My Theory On Why America Is Fat
I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on TV. I’m also not a nutritionist, a dietitian, a weight loss consultant, or whatever they’re now calling people who tell you what to eat. I am, however, fat. And I’m constantly amazed by that fact.
You see, I do most of the things we’re all told to do.
I move around quite a bit daily, most of which involves chasing my 8-year-old homeschooled son around the house and doing an hour or so of cleaning chores per day, both of which take me up and down 3 flights of stairs. Repeatedly.
Sometimes I add yoga to that mix or rebound on my mini-tramp. Other times I spin for a while on my exercise bike. Sure, there are days — whole weeks, even — when I don’t do additional exercise, but my trusty pedometer tells me that I’m walking at least 10,000 steps per day.
I also eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains regularly. Oh, some days I might slack off on one or two servings, but for the most part I eat what I’m supposed to… and then some. Enough, in fact, that I refused to even look at my life insurance agent’s recommended weight chart to see just how above average I am.
But therein lies what’s led to my theory on why America is fat: we’re constantly being told more foods we ought to be eating. One day it’s “add grains“, the next it’s “eat more fruits and vegetables“, then it’s “eat more protein” and “eat more fish” and drink more tea and consume more dairy products.
Then there’s the flax seeds, coconut oil and the ever-growing list of disease-fighting foods.
In short, by the time a person has followed all the so-called “experts” advice on what to eat for optimum health they’ve polished off as much food as a defensive lineman.
But is it helping? No, or we wouldn’t continue to be plagued equally as often by health bulletins warning about the risks of obesity and diabetes.
You know, after putting so much effort into losing weight — and learning how I’m supposed to lose it — I’m sorely tempted to just shrug my shoulders (hey, that burns calories, right?) and eat more junk food. At least then I’d be conscious of how many calories I’m consuming, and I’d enjoy the taste, too.
10 Responses to “My Theory On Why America Is Fat”
Bah, I hate that too. It seems like no one can come to any kind of agreement of what works. I know different things work for different people, but really?? I don’t even know where to start.
Jillian’s last blog post..Why Variety is Indeed the Spice of Life
I have never paid attention to my weight. Of course, I’m a male, so society isn’t dragging on me. My tux looks pretty good whatever my weight is, and it has got built in adjustments.
But I have found that my weight pretty much correleates to what I do. Years ago, when I was working in the Bay Area, I worked 14 hour days. Breakfast was a quart of milk, and dinner was poached eggs on dry toast. (The diner couldn’t serve anything else I wanted to eat.) I lost about 100 lbs. on that diet. It wasn’t by choice, exactly, it was just all I had time for. (Well, one or two days a week, I enjoyed a scotch and soda at a hotel no longer in business.)
During my thankfully short marriage, I lost weight again. Enough that I needed to have my suit pants altered. I don’t know why I lost weight, since I was finishing meals for my ex-step-daughter and my ex-step-son. And the ex-wife was, when she wanted to pay attention, a fairly good cook. Maybe she just did negative things to my digestion.
And, today, I am fairly stable at 200 lbs. That is a wee tad overweight for me, but it hasn’t changed much in 20 years.
Now, this is really beyond the pale, but, Kate, have you kept up your bar license? If you really want to lose weight, I think you should go back to work, even if only a few hours a week.
No, I haven’t kept it up. I do work, however, Otto. In addition to running a small web hosting business and now doing website design, I also do freelance writing.
The problem is that, even if I keep myself to a modest 1200 calories, I don’t get enough activity in my day.
I just solved that by buying a treadmill, though. (Got tired of dealing with neighbors and weather on my morning walks.) I plan to hook my laptop up to it and walk while I work.
I have a treadmill, too. It isn’t used very much, since at 6′ 1″, the traeadmill sucks. Maybe if my osteoporosis gets worse, I’ll try it again.
And I know that you still work.
But lawyers burn off much more energy.
Yeah, all that teeth grinding, jaw clenching, wall-smashing and floor-stomping definitely does burn off the calories but it’s hell on my ulcer, IBS and fibromyalgia.
THAT is NOT why America is fat. We are fat because most people don’t even know how the body really works and then expect it to miracles while we have too much stress, eat crap (not cooking), too little sleep, etc… And as far as always being told the best thing to be eating, it’s called portion control and changing it up every few days. EVERYONE just stop blaming society for your fatness and figure out your behavioral issues and deal with them. Thanks.
From VK: You’re welcome to have your theory, and I’ll continue to have mine. One thing you are NOT welcome to do is spam my blog with your URL. Buh-bye.
First of all, I would not give up on losing the weight. Yes, it is easy to give in at times and hit the junk food trail. But when that happens, just forgive yourself and get back on track with eating healthy.
I have learned that resistance exercises is very helpful when it comes to speeding up your metabolism and losing weight. While walking and other aerobic activity is good, often people who do this type of exercise are doing their body good, but are still overweight.
Another thing to look into is something called the metabolic typing diet by William Wolcott. I have a tendency to well on a diet high on carbohydrates, while others may do well with a lot of protein or a mix. Eating right for your metabolic type may be a useful way to lose weight as well as being healthy. Its worth looking into.
Paul Eilers’s last blog post..Parents are Top Influence on Soft-Drink Consumption Among Kids
That’s an excellent point, Paul. I’ve tried numerous diets which other people have had success with only to find they haven’t worked with my body.
Intensive complex carb-based diets, for instance, seem to cause all sorts of GI problems for me and, as an IBS-sufferer, I don’t need more of those.
On the other hand, high-protein, ultra low-carb diets don’t work for me, either. Not only do I wind up dealing with IBS problems in triplicate, but I seem to swell up with fluid retention (and, as a person who drinks 64 oz. of water a day easily, that is NOT a good thing).
I really do well with a happy medium between the two, as in an Asian or Middle Eastern diet. (I have Iranian roots, so perhaps there’s an organic reason why my body handles that type of diet better.)
I’ll definitely look into that book by Wolcott. I hadn’t heard of it before, but I’m a big believer in the principle behind it as you’ve explained it.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Chubby Mommy’s last blog post..Doing My Taxes With 10 Days To Spare
I started south beach last week – and admit I quit officially today because I wanted an orange dang it! It wasn’t a craving either (phase one of south beach is supposed to get rid of your cravings), I just felt like hey an orange would be good right about now.
I eat really well I think – and since I’ve begun exercising every day (and plan on keeping that up!) I’m going to cut myself some slack on what I’m eating.
As long as I don’t eat the entire bag/box/jar I figure I’m good to go.
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When I did South Beach I craved coffee. Any diet that makes me give up my morning coffee is evil in my book.
I think I eat fairly right, too. I’m mostly a poached egg or fruit with All-Bran breakfast person, and I like soup for lunch.
My dinners? Well, they’re pretty much outlined in my Home Helper Newsletter, although I don’t do the desserts I’ve listed on the pre-planned menus. (Some folks like dessert after dinner, which is why I include them.)
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