Diet Dogmas----Were we meant to live like this?

AH, but what have we as a society adopted diet-wise as nutrition? Uses of fat, sugar, and proportion sizes have gone through the roof, especially in the last 30 years. Beginning with children's obesity, it has tripled since 1980 and the reason for that is what they are being given (being taught) to eat.

People definately need to start learning what is better for them to eat and start teaching their children to avoid things that are not good for them.

We take our kids to the mall and get them a pretzel:

Pacify them with a lunchable snack:

Or take them out to "kid's meal" at a resturant:

Add a coke to that...and OH YEAH!...don't forget the refills! ...and the kid has eaten more in one meal than they should all day!

Yes! We need to not only start imposing a proper and smart diet, but start insisting on it! We do't need to pay the diet guru's but we definately need to educate ourselves as a society and turn away from the trends of the past.

...Steps off "his" soapbox...

http://health.msn.com/kids-health/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100244850&page=5

 

But we don't. We eat well past the point of fullness on a regular basis. We eat foods that please the taste buds more than we eat foods that satisfy hunger. We eat foods heavy in sugars and simple carbs and lousy on protein, essential fats, complex carbs, and essential vitamins.

And we don't do nearly enough of it. A typical American will sit for a large part of the day at work, then come home and sit for a large portion of the night in front of the TV. THe reason a lot of people go on fad diets is so they don't have to move more.

You're right, we don't need diet dogmas, because in and of themselves, they dont' work. We need to change our living attitude: Eat less, and move more.

 

It's all about moderation...and in the meantime, while we get fatter..

 

Having lost 65 pounds over the last year without using an organized diet plan, I jokingly have told people I have 3 simple rules:
1. If it looks good, you can't eat it.
2. If it tastes good, you can't eat it.
3. If a rabbit would eat it, you can, but only in the same amount a rabbit would eat.

One of the most helpful pieces of advice I received about losing weight and becoming more healthy was to plan to cheat on what I gave up. I love fried food and fast food, so once in a while I would go to "Checkers", eat their fried, greasy and absolutely wonderful french fries with the biggest cheeseburger I could find. Then go back on my diet.

By the way, I have stayed at my target weight for 6 months now.

 

That's great Tom! Love hearing those stories. Now, let me remind you that if you adopt a good weight resistance exercise routine you can cheat even more while eating some of those things that look and taste good and add a little balance...and still improve on your shape.

 

The way I handle it is I constantly enforce my children to make good nutritional choices. If we buy sugary treats and they gobble them in a matter of a couple days they will not see any more in the house for a month, and they know that, so they conserve. I have thrown away every treat (sweets, cookies, ice cream, chips, etc.) in the house because of a box of cookies or something disappearing in a day. In my home treats are treats and my directions to eat them in moderation will not be ignored. Grr…

I sit and openly criticize those adds for what they are (feeding the messed up mentality of an overweight society through misleadings by producers of food that don’t care about anything but the bottom line…$). My children are taught to make health conscience decisions daily and it is well understood by them that eating is not for the purpose of stuffing one’s gut with junk, it is to nourish the body.

We know that the Hollywood stars train before movies with personal trainers, use make up, camera angles, use air brushing in pictures, etc. and don’t look that good all the time. Those stars also work exceptionally hard to achieve results that go to show that if one is willing to put in the work they will achieve similar results. I see nothing wrong with setting high personal standards and goals to look and be your best and knowing it takes devotion and hard work to reach them.

We certainly agree on that.

It involves breaking habits often instilled from upbringing and adopting new healthy lifestyle changes.

Some things are but I don’t believe in general that is true at all. I can put together large healthy meals that would be for more than one day for what I would pay for one outing at a fast food restaurant. You can buy things such as beans, rice, oats and whole grains in bulk for dirt cheap, lean meat and use it sparingly, vegetables etc.

But one needs to appreciate eating better more than convenience. You know…I hear the same thing about working out (that people just don’t have time) but one can not only find the time but can find joy in doing the things it takes to make the lifestyle changes needed to accomplish these things. When one understands that they will feel better and not be so tired, they will look better and feel better about themselves, have more energy and are able to redirect their time management to suit these things, such excuses amount to little more than lack of self discipline and motivation.

I sympathize that people get caught up in unhealthy lifestyles because that is all they have experienced, often from childhood, and they have such a large whole to climb out of; it is a hard thing to make such major lifestyle changes…but that doesn’t stop me from cracking the whip and say “GET STARTED”.

Yes it is...And I am long winded about those things...:type:

 

Although eating less and moving more is certainly a key objective it almost always takes much more organization, details, and goal oriented plans of action than just attempting to do those things, especially for those who are already struggling with their weight. It’s also very important to adopt lifestyle changes that include good and balanced nutrition and regular exercise routines. Personally, I don’t eat “diet foods” I eat a primarily “healthy diet” and exercise. Understand that exercise is work and should consist of the proper movements that the body needs for correct development. Doing these makes one feel and look better than any ordinary everyday household work or occasional activity could ever accomplish. Regularly planned progressive exercise is a work that pays off well.

In general many of those things would be helpful but are not sufficient toward maintaining a satisfactory regular exercise schedule unless done on a “very” regular basis which involves stepping up the challenges to reach higher goals and often still lacks overall conditioning. There is a big difference between household work and overall muscle and cardio training. For example: I basically quit working out because of being preoccupied over a period of a few years in which I worked my tail off building cabinets to save money and then to build a large house and found myself in the worst shape of my life when finished.

There is really nothing better than re-organizing WHAT you eat and adopting a regular scheduled exercise routine along with eating less and moving more, especially if one has a hole to dig out of.

 

Cardio, cardio, cardio. Yes, taking a walk after dinner, and things like that will help, but the most effective thing to do is to elevate your heartrate, and maintain that elevation for at least 15 minutes or more. So, if you're going for a walk after dinner, make it a brisk fast walk, and try to stay out of the house for 20 minutes. I guarantee, when you get back into the house, you'll feel like you have mroe energy, not less.