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And the best way to stop consuming highly processed foods is to write down your calories consumption. No limits, no shame, no pressure - just write it down. T

And the best way to stop consuming highly processed foods is to write down your calories consumption. No limits, no shame, no pressure - just write it down. To me it was a revelation.

mike00632 6y ago
A friend of mine had a personal trainer that would make him send a photo of everything he ate. I thought that was a good idea.
- sumtechguy 6y ago
  Accountability goes a long way for some people. My way is to eat less items with extra sugar in it. Oh boy do they hide that stuff in about a dozen different ways. Especially HFCS and 'apple/pear juice'. Then I track what I eat and try to hit my numbers. Someone I know is hitting nearly 40 pounds in a year with that method. Plus the accountability helped them stick to it.
  - bonoboTP 6y ago
    Don't foods have nutrition facts printed on them? In Europe every package has a standardized label indicating the grams of macros per 100 g and grams of all sugars per 100 g. (also salt etc)
    - sumtechguy 6y ago
      Most products do. You have to scour them. They usually break the carbs down by sugar and other. It is also by g. Also under a particular amount per serving they are allowed to say '0'. For example a box of tic-tacs is almost nothing but sugar. But it says 0. So serving size maters. It is also another way they will play games is by fiddling the 'serving' size. When everyone really knows the serving size is 1 container. It may say 2 or 3 per container. Or they may measure it by '1 cup' which for something like chips is a small amount of chips. But they are high in carbs. So you have to know the games played there too. That varies by manufacture. You could say better if those games are played there. The thing is until you look you do not realize how much sugar is in everything and how many different 'types' there are. A good rule of thumb when shopping in an american store is stick to the edges. The middle is full of processed stuff that usually has sugar. Not all processed is bad. For example a nice salsa is processed but not terrible for you and a decent time saver and usually tastes nicer than anything I have come up with. Like you point out you have to watch the labels.
- hogFeast 6y ago
  That doesn't work. Doing that basically encourages people to lie to you, and poisons the relationship. Everyone trying to lose weight will cheat, and it is often the response to that cheating that determines your ability to continue. By making cheating shameful, you are basically guaranteeing failure (this is a corollary of the idea that places that don't have obesity shame fat people...naturally appealing to places with a history of Puritarinism, but largely ineffective). You can only lose weight once you have the motivation and knowledge that you can apply to do it yourself (the stuff about processed food, for example, is utter psuedo-science nonsense that significantly confuses the issue into "good" and "bad" foods...again, Puritarinism).
  - mike00632 6y ago
    I imagine the "you" in this case to be the person losing weight. If I want to lose weight then I'm going make such a commitment and it doesn't really matter who I send the photos to. It's rather just an exercise in documenting what I eat. I'd send the photos to you if you agreed to be my accountabili-buddy.
    - hogFeast 6y ago
      Again, that works if you assume that you won't fail at any point and/or react poorly to failure. But you will fail at some point, and very few people are determined enough to continue. Investing yourself creates risk. It is far more effective to take a less judgemental approach, track the things that matter, and do it for yourself...not because you don't want to be shamed (most fat people get a rough ride, shame isn't a long term strategy).
      - bonoboTP 6y ago
        Ultimately you can't make people want something and shouldn't get too caught up trying to please their resisting minds. Lay out the information, people who want it will take it. Judgment and shame shouldn't enter the picture. Your body is a biological machine. Cheating is a misplaced word. You put the materials in there, they get digested and used for storage or energy. It's not some kind of magic or divine thing. Thinking in terms of failure / guilt / success etc. is bad altogether. The mental model becomes [ritual I do] -> [the fatness/fitness gods are pleased or judgy] -> [I get fat or fit]. Instead, you need to think in terms of [put this piece of food from hands to stomach] -> [it gets digested and enters the blood stream, etc] -> [I grow my fat cells] -> [I am fat].

And the best way to stop consuming highly processed foods is to write down your calories consumption. No limits, no shame, no pressure - just write it down. To me it was a revelation.

mike00632 6y ago

A friend of mine had a personal trainer that would make him send a photo of everything he ate. I thought that was a good idea.

sumtechguy 6y ago
Accountability goes a long way for some people. My way is to eat less items with extra sugar in it. Oh boy do they hide that stuff in about a dozen different ways. Especially HFCS and 'apple/pear juice'. Then I track what I eat and try to hit my numbers. Someone I know is hitting nearly 40 pounds in a year with that method. Plus the accountability helped them stick to it.
- bonoboTP 6y ago
  Don't foods have nutrition facts printed on them? In Europe every package has a standardized label indicating the grams of macros per 100 g and grams of all sugars per 100 g. (also salt etc)
  - sumtechguy 6y ago
    Most products do. You have to scour them. They usually break the carbs down by sugar and other. It is also by g. Also under a particular amount per serving they are allowed to say '0'. For example a box of tic-tacs is almost nothing but sugar. But it says 0. So serving size maters. It is also another way they will play games is by fiddling the 'serving' size. When everyone really knows the serving size is 1 container. It may say 2 or 3 per container. Or they may measure it by '1 cup' which for something like chips is a small amount of chips. But they are high in carbs. So you have to know the games played there too. That varies by manufacture. You could say better if those games are played there. The thing is until you look you do not realize how much sugar is in everything and how many different 'types' there are. A good rule of thumb when shopping in an american store is stick to the edges. The middle is full of processed stuff that usually has sugar. Not all processed is bad. For example a nice salsa is processed but not terrible for you and a decent time saver and usually tastes nicer than anything I have come up with. Like you point out you have to watch the labels.
hogFeast 6y ago
That doesn't work. Doing that basically encourages people to lie to you, and poisons the relationship. Everyone trying to lose weight will cheat, and it is often the response to that cheating that determines your ability to continue. By making cheating shameful, you are basically guaranteeing failure (this is a corollary of the idea that places that don't have obesity shame fat people...naturally appealing to places with a history of Puritarinism, but largely ineffective). You can only lose weight once you have the motivation and knowledge that you can apply to do it yourself (the stuff about processed food, for example, is utter psuedo-science nonsense that significantly confuses the issue into "good" and "bad" foods...again, Puritarinism).
- mike00632 6y ago
  I imagine the "you" in this case to be the person losing weight. If I want to lose weight then I'm going make such a commitment and it doesn't really matter who I send the photos to. It's rather just an exercise in documenting what I eat. I'd send the photos to you if you agreed to be my accountabili-buddy.
  - hogFeast 6y ago
    Again, that works if you assume that you won't fail at any point and/or react poorly to failure. But you will fail at some point, and very few people are determined enough to continue. Investing yourself creates risk. It is far more effective to take a less judgemental approach, track the things that matter, and do it for yourself...not because you don't want to be shamed (most fat people get a rough ride, shame isn't a long term strategy).
    - bonoboTP 6y ago
      Ultimately you can't make people want something and shouldn't get too caught up trying to please their resisting minds. Lay out the information, people who want it will take it. Judgment and shame shouldn't enter the picture. Your body is a biological machine. Cheating is a misplaced word. You put the materials in there, they get digested and used for storage or energy. It's not some kind of magic or divine thing. Thinking in terms of failure / guilt / success etc. is bad altogether. The mental model becomes [ritual I do] -> [the fatness/fitness gods are pleased or judgy] -> [I get fat or fit]. Instead, you need to think in terms of [put this piece of food from hands to stomach] -> [it gets digested and enters the blood stream, etc] -> [I grow my fat cells] -> [I am fat].