I wasnt a fat child, or teenager.. Then I got pregnant.. 3 pregnancys to be exact.. 2 of them I ended up on bed rest after 4 months and with the cravings.. and not being able to do anything.. I ate.. a LOT more than I should have.. and I never really lost the weight.... :/

Funny
 

I think it is amusing that this thread created a backlash at first.
Yes, America has a population that is one third - yes one third obese. No other country even comes close !

Why?
It is the most commercial society in history. Profit being the motive behind every act, it only makes sense that cheap, highly pleasurable addictive food would be sold to the general public. Portions in the US are so large that you have to have a system of 'doggy bags'-something I have never seen outside the USA.
What drives people to overeat are the same things that drive them to starve or binge, a sense of control over their lives.
This is also one of the least physically active societies on the planet. Everyone has a car, drives it everywhere-they even drive to get the food that they eat-can you imagine our ancestors not even walking to get their meal? Television watching is also higher here than anywhere else, and the behavior associated with watching TV is the behavior of a bed ridden person.
Sugar is marketed to kids in a way that should be criminalized.
I sincerely do not believe that a low calorie diet culture has anything to do with it. Even low fat ones. Fact of life is you have to move your body around enough to burn off whatever calories enter your system. Whether all or no fat your body will not gain weight if you burn more then you take in. Maybe its harder to lose weight on a low fat/calorie diet but is certainly not the way that the weight was gained.

SO obese
 

Don't know that this has anything specifically with this topic, but was in the checkout line today, getting a couple of rib steaks, some daikon for lowcarb homefries, some leaf spinach, etc. and I noticed that the guy ahead of me was huge. A 300 pounder easy. And he was drinking a non-diet pepsi and buying about a dozen candybars. And I did NOT feel all self-righteous, but honestly my heart just went out to him, thinking about diabetes down the road, and all the other stuff that he is heading for, and I wanted to just beg him, "Buddy, don't do this to yourself.." But didn't do that, none of my business, really. If only he knew -- those candybars for "quick energy" -- he'd feel so much better after a couple of nice fatty porkchops or something like that. Oh well.

^^^ eek, I probibly would have felt and thought the same about him if I saw that man as well.. I guess you have to make mistakes to learn sometimes...

Pregnancy caused my weight gain too.
I was a UK size 14 before the babies arrived and no matter what I ate or didn't eat I always stayed the same.
With my first baby, once I'd recovered from 3 months of morning sickness, I binged like I'd never binged before. I put on 42lbs.
I nursed her for 6 months and never lost a single pound, even though I was back to normal eating. My midwife told me that those who breastfeed either balloon or burn away the gained weight...I ballooned. Once I stopped breastfeeding I lost the weight almost over night...it was dramatic.
With my second baby, after 3 months of morning sickness, I ate sensibly and very healthily, I'd leant my lesson...this time I gained 45lbs !!!
Again I breastfed for 6 months and was hoping the same miracle would happen as it did the first time around...did it hell...I just couldn't shift the weight this time.
It's taken 4years (2nd babys birthday this last weekend) weightwatchers and now Atkins to get me back down to my pre-baby state.
No more babies for me !!

Re: Funny
 

True. Everything in this country is loaded with sugar...even stuff that has absolutely no need for sugar. I look at some stuff and just can't imagine why it would need sugar.



Our portions aren't that large. I remember my dad went to France when I was a little kid and he described entrees and sides that were much larger than what we serve in most restraunts here. I think the difference is the food we don't think about...the food before the meal. Most people probably eat a whole meal's worth of carbs before they even get their entree.



There are alot of issues here...Schools are cutting recess and encoraging kids not to exercise. A perfect example is Book It...a program where kids are rewarded with free Pizza for staying inside all summer, reading instead of going out and get some exercise. The school I went to as a kid quit letting us go outside after we finsihed eating, because some kid split his head open.

In addition, some streets just aren't safe to walk. Its not that people aren't willing to walk...they are just afraid to walk. Think about this...my grandmother was mugged while walking with a friend. People in some areas are afraid to walk the streets. That is why people drive everywhere. I was mugged walking to school once...A teenager once flagged our car down...he had been beaten and robbed walking home from school and did not want to go back through that area.



Not true...I watched plenty of TV as a young child...and still got plenty of exercise. I walked several miles to and from school until the events I described above. After that, I would play sports after school...mostly basketball with lots of running and jumping until my mom got off work. I easily got more exercise than most people and still watched plenty of TV. The only times I didn't watch TV was when I was camping, which was only a few weeks a year. Even when I was in the mountains and would hike several miles a day, we still had TV and watched it at night...albeit not with very good reception.



Amen to that.



Again...as I pointed out, I easily got a couple hours of exercise a day in middle school...yet I gained weight. Why, because as you said above about sugar...I would exercise a bit and then quench my thirst with a sugar-laden drink undoing all the exercise. You can work out all you want...if you are replenishing with a sugar-laden drink...the kind marketed to those exercising...the exercise isn't going to help you.

Geez, I had no idea Florida was so rough!!

The thing is that here in NYC, where I have lived since the 70's it has been pretty rough, but we have a mass transit system that allows us, no forces us to walk. That is something that is a blessing in disguise. Unfortunately obesity is a nationwide problem, and a much discussed one lately with research reports coming out monthly on the crisis.
The latest reports are shocking, and should shock us into doing something about it like a nationwide awareness campaign, because it has become a health crisis that we all will pay for, whether we eat carbs or not!
:lol:
I am no Dr but read the New York Times Health section, and the latest and scariest article was about the rise of obese INFANTS in the US, there is no way they could become obese if their parents werent feeding them crap. I dont have kids either, but this is something that really disturbed me.
Another was about the rise of obese CHILDREN. They are matching their adult counterparts and nearing one third of all kids. The same article discussed an experiment where children were allowed to choose thier own portions-when left on their own, the children choose child sized portions, when fed by adults, the portions grew by a third. The studies all agreed that what has changed since the Eisenhower era when America had the same number of overweight and obese adults and children as other industrialized Western nations was television viewership and calorie consumption-something Atkins talks about in his book. Calorie consumtion has skyrocketed and television watching which was rare in the 50's turned into the mainstay of activity for kids and adults.
As a kid I ate what I wanted, but played sports every season and did not have to watch my weight-average eating after practice: two scoops of ice cream, then a bag of tortilla chips, then got home and directly ate a large dinner-two pork chops, mound of mashed potato and applesauce. No problems for me ! Everyone is different, but I know the difference was playing soccer, lacrosse, running around starting with walk to school at 7:30 till walking home at 6PM.
Both traveling and hosting folks from abroad has made me aware of our extreme portion sizes-they now sell soda at roadside stands that are a gallon large for one person!! Everytime I would take out of country friends out to eat here they would ask if we were meant to share our entrees and would complain they couldnt eat it and never heard of taking food home with you. In France, I never encountered anything like Applebees! Nor did I see anywhere near as many overweight people. In Italy I ate 7 course meals that were smaller than some entrees I have gotten here. I dont think that there is any mystery to why there is a nationwide epedemic of obesity and I dont think its because people dont feel safe going out. I think we are for the most part lazy, and I think the lack of sports programs in public schools have a lot to do with it. My Dad forced us to play sports the day we were eligible for it-around 6 years old, I thank him for that.
I would hope that industry does not snuff out the need for a campaign for health in the US. I think it is long overdue
:doah:

Ah, but you also mentioned you walked to school daily...

As a sub in the local schools here, I was working at the middle school one day when the announcements came on, and the children were very sternly reminded that they were NOT ALLOWED TO WALK TO SCHOOL...there were only 2 children who had permission to walk; all the rest of the children had to take the bus or ride in a car. I had never ever heard anything like this before in my life. The school officials actually FORBADE the children from walking to or from school. I assume it had something to do with safety issues or some similar excuse.

Also, my neice, Kendra, just turned 5 yesterday. Her parents don't give her large portions...we went to Applebee's recently, and a children's pizza was ordered for her. We had her eat 2 of four pieces, and she didn't have to eat the crust where the sauce and cheese wasn't. If we didn't make her eat the good stuff, her choices would be all sweets. This is the child who was rewarded for learning to swim with candy, then given ice cream after we all got out of the pool, a cinnamon sucker when we got to the cabin, and that was all before lunch! We then gave her a tiny bit of barbecue meat (her parents are fairly good about not making her eat bread when she doesn't want it, so none of that empty filling) and some of the sides (I forget what they were)...and we told her she had to clean her plate. She struggled to eat it all because she'd had all the junk before hand. She's amazing. She'll complain that she's full, and when her parents tell her she may go play, but she's not getting any candy/ice cream/dessert unless she eats more of what's on her plate. We aren't giving her huge portions...she gets a slice or two of pizza (small slices, and she doesn't have to eat the crust, remember), some mushrooms that she loves to eat, and some olives, again, that she loves to eat. She'll stop, having eaten on the mushrooms and olives and a bite or two of pizza...but as soon as she hears she gets no sweet crap if she doesn't eat more, she sits back down and eats the rest of the pizza...and then she adds crap to that...chocolate pudding, dessert pizza, candy...she finds room for the things she thinks are important. I think if she hadn't always had candy available to her, we could get her to eat more of the substantial stuff, the stuff her body needs to grow...she seems to always eat just enough to leave ample room for candy and fool Mom and Dad into thinking she ate enough. Of course, she also plays a lot, too...running around, playing with their dog, etc...

just a few of my contributions, having watched children's lives one way or another.

Fairchild...not the whole state...just certain areas. I grew up near one of the bad areas, which limited where I could safely walk. Dominos has a map on their wall of where they will and will not deliver. I asked once why my area was a "No Delivery" Zone and was basically told that their drivers had been robbed a few times near there. I moved to Pensacola a couple years and like it because I feel relatively safe walking to the stores here...which I do on occassion.

I think the most important change obesity wise was the end of home cooking. When my mom cooked...I ate alot healthier than when I ate out. A meal was a salad, meat, and vegetables. No bread, and desert was an occassional treat. Since the meal was ready when we sat down to eat, we also didn't drink a half gallon of soda while waiting.

But, when we ate out...the meals came with unlimited bread, unlimited sugary soda, soup, meat, two orders of potatoes, and a desert. After we started eating out all the time...desert became a daily treat, rather than an occassional treat. We started eating 1-2 baskets of bread and 3 sodas while waiting for our food. Restraunt food is just plain unhealthy. Very few restraunts serve fresh green veggies as my mom and grandma did when they cooked. My mom never baked bread.

My grandma only did so on rare occassions and then only enough for each of us to have one or two small rolls or biscuits. In 1992, I spent the summer with my Grandma...had great food and got plenty of exercise. I flew home at the end of the summer and my mom had stopped cooking and we began eating out all the time. My weight slowly increased until I went off to college (220 pounds) and began eating the cheapest food I could find (pasta, rice, etc...) at which point I balooned to 320.

I think that the people who were offended by this guys comment had every right to be offended. Although on the same line I believe too that it was the word obesity that offended and not the question. I don't like the word RETARD, because of my profession but I'm sure you've all used it a time or two. And that's okay because I understand that, although people don't think their being rude, sometimes words come out wrong.

Excellent Point CC..... it's not very often mentionned that one of the major changes over the past 30 years is how much we have come to depend on eating out and using pre-packaged food. It seems to be a characteristic of North America. It doesn't seem to be nearly as prevalent in Europe, mostly because eating out is a very expensive affair.

I live in Canada and everyone I know that visits our American neighbours comments on how gargantuan the portions are there. Thank God the supersizing movement doesn't seem to have caught on very much here, in Quebec, apart from fast food. Maybe that's why when I look at the people on a busy street, it's fairly rare to see a hugely overweight perosn.

Just don't come up to me on the street and ask - here, I don't take it personally.
Why am I fat? I have access to high fat, high carb food. I celebrate w/ food, I cry w/ food and I love food. There is food everywhere!!
Did I mention I don't exercise?
I'm also a Health Education major....I know how to be thin and stay thin it's putting it into motion and doing it. I'm lazy, I guess. I love PIZZA!!! Beer - even better.
It's quite simple why I'm fat...it's trying to get thin that's the tough part.
Ask away...but don't ask me on the street.

I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY.....
 

since Levi looked somewhat like a bodybuilder I guess he thought he had it all under control. BUT>>>>

My husband is a competitive bodybuilder and (not him) but from being around other bodybuilders I can tell you - they become OBSESSED with food. They diet like crazy for twelve weeks before a show then after the show (some/not all) will go on binges. I knew this one guy who actually bought like ten different cake and browny mixes, didn't leave his house for a week because he was just abking,baking,baking!! We called him Betty Crocker!!

I did laugh at one of Levi's posts where he made it sound like if we saw him that we should get all excited and that he has the right to be sooooo conceited. It made me giggle!!

The average bodybuilding diet is very low in fat and that is what sent me into a full blown eating disorder for 8 long years. We need healthy fats, not all this nonfat sugary diet food!! In my opinion if we could get back to eating more whole foods, raw milk & cream, raw egg yolks, hormone free meats, less breads etc. - get back to the way primitive peoples eat - we would NOT have weight problems. I am including a link to dr. weston price's website - it is really worth checking out!! Once on that website you can click on the very top and it brings you to even more info
DR. WESTON PRICE

I'm with you on everything except the raw eggs and raw milk. The risk of samonella or other disease is too great to use raw eggs or dairy all the time. I've had food poisoning twice that I can remember...once from undercooked, contaminated eggs (1988) and once from undercooked, contaminated hamburger (1991). The hamburger food poisoning was one of the worst experiences of my life.

The food poisoning from the eggs wasn't a picnic either...I quit eating eggs (directly) for a little over 14 years because of that. I now eat them once again. I blamed the beans (served with the hamburger) and haven't had any beans (other than string beans which I never considered a bean and products made with soy, which I didn't know until recently was a bean) since then. Now, that I know legumes are high in carbs...I have no intention of ever eating them again.

WELL SUPPOSEDLY
 

The chance of eating a raw egg yolk (free range) contaminated with salmonella is 1 in 30,000 - however how can I discount your own experience? I can't!!

I have never had a food bourne illness EXCEPT a case of strep bacteria contained within potato salad at a deli restaurant!! The irony is that my sister who is a Dr. of Epidemiology and Microbiology ate it too and she also contracted it!! She sent her staff there the next day and closed the place down till they could trace the source of the strep bacteria!!

I think everyone is different in how susceptible they are to bacterias etc. But I'm sure you're experience was NOT fun!!!

I'll supply a link for info on the raw egg yolk/salmonella topic in case anyone is interested!!!

RAW EGGS FOR HEALTH / DR. MERCOLA

CONTINUED GOOD HEALTH!!
Sunkist