member
    Are you kidding?? Comparing a sensible portion of food for your 5 year old daughter to that of my 14 year old son???

    My son is a 6 foot 3, 175lbs broad shouldered, football playing, 5k running. weight lifting, camping, swimmer solid skinny teenager. He's a size 32x33 in pants. (Which is at the low end of the "ideal weight" doctors what to see a person of this height be at. ) How does that amount of food amount to too much?? I actually do not think he brings enough for his lunch. I did tell him he should have eaten something else besides a 3rd chicken leg, but boys are also lazy in that they don't want to take a minute to make something else when there is food already hot and prepped. And due to conflicting schedules I am not always there to provide an alternative. He's bigger than (taller and broader) a lot of adults I know. he went snow cave camping and when the recommended meal plans for that came out I swear it was near 4000 calories per day on them!

    I fail to see how feeding my growing super active teenage boy enough food to fuel his body is bad parenting or ignorance? he ate all healthy food with a nice treat in there, because kids like treats. I really don't think you have any clue what you are talking about when it comes to feeding teenage boys.

    When my son does eat eggs he eats 5 or 6 at a time scrambled with cheese and whatever else I make him put in it, with a side of meat and potatoes and yogurt.

    If I was *still* poor. He'd not have had that much food available unfortunately. He's also not be this active or involved in as many activities as he is, so he wouldn't need as much. Because you know it all costs money. If he was 5, he would eat significantly less. When I was young and flat broke, I bought ramen because it was cheap and filling if I had a dollar and a stove. It definitely was not enjoyable nor did it taste good. Food bank are generally open 1 or 2 days a week, during working hours and where I used to live there weren't any close by and a lot of the foods they give you require cooking. (potatoes come to mind) If I could get to one, i'd have veggies for a day or two.. since I had no fridge they'd go bad pretty quick. And I could spend my dollar on what protein exactly??

    I completely agree. When I was in high school, I used to marvel at how much my brother and my teenaged male cousins ate. (All over 6 feet tall.) Not only were they not at all overweight, one was on the skinny side as was my brother. And a friend of mine in high school (also a little over 6 feet tall) ate huge lunches-- a typical lunch would be half a chicken (yes, half of a whole chicken), a roll, 3-4 large carrots, and a large apple. (We ate lunch together every day.) He also had large breakfasts and dinners and would eat a couple of granola bars in the afternoon. Not only was he not obese, he was extremely fit. He swam and lifted weights for hours every day before and after school. (He was a finalist for the olympic swim team.) He is still very lean and fit. (He ended up marrying my best friend.)

    So yes, healthy teenaged boys, especially tall guys, eat a TON of food. Do NOT compare a teenaged boy's appetite with a child, especially not a 5 year old girl!!!
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Coming in very late, but - perfectly possible to get cheap food that's got enough micronutrients from not too far away in the UK at least.
    I can't believe many are fat because they don't think they're getting enough micronutrients so eat more.

    It might be they're poor for the same reason they're fat - laziness and so on, but there's no good reason for being poor to be a direct cause.
  • phred_52
    phred_52 Posts: 189 Member
    Uhm, never done a door to door check myself. Oh,, what do you consider fat? As far as studies by "whomever" goes, well...no comment.

    On disability for mental health reasons :embarassed: :wink: , my only compensation is...well not much :smile: No, I don't recieve foodstamps or other aid. .

    Bills I must pay (rent, car, ins, gas, kid 10), then terrible habit, smoking :wink:, meds, 3 credit cards, tot min $100/mo, but pay a bit more to have lower balance in case car needs work, I only have appx. $140 left a month to eat....$4.66 avg/day...hmmm.

    Maybe due to being only 5'8" and 52yrs, my body can handle it, beats me. I don't care how poor or wealthy one is, free excercise is, to me without a doubt, possible. Only laziness is the cause. NO, I'm not passing judgment, just a fact in my garbled brain based on above statement.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,307 Member
    Are you kidding?? Comparing a sensible portion of food for your 5 year old daughter to that of my 14 year old son???

    My son is a 6 foot 3, 175lbs broad shouldered, football playing, 5k running. weight lifting, camping, swimmer solid skinny teenager. He's a size 32x33 in pants. (Which is at the low end of the "ideal weight" doctors what to see a person of this height be at. ) How does that amount of food amount to too much?? I actually do not think he brings enough for his lunch. I did tell him he should have eaten something else besides a 3rd chicken leg, but boys are also lazy in that they don't want to take a minute to make something else when there is food already hot and prepped. And due to conflicting schedules I am not always there to provide an alternative. He's bigger than (taller and broader) a lot of adults I know. he went snow cave camping and when the recommended meal plans for that came out I swear it was near 4000 calories per day on them!

    I fail to see how feeding my growing super active teenage boy enough food to fuel his body is bad parenting or ignorance? he ate all healthy food with a nice treat in there, because kids like treats. I really don't think you have any clue what you are talking about when it comes to feeding teenage boys.

    When my son does eat eggs he eats 5 or 6 at a time scrambled with cheese and whatever else I make him put in it, with a side of meat and potatoes and yogurt.

    If I was *still* poor. He'd not have had that much food available unfortunately. He's also not be this active or involved in as many activities as he is, so he wouldn't need as much. Because you know it all costs money. If he was 5, he would eat significantly less. When I was young and flat broke, I bought ramen because it was cheap and filling if I had a dollar and a stove. It definitely was not enjoyable nor did it taste good. Food bank are generally open 1 or 2 days a week, during working hours and where I used to live there weren't any close by and a lot of the foods they give you require cooking. (potatoes come to mind) If I could get to one, i'd have veggies for a day or two.. since I had no fridge they'd go bad pretty quick. And I could spend my dollar on what protein exactly??

    I completely agree. When I was in high school, I used to marvel at how much my brother and my teenaged male cousins ate. (All over 6 feet tall.) Not only were they not at all overweight, one was on the skinny side as was my brother. And a friend of mine in high school (also a little over 6 feet tall) ate huge lunches-- a typical lunch would be half a chicken (yes, half of a whole chicken), a roll, 3-4 large carrots, and a large apple. (We ate lunch together every day.) He also had large breakfasts and dinners and would eat a couple of granola bars in the afternoon. Not only was he not obese, he was extremely fit. He swam and lifted weights for hours every day before and after school. (He was a finalist for the olympic swim team.) He is still very lean and fit. (He ended up marrying my best friend.)

    So yes, healthy teenaged boys, especially tall guys, eat a TON of food. Do NOT compare a teenaged boy's appetite with a child, especially not a 5 year old girl!!!

    Yes I agree - my son easily ate that amount, easily ate double what I, a small mature adult woman ate - I imagine he ate at least 3 times what a 5 year old girl would eat - but he was tall, was growing and was active - this was not neglectful parenting and did not lead to obesity.
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
    You have to really WORK to find healthy foods that are affordable. I am married to a chef - trust me this came in handy during this period of our lives) because his education and knowledge allowed us to make things that were relatively healthy on the cheap!

    When, really, did this become so uncommon? When did basic life skills become the province of only trained chefs? Moreover, why do some many people believe what this poster describes is something only poor people need/shaould do?

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