4 ms·
The single biggest improvement I made to my diet (and life, in general) was giving up breakfast cereal. I used to eat a heaping bowl of the bad stuff every. si
by nlh 12y ago
The single biggest improvement I made to my diet (and life, in general) was giving up breakfast cereal. I used to eat a heaping bowl of the bad stuff every. single. morning. growing up (bad stuff = Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes, Fruity Pebbles, etc.). I'd have it for dessert ("look mom, I'm not having ice cream, I'm having cereal! it's healthy!").
Then as I got older, I thought I was making an improvement by "upgrading" to something more wholesome -- like Frosted Mini Wheats ("It's shredded wheat.......and SUGAR.")
I finally rebooted my eating when I started running about 4 years ago and promptly lost 35+ lbs and actually became athletic for the first time in my life. I traded in the cereal and started having greek yogurt for breakfast (more recently I switched to having a _real_ breakfast in the morning -- eggs, grapefruit and steel-cut oats and feel even better).
But the point is: We've been marketed-at to the point where we just think that cereal is what you have for breakfast, and it feels great to wake up from that trance.
- megablast 12y agoWow, people really think that breakfast cereal is healthy, especially the sugary stuff you were eating? This might just be a US thing, because outside US I don't think it is considered healthy at all. And it has been that way for a long time. Breakfast cereal is easy, and it has milk which is good for you, I thought that is why it is popular.
- a3n 12y agoWe in the US will eat anything that's advertised to us.
- rcthompson 12y agoNo, they market it as "part of a balanced breakfast", even the sugar blasted sugar bombs: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2010/04/13/#.U_FKp7xnA_0 http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2010/04/13/#.U_FKp7x...
- _delirium 12y agoI think it's common in Europe for people to consider muesli healthy, even though many of the common brands are not really that healthy either. Depends on how much dried fruit and other such stuff you have in it (some varieties also have sugar or honey added). But it's true that I don't think anybody considers things closer to the Froot Loops end of the spectrum to be healthy.
- NicoJuicy 12y agoDon't know about the rest of the world, but i consider muesli more healthy then cereals, but i always watch the amount of sugar in it. PS. I do believe Quaker Oats is a healthy breakfast, anyone has a opinion on that? (it does'nt taste good though)
- a3n 12y agoTake that a step further: for virtually anything that comes in a box, the most important requirement is shelf life. That's why it comes in a box: long shelf life reduces logistical cost, which reduces the apparent cost of the product. Nutrition is whatever they can legally get away with.