Health and bodies and food and everything.

In the topic on online dating sites a discussion started on preferences of certain body types and how those relate to health and money and life choices. I think this works better in it's own topic.

 

Thank you @YogSothoth

 

Many people don't eat healthy because:

1.) It's less convenient. Healthy foods are generally ones that you have to prepare yourself. People either don't have time to do this, or are lazy, or simply don't know how to cook, and never bothered learning.

2.) They think it's more expensive. (But it's actually not)

3.) They think it tastes bad. This kinda refers to my first point. Learn how to cook a variety of dishes, and make those healthy foods work for you

4.) They cook their foods the wrong way. Boiling veggies actually eliminates most of their nutritional value. Also, a lot of GMO produce is very low in nutrients, so you're always better off growing your own, or buying organic.

 

I really wish I would've learned about nutrition in school. When I was in school I literally ate crap food, but since I was in gym and had such a high metabolism I was able to work it all off. Now that I am not in school and being told to exercise for 45 minutes a day, I literally do not burn off what I eat and I even eat WAY less than what I used to.

I really enjoy healthy food because most of the time it just tastes SO good, fresh and just.. Ugh. Most fast food restaurants make my gut hurt, but it's really all I can afford. ; ;

 

I guess I lucked out with cooking being an activity I legitimately enjoy.

 

Man I love chicken! My friends and family think I am absolutely NUTS for eating chicken as much as I do.
And that meal plan you had for a month sounds delicious... I might have to steal it. B)

 

Its shocking how nutrition illiterate people are, and just how little most people tend to care about their health…

I find a it hilariously backwards that a coworker of mine having the licence plate "Bacon" saying how much broccoli makes him sick is considered perfectly normal and mature, while everyone considers me eating a vegetarian diet juvenile and obviously misinformed.

I suppose I'm also one of the lucky ones who knows a thing or two about nutrition, loves to cook, and doesn't default to the "healthy is expensive" or "healthy is tasteless" fallacy.

 

I've grown up eating healthy my whole life.
I was never had soda until I was 12 or 13. I didn't even know soda existed, and I didn't even like it that much, and still don't. Cookies and treats were a very rare thing we had. My parents and grandparents always taught me that veggies and fruits were fun, and it's definitely a habit I've carried on into adulthood, so I fully support teaching young kids nutrition and healthy habits when they are young.
One of the number one reasons for overeating and making bad choices is because of the emotional attachments you have to comfort foods, and eating habits you had as a child.

While I am not a vegetarian, I can honestly say that veggies and fruits are my favorite food groups. Carrots with some light ranch is my favorite snack. I also took a few nutrition courses in college because it always fascinated me. I'd still like to be a nutritionist someday, but I don't have the money to go back to school right now.

 

The other problem is that many american foods aren't real food. Unless it's fruits vegetables or the basic meats and grains...it's hard to tell how much sugar and salt you are eating as there are often 15 names for the same thing on a given label. If you want to eat healthy stick to fruits veggies and cold cuts to cook at home.

The easy way out is too get a powerful blender and make green/fruit smoothies and drink close to a gallon as all of your meals for the day. (Not a glass, you should always eat till you are full. To starve yourself is foolish and makes you retain weight.)

 

This is not 100% true in all cases. There are many effective ways of spacing out you meals, ranging from eating very large meals followed by long fasting times, to eating 8-10 small meals a day. The ideal way you space out your meals and how full you get with each one is highly dependant on many variables, such as your activity level and health goals.

 

It's not just knowledge, time, mone. In my case it's also energy. On workdays, cooking is not something I'm able to do these days. I just to have a big freezer, so I cooked more than I needed, and ate meals I'd made before, but with the small spcae I have now, that's not really possible anymore. So, at least 4 days a week, it's a microwave meal (and the healthy ones with lots of veggies are on the expensive side), sometimes even more often, if my energy is even lower. And I have a breakfast problem: I want something that does not need much more than just grabbing, so I get some kind of Dutch raisin-buns (have not found a good UK/US equivalent), which are not that bad, but not exactly healthy either. The willpower to not eat sugar-y stuff takes energy too.

I am trying. I tend to eat oats or yoghurt with fruit and muesli for lunch, and try to have some nuts and fruit to snack on during the day, but it's hard.

 

Yes it is hard. Nature doesn't program pickyness but this is the world man has made

 

Would you believe it when I say that the nutritional value of food now compared to what we had in the war is terrible.
Take one tomato. As they say it's one of your 5 a day right?
Now pick up another 9 ..... yes 9 tomatoes making a total of 10 tomatoes. Those 10 tomatoes in our current day equal the same nutritional value of 1 tomato in the WW2.
*Shock horror* why is this you ask? Because all produces are mass produced and GM'd also the ground they are grown in never have time to recover any nutrients.
So when they say eat 5 a day times each buy 10 to get any nutritional value.

 

*shakes fist* MONSANTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

For anyone wondering, the story of the GM tomato is actually very interesting!

Back in WWII, America was running low on food supplies. Citizens began growing their own gardens, called "Victory Gardens" so more of the national food supply could be sent to the troops, but this wasn't enough. Farmers were encouraged to grow more and more tomatoes (among other things) with little to no regard for the taste because it was more important to keep the troops fed than anything. The farmers were very successful, greatly increasing their annual yield by growing the most productive plants. This came at a cost, as the more productive plants were also the least nutritious. After the war, all the growers had these huge fields of nutrient poor, but extremely productive crops. There was no incentive for them to switch back, as they had all fallen victim to the same trap. However, now as the nutritional value and flavor come back into the spotlight, and people (at least try to) consume less, many growers are actively trying to restore their crops to pre-WWII levels of nutrients and flavor. They are finding and partnering with small local growers, and especially ones who have kept genetic lines alive from the original Victory Gardens, and breeding their own, productive tomatoes with them, or even trying to outright cultivate them themselves, all in order to bring the consumer a better product.

So even though there's so much negativity around GM, a lot of the time it's for the greater good, which I feel a lot of people forget. :3

 

Well me and my family have grown our own food since the war and I'll continue it for sure. Because the taste is so much better and if you do the right crop rotation and put your veg and fruit in the right places. (Yes crops cannot grow near certain different crops would you believe)
You'll have a good harvest every time.

 

I must learn your ways

 

We grow our own starfruit in the backyard. They're about on par with the supermarket stuff.