What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S.?
Replies
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What I think is sad about the obesity problem is that instead of helping the problem, businesses are adjusting to the problem by making bigger everything. There are buffet places I used to love going to for sentimental reasons, and also because sometimes I can't decide what I want to eat so I stare at the selection until my mouth waters at the sight of something and then I help myself to a small portion of it. But, it's hard to keep going when most of the people there are obese and it shows physically how their bodies are hurting, yet they fill these plates to heaven and simply cram this stuff in. Is it my place to judge? No, but I think the problem with it is that we are a country that loves food and have zero self-control with anything. There's no moderation. When you diet, moderation plays a big part in your success. Most people just don't know that concept anymore.0
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I blame the Food Pyramid .
that's actually a huge part of it. misinformation is a killer. people have been force fed that they were supposed to eat 11 servings of pasta and white flour A DAY!
couple that with the computer age and people sitting on their *kitten* all day and you get a helluva lot of fat people.
Nope nope and nope.0 -
I blame the Food Pyramid .
that's actually a huge part of it. misinformation is a killer. people have been force fed that they were supposed to eat 11 servings of pasta and white flour A DAY!
couple that with the computer age and people sitting on their *kitten* all day and you get a helluva lot of fat people.
Nope nope and nope.
? i didn't read the whole 20 pages... sorry i don't already know your position...0 -
I am a school teacher and the lack of exercise and recess in school is dismal. My school gives 10 minutes of recess at lunch and that's it, PE on a rotating 3 week schedule. Parents drive their kids to school, this is so unnecessary. And kids just don't play outside anymore.0
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I blame the Food Pyramid .
that's actually a huge part of it. misinformation is a killer. people have been force fed that they were supposed to eat 11 servings of pasta and white flour A DAY!
couple that with the computer age and people sitting on their *kitten* all day and you get a helluva lot of fat people.
Nope nope and nope.
? i didn't read the whole 20 pages... sorry i don't already know your position...
I simply don't believe that government recommendations impact the public. There has been a "war on obesity" for quite some time and the problem has gotten worse. If everyone ate 2000 calories a day and followed the serving fromthe food pyramid we would be a much healthier country. (I think the pyramid is a load of crap when it comes to overall health but you can't blame it for obesity.)
I think that a large portion of Americans are lazy. They do enough to get by. They don't need to be fit to survive day to day or to increase their livelihood. Once it became PC to be fat the problem multiplied and most people in the "overweight" category are actually average thus lowering the fitness standard.0 -
I blame the Food Pyramid .
that's actually a huge part of it. misinformation is a killer. people have been force fed that they were supposed to eat 11 servings of pasta and white flour A DAY!
couple that with the computer age and people sitting on their *kitten* all day and you get a helluva lot of fat people.
Nope nope and nope.
? i didn't read the whole 20 pages... sorry i don't already know your position...
I simply don't believe that government recommendations impact the public. There has been a "war on obesity" for quite some time and the problem has gotten worse. If everyone ate 2000 calories a day and followed the serving fromthe food pyramid we would be a much healthier country. (I think the pyramid is a load of crap when it comes to overall health but you can't blame it for obesity.)
I think that a large portion of Americans are lazy. They do enough to get by. They don't need to be fit to survive day to day or to increase their livelihood. Once it became PC to be fat the problem multiplied and most people in the "overweight" category are actually average thus lowering the fitness standard.
except i CLEARLY remember learning about the food pyramid when i was a kid - as young as 4, 5, 6 years old. does that mean everyone kept it in mind every time they ate? absolutely not - but the basic PRINCIPLES of "eat a lot of flour-based products because they're most important" were ingrained in people. I thought it. my parents thought it.
think about it this way. this concept of counting calories. when did it start? i'd argue it started within the last 20 years. up until about 1950/60 people ate when they were hungry, never counted calories, and were a helluva lot healthier. the biggest reason is they were more active, but the second biggest reason (most likely) is that they didn't eat refined processed white flour products in such massive amounts as people did in the 70s 80s and 90s who all thought it was good for them!
edit: agree with you on the lazy part0 -
I blame the Food Pyramid .
that's actually a huge part of it. misinformation is a killer. people have been force fed that they were supposed to eat 11 servings of pasta and white flour A DAY!
couple that with the computer age and people sitting on their *kitten* all day and you get a helluva lot of fat people.
Nope nope and nope.
? i didn't read the whole 20 pages... sorry i don't already know your position...
I simply don't believe that government recommendations impact the public. There has been a "war on obesity" for quite some time and the problem has gotten worse. If everyone ate 2000 calories a day and followed the serving fromthe food pyramid we would be a much healthier country. (I think the pyramid is a load of crap when it comes to overall health but you can't blame it for obesity.)
I think that a large portion of Americans are lazy. They do enough to get by. They don't need to be fit to survive day to day or to increase their livelihood. Once it became PC to be fat the problem multiplied and most people in the "overweight" category are actually average thus lowering the fitness standard.
except i CLEARLY remember learning about the food pyramid when i was a kid - as young as 4, 5, 6 years old. does that mean everyone kept it in mind every time they ate? absolutely not - but the basic PRINCIPLES of "eat a lot of flour-based products because they're most important" were ingrained in people. I thought it. my parents thought it.
think about it this way. this concept of counting calories. when did it start? i'd argue it started within the last 20 years. up until about 1950/60 people ate when they were hungry, never counted calories, and were a helluva lot healthier. the biggest reason is they were more active, but the second biggest reason (most likely) is that they didn't eat refined processed white flour products in such massive amounts as people did in the 70s 80s and 90s who all thought it was good for them!
edit: agree with you on the lazy part
agree to disagree, I guess. I'd be willing to guess that if the average overweight person ate the food pyramid with 2000 calories that they would lose weight.
I agree with you as far as processed/refined food wrecking havoc on our health as a country but I simply can NOT academically or logically draw a definitive line between processed foods and obesity EXCEPT that processed food are an express way for large caloric surplus that causes weight gain. The average person if eating within their caloric threshold will maintain a relatively healthy weight regardless of where the calories come from.
ETA: NOT lol0 -
It seems like in the US we don't understand moderation. I don't think it is healthy to make a child eat only healthy food, make them workout a ton, make them feel concerned about their weight. But today it seems to be going in the opposite direction, children are eating more junk, playing more video games, not able to go run around outside as safely as before.
Off note, kinda related: I was sitting at dinner during a visit to my grandparents house about 5 years ago and stated that I was full and thus finished. He said to me that I hadn't eaten all the food on my plate and that I should finish and I was cajoled by my family for wasting food. I laughed and looked around the table and *obnoxiously* stated that since I was the only person within my BMI sitting there that perhaps they should follow my lead rather than me follow theirs.
I guess this relates in the sense that the depression era mentality was "waste not want not." That mentality was passed to our parents (I'm 31) who forced food consumption on their children. The difference is that the food we were consuming was far more calorically dense than the rations during WWII.
I can't really blame the epidemic on this but I can relate this to America's generally f'd up relationship with food.0 -
I blame the Food Pyramid .
that's actually a huge part of it. misinformation is a killer. people have been force fed that they were supposed to eat 11 servings of pasta and white flour A DAY!
couple that with the computer age and people sitting on their *kitten* all day and you get a helluva lot of fat people.
Nope nope and nope.
? i didn't read the whole 20 pages... sorry i don't already know your position...
I simply don't believe that government recommendations impact the public. There has been a "war on obesity" for quite some time and the problem has gotten worse. If everyone ate 2000 calories a day and followed the serving fromthe food pyramid we would be a much healthier country. (I think the pyramid is a load of crap when it comes to overall health but you can't blame it for obesity.)
I think that a large portion of Americans are lazy. They do enough to get by. They don't need to be fit to survive day to day or to increase their livelihood. Once it became PC to be fat the problem multiplied and most people in the "overweight" category are actually average thus lowering the fitness standard.
except i CLEARLY remember learning about the food pyramid when i was a kid - as young as 4, 5, 6 years old. does that mean everyone kept it in mind every time they ate? absolutely not - but the basic PRINCIPLES of "eat a lot of flour-based products because they're most important" were ingrained in people. I thought it. my parents thought it.
think about it this way. this concept of counting calories. when did it start? i'd argue it started within the last 20 years. up until about 1950/60 people ate when they were hungry, never counted calories, and were a helluva lot healthier. the biggest reason is they were more active, but the second biggest reason (most likely) is that they didn't eat refined processed white flour products in such massive amounts as people did in the 70s 80s and 90s who all thought it was good for them!
edit: agree with you on the lazy part
agree to disagree, I guess. I'd be willing to guess that if the average overweight person ate the food pyramid with 2000 calories that they would lose weight.
I agree with you as far as processed/refined food wrecking havoc on our health as a country but I simply can academically or logically draw a definitive line between processed foods and obesity EXCEPT that processed food are an express way for large caloric surplus that causes weight gain. The average person if eating within their caloric threshold will maintain a relatively healthy weight regardless of where the calories come from.
Right. I'm not disputing that. The point is that the average person doesnt count calories and has no concept of how much food 2000 calories is. Fair? So all they DO know is that they're supposed to eat a lot of bread and pasta and, yes, they overeat. The point is, had they been engrained with correct nutritional knowledge growing up instead of the food pyramid, it's entirely possible they wouldn't be as overweight because it's much EASIER to overeat in processed carbs than it is whole grains, fruits and veggies, which take up more volume in the stomach while having fewer calories.
You're absolutely right about people losing weight on a 2000 cal food pyramid diet, but I just don't think that takes reality into account when the majority of people have never even considered counting calories until they're already in trouble.0 -
It seems like in the US we don't understand moderation. I don't think it is healthy to make a child eat only healthy food, make them workout a ton, make them feel concerned about their weight. But today it seems to be going in the opposite direction, children are eating more junk, playing more video games, not able to go run around outside as safely as before.
Off note, kinda related: I was sitting at dinner during a visit to my grandparents house about 5 years ago and stated that I was full and thus finished. He said to me that I hadn't eaten all the food on my plate and that I should finish and I was cajoled by my family for wasting food. I laughed and looked around the table and *obnoxiously* stated that since I was the only person within my BMI sitting there that perhaps they should follow my lead rather than me follow theirs.
I guess this relates in the sense that the depression era mentality was "waste not want not." That mentality was passed to our parents (I'm 31) who forced food consumption on their children. The difference is that the food we were consuming was far more calorically dense than the rations during WWII.
I can't really blame the epidemic on this but I can relate this to America's generally f'd up relationship with food.
Great point and so true.0 -
I think corporate greed is killing children who don't know any better. I think that parents who don't know any better are making it easy for the corporations to do this.
Added to this is that the people who ARE educated, might not be able to afford the foods that are necessary to make it a healthy diet. I know in some areas of detroit they started accepting EBT at fast food because there were no grocery stores in the area.0 -
Did you, OP, seriously expect that ANYONE on MFP would say:
"Hey! This obesity thing is great! I wish more people were fat! Whoo hoo! Let's go get some Ho-ho's and a milkshake!" ~?
:noway:0 -
We moved from Boston to Charlotte 3 yrs ago. The number of fast food places in this place is crazy!! Outside the apartments where we first stayed, these are the places I can list right away: Dominos, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, Bugerking, One Chinese buffet, Two Chinese takeaway places, Hungry Howes, Wings, Red robin, a Mexican place. Across the road there was Macdonalds, Applebee's, Ihop, Paneras, Arby's, Chiptoles, Chick Fil A, O'Charley's,. On the other side was Bojangles. Driving down the other way less than a mile was Jack in a box, Cookout, Sonics, which brings you right into another plaza full of restaurants like Fridays etc. There is a pandas another Chick Fil A, Macdonalds, Starbucks . Across this plaza there is a Quiznos, Chinese food, that place that sells pizza for five bucks and other places. The smell of fried food was nauseating and stagnant in the air.
We moved into our house to a suburb area where you'd expect some quiet and not a lot of fast food. Wrong! On my way to the grocery store less than two miles I pass a Sonics, Then outside the grocery store is a Bojangles, Wendy's, Pizza Hut. Across the street is Subway, Dominos, Chic Fil A, Macdonald. Oh, and a Chinese buffet and Mexican restaurants are next to the grocery store.
Now lets drive down to the Mall area by Target which is like 3 miles from the grocery store. You are right in the middle of a bunch of restaurants like Olive Garden, Red Robin, on the border etc. I can't name them all. Throw in Paneras, Wendy's , McDonald's, Chick Fil A and the food court in the mall.
When I take my daughter to the park, there's a Dominos, Subway right next to it. Then a few miles down the road there is a Taco bells, Chic Fil A, Macdonalds, KFC. Next town over which is 15 minutes drive, there is a blvd of every fast food joint you can think of. It's crazy.
The junk mail we get is coupons to fast food places. I had never seen this in Boston and some of these places are not up there. This city is supposed to be small but it surprises me. The other day I drove out to a town you'd expect to be rural but Lo and behold it was so busy with tons of restaurants and fast food. There is no shortage of places to eat no matter where you are. It's like they have a code to throw in these joints even in the suburbs. They even have restaurant week downtown. And every church usually has a barbecue or fish fry for the public.0 -
I think a lot of it is obviously culture based. Since starting wtih MFP I've been paying more attention to what's on the shelves and even on commercials than I ever did before. Why are there cookies coming with frozen pizza now? Carrabba's has a special running where for $13 you get not just one plate of their pasta (probably already more than one serving) you can get a second full serving before leaving. Of course, this comes with soup or salad. I didn't look but you probably also get as many breadsticks as you want. Now, while we could take the easy way out and blame the manufacturer's we need to remember that they wouldn't keep a product on the shelves that isn't selling. As long as people are buying them and the companies are making profits they have little to no reason to change the junk they are producing to healthy food choices.
I work full time and go to college full time. I work third shift. There is nothing healthy available at 3 in the morning if you forget to pack or don't have time. That's why I'm here now. I'm packing almost every day now and living a lifestyle that can easily be maintained after I hit my weight loss goals. However, this lifestyle involves planning ahead, cooking and keeping myself accountable. Not going to the grocery store and grabbing something out of the frozen food section to microwave when I get home. Most of them are two servings anyway.0 -
So one has to wonder how obesity got so out of control that we reached this crisis.0
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So one has to wonder how obesity got so out of control that we reached this crisis.
How about this? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html0 -
I read a few pages and i actually feel lucky that i was born in "eastern europe"
And i agree with many who say that main problem in America is laziness and comfortable lifestyle. Of course its easier to eat frozen meals and junk food instead of cooking and preparing cheap healthy meals. And children who grow up in families like that have no chance to have normal life in future...0 -
personally, i'm against it.0
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I blame the Food Pyramid .
that's actually a huge part of it. misinformation is a killer. people have been force fed that they were supposed to eat 11 servings of pasta and white flour A DAY!
couple that with the computer age and people sitting on their *kitten* all day and you get a helluva lot of fat people.
0 -
I blame the Food Pyramid .
that's actually a huge part of it. misinformation is a killer. people have been force fed that they were supposed to eat 11 servings of pasta and white flour A DAY!
couple that with the computer age and people sitting on their *kitten* all day and you get a helluva lot of fat people.
Yes--grain is great food to fend off starvation for periods of famine. But it is generally a bad idea for people who are not expending very many calories (our current lifestyle) and who have access to a lot of food.0 -
We moved from Boston to Charlotte 3 yrs ago. The number of fast food places in this place is crazy!! Outside the apartments where we first stayed, these are the places I can list right away: Dominos, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, Bugerking, One Chinese buffet, Two Chinese takeaway places, Hungry Howes, Wings, Red robin, a Mexican place. Across the road there was Macdonalds, Applebee's, Ihop, Paneras, Arby's, Chiptoles, Chick Fil A, O'Charley's,. On the other side was Bojangles. Driving down the other way less than a mile was Jack in a box, Cookout, Sonics, which brings you right into another plaza full of restaurants like Fridays etc. There is a pandas another Chick Fil A, Macdonalds, Starbucks . Across this plaza there is a Quiznos, Chinese food, that place that sells pizza for five bucks and other places. The smell of fried food was nauseating and stagnant in the air.
We moved into our house to a suburb area where you'd expect some quiet and not a lot of fast food. Wrong! On my way to the grocery store less than two miles I pass a Sonics, Then outside the grocery store is a Bojangles, Wendy's, Pizza Hut. Across the street is Subway, Dominos, Chic Fil A, Macdonald. Oh, and a Chinese buffet and Mexican restaurants are next to the grocery store.
Now lets drive down to the Mall area by Target which is like 3 miles from the grocery store. You are right in the middle of a bunch of restaurants like Olive Garden, Red Robin, on the border etc. I can't name them all. Throw in Paneras, Wendy's , McDonald's, Chick Fil A and the food court in the mall.
When I take my daughter to the park, there's a Dominos, Subway right next to it. Then a few miles down the road there is a Taco bells, Chic Fil A, Macdonalds, KFC. Next town over which is 15 minutes drive, there is a blvd of every fast food joint you can think of. It's crazy.
The junk mail we get is coupons to fast food places. I had never seen this in Boston and some of these places are not up there. This city is supposed to be small but it surprises me. The other day I drove out to a town you'd expect to be rural but Lo and behold it was so busy with tons of restaurants and fast food. There is no shortage of places to eat no matter where you are. It's like they have a code to throw in these joints even in the suburbs. They even have restaurant week downtown. And every church usually has a barbecue or fish fry for the public.
Oh the amount of junk food places is crazy. I pass 2 edos, 2 subways, 2 mcdonalds, burger king, dq, mucho burrito, extreme pita, a&w, canadian pizza, boston pizza, 2 chinese food places, fat burger, pizza hut, all on the way to the grocery store. Those are all off just the top of my head lol. it's crazy!0 -
We moved from Boston to Charlotte 3 yrs ago. The number of fast food places in this place is crazy!! Outside the apartments where we first stayed, these are the places I can list right away: Dominos, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, Bugerking, One Chinese buffet, Two Chinese takeaway places, Hungry Howes, Wings, Red robin, a Mexican place. Across the road there was Macdonalds, Applebee's, Ihop, Paneras, Arby's, Chiptoles, Chick Fil A, O'Charley's,. On the other side was Bojangles. Driving down the other way less than a mile was Jack in a box, Cookout, Sonics, which brings you right into another plaza full of restaurants like Fridays etc. There is a pandas another Chick Fil A, Macdonalds, Starbucks . Across this plaza there is a Quiznos, Chinese food, that place that sells pizza for five bucks and other places. The smell of fried food was nauseating and stagnant in the air.
We moved into our house to a suburb area where you'd expect some quiet and not a lot of fast food. Wrong! On my way to the grocery store less than two miles I pass a Sonics, Then outside the grocery store is a Bojangles, Wendy's, Pizza Hut. Across the street is Subway, Dominos, Chic Fil A, Macdonald. Oh, and a Chinese buffet and Mexican restaurants are next to the grocery store.
Now lets drive down to the Mall area by Target which is like 3 miles from the grocery store. You are right in the middle of a bunch of restaurants like Olive Garden, Red Robin, on the border etc. I can't name them all. Throw in Paneras, Wendy's , McDonald's, Chick Fil A and the food court in the mall.
When I take my daughter to the park, there's a Dominos, Subway right next to it. Then a few miles down the road there is a Taco bells, Chic Fil A, Macdonalds, KFC. Next town over which is 15 minutes drive, there is a blvd of every fast food joint you can think of. It's crazy.
The junk mail we get is coupons to fast food places. I had never seen this in Boston and some of these places are not up there. This city is supposed to be small but it surprises me. The other day I drove out to a town you'd expect to be rural but Lo and behold it was so busy with tons of restaurants and fast food. There is no shortage of places to eat no matter where you are. It's like they have a code to throw in these joints even in the suburbs. They even have restaurant week downtown. And every church usually has a barbecue or fish fry for the public.
Oh the amount of junk food places is crazy. I pass 2 edos, 2 subways, 2 mcdonalds, burger king, dq, mucho burrito, extreme pita, a&w, canadian pizza, boston pizza, 2 chinese food places, fat burger, pizza hut, all on the way to the grocery store. Those are all off just the top of my head lol. it's crazy!
Yep--it does seem that we have never before had such easy access to calories. Those of our ancestors who had to work very hard to get enough calories to avoid starvation would be agog at the plentiful bounty that is set before all of us today.0 -
Bump0
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We moved from Boston to Charlotte 3 yrs ago. The number of fast food places in this place is crazy!! Outside the apartments where we first stayed, these are the places I can list right away: Dominos, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, Bugerking, One Chinese buffet, Two Chinese takeaway places, Hungry Howes, Wings, Red robin, a Mexican place. Across the road there was Macdonalds, Applebee's, Ihop, Paneras, Arby's, Chiptoles, Chick Fil A, O'Charley's,. On the other side was Bojangles. Driving down the other way less than a mile was Jack in a box, Cookout, Sonics, which brings you right into another plaza full of restaurants like Fridays etc. There is a pandas another Chick Fil A, Macdonalds, Starbucks . Across this plaza there is a Quiznos, Chinese food, that place that sells pizza for five bucks and other places. The smell of fried food was nauseating and stagnant in the air.
We moved into our house to a suburb area where you'd expect some quiet and not a lot of fast food. Wrong! On my way to the grocery store less than two miles I pass a Sonics, Then outside the grocery store is a Bojangles, Wendy's, Pizza Hut. Across the street is Subway, Dominos, Chic Fil A, Macdonald. Oh, and a Chinese buffet and Mexican restaurants are next to the grocery store.
Now lets drive down to the Mall area by Target which is like 3 miles from the grocery store. You are right in the middle of a bunch of restaurants like Olive Garden, Red Robin, on the border etc. I can't name them all. Throw in Paneras, Wendy's , McDonald's, Chick Fil A and the food court in the mall.
When I take my daughter to the park, there's a Dominos, Subway right next to it. Then a few miles down the road there is a Taco bells, Chic Fil A, Macdonalds, KFC. Next town over which is 15 minutes drive, there is a blvd of every fast food joint you can think of. It's crazy.
The junk mail we get is coupons to fast food places. I had never seen this in Boston and some of these places are not up there. This city is supposed to be small but it surprises me. The other day I drove out to a town you'd expect to be rural but Lo and behold it was so busy with tons of restaurants and fast food. There is no shortage of places to eat no matter where you are. It's like they have a code to throw in these joints even in the suburbs. They even have restaurant week downtown. And every church usually has a barbecue or fish fry for the public.
Oh the amount of junk food places is crazy. I pass 2 edos, 2 subways, 2 mcdonalds, burger king, dq, mucho burrito, extreme pita, a&w, canadian pizza, boston pizza, 2 chinese food places, fat burger, pizza hut, all on the way to the grocery store. Those are all off just the top of my head lol. it's crazy!
Yep--it does seem that we have never before had such easy access to calories. Those of our ancestors who had to work very hard to get enough calories to avoid starvation would be agog at the plentiful bounty that is set before all of us today.
Wow...this is too deep what you've all said, and especially about our ancestors who had to work VERY hard to get enough cals--something I never considered and for me to think about for sure!0 -
I am from New Zealand and have been to the states many times and notice the same thing! Very overweight people everywhere! The sad thing is that its 'got hold of' many children and they grow up not knowing any difference. I think the GIANT everything and processed rubbish food has everything to with it. Our bodies simply do not need it and the fizzy drinks are half a days calories! Nothing wrong with eating/drinking junk every now and then but its the size of everything. It will never change unless the education in schools and homes improves. Parents and teachers need to lead by example! I hope a change is made soon for the children's sake.0
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Ya know, last night I had thai food and thinking about getting this fat and flab off of me as well as this thread...what I did was fill up on lots and lots of water at the restaurant, and a nice/decent size (smaller) portion of the pad thai shrimp and skipped the cashew chicken and had a small portion of thai fried shrimp rice and one Thai Ice tea. Then, I had 3 ice creams...YEP, 3...Lynchee, Green Tea and Thai Coconut ice cream. The difference is, instead of eating a whole scoop of each...I just had a spoonful of each one and ya know what? I was totally and completely FULL, filled to the maximum and totally enjoyed my dinner.
I'm writing this because these dishes were enough for an entire family and we still brought stuff home. My hubby and children are all slim and trim and I'm the only fat one in our family. This is how they eat all the time. This is how people who are slim and trim eat. Afterwards, we walked around the city for some time...instead of getting in the car right away/sitting down--we walked it off. My point is I think another reason for the yucky obesity epidemic is how much food we in the U.S. are eating ALL the time. I hear people on here saying all the time, it's a matter of cals in and exercise out (or something like that). If we are ever as a nation going to kick this ugly, unattractive and unhealthy plague of obesity from our homes and nation, we're(at least I'M) going to have to practice portion control and moving my body afterwards with something as wonderful as a nice walk...not every once in a while, but from now on!0 -
We moved from Boston to Charlotte 3 yrs ago. The number of fast food places in this place is crazy!! Outside the apartments where we first stayed, these are the places I can list right away: Dominos, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, Bugerking, One Chinese buffet, Two Chinese takeaway places, Hungry Howes, Wings, Red robin, a Mexican place. Across the road there was Macdonalds, Applebee's, Ihop, Paneras, Arby's, Chiptoles, Chick Fil A, O'Charley's,. On the other side was Bojangles. Driving down the other way less than a mile was Jack in a box, Cookout, Sonics, which brings you right into another plaza full of restaurants like Fridays etc. There is a pandas another Chick Fil A, Macdonalds, Starbucks . Across this plaza there is a Quiznos, Chinese food, that place that sells pizza for five bucks and other places. The smell of fried food was nauseating and stagnant in the air.
We moved into our house to a suburb area where you'd expect some quiet and not a lot of fast food. Wrong! On my way to the grocery store less than two miles I pass a Sonics, Then outside the grocery store is a Bojangles, Wendy's, Pizza Hut. Across the street is Subway, Dominos, Chic Fil A, Macdonald. Oh, and a Chinese buffet and Mexican restaurants are next to the grocery store.
Now lets drive down to the Mall area by Target which is like 3 miles from the grocery store. You are right in the middle of a bunch of restaurants like Olive Garden, Red Robin, on the border etc. I can't name them all. Throw in Paneras, Wendy's , McDonald's, Chick Fil A and the food court in the mall.
When I take my daughter to the park, there's a Dominos, Subway right next to it. Then a few miles down the road there is a Taco bells, Chic Fil A, Macdonalds, KFC. Next town over which is 15 minutes drive, there is a blvd of every fast food joint you can think of. It's crazy.
The junk mail we get is coupons to fast food places. I had never seen this in Boston and some of these places are not up there. This city is supposed to be small but it surprises me. The other day I drove out to a town you'd expect to be rural but Lo and behold it was so busy with tons of restaurants and fast food. There is no shortage of places to eat no matter where you are. It's like they have a code to throw in these joints even in the suburbs. They even have restaurant week downtown. And every church usually has a barbecue or fish fry for the public.
Oh the amount of junk food places is crazy. I pass 2 edos, 2 subways, 2 mcdonalds, burger king, dq, mucho burrito, extreme pita, a&w, canadian pizza, boston pizza, 2 chinese food places, fat burger, pizza hut, all on the way to the grocery store. Those are all off just the top of my head lol. it's crazy!
Yep--it does seem that we have never before had such easy access to calories. Those of our ancestors who had to work very hard to get enough calories to avoid starvation would be agog at the plentiful bounty that is set before all of us today.
Wow...this is too deep what you've all said, and especially about our ancestors who had to work VERY hard to get enough cals--something I never considered and for me to think about for sure!
Yes, you don't have to go very far back into history to note the gnawing hunger that was a regular part of the life of the average person in urban areas (and in rural areas during times of crop failures), and that it was especially the lot of children. The writings of Charles ****ens presents a fairly bleak picture of 19th century England and the struggles of the average citizen to live a life of dignity. More than a talented writer, he was a social critic of his times and had thinly veiled disgust for the stinginess of many in the privileged classes. This comes through strongly in his classic work, "A Christmas Carol". His own life had been marked by dire poverty when his father was cast into debtor's prison and Charles was forced to go to work in a factory at the tender age of eleven to help support the family. The cruel and exhausting conditions there (he worked six ten-hour days per week) left an indelible mark on him and his writings.
It was a bit better in the U.S., largely because we did not yet have a private central bank run by the privileged elite (such as those who ruled and robbed Europe in those days). We also had the advantage of a tremendous food bounty and Americans saw this as God "shedding His grace" on this continent. What is interesting about that period is that the U.S. was on the ascendancy much the same as China is today. Cheap food exports from the U.S. to Europe drove European farmers from their land and sent many of them to settle here, in the great waves of immigration that characterized the tumultuous decades of the 19th century. Immigrants believed that the streets here were literally "paved with gold" as they escaped cruel oppression and poverty. Because we did not have a class system here, they knew that they could eat reasonably well IF they worked hard---which they were determined to do. They would be amazed to see our lives.0 -
Ya know, last night I had thai food and thinking about getting this fat and flab off of me as well as this thread...what I did was fill up on lots and lots of water at the restaurant, and a nice/decent size (smaller) portion of the pad thai shrimp and skipped the cashew chicken and had a small portion of thai fried shrimp rice and one Thai Ice tea. Then, I had 3 ice creams...YEP, 3...Lynchee, Green Tea and Thai Coconut ice cream. The difference is, instead of eating a whole scoop of each...I just had a spoonful of each one and ya know what? I was totally and completely FULL, filled to the maximum and totally enjoyed my dinner.
I'm writing this because these dishes were enough for an entire family and we still brought stuff home. My hubby and children are all slim and trim and I'm the only fat one in our family. This is how they eat all the time. This is how people who are slim and trim eat. Afterwards, we walked around the city for some time...instead of getting in the car right away/sitting down--we walked it off. My point is I think another reason for the yucky obesity epidemic is how much food we in the U.S. are eating ALL the time. I hear people on here saying all the time, it's a matter of cals in and exercise out (or something like that). If we are ever as a nation going to kick this ugly, unattractive and unhealthy plague of obesity from our homes and nation, we're(at least I'M) going to have to practice portion control and moving my body afterwards with something as wonderful as a nice walk...not every once in a while, but from now on!
This is why I'm so glad we are MFP friends. You get me... :flowerforyou:
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bump, so this topic rolls over faster.
:flowerforyou:0 -
We moved from Boston to Charlotte 3 yrs ago. The number of fast food places in this place is crazy!! Outside the apartments where we first stayed, these are the places I can list right away: Dominos, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, Bugerking, One Chinese buffet, Two Chinese takeaway places, Hungry Howes, Wings, Red robin, a Mexican place. Across the road there was Macdonalds, Applebee's, Ihop, Paneras, Arby's, Chiptoles, Chick Fil A, O'Charley's,. On the other side was Bojangles. Driving down the other way less than a mile was Jack in a box, Cookout, Sonics, which brings you right into another plaza full of restaurants like Fridays etc. There is a pandas another Chick Fil A, Macdonalds, Starbucks . Across this plaza there is a Quiznos, Chinese food, that place that sells pizza for five bucks and other places. The smell of fried food was nauseating and stagnant in the air.
We moved into our house to a suburb area where you'd expect some quiet and not a lot of fast food. Wrong! On my way to the grocery store less than two miles I pass a Sonics, Then outside the grocery store is a Bojangles, Wendy's, Pizza Hut. Across the street is Subway, Dominos, Chic Fil A, Macdonald. Oh, and a Chinese buffet and Mexican restaurants are next to the grocery store.
Now lets drive down to the Mall area by Target which is like 3 miles from the grocery store. You are right in the middle of a bunch of restaurants like Olive Garden, Red Robin, on the border etc. I can't name them all. Throw in Paneras, Wendy's , McDonald's, Chick Fil A and the food court in the mall.
When I take my daughter to the park, there's a Dominos, Subway right next to it. Then a few miles down the road there is a Taco bells, Chic Fil A, Macdonalds, KFC. Next town over which is 15 minutes drive, there is a blvd of every fast food joint you can think of. It's crazy.
The junk mail we get is coupons to fast food places. I had never seen this in Boston and some of these places are not up there. This city is supposed to be small but it surprises me. The other day I drove out to a town you'd expect to be rural but Lo and behold it was so busy with tons of restaurants and fast food. There is no shortage of places to eat no matter where you are. It's like they have a code to throw in these joints even in the suburbs. They even have restaurant week downtown. And every church usually has a barbecue or fish fry for the public.
Oh the amount of junk food places is crazy. I pass 2 edos, 2 subways, 2 mcdonalds, burger king, dq, mucho burrito, extreme pita, a&w, canadian pizza, boston pizza, 2 chinese food places, fat burger, pizza hut, all on the way to the grocery store. Those are all off just the top of my head lol. it's crazy!
Yep--it does seem that we have never before had such easy access to calories. Those of our ancestors who had to work very hard to get enough calories to avoid starvation would be agog at the plentiful bounty that is set before all of us today.
Wow...this is too deep what you've all said, and especially about our ancestors who had to work VERY hard to get enough cals--something I never considered and for me to think about for sure!
Think about starvation(short term) or fasting, and how we're designed to eat...
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