Let's talk about fat.

[Hetta]

And also, whenever I see this thread title, I start singing in my head "let's talk about, fat, baby, let's talk about you and me ..." Because Thursday.

 

[seeingeyes]

Controlling body fat for some people means total deprivation of anything pleasurable.

This is a bit of an aside, but since you said this, I was wondering about your thoughts on the (shelved) attempt to list obesity as an addiction in the DSM-V?

(Here's a link to an article that discusses it: Is Obesity an Addiction? - Scientific American)

 

[ValleyGal]

I did not read the article but I am fully on board with not including obesity as an addiction. There are a lot of obese people who actually have a very healthy diet, and there are very thin people who survive on potato chips and ice cream. Obesity itself is not the indicator of why people eat certain things and not others. If food addiction is going to be added to the DSM, I believe they will have to find different diagnostic criteria from obesity.

 

[mkgal1]

And also, whenever I see this thread title, I start singing in my head "let's talk about, fat, baby, let's talk about you and me ..." Because Thursday.

Me too!

 

[mkgal1]

On the topic of addiction and food.....I believe that's another area where we are getting misinformation and intuitively make poor choices (something else that's addressed in that documentary....Fed Up.....that I mentioned earlier).

Even when a person believes they are eating a sensible breakfast if they're eating yogurt....they could be consuming more sugar than one and a half donuts. Sugar is very addictive (and it makes us more hungry to boot). Our brains are signaled in the same way with sugar as they are with cocaine (actually sugar is 8x more addictive than cocaine).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOKvv-_jBgU

 

[Hetta]

On the topic of addiction and food.....I believe that's another area where we are getting misinformation and intuitively make poor choices (something else that's addressed in that documentary....Fed Up.....that I mentioned earlier).

Even when a person believes they are eating a sensible breakfast if they're eating yogurt....they could be consuming more sugar than one and a half donuts. Sugar is very addictive (and it makes us more hungry to boot). Our brains are signaled in the same way with sugar as they are with cocaine.

Yes, I agree. It's very bad. I believe that 7g of sugar = 1 teaspoon. So someone drinking a soda is having approximately 5 tsp of sugar (typically 35g per bottle or can). Yogurts can have 15-25g of sugar. I always look at labels, and I see all of that sugar and try to avoid it.

So imagine a typical person having a doughnut for breakfast, later having a soda and a Sub for lunch - with the sugar in the bread and dressing - then a candy bar in the afternoon when their blood sugar hits bottom, and later that evening a fast food meal? At that point, they have probably gone over the 22tsp of sugar.

 

[seeingeyes]

It was not meant in a snide way, simply as a fact that it is obviously very important to you, and just as obviously to others not as much, which is to be expected, because we are all different in what we prefer. I don't see snideness in that, more that I was summing something up.

Oh no, just one of those internet pitfalls, then. I misunderstood.

I do think that physical attractiveness to one's spouse (in whatever shape it comes in) is relevant to marriage. After all, how many people these days marry someone that they are not sexually attracted to?

And while it's true that physical appearance is not something that holds a marriage together, it is important. If my husband sounded the same and acted the same but for some reason his appearance changed to that of a giant crocodile, that would certainly put a damper on our sex life, and therefore would put a strain on our marriage overall.

So while it is silly and shallow to put physical appearance at the top of one's list with regard to marriage, it would be disingenuous to say that it doesn't matter at all, or even that it shouldn't matter at all.

 

[seeingeyes]

And also, whenever I see this thread title, I start singing in my head "let's talk about, fat, baby, let's talk about you and me ..." Because Thursday.

Aaaand...now I am, too. Thanks. lol

 

[mkgal1]

Right, Hetta......or there's the other kind of diet: someone that eats what they believe is a "healthful" cereal (like a boxed muesilix---instead of the colorful children's cereal, which actually has less sugar)......yogurt (loaded with sugar) and a big salad for lunch (with no added protein, that leaves them hungry and dissatisfied)......and another salad for dinner (again.....no protein). All of this is going to damage their hormonal balance.........slow their metabolism.....and they won't be able to maintain it (or *want* to maintain it---as they aren't getting any results).

 

[mkgal1]

Aaaand...now I am, too. Thanks. lol

You're the one responsible for the ear worm () You wrote the thread title. Now we can all "suffer" together.

 

[seeingeyes]

On the topic of addiction and food.....I believe that's another area where we are getting misinformation and intuitively make poor choices (something else that's addressed in that documentary....Fed Up.....that I mentioned earlier).

Even when a person believes they are eating a sensible breakfast if they're eating yogurt....they could be consuming more sugar than one and a half donuts. Sugar is very addictive (and it makes us more hungry to boot). Our brains are signaled in the same way with sugar as they are with cocaine (actually sugar is 8x more addictive than cocaine).

Yes, this is a very important point. Exchanging the "unhealthy" can of soda for the "healthy" glass of orange juice isn't going to help anyone lose weight.

 

[mkgal1]

I recommend this movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCUbvOwwfWM&feature=kp

FED UP - Official Trailer - Dr. Mark Hyman

FED UP blows the lid off everything we thought we knew about food and weight loss, revealing a 30-year campaign by the food industry, aided by the U.S. government, to mislead and confuse the American public, resulting in one of the largest health epidemics in history

A few of the myths Fed Up sets out to debunk:

that “eat less, move more” is an antidote to obesity

that fat people lack will power and simply need to take personal responsibility to lose weight

that the government should be doling out nutrition advice and rules

that if you’re skinny, you’re healthy


The Food Industry focuses on calories because that way it can blame fatness on people who lack willpower, rather than on their products, no matter how nutrient-devoid, artificial-crap-filled, etc., they are. For example, in 2013, Coke ran an ad instructing people how to count calories and fight obesity while still consuming its products.

~Review of Fed Up, The Documentary | Feed Me, I'm Cranky

Here is an article about Coca-cola's ad for anti-obesity Coca-Cola Launches Anti-Obesity Ad | TIME.com

More on that campaign:

Coca Cola Anti-Obesity Ads: Company Addresses Obesity Claims in New Advertisements | Video - ABC News

Says Coca-cola spokesperson: Company offers low-calorie drinks, but says "sugary beverages are not the only problem.".

Maybe not the *only* problem.....but Coca-cola is hardly part of the solution.

 

[mkgal1]

Yes, this is a very important point. Exchanging the "unhealthy" can of soda for the "healthy" glass of orange juice isn't going to help anyone lose weight.

Right. That's a perfect example, too.

 

[ValleyGal]

A glass of juice, whether fresh-squeezed or not, has about eight full teaspoons of sugar per eight-ounce glass. This is about as much sugar as a can of soda.
The sugar in orange juice is typically a fruit sugar called fructose, which many mistakenly believe is a “healthy” form of sugar.

When the sugar is consumed in its natural form, with the whole fruit, the fiber in the orange tends to slow the absorption of sugar and thus prevents a spike in your insulin levels. When you drink just the juice, it's too much sugar, all at once, for your system to handle.
Elevated insulin levels are one of the primary drivers for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and weight gain. This may be why drinking fruit juice has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, while fructose itself has been shown to increase your triglyceride levels.

From Orange Juice Facts That Will Amaze You!

 

[mkgal1]

From Orange Juice Facts That Will Amaze You!

Yes......that's exactly what I mean by our intuitive choices sometimes leading us in the wrong direction.

 

[mkgal1]

Ooops.....double post.

 

[Wandering Cat Lady]

I'm curious then, since I don't know a lot about this kind of stuff, wouldn't the juice be technically better, since it has "natural" sugar vs. the soda that has not only chemicals that can damage our system, but added sugar?

With that said, I have replaced soda and all other drinks with just water...but I don't drink enough of it. I don't drink juice because of the high sugar content, but the kids I take care of, I can't get them to drink a lick of water half the time because they were addicted to soda and now the parents took them off soda, but got them juice instead. I'm thinking the juice is a step in the right direction for all of us but then i've heard it's just as bad.

Sugar...is my arch enemy. I love sweet stuff so much.

 

[mkgal1]

I think the answer to that is sort of like the comparison of filtered cigarettes to unfiltered cigarettes. Yes......filtered cigarettes would be better (OJ would be better than cola).....but there is still other (better) choices.

 

[seeingeyes]

I'm curious then, since I don't know a lot about this kind of stuff, wouldn't the juice be technically better, since it has "natural" sugar vs. the soda that has not only chemicals that can damage our system, but added sugar?

Here's an article you may be interested in: Freshly Squeezed: The Truth About Orange Juice in Boxes | Civil EatsCivil Eats

 

[ValleyGal]

The link I posted goes into that a little - processed sugar versus fructose. Regular sugar is still "natural" just like honey and fruit. It is a myth that fructose is better for you than white sugar.