"No Mayo?" Why Americans Are Fat

With whole foods, portion control is almost self correcting.

People are so afraid of fats, but try eating 2000 calories of fat, just try eating 1000 cals of fat. Not only will you get full quickly, you won't be hungry again for hours.

Portion control becomes an "science" when we eat carbs with no fiber i.e. potato chips and fruit juice.

Not to mention the depletion of all of the micronutrients. Its typically feast or famine in that arena with process foods. We've managed to create a food source with 200% of your daily requirement of one nutrient with 0% of everything else. So now people are having tons of weird cravings.

It takes a whole lot more to feel full on process foods, hence the ridiculous portion sizes that we've been eating since the 1980s.

What are you trying to argue here, buddy? That a diet shouldn't consist solely of processed foods? Is anyone even pushing that agenda? No.

If you're trying to tell us that the only way to lose weight would be to completely rid your diet of processed foods, then I'd tell you you're full of crap. That makes about as much sense as Paleo or telling me I need to become a fruitarian or something.

Did I say any of that?

No.

I'm saying that process foods do not provide you with the same nutrients as whole foods and are not as satiating.

You argue that that statement is "full of crap"?

Can you give an example of a process food that is satisfying, nutrient rich and doesn't increase the calories in mass?

Steak. Are you cutting it yourself off of a cow you slaughtered? No? Then somebody processed it for you. Everything is processed. "Processed food" is the most meaningless, BS term ever created.

Can you give an example of a process food that is satisfying, nutrient rich and doesn't increase the calories in mass?

Cheese. Wine (not only "processed food", but one with health benefits). Yogurt/Greek yogurt. Peanut Butter (and other nut butters).

I personally think the word "processed" is thrown around way too much. Processed simply means prepared. The chicken you're eating...do you actually feed, kill, clean, and cut the chicken yourself? Probably not, therefore it is processed. Same thing with just about everything you eat. Just because something is "processed" does not make it void of nutrition.

You pitched steak against the pop tart

Now let's see you pitch a natural product - the potato, against my completely processed one, a highly nutritious protein bar

Bare in mind that the majority of potatoes end up being fried

You pitched steak against the pop tart

Now let's see you pitch a natural product - the potato, against my completely processed one, a highly nutritious protein bar

Bare in mind that the majority of potatoes end up being fried

How much sugar is in your "nutritious" protein bar?

How many calories/ounce?

Processed foods will throw the nutritional value out of whack, so you load up on calories and a very specific nutrient but are otherwise deficient.

I personally think the word "processed" is thrown around way too much. Processed simply means prepared. The chicken you're eating...do you actually feed, kill, clean, and cut the chicken yourself? Probably not, therefore it is processed. Same thing with just about everything you eat. Just because something is "processed" does not make it void of nutrition. I think processing becomes bad when you take an otherwise healthy food and remove the nutrients from it. This is why I don't drink apple juice. Why would I want to drink a 150 calorie bottle of apple juice with an enormous amount of sugar added and depleted of most nutritional value when I can just eat an apple, only consume a fraction of the calories and sugar, feel satisfied, and get all the macro and micro nutrient benefits? That's where I think processing becomes bad.

I personally think the word "processed" is thrown around way too much. Processed simply means prepared. The chicken you're eating...do you actually feed, kill, clean, and cut the chicken yourself? Probably not, therefore it is processed. Same thing with just about everything you eat. Just because something is "processed" does not make it void of nutrition.

You're being very general. Do you honestly think that of all the thousands of protein bars, they have yet to come up with a nutritionally balanced bar?

You're being very general. Do you honestly think that of all the thousands of protein bars, they have yet to come up with a nutritionally balanced bar?

1) If they did, no American would eat it because it would be bland without a lot of added sugar

2) They would probably not call it a 'protein bar'.

But you're right, I'm speaking in generalizations and I'm sure that there is a process food that has the fiber, micro and macro nutrients, I just can't think of any.

Typically, the reasons that process foods are made is because they are more lucrative due to their longer shelf life, they can be more easily manipulated into various items (1 bag of corn chips versus 5 ears of corn to produce it) and they have enhanced sweetness (HFC).

None of that is for the purposes of good health.

The market demands certain things like higher protein or more vitamin C and the next process foods has that added in (and nothing more).

There are overweight people in every country.
Once, I would like to hear someone say "'..And this is why Germans/Brits/Italians/etc are fat."
I understand that the US has a higher rate, but if you think about it, our states are the size of most European countries.

Yeah, I totally agree. Only Americans are fat and this is clearly why.

Why all this arguing?

Can we not agree that some lose weight by eating whatever they want in smaller portions, while others lose weight by doing in it a more conscious manner i.e. being selective about what nourishes them on the path to weight loss.

The quality, portions and type of food offered to the average middle class family in restaurants is pretty bad. Many people on this forum have openly admitted to not knowing how to cook or what to cook before they embarked on their journey to health.

Let's not forget the $1.00 menu crap that is thrown at us on every street corner. You want to call that "food" and make it fit in your daily calorie intake? Fine. Why argue with the OP who chooses to be more selective.

I agree.

Personally, I was simply address the argument that people are obese because they are sitting on a couch eating copious amounts of jelly doughnuts.

Yes, restricting calories will cause you to eventually lose weight. However, done in the absence of the nutrients that your body needs will result in cravings and subsequent over eating to make up the difference. Its one of the reasons that cravings are often so specific (fries, candy, ect...).

When a person eats a lot of foods that have had major nutrients removed (what most of us call processed) they get a lot of calories without the nutrients that they would have eaten if the foods were whole.

A more accurate picture of an obese American would be someone that gets all of their vitamin C from juice, all of their protein from a bar, a microwavable meal that was stored at room temp and tack on another 400 cal from impulsively snacking, because they are always craving something.

Its the difference in American obesity pre 1980s and post 1980s, portion control was self correcting because a 500 - 700 calorie meal satisfied their bodies needs. Now were get a lot of empty calories from nutritionally shallow foods.