Re: SuperSize web site

May 24, 2004

Interesting stats. I just wondered about a couple:

> - In 1972, we spent 3 billion a year on fast food - today we spend more

> than 110 billion

What would this be in inflation and population-adjusted dollars?

> - Most nutritionists recommend not eating fast food more than once a month

That seems extreme. If you can hold it to once a month, then what reason is

there to *ever* eat fast food? Even doing CRON I think 2-5 fast food meals

a week are possible if you are careful in your portion size and selection.

> - 40% of American meals are eaten outside the home

That's kind of a silly statistic. I mean, who goes home from work to eat

lunch? That's 33% of meals right there. It kind of reminds me of the

statistic that 40% of sick days are taken on Monday and Friday. Also, if

you order pizza or chinese delivered, does that count as a meal at home? A

better statistic would be the percentage of meals *prepared* at home.

(|-|ri5

May 24, 2004

And walmart sells a lot of greasy pastries.

The problem is people eat too many calories, don't know how many they eat, drive their car everywhere, don't know what is making them fat, don't know how to get it off, won't attempt to take it off, don't care about living longer, and MOSTLY don't get the message.

But CR is about eating less and living longer.

Regards.

----- Original Message -----

From: apricot85

Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 8:37 PM

Subject: [ ] SuperSize web site

May 24, 2004

Hello all,

Nice posting. While I must admit that CR has degenerated a little for me during my PhD years (no time to cook, and an evening at the pub seems to be both a professional and personal necessity...), it is nonetheless the overall change in lifestyle that sticks. I'm still below my pre-CR weight, eat a nutritious diet, and am generally fit, mostly by laziness at the point -- ie: I'm too lazy to break the habits I've established since starting CR.

Most of these things, however, have become simple patterns over the past 8 years or more that I've been doing CR (though poorly over this past year). I made a point 6 years ago of not owning a car anymore (city dweller now, but was raised in a community where a car was necessary), and to be honest, walking everywhere is actually quite convenient and oddly liberating (I spend a month every summer in Greece, and the idea of walking around town for several hours is just natural). It also prevents me from shopping at Costco, where giant pastries and such proliferate -- if you have to carry it home, chocolate cake doesn't look so good!

Not having sugar or salt in the house become habit too, and I miss neither. Same goes for most temptation foods (ice cream & chips for me); when they're not there, you just lose the temptation after a while. It's all about breaking old habits and creating new ones, and once you've created a new habit, it can be hard to break.

Cheers,

-----Original Message-----From: jwwright [mailto:jwwright@...]Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 11:14 AM Subject: Re: [ ] SuperSize web site

And walmart sells a lot of greasy pastries.

The problem is people eat too many calories, don't know how many they eat, drive their car everywhere, don't know what is making them fat, don't know how to get it off, won't attempt to take it off, don't care about living longer, and MOSTLY don't get the message.

But CR is about eating less and living longer.

Regards.

----- Original Message -----

From: apricot85

Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 8:37 PM

Subject: [ ] SuperSize web site

May 24, 2004

It's true!! We are friends of another couple of which the husband is quite

overweight. Between seeing the Post article, and his not feeling well

lately, he's supposedly " reforming " (ha ha).

How is he reforming? He recently told me that he actually read the label

of a snack cake that he bought from a machine at work. " Wow " he said. " Over

400 calories and it's got all kinds of awful things in it. " So I asked him

if he passed on the cake and threw it away. " No, I had already ate it

before I read the label " .

on 5/24/2004 1:14 PM, jwwright at jwwright@... wrote:

> And walmart sells a lot of greasy pastries.

> The problem is people eat too many calories, don't know how many they eat,

> drive their car everywhere, don't know what is making them fat, don't know how

> to get it off, won't attempt to take it off, don't care about living longer,

> and MOSTLY don't get the message.

> But CR is about eating less and living longer.

>

> Regards.

May 24, 2004

I think a lot of folks absolutely " know " what they're doing wrong, but just

don't want to change! The information is available, and widely broadcast,

daily: eat right and exercise. Simple.

But most folks, evidently, would rather enjoy today's donut and sedentary

lifestyle rather than eat something less " satisfying " and put out some

physical effort for better long term health and well being. Just MO.

>From: " jwwright " <jwwright@...>

>Reply-

>< >

>Subject: Re: [ ] SuperSize web site

>Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 12:14:14 -0500

>

>And walmart sells a lot of greasy pastries.

>The problem is people eat too many calories, don't know how many they eat,

>drive their car everywhere, don't know what is making them fat, don't know

>how to get it off, won't attempt to take it off, don't care about living

>longer, and MOSTLY don't get the message.

>But CR is about eating less and living longer.

>

>Regards.

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: apricot85

>

> Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 8:37 PM

> Subject: [ ] SuperSize web site

May 25, 2004

I agree that some of these "facts" have questionable value.

In the movie, they interviewed one guy that loves Big Macs, & eats 2

of them every day. He claims to have eaten more than 19,000 so far. In

his case, the guy is not fat because it's the ONLY thing he eats all day

long... just 2 big macs & diet soda... no fries, etc. He may not be

obese, but surely his cellular nutrition is wanting!

Also, the movie included acknowledgment about inactivity ... much time spent

driving to work, pick up kids, sit down jobs.

chris wrote:

That seems extreme. If you can hold it to once a month, then what reason is there to *ever* eat fast food? Even doing CRON I think 2-5 fast food meals a week are possible if you are careful in your portion size and selection.

May 25, 2004

Yes, the movie discussed everything you said below & then some.

Mcs isn't the only one at all. And in the end, the public must overcome

all the political, economic, physical, cultural influences. The public must

be proactive in choosing nutrition, & exercise despite other influences.

At least that was my interpretation of the ending.

After the experiment, the guy went into a mostly vagan diet ... with emphasis

on the most cleasing veg & fruits & maximize nutrition.

jwwright wrote:

And walmart sells a lot of greasy pastries.

The problem is people eat too many

calories, don't know how many they eat, drive their car everywhere, don't

know what is making them fat, don't know how to get it off, won't attempt

to take it off, don't care about living longer, and MOSTLY don't get the

message.

May 25, 2004

Yes! I hear the 'oh well, eat it anyway' attitude quite a bit. These

people are everwhere, my coworkers. I know one guy, 6ft & 300 lbs, who

constantly shocks me with statements of denial: " if I just lost 40 lbs

I'd be within a healthy range " and " my cholesterol is only 240 which

isn't too much over the 200 they want me to be " . He says his doctor

has just told him he needed to lose weight, so he's going to go on a

diet. If it matters, this guy has been morbidly obese ALL of his life.

I assume obese babies & toddlers have a genetic factor. Still, I

assume he is heading for early death.

Conversely, I've seen people who diet, lose, regain... over & over &

over for decades. They seem frustrated with their inability to maintain

the change. I don't lump these folks in the same group as the first

paragraph.

Dowling wrote:

>I think a lot of folks absolutely " know " what they're doing wrong, but just

don't want to change! The information is available, and widely broadcast,

daily: eat right and exercise. Simple.

>

>But most folks, evidently, would rather enjoy today's donut and sedentary

lifestyle rather than eat something less " satisfying " and put out some physical

effort for better long term health and well being. Just MO.

>

May 25, 2004

While I don't wish to defend anyone who eats poop... I had a similar

experience myself recently when I didn't read the label until after I

already had the product home from the store (not my home.. I was staying

with a friend).

I found more transfats in some nuts than I would normally consume but I

wasn't about to throw the food away after I bought it. I ate it, but I won't

buy it again.... If I had better eyesight I might catch such things in the

store but like I was in Ca. chillin out.... dude.

I believe changing snacking behavior, or any behavior modification is done

in small steps. Now he knows that food is not good. The real issue is will

he buy it again or pick something healthier. Our internal decision making

process is almost like a voting process... the more bad votes a food gets

the easier to resist... that's why advertising frequency is so effective at

getting us (I mean them) to eat the poop.

JR

PS: Saw the super-size movie guy in an interview... he's just trying to make

a shocking movie, and maybe a buck. There's already 2 or 3 movies in

production about people losing weight eating at Mac daddy.....

-----Original Message-----

From: apricot85 [mailto:apricot85@...]

Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 9:21 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] SuperSize web site