More on America's Obesity Problem

[Guest Raidne]

Think that you'd enjoy this article. Sort of a combination of supposedly 'healthy-eating' gone totally wrong because of portion sizes and blatant trickery.

Ha! I think they have the same publisher as Glamour. Same column. Cooking Light has a similar one, also.

Can I just pimp Cooking Light again? I'm sure they are struggling as a magazine in this economic climate, and I have loved them for years.

[Eurytus]

Well, sure.

But the flipside would also be true.

If your weight was constant, and you started going to the gym five days a week and didn't change your diet, you'd also lose weight.

In that case do you think it would be fair to say that the value of changing your diet is massively overestimated when it comes to losing weight? That wouldn't make much sense to me either.

The difference is that for the average person, who now may eat fast food several times a week and in restaurants at other times, losing 500 calories a day through diet is way easier than through exercise. Doing that through exercise requires pretty much an hour in the gym every day of the week. Someone going from an inactive starting position is not going to manage that. They will fail.

But if you're eat quarterpounder meals, or at Claim Jumper, stripping out 500 calories, hell even 1,000 in a day is possible. Without too much difficulty.

Taking the quarterpounder meal alone, lose the fries and you've accomplished as much as a hard hour in the gym.

Lose the shake also and you're accomplished as much as 2 straight days in the gym.

And you DO trivialize it when you say things like 'That will only burn 200 - 300 calories a day....'

I use the word only because it accurately describes the value of 200 calories. Its minor at best. A portion of fries is over 3 times that.

[Guest Raidne]

Holy Shit. I can understand how a salad in a tostada can have a ton of calories, or a cobb salad, but Einstein Brothers, what are you doing?

Bistro Salad with Chicken

940 calories

71 g fat (12 g saturated)

810 mg sodium

I'm looking at this thing, and it's, like, chicken on lettuce. What's going on here?

And Applebees!

Grilled Shrimp and Spinach Salad

1,050 calories

11 g saturated fat

2,530 mg sodium

What?!?!?!

If I'm looking at a menu, and I see freaking grilled shrimp on spinach, I am just not going to think that's unhealthy.

It's all willpower my ass.

[slim da reaper]

But way, way too many people who actually do go to the gym and who do try to keep fit, have the completely wrong expectation that "I workout so I can eat what I like".

Well those people aren't actually at the gym they're somewhere else, same building same equipment, different place, because they're not taking exercise rountines at all seriously for that to be a problem, if you want to "eat what you like" go on the rowing machine that will cut all fat off you and I mean all the fat, it will cut your body size in half if used regularly.

The gym has many very specialised machines think of what you want to achieve and research, vary routine, that's why I am far more the advocate for natural exercise, mountain hiking, snowboarding whatever, but cutting unnecessary car journeys, bike carry your shopping, bike.

[BigFatCoward]

The US does not have a significantly more sedentary lifestyle than the rest of the westernised world

WTF, drive through cash machines exist there.

[Guest Raidne]

Let's take our average obese person. Let's say they regularly work out on the rowing machine and do not change their eating habits. No, they are not going to cut their body size in half.

Now me, OTOH, who is about 15 lbs above my ideal, perfect, hasn't been attained since I was 19 body weight, I would no doubt get all kinds of benefits out of a rowing machine, which, incidentally is my favorite piece of gym equipment ever and the only time I like heavy metal. Now if only I could find one.

[Swordfish]

I use the word only because it accurately describes the value of 200 calories. Its minor at best. A portion of fries is over 3 times that.

No, it is most definitely NOT minor. That's the point.

Again, taking into account the additional caloric burn from a boost to your metabolism, and throw in a 'stay hydrated' and you're still talking about 2 or three meals a week worth of calories.

Or, in your terms, around 4 portions of fries or so IN A WEEK.

I just don't see how anyone could consider that to be 'minor at best'.

It's is absolutely significant.

For someone who eats fast food for every meal, naturally it is 'easy' to eliminate calories. But that's a pretty extreme example.

Given the earlier example of 'skip a sandwich now and then', you are right in the same ballpark burning 200 - 300 calories a day exercising.

[Swordfish]

To LoON's point, I saw something comparing Chipotle to McDonald's. It showed that a burrito from chipotle was more or less the same nutritionally as a Big Mac, except that it had more calories.

Everyone thinks of Chipotle as a pretty healthy eating option. I think that it certainly does use higher quality ingredients than McDonald's, but that only goes so far if you have a 1,600 calorie lunch with a soda on the side.

I think those comparisons are a little unfair though. Who goes to McDonalds and just eats one big mac?

Almost no one.

Conversely, most people eat a burrito as their entire meal.

[Nichole]

Raidne, I was thinking the same thing when reading that list. Not only did I struggle to understand how they packed in that many calories, I was amazed at how deceptive it was. Not only did some of them look really healthy, I'm hungry as hell right now and I was thinking how good they looked.

I guess it is just another reason why I don't eat at chain restaurants, but I also know many or the small local places people like to frequent can have similar salads on their menus. People tend to think since it isn't a chain restaurant, it is automatically healthier.

[Eurytus]

Well those people aren't actually at the gym they're somewhere else, same building same equipment, different place, because they're not taking exercise rountines at all seriously for that to be a problem, if you want to "eat what you like" go on the rowing machine that will cut all fat off you and I mean all the fat, it will cut your body size in half if used regularly.

The gym has many very specialised machines think of what you want to achieve and research, vary routine, that's why I am far more the advocate for natural exercise, mountain hiking, snowboarding whatever, but cutting unnecessary car journeys, bike carry your shopping, bike.

Seriously. Look into calories burned per hour for a host of different types of exercise. The calories burned will flat out not let you eat what you want.

[Eurytus]

No, it is most definitely NOT minor. That's the point.

Again, taking into account the additional caloric burn from a boost to your metabolism, and throw in a 'stay hydrated' and you're still talking about 2 or three meals a week worth of calories.

Or, in your terms, around 4 portions of fries or so IN A WEEK.

I just don't see how anyone could consider that to be 'minor at best'.

It's is absolutely significant.

For someone who eats fast food for every meal, naturally it is 'easy' to eliminate calories. But that's a pretty extreme example.

Given the earlier example of 'skip a sandwich now and then', you are right in the same ballpark burning 200 - 300 calories a day exercising.

When the amount burned off doesn't even add up to a 3rd of the increased number of calories being consumed in a single meal then yeah, its pretty minor.

I don't think it does any good to make people believe that walking a few miles is going to lose them weight whilst they continue to eat unhealthily.

[Guest Raidne]

Oh yeah, Trisk, let's all get something out of this thread and list off the surprising things that are terrible for you:

Chipotle is the devil. Seriously. The freaking tortilla has about 300 calories by itself. And 9 grams of fat! Add carnitas/steak/chicken? 480 calories total. Add lettuce, tomato, salsa. 520. Add corn. 600. Add cheese. 700. Add rice. 830. Add black beans. 950. And...add sour cream. 1070. Want guacamole too? 1220.

OTOH, for about 550, you can have a chipotle burrito if you stick to the vegetables and meat.

Other tips: all sandwiches at Cosi that are not "light" are terrible. Everything at Corner Bakery is terrible except the salads. Some of the pasta dishes are over 1,000 calories.

[alguien]

Also, while you may burn fat when you exercise, you'll also gain muscle, so you're actual weight might not change that much, though you'll be much healthier.

Happened to me. At the start of marathon training I was 212 lbs., then quickly dropped to 200. My mileage training has gone nothing but up since then but my weight's stayed relatively the same. Why? Because my I've had a significant amount of muscle gain, especially in my legs.

And yes, during marathon training I can eat pretty much as many calories as I want. (within reason)

[BigFatCoward]

while we are on portion sizes can anybody in the US tell me if Man V Food eating challenges and the ridiculous portion sizes are an exception or the norm?

i hope that each little town has one or two places that serve portions this big, because if this is the norm i'm not surprised there is such a big problem. though Adam is a god and the programme would just be offensive without his likeability.

also the parents in the new jamie oliver programme should have their children removed from them.

CALORIE DEFECIT PEOPLE. burn more calories than you consume, that is all there is to it. i'm overweight because i drink far far too much (5-6000 calories a week every week, but i also train much harder in the gym than pretty much everyone i know, swings and roundabouts) i know its my fault, i put my hands up. please lets not blame anyone but ourselves that we are overweight. if you are intelligent enough to log onto a computer then nobody out there is lacking in the relevant information to have a healthy, well balanced diet.

[alguien]

Chipotle is the devil. Seriously. The freaking tortilla has about 300 calories by itself. And 9 grams of fat! Add carnitas/steak/chicken? 480 calories total. Add lettuce, tomato, salsa. 520. Add corn. 600. Add cheese. 700. Add rice. 830. Add black beans. 950. And...add sour cream. 1070. Want guacamole too? 1220.

Dear God in heaven, you just made me cry on the inside. There's a chipotle by my office and it is glorious.

[BigFatCoward]

Seriously. Look into calories burned per hour for a host of different types of exercise. The calories burned will flat out not let you eat what you want.

depends how long and hard you train though doesn't it?

i do 1500 calories in 90 mins when i'm really pushing it. do that 4 times a week = 6000 calories. do that for a month you lose 6lb, do it for a year you lose 72lb.

[Guest Raidne]

You burn 1000 calories an hour doing what?

[Eurytus]

depends how long and hard you train though doesn't it?

i do 1500 calories in 90 mins when i'm really pushing it. do that 4 times a week = 6000 calories. do that for a month you lose 6lb, do it for a year you lose 72lb.

I'm not going to get into derailing this thread but suffice it to say that when you brought this up in the weight loss thread I was not alone in believing you to have exagerrated your calories burned.

[The Wedge]

It's all willpower my ass.

People should have the willpower not to eat at a ****hole like Applebee's.

;)

[ljkeane]

Also, while you may burn fat when you exercise, you'll also gain muscle, so you're actual weight might not change that much, though you'll be much healthier.

It works the other way round as well, I still weigh about the same as when I was doing more exercise, I've just replaced muscle with fat. I don't think in general people are actually bothered about their weight when they are talking about losing weight, they just want to lose fat.