The average person doesn't know what healthy is
Replies
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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?
Pink salt may have more trace heavy metals than regular salt. But it looks so pretty.5 -
It appears many people suffer from too much information and not enough information at the same time. You see things that are absolutely normal and healthy labeled as unhealthy, and things that are absolutely unnecessary touted as healthy and essential.18
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People should really mind their own business. It's so rude and tacky to comment on what's on someone else's plate or pantry!
When I first stopped eating meat like 15 years ago I would always get derogatory comments and I was thinking "what do you care? I didn't ask you to not eat meat! Hell, I'll cook it for you!"
I am obese (why do people always say overweight? I wish I were merely overweight. But that's 30 lbs away). Lots of ups and downs over the past 10 years. I know what healthy is (basically don't BE obese lol).
Whenever I am in the downward path I do become more adventurous with foods, I want what tastes good to me, I'll try new recipes or techniques, I'll buy fancier ingredients.
If they sold Himalayan pink salt here I am pretty sure I would have tried that.9 -
If you want real danger forget all about hamburger helper (we don't have that in the UK btw) and pink salt, get some Indian Black Salt in your pantry... that stuff is lethal!!!
(If you've smelt some you know what I'm saying)
Back to the lack of food knowledge though...
when I was at school we had proper cooking lessons (not that I needed much help, my mum was a great cook). For a while those seemed to be phased out in the UK. However, a friend told me a couple of years ago her daughter was doing cookery at school and had brought home a list of ingredients to take in to school to make apple crumble. The list said "tin of apple pie filling and packet of crumble mix". My friend helped her daughter make the filling using (shock horror) real apples that she had to peel and chop and everything (put the results in a tupperware to take in, AND prepared the crumble at home (placing it in a ziploc bag). Mum got told off by the teacher because her daughter didn't bring in exactly what was on the list.3 -
I find it amazing that some stores don’t carry XS sizes anymore
but they do carry XXL and even XXXL!10 -
I find it amazing that some stores don’t carry XS sizes anymore
but they do carry XXL and even XXXL!
I often have to shop in the teen and children's range because too many stores no longer stock XS. Buying clothes can be a very frustrating procedure because as a 40+ year old I don't necessarily want to be wearing the fashion of our younger folk. I actually prefer shorts that cover my behind and tops that don't show my stomach!6 -
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...
Looks nice as a lamp, too. But the one at my job is melting into a saltwater pool.0 -
I started using almond milk in my coffee because I HATE skim milk and I'm trying to go with a lower fat alternative. Otherwise I'd be drinking raw milk (you can get it in PA).
Years ago, I gave up salt on a lark for a New Year's resolution. It stuck (I wish other changes were that easy). I used to put so much salt on stuff it would be crunchy, now I eschew the salt shaker. However, I do have quite the collection of salts. As an ingredient I use either kosher (Diamond is the brand I prefer) or pickling salt. For finishing I will use grey Celtic (great on cookies) or the pink Himalayan (because its PINK). I have the black Indian salt (FYI smells like sulphur and is often used to enhance egg flavor, especially in vegetarian cooking). I have several others as well, but can't think of them off the top of my head.
Food is Bizarre (love Andrew Zimmern). One culture's delish is another culture's disgust. There are a lot of ethnic markets in this area, I love hitting the different ones for ingredients and stuff. The Chinese restaurant we go to, we've gotten to be friends with the owners. Many times we'll go in and "mama-san" will come out with a small plate and say, "This was our dinner tonight." Sometimes I'll have to be polite, and sometimes it's amazing! My BF worked in a Chinese restaurant and got a taste for some of the "our dinner" things that I can't do. Meanwhile, I like durian - the trick is getting past the smell. LOL4 -
yes5
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I think with most people it's either the "creep" of habits and weight that just get rolled on into normalcy, or if they know and recognise there are things they are ignoring on purpose, fear and anxiety get in the way of doing anything about it. I know when I reached my highest weight (about 185 at 5'5) I was puzzled how I could be considered obese, I was active and ate well right? Well I was active in spurts (sports twice a week, not much else) and while I ate vegetables, I also ate bread, cheese and starchy carbs in really quite large portions. Not exactly denial, just no fresh look had been honestly done in a while. It was a creep for me, I'd got to my high weight over some years, after some life changes that I let steer my choices and habits instead of being in charge of them. At first I tried out the "body acceptance" thing and justified a lot to myself before I realised I was just kidding myself and the answer to feeling off about it all wasn't to adjust my way of thinking, but to actually make some changes. Not everyone is practically minded, I'm lucky to be a pragmatic doer type of personality in this case.7
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I believe that humans are natural eaters. We want to eat more. The more we eat, the better our chances of mating, moving to better hunting/ gathering grounds, defending against predators, ect. We have two options, move more and burn off that energy, or get fat and eat more because we weigh more. Enter in today's modern environment. We have to move a lot less. Average American gets about 5-6000 steps a day. The average hunter gather walks 17km in a day according to a research paper I read. We now have access to Hyperpalitable, energy dense, and cheap, both in gathering and cost, food everywhere. BOOM! We gain weight. The body will resist weight loss because it thinks we are in a famine. It then pushes us to regain to be "safe". Evolution/ creation at it's best and worst.4
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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.
I have a grinder of it JUST for using on baked potatoes and eggs or for my husband to use on meat. I also have regular old iodized salt for everything else.2 -
I really hope by "the average person doesn't know what healthy is" you're including aspects of health that aren't related to weight...4
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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.
Exactly. There is nothing more "healthy" about any salt. Things like pink salt, sea salt, etc. only add a tiny bit of flavor and/or texture to a dish, they do not add any nutrients. Yes, many have some trace minerals but you have to eat 2 cups of salt a day to get any benefit from them. Of course, you won't be around to enjoy those benefits because 2 cups of salt will kill you.
I have 3 salts in my kitchen. My general purpose salt is kosher. If I need something fine grained, I use pickling salt (because I do some canning in the summer and pickling salt dissolves faster in the brine). I also use Malden flake salt for finishing a dish because I like the crunch.
BTW, I never saw pink salt when I was in Nepal. It is a western "thing".7 -
I really hope by "the average person doesn't know what healthy is" you're including aspects of health that aren't related to weight...
Yes I am. I've been told "you're addicted to lifting weights". I lift an hour a day 5x a week. My roomates think its crazy that I ride my bike to my parents house sometimes - it is like 9 miles, not that far. Most people I know probably can't run a mile without stopping and they are fine with that.
I've also been told it's a bit weird that I cut my drinking down to 1-3 drinks a week. It's a lot more than wieght.
Obviously not everyone I know says these things but I do hear them and I just think it's a bit odd that things like this are even getting negative reactions.4 -
youcantflexcardio wrote: »I really hope by "the average person doesn't know what healthy is" you're including aspects of health that aren't related to weight...
Yes I am. I've been told "you're addicted to lifting weights". I lift an hour a day 5x a week. My roomates think its crazy that I ride my bike to my parents house sometimes - it is like 9 miles, not that far. Most people I know probably can't run a mile without stopping and they are fine with that.
I've also been told it's a bit weird that I cut my drinking down to 1-3 drinks a week. It's a lot more than wieght.
Obviously not everyone I know says these things but I do hear them and I just think it's a bit odd that things like this are even getting negative reactions.
Is it possible you're sending off a vibe that people are reacting to?17 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »youcantflexcardio wrote: »I really hope by "the average person doesn't know what healthy is" you're including aspects of health that aren't related to weight...
Yes I am. I've been told "you're addicted to lifting weights". I lift an hour a day 5x a week. My roomates think its crazy that I ride my bike to my parents house sometimes - it is like 9 miles, not that far. Most people I know probably can't run a mile without stopping and they are fine with that.
I've also been told it's a bit weird that I cut my drinking down to 1-3 drinks a week. It's a lot more than wieght.
Obviously not everyone I know says these things but I do hear them and I just think it's a bit odd that things like this are even getting negative reactions.
Is it possible you're sending off a vibe that people are reacting to?
This is what I was wondering...I live a pretty healthy lifestyle and nobody has ever said anything to me about it...but I just do my thing...I don't really talk about it...nobody would know whether or not I weighed out my steak or chicken or whatever.10 -
youcantflexcardio wrote: »I really hope by "the average person doesn't know what healthy is" you're including aspects of health that aren't related to weight...
Yes I am. I've been told "you're addicted to lifting weights". I lift an hour a day 5x a week. My roomates think its crazy that I ride my bike to my parents house sometimes - it is like 9 miles, not that far. Most people I know probably can't run a mile without stopping and they are fine with that.
I've also been told it's a bit weird that I cut my drinking down to 1-3 drinks a week. It's a lot more than wieght.
Obviously not everyone I know says these things but I do hear them and I just think it's a bit odd that things like this are even getting negative reactions.
How old are you, or at least how old are the people who are commenting? Are you just talking about your roommates?
I don't know anyone who would think it was weird to cut back on drinking, or to walk or bike instead of drive somewhere. Not that I know a lot of people who do those things, but they don't look down at people who do. I know plenty of people who aren't all that healthy, but do try to eat some stereotypically "healthy" foods in the hopes it would help. My parents, who think everything new is ridiculous, buy almond milk and natural PB.
I do think a lot of people have a warped idea of what a healthy weight is. We get many stories here of people who are just out of the overweight range and have family members expressing concern that they are getting too skinny. IMHO people are just too accustomed to seeing overweight people, so they lose perspective.
As far as weighing and logging, I don't think those behaviors are inherently healthy or unhealthy. Some people do think it is weird or obsessive, mostly because it's just foreign to them and they don't understand it. I wouldn't say that someone who thinks weighing portions is weird, doesn't understand what healthy is, though. You can live a healthy lifestyle and never touch a food scale or almond milk.7 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »youcantflexcardio wrote: »I really hope by "the average person doesn't know what healthy is" you're including aspects of health that aren't related to weight...
Yes I am. I've been told "you're addicted to lifting weights". I lift an hour a day 5x a week. My roomates think its crazy that I ride my bike to my parents house sometimes - it is like 9 miles, not that far. Most people I know probably can't run a mile without stopping and they are fine with that.
I've also been told it's a bit weird that I cut my drinking down to 1-3 drinks a week. It's a lot more than wieght.
Obviously not everyone I know says these things but I do hear them and I just think it's a bit odd that things like this are even getting negative reactions.
Is it possible you're sending off a vibe that people are reacting to?
This is what I was wondering...I live a pretty healthy lifestyle and nobody has ever said anything to me about it...but I just do my thing...I don't really talk about it...nobody would know whether or not I weighed out my steak or chicken or whatever.
That's been my experience too (although, I'm still working on reaching my goal). People don't tend to get into things unless you open the door. As my weight loss became more visible, very few people asked what I was doing. Most of them seemed to feel more open to discuss what they were doing. For the few that did ask, I kept it simple. No one asked for details.0 -
youcantflexcardio wrote: »I really hope by "the average person doesn't know what healthy is" you're including aspects of health that aren't related to weight...
Yes I am. I've been told "you're addicted to lifting weights". I lift an hour a day 5x a week. My roomates think its crazy that I ride my bike to my parents house sometimes - it is like 9 miles, not that far. Most people I know probably can't run a mile without stopping and they are fine with that.
I've also been told it's a bit weird that I cut my drinking down to 1-3 drinks a week. It's a lot more than wieght.
Obviously not everyone I know says these things but I do hear them and I just think it's a bit odd that things like this are even getting negative reactions.
How old are you, or at least how old are the people who are commenting? Are you just talking about your roommates?
I don't know anyone who would think it was weird to cut back on drinking, or to walk or bike instead of drive somewhere. Not that I know a lot of people who do those things, but they don't look down at people who do. I know plenty of people who aren't all that healthy, but do try to eat some stereotypically "healthy" foods in the hopes it would help. My parents, who think everything new is ridiculous, buy almond milk and natural PB.
I do think a lot of people have a warped idea of what a healthy weight is. We get many stories here of people who are just out of the overweight range and have family members expressing concern that they are getting too skinny. IMHO people are just too accustomed to seeing overweight people, so they lose perspective.
As far as weighing and logging, I don't think those behaviors are inherently healthy or unhealthy. Some people do think it is weird or obsessive, mostly because it's just foreign to them and they don't understand it. I wouldn't say that someone who thinks weighing portions is weird, doesn't understand what healthy is, though. You can live a healthy lifestyle and never touch a food scale or almond milk.
Well kimny, in my "neck" lol of the woods, seeing people walk and bike places in strange. To OP, we live an alternative lifestyle, weighing, measuring, food/weight, and tracking calories is just some of our "bags". I don't believe it's any worse than people who have multiple partners or live on a commune. It is what it is and to each their own.1
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