Americans have it so much better than us in UK/Ireland

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  • brittanyjeanxo
    brittanyjeanxo Posts: 1,831 Member
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    lol what? America has one of the biggest obesity problems in the world! Yes we have pre-portioned foods, but they're also all loaded with calories and salt. And all of our "diet" foods are loaded up on sodium to keep them "preserved." Trust me, it's not that great here :P
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    I agree Americans seem to have a lot more in terms of choice, but most of those choices are pretty unhealthy. I am in the UK, and though I may lament the lack of PB2 and arctic zero, I rather like all the home made, whole food things I can buy in our local farmer's markets or in farm shops.
  • theflyingartist
    theflyingartist Posts: 385 Member
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    haha I did not mean it like that....

    i do eat good most of the times. but for the times i feel like eating crap I'd have liked to have calorie controlled, portion sized junk :P if u know what I mean...

    you could count out the serving, right? like if the cookies are 3 per serving, eat three? it's willpower, or a dietary change IMO.
    ooh, -edit- honestly all of the alternative foods are just for people with allergies because we make such a stink about it. we are gluten free but ALSO we want alternative sugars but ALSO we want low fat BUT ALSO we want peanut butter chocolate cups but ALSO we want it pre-packaged with enough for us to have a set amount of calories but ALSO we want it under 150 calories. OH AND ALSO... the demands go on and on. they're really not that great.. if we didn't want fatty butter, we got margarine. and now its giving us cardiovascular disease and cancer (not JUST margarine, but its one of the many).
    seriously, it's about moderation and portion control at home.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    Marmite and good tea are almost impossible to get hold of in American supermarkets, too!
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
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    The do not have Hostess products that I was able to find in Ireland... you are blessed ;)
  • AmandaCG
    AmandaCG Posts: 46 Member
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    You do realize that 64% of the American population is overweight, right?


    HAHAHA!!! Its true! Just because we have law fat low cal choices doesn't mean they are any better for you. Actually they are filled with chemicals that makes us fat and sick. You are best to stick with a diet that is as close to the earth as possible, in turn will be naturally low in fat, calories, sodium, cholesterol, sugar, ect..... That, you can find anywhere. I wish we had more Markets.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    I know what the OP means. Half the recipes on mfp include ingredients we can't get here.... Which I then google... And then I'm not jealous any more!

    We have loads of weight watchers stuff, etc, just it's not the same.

    I want PB2 too! Someone import it, please!
  • atomdraco
    atomdraco Posts: 1,083 Member
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    You should be thankful, because alot of our alternatives don't actually help us! America is the fattest country! Also, natural foods are best! No added sodium, sugar, artificial ingredient and so on!

    Uhm...move here if you love it! LOl. jk.

    ^ this ^
  • greatdragon
    greatdragon Posts: 64
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    Most of thoes so called "Diet" choices are fake just as a country we are easy to try silly things to make us feel better without any real results and the US is no longer the "fattest" country in the world we are in the number 3 spot! I know its not saying much but it is a improvement and its 66.7% with Germany 0.2% behind us at 66.5%

    http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/commerce/091125/obesity-epidemic-fattest-countries
  • bjshooter
    bjshooter Posts: 1,174 Member
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    I discovered Skinny Cow ice creams in tesco. You may not want to try them, they are too nice.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    Are you serious? I shop at Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons & M&S and they all have excellent quality healthy eating ranges, as well as huge varieties of fresh produce. The meat sections also have leaner choices such as steak mince with a lower fat content than usual.

    Living alone, I often eat ready prepared meals, and unlike America and Canada, they are of excellent quality with far lower sodium content. Tesco promises that they never put anything into their ready meals that you wouldn't find in your own kitchen, and M&S are just superb.

    Go look at the labels on diet meals over the pond, they're full of sodium, preservatives, artificial colours and flavours, hydrogenated fats, all sorts of junk, YUCK! "Diet" maybe, healthy and edible, definitely not!

    Be very grateful you live here...
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    Marmite and good tea are almost impossible to get hold of in American supermarkets, too!

    [racial stereotype]Maybe it's because good tea is wasted on Americans because they all make it with hot water instead of boiling. [/racial stereotype] :bigsmile:

    Rotten luck about the marmite though, that's serious!
  • FabCheeky
    FabCheeky Posts: 311
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    Honestly, that prepackaged crap keeps a lot of us Americans sick. Aside from having a large percentage of overweight people, we also take more medications (both over the counter and prescription) than any other country in the world. Switching to a diet that consists of fresh raw meat, fresh seafood, raw nuts, fresh fruits, fresh veggies, extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil and more eggs than you can shake a stick at---I'm finally healthy. If you want to know more about my diet and maybe connect with some people in Ireland, check out the link below:
    http://crossfit.ie/nutrition/
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    The Sainsburys "Be good to yourself" meats are really good. I love the steak and diced beef from that range!

    As for eating only fresh food, as it has no sugar, etc...those are the things that make it taste nice! I've yet to find anything non-meat that is fresh, and i like the taste of. Now i simply watch what i have, and keep careful track of calories, fat, sodium, etc.

    No point trying to eat all fresh if it tastes so bad you know damn well you wont stick with it.
  • Uk_Yogini
    Uk_Yogini Posts: 167
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    There is crap food everywhere, no matter where you live. I am a Brit living in the States, so see it from both sides. When it comes to excess the US certainly is king, portion size certainly being the most telling evidence of that. In the last 20 years portion size has doubled and so have the average American waist line.
    If you stick with fresh, organic whole foods as much as you can and stay away from processed and fast food, you will do just fine, no matter where you live.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    Marmite and good tea are almost impossible to get hold of in American supermarkets, too!

    [racial stereotype]Maybe it's because good tea is wasted on Americans because they all make it with hot water instead of boiling. [/racial stereotype] :bigsmile:

    Rotten luck about the marmite though, that's serious!

    TOTALLY with you on that one. Though the French and Italians are just as bad. They bring you a cup of hot water and a teabag on the side! WTH is the point in that???????
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    I have to admit, when I went to stay with my sister in NY I lost about 8lbs purely because I couldn't afford to eat there.
  • cdpm
    cdpm Posts: 297 Member
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    I'm from the UK and don't seem to have too much trouble.
    When I found out how full of salt and fat the 'diet' ready meals were, I have been put of ready meals ever since. To me, they are tasteless and the texture is just blurgh!
    As annoying and time consuming as it is I look at the labels on all the products I put in my basket now. Really highlighted to me portion size - I would use a whole jar of sauce for 2 of us, when the label suggested 1/4 of a jar per person.
    Sainsburys have some quite nice tasting jars of sauce in my opinion and I particularly like the tikka masala light.
  • zarozinia
    zarozinia Posts: 67 Member
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    I never lost weight as effortlessly as I did when I spent 3 months in London. First, it was all the walking everywhere! It was glorious to not need a car to go somewhere... Just hop on the Tube and in a few minutes, you're there! Second, the food was so much more wholesome and nutritious in the UK than what I was getting back home in the states. I estimate I lost about 10lbs in those 10 weeks, and when I came home, I immediately gained it all back and then some.

    So while we may have more "diet food" available here in the states, that's really not a good thing. I really try to buy the most nutritious foods now, trying to avoid all the "low-fat" and gimmicky diet foods that crowd the shelves, because they're really just replacing good fats for bad fats, high sodium, and loads of chemicals.

    Also, the best strawberry I ever ate was in England. And the cherry tomatoes! No one ever told me they were actually supposed to TASTE LIKE CHERRIES! God, I miss the UK... The grass is always greener, eh? ;)
  • Banks01
    Banks01 Posts: 985 Member
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    Yes, but we also have more options for anything pretty much anywhere than any other country out there as well....

    Corrected

    Our overall addition to convenience and speed finds us in drive through after drive through. I'm happy to say, I haven't done that in weeks

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