A nation of fatties

Glad you're blaming the right foods: sugars and starches. Read Gary Taubes's excellent book, "Good Calories, Bad Calories," for the whole history of how we got to this point, when foods loaded with sugar are considered "health food" as long as they're low in fat.

Stats: 5'8", 155 lbs, 32" waist.

Lookin' good.

Eat less & exercise more. I'm told this approach doesn't work for some people, but it seemed to work just fine on my fellow recruits.

How could it *not* work for *anybody*? If you're burning more calories and consuming fewer, the deficit has to come from somewhere. It's not as though people absorb calories through the air. The only way this diet strategy wouldn't "work" is if somebody didn't have the willpower to keep it up. It *always* works, if the person doing it keeps doing it.

Are you keeping the Orthodox fast? Vegan diet about half the year. The purpose is character development, not weight loss, but I've lost weight on it . . .

Stats: 5'8", 155 lbs, 32" waist.

Lookin' good.

Git a rope (says Mr. 5'11", 210 lbs, 38" waist -- but big-boned, fer sher).

Gotta say it,

Stats: 5'11'', 130 lbs. 30" waist. 48 years old. Eat whatever I want - doesn't matter. Wife likes skinny guys.

Genetics are destiny...feel free to git another rope ready.

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" is a great book, Rod! I can't believe you haven't read it already. It should be on every Crunchy Con's "must read" list. He devotes a lot of pages to a guy you interviewed, Joel Salatin. That guy is fascinating.

So many thoughts. As someone who, as a child, felt fat as my parents protested that I was just a bit "chunky", I have had the bad body image and struggles with fitness and diet all my life (I am 44), even though to outward appearances I am basically the same weight (6'3", 205 lbs) for 30 yrs.

Contrasting the US and Europe re: food habits, I think we have to look at a couple things. (Warning: this is filtered thru my own experience as a workaholic, so YMMV).

(1) Those horrible pansy/commie European ideas about work (you know, 40 hr or fewer work weeks, generous vacations, labor protection) maybe aren't evil but are actually a manifestation of a serious and admirable civic value for boundaries between work and personal life and taking the time to live well.

In my time traveling in Europe and staying with host families and subsequent business trips, I was really struck by the un-rushedess of not only breakfast and dinner but also a simple coffee break. I have such a skewed "efficiency" / "work" vs. "indulgence" mentality sometimes that the time to shop, cook and eat a decent meal and/or the time to exercise feel like indulgences that don't fit my busy schedule and all of the thousands of things I feel like i *should* be doing. However, all the work/rush can make me feel perfectly entitled to a caloric indulgence. In short: "time indulgence" to cook/exercise/do something for myself --> bad; but "caloric indulgence" --> OK.

One gift of my recovery from workaholism is the ability to catch this kind of stinking thinking in myself and remember that there is a difference between self-care and self-indulgence.

(2) I really like the "real food" movement that seems to be catching on more and more. I used to have such an unthinking "carbs vs. protein vs. fat with a bit of vegetables and fruit required" way of looking at food. It didn't matter what the sources were so long as there was some balance and I took a vitamin in the morning! I wonder whether the European disdain for Cheez Whiz etc. that I used to think of as "food snobbery" was rather a legitimate "what on earth are you eating man?" that I perceived as snobbery because of my own defensiveness, etc.

5'8", 204ish and 36 inches, just for full disclosure.

I've always figured core muscle structure and certain body features [a size 8 head like mine probably adds 8-10 pounds over a 7 1/4] adds pounds that really aren't all that losable. That said, I still stand needing to lose 25 or 30 pounds to an optimum of 175 or so.

My biggest problems with nutrition and weight, though, have not so much to do with cardiovascular or diabetic issues but rather liver and intestinal issues having to do with what I eat. I have NASH Syndrome, in which your gut transforms sugars into alcohol, meaning if you don't change you get all the joys of cirrhosis with none of the hangovers; and I have IBS, which gets set off by a multitude of offending foods but mostly low fiber, high protein, high fat junk. So red meat is out, as is milk, much in the snack and frozen aisles, and certain vegetables [broccoli is the death of me]. Both are entirely controllable with diet and exercise, though, especially the IBS, and that is what is pushing me towards almost-vegetarianism

The biggest lesson, though, has been that too much of anything is not a good idea. One should eat a banana now and again for the potassium, sure, so eating three or four should be even better, right? Wrong. Too much potassium leads to *serious* heart problems. One needs protein, so one should eat meat at every meal, right? Wrong again, for a whole host of reasons. And so forth and so on...

No stat posting here! I'm the short plump woman in a family where my mother (9 children) older sister (7 children, all boys) and sister just below me (2 children so far) are all much, much thinner than I am, with weights ranging (I'm guessing) between about 95 pounds and about 110 or so. How did Rod put it: "(except if you're a woman, where you're told to indulge your every appetite, but whatever you do stay skeletal)."

And they all just *live* on sugar. And carbs. The one with the seven boys used to eat buttered pop-tarts and hot chocolate for breakfast every day. Meanwhile, I'm loathing both the lettuce on my plate and the reflection in the mirror, and wondering how they lucked out and I....didn't.

Don't get me wrong: I can, and do, eat healthier, and I can lose weight when I combine the sensible "eat real food" approach with some good amounts of exercise. Which I'm in the process of doing again for the umpteen millionth time, grateful that the early Lent is going to reinforce my efforts in this area.

I've got to admit it; I'm my own worst enemy. It seems so unfair to have to go through the process of eliminating carbs and sugar and committing to a 45 to 60 minute daily exercise regimen when I know in advance that the last time I successfully did this, I lost 12 pounds in about 8 months, and gained it all back the minute I started to cheat on the diet--especially since 12 pounds is less than half of what I need to lose. But self-pity leads to emotional eating which leads straight back to self-pity, so it's not productive to dwell on any of this.

I agree with those who like the European approach to food, though Europeans also turn to that appetite suppressant known as the cigarette with alarming frequency. And the walking they do does have to have a huge effect on their waistlines, too. But the availability of fresh, real food instead of processed junk is an important factor.

I find the solution is to not eat processed carbohydrates. Japan has a reputation for some of the world's best food, and England the world's worst. However, in Japan my diet was based on white rice, and I got fat and constipated, whereas in England it is based on potatoes and wholemeal bread and I'm slim and well. White bread, white rice, pasta, sugar - they're lethal.

Isn't Texas the most obese state in the U.S.? I did my residency training among the indigent of Oklahoma City, then moved to Massachusetts, a much thinner and active population. What is it about Texas and the deep South states that fosters obesity?

"White bread, white rice, pasta, sugar - they're lethal."

Very true. Eliminate anything white from your diet (if you eat potatoes, eat the skins too), eat at least one apple and one banana per day, and walk a mile a day at least 4 or 5 times a week. The results will surprise you.

Isn't Texas the most obese state in the U.S.?

It seems like Michigan and Texas trade the honors for Fattest State in the Union every other year or so. Buffalo, NY is usually up there too in the fattest cities ranking.

I agree with Jim's post on Europe. I've been there twice (England, France and Italy). Especially in Italy, it's startling to see how their perspective on food differs so radically from ours. In Rome, I would be served about 4 ounces of pasta dressed in garlic and olive oil or a light and fresh tomato and basil gravy. In America, the same order would come with a pound of pasta drenched in a sugar-heavy, processed tomato sauce. Similarly, in Italy fish is seen as a gift of the sea, and is rarely dressed up with more than some salt and olive oil.

Ever since we came back from Italy, I can barely eat at most Italian-American restaurants, and I've barely touched fast food. Italy made me fall in love with the simplicity and--yes--beauty of fresh food. We cook at home almost everyday now. (And, really, of all the stylres, Italian is probably the easiest for people to bust to cook. Real Italian is simple, unpretentious and rustic.)

I think one of the overlooked issues with our obesity problem is the concepot of "diet." When people say they are on a diet, they say it with a tone that implies that this is temporary. Just a little sacrifice until they lose the extra pounds. We need to rethink diet as a lifestyle, not a fad that goes away when we reach our goal weight.

(And, really, of all the stylres, Italian is probably the easiest for people to bust to cook. Real Italian is simple, unpretentious and rustic.)

True. It's the nature of Italian cooking. They let the freshness and quality of the ingredients do the talking. One of the most delicious things I ever ate in my life was in Rome: a bowl of pasta alla gricia. All it involves is pasta, olive oil, bits of pancetta (Italian bacon), and grated fresh Parmigiano cheese. Maybe some garlic, though we don't use it when I make this dish at home. It could hardly be easier, but the taste is out of this world. But you have to use quality ingredients, like fresh cheese.

I am 36 years old, I am 5'10" and I now weigh 135 pounds. I lost 122 pounds over 2 years and became a Pilates instructor. I almost completely eliminiated anything white--white rice, white flour and white sugar. I say "almost" because once every couple of months, I'll make cookies or buy a croissant. I don't eat anything processed. I don't eat low-fat anything, but I eat small portions (ie: a little cream in my *one* cup of coffee each day). And, despite being a Pilates instructor, I don't kill myself with exercise...I personally do Pilates 4 times per week for 30 minutes per session and walk (not run) a couple of times per week for 30 minutes. I also always park in the farthest possible parking spot, take the stairs, etc...wherever I go.

I sympathize completely with Erin. When we moved to Texas some years ago, I almost immediately started to gain weight, and to this day I don't know why. Our little corner of Arlington was the oldest one where we could find a house for sale, so there were some trees in our tiny neighborhood. But any time I stepped out of the house, the sun blasted down on me and made me feel that my brains were boiling. A four-mile walk down to the treeless main street and back, my major exercise, made me feel like a limp washrag. I developed asthma, probably because of pollen and dust. Trying to work out when you can't breathe is problematic. Other medical issues came up, too. I had always been healthy. By the time we left Texas, I'd never felt so bad in my life.

When harvey lacey talks about working all day in the hot sun, I REALLY admire him. If you live in a climate that doesn't agree with you, or in an area where it's unsafe to be out, then your only alternative is the gym. And that can be a real problem for people with small children at home, AND for people who have to work eight or nine hours plus a commute, plus the need for family time. I handled this back in Kansas by using my command presence to make the entire family accompany me to martial arts class three times a week. They didn't particularly appreciate this, needless to say, but we were fit and we were together. Such solutions are hard to find, however.

This post reminded me of an odd news story I read earlier this month:

January 2, 2008
'Hearty Eaters' Say Buffet Banned Them
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 4:44 p.m. ET

HOUMA, La. (AP) -- A 6-foot-3, 265-pound man says a restaurant overcharged him for his trips to the buffet line, then banned him and a relative because they're hearty eaters. A spokesman for the restaurant denies the claim.

Ricky Labit, a disabled offshore worker, said he had been a regular for eight months at the Manchuria Restaurant in Houma, eating there as often as three times a week.

On his most recent visit, he said, a waitress gave him and his wife's cousin, 44-year-old Michael Borrelli, a bill for $46.40, roughly double the buffet price for two adults.

''She says, 'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,''' Labit said.

Labit and Borrelli said they felt discriminated against because of their size. ''I was stunned, that somebody would say something like that. I ain't that fat, I only weigh 277,'' Borrelli said, adding that a waitress told him he looked like he a had a ''baby in the belly.''

Houma accountant Thomas Campo said the men were charged an extra $10 each on Dec. 21 because they made a habit of dining exclusively on the more expensive seafood dishes, including crab legs and frog legs.

''We have a lot of big people there,'' said Campo, who spoke for owner Li Shang, whose English is limited. ''We don't discriminate.''

Labit denied ever being told he would be asked to pay more than the standard adult price.
The argument grew heated, and police were called.

The police report states, ''The incident was settled when the management advised that the bill was a mistake and, to appease Ricky, the meal was complimentary.''

Labit said he insisted on paying but was told not to come back. He complained that when seafood on the buffet line runs out, the restaurant only grudgingly cooks more.

Campo said the proprietress tries to reduce waste of quality food, he said.

''Food is for eating, not toys for your child,'' reads a sign posted on a wall in typewritten text. A handwritten addition reads ''Or 20% added.''