"No Mayo?" Why Americans Are Fat

patchesgizmo

Hmm, I've never seen a difference between the calories in whole wheat bread and white bread. A quick comparasion on here of the same brand shows no difference.

For me, a good mayo adds flavor. I love mayo. i would rather forego cheese over mayo. I guess it boils down to your taste.

I dont really do soda.

PS - not American.

not much difference in calories, but a great difference in how your body processes the breads. If the whole wheat bread is actually whole grain your body will process it differently insulin wise. from my understanding, but I am new at this and my knowledge may be faulty.

kaseysospacey

Seriously, if I posted a hate rant about how stupid African or Indian people are for what they eat it would be a problem with people. It's not just the US which is becoming overweight.

wewon

Whenever I order a sandwich at a deli, I give the precise description of what I want: whole-wheat bread, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and mustard. Nine times of 10, the counter person replies: "No Mayo?"

Nope, don't want the empty calories and fat that come with Mayo or white bread.
Mayo is not very flavorful in any case and white bread tastes no better than wheat.

Add up all those mayo and white bread calories, not to mention high-fructose corn syrup in sodas, the propensity of Americans to eat fast food or packaged food products, and a generally sedentary lifestyle, there's little wonder why Americans are so chunky. I recall several "aha" moments even in Italy where I saw thin people drinking wine, eating pasta. They tend to walk a lot more, eat fresher food, their pizzas are ultra-thin crust, and it's nearly impossible to find mayo, Cokes and fries. Dessert and snacks there are usually fruit, sometimes a small scoop of gelat, unless it's a special occassion.

I recall at my heaviest my meals consisted of McMuffins, burritos and chips, Domino's pizza. For what it's worth. One can make allot of progress just by eating more fresh stuff and cutting the junk.

Out of all the things listed, white bread, pasta, pizza, chips, McMuffins, cokes and fries, the tablespoon of mayo on a sandwich is the least of your worries. What do they have in common? Carbs with the fiber removed.

Mayo is the least likely to raise your blood sugar and therefore your insulin, which is a hormone that causes your body to store fat.

Control your insulin and you will control your body's need to store fat. Stay away from processed foods, and only eat carbohydrates in their natural form, which is loaded with fiber.

Man-made food is the primary time that you will find carbs without fiber, outside of a few exceptions like white potatoes, carbs always come with a suitable amount of fiber. None fiberous carbs are a man-made concoction.

Read, "Why we get fat" by Gary Taube, its a great book and very informative.

wewon

If you were to hypothetically consume only mayonnaise and consumed over 6000 calories you wouldn't gain any fat at all. Mayo by itself doesnt make you fat carbohydrates do. Why? because of insulin. Mayo is pure fat and does not spike insulin at all. you are blaming something that does not make you fat carbs do. The problem with carbohydrates though is that they taste amazing.

Carbs are NOT the bad guys in the food world. Fruits and vegetables are carbs. The bad guys are all the processed, quick and easy junk foods that we've gotten used to consuming. Overall, a good, balanced, mostly whole food diet is the best, most effective way to lose weight AND be healthier.

Carbs with the fiber removed are the bad guys.

You can eat all of the apples, oranges, berries, mangoes and broccoli that you want and be healthy.

However, try drinking the equivalent in apple juice, orange juice, and other fruit juices and you will be dizzy from the sugar in your blood.

rawfitness

I'm a personal trainer. A majority of my clients come to me to lose weight. I ask them about their diet.
In every case, eating at restaurants is a common habit. Just an observation.

cpaman87

Whatever works for you is good. There is no harm in cutting out mayo. Whole grain bread is more nutritious than white. As long as you are doing something to control your intake while eating good foods then you are on the right track.

half_moon

Well the idea of the thread as I envisioned it was to show that the U.S. diet is not a good one. Mayo is but one symbol of that, but the list goes on--potato chips served with sandwiches, fries with burgers, the calories in a typical meal at Boston Market., the crud put in processed food.

If you want to dispute that argument, to show that U.S. patterns of eating are in fact healthy, go ahead. Otherwise, don't just whine about the thread by using cliches such as "fail." Using a tired cliche to dismiss an argument without addressing it is lame. But if you prefer to write in today's favored cliches, you just committed an "epic fail."

Yes, because mayo is an American-only type of thing (originated in Spain?). Not everything at Boston Market is bad. So you want to live your life without eating fries, fine. Why single out the united states? It has NOTHING to do with your argument, if your argument is that "bad" food is "bad for you".

Wait, here is a quick summary: You are stupid. Go away.

DieVixen

I like filling a doughnut with mayo yummmm

wewon

Read the above post, yes there are other factors. The "No Mayo!" story was intended as a story to illustrate a larger problem--poor food choices of Americans when eating out, which also includes fast-food, larger portions than what's available in other countries etc., and all the sedentary factors you mentioned.

Yes, you can eat mayo with lunch every day, and still lose weight, but if you follow an American pattern of eating highly-processed, nutrient-shallow foods and having a sedentary lifestyle, chances are you will gain weight.

The story was intended to illustrate a problem: Why are sometimes people so surprised in America when you ask for a more nutritious choice?

unless you eat too much of that "highly processed, nutrient-shallow food[/i], no, you won't, gain weight.

True, but you would be horribly malnourished and perpetually hungry, hence the nutrient-shallow nature of processed foods.

Look at the amount of micronutrients that you get from consuming 2000 calories of any processed food, then look at the level of micronutrients when you look at 2000 calories of whole foods. The difference is staggering.

People eat process foods, get cravings and eat more (or simply suffer in the name of "diet"), and get fat.

See if you can find someone that ever got fat from eating all of their carbs in the form of real (whole) fruits and veggies, you likely won't.

rml_16

If you were to hypothetically consume only mayonnaise and consumed over 6000 calories you wouldn't gain any fat at all. Mayo by itself doesnt make you fat carbohydrates do. Why? because of insulin. Mayo is pure fat and does not spike insulin at all. you are blaming something that does not make you fat carbs do. The problem with carbohydrates though is that they taste amazing.

OK, this wins for the funniest post I have ever read.

Anyway, when I used to eat McDonald's and pizza every day, I wore a size 3.

wewon

I'm a personal trainer. A majority of my clients come to me to lose weight. I ask them about their diet.
In every case, eating at restaurants is a common habit. Just an observation.

Bingo!!

And in the restaurant they are likely eating more processed starches than they normally would.

How many people really sit down with a basket of bread before each meal like we do when eating out?

When people eat at home are french fries a common side item?

Do you give yourself constant refills of soda like a restaurant does?

If more people checked their insulin after a meal in a restaurant they wouldn't wonder why their feeling tired afterwards.

rachelelizabeth88

I'm American and I hate mayo... never have and never will lol sometimes that's just how people are trained to make sandwiches (at a deli). Not all Americans are "fat" you can eat bad food where ever you live

ChrispyBites

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, here, but eating mayo on a white bread sandwich isn't what makes Americans fat. Putting aside the TACIT over generalization in the sentence "Why Americans are fat", the problem with the eating culture in any developed nation isn't WHAT they eat, it's HOW MUCH they eat, as compared the amount of activity they engage in.

We eat too much, in general. It's gotten too easy to get red meat---something that was a luxury only sixty or seventy years ago---on the table for every single meal. It's too cheap to eat a 3,000 calorie meal, and because we don't grow our own food and put in hours of heavy, physical labor every day, all those calories are stored as fat. That's why your grandmother's generation could get away with making baked goods with lard and frying everything and not worry about being obese. Because they didn't eat that much and, when they did, a lot of activity was almost garaunteed.

Why Americans are fat. Give me a break.

UsedToBeHusky

If you were to hypothetically consume only mayonnaise and consumed over 6000 calories you wouldn't gain any fat at all. Mayo by itself doesnt make you fat carbohydrates do. Why? because of insulin. Mayo is pure fat and does not spike insulin at all. you are blaming something that does not make you fat carbs do. The problem with carbohydrates though is that they taste amazing.

wow, really? (I need a smiley banging his head on a wall)

Stealing this!

Acg67

I'm a personal trainer. A majority of my clients come to me to lose weight. I ask them about their diet.
In every case, eating at restaurants is a common habit. Just an observation.

Bingo!!

And in the restaurant they are likely eating more processed starches than they normally would.

How many people really sit down with a basket of bread before each meal like we do when eating out?

When people eat at home are french fries a common side item?

Do you give yourself constant refills of soda like a restaurant does?

If more people checked their insulin after a meal in a restaurant they wouldn't wonder why their feeling tired afterwards.

You said Taubes and Why we Get Fat was informative, your argument is invalid

wewon

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, here, but eating mayo on a white bread sandwich isn't what makes Americans fat. Putting aside the TACIT over generalization in the sentence "Why Americans are fat", the problem with the eating culture in any developed nation isn't WHAT they eat, it's HOW MUCH they eat, as compared the amount of activity they engage in.

We eat too much, in general. It's gotten too easy to get red meat---something that was a luxury only sixty or seventy years ago---on the table for every single meal. It's too cheap to eat a 3,000 calorie meal, and because we don't grow our own food and put in hours of heavy, physical labor every day, all those calories are stored as fat. That's why your grandmother's generation could get away with making baked goods with lard and frying everything and not worry about being obese. Because they didn't eat that much and, when they did, a lot of activity was almost garaunteed.

Why Americans are fat. Give me a break.

The American diet change dramatically in the 1980s, there was an increase in consuming "convenient" easily prepared foods. Things with a long shelf life, fast cooking, and more easily manufactured. The American obesity rate has more than doubled in since that time.

Your grandmother may have eaten more fried foods with lard, butter and animal fats. I bet that she wasn't chasing it down with Ocean spray juices (you ever notice its kept at room temperature for days), sodas, sugary cereals, crackers, or potato chips.

The food that she was eating was more satiating because of the fats and fibers, so she could get her daily calories and feel good versus today when 2000 calories leave most people still wanting to snack.

wewon

Double post.

wewon

I'm a personal trainer. A majority of my clients come to me to lose weight. I ask them about their diet.
In every case, eating at restaurants is a common habit. Just an observation.

Bingo!!

And in the restaurant they are likely eating more processed starches than they normally would.

How many people really sit down with a basket of bread before each meal like we do when eating out?

When people eat at home are french fries a common side item?

Do you give yourself constant refills of soda like a restaurant does?

If more people checked their insulin after a meal in a restaurant they wouldn't wonder why their feeling tired afterwards.

You said Taubes and Why we Get Fat was informative, your argument is invalid

??

KALMdown

You've obviously never lived in Japan. They love mayo. On Takoyaki (yum), okonomiyaki (double yum), pizza (not so yum IMO). So I wouldn't say Mayo is what is making Americans fat. If that was the case I wouldn't feel like the Goodyear blimp walking around downtown Tokyo.

BTW, the Japanese make awesome white bread. Made with real butter. Wheat bread is tougher to find.

leodru

I love mayo - i've been around 180 pounds for the last 10 years - yes i want to lose 15 pounds (I'm 5'6") but eating mayo hasn't turned me into a blob. Excess makes you fat - all those 100 calorie bars and snacks that spike blood sugars and drive you to eat make you fat. Drinking 64 ounces of soda with a sub is more of a problem than any basic sub itself (with or without mayo). Eating basic clean food - fruits and vegetables is the way to be lean. Mayo doesnt make you fat any more than anything else. Its all choices - some choices are better than other - it all becomes at what point are you tipping the balance in what you eat - you eat lots of junk? then you look like junk....eat well live well. p.s. I'm Canadian and yes i eat gravy......on that note i might eat gravy but boy have you send the plate size in the US???? holy crap. That could feed a family of 5!! I asked for grilled veggies one time in the US - it came out grilled in butter? WTF? Who the hell eats like that! Even when you ask for a healthier choice you still get junk.