Sick of the Stupidity

[Over40]

On "Supersize Me" Morgan Spurlock's Vegan/Chef girlfriend made the comment, "Honey, ham is worse for you than heroine!"

And the other day I saw a post by a Vegan that said, "Meat is more addictive than drugs and causes diabetes."

I guess I'm getting worn on the politically correct, "feel good" dogma that is being promoted by the vegetarian/vegan crowd. Now, if someone want to be a vegetarian, hats off...I don't have an issue with it. But when people make uneducated comments about issues I'm not sure they have studied, but feel the need to make negative comments on, that kind of rubs my rubbarb the wrong way.

Over40

[Dodger]

All groups tend to bad-mouth the competition. There have been plenty of anti-vegan posts on this site that misrepresented the vegan lifestyle. People tend to look at the exteme members and think that that is the 'typical' member. For instance, a box of Twinkies and a six pack of coke are vegan, but they would not be a typical vegan meal.

All foods can be viewed as addictive. Just try to go without food and you will suffer withdrawal pains (hunger) and eventually die!

[foxgluvs]

Just because these people are famous, it doesn't mean they have brains. Their brains have been decaying for years without some good protein!

[steveed]

another quote from his vegan girlfriend: "We'll put you back on a diet of cleansing vegetables"...might as well bring out the crystals and new age music.
Cleansing vegetables? Have you ever smelled a compost heap?

[potatofree]

steeved-- remember the ColonBlow thread? :D

[Over40]

Well,

I agree with Dodger. The competition does bad mouth the opponent. And certainly low carbers have bad mouthed vegetarians/vegans, etc. And probably, that doesn't need to be done.

Although, Dodger, I did know a vegan who ate Lay's potato chips and drank Pepsi for lunch on a regular basis. But she was sure to inform everyone of the bad stuff that was in meat. Which is the same as the Atkins "guru" I work with who chastised me for drinking a Slim-fast one day at lunch while he ate a bag of pepperoni and a bag of pork rinds.

I agree with foxgloves also, quality protein ingestion is lacking in some people.

What dturbes me is the quips I have been reading about Atkins, and low carb in general causing "instant death". I assume that "take" is a carry over from the liquid protein diets of the 70's.

Take Care,

Over40

[Klodo2]

That comment made me wonder too. You'd think that someone like Spurlock who is inquisitive and wants to see for himself how things work would call BS when faced with a comment like that. But then again, he'd probably be denied sex for eternity if he did. :p

[MeBLady]

On "Supersize Me" Morgan Spurlock's Vegan/Chef girlfriend made the comment, "Honey, ham is worse for you than heroine!"


I found "Supersize Me" to be a pretty interesting documentary, even if I didn't agree with all of the girlfriend's opinions.

LOL, I bet there are many of us around here that can relate to watching this guy's health deteriorate. I wasn't on a total McD. diet, but I sure was close, and his symptoms mirrored mine before LC.

What I found the most interesting, however, is how long he took to recover on a vegan diet. Wasn't it 18 months?

I ate McD., or some sort of fast food, for at least two meals a day for a lot longer than he did, gained 50+ pounds more than he did, yet, I have been LCing for only 5 months and premaintenance is right around the corner for me, and I've been "symptom free" for over four months.

The proof is in the results -- the vegan diet looks to have improved this guy's health.....but he would have improved faster doing the LC lifestyle ;-)

[Ayustar]

I don't know, but I think I would lose my mind if I had to eat vegan. If it was forced to. I am not going to be like some people and say "I can't live without such and such* I could LIVE eating just vegan, but I wouldn't like it.

As for ham being worse than heroine...doubtful, though it does have a lot of salt, lol. Depending on how it is prepared. Heroine is bound to kill you alot sooner though.

[ojoj]

My attitude to veganism, vegetarian etc is that my body was designed to eat meat and veg, the way it works, the way it digests food and functions is dependant on eating meat. So who am I to try to change that and if thats how its designed then thats what it needs to enable it to function properly.

however, each to his own and I would never inflict my view on anyone else, nor would I expect anyone else to inflict their view on me ( got that PCRM)!

Jo

[IdahoSpud]

Hahahaha. You may not live to be 100 years old on a vegan/vegetarian diet... but it'll *seem* like 100 years...

[jedswife]

the entire "super size me" was a complete PETA B***S*** fest. it was so biased that none of it should be taken seriously.

all of the physicians were from PCRM all of them. now his girlfriend has her new book out- the whole thing stinks. i believe the entire show was a completely overblown setup. as soon as the doctor started discussing his results i knew it was a setup.

[H20Goddess]

the entire "super size me" was a complete PETA B***S*** fest. it was so biased that none of it should be taken seriously.

all of the physicians were from PCRM all of them. now his girlfriend has her new book out- the whole thing stinks. i believe the entire show was a completely overblown setup. as soon as the doctor started discussing his results i knew it was a setup.

I've been saying this all along. I haven't the time for "Supersize Me" and it's contrived propagandist views, not now, not ever. :rolleyes:

[HappyLC]

I thought "Supersize Me" was absolutely ridiculous and cannot understand why anyone would give it any credibility. The man stuffed himself sick at every meal. OF COURSE that's harmful. It was complete and utter Bull***t...Penn and Teller should expose it on their show of the same name!

[ItsTheWooo]

Supersize me in a nutshell:

I'm going to prove to the world computers are bad with a sensationalist propaganda piece disgused as an unbiased documentary!
I am going to do this because I'm some breed of an environut, and I want people to be anti-technology, furthering my insane cause!

I am going to take my minitower, misuse and abuse it for a month! I will download viruses, kick it, throw it, pour water on it, and other weird/abnormal behaviors! I'm going to lead people to form negative emotional associations between computer usage / reliance on technology! I'm going to cast a lot of fear (MACHINES WILL TAKE OUR JOBS), doubt (HOW SAFE IS DATA ON A HARD DISK?), and shame (YOU ONLY USE COMPUTERS BECAUSE YOU'RE STUPID AND LAZY TO DO WORK YOURSELF) -- the whole NINE YARDS -- to further "The Cause" (aka my religious like belief in the superiority of a simple gaget free life).

I am going to document my abusive, abnormal, and wholly unnatural behavior toward this piece of machinery in lurid detail! I will likewise document the subsequent and obvious deterioration of performance and it's negative effect on my life that will ensue!

This will then lead people to form irrational and completely stupid conclusions about whether or not using computers - as intended - is a good idea!

Here's the funny part though: THE CONCLUSION IS RIGGED! The experiment and it's conditions are ridiculously flawed from the outset so that only the conclusion I want to be reached can possibly be reached! Once my "scientific experiment proves my point", I'll run wild using the data to further "The Cause"! I'm a smartee pantz!



(The one significant difference between this scenario and the spectacle of SuperSizeMe, is the unfortunate fact that obesity is a HUMAN condition, not the condition of an inanimate object. It's terribly unfortunate this pathetic worm has chosen to single out and exploit the obese to further his animal rights propaganda BS. Joseph Goebbels would be proud. Although on the other hand, he's doing an excellent job offering evidence to support my theory that ideologically extreme individuals are that way at the expense of empathy/tolerance/compassion for fellow human beings...)

[H20Goddess]

Supersize me in a nutshell:

I'm going to prove to the world computers are bad with a sensationalist propaganda piece disgused as an unbiased documentary!
I am going to do this because I'm some breed of an environut, and I want people to be anti-technology, furthering my insane cause!

I am going to take my minitower, misuse and abuse it for a month! I will download viruses, kick it, throw it, pour water on it, and other weird/abnormal behaviors! I'm going to lead people to form negative emotional associations between computer usage / reliance on technology! I'm going to cast a lot of fear (MACHINES WILL TAKE OUR JOBS), doubt (HOW SAFE IS DATA ON A HARD DISK?), and shame (YOU ONLY USE COMPUTERS BECAUSE YOU'RE STUPID AND LAZY TO DO WORK YOURSELF) -- the whole NINE YARDS -- to further "The Cause" (aka my religious like belief in the superiority of a simple gaget free life).

I am going to document my abusive, abnormal, and wholly unnatural behavior toward this piece of machinery in lurid detail! I will likewise document the subsequent and obvious deterioration of performance and it's negative effect on my life that will ensue!

This will then lead people to form irrational and completely stupid conclusions about whether or not using computers - as intended - is a good idea!

Here's the funny part though: THE CONCLUSION IS RIGGED! The experiment and it's conditions are ridiculously flawed from the outset so that only the conclusion I want to be reached can possibly be reached! Once my "scientific experiment proves my point", I'll run wild using the data to further "The Cause"! I'm a smartee pantz!

(The one significant difference between this scenario and the spectacle of SuperSizeMe, is the unfortunate fact that obesity is a HUMAN condition, not the condition of an inanimate object. It's terribly unfortunate this pathetic worm has chosen to single out and exploit the obese to further his animal rights propaganda BS. Joseph Goebbels would be proud. Although on the other hand, he's doing an excellent job offering evidence to support my theory that ideologically extreme individuals are that way at the expense of empathy/tolerance/compassion for fellow human beings...)

I simply could not have summed SuperSizeMe up any better than you have here. Your take on this piece of propagandist garbage is by far the best one I have heard yet and is my interpretation of the film to the letter. I just couldn't think of the proper analogy. I am amazed at the the amount of people whom upon watching the film come away claiming how horrible MacDonald's is and that they will never eat fast food again, yada, yada, yada, and I am not knocking these views. But to base such decisons on an unrealistic, contrived experiment conducted by this type of extremist is frankly, quite ridiculous, imo. No one in their right mind would eat the way he did during the film, therefore his theory is baseless.

I see this movie as nothing more than an inept "film maker's" attempt to make a name for himself by catering to the lack of self-accountabilty already prevalent in our society by using this piece of garbage as a vehicle to do so. The fact that he attempts to present the film in a Michael Moore-esque fashion does not negate this.

[jedswife]

the failure of people to recognize the OBVIOUS absurdities of their claims is what really bothers me. it seems people (the herd mentality) just believe whatever they see - no questioning no logical discussion just blatant acceptance of complete BS.

i think there is a virus going around called "terminal stupidity" and it has spread worldwide. you know the old saying "a person is smart but 'people' are stupid". it just seems like no one (this is not directed at any of you but 'people' in general) thinks for themselves anymore. a group of people get together and the intelligence level just seems fall.

[jedswife]

oh! i read somewhere that the sky is purple so it must be true!

[JPaleo]

I liked Super Size Me. His film was not about the evils of meat or low carb or Atkins. It was about the evils of processed food. I think that anyone who subsists on a diet of only processed foods would most likely suffer the same sort of health issues as he did eating only McDonalds. Processed food is all refined flours and sugar and preservatives and hydrogenated fats. And isn't that what has made so many of us ill?

The movie did not push any animal rights stuff (other than the girlfriend). It pushed getting rid of junk food. And what is wrong with that?

He is quoted in one interview as saying, "The one thing I had hoped that would happen with this movie, was it would make people start to think about how they eat, how they live. Nobody walks out of this movie and calls their lawyer to sue McDonalds. People walked out saying, 'I need to pay more attention to what I eat. I need to pay better attention to how I live. I need to exercise more.' Parents are walking out saying, 'I need to be a better role model to my kids. I need to cook more at home. I'm going down to my kids school Monday morning and see what the hell they're feeding my kids, because I have no idea.' "

I don't see any evil PETA pushing in that.

Also, at the end of the film it said that Morgan followed a vegan diet for a few months and lost some weight then stopped doing vegan and continued to lose the rest of his weight.

Just my two cents . . .

-J

[HappyLC]

His film was not about the evils of meat or low carb or Atkins. It was about the evils of processed food. I think that anyone who subsists on a diet of only processed foods would most likely suffer the same sort of health issues as he did eating only McDonalds.
-J

Not true. Spurlock didn't just eat McDonald's food - he stuffed himself to the point of sickness at every meal. There's another guy with a website who decided to put the "McDonald's diet" to the test. He lost weight and got healthier. And he wasn't eating salads, either, but burgers and fries. I don't have the link right now, but will post it if I find it. (Anybody else know who I'm talking about?)

[JPaleo]

I honestly cannot imagine that eating all your meals at McDonalds could ever, ever make you healither. Maybe someone could lose weight eating only McDonalds if they really watched portions and maybe the weight loss would lead to some short term health improvements. But in the long term? Not going to happen. The hydrogenated fats alone would have adverse effects on your body not to mention the acrylamide in the french fries.

[Lisa N]

There's another guy with a website who decided to put the "McDonald's diet" to the test. He lost weight and got healthier. And he wasn't eating salads, either, but burgers and fries.

Yup. His name is Don Gorske (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Midwest/03/20/offbeat.big.mac.ap/) but he ate once a day and not a large amount, either. While he brags that his cholesterol is enviably low and he certainly is thin, those are not altogether reliable indicators of health as many thin people with low cholesterol have strokes and heart attacks and get diabetes as well.
Even though he appears healthy, I can't imagine that a diet that consists of nothing but 2 Big Macs a day and some Coke can be good for anyone long-term. Then again, he may just be one of those people who can abuse their body their whole life and live to a ripe old age. Sort of like that Uncle that so many people claim to have who smoked 2 packs a day and live to the age of 98. ;)

[kwikdriver]

To tack on to the above posts, I lost probably about 90 pounds between August and February by eating only fast food, chips and candy. I'd bet my bloodwork looked better than when I started. But I only ate once a day. In that time, I didn't go into a supermarket once, for any reason, and never prepared a meal of my own. Prior to that, I had lived on fast food for many years, and gained a frightening amount of weight.

When I was 20, I lost probably about 125 pounds in six months by eating one restaurant meal a day: two chile rellenos, Spanish rice, and beans, five days a week, for six months. The other two days (I was off from work), I ate an enormous super burrito from a different restaurant. That was it, the only food I ate. As soon as I started adding food back in, my weight skyrocketed, and I was almost back to where I started in under a year.

All sorts of things can be done, but few people who eat fast food regularly only eat once a day. I haven't seen Supersize Me, and I seriously doubt I'd like it based on what I've read, but I have no doubt fast food is a serious threat to the health of this country. I also don't think you should blame the fast food companies (entirely). This is a free enterprise system; they can't make people eat their crap day after day after day. The problem is more complex: a lazy, ignorant public, and information sources (like the USDA) which are more interested in keeping the economy rolling than they are in protecting the public health. There's a fast food joint on every corner because that's what we, the great unwashed public, want; if we didn't they'd be out of business.

[steveed]

I didn't take SuperSize Me seriously as a documentery, I just thought that seeing someone making a documentary on self abuse was amusing, even if the vegan girlfriend and conclusions it made were ridiculous. If some people took it as gospel or an admonishment to stay away from McDonalds, so be it...people can read whatever nonsense they want to into it.

Still thought it was entertaining on a purely voyueristic gonzo level...I just made a shopping list in my head while the propoganda was being shoveled.

No, I'm not proud of the fact. ;)

[HappyLC]

Yup. His name is Don Gorske (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Midwest/03/20/offbeat.big.mac.ap/) but he ate once a day and not a large amount, either.

No, that's not the guy. The guy I'm thinking of deliberately set out to debunk "Supersize Me." He ate all his meals at McDonald's and kept track of everything he ate, his weight, bloodwork, etc.

(I'll find that website if it's the last thing I do! :lol: )

ETA: I found it! His claim is that it's the sugary soda and not the food that made Spurlock sick. Here's HIS WEBSITE. (http://www.liquidcalories.com/)

[kwikdriver]

No, that's not the guy. The guy I'm thinking of deliberately set out to debunk "Supersize Me." He ate all his meals at McDonald's and kept track of everything he ate, his weight, bloodwork, etc.

(I'll find that website if it's the last thing I do! :lol: )

Done (http://www.cei.org/gencon/023,04566.cfm)

Notice that this person (a libertarian free marketer) actually did the same thing as the other guy: deliberately ate an unrealistic diet in order to skew the results. Of the two, my own experience with fast food suggests the other guy's distortion was the less egregious.

[Klodo2]

I'm surprised that so many people hated Super Size Me so much. I saw it pretty much as steveed did - just a bit of fun, not a serious, world-changing documentary. And I'm so not hearing the PETA black helicopters at all. His girlfriend's opinions were a small part of the movie, but Spurlock himself said he loved meat.

[MeBLady]

He is quoted in one interview as saying, "The one thing I had hoped that would happen with this movie, was it would make people start to think about how they eat, how they live. Nobody walks out of this movie and calls their lawyer to sue McDonalds. People walked out saying, 'I need to pay more attention to what I eat. I need to pay better attention to how I live. I need to exercise more.' Parents are walking out saying, 'I need to be a better role model to my kids. I need to cook more at home. I'm going down to my kids school Monday morning and see what the hell they're feeding my kids, because I have no idea.' "

I don't see any evil PETA pushing in that.

Also, at the end of the film it said that Morgan followed a vegan diet for a few months and lost some weight then stopped doing vegan and continued to lose the rest of his weight.

Just my two cents . . .


I agree. I also enjoyed Supersize Me and thought it put out an interesting message, even if I didn't completely agree with the gf's accessments.

I thought they had it wrong with their stance on saturated fats instead of transfats (like most mainstream does), but they exposed the entire McDonald's menu as being "bad for you". Even their salads contained sugar.

I remember that Morgan gained about 22 pounds in the 30 days, and it took him 18 months to lose 20 pounds. It was more his health rather than his weight that was a problem....his blood and liver were in the condition of someone who would be typically twice his weight.

With that said, I don't completely disagree with the vegan diet used to restore his health....the gf said, "Lots of healthy veggies with plenty of antioxidants" -- this is consistant with what I have learned through LCing. Antioxidants DO help with free radicals which are caused by transfats, the the carbs we do eat within the LC lifestyle are those in which the gf was promoting (lots of greens). I do think he would have recovered faster with eating saturated fats and plenty of protein to preserve muscle mass.

Yup. His name is Don Gorske (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Midwest/03/20/offbeat.big.mac.ap/) but he ate once a day and not a large amount, either. While he brags that his cholesterol is enviably low and he certainly is thin, those are not altogether reliable indicators of health as many thin people with low cholesterol have strokes and heart attacks and get diabetes as well.
Even though he appears healthy, I can't imagine that a diet that consists of nothing but 2 Big Macs a day and some Coke can be good for anyone long-term. Then again, he may just be one of those people who can abuse their body their whole life and live to a ripe old age. Sort of like that Uncle that so many people claim to have who smoked 2 packs a day and live to the age of 98. ;)

I've lost weight this way when I was young -- 20 years of age. I ate one meal a day of whatever I wanted, which was fast food considering I was going to school at the time and wasn't really in a position to cook my own meals.

I usually ate a quarter pounder w/cheese or a whopper (only ketchup and pickle) with fries, 5 piece chicken tender w/BBQ sause, and a large coke. Took off about 25 pounds in a few months, which had been put on through a pregnancy.

I was, once, one of those people that you describe above -- someone who could eat nothing but junk and remain skinny, but I never felt good. I always had stomache problems, never had much energy, snored, was sick alot. It DID catch up with me later in life, and once I started gaining, the weight came on fast and no matter what I did, I couldn't get it off.

Now, in my late 30's and a smoker, I have more energy and less health problems with the LC lifestyle than I did as a non smoking junk food junkie 20 year old.

[Monica34]

A Dutch newspaper journalist (Algemeen Dagblad) tried the same experiment last year. He ate all his meals at McDonalds for a month. After his checkup his health had improved and he lost weight.

His conclusion was that it's not McDonalds that is bad, but what and how much you choose to eat (as if we didn't know that). He ate a normal amount choosing salads, chicken, croissants, fruit and sometimes burgers.

Of course if you go to McDonalds you can stuff yourself until it comes right back out (sorry), but you can do that everywhere. The things this guy ate could be ordered just as easy as a cheeseburger. He just chose a sensible diet instead of a diet which was sure from the beginning to be very damaging to a body.

So instead of putting the blame on McDonalds, I think it is better to look at ourselves. We are the ones who choose a cheesburger/whopper instead of a grilled chicken with a salad and suffer / have suffered the consequenses.

Monica

[HappyLC]

Here's that website again. (http://www.liquidcalories.com/) The guy is Deshan "Woody" Woods, a 30-year-old Air Force sergeant stationed in San Antonio, Tex. He wanted to do his own "Supersize Me" challenge.

His rules -
1- Eat ONLY at McDonald's and nowhere else, even at home
2- Eat french fries with every meal.
3- Supersize when offered.
4- Avoid healthy items like salads, yogurt parfaits, and grilled items
5- Consume at least one dessert every day
6- Drink NO water at anytime, only diet sodas
7- Breakfast was optional, Lunch and Dinner were mandatory


Here are the results -

(C&P from his site)

I lost 8.4 pounds...(160.6 ---> 152.2)
I lost 2" around the waist...(33" ---> 31")
I lost over 3% body fat… (14% ---> 11%)

That’s the outside…but what about the inside…let’s run
those numbers!

My cholesterol dropped 33 pts…(204 ---> 171)
My Triglyceride count dropped 24 pts…(89 ---> 65)
My HDL lowered 8 pts…(57 ---> 49)
My LDL dropped 20 pts… (129 ---> 109)
My Glucose dropped 5 pts… (85 ---> 80)
My Chol/HDL ratio dropped…(3.6 ---> 3.5)
My kidney, Thyroid, and Liver results came back all within
range! No damage to report!

These labs were conducted using a USAF medical
laboratory! So you can bet they are accurate with no
foul play!

[kwikdriver]

His conclusion was that it's not McDonalds that is bad, but what and how much you choose to eat (as if we didn't know that). He ate a normal amount choosing salads, chicken, croissants, fruit and sometimes burgers.


McDonald's didn't become McDonald's because of their salads, or their yogurt parfait (which is incredible tasting, despite being low fat, BTW). McDonald's is McDonald's because of their burgers and fries, like nearly every other fast food place. If they didn't offer them, and sell tons of them, they'd be out of business.


I've been checking out a couple of those sites where people lived only on McDonald's for 30 days or so (there are actually several). More than demonstrating McDonald's can be good for you, they seem to be confirming the existence of the Uncertainty Principle: knowing they are (or soon will be) being observed, they are changing their behavior, which invalidates the whole thing. The question isn't whether McDonald's can be eaten as part of a healthy diet, but is it being done. These publicity stunts don't do a thing to answer that question. But the expanding waistlines of this country, and other countries where fast food restaurants are penetrating, provides a hint, I think. Fast food restaurants aren't in business so people will eat sensibly, however much they protest to the contrary. They are in business to make money, as much of it as they can, and they make money when people eat like, well, like most Americans eat in fast food restaurants.

[ryaxnb]

I liked Supersize me. I didn't see it as pro-vegan, just anti-McD.

[KaiNiki]

I liked it too, it made me laugh mostly. I thought it was anti-eating without thinking :lol: I own it on DVD.

[Over40]

Hahahaha. You may not live to be 100 years old on a vegan/vegetarian diet... but it'll *seem* like 100 years...

Hey IdahoSpud, where are you located? I live in the Upper Snake River Valley (Hibbard).

Many Vegans, Raw Foodists, etc. claim they will live to see 100. I only know of 1 raw foodist/vegan who reached 100 (maybe). Norman Walker, quite an intriguing fellow, was born (Apparently in London in 1876) and died in Arizona in 1985 (again there is some debate, one person claims that he died in 1976, at 99, not 109).

I personally believe longevity has a lot more to do genetics, and a whole lot less about worrying about it. Although, Roy Walford, et. al. has shown that calorie restriction can potentially increase life expectancy significantly. But like Atkins stated, "Who wants to starve?"

Jon

[Over40]

I liked Super Size Me. His film was not about the evils of meat or low carb or Atkins. It was about the evils of processed food. I think that anyone who subsists on a diet of only processed foods would most likely suffer the same sort of health issues as he did eating only McDonalds. Processed food is all refined flours and sugar and preservatives and hydrogenated fats. And isn't that what has made so many of us ill?

The movie did not push any animal rights stuff (other than the girlfriend). It pushed getting rid of junk food. And what is wrong with that?

He is quoted in one interview as saying, "The one thing I had hoped that would happen with this movie, was it would make people start to think about how they eat, how they live. Nobody walks out of this movie and calls their lawyer to sue McDonalds. People walked out saying, 'I need to pay more attention to what I eat. I need to pay better attention to how I live. I need to exercise more.' Parents are walking out saying, 'I need to be a better role model to my kids. I need to cook more at home. I'm going down to my kids school Monday morning and see what the hell they're feeding my kids, because I have no idea.' "

I don't see any evil PETA pushing in that.

Also, at the end of the film it said that Morgan followed a vegan diet for a few months and lost some weight then stopped doing vegan and continued to lose the rest of his weight.

Just my two cents . . .

-J

Hey J.,

Excellent.

I agree. A person with a video camera could have made the same film on the snack aisle at Wal-Mart. I live in a college town, and when I go to Wal-Mart I watch the students just flock to the "food aisles" and fill their carts with just crap...Chips, dip, Freitos, mac and cheese, microwaveable popcorn, etc.

I have a sneeking suspicion that the future of overall health in the US will continue to decline before it gets better.

My wife's sister is a spineless whimp when it comes to her kids. I kid you not, she has 4 kids and they live on Captain Crunch and Chicken McNuggets. "They won't eat anything else!" she tells my over nosey mother-in-law.

The 11 year old already has cellulite around his mid-section.

Over40

[potatofree]

THat kind of parent makes me crazy... "They won't eat anything else!" :lol: Yes, they WILL, if you don't put the crap in front of them!

[sr5]

I liked the movie too. It was extreme eating and I feel there are people that do eat that way due to the cheap food offered filled with HFCS and trans fats.

If you want to find out more about the fast food industry read "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. You will think twice about eating fast food.

[tasche]

I loved this film when I saw it in the theater and bought it when it came out on dvd. What gets to me in particular was the segment on school lunches. Where the teachers are trying to justify that the kids that just bought hohos "might" have brought a healthy lunch with her or how the "cook" was so happy that the food was all prepared.

Or even more disturbing was the overweight girl after meeting Jared Vogel who was convinced she couldn't lose weight bc she couldn't afford to eat at subway everyday.

I thought the gf was a great addition to the movie bc she was extreme in the other end.

Face it whether or not you gain or lose on the all micky D's diet or not is not really the point but that the average person needs to ask where has my food been before it gets into my mouth.

Though I do have to wonder those who lost on the mcd's diet if the limitation of choice made them eat least in the long run. Generally if offered only one kind of food you'll eat less than if offered 2-3.

If Supersize got you thinking read Fast Food Nation as a followup

[tasche]

opps someone beat me to the book recommendation lol

[tasche]

THat kind of parent makes me crazy... "They won't eat anything else!" :lol: Yes, they WILL, if you don't put the crap in front of them!

When I moved in with my hubbie he used to say this about his cat who would only eat fancy feast. Trust me I soon cured that lol

[H20Goddess]

So instead of putting the blame on McDonalds, I think it is better to look at ourselves. We are the ones who choose a cheesburger/whopper instead of a grilled chicken with a salad and suffer / have suffered the consequenses.

Monica


My thoughts exactly. I refuse to blame others for what I choose to put in my own mouth.

[tasche]

Unfortunately McDonalds COULD make a chicken salad thats "healthier" that their burgers but they didn't. It still has in traditional nutrition terms 17% of daily fat intake and 44% of sodium . Sure its lower in "calories" but its nowhere near as healthy as what you'd make at home.

Quantity of food consumed I think is americas biggest problem. I come from NZ originally and I used to eat McD's about once every 2 month. I wasn't trying to avoid it it was just normal not to eat it every week. I walked places not bc I couldn't afford a car (I could) but bc it was a normal socialized thing
to do.

I was 100lbs when moving here 5 years ago and within 18months I was tipping the scales at about 200lbs bc I started to eat like an american.

[Lisa N]

Face it whether or not you gain or lose on the all micky D's diet or not is not really the point but that the average person needs to ask where has my food been before it gets into my mouth.

I spent a summer working in a fast food place. Trust me...you don't want to know the answer to that. :p

[potatofree]

<giggle> You may know what you ORDERED, but you just never know what you'll EAT! :lol:

[MeBLady]

THat kind of parent makes me crazy... "They won't eat anything else!" :lol: Yes, they WILL, if you don't put the crap in front of them!

IKWYM....it IS hard to see parents that aren't concerned with allowing their children to stuff their faces with junk and see them overweight.

However, dealing with a true finicky child can be frustrating and very difficult. Not every child will choose a healthy alternative even if you remove the junk, making the difficult decision of allowing junk or having them eat nothing at all.

I was a very picky eater as a child, passed off by most as a discipline problem...wasn't the case. I hated being picky, but would rather starve than eat something I didn't like and throw up. I was extremely underweight, and basically lived off of a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, noodles with butter, corn, yams with marshmellows as my sole "healthy" foods. My mother felt these things were the lessor evil of ice cream/cake for my dinner -- and she DID try everything to get me to at least try healthier alternatives. I drove her nuts.

My own son is just as picky as I was, but he had a birth defect in his trach. that made his slight weight a big problem. I had to force bottle feed in his infancy, and when he weened, flat out told by his ped. to "feed him ANYTHING he will eat!!". In my son's case, chicken nuggets for him at age 2 were better than failure to thrive.

[ojoj]

I was a picky eater as a child too - But I can actually remember KNOWING that I could hold out longer than my parents and they would eventually crack and let me have what I wanted and not the "healthy" stuff they gave me!

My son's the same, very picky and my husband always gives into him eventually - I never do and he usually waits til daddy comes home from work before he eats anything substantial. When Daddys away, he reluctantly eats what I give him - more or less - but with "attitude"

Jo

[potatofree]

IKWYM....it IS hard to see parents that aren't concerned with allowing their children to stuff their faces with junk and see them overweight.

However, dealing with a true finicky child can be frustrating and very difficult. Not every child will choose a healthy alternative even if you remove the junk, making the difficult decision of allowing junk or having them eat nothing at all.

I was a very picky eater as a child, passed off by most as a discipline problem...wasn't the case. I hated being picky, but would rather starve than eat something I didn't like and throw up. I was extremely underweight, and basically lived off of a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, noodles with butter, corn, yams with marshmellows as my sole "healthy" foods. My mother felt these things were the lessor evil of ice cream/cake for my dinner -- and she DID try everything to get me to at least try healthier alternatives. I drove her nuts.

My own son is just as picky as I was, but he had a birth defect in his trach. that made his slight weight a big problem. I had to force bottle feed in his infancy, and when he weened, flat out told by his ped. to "feed him ANYTHING he will eat!!". In my son's case, chicken nuggets for him at age 2 were better than failure to thrive.

I'm sure there are a small percentage of kids who might have such extreme needs. My son was underweight as a small child as well, but I still kept offering a variety of other foods along with his "old standbys" and he outgrew his fussyness in short order. In the meantime, I supplemented his diet with Pediasure and a childrens vitamin until he was eating enough variety to keep him going. I found the less I worried and fretted over what he ate, the more he ate without a fuss. :lol:

IMO, and that's all it is, opinion, the vast majority of "fussy eating" is due to the parent, not the child.

[MeBLady]

I was a picky eater as a child too - But I can actually remember KNOWING that I could hold out longer than my parents and they would eventually crack and let me have what I wanted and not the "healthy" stuff they gave me!

My son's the same, very picky and my husband always gives into him eventually - I never do and he usually waits til daddy comes home from work before he eats anything substantial. When Daddys away, he reluctantly eats what I give him - more or less - but with "attitude"

Jo

Ohh, not me. The thought of putting something "yucky" in my mouth turned my stomache and completely killed my appetite. I had NO problem going without, and my parents accepted this fairly early on and catered within reason to meet my needs.

I had a very traumatic experience at age 14, when I was in a foster home for a couple of months. I couldn't eat this lady's cooking, and they would make me sit at the table until 2 am attempting to force me -- smacking me randomly on the hands, telling me I was "bad" for not eating. They didn't understand that it wasn't that I didn't "want" to eat, I couldn't eat what she served me (she put onions in everything). I ended up getting sick, they confined me to a bed serving me nothing but soup for three weeks (couldn't eat soup either) and jello water, which worsened my condition. I left that home by Court Order diagnosed with a severe discipline problem, extremely weak and barely able to hold down even my favorite foods, and 20 lbs. lighter. They, and nobody thereafter, cured my pickiness either....no counselor or social worker could figure out what was "wrong" with me, even when I told them over and over, "I am not rebellious, I am not trying to hurt myself. I simply CANNOT EAT SOMETHING I DO NOT LIKE."

My tastes changed as I got older, thankfully, but I am still pretty finicky, drive my husband nuts at restaurants with my special orders, and still to this day will not take one bite of something containing an onion. If the Chef even drops one tiny piece of onion accidentally into my food and I find it or bite into it, my meal is instantly over.

My son is now 17, 5'8 and 110 pounds......he's better about eating than he was as a child, but still pretty limited with what he will eat. Works at a pizza place, that keeps him happy in between my "anti Tom friendly meals". My daughter and hubby will eat just about anything.

I'm sure there are a small percentage of kids who might have such extreme needs. My son was underweight as a small child as well, but I still kept offering a variety of other foods along with his "old standbys" and he outgrew his fussyness in short order. In the meantime, I supplemented his diet with Pediasure and a childrens vitamin until he was eating enough variety to keep him going. I found the less I worried and fretted over what he ate, the more he ate without a fuss.

IMO, and that's all it is, opinion, the vast majority of "fussy eating" is due to the parent, not the child.

I wish short order would have been the case with myself and my son, LOL....but I don't disagree with you as far as the vast majority. I've seen picky children learn to tolerate "yucky" foods, or even play their parents to get what they want.

I will say that nobody, then or now, could force me to eat something I didn't like -- I would to this day starve myself to death first, and believe that to be true with my son as well. I have no idea why, and if I could change it, I would. If there is ever a famine in this country or I am stuck in a situation where I would have to live off of onions, LOL, I'm sunk ;-)

[potatofree]

I'm sorry for your experience. I'm at a loss why someone would treat a child that way.

I think it's funny that a lot of "fussy eaters" I've had the occasion to babysit will eat whatever I serve them if their parents arent there. My own kids have done that to ME as well. My daughter was very much "Broccoli is the devil!" but she'd eat it at her Aunt's house. <shrug> I asked her what Auntie Vickie did differently, and she said "I dunno". :lol:

I was reading an interesting article about celiac disease. A mom was desperate to find out why her boy would get sick after eating, to the point he refused most solid foods and began to waste away. Turns out that a gluten-free diet was the key. The poor kid was so used to being nearly forced to eat, just to get sick, that he had developed an aversion to eating altogether and had to be TAUGHT how to eat solids all over again. Once it "clicked" that eating the new diet wouldn't make him vomit, he began to thrive again.

Imagine how that might have turned out if that doctor hadn't come along!

[MeBLady]

I'm sorry for your experience. I'm at a loss why someone would treat a child that way.

It was foster care, I walked into the situation with a label of a "troubled child"...I think they thought I was the typical fussy eater that was intentionally rebelling, figuring hunger would eventually win out and I would eat what was served.

People just don't understand how someone could be repelled so badly by certain foods...for me, a plate of food that looks and/or smells unappetizing is the same as a bowl of maggots.

Ironically, the LC lifestyle set me free in this area --- for the first time in my life, I can freely order special meals for a "legit" reason, LOL, eat healthy without guilt or anxiety, as the allowed foods in this WOE are foods that I love and/or long sense grown to tolerate. Easy for the fam. too, as I now happily cook anti LC dishes for them that I don't like -- no temptation to "cheat" ;-)

I think it's funny that a lot of "fussy eaters" I've had the occasion to babysit will eat whatever I serve them if their parents arent there. My own kids have done that to ME as well. My daughter was very much "Broccoli is the devil!" but she'd eat it at her Aunt's house. <shrug> I asked her what Auntie Vickie did differently, and she said "I dunno". :lol:

LOL, I hear ya. I once babysat an 8 year old girl that actually demanded ice cream for her lunch, throwing a full blown tantrum when I refused her request. She spent quite a bit of time facing a corner in my living room, and when I reported her behavior to her mother, the mother was appalled that I didn't honor her daughter's request. Kids will push to get what they want!

OTOH, sometimes a difference in the way a food is prepared can determine whether or not child will "like" it. I had the hardest time getting both my children to eat eggs until a neighbor babysat them. Showed up one day to pick them up, and the neighbor says, "Your children love eggs, but you need to sprinkle them with a little salt". After that, they loved eggs. Also, in order to increase my tolerance for certain foods, as an adult I did a lot of experimenting with cooking/seasoning/food combinations to overcome some fettishes. I did discover some new favorites/tolerances in the process.

I was reading an interesting article about celiac disease. A mom was desperate to find out why her boy would get sick after eating, to the point he refused most solid foods and began to waste away. Turns out that a gluten-free diet was the key. The poor kid was so used to being nearly forced to eat, just to get sick, that he had developed an aversion to eating altogether and had to be TAUGHT how to eat solids all over again. Once it "clicked" that eating the new diet wouldn't make him vomit, he began to thrive again.

Imagine how that might have turned out if that doctor hadn't come along!

How scary!

My son's tracheamalicia caused a series of specialists, extended hospital stays, and CPS investigations to check for any and every thing that could cause his lack of desire to eat....they never found anything wrong, but I always thought the trach. was the culprit and proven wrong when his eating issues outlasted his defect. He remained a good three steps below the lowest "curve" on the standard baby growth chart, but consistantly gained in his own little underweight zone. Official diagnosis eventually was "this is just the way your son is". Like Mother/Like Son, I guess! I wonder now if he simply couldn't tolerate the taste of formula and should have added ketchup to his bottle ;-)

[BuN*BuN]

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[BuN*BuN]

This message keeps posting to the wrong thread.

[scthgharpy]

there are two kinds of vegetarians/vegans: Those who eat that way for health reasons, and those who do it for political reasons. Clearly the person eating chips and pepsi for lunch-and my grossly overweight vegetarian freind who eats fried chinese take out every night, and another freind who smokes unfiltered cigarettes like a chimney and pounds 9000 cups a coffee a day are doing it for political reasons, not health.

All of these people are psycho evangelists for their lifestyle-arent we? :) They can tell themselves all the lies they want, we know what works for US. And they can see it in our loosening clothes, incredible energy level and clear complexions.