Devolution
Member
I just fry everything in fatback.
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Why are so many people such physically broken messes?
- Thread starter JB1981
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I just fry everything in fatback.
teruterubozu
Member
The Japanese generally eat the same kinds of things these days as the US, but they just walk more.
ClassyPenguin
Banned
One thing that always gets me is seeing parents give soda in their toddler's sippy cups and giving fast food as a reward.
PuppetSlave
Member
juice is basically just sugar anyway, drink water.
Portions are huge in the US. I was in NYC for vacation (from Europe) and it was pretty insane, at most places me and my GF could've split one portion between us and still have been completely happy. And don't get me started on those litre-sized drinks you can get at fast food places...
Umm...no?
dinazimmerman
Incurious Bastard
I think culture and education are important factors, too. Not just the fact that unhealthy food is tasty and cheaper than healthy food.
BobsRevenge
I do not avoid women, GAF, but I do deny them my essence.
Yeah, the food culture in the US is more about eating until you're stuffed. I might not be representative of the country, but when I go out to eat I'm disappointed if I leave and don't feel stuffed. Like I didn't get my money's worth.
ElectricBlue187
Member
It is easier to find the time to exercise when you a) don't have young kids anymore who you have to keep a constant eye on or b) have a partner who will watch the kids for you
For me I have neither a or b so during the weeks I have my son it's nearly impossible for me to go for a bike ride
Yeah. I was raised to eat that way. This stretches out your stomach and it takes more and more food to feel stuffed. Your body gets used to it and it is very difficult to start eating less.
teruterubozu
Member
Compared to 30 years ago? Yes. And it will get closer in the future.
Personally I don't find much difference between カール and Cheetos.
astroturfing
Member
Yeah. I was raised to eat that way. This stretches out your stomach and it takes more and more food to feel stuffed. Your body gets used to it and it is very difficult to start eating less.
why do you need to feel "stuffed" after eating? thats not good. i always quit eating before i feel full. maybe a few times a year i eat so much that i feel stuffed, but its really rare. there is simply no need to eat so much. it has been shown that restricting calory intake and feeling slightly hungry almost all the time is actually healthy. certainly much healthier than feeling stuffed every day.. plus you get used to feeling hungry, it feels normal to me now.
Its habitual, a very difficult habit to break. You don't feel full unless stuffed and if you don't feel full, you get hungrier later anyway. Bad habits die hard let me tell you.
astroturfing
Member
i guess. i just personally dont get it. i feel like a lot of people just stuff themselves because its seen as a virtue to eat a lot, to eat a full plate.. i mean, at least here in Finland its rude to eat smaller portions if youre eating dinner with others. you are always offered more, and then some more... i know my mom does it every single time i visit. she always makes too much food, too damn much.
it should not be considered "polite" or a virtue to stuff yourself full. its non-sensical.
now if someone has an actual food addiction or something, then i can understand it. like you said habits are hard to break.
Lord Ghirahim
Member
Pathological/psychological/cultural/societal issues. Take your pick.
.la1n
Member
A thousand times this. As someone who relies completely on public transit and a bicycle as a means of transportation I absolutely hate how far I need to go sometimes to get something I need. Don't even want to get started on the current state of public transit for reliability.
BobsRevenge
I do not avoid women, GAF, but I do deny them my essence.
If you're visiting someone, it makes sense. The logic behind that is pretty simple. You're going to stuff yourself if you like the food, because it tastes amazing and you want more.
The eating until stuffed thing at every meal is a problem, unless you work out a lot. It's something I deal with when I'm dieting by eating less meals. Right now I'm back to putting on muscle, so having a huge stomach is helpful to meet my caloric needs. :lol
I can eat a fully loaded burrito bowl from Chipotle, even if I'm barely hungry, without issue. So at least it's coming in useful now.
Lord Ghirahim
Member
A host that expects their guests to stuff themselves is not thinking in a healthy manner.
A guest that accommodates such a custom is not thinking in a healthy manner either.
I have to admit, I don't know what a カール is (urban dictionary told me, "curl" also means "lifting a weight with your shlong"). But in a bunch of typical Japanese small restaurants, e.g. Kaiten-Zushi, Yakitori, Udon-Soba places etc, and especially the public eateries at Uni, where I used to eat twice a day, the food is totally different from what you may find in the States. Especially you almost always get served green tea or water for free. Even at places like Mos Burger etc.
You are most probably right in the assumption that the gap will get closer in the future, but to imply the Japanese "generally eat the same kinds of things" is, in my opinion, a bit exaggerated. It's no wonder a fat kid in Japan is still a sight to behold.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Understanding the factors that lead to them making those decisions, and possibly working to change those factors.
Fake Edit: Not sure if you were sarcastic
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
The funny part is that everyone got so up in arms over Bloomberg's soda restriction in NYC but the thought process behind it, by his own admission, was explicitly about the issue we're talking about here: when you give people larger portions they're more likely to eat/drink it all even if they'd be satisfied with less. It was never about saying "you cannot drink this much soda". Of course I still think its a woefully ineffective measure, but I didn't see it as an attack on freedom like some people seemed to.
BobsRevenge
I do not avoid women, GAF, but I do deny them my essence.
There are more important things in question than any health consequences that might occur from one meal.
If someone is having a feast, you feast.
It isn't that obesity isn't a problem, it's just that it's one problem in a sea of problems that everyone has, including you, and I'm not sure I'd consider your problems to be less important (although I might). Consider these, as very straightforward examples:
Lack of education is a serious problem. Just as you might wonder why some people can be so lazy that they don't do exercise, I wonder how people can be so lazy that they don't graduate from college with a good GPA and maximize their professional productivity.
Smoking, like obesity, causes serious medical risks that the rest of us will be paying for if you have emphysema or cancer at an early stage of life.
Alcohol use can cause serious physical problems as well, but can also cause serious familial issues. An alcoholic dad, for example, is less likely to be an engaged dad, and a disengaged dad is more likely to raise a brat who is a drain on the system in their own right.
Poor use of your financial resources can also cause serious problems for everyone. If you go bankrupt, the bank will raise premiums on everyone else to compensate for the money they lost on you.
I could keep going, but hopefully my point is clear; everybody makes mistakes. Very few people don't make serious ones in their life. How many people are non smoking, non drinking, physically fit people who got 4.0 GPAs and never get in to financial trouble? If you hate or scorn people for these problems, you're essentially admitting that you scorn ~90% of the population. I'm not saying you can't do that, I just want to make sure that your philosophy is internally consistent.
Lack of education is a serious problem. Just as you might wonder why some people can be so lazy that they don't do exercise, I wonder how people can be so lazy that they don't graduate from college with a good GPA and maximize their professional productivity.
Smoking, like obesity, causes serious medical risks that the rest of us will be paying for if you have emphysema or cancer at an early stage of life.
Alcohol use can cause serious physical problems as well, but can also cause serious familial issues. An alcoholic dad, for example, is less likely to be an engaged dad, and a disengaged dad is more likely to raise a brat who is a drain on the system in their own right.
Poor use of your financial resources can also cause serious problems for everyone. If you go bankrupt, the bank will raise premiums on everyone else to compensate for the money they lost on you.
I could keep going, but hopefully my point is clear; everybody makes mistakes. Very few people don't make serious ones in their life. How many people are non smoking, non drinking, physically fit people who got 4.0 GPAs and never get in to financial trouble? If you hate or scorn people for these problems, you're essentially admitting that you scorn ~90% of the population. I'm not saying you can't do that, I just want to make sure that your philosophy is internally consistent.
Fudgepuppy
Banned
Because some people just get more satisfaction out of eating something unhealthy than going to the gym.
Before I found LCHF, I kinda accepted being fat because I was never really happy when I was trying really hard to lose weight by eating right and going to the gym.
Before I found LCHF, I kinda accepted being fat because I was never really happy when I was trying really hard to lose weight by eating right and going to the gym.
PS3GamerKyle
Member
But I think the point that you are missing is, those other issues that you bring up, should be secondary to one's health. Personal health should be everyone's first and foremost priority in life. So while I understand that people make mistakes, and that may lead to some of the issues you brought up (bankruptcy, low grades, etc.), bad personal health cannot be easily excused as it is the result of a slew of issues that can be rectified.
In your opinion. For example, I think education is more important than physical health; I'd rather be friends with an intelligent obese person than a physically fit simpleton. I'm okay if you disagree with this.
A poor education can also be rectified (just work harder in school, or go back to school if you've already graduated), so can bad financial choices (just stop spending your money on anything but food/transportation/etc, and save up every extra penny for potential problems down the line), so can smoking, so can drinking.
I'm now imagining an obese man who is financially and academically successful wondering how the jock can be so stupid and poor, while the physically fit guy who didn't do so well in school ridicules the nerd for being so fat. It seems like we'd all be better off if we stopped pointing fingers at each other for our mistakes and flaws, because we all have them -- and moreover, we all have some that could be rectified if we'd just work harder at school, or work harder at the gym, or stopped buying cigarettes. "Your problems are worse than mine!" just escalates the argument, in my opinion, to an even more vociferous form of finger pointing.
TheRagnCajun
Member
Americans are victims to their own food industry. They grow up eating whats been fed to them: highy processed, sugary, genetically modified, low-fibre, but inexpensive food. That food becomes your pallete. On top of that, Americans don't leave themselves much time to eat. Dinner is the only meal that gets properly perpared for many.
So eating healthy is actually a big deal in America. It requires a lot of self-education, paying more money, being counter-cultural, and changing your pallete. Eating whole grains instead of white, and making sure its actually healthier. Have you actually looked at multigrain cheerios? They added so much sugar its worse than regular cheerios.
Anyways my point is, these are all hurdles that keep Americans fat. From what I've seen in Europe, its a stark contrast. For Europeans, the quality of food is much higher by default, you don't necessarily have to seek it out. They have a much better work/life balance, more time to prepare food and eat. They grow up eating healthy, and so they have a pallate for healthy food.
So eating healthy is actually a big deal in America. It requires a lot of self-education, paying more money, being counter-cultural, and changing your pallete. Eating whole grains instead of white, and making sure its actually healthier. Have you actually looked at multigrain cheerios? They added so much sugar its worse than regular cheerios.
Anyways my point is, these are all hurdles that keep Americans fat. From what I've seen in Europe, its a stark contrast. For Europeans, the quality of food is much higher by default, you don't necessarily have to seek it out. They have a much better work/life balance, more time to prepare food and eat. They grow up eating healthy, and so they have a pallate for healthy food.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
You think it should be, others don't. Different priorities.
malingenie
Member
Yep. That's exactly where you and I differ. Imagine the possibility that the bolded statement is not true. Definitely is not for me so far in life. Can't think of anything more boring than exercise and maintenance to spend my time on. Don't give a damn if it means less lifespan, what matters is doing things you like while you are alive.
PuppetSlave
Member
That is an part of the whole no carb group... I eat low carb as well but that is mainly because that lets me eat more meat. My breakfast for instance is always oatmeal while my lunch is usually meat and vegetables.
In the end it's calories in, calories out. Sure some people have super good or super bad genes or whatever, but in most cases it simply works. People just give up to easily and expect super results way to soon. It's a slow and steady grind. When I cut I aim for losing 1 pound a week and I am not always seeing that pound drop off every week.
What annoys me is when people act like low carb diets are somehow magically better at the same total calorie intake. It's just a matter of what fills you up the most and not giving up when the weight fluctuates. You can lose weight on candy if eat low enough amounts but it would be bloody torture and your body would get severe malnutrition issues, but the weight would drop...
CitizenCope
Member
All these people that can't find time for the gym i'm with you and have not been to the gym in 15 yrs. Thing is I've still found time to get a work out in to get fit and it couldn't be easier. Wake up and do 33 pushups, now repeat that 8-10 times a day. This should be no more than 10 minutes of your day. And I've raised a kid too, CRAZY!
I'll get some sit ups in while watching my favorite shows. So easy and convenient. On another day I'll do pull ups with a $30 doorway bar and some days it's dips in the corner of my kitchen counter. I also do these like the pushups, throughout the day when I have 45 seconds.
Running is boring to me and so time consuming so I just sprint up a hill by my house a few times and get that heart rate pumping. I am done in 10 to 15 minutes. This is 2-3 times a week max.
This is not everyone's answer but its mine to keep from looking "physically broken".
I'll get some sit ups in while watching my favorite shows. So easy and convenient. On another day I'll do pull ups with a $30 doorway bar and some days it's dips in the corner of my kitchen counter. I also do these like the pushups, throughout the day when I have 45 seconds.
Running is boring to me and so time consuming so I just sprint up a hill by my house a few times and get that heart rate pumping. I am done in 10 to 15 minutes. This is 2-3 times a week max.
This is not everyone's answer but its mine to keep from looking "physically broken".
Those things aren't necessarily unhealthy but they have TONS of calories. I had to stop eating bread and cereal completely because it just took away such a huge chunk of my calorie budget. My breakfast used to be a bowl of cereal, two sandwiches and a fruit (~600 kcal), now that I eat oatmeal porridge and a piece of fruit it's 350 kcal and keeps me full just as long. The old notion of a third of your diet consisting of carbohydrates is very outdated.
EleventhDoctor
Banned
I think you are me.
Join a gym with a daycare, many gyms now have this. Or workout at the home when the baby is sleeping/napping.
3 days a week. Telling me this is impossible ?
entremet
Member
I don't know why people always have to recommend gyms. Gyms aren't necessary for weight loss. I like gyms personally. But a healthy diet with a brisk walk once a day is enough, mixed in with some body weight exercises. Diet is really the kicker here.
Most overweight people--including myself formerly--have terrible diets, usually in the form of excess sugar. Unfortunately our fat phobia has shifted a lot of calories to sugary processed foods. Combine that with the terrible food culture in the US--lack of cooking, too much snacking, too much fast food, and you have a recipe for obesity.
.la1n
Member
Thank you. A gym is not needed to drop weight. Clean up your sloppy diet, and you'll lose weight.
I call bullshit on anyone who "doesn't have time" to eat healthy.
This is such a cop out, I'm sorry. You make time. If you can't dedicate 30-45mins every few days to exercise you need to re-evaluate your time management. I own a business and work a lot and always find time to exercise.
Why don't you learn playing the Banjo? If you can't dedicate 30-45 minutes every day to practice the banjo you need to re-evaluate your time management.
Other people. Other priorities.
Because playing the banjo is detrimental to ones health.
wickedcapedkid
Member
Ah, not entirely true. Many of us, when we think of Japan, instantly think of a major metropolitan area. However, outside of the big cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, etc, lie the suburban wastelands where you must use a car and there are many drive-thru eateries.
Consequentially, if you do live in Tokyo there are just as many unhealthy restaurants lining the blocks, along with Soda vending machines at every step, just begging your after-work exhausted self to indulge.
In reply to your comment: We do not eat the "same" kinds of foods as Americans do, however... while I would agree that the availability of burgers and fried chicken is fairly plentiful, we have our own plentiful amount unique junk food which include beef bowls, yakisoba, ramen, nikupan, kara-age, curry-rice, and more. While this is indeed Japanese food, it's also a direct dose of carbs and sugar that your body doesn't need. Additionally, if you look at Japanese restaurants and izakayas, there aren't really many recipes or dishes that include hefty servings of vegetables like there are in Korea and China. Instead you will commonly be served big bowls of empty carbs and seaweed.
Like the case of America, the best alternative is to just cook your own food at home. Of course, vegetables are not always the cheapest.
Learning an instrument is good for you. Just like exercise. Do it.
Well then they ought to re-evaluate their priorities.
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