The average person doesn't know what healthy is
Replies
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What is healthiest for one may be less healthy for another.
But yes, most people have no clue about nutrition. I don't know how many times I've been told that my nutrition will suffer without grains, milk or much fruit. Now that keto has gained in popularity it happens a LOT less but for a while there I had some people worried for me. After I lost weight, regained health and energy and felt better than ever. LOL
Most people don't read nutrition books or articles - Women's Weekly doesn't count.12 -
youcantflexcardio wrote: »I've had people ask me why I think I need to lose wieght when I'm at like 27% bf. I've heard people who would medically classify as obese say they are fairly healthy and a little overweight. I've had people tell me I'm weird for weighing out a steak, and call it obsessive to track what you put into your body, or be weirded out by things like almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, or calling my choice to 93% lean ground beef ridiculous etc etc., the list goes on.
This got me thinking - is the average American person really so unhealthy that anything remotely healthy seems foreign and weird?
You couldn’t pay me to drink almond milk, and I’d say I am pretty healthy.
I'm with you on the almond milk: Has calories (even unsweetened), not much protein, not much fat, a little potassium and calcium, and doesn't (to me) even taste good. It's a "but why?" food to me - others are welcome to all of it.23 -
Fairly certain I have almond milk, natural peanut butter, and Himalayan pink salt in my kitchen right now. But unless people are digging through my cabinets they'd have no reason to see or comment on it. Nor do I think having those things makes me more virtuous or healthy than the next person.
I rarely ever get comments about my weight or food choices. I'm amazed at the number of people here who apparently do. I'm a healthy weight and live in a state where 36% of the population is obese (not including overweight - just obese) so it's not as if I'm in a very health-conscious area, either.26 -
youcantflexcardio wrote: »I've had people ask me why I think I need to lose wieght when I'm at like 27% bf. I've heard people who would medically classify as obese say they are fairly healthy and a little overweight. I've had people tell me I'm weird for weighing out a steak, and call it obsessive to track what you put into your body, or be weirded out by things like almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, or calling my choice to 93% lean ground beef ridiculous etc etc., the list goes on.
This got me thinking - is the average American person really so unhealthy that anything remotely healthy seems foreign and weird?
Well, maybe kinda sorta, but it's more complicated:
(1) A lot of people will eschew anything with a health food aura because it doesn't sound tasty to them (even though they've never tried it ).
(2) Humans are human, thus kind of tribal, and tend to think anything statistically unusual is foreign and weird. I've noticed that we're all supposed to like the same music, books, movies, etc., or it's really surprising; and some people even get offended by variant tastes in these trivial things, because we're not running with the herd like decent, sensible people, or something.
Humans are very norm-influenced: Fitting in is good, normal is good. If most people are overweight and don't track food, that's normal. They're normal, you're not. One of the magic powers of advertising is that it creates an illusory norm: All the happy pretty people eat at McD's and grab a Snickers, right? You hardly ever see happy pretty people grabbing Himalyan pink salt in the ads. So H.p.s. is not normal.
(3) Quite a few people don't want to admit to themselves that they're fat, and "othering" weight loss and fitness behaviors is a good cognitive distancing mechanism. They don't want it, they don't need it, only weird people do it, so there.
Also, maybe you need a better class of friends? Most of mine are overweight (like the rest of the US) and eat the things most people eat, but they don't much give me *baby-feline* about my weight (since they got over the initial shock, anyway) or the strange vegetarian high-veggie miso'n'seeds way I eat.
Or maybe I'm just really good at the withering glare.24 -
youcantflexcardio wrote: »I've had people ask me why I think I need to lose wieght when I'm at like 27% bf. I've heard people who would medically classify as obese say they are fairly healthy and a little overweight. I've had people tell me I'm weird for weighing out a steak, and call it obsessive to track what you put into your body, or be weirded out by things like almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, or calling my choice to 93% lean ground beef ridiculous etc etc., the list goes on.
This got me thinking - is the average American person really so unhealthy that anything remotely healthy seems foreign and weird?
I'm not weirded out by foods, but almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, etc are not on my normal shopping list. I don't see why those particular foods have any more health 'virtue' than dairy milk, regular peanut butter, kosher salt, etc.
Just as I believe demonizing foods is an unhealthy approach, giving individual foods a 'health halo' is unhealthy too. An approach that includes a variety of foods that fit one's calorie needs and budget, and does so without creating arbitrary categories for virtue and vice, is preferable to whatever is fad of the moment.
The US could stand to improve education about food and exercise, and how energy balance is key to maintaining a healthy weight. Perhaps if we could do that we'd be less susceptible to fad diets and random lists of Top Ten Foods to Never Eat Again type nonsense.
A spiteful unikitty could only dream....
Himalayan pink salt just tastes better. That's all there is to it. It doesn't make you healthy, it doesn't impart ancient wisdom, it doesn't come with a trip to the Himalayas to hike. But it tastes better, and that's enough for me.28 -
NorthCascades wrote: »youcantflexcardio wrote: »I've had people ask me why I think I need to lose wieght when I'm at like 27% bf. I've heard people who would medically classify as obese say they are fairly healthy and a little overweight. I've had people tell me I'm weird for weighing out a steak, and call it obsessive to track what you put into your body, or be weirded out by things like almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, or calling my choice to 93% lean ground beef ridiculous etc etc., the list goes on.
This got me thinking - is the average American person really so unhealthy that anything remotely healthy seems foreign and weird?
I'm not weirded out by foods, but almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, etc are not on my normal shopping list. I don't see why those particular foods have any more health 'virtue' than dairy milk, regular peanut butter, kosher salt, etc.
Just as I believe demonizing foods is an unhealthy approach, giving individual foods a 'health halo' is unhealthy too. An approach that includes a variety of foods that fit one's calorie needs and budget, and does so without creating arbitrary categories for virtue and vice, is preferable to whatever is fad of the moment.
The US could stand to improve education about food and exercise, and how energy balance is key to maintaining a healthy weight. Perhaps if we could do that we'd be less susceptible to fad diets and random lists of Top Ten Foods to Never Eat Again type nonsense.
A spiteful unikitty could only dream....
Himalayan pink salt just tastes better. That's all there is to it. It doesn't make you healthy, it doesn't impart ancient wisdom, it doesn't come with a trip to the Himalayas to hike. But it tastes better, and that's enough for me.
I'm totally on board with it tasting better, especially when used finishing a dish where a little stands out. But when seasoning food about to be cooked where it won't be noticeable I'd opt for plain old kosher salt.4 -
NorthCascades wrote: »youcantflexcardio wrote: »I've had people ask me why I think I need to lose wieght when I'm at like 27% bf. I've heard people who would medically classify as obese say they are fairly healthy and a little overweight. I've had people tell me I'm weird for weighing out a steak, and call it obsessive to track what you put into your body, or be weirded out by things like almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, or calling my choice to 93% lean ground beef ridiculous etc etc., the list goes on.
This got me thinking - is the average American person really so unhealthy that anything remotely healthy seems foreign and weird?
I'm not weirded out by foods, but almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, etc are not on my normal shopping list. I don't see why those particular foods have any more health 'virtue' than dairy milk, regular peanut butter, kosher salt, etc.
Just as I believe demonizing foods is an unhealthy approach, giving individual foods a 'health halo' is unhealthy too. An approach that includes a variety of foods that fit one's calorie needs and budget, and does so without creating arbitrary categories for virtue and vice, is preferable to whatever is fad of the moment.
The US could stand to improve education about food and exercise, and how energy balance is key to maintaining a healthy weight. Perhaps if we could do that we'd be less susceptible to fad diets and random lists of Top Ten Foods to Never Eat Again type nonsense.
A spiteful unikitty could only dream....
Himalayan pink salt just tastes better. That's all there is to it. It doesn't make you healthy, it doesn't impart ancient wisdom, it doesn't come with a trip to the Himalayas to hike. But it tastes better, and that's enough for me.
It also looks pretty in your salt grinder. That's very important. Would be cool if it came with a trip to the Himalayas though...20 -
youcantflexcardio wrote: »I've had people ask me why I think I need to lose wieght when I'm at like 27% bf. I've heard people who would medically classify as obese say they are fairly healthy and a little overweight. I've had people tell me I'm weird for weighing out a steak, and call it obsessive to track what you put into your body, or be weirded out by things like almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, or calling my choice to 93% lean ground beef ridiculous etc etc., the list goes on.
This got me thinking - is the average American person really so unhealthy that anything remotely healthy seems foreign and weird?
I grew up with parents who wouldn't buy real butter because it was bad for us, eating whole what bread, more cabbage soup than I ever needed in my life. No we never had milk substitutes just average cow milk, our salt was plain and our peanut butter was the brand on sale. The food was not adventurous or interesting but more of a focus on affording enough to feed a family of 5. Some of the things you listed are pretty recent to the shelves of my average small town store. 12 years are so ago I could not even buy pita bread around here but now it is common.
I think a lot of people get caught up on lists of foods they think are healthy but there are a lot of ways to eat healthy. If you like what you eat don't worry about what others think. You have lots of choices and can do what you like.
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NorthCascades wrote: »youcantflexcardio wrote: »I've had people ask me why I think I need to lose wieght when I'm at like 27% bf. I've heard people who would medically classify as obese say they are fairly healthy and a little overweight. I've had people tell me I'm weird for weighing out a steak, and call it obsessive to track what you put into your body, or be weirded out by things like almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, or calling my choice to 93% lean ground beef ridiculous etc etc., the list goes on.
This got me thinking - is the average American person really so unhealthy that anything remotely healthy seems foreign and weird?
I'm not weirded out by foods, but almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, etc are not on my normal shopping list. I don't see why those particular foods have any more health 'virtue' than dairy milk, regular peanut butter, kosher salt, etc.
Just as I believe demonizing foods is an unhealthy approach, giving individual foods a 'health halo' is unhealthy too. An approach that includes a variety of foods that fit one's calorie needs and budget, and does so without creating arbitrary categories for virtue and vice, is preferable to whatever is fad of the moment.
The US could stand to improve education about food and exercise, and how energy balance is key to maintaining a healthy weight. Perhaps if we could do that we'd be less susceptible to fad diets and random lists of Top Ten Foods to Never Eat Again type nonsense.
A spiteful unikitty could only dream....
Himalayan pink salt just tastes better. That's all there is to it. It doesn't make you healthy, it doesn't impart ancient wisdom, it doesn't come with a trip to the Himalayas to hike. But it tastes better, and that's enough for me.
I'm totally on board with it tasting better, especially when used finishing a dish where a little stands out. But when seasoning food about to be cooked where it won't be noticeable I'd opt for plain old kosher salt.
Samsies! I read that table salt is the only place we get iodine in our diets, so don't give it up completely.3 -
I wasn't way off before; I thought I was healthiest at 175, which would have been a BMI of 26.6 (would now be 27 as I am shrinking). Now I am mid to upper 150s, not much over a BMI of 24, and thinking I should be down around 150 with a BMI just over 23. It isn't just learning about BMI that makes me think this. It's body fat and where I was carrying it. Plus I got up to 230 at one point and spent a lot of time over 200.
I think people are more aware and don't care or don't think it is worth the effort or make feeble attempts and think it's too late and they can't become one of "those people" anymore. I heard a lot of the defeatist talk before I lost the weight as I was commiserating. Overweight friends and relatives don't talk to me much about it as I don't pull punches. I talk in the first person about how I was, but we both know I am talking about how they are still. I have also pretty much put a stop to the people telling me I am too skinny by telling them this is what healthy looks like and it is a problem that people don't know that.9 -
A lot of people are in denial and a lot of people are just plain lazy and don't care.
They think they are a little over weight but not that bad.
Even seeing themselves in a mirror or picture they will still think they are OK.
I have no idea if nutrition is taught in school any more.
It was in the dark ages when I was in school, it was called Home Ec.
It's just like drivers. Ask anyone to rate their driving and they will almost all say they are an above average driver.
I knew ALL REASON had left the house when I saw size 6x clothing in Walmart.
In Hawaii that is not uncommon.
I saw clothing up to 12X hanging on the rack.
Made me feel small.
I know someone who is easily 60 pounds overweight, who once told me they wanted to lose 10 pounds and not any more because they "didn't want to look too skinny".5 -
I suppose there was a bit of confusion - I wasn't necessarily saying almond milk natural peanut butter or Himalayan pink salt are "healthy", just that they are foods I choose to use to hit my goals, and that the people around me look at them weird and call them "health foods". Of course there's nothing wrong with cows milk, regular pb and standard salt.4
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I’m not in the US but in the UK we also have a problem of more obesity than ever before. While I agree there could be better education on nutrition to help tackle this, I’m not sure it is just about people not being aware.
The truth is we have more access to information about food, health and fitness than ever before - if we want to find it. The internet gives us places like this and a wealth of other resources that weren’t around 50 years ago. There are low-calorie food items available everywhere, there are news items about this all the time. Yet we are fatter than we ever were. Yes, there can be some confusion out there with fads and conflicting advice, but no-one in the developed world can argue that they didn’t realise being very overweight is unhealthy, or that there is no information out there to help them.
It is probably more that modern lifestyles are more sedentary, portion sizes have got bigger, we have more disposable income for eating out and less time to cook and so there is a slow creep which normalises a less healthy lifestyle and weight gain. So overweight looks small, obese looks fairly normal or just a bit overweight etc.
What I’ve found is that people get the concept of a time-limited diet to lose weight, but don’t really understand the concept of maintenance. I constantly have colleagues telling me to eat the cake/treats etc because I’m thin so don’t have to worry about it. But if I were to eat them every time (and they are there ALL the time) I wouldn’t stay at a healthy weight.23 -
There is a good deal of misinformation about what can be considered "healthy."
On an unrelated note, what are the health benefits of pink salt over and above regular table salt?2 -
jennifer_417 wrote: »There is a good deal of misinformation about what can be considered "healthy."
On an unrelated note, what are the health benefits of pink salt over and above regular table salt?
None that I'm aware of it just tastes better IMO2 -
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youcantflexcardio wrote: »I've had people ask me why I think I need to lose wieght when I'm at like 27% bf. I've heard people who would medically classify as obese say they are fairly healthy and a little overweight. I've had people tell me I'm weird for weighing out a steak, and call it obsessive to track what you put into your body, or be weirded out by things like almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, or calling my choice to 93% lean ground beef ridiculous etc etc., the list goes on.
This got me thinking - is the average American person really so unhealthy that anything remotely healthy seems foreign and weird?
You couldn’t pay me to drink almond milk, and I’d say I am pretty healthy.
I'm with you on the almond milk: Has calories (even unsweetened), not much protein, not much fat, a little potassium and calcium, and doesn't (to me) even taste good. It's a "but why?" food to me - others are welcome to all of it.
I prefer the nutty taste that almond milk gives my porridge but for custard or milk on its own, give me regular cows milk thanks!3 -
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »youcantflexcardio wrote: »I've had people ask me why I think I need to lose wieght when I'm at like 27% bf. I've heard people who would medically classify as obese say they are fairly healthy and a little overweight. I've had people tell me I'm weird for weighing out a steak, and call it obsessive to track what you put into your body, or be weirded out by things like almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, or calling my choice to 93% lean ground beef ridiculous etc etc., the list goes on.
This got me thinking - is the average American person really so unhealthy that anything remotely healthy seems foreign and weird?
I'm not weirded out by foods, but almond milk, natural peanut butter, Himalayan pink salt, etc are not on my normal shopping list. I don't see why those particular foods have any more health 'virtue' than dairy milk, regular peanut butter, kosher salt, etc.
Just as I believe demonizing foods is an unhealthy approach, giving individual foods a 'health halo' is unhealthy too. An approach that includes a variety of foods that fit one's calorie needs and budget, and does so without creating arbitrary categories for virtue and vice, is preferable to whatever is fad of the moment.
The US could stand to improve education about food and exercise, and how energy balance is key to maintaining a healthy weight. Perhaps if we could do that we'd be less susceptible to fad diets and random lists of Top Ten Foods to Never Eat Again type nonsense.
A spiteful unikitty could only dream....
Himalayan pink salt just tastes better. That's all there is to it. It doesn't make you healthy, it doesn't impart ancient wisdom, it doesn't come with a trip to the Himalayas to hike. But it tastes better, and that's enough for me.
It also looks pretty in your salt grinder. That's very important. Would be cool if it came with a trip to the Himalayas though...
My love of Himalayan pink salt is 100% aesthetic. It adds such a nice splash of color to my kitchen counter.3
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