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Big food companies urge consumers to eat less
Replies
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z8limbedfighter wrote: »Sugar is your enemy for fat loss. The more you spike your insulin through the day and the more sugar that is in your food, will block your body from using fat as a fuel source. That being said these companies didn't change the product, only there recommendation of how much you should consume. Even with smaller portions the sugar in the food will still inhibit your body from using fat stores. Ideal fat loss is achieved when sugar or carbohydrates is maintained at a level of 5-10% of your daily nutritional value. Around 30% should be proteins, this will sound counter intuitive, but the remainder of the macro nutrients for your body should be fats. Fat is insulin neutral and healthy for you. If you do this it will send your body in a state of ketosis. This basically means that your body is no longer receiving its fuel from "sugar" stored in the liver but rather almost exclusively from fat stores. To conclude, if the food is processed, comes in a pouch, or a little package and your goal is weight loss, do yourself a favor and spit it out. These companies are not on your side, they just want your money.
No, this is not accurate. If you are in a calorie deficit you will lose, and there is absolutely no reason to keep carbs to 5-10% unless you enjoy eating that way or find it makes it easier to stay in a deficit or have some medical issue that it helps with.4 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »No, this is not accurate. If you are in a calorie deficit you will lose, and there is absolutely no reason to keep carbs to 5-10% unless you enjoy eating that way or find it makes it easier to stay in a deficit or have some medical issue that it helps with.
What you are eating is just as important as how much you eat. I can stay in a calorie deficit all day every day eating nothing but junk, this doesn't mean I am effectively losing fat. Nutrition and fitness require more than calorie counting. Everything you put in your body had a chemical effect and the idea is to maximize fat loss using human physiology. Not saying this is easy, it takes discipline, self control and support but the results are amazing.0 -
z8limbedfighter wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »No, this is not accurate. If you are in a calorie deficit you will lose, and there is absolutely no reason to keep carbs to 5-10% unless you enjoy eating that way or find it makes it easier to stay in a deficit or have some medical issue that it helps with.
What you are eating is just as important as how much you eat. I can stay in a calorie deficit all day every day eating nothing but junk, this doesn't mean I am effectively losing fat. Nutrition and fitness require more than calorie counting. Everything you put in your body had a chemical effect and the idea is to maximize fat loss using human physiology. Not saying this is easy, it takes discipline, self control and support but the results are amazing.
Actually yes, it does. It doesn't matter what your calories are made of-if you're eating at the correct calorie deficit for your weight loss goals you'll lose poundage.
I've lost around 50lbs, improved every single health marker and I've been in maintenance for several years now. I eat the same foods I did before, when I was overweight and flirting with prediabetes. The difference is I just eat less of them now ie less calories. I still eat all sorts of 'processed' sugary foods, fast foods etc. As well as veggies and whole grains etc. My diet hasn't changed, the quantity of food I eat has.
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z8limbedfighter wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »No, this is not accurate. If you are in a calorie deficit you will lose, and there is absolutely no reason to keep carbs to 5-10% unless you enjoy eating that way or find it makes it easier to stay in a deficit or have some medical issue that it helps with.
What you are eating is just as important as how much you eat. I can stay in a calorie deficit all day every day eating nothing but junk, this doesn't mean I am effectively losing fat. Nutrition and fitness require more than calorie counting. Everything you put in your body had a chemical effect and the idea is to maximize fat loss using human physiology. Not saying this is easy, it takes discipline, self control and support but the results are amazing.
Yes, if the "junk" includes adequate protein for muscle maintenance, and all else is equal, of course you will effectively lose fat. For maintaining muscle what matters most beyond protein is exercise and having a reasonable deficit and how much that matters depends on how lean you are -- if obese, it really doesn't matter, although I think it's easier to maintain a deficit if you eat generally healthfully.
Of course, none of this has a thing to do with your original claim that it was important to keep carbs to 5-10%. Why on earth would you jump to "eating only junk" (I still am mystified by the idea that anyone would WANT to eat only junk, yet so many seem to go to that strawman) from my no need to keep carbs to 5-10%. Is the only alternative to a super low carb diet "eating only junk"? I eat a quite healthful diet made up of 40-50% carbs, which is what I seem to naturally prefer.3 -
Let's be clear about something, businesses only care about one thing and that's their bottom line. A company would never do something that would be bad for sales. The reason they're doing this is because it makes them look good. It makes them look moral like they have social values and that will lead to more people buying their products. It's the same reason pepsi and coke are funding Michelle Obama's campaign to get kids healthier. They don't care if kids are healthier they just want to make it look like they're "good companies" and that when they lobby in the government to ban having to put added sugars on their label mothers don't go up in arms because they're helping the fight against childhood obesity. But let's be real, no they're not.1
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pebble4321 wrote: »I think they are fighting every way they know how to hang on to their customers as there is an increased health awareness in the community. If they can get some people in (or back in) the door feeling as though they are making an OK choice for themselves and their family, then they are winning.
Clearly it's just another marketing strategy, to present themselves as the good guys, and cashing in on the more health conscious people in the community.
So, to answer your question - absolutely for their own betterment, specifically for the betterment of their financial situation.
I think they're fighting maintain a good image
When it's obviously a lie
And they're going to make the products smaller, but keep the same price, increasing their margins because marketing psychology shows people will pay more for less junk if there's a wrapper that makes them think it's slightly better for them... SMH2 -
I think they make the packages smaller while keeping the prices of all the same, and the "smaller portions for the people" is a simple excuse to make more $$$ with less of a product. Anyone else not notice that a lot of the prepared food now has the same price but its smaller (ie. milk) etc.
This is correct...I work in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry and the practice is commonplace to reduce package size instead of taking a price increase for internal or commodities price increases.1 -
beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »Let's be clear about something, businesses only care about one thing and that's their bottom line. A company would never do something that would be bad for sales. The reason they're doing this is because it makes them look good. It makes them look moral like they have social values and that will lead to more people buying their products. It's the same reason pepsi and coke are funding Michelle Obama's campaign to get kids healthier. They don't care if kids are healthier they just want to make it look like they're "good companies" and that when they lobby in the government to ban having to put added sugars on their label mothers don't go up in arms because they're helping the fight against childhood obesity. But let's be real, no they're not.
So?
No, really. What does that matter? Does it change the thing itself in any way? Are you going to go throw rocks at them because they dare back a good cause with the hopes of getting something out of it for themselves?
A lot of things are wrong with companies, but helping fund positive organizations and movements is not one of them.5 -
beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »Let's be clear about something, businesses only care about one thing and that's their bottom line. A company would never do something that would be bad for sales. The reason they're doing this is because it makes them look good. It makes them look moral like they have social values and that will lead to more people buying their products. It's the same reason pepsi and coke are funding Michelle Obama's campaign to get kids healthier. They don't care if kids are healthier they just want to make it look like they're "good companies" and that when they lobby in the government to ban having to put added sugars on their label mothers don't go up in arms because they're helping the fight against childhood obesity. But let's be real, no they're not.
Corporations, businesses, companies are abstract legal constructions that are composed of actual real people. And many, if not most, of the actual real people who work for the companies DO care greatly about helping other people. My company invests millions of dollars into the community, and its individual employees give millions more and contribute thousands upon thousands of volunteer hours, both through company campaigns and on their own. I guess you could say that anyone who gives a donation to any needy organization or person is only doing it for utterly selfish purposes and just to "look moral like they have social values," but what a sick, cynical worldview, whether it is a company of 10,000 people supporting numerous nonprofits, a small mom-and-pop business pooling donations of Christmas presents for kids, or just one person buying a membership to support a local museum. "THat jerk just gave $50 to United Way because he just wanted his name to be in the annual report. He's not actually moral and caring."
Obviously you don't have a job at either a for-profit or non-profit organization, because if you did, your perspective on how businesses contribute powerfully to the social welfare of a community wouldn't be so shallow and thoughtless.10 -
jmbmilholland wrote: »beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »Let's be clear about something, businesses only care about one thing and that's their bottom line. A company would never do something that would be bad for sales. The reason they're doing this is because it makes them look good. It makes them look moral like they have social values and that will lead to more people buying their products. It's the same reason pepsi and coke are funding Michelle Obama's campaign to get kids healthier. They don't care if kids are healthier they just want to make it look like they're "good companies" and that when they lobby in the government to ban having to put added sugars on their label mothers don't go up in arms because they're helping the fight against childhood obesity. But let's be real, no they're not.
Corporations, businesses, companies are abstract legal constructions that are composed of actual real people. And many, if not most, of the actual real people who work for the companies DO care greatly about helping other people. My company invests millions of dollars into the community, and its individual employees give millions more and contribute thousands upon thousands of volunteer hours, both through company campaigns and on their own. I guess you could say that anyone who gives a donation to any needy organization or person is only doing it for utterly selfish purposes and just to "look moral like they have social values," but what a sick, cynical worldview, whether it is a company of 10,000 people supporting numerous nonprofits, a small mom-and-pop business pooling donations of Christmas presents for kids, or just one person buying a membership to support a local museum. "THat jerk just gave $50 to United Way because he just wanted his name to be in the annual report. He's not actually moral and caring."
Obviously you don't have a job at either a for-profit or non-profit organization, because if you did, your perspective on how businesses contribute powerfully to the social welfare of a community wouldn't be so shallow and thoughtless.
I like you!! well said!!0 -
beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »Let's be clear about something, businesses only care about one thing and that's their bottom line.
I think that's an overstatement (there are many different businesses, after all). But let's assume that's so, as it is in many cases, I'm sure. So?
That's why people have to demand healthier products or more sensible serving sizes or whatever if that's what they want. Just like the demand for other things has led to what we have now, in many cases. There's a niche for companies that appeal to desires for a healthier diet (in some cases run by people who are personally committed to such goals for idealistic reasons, as well as wanting to make a buck), and that's resulted in some options that I'm glad exist. More such is always nice.0 -
queenliz99 wrote: »jmbmilholland wrote: »beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »Let's be clear about something, businesses only care about one thing and that's their bottom line. A company would never do something that would be bad for sales. The reason they're doing this is because it makes them look good. It makes them look moral like they have social values and that will lead to more people buying their products. It's the same reason pepsi and coke are funding Michelle Obama's campaign to get kids healthier. They don't care if kids are healthier they just want to make it look like they're "good companies" and that when they lobby in the government to ban having to put added sugars on their label mothers don't go up in arms because they're helping the fight against childhood obesity. But let's be real, no they're not.
Corporations, businesses, companies are abstract legal constructions that are composed of actual real people. And many, if not most, of the actual real people who work for the companies DO care greatly about helping other people. My company invests millions of dollars into the community, and its individual employees give millions more and contribute thousands upon thousands of volunteer hours, both through company campaigns and on their own. I guess you could say that anyone who gives a donation to any needy organization or person is only doing it for utterly selfish purposes and just to "look moral like they have social values," but what a sick, cynical worldview, whether it is a company of 10,000 people supporting numerous nonprofits, a small mom-and-pop business pooling donations of Christmas presents for kids, or just one person buying a membership to support a local museum. "THat jerk just gave $50 to United Way because he just wanted his name to be in the annual report. He's not actually moral and caring."
Obviously you don't have a job at either a for-profit or non-profit organization, because if you did, your perspective on how businesses contribute powerfully to the social welfare of a community wouldn't be so shallow and thoughtless.
I like you!! well said!!
Well, to my shame, I used to mouth the same platitudes when I was in my 20s and got my paycheck from a state university, which is of course an ivory tower of purity significantly funded through forcible extraction of taxes from selfish immoral entities and individuals. LOL. Seeing the inner workings of corporations and serving on non-profit boards has certainly broadened my knowledge.4 -
jmbmilholland wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »jmbmilholland wrote: »beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »Let's be clear about something, businesses only care about one thing and that's their bottom line. A company would never do something that would be bad for sales. The reason they're doing this is because it makes them look good. It makes them look moral like they have social values and that will lead to more people buying their products. It's the same reason pepsi and coke are funding Michelle Obama's campaign to get kids healthier. They don't care if kids are healthier they just want to make it look like they're "good companies" and that when they lobby in the government to ban having to put added sugars on their label mothers don't go up in arms because they're helping the fight against childhood obesity. But let's be real, no they're not.
Corporations, businesses, companies are abstract legal constructions that are composed of actual real people. And many, if not most, of the actual real people who work for the companies DO care greatly about helping other people. My company invests millions of dollars into the community, and its individual employees give millions more and contribute thousands upon thousands of volunteer hours, both through company campaigns and on their own. I guess you could say that anyone who gives a donation to any needy organization or person is only doing it for utterly selfish purposes and just to "look moral like they have social values," but what a sick, cynical worldview, whether it is a company of 10,000 people supporting numerous nonprofits, a small mom-and-pop business pooling donations of Christmas presents for kids, or just one person buying a membership to support a local museum. "THat jerk just gave $50 to United Way because he just wanted his name to be in the annual report. He's not actually moral and caring."
Obviously you don't have a job at either a for-profit or non-profit organization, because if you did, your perspective on how businesses contribute powerfully to the social welfare of a community wouldn't be so shallow and thoughtless.
I like you!! well said!!
Well, to my shame, I used to mouth the same platitudes when I was in my 20s and got my paycheck from a state university, which is of course an ivory tower of purity significantly funded through forcible extraction of taxes from selfish immoral entities and individuals. LOL. Seeing the inner workings of corporations and serving on non-profit boards has certainly broadened my knowledge.
Ha! Likely true... This coming from someone in a community college system.
You hit the nail on the head, though. You only ever hear about people doing something wrong because that's news. But to think that every single person making up a company and every single company are cogs in some sort of evil machine is to not know.0 -
beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »Let's be clear about something, businesses only care about one thing and that's their bottom line.
...man has almost constant occasion for the help of his brethren, and it is in vain for him to expect it from their benevolence only. He will be more likely to prevail if he can interest their self-love in his favour, and show them that it is for their own advantage to do for him what he requires of them. Whoever offers to another a bargain of any kind, proposes to do this. Give me that which I want, and you shall have this which you want, is the meaning of every such offer; and it is in this manner that we obtain from one another the far greater part of those good offices which we stand in need of. It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages. Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.
- Adam Smith4 -
Would be nice if they cut out hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils too, but this is a start.
Also, don't confuse the business with the shareholders and some bad apple execs that screw things up. A lot of managers and executives are not bad people at all.
Full disclosure: I work for big health care and big private army.2
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