Poor Diet: As Bad As Smoking

I disagree with the last two sentences.

Telling overweight/obese people to JUST eat less and exercise more is like telling an alcoholic to just stop drinking. I wish it were that simple! But, many of us who struggle with weight due so because of emotional eating issues.

My personal example: I've been working to conquer my emotional eating demon for over 3 years. For the past year and a half or so, I've been doing very well and haven't had but 2 or 3 setbacks. I believed that I may have finally exorcised that demon.

However, this past weekend when I found out my mother-in-law was in a coma, my first reaction was to open a package of cookies. I had eaten 4 of them before I even realized what I was doing. I wasn't hungry; I was upset and trying to mask the pain with food. When I realized what I was doing and that my eating sweets wasn't going to bring her out of the coma, I put the cookies away. Yeah, it's great that I was able to stop at 4, because 3 years ago, I would have eaten the entire package. But, I still consumed more calories that day than I had planned, and I still automatically reached for food when I was upset. And, I believe that is why I am still overweight.

That event showed me that I'm going to be struggling with emotional eating the rest of my life, just like a recovering alcoholic has to struggle with not drinking for the rest of his life.

So, while I do agree that to lose weight, everyone needs to consume less calories than they burn (and those calories should be quality!), I do not believe that is the ONLY thing that we have to do. Our emotions play a big part in all of this.

"Between 1988 and 1998, energy intake fell by 5%. The cause of the increase of overweight is rather the over-consumption of food relative to the amount of physical activity undertaken."

Well, it's a surprise here, but maybe that consumers maybe eating more pasta and ice cream and less fruits and vegtables, and people are spending more time in the office.

"Over the course of 10 years (1988-1998), consumption of fruit and vegetables actually declined by between 15% and 20%."

Makes no suprize here, and it does makes the case of people eating more grains and starches.

"Between 1988 and 1998, the consumption of trans fatty acids decreased by over 60% as a result of changes to the composition of margarines and cooking oils. The consumption of saturated fatty acids decreased by 5%, largely due to the successful introduction of lower-fat dairy and meat products."

The Saturated fats here is no suprize, as people were buying more and more skim milk. But Why did America become fatter anyway in 1998 than in 1988? Also, I am VERY suprized about the trans fat part. Maybe Trans fats aren't at all bad after all. However, I do believe that are carbohydrate increase has increased while fiber intake went on a free fall. Still, I would do everything possible to stay away from trans fats, although I would intake in saturated fats.

"Approximately 10% of the total number of deaths in the Netherlands each year can be attributed to an unfavourable dietary composition, while overweight is directly responsible for 5% of deaths."

Maybe they ate a lot of rice, pasta, and cereal. But overall, I think I made this clear that fats arn't the cause, but rather the grain and refined carbohydreates that are plugging up the arteries and screwing up our motabolizm.

But I did sum this straight that we are consuming far too many grains and sugar in our diets. Also, during the last few years, we had a new study that heart disease actually decreased as we were eating more meat in our diets.

And in light at new research shedding new light on low carb diets, it makes me clear that consumption of refined carbohydreates may cause horrid insulin levels and causes an increase in insulin levels.

So, perhaps that this picture points to research that could put the final nail in the coffin about saturated fats and cholesterol theory about heart disease, and because heart attacks were far more common back in 1988, it may be infact the trans fats and refined carbohydreate theory instead on what's causing all kinds of diseases today.

This is a fascinating report indeed. I really liked the fact that they quantified some health risks, and that they did not just look at life expectancy, but also at quality of life.

Many people I know worry very much about things like acrylamide and pesticides, but they eat way too few fruits and vegetables. It seems so futile. I read today that vegetable consumption in our country is up by two kilo's this year. An average household now consumes 74 kilo's of vegetables a year. That's about 200 grams (7 oz) a day. Per household, not per person. I guess that says it all.

Jen: I concur with your thoughts about emotional issues and you have my sympathy regarding your mother-in-law.

This Dutch report is about health rather than simply obesity or being overweight. What I'm attempting to say here is that simple health improvements can be made with just fruit & veg and exercise (i.e. rather than the multitude of pharmaceuticals, or complex diets, etc etc).

With all the complexity surrounding nutrition - it is good to know that there are a few simple tenets that many can benefit from.

Behavioral issues are another story. A big story. In no way would I ever belittle that (too close to home for me). I am personally a great fan of CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy).

You know what? I think this is only going to get worse. The more we demonize food (like banning certain milks from kids etc) - the worse it will get. The fear of food is growing and will lead to all manner of comfort/guilt issues surrounding diet. I remember posting about this in Sinners and Saints.

Wow - that sure puts a dent in my smoke-to-lose-weight plan, eh?

Quote:-
"Eat more fruit and vegetables - and learn how to work up a sweat.
It's really that simple."

Come on, those sentences are bunk! Honestly! Where is your vitamin B12? How will the fat soluable vitamins be absorbed ???

No fatty fish ???

It's funny how the study points the finger at diet and exercise, but nobody in world can agree what constitutes proper diet and exercise!

O.k., this is probably going to get me into trouble, but there are a couple of things, I feel that I want to take issue with.

The thing is that we do know what constitutes proper diet. It's just that for whatever reason, few people are clear about what that is.

For those who don't know, it's eating a balance of nutrients, and just because you increase your intake of fruit and vegetables, doesn't mean that you don't also eat your daily intake of fat in order to absorb your A,D,E & K, provide cushioning for your major organs and get your daily quota of essential fatty acids.

Fat is as essential as the fruit and veg, just as protein is essential. If you're not eating a variety of foods from all the food groups, then you're not eating a proper diet.

I'm not sure what lowcarbdave was inferring, however, if it was that B12 is a fat soluble vitamin, I'm afraid that if you look it up, you'll find that B12 is water soluble.

I don't have anything against low carb diets, in fact some of the better ones can be beneficial for some people. Having said that, low carb diets shouldn't be started without first running it by a medical practitioner to rule out any health concerns such as kidney problems etc.

I understand where Lowcarb Dave is coming from, and I understand where Jen is coming from. But boys and girls, speaking as a chronic emotional eater I have to say that I agree with those last two sentences. Quote:-
"Eat more fruit and vegetables - and learn how to work up a sweat. It's really that simple." I started doing that last fall. That's 82 pounds ago. Yes, Jen, I still deal with that struggle, but that does not change the facts of those two sentences. And Dave, I don't think you can argue with my healthy blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, or my healthy blood pressure level. None of these were at healthy levels when I started eating more fruit and vegetable and exercising.

vkirkman, you contradict yourself. How can it be "really simple" if you "still deal with that struggle"? Doesn't "struggle" imply "hard", which is the opposite of "simple"?

All I'm saying is you give people a false sense of hope if you tell them, "getting healthy is simple and all you have to do is this and that."

If it really were just that simple, there everyone would be healthy.

I worked in a lab in college for a professor that was doing research on phytochemicals...naturally occurring compounds that are found in plants and are not available by taking a supplement. Eating fruits and vegetables is more than just the sum of the parts...you need to eat entire fruits/vegetables. So many people make excuses for NOT eating them: they rot too fast, they don't taste good, they're messy, they're genetically modified/covered with pesticides, etc. They're also a wonderful source of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and natural sugars/carbohydrates. I had issues with emotional eating too...try replacing your cupboards full of crackers and cookies with a fridge full of carrot sticks. If you need to nosh on stuff...eat those instead of cookies.

Jen, many people say losing weight is simple.

Simple -- but not easy.

You said:
"If it really were just that simple, then everyone would be healthy."

I say, if it was easy, then everyone would be healthy. Even the SIMPLEST changes -- e.g. cutting desserts in half -- are very hard for most of the people in my circle of acquaintances.

Seems like most weight-loss programs are just trying to find ways to make the simple concepts of "eat less junk" (however you might define junk) and "exercise more" easier to implement.

Just my opinion.

Ok,Losing weight,maintaining healthy habits and lots of sweat may not sound sexy but the results are just great.Whats wrong with discipline? I think nothing at all.Keep on your feet,do something!! You can develope good habits to replace bad habits.So its not easy.Why must it be easy? Everyone wants a quick fix or a pill to resolve their issues.It ain't gonna happen.Butch up and get busy.Its always worked for me.

I do not agree with that "eating more fruit and vegetables" is a terrific goal, for you health.
It is necessary to use in food the certain quantity. In my opinion, overeating even than fruit or vegetables can be bad for human health than smoking

why not burn fat by getting it into the cells to where it can be burned?

If you are trying to lose weight, the fastest way to burn it off is to DRINK more WATER!

Heres a simple explaination why..

Notice that in both men and women fat seems to build up in the abdominal area easiest. This is, incidentally the area that digestion takes place. Your digestive tract is like a long garden hose with holes in it to let nutrients through. If you keep filling it food and you dont use WATER to help flush it through then it's gonna get clogged. In people it doesn't get clogged, it just slows down and bulges - hence the bloated abdominal area.

Each cell in your body absorbs nutrients in a similar manner. Your circulatory system is like a city of pipes. You need more WATER in order to get the nutrients into the cells so that you can use them.

That was during the the low fat diet craze they added sugar to replace the fat and added more calories. I fell into that trap and regained all my weight and more so on low fat food. I was eating a lot more calories.

Yes poor diets are really dangerous.Once I lost a lot of weight.I only eat apples and drank diet coke,etc.After losing weight,I continued the diet,Some days I ate nothing until the evening and my dinners consisted of the same food I was tired of eating,a plate of potato food ,yogurt and a slice of bread and later an apple.
The results
ill endocrine system,loss of hair like a cancer patient,pain,acnes,vertigo and regaining the weight.Diets don't work for me.

Zac, I'm interested in your comment about this link on Quackwatch.com: Some notes on the silly "Water Cure"

OF THE NUMEROUS CLINICAL TRIALS EXAMINING THE USE OF DIETARY INTERVENTIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF CORONARY HEART DISEASE, NONE HAD EVER SHOWN ANY BENEFICIAL EFFECT TO SATURATED FAT RESTRICTION.

THERE ARE 18. LOOK IT UP.

Razwell: Doesn't surprise me. Unnatural fats are the real danger. While some saturated fats create a short, temporary rise in cholesterol, they are better in the long run, along with proper amounts of omega fats and monounsaturated fats.