Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?
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@MajorRage Agreed, but the bigger question is do we actually have free choice? Do we choose to buy the big mac or has the years of advertising, availability etc etc drive our purchasing decisions?
I like to think I am open minded and can make rational decisions based off the information available. Yet I often find myself doing things that go against logic and I can't help but feel I am influenced more than I like to admit by the avalanche of advertising etc.
Companies are getting so good at understanding human behaviour they can often predict when to advertise to you. I read that one large department store could tell when a woman was pregnant based off her buying habits and would alter all of the specials and information that was displayed to her in brochures, emails, coupons etc. The consumer is likely none the wiser and thinks they have choice, but the company is targeting her to change her behaviour. One anecdote was a father complained to the store saying why the fuck is my teenage daughter getting coupons for baby things. He later apologised saying his daughter was pregnant after all.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MajorRage Agreed, but the bigger question is do we actually have free choice? Do we choose to buy the big mac or has the years of advertising, availability etc etc drive our purchasing decisions?
I like to think I am open minded and can make rational decisions based off the information available. Yet I often find myself doing things that go against logic and I can't help but feel I am influenced more than I like to admit by the avalanche of advertising etc.
Companies are getting so good at understanding human behaviour they can often predict when to advertise to you. I read that one large department store could tell when a woman was pregnant based off her buying habits and would alter all of the specials and information that was displayed to her in brochures, emails, coupons etc. The consumer is likely none the wiser and thinks they have choice, but the company is targeting her to change her behaviour. One anecdote was a father complained to the store saying why the fuck is my teenage daughter getting coupons for baby things. He later apologised saying his daughter was pregnant after all.
With all due respect mate I feel you're looking for excuses. At the end of the day nobody is forcing you to do anything. If you're unhappy about something then do something about it.
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@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Snacking is such an ingrained thing now with parents that children can't go 10 mins without a drink and a snack. Fuck we used to go between breakfast and lunch, and then lunch and dinner without eating when I was a kid.
Parents have a lot to answer for.
Yep, snacking and grazing for 16-18 hours a day likely has a lot to do with it. I am not smart enough to understand the science but something about your body needing plenty of time without food to use the stored fat. If you are always eating your body will use that energy first.
I also read that the food industry was behind the big push that you needed a big breakfast to have energy for the day ahead. A good way to get people to eat more and get kids into the habit of sweet sugar loaded corn flakes in the morning.
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I studied Biochemistry and Human Nutrition to PhD and the best book out there in my opinion is Michael Pollan's 'Food Rules'
Summed up in 7 words
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."
Article here
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@Rancid-Schnitzel Yep I agree with you, I am the only one to blame for being overweight. I am just trying to understand why myself and so many others are making poor choices when it was uncommon only generations ago. Am I simply a lazy fluffybunny or are there other factors at play and is there something that can be done to help people like me? Yes I know, exercise more and eat less
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@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Summed up in 7 words
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."
Ahh yes, but he didn't mention wine now, did he...
So I'm all good, right?
Right???
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Snacking is such an ingrained thing now with parents that children can't go 10 mins without a drink and a snack. Fuck we used to go between breakfast and lunch, and then lunch and dinner without eating when I was a kid.
Parents have a lot to answer for.
Yep, snacking and grazing for 16-18 hours a day likely has a lot to do with it. I am not smart enough to understand the science but something about your body needing plenty of time without food to use the stored fat. If you are always eating your body will use that energy first.
I also read that the food industry was behind the big push that you needed a big breakfast to have energy for the day ahead. A good way to get people to eat more and get kids into the habit of sweet sugar loaded corn flakes in the morning.
To be fair breakfast comes from 'break fast' when people used to wake in the middle of the night to eat.
A solid breakfast is a sound start to the day
The old adage
'Breakfast like a King; lunch like a Prince; and dinner like a pauper' works
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@voodoo said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Summed up in 7 words
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."
Ahh yes, but he didn't mention wine now, did he...
So I'm all good, right?
Right???
Yep
Alcoholics are thin as fuck normally.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
Snacking is such an ingrained thing now with parents that children can't go 10 mins without a drink and a snack. Fuck we used to go between breakfast and lunch, and then lunch and dinner without eating when I was a kid.
Parents have a lot to answer for.
Yep, snacking and grazing for 16-18 hours a day likely has a lot to do with it. I am not smart enough to understand the science but something about your body needing plenty of time without food to use the stored fat. If you are always eating your body will use that energy first.
I also read that the food industry was behind the big push that you needed a big breakfast to have energy for the day ahead. A good way to get people to eat more and get kids into the habit of sweet sugar loaded corn flakes in the morning.
Corn flakes were originally invented as an anaphrodesiac! I don't think there was anything nefarious about it, at least in the beginning. The founder of Kelloggs was a hardcore clean living vegetarian God botherer.
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@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
mostly plants
I was really interested and then....bang.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Rancid-Schnitzel Yep I agree with you, I am the only one to blame for being overweight. I am just trying to understand why myself and so many others are making poor choices when it was uncommon only generations ago. Am I simply a lazy fluffybunny or are there other factors at play and is there something that can be done to help people like me? Yes I know, exercise more and eat less
I don't know mate. It's certainly ridiculously easy to eat shit. It's everywhere and it's often very cheap. But I kind of feel it always has been? I'm not that old (almost 42) but I remember the fast food joints like Macca's being much cheaper. There were also one cent lollies.
I'm thinking it's just lifestyle and how once you're in deep it's very difficult to get out again. I used to drink ice cream milkshakes for breakfast and had nachos everyday. I ate shit that would make a Billy goat puke. I was allergic to any form of cardio. Then I got a big shock when I saw a picture of myself at the beach and wanted to change. But yeah, the hardest part is the start. That is farking hard and it hurts. But is totally worth it.
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@chimoaus said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MajorRage Agreed, but the bigger question is do we actually have free choice? Do we choose to buy the big mac or has the years of advertising, availability etc etc drive our purchasing decisions?
I like to think I am open minded and can make rational decisions based off the information available. Yet I often find myself doing things that go against logic and I can't help but feel I am influenced more than I like to admit by the avalanche of advertising etc.
Companies are getting so good at understanding human behaviour they can often predict when to advertise to you. I read that one large department store could tell when a woman was pregnant based off her buying habits and would alter all of the specials and information that was displayed to her in brochures, emails, coupons etc. The consumer is likely none the wiser and thinks they have choice, but the company is targeting her to change her behaviour. One anecdote was a father complained to the store saying why the fuck is my teenage daughter getting coupons for baby things. He later apologised saying his daughter was pregnant after all.
You've just described the eventual rationale behind sore loyalty cards. At first they were a gimmick to make you spend more by offering "free" bonuses. It was only when Tescos ( I think) were alerted to the mining potential that they really took off. I refuse to use the bloody things and funnily enough I don't get bombarded with targeted special offers. Mrs Cato on the other hand...
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@Catogrande huh. I use them, go and do pretty much the same shop every week and get points/vouchers to spend. I don't really have a problem with that...
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I see the problem as being on several levels really. Firstly it should be considered that, in such a short timescale - ie 1-2 generations - our lifestyle habits have changed enormously. In the 50s/60s and even 70s there was a lot more day to day manual labour and exercise. Even the city workers used to do a hell of a lot of walking, plus of course everyone had to take the stairs. These days much less so. Secondly the availability and cost of food has altered dramatically. It is much more plentiful and also much cheaper in real terms. I remember as a kid always being just a little bit hungry - my kids were never in that position. Thirdly and probably the most important factor IMO is the proliferation of processed food. This requires a long shelf life and consequently will be packed with preservatives such as sugar, which in turn get countered by additional salt etc.
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@Bones said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Catogrande huh. I use them, go and do pretty much the same shop every week and get points/vouchers to spend. I don't really have a problem with that...
Sheeple...
Big grocery owns you.
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@Bones said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@MiketheSnow said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
mostly plants
I was really interested and then....bang.
Mostly, not exclusively.
Think Italian.
Anitpasti is meats/fish and veg.
Secondi is normally veg and pasta with a little cheese
Primi is meat/fish with veg but no carbs
If you're hungry go all three courses.
If not, just first two.
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Eating is the main battle.
Nowadays, I hardly work out compared to how much I worked out to get to my goal weight (which is roughly 82 kgs). I can maintain that weight running 6 - 8 kms a week with two short runs (I can lose weight running 15kms) and by watching what I eat, which is pretty grim when I think about it with my mid-20s hat on:
No breakfast on weekdays (IF between 9:30/10pm to 12:30pm)
Black coffee until...
Lunch, which is salad
then coffee with milk until
Evening treat which is one or two highballs with some snack (like one handful of chippies)
then dinner which is usually some kind of pasta with 2 -3 glasses of wine
then try to knock off calories about 9pm with a glass of scotch or cognac including 1-3 pieces of chocolate for dessertOn weekends, I pretty much do as I please, but my treats are pretty small time at breakfast - I have milk in my coffee at breakfast and yoghurt (and occasionally an omelette), but I have whatever I want for lunch and dinner and drink as much as I please (even then I probably think about it, if I'm honest).
I think having kids helped, as I'd never be this disciplined if I didn't have a little boy who I need to get out of bed at _____, be given lunch to at ____, dinner at ____, I'm fucked by ____.
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@Catogrande said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
I see the problem as being on several levels really. Firstly it should be considered that, in such a short timescale - ie 1-2 generations - our lifestyle habits have changed enormously. In the 50s/60s and even 70s there was a lot more day to day manual labour and exercise. Even the city workers used to do a hell of a lot of walking, plus of course everyone had to take the stairs. These days much less so. Secondly the availability and cost of food has altered dramatically. It is much more plentiful and also much cheaper in real terms. I remember as a kid always being just a little bit hungry - my kids were never in that position. Thirdly and probably the most important factor IMO is the proliferation of processed food. This requires a long shelf life and consequently will be packed with preservatives such as sugar, which in turn get countered by additional salt etc.
This is a great point - I started putting on weight almost immediately after we went to lockdown because with remote work, about 3-4 kms of walking went out of my day. I hadn't realized how much i depended on that for helping me keep my weight down.
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@gt12 said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
@Catogrande said in Fighting Obesity - Thoughts?:
I see the problem as being on several levels really. Firstly it should be considered that, in such a short timescale - ie 1-2 generations - our lifestyle habits have changed enormously. In the 50s/60s and even 70s there was a lot more day to day manual labour and exercise. Even the city workers used to do a hell of a lot of walking, plus of course everyone had to take the stairs. These days much less so. Secondly the availability and cost of food has altered dramatically. It is much more plentiful and also much cheaper in real terms. I remember as a kid always being just a little bit hungry - my kids were never in that position. Thirdly and probably the most important factor IMO is the proliferation of processed food. This requires a long shelf life and consequently will be packed with preservatives such as sugar, which in turn get countered by additional salt etc.
This is a great point - I started putting on weight almost immediately after we went to lockdown because with remote work, about 3-4 kms of walking went out of my day. I hadn't realized how much i depended on that for helping me keep my weight down.
yeah, spot on. This is where the step counters are actually quite good. I used to get home from work and about 5-7000 steps under my belt plus two small bikes rides. Now, I get to 4pm, and I'll be something like 1500-2000 steps. That's quite a lot to make up. I generally take the dog for a walk in the evening now which helps to offset some, but there's still a large gap.
And I'm not great at cutting down my intake ....
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I should have read the thread!
I call my diet weekday daytime vegetarianism: I don't eat brekkie, have a salad with no meat for lunch, and then feel good about myself when I have a nice steak for dinner
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual: Amazon.co.uk: Pollan, Michael: 8601300111490: Books
Food & Recipes
John Harvey Kellogg - Wikipedia
