A report came out yesterday that obesity and poor diet would soon overtake smoking as the number one cause of premature, preventable death in the United States. The people most at-risk are children.
In a weird way I think I am shielded from this epidemic since I live in a fairly healthy urban area in California, where people don’t drive everywhere (as much) and we don’t have the types of all-you-can-eat, buffet-style, gorge-yourself restaurants that have cropped up everywhere in suburbia in the past twenty years.
It really mostly is about portion size. Lately I have been serving myself meals on small plates. I think people feel compelled to cover a large dinner plate with food, when that in fact is often an unhealthily large size.
I tried on new pants last week… I think it kind of spurred me to action. Bleah. This whole hip/leg problem has prevented me from exercising much at all, so now it’s more important than ever to eat healthily. Which means two things only: cut out sugar dramatically; decrease portion size.
Yesterday I ate: one piece of whole grain toast with natural peanut butter and sesame seeds on top for breakfast. And a cup of coffee with half and half. For lunch I had a fruit smoothie (it was FREE!) from Jamba Juice and a small cup of beef barley soup. For dinner, about a cup of plain unsalted nuts (walnuts, filberts, almonds) and an open-faced tuna melt on one slice of whole grain toast.
Today, same breakfast except the toast had some sliced strawberries. Lunch was a green salad at Chevy’s with steak and cheese and guacamole and whatnot in it, plus lemonade. I felt full after eating two thirds of it, so I stopped. Their portions are ginormous, to fit on their huge plates.
It’s hard to not eat sugar.
It’s even harder to think that I am going to have kids someday and try to feed them healthy food while they are constantly bombarded with ads and other pressures to eat as much corn syrup as possible. Have you seen some of the foods aimed directly at children? Yogurt used to be a very healthy and delicious treat on its own until it was Americanized with needless high fructose corn syrup and gelatin. Grrrrr. This cereal has sugar listed in the ingredients four times! Not only that, the “serving size” listed is for ONE CUP of cereal. Which, believe me, is about half of what most people put into their bowls, so you can go ahead and double that sugar content.
Hey I have an idea, parents! How about giving kids actual FRUIT?? People still do that, right? Instead of, you know, “fruit” “flavored” solidified chemical-filled sugar shapes?
I know, I live in SF, and I know people really do eat differently here. I sound like Mark Morford! Ha.
So yeah. 1. Smaller portions. 2. Less sugar. 3. Build muscle mass through slow and deliberate weight training. The end.
I’m impressed. Very, very impressed. I have a rotten time eating healthy. I don’t think fresh, grainy food tastes very good, and I have a tough time convincing myself otherwise.
But man, the clock’s ticking, you know? I’ll have to eat well along with my kid.
You have me inspired, though. I’ll go get healthy stuff for lunch.
Ugh…I have a horrible time with this too, and I think I generally do eat pretty healthy. I have found though that avoiding (not eliminating) processed foods with corn syrups and sugars has over time made me more sensitive to it and more able to avoid it unless I really really want it. Yesterday I really wanted a Butterfinger chocolate egg (or ten), but I didn’t really really want it so I had an orange instead. The natural sugar did the trick and I was happy because I knew I felt better than I would have had I eaten the chocolate, and I really enjoyed the orange.
On the other hand I smoke, so put me down for lung disease…
OMG I love the Cadbury creme eggs. So much. But these things are SO sugary they make my tooth enamel hurt. That’s kinda bad.
I love oranges. I love summer fruit.
I am thinking very seriously about going vegan. I’ve been spending too much time with the naughty characters that I do Food not Bombs with.
To be quite honest, I do not recommend going vegan to anyone. Your body needs the iron, calcium, and other minerals which are best absorbed through animal-based foods. Vegans (especially women!) are known for their propensity for anemia. These minerals are poorly absorbed through pill supplements.
Humans are hunter-gatherers, not grazers, and need large amounts of protein, fat, iron, and calcium for healthy brains and bodies. Seriously. I only say this because I’ve read some paleoanthropology books about the early human diet and the nutrition required by the brain, etc. Cows and deer can live on a plant-based diet–but we ain’t prey, we’re predators.
The healthiest diet is one with balance, and very little processed white sugar and flour. In my opinion 🙂
PS: I was “vegetarian” for about seven years or so, but I never really gave up fish. Which is one of the best things you can eat, as you probably know 🙂
So if you feel strongly about eating healthily and avoiding the evil meat industry, look around for sources of organic or naturally raised fish, poultry, and beef. They are out there.
Dude, I have been vegetarian for my entire life. I will never eat meat, no matter how fancy. Sorry.