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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?

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Replies

  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited September 2017
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Before I started using MFP I honestly never realized that so many people have food on their mind all of the time.

    Maybe it just comes up a lot since this is a diet and fitness site?

    And a 500 calorie piece of cake is the perfect food for someone looking to eat a nutritional low calorie diet?

    Depends. Low calorie compared to what. And what is the composition of the rest of said persons diet that day/week. Context and dose dude. Context and dose. It always amazes me how some people consistently struggle with this concept.

    Cakes, cookies and other grain based desserts make up the highest percentage of calories out of 25 food groups in the US diet.
    http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-that-make-up-most-of-the-calories-american-consume-2015-2

    70% of Americans are overweight/obese.

    Yep, context and dose dude, context and dose.

    It's great that 5-6 posters on this topic have no issue with controlling these item, not like that out in the real world.

    No one said that there aren't many people who have their dosages wrong.
    Plus, I'd wager than "cake culture" makes up an extremely tiny percentage compared to little Debbie's, hostess, nabisco and Keebler that people stock their own cabinets with.

    True, the amount of these items (cakes, cookies, brownies, etc, things I would consider part of the cake culture food group) eaten at work, may be relatively small for some, but the calories are the same regardless of where they are consumed.

    What's really sad is grain based desserts, soda/energy drinks and alcohol, items with virtually no nutritional value, make up 3 of the top 5 sources of calories. Fruits and veggies (with the exception of fried white potatoes) don't even make the top 25 items

    Yup, sweet snacks and drinks are easily overeaten.
    That doesn't invalidate context and dosage. In fact, it proves that dosage matters.

    Without a doubt, and these items are especially easy to consume mindlessly (pick up a doughnut sitting at work, grab a 32 oz regular pop and a candy bar at the gas station, etc) racks up the dosage that the majority of people need to reduce.

    I'm all for individual responsibility, but with the grab and go nature of cake culture in some workplaces, can see it as surely not a positive in people controlling their weight.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    So my unpopular opinion (and it's definitely unpopular among my family and friends, who will not let me do it) is that it would be really fun to do a Thanksgiving dinner based on the food restrictions and documented foods that the Pilgrims actually used, to the extent possible.

    I think it would a great challenge. They did a Top Chef challenge based on this long after I first started talking about it, and I was so excited. My family and friends still tell me it's a terrible, very bad idea, and they want the traditional stuff. (Granted, I like the traditional stuff too.)

    I remember that Top Chef challenge vaguely - it was one of the last seasons I watched the whole thing of - it got too blah after that - too predicable, people who should have been kicked off winning etc
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Winter squash good (had my first of the season yesterday, delicata, although I have a pumpkin and a butternut ready to be prepared), pumpkin spice bad, other than in a pie on Thanksgiving. There's really nothing objectively bad about the mix of spices called pumpkin spice but that they are so overdone this time of the year, probably, so I admit to being curmudgeonly.

    Bringing us back round to Thanksgiving and in particular my vested interested in the Canadian one, my best friend is indeed resuming her hosting of a big feed and it shall be happening in two weeks. I get to get my pumpkin pie on. I laughed when she asked me today if I could make it. Psychic.

    IMO pumpkin pie is one of those things that must be made with fresh pumpkin rather than canned. It's a totally different taste.

    She does both IIRC, last year's pie, which was essentially just for me, was made with fresh. Was delicious.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    katsheare wrote: »
    katsheare wrote: »
    CipherZero wrote: »
    Another unpopular (at least among those who'd rather not lift weights): Most people with back pain don't have a bad back, they have a weak back, and deadlifts will solve the problem.

    [waits for the inevitable n=1 can't deadlift cries...]

    This here is why I know I need to start getting more weight work in. I'm sticking with bodyweight for the moment, but I know I've got a weak back, weak arms, weak hands, and I know I need to fix that.

    Pushups, planks and tricep dips will strengthen your back and core.

    That is precisely where I am (happily! Good to know I'm on the right track) but the pushups are a massive challenge for me. I'm actually doing the September 60-minute Plank challenge (on target to get my 60 mins in for the month!) and I'm hoping that I'll be able to incorporate what I'm doing with plank into a pushup.

    I'm also doing more Pilates, as I've been advised (by a physio I was seeing a couple months ago) it would help with shoulder strength, which I think is actually my biggest hurdle.

    Once I feel confident with my own bodyweight, I'll move on to weights beyond me...

    Back bows as well. I'm pretty dang strong in the core and they are still a *kitten* for me.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    3bambi3 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    So my unpopular opinion (and it's definitely unpopular among my family and friends, who will not let me do it) is that it would be really fun to do a Thanksgiving dinner based on the food restrictions and documented foods that the Pilgrims actually used, to the extent possible.

    I think it would a great challenge. They did a Top Chef challenge based on this long after I first started talking about it, and I was so excited. My family and friends still tell me it's a terrible, very bad idea, and they want the traditional stuff. (Granted, I like the traditional stuff too.)

    I think this would be so much fun! Thanksgiving lobster? Yes, please.

    Why doesn't anyone else appreciate this?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    So my unpopular opinion (and it's definitely unpopular among my family and friends, who will not let me do it) is that it would be really fun to do a Thanksgiving dinner based on the food restrictions and documented foods that the Pilgrims actually used, to the extent possible.

    I think it would a great challenge. They did a Top Chef challenge based on this long after I first started talking about it, and I was so excited. My family and friends still tell me it's a terrible, very bad idea, and they want the traditional stuff. (Granted, I like the traditional stuff too.)

    I would love that! It would make a great day-after-Thanksgiving festivity. Well, as long as it was till things like turkey, venison, pheasant, quail, assorted fish and shellfish, cornbread, beans and pumpkin, and not, say, beaver, land-beaver, buffalo privates, and pemmican. If you want to recreate a Sauk or Potawatomi dinner, you could also throw in raccoon. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-01-18/news/0801180042_1_raccoon-trappers-illinois-department (I have probably shared this before, but the article delights me to no end).

    I was just discussing this years harvest with a gentleman in IT, and after lamenting his attempts to trap a woodchuck (land beaver) that is ravaging his garden, he noted that chucks are tasty eating. I managed to keep a straight face and said I heard they were delicious, but you must keep the paws on if you want to sell them, so people don't think you have dressed a cat. I am noted for my handy and insightful tips, as you can imagine. :D:o

    You are weird. Weird like me, granted, but still... ;-)

    I've actually seen woodchucks around my place, or not too far away. They were walking along this cemetery where I have also seen skunks. Of the wildlife I see regularly, I prefer the rabbits which are all over the neighborhood!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    3bambi3 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    So my unpopular opinion (and it's definitely unpopular among my family and friends, who will not let me do it) is that it would be really fun to do a Thanksgiving dinner based on the food restrictions and documented foods that the Pilgrims actually used, to the extent possible.

    I think it would a great challenge. They did a Top Chef challenge based on this long after I first started talking about it, and I was so excited. My family and friends still tell me it's a terrible, very bad idea, and they want the traditional stuff. (Granted, I like the traditional stuff too.)

    I think this would be so much fun! Thanksgiving lobster? Yes, please.

    Why doesn't anyone else appreciate this?

    People like the traditions they grew up with. On years we eat with my in-laws they refuse to even change up the side dishes. It is exactly the same meal every year. At least my side of the family likes to mix up the sides.
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    So my unpopular opinion (and it's definitely unpopular among my family and friends, who will not let me do it) is that it would be really fun to do a Thanksgiving dinner based on the food restrictions and documented foods that the Pilgrims actually used, to the extent possible.

    I think it would a great challenge. They did a Top Chef challenge based on this long after I first started talking about it, and I was so excited. My family and friends still tell me it's a terrible, very bad idea, and they want the traditional stuff. (Granted, I like the traditional stuff too.)

    I would love that! It would make a great day-after-Thanksgiving festivity. Well, as long as it was till things like turkey, venison, pheasant, quail, assorted fish and shellfish, cornbread, beans and pumpkin, and not, say, beaver, land-beaver, buffalo privates, and pemmican. If you want to recreate a Sauk or Potawatomi dinner, you could also throw in raccoon. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-01-18/news/0801180042_1_raccoon-trappers-illinois-department (I have probably shared this before, but the article delights me to no end).

    I was just discussing this years harvest with a gentleman in IT, and after lamenting his attempts to trap a woodchuck (land beaver) that is ravaging his garden, he noted that chucks are tasty eating. I managed to keep a straight face and said I heard they were delicious, but you must keep the paws on if you want to sell them, so people don't think you have dressed a cat. I am noted for my handy and insightful tips, as you can imagine. :D:o

    You are weird. Weird like me, granted, but still... ;-)

    I've actually seen woodchucks around my place, or not too far away. They were walking along this cemetery where I have also seen skunks. Of the wildlife I see regularly, I prefer the rabbits which are all over the neighborhood!

    Well, I thought the IT guy was weird. I am more helpful. Possibly an enabler.

    At any rate, the best possible thing you could eat would be buffalo steaks cooked outside, seared directly on a bed of hardwood coals, from a bonfire you have burned down all day. That might be difficult in your part of Chicago, regrettably.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Before I started using MFP I honestly never realized that so many people have food on their mind all of the time.

    Maybe it just comes up a lot since this is a diet and fitness site?

    And a 500 calorie piece of cake is the perfect food for someone looking to eat a nutritional low calorie diet?

    Depends. Low calorie compared to what. And what is the composition of the rest of said persons diet that day/week. Context and dose dude. Context and dose. It always amazes me how some people consistently struggle with this concept.

    Cakes, cookies and other grain based desserts make up the highest percentage of calories out of 25 food groups in the US diet.
    http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-that-make-up-most-of-the-calories-american-consume-2015-2

    70% of Americans are overweight/obese.

    Yep, context and dose dude, context and dose.

    It's great that 5-6 posters on this topic have no issue with controlling these item, not like that out in the real world.

    No one said that there aren't many people who have their dosages wrong.
    Plus, I'd wager than "cake culture" makes up an extremely tiny percentage compared to little Debbie's, hostess, nabisco and Keebler that people stock their own cabinets with.

    True, the amount of these items (cakes, cookies, brownies, etc, things I would consider part of the cake culture food group) eaten at work, may be relatively small for some, but the calories are the same regardless of where they are consumed.

    What's really sad is grain based desserts, soda/energy drinks and alcohol, items with virtually no nutritional value, make up 3 of the top 5 sources of calories. Fruits and veggies (with the exception of fried white potatoes) don't even make the top 25 items

    Yup, sweet snacks and drinks are easily overeaten.
    That doesn't invalidate context and dosage. In fact, it proves that dosage matters.

    Without a doubt, and these items are especially easy to consume mindlessly (pick up a doughnut sitting at work, grab a 32 oz regular pop and a candy bar at the gas station, etc) racks up the dosage that the majority of people need to reduce.

    I'm all for individual responsibility, but with the grab and go nature of cake culture in some workplaces, can see it as surely not a positive in people controlling their weight.

    I still contend that such a "cake culture" where free snacks are available on a daily (or even weekly) basis does not exist for the average American.
    But whatever...think it's a real problem if you want to.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Before I started using MFP I honestly never realized that so many people have food on their mind all of the time.

    Maybe it just comes up a lot since this is a diet and fitness site?

    And a 500 calorie piece of cake is the perfect food for someone looking to eat a nutritional low calorie diet?

    Depends. Low calorie compared to what. And what is the composition of the rest of said persons diet that day/week. Context and dose dude. Context and dose. It always amazes me how some people consistently struggle with this concept.

    Cakes, cookies and other grain based desserts make up the highest percentage of calories out of 25 food groups in the US diet.
    http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-that-make-up-most-of-the-calories-american-consume-2015-2

    70% of Americans are overweight/obese.

    Yep, context and dose dude, context and dose.

    It's great that 5-6 posters on this topic have no issue with controlling these item, not like that out in the real world.

    No one said that there aren't many people who have their dosages wrong.
    Plus, I'd wager than "cake culture" makes up an extremely tiny percentage compared to little Debbie's, hostess, nabisco and Keebler that people stock their own cabinets with.

    True, the amount of these items (cakes, cookies, brownies, etc, things I would consider part of the cake culture food group) eaten at work, may be relatively small for some, but the calories are the same regardless of where they are consumed.

    What's really sad is grain based desserts, soda/energy drinks and alcohol, items with virtually no nutritional value, make up 3 of the top 5 sources of calories. Fruits and veggies (with the exception of fried white potatoes) don't even make the top 25 items

    I totally agree that it's terrible that the average person in the US eats so few veg, but veg would never rank high on what people eat ranked by calories in that they are quite low cal. I aim for 10+ servings of veg per day, and still they don't rank #1 on my calorie sources, or even close.

    I wish I logged better, but looking at a day last week where I logged and ate about 10 servings of veg (total calories were less than 1700), and was trying to eat lower carb, higher fat and had 127 g protein, 34 g sugar, my main sources of calories were:


    1) Meat (consisting of salmon and turkey) (388 kcal)
    1) Nuts (nuts and nut butter, which I dipped chocolate in) (388 kcal)
    3) Veg (more carrots and red peppers and less greens than usual, so might skew higher) (280 kcal)
    4) Dairy (190 kcal)
    5) Oil (all olive on that day) (180 kcal)
    6) Eggs (154 kcal)
    7) Chocolate (85 kcal)
    8) Fruit (I juiced half a lime) (about 5 kcal -- normally would have more, but was lowering carbs)

    If you wanted to critique my diet, oil has essentially no nutrients, chocolate is not insignificant, fruit is really low, and dairy and nuts probably higher than nutrition would really justified (but it's one day). Still a reasonably nutritious day and well below my personal TDEE (which suggests to me there's some room for 138 kcal of less nutritious stuff) and still veg are not top and would not reasonably be (unless I were a vegan or vegetarian and even then aren't legumes and all grains (like corn) and potatoes in separate categories from veg?

    Wondering if sweet oats would count as "grain-based dessert"? No real reason why they shouldn't, as some would eat them (or cereal) as such.

    This. I eat a ton of fruit and vegetables, yet they never appear in my top calorie sources on Cronometer. If you were looking at where the bulk of my calories came from for the last week, the top sources are things like gumbo, lentils, and cashew cheese. The only time vegetables show up is when they're mixed in a dish with more calorie-dense foods like rice, coconut milk, or plant oils.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    edited September 2017
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Before I started using MFP I honestly never realized that so many people have food on their mind all of the time.

    Maybe it just comes up a lot since this is a diet and fitness site?

    And a 500 calorie piece of cake is the perfect food for someone looking to eat a nutritional low calorie diet?

    Depends. Low calorie compared to what. And what is the composition of the rest of said persons diet that day/week. Context and dose dude. Context and dose. It always amazes me how some people consistently struggle with this concept.

    Cakes, cookies and other grain based desserts make up the highest percentage of calories out of 25 food groups in the US diet.
    http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-that-make-up-most-of-the-calories-american-consume-2015-2

    70% of Americans are overweight/obese.

    Yep, context and dose dude, context and dose.

    It's great that 5-6 posters on this topic have no issue with controlling these item, not like that out in the real world.

    No one said that there aren't many people who have their dosages wrong.
    Plus, I'd wager than "cake culture" makes up an extremely tiny percentage compared to little Debbie's, hostess, nabisco and Keebler that people stock their own cabinets with.

    True, the amount of these items (cakes, cookies, brownies, etc, things I would consider part of the cake culture food group) eaten at work, may be relatively small for some, but the calories are the same regardless of where they are consumed.

    What's really sad is grain based desserts, soda/energy drinks and alcohol, items with virtually no nutritional value, make up 3 of the top 5 sources of calories. Fruits and veggies (with the exception of fried white potatoes) don't even make the top 25 items

    I totally agree that it's terrible that the average person in the US eats so few veg, but veg would never rank high on what people eat ranked by calories in that they are quite low cal. I aim for 10+ servings of veg per day, and still they don't rank #1 on my calorie sources, or even close.

    I wish I logged better, but looking at a day last week where I logged and ate about 10 servings of veg (total calories were less than 1700), and was trying to eat lower carb, higher fat and had 127 g protein, 34 g sugar, my main sources of calories were:


    1) Meat (consisting of salmon and turkey) (388 kcal)
    1) Nuts (nuts and nut butter, which I dipped chocolate in) (388 kcal)
    3) Veg (more carrots and red peppers and less greens than usual, so might skew higher) (280 kcal)
    4) Dairy (190 kcal)
    5) Oil (all olive on that day) (180 kcal)
    6) Eggs (154 kcal)
    7) Chocolate (85 kcal)
    8) Fruit (I juiced half a lime) (about 5 kcal -- normally would have more, but was lowering carbs)

    If you wanted to critique my diet, oil has essentially no nutrients, chocolate is not insignificant, fruit is really low, and dairy and nuts probably higher than nutrition would really justified (but it's one day). Still a reasonably nutritious day and well below my personal TDEE (which suggests to me there's some room for 138 kcal of less nutritious stuff) and still veg are not top and would not reasonably be (unless I were a vegan or vegetarian and even then aren't legumes and all grains (like corn) and potatoes in separate categories from veg?

    Wondering if sweet oats would count as "grain-based dessert"? No real reason why they shouldn't, as some would eat them (or cereal) as such.

    This. I eat a ton of fruit and vegetables, yet they never appear in my top calorie sources on Cronometer. If you were looking at where the bulk of my calories came from for the last week, the top sources are things like gumbo, lentils, and cashew cheese. The only time vegetables show up is when they're mixed in a dish with more calorie-dense foods like rice, coconut milk, or plant oils.

    Lentils are vegetables

    I imagine most days more calories come from fat than vegetables for me.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    jdlobb wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Before I started using MFP I honestly never realized that so many people have food on their mind all of the time.

    Maybe it just comes up a lot since this is a diet and fitness site?

    And a 500 calorie piece of cake is the perfect food for someone looking to eat a nutritional low calorie diet?

    Depends. Low calorie compared to what. And what is the composition of the rest of said persons diet that day/week. Context and dose dude. Context and dose. It always amazes me how some people consistently struggle with this concept.

    Cakes, cookies and other grain based desserts make up the highest percentage of calories out of 25 food groups in the US diet.
    http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-that-make-up-most-of-the-calories-american-consume-2015-2

    70% of Americans are overweight/obese.

    Yep, context and dose dude, context and dose.

    It's great that 5-6 posters on this topic have no issue with controlling these item, not like that out in the real world.

    No one said that there aren't many people who have their dosages wrong.
    Plus, I'd wager than "cake culture" makes up an extremely tiny percentage compared to little Debbie's, hostess, nabisco and Keebler that people stock their own cabinets with.

    True, the amount of these items (cakes, cookies, brownies, etc, things I would consider part of the cake culture food group) eaten at work, may be relatively small for some, but the calories are the same regardless of where they are consumed.

    What's really sad is grain based desserts, soda/energy drinks and alcohol, items with virtually no nutritional value, make up 3 of the top 5 sources of calories. Fruits and veggies (with the exception of fried white potatoes) don't even make the top 25 items

    I totally agree that it's terrible that the average person in the US eats so few veg, but veg would never rank high on what people eat ranked by calories in that they are quite low cal. I aim for 10+ servings of veg per day, and still they don't rank #1 on my calorie sources, or even close.

    I wish I logged better, but looking at a day last week where I logged and ate about 10 servings of veg (total calories were less than 1700), and was trying to eat lower carb, higher fat and had 127 g protein, 34 g sugar, my main sources of calories were:


    1) Meat (consisting of salmon and turkey) (388 kcal)
    1) Nuts (nuts and nut butter, which I dipped chocolate in) (388 kcal)
    3) Veg (more carrots and red peppers and less greens than usual, so might skew higher) (280 kcal)
    4) Dairy (190 kcal)
    5) Oil (all olive on that day) (180 kcal)
    6) Eggs (154 kcal)
    7) Chocolate (85 kcal)
    8) Fruit (I juiced half a lime) (about 5 kcal -- normally would have more, but was lowering carbs)

    If you wanted to critique my diet, oil has essentially no nutrients, chocolate is not insignificant, fruit is really low, and dairy and nuts probably higher than nutrition would really justified (but it's one day). Still a reasonably nutritious day and well below my personal TDEE (which suggests to me there's some room for 138 kcal of less nutritious stuff) and still veg are not top and would not reasonably be (unless I were a vegan or vegetarian and even then aren't legumes and all grains (like corn) and potatoes in separate categories from veg?

    Wondering if sweet oats would count as "grain-based dessert"? No real reason why they shouldn't, as some would eat them (or cereal) as such.

    ok. I can't believe nobody addressed this glaring problem that jumped out at me. Bolded.

    "oil has essentially no nutrients"

    That's just flat out false.

    olive oil in particular is rich in fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamin k, and vitamin e

    A carrot cake is going to have some nutrients too, as is a piece of pie, an oatmeal cookie, some ice cream (I like Sicilian pistachio), and Packjohn is dismissing them as low nutrient. Point is (and I was criticizing my own diet) that same can be said for added oil.

    Checking Cronometer, 180 cal of olive oil got me .2 g Omega-3 (so not much), 6 g Omega-6 (but few need Omega 6 as it is all over the US diet), 19% of my E goal, and 13% of my K goal. For so many cals, that's basically nothing, which is fine with me, I consumed it for the taste and because I was eating higher fat/lower carb that day.

    Better choice maybe would have been to exchange half of it for a piece or two of fruit (and more carbs!), but my broader point was that my overall day was fine from a calories and nutrition perspective even with some excess calories on lower nutrient foods.

    Some caution on the antioxidant thing even from an olive oil marketing site: https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-health-news/think-twice-about-antioxidant-claims/25030
  • jdlobb
    jdlobb Posts: 1,232 Member
    your diet is fine. There's nothing at all wrong with that mix of foods you posted. That's a pretty spot on "balanced" nutritious diet. Could maybe use a little less nuts and more fruit, and the chocolate almost definitely had some added sugar that could have been avoided, but it was a pretty small amount.

    If more americans ate a diet like that on a regular basis we wouldn't be such a morbidly fat country.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Before I started using MFP I honestly never realized that so many people have food on their mind all of the time.

    Maybe it just comes up a lot since this is a diet and fitness site?

    And a 500 calorie piece of cake is the perfect food for someone looking to eat a nutritional low calorie diet?

    Depends. Low calorie compared to what. And what is the composition of the rest of said persons diet that day/week. Context and dose dude. Context and dose. It always amazes me how some people consistently struggle with this concept.

    Cakes, cookies and other grain based desserts make up the highest percentage of calories out of 25 food groups in the US diet.
    http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-that-make-up-most-of-the-calories-american-consume-2015-2

    70% of Americans are overweight/obese.

    Yep, context and dose dude, context and dose.

    It's great that 5-6 posters on this topic have no issue with controlling these item, not like that out in the real world.

    No one said that there aren't many people who have their dosages wrong.
    Plus, I'd wager than "cake culture" makes up an extremely tiny percentage compared to little Debbie's, hostess, nabisco and Keebler that people stock their own cabinets with.

    True, the amount of these items (cakes, cookies, brownies, etc, things I would consider part of the cake culture food group) eaten at work, may be relatively small for some, but the calories are the same regardless of where they are consumed.

    What's really sad is grain based desserts, soda/energy drinks and alcohol, items with virtually no nutritional value, make up 3 of the top 5 sources of calories. Fruits and veggies (with the exception of fried white potatoes) don't even make the top 25 items

    I totally agree that it's terrible that the average person in the US eats so few veg, but veg would never rank high on what people eat ranked by calories in that they are quite low cal. I aim for 10+ servings of veg per day, and still they don't rank #1 on my calorie sources, or even close.

    I wish I logged better, but looking at a day last week where I logged and ate about 10 servings of veg (total calories were less than 1700), and was trying to eat lower carb, higher fat and had 127 g protein, 34 g sugar, my main sources of calories were:


    1) Meat (consisting of salmon and turkey) (388 kcal)
    1) Nuts (nuts and nut butter, which I dipped chocolate in) (388 kcal)
    3) Veg (more carrots and red peppers and less greens than usual, so might skew higher) (280 kcal)
    4) Dairy (190 kcal)
    5) Oil (all olive on that day) (180 kcal)
    6) Eggs (154 kcal)
    7) Chocolate (85 kcal)
    8) Fruit (I juiced half a lime) (about 5 kcal -- normally would have more, but was lowering carbs)

    If you wanted to critique my diet, oil has essentially no nutrients, chocolate is not insignificant, fruit is really low, and dairy and nuts probably higher than nutrition would really justified (but it's one day). Still a reasonably nutritious day and well below my personal TDEE (which suggests to me there's some room for 138 kcal of less nutritious stuff) and still veg are not top and would not reasonably be (unless I were a vegan or vegetarian and even then aren't legumes and all grains (like corn) and potatoes in separate categories from veg?

    Wondering if sweet oats would count as "grain-based dessert"? No real reason why they shouldn't, as some would eat them (or cereal) as such.

    This. I eat a ton of fruit and vegetables, yet they never appear in my top calorie sources on Cronometer. If you were looking at where the bulk of my calories came from for the last week, the top sources are things like gumbo, lentils, and cashew cheese. The only time vegetables show up is when they're mixed in a dish with more calorie-dense foods like rice, coconut milk, or plant oils.

    Lentils are vegetables

    I imagine most days more calories come from fat than vegetables for me.

    Technically, yes. I tend to consider legumes a somewhat separate category, but I realize not everyone does.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited September 2017
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Before I started using MFP I honestly never realized that so many people have food on their mind all of the time.

    Maybe it just comes up a lot since this is a diet and fitness site?

    And a 500 calorie piece of cake is the perfect food for someone looking to eat a nutritional low calorie diet?

    Depends. Low calorie compared to what. And what is the composition of the rest of said persons diet that day/week. Context and dose dude. Context and dose. It always amazes me how some people consistently struggle with this concept.

    Cakes, cookies and other grain based desserts make up the highest percentage of calories out of 25 food groups in the US diet.
    http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-that-make-up-most-of-the-calories-american-consume-2015-2

    70% of Americans are overweight/obese.

    Yep, context and dose dude, context and dose.

    It's great that 5-6 posters on this topic have no issue with controlling these item, not like that out in the real world.

    No one said that there aren't many people who have their dosages wrong.
    Plus, I'd wager than "cake culture" makes up an extremely tiny percentage compared to little Debbie's, hostess, nabisco and Keebler that people stock their own cabinets with.

    True, the amount of these items (cakes, cookies, brownies, etc, things I would consider part of the cake culture food group) eaten at work, may be relatively small for some, but the calories are the same regardless of where they are consumed.

    What's really sad is grain based desserts, soda/energy drinks and alcohol, items with virtually no nutritional value, make up 3 of the top 5 sources of calories. Fruits and veggies (with the exception of fried white potatoes) don't even make the top 25 items

    I totally agree that it's terrible that the average person in the US eats so few veg, but veg would never rank high on what people eat ranked by calories in that they are quite low cal. I aim for 10+ servings of veg per day, and still they don't rank #1 on my calorie sources, or even close.

    I wish I logged better, but looking at a day last week where I logged and ate about 10 servings of veg (total calories were less than 1700), and was trying to eat lower carb, higher fat and had 127 g protein, 34 g sugar, my main sources of calories were:


    1) Meat (consisting of salmon and turkey) (388 kcal)
    1) Nuts (nuts and nut butter, which I dipped chocolate in) (388 kcal)
    3) Veg (more carrots and red peppers and less greens than usual, so might skew higher) (280 kcal)
    4) Dairy (190 kcal)
    5) Oil (all olive on that day) (180 kcal)
    6) Eggs (154 kcal)
    7) Chocolate (85 kcal)
    8) Fruit (I juiced half a lime) (about 5 kcal -- normally would have more, but was lowering carbs)

    If you wanted to critique my diet, oil has essentially no nutrients, chocolate is not insignificant, fruit is really low, and dairy and nuts probably higher than nutrition would really justified (but it's one day). Still a reasonably nutritious day and well below my personal TDEE (which suggests to me there's some room for 138 kcal of less nutritious stuff) and still veg are not top and would not reasonably be (unless I were a vegan or vegetarian and even then aren't legumes and all grains (like corn) and potatoes in separate categories from veg?

    Wondering if sweet oats would count as "grain-based dessert"? No real reason why they shouldn't, as some would eat them (or cereal) as such.

    And your main sources of calories, if the above is typical, are generally nutrient dense foods, because, I assume you make a conscious effort to eat that way. I'm pretty sure we can agree that's not how the typical American rolls.

    From the link I posted, calories from grain based desserts, pop/energy drinks and alcohol make up over 15% of the average adult American's daily caloric intake. Since you're log doesn't show any of those items, it means mathematically someone else is eating your share.

    The table lists 25 food groups and fruit or veggies don't show up (except fried white potatoes). It goes down to an average of 29 calories a day for salad dressing. A small apple is in the 80-100 calorie range. So basically people are eating less then 1/3 serving of fruit per day on average. One serving of raw carrots is 25 calories, so 2 servings would be in the chart.
    You can tell few people are eating veggies either.
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