5 ms·

Move more, eat mostly vegetables, sleep enough.

by nibs 10y ago

sandworm101 10y ago
That is the mantra, but there is debate. Exercise puts the onus on the individual. So it's a great cop out for other problems. It's not the extra sugar they are seeking into our diets, it that's we don't exercise. I remember one pitiful interview with a MacDonald's rep who claimed that their food was healthy so long as customers exercised well enough. That's too much of an easy, cheap, answer. Imho the days of answering every health problem with exercise alone should end. We must acknowledge the approach has failed and we need to deal with the wider environment impacting individual choice. That means healthier foods, but I'd support tax deductions (preferably credits) for exercise-related costs. Make the money back with a tax on unhealthy foods/things, as we did with cigarettes.
- tracker1 10y ago
  I'm not completely sure there... In the end, the onus is on the consumer to know how many calories they're taking in. That said, I do dislike a lot of the additives/preservatives that are being put into the food supply. Packaging meats in inert gases to preserve color, taste/preservation additives in bread, the widespread use of heavily subsidized and refined/perfumed/died vegetable oils. First get rid of subsidies... second might be a tax on products containing sugars not in their natural state (okay in whole apples, not in juice, or added to breads/candy/pasteries). Another large issue is simply education and advertising. Child-targeted advertising works surprisingly well. Also, people assume that "natural sugar" is significantly better for you than refined sugars. Once it's juiced/pureed and/or cooked, it's far more digestible and far more unhealthy than whole fruits.
ryanobjc 10y ago
Comments like this sounds like saying to a depressed person: "have you tried being happy instead?" In other words, it's pithy, not helpful and sounds smug and condescending. We should be able to support maximal health in everyone, regardless of if they live the ideal middle class lifestyle that gives them time to exercise, money to afford food, and the many things that go in to a good nights sleep.
- Retric 10y ago
  For the most part good food costs less than crap food as long as you cook.
  - tracker1 10y ago
    Depends on where you live and what you are cooking... Living in Phoenix, produce is pretty expensive, as is fish. I can't speak for the rest of the country. I also tend to get produce from Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's (kroger) in that order, depending on what it is. I use celeriac, cauliflower, and parsnips regularly as a potato substitute, and it's pretty costly to do so. I could get my calories from the dollar menu for quite a bit less. My target intake is around 2400-2800/day (metabolic support for 3800 at my size), trying to lose about 2#/week. Though, I'm diabetic, so tend to avoid a lot of fast-food, and often when I do indulge, I get only the sandwich/burger without the bread, with tea and/or water. Though the baked cod at ljs (green beans and broccoli), and chicken and green beans at kfc are serviceable options. I also make soup a couple times a month, which gives me about a week's worth, give or take.... soup is usually suprisingly low in calories and glycemic load (even vichyssoise subbing the potatoes) but tend to have 3-4 cups to feel sated (usually coming in around 450-600 calories depending on the soup for 4 cups). A big thing for me is getting a couple snacks in, especially for the afternoon (apple, carrots, nuts, kind bar), which helps with the cravings to overeat later in the day.
    - Retric 10y ago
      For a baseline a micdouble has 390 calories, 10 of then so that's 6-7$ / day to hit 2,400-2,800 kcal. If you go for beans, rice, grain, that's under 1$ per day for 1/2 your calories. Leaving 5-6$ to for the other half. That's plenty for a 500-700 kcal in chicken breast / eggs / other cheap protean, and vegies etc. PS: 9oz of meat per day will generally cover your protean needs. But, less is fine depending on the rest of your diet.
      - drewrv 10y ago
        Plus an hour each day of cooking and cleaning up. The median american salary is about 50K, which is about $24 an hour, so lets say it costs $6/7 a day to eat crappy, and $25/30 to eat well.
tracker1 10y ago
A lot of research has shown that you need at least a certain amount of protein, 60-120g/day on average depending on your lean muscle mass. You should have at most about 100g sugars/day. Beyond that, barring a medical condition (diabetes, pku, etc) calories are calories, for the most part. You need some fat (balance is surprisingly important here), and avoiding overly processed/refined foods is generally a good idea. That said, mostly vegetables, maybe by volume, but if you are counting grains/cerials/starches as a separate category, then mostly wouldn't get you enough calories, and often not enough protein on average. Not to mention those mildly allergic to soy. In general, the practice of even tracking everything you take in tends to make you very mindful of the calories in everything. Knowing what you should probably be taking in on average in combination with tracking can go a long way. I would suggest getting a variety of foods in to your diet, this should include some vegetables, but the majority of your calories will come from protein, carbs or fats. The sources may be vegetable based, but vegetable fats, specifically refined vegetable oils aren't so great a lot of the time. If you stick to fats/oils that are either cold-pressed or animal based, you're better off.
- tracker1 10y ago
  Also, if you drive everywhere, park at the opposite end of the parking lot... this gives quite a bit of boost to your activity per day. Though harder to do in Phoenix at the end of Jone, when it's in the high 1-teens.

Move more, eat mostly vegetables, sleep enough.

by nibs 10y ago

Move more, eat mostly vegetables, sleep enough.

That is the mantra, but there is debate. Exercise puts the onus on the individual. So it's a great cop out for other problems. It's not the extra sugar they are seeking into our diets, it that's we don't exercise. I remember one pitiful interview with a MacDonald's rep who claimed that their food was healthy so long as customers exercised well enough. That's too much of an easy, cheap, answer. Imho the days of answering every health problem with exercise alone should end. We must acknowledge the approach has failed and we need to deal with the wider environment impacting individual choice. That means healthier foods, but I'd support tax deductions (preferably credits) for exercise-related costs. Make the money back with a tax on unhealthy foods/things, as we did with cigarettes.

tracker1 10y ago
I'm not completely sure there... In the end, the onus is on the consumer to know how many calories they're taking in. That said, I do dislike a lot of the additives/preservatives that are being put into the food supply. Packaging meats in inert gases to preserve color, taste/preservation additives in bread, the widespread use of heavily subsidized and refined/perfumed/died vegetable oils. First get rid of subsidies... second might be a tax on products containing sugars not in their natural state (okay in whole apples, not in juice, or added to breads/candy/pasteries). Another large issue is simply education and advertising. Child-targeted advertising works surprisingly well. Also, people assume that "natural sugar" is significantly better for you than refined sugars. Once it's juiced/pureed and/or cooked, it's far more digestible and far more unhealthy than whole fruits.

ryanobjc 10y ago

Comments like this sounds like saying to a depressed person: "have you tried being happy instead?" In other words, it's pithy, not helpful and sounds smug and condescending. We should be able to support maximal health in everyone, regardless of if they live the ideal middle class lifestyle that gives them time to exercise, money to afford food, and the many things that go in to a good nights sleep.

Retric 10y ago
For the most part good food costs less than crap food as long as you cook.
- tracker1 10y ago
  Depends on where you live and what you are cooking... Living in Phoenix, produce is pretty expensive, as is fish. I can't speak for the rest of the country. I also tend to get produce from Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's (kroger) in that order, depending on what it is. I use celeriac, cauliflower, and parsnips regularly as a potato substitute, and it's pretty costly to do so. I could get my calories from the dollar menu for quite a bit less. My target intake is around 2400-2800/day (metabolic support for 3800 at my size), trying to lose about 2#/week. Though, I'm diabetic, so tend to avoid a lot of fast-food, and often when I do indulge, I get only the sandwich/burger without the bread, with tea and/or water. Though the baked cod at ljs (green beans and broccoli), and chicken and green beans at kfc are serviceable options. I also make soup a couple times a month, which gives me about a week's worth, give or take.... soup is usually suprisingly low in calories and glycemic load (even vichyssoise subbing the potatoes) but tend to have 3-4 cups to feel sated (usually coming in around 450-600 calories depending on the soup for 4 cups). A big thing for me is getting a couple snacks in, especially for the afternoon (apple, carrots, nuts, kind bar), which helps with the cravings to overeat later in the day.
  - Retric 10y ago
    For a baseline a micdouble has 390 calories, 10 of then so that's 6-7$ / day to hit 2,400-2,800 kcal. If you go for beans, rice, grain, that's under 1$ per day for 1/2 your calories. Leaving 5-6$ to for the other half. That's plenty for a 500-700 kcal in chicken breast / eggs / other cheap protean, and vegies etc. PS: 9oz of meat per day will generally cover your protean needs. But, less is fine depending on the rest of your diet.
    - drewrv 10y ago
      Plus an hour each day of cooking and cleaning up. The median american salary is about 50K, which is about $24 an hour, so lets say it costs $6/7 a day to eat crappy, and $25/30 to eat well.

tracker1 10y ago

A lot of research has shown that you need at least a certain amount of protein, 60-120g/day on average depending on your lean muscle mass. You should have at most about 100g sugars/day. Beyond that, barring a medical condition (diabetes, pku, etc) calories are calories, for the most part. You need some fat (balance is surprisingly important here), and avoiding overly processed/refined foods is generally a good idea. That said, mostly vegetables, maybe by volume, but if you are counting grains/cerials/starches as a separate category, then mostly wouldn't get you enough calories, and often not enough protein on average. Not to mention those mildly allergic to soy. In general, the practice of even tracking everything you take in tends to make you very mindful of the calories in everything. Knowing what you should probably be taking in on average in combination with tracking can go a long way. I would suggest getting a variety of foods in to your diet, this should include some vegetables, but the majority of your calories will come from protein, carbs or fats. The sources may be vegetable based, but vegetable fats, specifically refined vegetable oils aren't so great a lot of the time. If you stick to fats/oils that are either cold-pressed or animal based, you're better off.

tracker1 10y ago
Also, if you drive everywhere, park at the opposite end of the parking lot... this gives quite a bit of boost to your activity per day. Though harder to do in Phoenix at the end of Jone, when it's in the high 1-teens.