Damn, we're getting fat.

David777 said:
Many people habitually eat way too large of meal portions that cause their stomachs and gastrointestinal systems to enlarge. Once that happens their digestive systems by way of mental craving expects one to eat more continuing as a vicious cycle. Our ancesters never consumed foodstuffs at the rate or frequency modern humans do. A person that consumes smaller portions at meals can enjoy eating just as much as someone regularly pushing in food until they reach a bloating feeling. Another thing many do is eat too fast, wolfing down large mouthfuls by habit instead of taking time to slowly enjoy savoring each bite of food. Our ancestors generally consumed far less red meat, fatty foods, and sweets and instead much more vegetables and grains that our gastrointestinal tracks evolved to process safely. Additionally the 3 large meals a day narrative is only a modern idea as food preparation centuries ago required considerable effort so ordinary people only consumed one primary meal.

One can easily change to a habit of eating only one larger meal each day with just one or two small ones at a snack level. For a couple weeks one will obviously feel more hungry, however the body readily adapts. I worked decades doing so and my BMI has remained near 22. In fact have gone years at times during career years never eating breakfast. The only period my weight moved higher was when I worked at a major hi tech corp where they had several subsidized cafeterias with several daily large portion meal choices, especially usual meat meals groups of us spent our lunches at. That period in my 40s also seemed to age me most until I stopped.
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As usual one size does not fit all. Diabetics require a somewhat strict mealtimes Schedule, as do others with other medical issues.
 

Looking at old photographs (50s-60s-70s) it's amazing how skinny people were.

Lots of people smoked back then, but still...does anybody know what happened? I can't figure it out. There are enormously fat people everywhere in the US. There must be multiple causes, but I don't know what they are.
 

JimBob1952 said:
Looking at old photographs (50s-60s-70s) it's amazing how skinny people were.

Lots of people smoked back then, but still...does anybody know what happened? I can't figure it out. There are enormously fat people everywhere in the US. There must be multiple causes, but I don't know what they are.
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People used to eat broth for a meal, yup a bowl of broth made from bones. Breakfast was oatmeal. Food was hard to come by and candy was truly a treat. It’s mostly the abundance of food that has caused the problem.
 
I'm not one of the "we". I used to be, though. It took a year and a half to lose a whole lotta pounds, and in that 18 months, I had to learn how, when and what to eat all over again.

From time to time I've put on some extra pounds and then had to struggle to get it back off. It's easy to pack it on, not so easy to get it off.

To paraphrase Scarlett O'Hara, as God is my witness, I'll never be fat again.
 
I don't want to preach here and I don't want to pretend that I know it all. I don't! However, this morning I was in a grocery store and looked at some of the stuff that they sell. There were bags and bags of chips, weird cookies with pink icing on it and bags and bags of high calorie candies. You know what I bought? Here it is: 2 bananas, small box of blueberries, small box of raspberries and 3 containers of Yogurt. I have posted before that I enjoy eating healthy, I do floor exercises 5 times/week and I walk outside 5 times/week for about 1/2 hours.

Your body is designed to keep moving. Simple fact: if you are eating too much but not exercising to burn off those calories, the food you eat turn into fat. Simple fact. Think of your body as your temple. Be good and be kind to your temple. Abuse it and you will pay the price.

Oh, by the way: They used to say that the young people needed to say NO to drugs. Well, some folks out there and there are millions of them, they need to say NO to eating in restaurants and say NO to buying junk food. At the same time, they need to say YES to walking and exercise.

Sorry, but that is the way the cookie crumbles!
 
Irwin said:
People need to exercise. If you don't, your muscles get weak. Your body was designed for your muscles to help support your joints, and when they don't, the tissue between your joints wears away and you wind up with painful bone on bone arthritis. The problem is compounded if you're obese.
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Exercise makes me hungry. Then I have to eat more. 😊
 
Packerjohn said:
I don't want to preach here and I don't want to pretend that I know it all. I don't! However, this morning I was in a grocery store and looked at some of the stuff that they sell. There were bags and bags of chips, weird cookies with pink icing on it and bags and bags of high calorie candies. You know what I bought? Here it is: 2 bananas, small box of blueberries, small box of raspberries and 3 containers of Yogurt. I have posted before that I enjoy eating healthy, I do floor exercises 5 times/week and I walk outside 5 times/week for about 1/2 hours.

Your body is designed to keep moving. Simple fact: if you are eating too much but not exercising to burn off those calories, the food you eat turn into fat. Simple fact. Think of your body as your temple. Be good and be kind to your temple. Abuse it and you will pay the price.

Oh, by the way: They used to say that the young people needed to say NO to drugs. Well, some folks out there and there are millions of them, they need to say NO to eating in restaurants and say NO to buying junk food. At the same time, they need to say YES to walking and exercise.

Sorry, but that is the way the cookie crumbles!
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Speaking of cookies, if you break a cookie into pieces, the calories float up into the atmosphere.
 
Don M. said:
Obesity is an epidemic....affecting over 35% of our people, and the root cause of 1/3rd of our nations health care costs. It is not only prevalent among the Seniors, but also people of all ages....it's amazing to see so many school age children carrying excess weight. Diet and exercise seems to be forgotten by millions of our people.

I suspect that if statistics were available, we would find that the majority of those who have become seriously ill, or died, from Covid, were also substantially overweight.

It is pretty normal for people to put on a few pounds when they retire, but so many of those "waddling around" look more like a beached walrus, than a human being.
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So true. And obesity does increase the chances of severe Covid symptoms. I won't copy/paste. There are many articles.

But to be fair, there are many in our population who can't afford healthy food and feed the family at McDonald's or who live in "food deserts" where decent grocery stores and healthy food don't exist, and they can't afford to travel long distances.
 
Irwin said:
People need to exercise. If you don't, your muscles get weak. Your body was designed for your muscles to help support your joints, and when they don't, the tissue between your joints wears away and you wind up with painful bone on bone arthritis. The problem is compounded if you're obese.
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You're so right. I work out and take Collagen Peptides for joint health. I want to be mobile for as long as I possibly can.
 
David777 said:
Many people habitually eat way too large of meal portions that cause their stomachs and gastrointestinal systems to enlarge. Once that happens their digestive systems by way of mental craving expects one to eat more continuing as a vicious cycle. Our ancesters never consumed foodstuffs at the rate or frequency modern humans do. A person that consumes smaller portions at meals can enjoy eating just as much as someone regularly pushing in food until they reach a bloating feeling. Another thing many do is eat too fast, wolfing down large mouthfuls by habit instead of taking time to slowly enjoy savoring each bite of food. Our ancestors generally consumed far less red meat, fatty foods, and sweets and instead much more vegetables and grains that our gastrointestinal tracks evolved to process safely. Additionally the 3 large meals a day narrative is only a modern idea as food preparation centuries ago required considerable effort so ordinary people only consumed one primary meal.

One can easily change to a habit of eating only one larger meal each day with just one or two small ones at a snack level. For a couple weeks one will obviously feel more hungry, however the body readily adapts. I worked decades doing so and my BMI has remained near 22. In fact have gone years at times during career years never eating breakfast. The only period my weight moved higher was when I worked at a major hi tech corp where they had several subsidized cafeterias with several daily large portion meal choices, especially usual meat meals groups of us spent our lunches at. That period in my 40s also seemed to age me most until I stopped.
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You're exactly right. Prior to retirement we used to go out to lunch frequently (I worked from home) and we would eat large portions. Our dinner portions were pretty large as well and I was still always hungry. Since retirement we eat salads for lunch 5 days a week with chopped-up chicken for protein. I do strength training so I need the protein. I'm rarely hungry anymore and our dinner portions are half what they used to be. Like you, my BMI is also low.
 
When one looks at the amount of various types of food along isles at supermarkets, consider that is a reflection of the actual food products being bought as someone has got to be buying whatever. My county Santa Clara with about 2 million people is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse anywhere. At most supermarkets the long isles with potato chip, cookies, sweets are obviously a major favorite. Also in the frozen food section lots of greasy foods like pizza and other microwavable meat meals. Large isles full of soft drinks, beer, and alcohol. I wonder who is consuming so much of such then look at the bodies in checkout lanes. Of course our prosperous county also has an abundance of greasy fast food restaurants. I love eating many of these things too, however don't make such a regular habit. Last Saturday had a delicious salty fried chicken thigh for $2.69 at a Safeway I might buy every couple weeks. Today for my main meal I mic'd a russet potato and the day before a frozen package of lima beans.
 
I live in Dallas County, so I can relate to your comment re: diversity and food purchases. And don't get me started on the sweat pants and leggings.o_O

We do also treat ourselves to something relatively unhealthy like a hamburger every couple of weeks. We haven't had fried chicken recently but it's sounding good. It has just moved to the top of the list!
 
RadishRose said:
z-meme-36-3.jpg
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Ok, this is horribly caloric and all that, but where can I buy one?
 
After DH and I retired, we started eating our main meal around 1 pm and just something light around 6 or 7 in evening. The reasoning behind it was that we moved around a whole lot more between early afternoon and early evening so eating a big meal later in the day was more likely to go to "waist" and not as likely to digest as well as eating earlier.

Sedentary? Not good. A long walk, even a leisurely one, is better than not moving around at all. Wheelchair bound? Google exercises for wheelchair bound. You don't have to be a power walker or a runner to call it exercise.
 
dseag2 said:
So true. And obesity does increase the chances of severe Covid symptoms. I won't copy/paste. There are many articles.

But to be fair, there are many in our population who can't afford healthy food and feed the family at McDonald's or who live in "food deserts" where decent grocery stores and healthy food don't exist, and they can't afford to travel long distances.
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The food desert myth has been debunked repeatedly. The real problem is ignorance and bad choices, not access to healthy foods. Taking a family of four to McDonald's for dinner costs much more than a healthy dinner at home ever would.

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/foo...trition-gap-between-rich-and-poor-study-finds
 
I've also noticed a "common trait" among those substantially overweight when going through the grocery store checkout....their cart always seems to have a bunch of beer and/or diet soda in it. Consuming large quantities of those "drinks" is a sure recipe for gaining weight.
 
win231 said:
Exercise makes me hungry. Then I have to eat more. 😊
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A couple of years ago when I was 73 I showed a neighbour lady how I can get up quickly from lying on the ground with absolutely no help or support from anyone or anything. She was really amazed and said she could never do that. My secret is not secret at all. Just keep fit by walking, exercise and keep active.
 
fmdog44 said:
That is the reason Americans died by the Covid more than other countries proportionally. Also. notice TV ads and how fat some of the people are because fat is the new norm.
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The overweight people in commercials are due to the efforts of others to end discrimination against various groups-has nothing to do with norms, IMO. Also it’s hard to sell plus size clothes when modeled by size 3 people; and all those snack foods. 😊
 
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