Should we be eating more?

I was reading today that the reason we are all getting fat is because we're eating more & moving less. And that this has been on the increase since the 1970's. But I don't fully agree, because I feel we're actually eating less.

I can remember when I use to eat at Mcdonalds & it wouldn't fill me up & actually trigger more hunger even tho the meal I just had would probably be all the calories I needed for that day. While if I tried to eat 3 apples I would get full & probably wouldn't need to eat again for a couple of hours.

Pound for pound I feel I'm eating more now that I'm dieting than when I was eating alot more fast foods. But now I eat more nutritionally dense, naturally low calorie real/whole foods. As appose to before when I was eating much more high energy, empty calorie, low bulk processed foods.

I'm confused. You said that you disagree that we're eating more, but then you say you're eating more, even on a diet. Just because you're eating more in volume now that you're eating right, that doesn't mean that people who aren't eating right aren't also eating more than they would have been 20 or 30 or 40 years ago. Have I misunderstood something?

Speaking purely in volume, yes, you probably are eating more now that you're eating more healthfully, you just aren't getting as many calories (or, at least, the calories you're getting are higher quality). That's the beauty of fruits, veggies and high protein, high fiber, healthy-fat foods, like you said.

The problem is, that's definitely not how most Americans eat regularly. Fast foods (and convenience foods in general) are more popular than ever, and you'd be very hard pressed to prove that portion sizes haven't been getting bigger since the seventies. They've been getting bigger throughout my entire life, and I was born in the mid-eighties. On top of that, as nutrition science has improved, so has "fake food" become more ubiquitous. We know more about how to eat right, in many ways, but portion sizes are getting progressively larger and less healthy. True, organic and "clean" foods are increasing in popularity, but can you honestly say that almonds and spinach and salmon are anywhere near as popular as Doritos and french fries and pizza?

Again, forgive me. I'm just not quite sure what you find inaccurate about the notion that people tend to eat more and move less than they did a few decades ago.

So, no, most people definitely should NOT be eating more, at least not more in terms of calories. In terms of volume, that's a very different story. But if you think that people should increase volume and simultaneously decrease calories, that's just another way of saying that people should eat more healthy foods, and nobody is debating that.

Lol! Thanks for pointing that out. What I meant to say is that I don't believe I was eating more before dieting (although obviously in calories yes). We're told we're over eating & should cut back but I feel we're actually under eating in many ways and actually many people are probably malnurished & don't even know it.

I agree we are likely moving less & it's true portion sizes are getting bigger in many places. Though there was also a programme on tv that showed many manufacturers have actually reduced the standard sizes of many products too, compared to 10 years ago (in the UK at least). So we're actually getting less for our money.

I don't feel that eating more calories equates exactly to eating more food, just more fat & simple carbs which we all know is a bad combination. Speaking from experience I worry about people starving themselves to lose weight rather than just increasing consumption of the right foods.

I find now that I naturally eat less bad foods the more I increase fruits & veg. I always say I eat what I want because my focus is not really on reducing junk foods but more on increasing real foods (I personally don't eat organic, too expensive lol) so I still eat all the chocolates, cakes & burgers etc.

Over here (UK) there is a campaign about getting our 5 aday, of fruit & veg. They don't tell us to eat less. I believe probably because that's the wrong place to focus, for me at least lol. I know if I focus on cutting back the junk I feel deprived & end up rebelling on the very stuff. While if I focus on eating more fruit & veg with my normal foods I don't even notice that I'm naturally cutting back on them.

That's just my experience of dieting over the last couple of decades. That had me starving myself & took me up to over 300 plus lbs. And I know I can't stick to any diet that says don't eat this & don't eat that. For me the key to weight loss is portion control the regular stuff & eat much more fruit, veg & real/whole foods.

I don't say cut back on the pizzas & bugers etc because I don't even think of it as healthy eating. Again because for me that = deprived of the "yummy stuff" lol.

Ah, that makes a bit more sense!

I would definitely agree that many people are malnourished in the sense that they aren't getting enough nutrients, lean protein, fiber and healthy fat. Unfortunately, sky-rocketing portion sizes mean that people stuff themselves on burgers and fries just to feel full, while still neglecting to get enough of what they actually need. I have friends who whine that they can't lose weight, but when you look at their diet, it's all chips and candy or one big fast food meal per day. No wonder!

It's a sad fact that people are being taught that they must either give in to marketing ploys and eat unnatural quantities of greasy junk, or live on processed, low-fat (or low-carb), chemical-laden "food substitutes," as I think of them. Why aren't small portions of "junk" and large portions of "real" foods more popular? Because there's money to be made! Food companies and restaurants know we want value, satisfaction and taste when we eat, and they have us convinced that they can provide it.

Half gallons of soda and fried sandwiches the size of your head are unfortunately a reality in the US. Everywhere you go, restaurants are pushing "upgrades" for just a few extra cents. Salsas and seasonings take a back seat to fat-based sauces. Burger joints add more and more fried patties, cheese slices, bacon and mayo, and market them as cool and rebellious. Places like Taco Bell shamelessly promote the concept of "Fourth Meal" and salads that have so little lettuce that you have to search for it under the meat, cheese, sauce and refried beans. These same restaurants pay lip service to health organizations by offering small selections of healthier foods, but the marketing and attention attached to them is meager at best. At the same time, quick-fix diet aids and food fads make billions every year off of people who think they're the solution to bloated waistlines.

I agree that promoting the intake of more veggies is not the complete solution, not when unhealthy options still make up the majority of most peoples' diets. It is a step in the right direction, though, for exactly the reasons you mentioned: eat more healthy food and you simply don't have enough room for all the junk. I also agree that cutting out your favorite "unhealthy" foods doesn't work, either. An occasional splurge is much better than a day-long binge to satisfy an unfulfilled craving. Education on moderation is the key.

Now that I've written a book, I should probably leave this post at that.

I'm glad we understand each other better now .

This reminds me of something else I read which asked the question "Is society set up to make us fat". With all the high manufacturing of produce made from refined grains striped of their goodness (wheat, cereal etc), corn syrups & use of non virgin vegetable oils which worst still have been hydrogenated.

It annoys me that when I go out somewhere I'm bombarded with glossy advertisements of junk shoved in my face, especially when my hunger is kicking in & my resolve is low & thus is easier to be drawn in to their offerings up of heart attacks on a plate. And it disgust me that it's cheaper to buy a meal of fries, burger & soda than to buy say just a burger & soda together for instants.

And in the supermarkets nearly all the stuff on special offer/sale is prepackaged, processed junk foods. Shouldn't real foods be on sale? Aren't they the things that have a shorter shelf life???

Isn't it interesting that societies high in grain usage develope the same health problems western scoiety has today.

Quote:

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread464903/pg1:

Yes, I'm saying that a good percentage, probably around 50% of those surveyed actually skipped "the most important meal of the day", as your mom would say.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good find(S&F BTW) but I think it's jumping to conclusions that aren't supported by real studies and research.



"Melbourne, Australia - The amount of food Americans eat has been increasing since the 1970s, and that alone is the cause of the obesity epidemic in the US today."



That alone? That's quite a stretch, don't you think?

Gary Taubes describes obesity as being "a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating, and not sedentary behavior." He often refers to obesity being caused by a "disequalibirum" of hormonal regulation of fat tissue. His conclusions are not a result of "surveying" but combined data from hundreds of peer reviewed epidemiological and lab studies.

Now, if we look at the NHANES information, we see an increase in caloric intake that is almost solely in the form of carbohydrates. The aforementioned studies seem to be supported by epidemiological data. The reason being, excess daily carbohydrate intake has a direct negative effect on the metabolism causing chronically high insulin levels which, in turn, leads to a hormonal imbalance that causes a number of chronic dieseases, including obesity.

The ancient Egyptians were plagued by this very same disease due to their heavy diet of grains. They were an agriculturist society, much like ours has become today, that suffered from obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. They didn't consume much saturated fat or cholesterol, yet still, they had high rates of heart disease......

If only epidemiological, anthropological and medical lab study/trial data were compared and analyzed with an open mind, free of bias, one would see an obvious pattern arise. Take the blinders off and look around you, you'll find some enlightening information.

"Doubt is Humble," says Bill Maher, "that is what man needs to be, considering that human history is just a litany of getting sh*t dead wrong."

-Dev

I don't particularly think that most people are overeating. Most people gain small amounts of weight per year that add up to something bigger over time. Think about if most people gain about 5 pounds per year. That's only 50 extra calories a day. Just 5 Peanut M&Ms. If it's 10 pounds a year then that's just 10 Peanut M&Ms. That's all that separates most people from maintaining and gaining. If people were really overeating (and some people do), then they would be gaining 5 pounds a week, not over the course of a year.

One of the most interesting way's I've had it explained to me is that our bodies are very efficient in sending the proper hunger/sated responses and burning off 99% of what we eat. It's the 1% that gets most people.



Unless someone can verify that there is an existing time machine, and that doctors used it to travel back in time to perform autopsies on ancient Egyptians, I'm going to have to call B.S. on that one.

I agree with /0. I just wanted to add that our bodies hunger responses are designed/evolved for telling us if we need more food that is real food. If we are eating nutritionally dense foods (whole foods) our bodies know what to do with that and we are more able to maintain. If we eat nutritionally void foods our bodies still crave the nutrients and we become a lot less self-regulating. The worst culprits are refined sugar and flour. Our bodies are not made to know what to do with that kind of energy. Processed foods have significantly less nutrients per calorie and even the best multi-vitamin does not make up for that.

well... i didnt gain weight from eating apples thats for sure LOL

your losing because ur not eating fast food anymore silly ur eating very healthy, its a lot better to eat like a pound of apples than an order of french fries imo. i havent had my precious taco bell in like a year... and well even tho it makes me sad and i miss it dearly im not getting fat anymore because of it lmao

Yes, it seems to be a vicious circle: Our bodies are out of balance hormonally and then seek simple carbohydrates in an effort to regulate and find balance; but then, our imbalance from eating too many carbs pushes our hormones out of whack; and the circle continues until we are fat and miserable.

Several years ago, I was studying for a nutrition class and read an interesting report from the University of Kansas School of Agriculture. Somehow, they got their hands on nutrition and soil data from the early part of the 20th Century and contrasted it with nutrition and soil data today. Not surprisingly, they found the foods we consume today are much less nutrient rich than those of our great-grandparents. I can't remember the exact percentage but it was something alarming like 45% LESS nutritionally dense. The researchers concluded that modern human beings have depleted the soil so much that they absolutely MUST eat a diet rich in vegetables and fruit, with NO simple carbs of any kind, to get even the very basic requirements of human life. They also recommended supplementation.

Do you know that it takes 10 years to build one inch of rich top soil?

Many conservatives deny there is an ecological crisis facing our world, but statistics like these are absolute wake-up calls to action. Truly organic and sustainable farms are the wave of the future. Their produce is so darn expensive but it is worth it from both a global and personal perspective.

I remember my grandfather rotating his crops and planting alfalfa when the fields were resting to feed the soil and prepare for future plantings. Organic farming isn't new, just returning into favor.

well I'm going to chime in i think as a culture we have become LAZY then we try to convince ourselves that we are working hard .(i work for 9 hours and come home and don't have any energy then i realize i have not done any physical activity the whole day ) we have moved from a society that worked hard physically to one of sedentary employment and then when we get home we confuse mental exhaustion for physical exhaustion and sit in front of the tv ,computer etc . then we are to lazy to cook and if you pull something from the freezer fridge cupboard etc its packaged for 4 servings and you eat the whole thing . imagine you by a bottle of soda yea i know its not good but one bottle wont kill you however there are 2 or 2.5 servings in it they expect you to take a swig and put it away for latter ? as for fast food potions have been getting bigger along with the price . if they charge you a 1$ more then they have to make the portion bigger to justify the cost but in America food is cheep especially if you buy in bulk . for instance Kentucky fried chicken (saw a doc on history channel )said that after filling the bucket with greasy chicken an mashed potatoes it didn't seen heavy enough so the put in a pint of gravy so you felt like you got your moneys worth i think that makes my point . one other point of observance is that nothing caters to the individual i look at recipes on this sight and its all for 4 servings IE 4 people if i have to portion i have already lost and my wife will not eat most thing that grow on this planet . let me end by saying there is nothing wrong with fast food or any other food if you do in moderation a skill that has been long lost to most Americans in unfortunately most areas of our lives.
one other thing to ponder genetics has not kept up with migration people in japan live a long time eating fish ok but I'm no Japanese and my forebears didn't eat a whole lot of fish . the Eskimos in the north eat uncooked seal fat RAW FAT they have no health problems because they have been eating it for thousands of years and those that could live eating such things survived . looking at one region of the world and trying to apply it to a mixed culture is silly maybe we need a little dietary anthropology.we didn't eat processed foods in the past we shouldn't eat them now we just don't want to pay the price for the spoilage loss or have to go to store every day for fresh food .

food for thought just my opinion take it or leave it