America: Land of the Fat

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | June 29, 2003 | Jim Ritter

[Rate_Determining_Step]

> I have a tin of sardines packed in olive oil or a banana.

Thank you for the reminder! I used to eat sardines regularly when I was a punk 'cause I loved 'em. I don't know why, but I stopped a long time ago. They would be a perfect food.

[Age of Reason]

If people had to chase a gazelle every time they wanted a snack, there would be much less obesity.

Anyway, I gave up stuffing my face when I gave up watching TV a quarter-century ago.

Giving up a lot of bad food was easier than giving up tobacco, I'll say that.

I'd still rather smoke than eat--in fact, I think I'd rather smoke than have sex. (I gave that up, too. Unsanitary.)

[BlackVeil]

that guy Jacobson ... If he could get headlines and adoration by the press from hounding fat people on a one-to-one basis like he does corporations, he would.

LOL! Excellent point, well said.

[Skywalk]

I wonder what would happen if NY enacted a tax against soda consumption, ads on TV for fast food, or on obesity and the SCOTUS struck it down. Would some on this board rediscover the meaning of the 9th Amendment?

[nwrep]

ROFLMAOCMAH

[KneelBeforeZod]

I used to work at a dot com office that had free sodas and ice cream

that and plain old walking and hiking dropped my belt size by about 5-6 inches.

carbs aint the problem...sitting around doing nothing is while eating too many carbs/anything is...if carbs were the problem, people in asia/etc who eat mostly carbs like rice and or noodles would be the fattest of all.

[KneelBeforeZod]

suzy q's are probably the most disgusting junk food ever invented. and they taste foul too. I tried one because I am an ice cream sandwich junkie. foul stuff

[KneelBeforeZod]

oops I should say NO LONGER working where there is free ice cream and soda with walking dropped all the inches. don't know what I weighed then or now. didn't want to know

[jocon307]

"I'll have to keep moving all of the time. They'll probably make a movie about me."

LOL, very funny. Nasty, but funny!

[jocon307]

"And you will very seldom see an member of the upper class who is obese. "

Hey, I've seen Ted Kennedy! A lot of that is booze of course, but don't tell me the man don't eat!

[patton]

Started on Atkins 6 days ago, at 210#.

Lost 17 lbs, to 193, in SIX DAYS.

I am six feet tall. No way do I want to weigh less than 180 - or more than 190, I guess. So I set a target of 185.

This morning, I got up, had a shower, weighed myself, got dressed. Put on clothes, wallet, keyes, et al.

Clipped my cell phone to my belt - my pants fell off.

Why in the heck am I doing this??

[Nov3]

Back in boot camp! 256 (-44)

Congrats

[edayna]

Seems to me that a lot of our obesity problem is due to an obsession with obesity and food. It's a catch-22 - you worry about getting fat, so you think about each bite you eat, and those junk foods become even more tempting when you're not "allowed" to eat them.

My parents never prohibited me from eating junk food - even cookies before dinner. I was rail-thin, at least till my mid-20's. Genetics? Maybe - my dad was the only thin person in my family, though. Food didn't have much significance to me beyond simple enjoyment till I was in my late teens and surrounded by dieters.

I could lose a few pounds - well, more than that if I wanted to meet magazine model standards :) but I'm at a healthy weight. I personally feel that the key to keeping at a healthy weight is to eat a wide variety of foods.

I don't prohibit my kids from eating junk, either. I just make sure they have lots of healthy options. When faced with a choice between a box of donuts and a garden-fresh cucumber, my 7 year old will take the cuke sliced up with some low-fat dip any time.

Then again, maybe she's weird. ;)

[edayna]

Yeah, no food on its own is the problem. My next door neighbor, a vegetarian, once got on his soapbox and informed me and his wife that it was all that meat we ate making us fat. Joke's on him, though - four years later, he's still a vegetarian but looks like he's about 8 months pregnant. Yep - it's inactivity.

[GrandMoM]

I was just havin' a little fun with you....that's OK, I figured you were funnin with me.

....some times I get to typing to fast!

[Marie]

LMAO! Carb Solutions are honestly disgusting! My husband eats them, though. He eats one a day for lunch. I don't know how he does it, but he says he doesn't mind.

[Mr. Mojo]

Just a comment on the huge portions served up in restaurants. I've lost 44 pounds since April 1 and on Friday night, I went to a popular Mexican restaurant (On The Border) and ordered Blackend Chicken Fajitas. The portion was so huge that it came on three separate dishes.

Better a huge portion than not enough. Plus, if you can't finish, at least there'll be leftovers for the fridge the following few days.

[Mr. Mojo]

I've lost 30 lbs on the double cheeseburger diet plan.

I'm occasionally on that diet as well. My favorite is a double King chili cheese bacon avocado egg burger at Fatburger (in L.A.). ....3/4 lb of beef, and 5000 calories

[Aquinasfan]

It's fantastic, and I'm going to see my wedding weight on my scale again! :^)

Hey, congrats! My wife just passed below her "wedding weight," which was pretty thin to begin with. I just went below my "wedding weight."

I've probably been doing this for a couple of months now, and eating the Atkins way seems completely "normal." Junk food just doesn't have the appeal that it used to.

The nicest surprise is the boost in energy. Have you noticed that? I used to die after lunch. No longer.

Now go and make disciples of all the nations... ;-)

[Aquinasfan]

Clipped my cell phone to my belt - my pants fell off.

Two recent studies published in the NE Journal of medicine confirm your experience, in case you don't believe your own eyes. Of course, this is 30 years after the diet became popular...