We were not always obsessed with over eating, consuming huge amounts of sugar and fat and stuffing ourselves with snacks. Eat well and be healthy - add exercise and feel even better. Save money by eliminating empty calories - easy, healthy and you won't miss junk food.
10
Fun article and spot on. I can recall the two toasts with butter and jam my grandfather had every morning with his coffee with equal at the side – (I also plead guilty) when I had a Coke Zero with my Whopper, fries and onion rings. Empirical evidence is overwhelming for the licensing effect.
There is also a straight forward answer to the sinful salad itself: the other ingredients added (bacon, fried chicken, croutons, and so on), the thick voluminous dressings and the sheer feed-lot sizes we like to serve in the US probably offset the most of the claimed benefits without having to look at the rest of the shopping cart.
I side with the author’s call for moderation, self-awareness and consciousness and dread other policy implications suggesting we consumers are so stupid that we need regulation to determine what we should buy at the supermarket or how we should dress our salads.
There is also a straight forward answer to the sinful salad itself: the other ingredients added (bacon, fried chicken, croutons, and so on), the thick voluminous dressings and the sheer feed-lot sizes we like to serve in the US probably offset the most of the claimed benefits without having to look at the rest of the shopping cart.
I side with the author’s call for moderation, self-awareness and consciousness and dread other policy implications suggesting we consumers are so stupid that we need regulation to determine what we should buy at the supermarket or how we should dress our salads.
7
You could also study all those people who order a diet Coke with their ice cream sundae!
"Who, after all, hasn't rewarded themselves with a piece of cake or an extra (sic!!) beer after a killer workout?
I cannot be sure of the "killer" aspect in my case, I am after all over 60, but the answer to the above is: I. I drink water and take a piece of fruit after my 40-60 minute work-out. Cake? Beer? You have to be kidding. Defeats the purpose of the exercise.
"Drop a bunch of kale into your cart and you're more likely to head next to the ice cream or beer section". Here is a suggestion: buy fruits and vegetables in a fruit and vegetable store, not in a supermarket. Better quality and they usually do not sell beer or ice cream. No "licensing effect" here, just fruits and vegetables.
I cannot be sure of the "killer" aspect in my case, I am after all over 60, but the answer to the above is: I. I drink water and take a piece of fruit after my 40-60 minute work-out. Cake? Beer? You have to be kidding. Defeats the purpose of the exercise.
"Drop a bunch of kale into your cart and you're more likely to head next to the ice cream or beer section". Here is a suggestion: buy fruits and vegetables in a fruit and vegetable store, not in a supermarket. Better quality and they usually do not sell beer or ice cream. No "licensing effect" here, just fruits and vegetables.
2
To have fat loss you need some exercise too. Also, have more food than five, controlling your leptin, not snacking and dedication to make this all work. At awesomedietreviews.com, you get all that and more. I cannot believe people still believe they can stick to a diet without anyone helping them along or pushing them. I am not saying people are not self-dependent but daily motivation goes a long way.
Mind Over Platter.
Quite simple.
Quite simple.
1
Well, yeah, if you're really stupid, it works that way. If you have some self-awareness, self-discipline, and more intelligence than a turnip, no.
2
I think the real problem is seeing food as inherently 'good' or 'bad.' While nutrition is a valid argument, this mentality is so disconnected from listening to our bodies. If we buy into the marketing, we are allowing salad and hamburgers to be categorized, which sets us up for psychological manipulation.
5
This perfectly explains what I've learned about the danger of weighing myself - if the scale tells me I've lost weight when I haven't been trying to, I will immediately start eating more than I had been in the previous few weeks. And even though I know that I'm going to have this problem, it seems almost impossible to stop myself from going overboard after I've gotten the good news.
Fascinating. I actually thought the title referred to the fact that frequenting a salad bar led to more fattening choices, than ordering a "side salad" already made. Research has already shown for some time that salad bars, with their array of tempting, high-fat options, turn salads in to the equivalents of big MACs.
But no, this was a behavioral study on the ways we con ourselves. And I know from personal experience how easy it is to play that game. Ever notice how much you eat the day you weigh yourself and see you've lost 2 lbs? It seems to give you "license" to reward yourself, in a way that's no reward because you usually end up gaining not only the 2 lbs back, but gaining another one for good measure.
The idea of "treating" yourself when eating out wasn't really explored though. We all know the drill: why should I diet when I'm eating out? So instead of a normal meal, we eat 3 times as much because, well, we're paying for this, we deserve it, we don't eat like this at home, etc. etc.
The problem is, obesity stems from making poor choices and choosing wrong portion sides not just once, but all the time--at home and in restaurants. It's not the one indulgence (or two) that kills us...it's the unadmitted pursuit of bad habits, one meal (or snack) at a time.
But no, this was a behavioral study on the ways we con ourselves. And I know from personal experience how easy it is to play that game. Ever notice how much you eat the day you weigh yourself and see you've lost 2 lbs? It seems to give you "license" to reward yourself, in a way that's no reward because you usually end up gaining not only the 2 lbs back, but gaining another one for good measure.
The idea of "treating" yourself when eating out wasn't really explored though. We all know the drill: why should I diet when I'm eating out? So instead of a normal meal, we eat 3 times as much because, well, we're paying for this, we deserve it, we don't eat like this at home, etc. etc.
The problem is, obesity stems from making poor choices and choosing wrong portion sides not just once, but all the time--at home and in restaurants. It's not the one indulgence (or two) that kills us...it's the unadmitted pursuit of bad habits, one meal (or snack) at a time.
4
Most of the comments are lighthearted as is the article, as if the subject weren't so deadly serious. The food industry is literally killing us. Were we to face it squarely it would require a revolutionary change in the way we get our food and healthcare. On a personal level we simply don't want to eat what is so tasty and easy to procure, our health and weight be damned!
(I consider myself an expert, having lost and maintained 85 + pounds for 30 years.)
(I consider myself an expert, having lost and maintained 85 + pounds for 30 years.)
2
I can't help wondering if these studies are skewed by the circumstances. If I were a participant in these studies, I could envisage opting for the more indulgent options as a reward for taking part in the experiment, especially since the reward is free. But in ordinary life, most of the time I buy the vegetables and skip the ice cream. And if I eat too many calories on one day, I make up for it over the next few days - or at least I think I do.
3
I'm convinced there's something else going on here: what I'd call the "restaurant" effect. Even though most of us eat out on a regular basis, we were taught from an early age (just like we were taught to "clean our plate because people were starving in China...") that eating out is an unusual treat-- a special occasion. It doesn't matter that we do it all the time; the mentality remains.
Therefore, when we dine out, with our brain always in "special occasion" mode, we feel obliged to get something special--something we can't or won't make at home. If we're at a restaurant, we convince ourselves that because we are now spending more money than eating at home, we want to make the most of those dollars and that occasion. So something grand, such as a triple cheeseburger with tiramisu will usually win out over something prosaic or easily prepared at home, like a salad. We want the most awesome thing for our money.
Therefore, when we dine out, with our brain always in "special occasion" mode, we feel obliged to get something special--something we can't or won't make at home. If we're at a restaurant, we convince ourselves that because we are now spending more money than eating at home, we want to make the most of those dollars and that occasion. So something grand, such as a triple cheeseburger with tiramisu will usually win out over something prosaic or easily prepared at home, like a salad. We want the most awesome thing for our money.
55
The effect describe in the article is separate from and in addition to the motivation you describe. The point is that in the same restaurant, behavior changes towards self-indulgence and unhealthier choices when there are healthy options like salad on the menu.
I am a fabulous cook, And that's why I rarely eat out except for ethnic food. I socialize a lot like pizza with my cycling group last night, but I eat before I go and use gluten free as an excuse to socialize and not indulge. When I do taste, I'm disappointed to find that even my own pizza is better than the restaurant.
The only time I eat is if my boyfriend who is on a similar regimen takes me out, and then we split the meal. He pays so I don't feel bad about paying for food not nearly as fresh and good as what I cook.
If I'm eating with work colleagues etc., I eyeball the plate and mentally cut it in half. I eat that part at which point I am usually stuffed. It helps to know I will enjoy the remainder for lunch tomorrow. However, if you are an impulsive or addictive personality type, this would not work.
The only time I eat is if my boyfriend who is on a similar regimen takes me out, and then we split the meal. He pays so I don't feel bad about paying for food not nearly as fresh and good as what I cook.
If I'm eating with work colleagues etc., I eyeball the plate and mentally cut it in half. I eat that part at which point I am usually stuffed. It helps to know I will enjoy the remainder for lunch tomorrow. However, if you are an impulsive or addictive personality type, this would not work.
That is an interesting theory, though it would only hold true for those over about 50 -- I don't think millennials were raised being told "children are starving in China". If anything, young people have been raised to feel guilt over eating food that is "too good tasting" because "it might make you fat" (even if you don't have a weight problem). Women are hectored and nagged to diet all the time -- the fat to lose weight, the thin because they have to STAY thin to be considered worthy or attractive.
For anyone under 50, eating out is NOT a special treat as it was once for us oldsters -- I remember as child nearly every occasion we ate at a "sit down" restaurant because it truly WAS rare -- like once a year, for a birthday. My kids have grown up to eat out weekly. My grandkids only have a vague idea of what "home cooking" might be, because once or twice a year, they see Nana (me) doing it.
So, for this large group (most of us): no it is NOT special anymore. But one thing it is has BECOME is very costly -- food and restaurant costs have skyrocketed in recent years.
Therefore, yes: you are correct. People spending $$$ to eat out, don't want a plain green salad for that $$$. If you DO NOT eat something special, delicious and that you could not easily make at home -- why are you eating out in the first place?
For anyone under 50, eating out is NOT a special treat as it was once for us oldsters -- I remember as child nearly every occasion we ate at a "sit down" restaurant because it truly WAS rare -- like once a year, for a birthday. My kids have grown up to eat out weekly. My grandkids only have a vague idea of what "home cooking" might be, because once or twice a year, they see Nana (me) doing it.
So, for this large group (most of us): no it is NOT special anymore. But one thing it is has BECOME is very costly -- food and restaurant costs have skyrocketed in recent years.
Therefore, yes: you are correct. People spending $$$ to eat out, don't want a plain green salad for that $$$. If you DO NOT eat something special, delicious and that you could not easily make at home -- why are you eating out in the first place?
4
Human be behavior is fascinating. Madison avenue has been trading on it many decades. When are we going to use this science to make substantive changes in our lives rather than piles of money for "food" companies?
4
Moderation is the key. You need to exercise and not be lazy. A sedentary life and junk food is not a good combination. A very active life and a slice of chocolate mousse pie or a handful of Doritos and a Coke on occasion is not a criminal offense like some here would have you believe.
12
This is how Whole Foods works, and this is why smart grocery businesses invest heavily in their produce department despite paper-thin profit margins in that department. You sell a lot more chips & soda if you put it next to some salad, and you sell a lot more wine & chocolate if you put it near the vitamins & protein shakes.
14
There's another way this can happen. When you go into a McDonald's with a plan to have a salad, you then confront the other choices and compare them to the salad. When you compare the puny and often wilted side salads with the fries fresh from the fryer, it's easy to second guess your initial thoughts. If you also know that the entree salads are loaded with calories from the add ons and the dressing, it's also easy to order the burger.
7
Solution: stay out of McDonald's.
Who's going to McDonalds for salad? Really?!
2
So maybe the first choice is to NOT go to McDonalds or other fast food junk outlets.
1
Listen to this! Listen to the puritanism and moralizing inherent in the idea that some foods are "virtuous" and others are "wicked"! This is a puritanism that would have people feel guilty for enjoying one of life's basic sensory pleasures. Of course it doesn't work. Of course people find ways to "cheat". The ironic thing is that when the guilt they feel for eating a "wicked" food keeps them from truly enjoying it. They overeat because they're not paying full attention to the experience -- half their mind is on the "guilt" of their "transgression." They don't find what they're seeking - the pleasure of eating - and so they are never truly satisfied, and overeat.
It's stupid to buy ice cream as a "reward" for eating your kale. Buy ice cream because ice cream is a wonderful thing. Acknowledge and accept it, instead of lying to yourself about "rewards". And when you eat the ice cream, make a decision to truly enjoy it. Pay close attention to the flavor and sensation, eat it slowly, and enjoy it as thoroughly as possible. If you aren't willing to commit to thoroughly enjoying your ice cream, why buy it at all?
If you recognize and are truthful with yourself about why you are eating the ice cream, and you commit yourself to enjoying it thoroughly, trust me -- you won't overeat it.
It's stupid to buy ice cream as a "reward" for eating your kale. Buy ice cream because ice cream is a wonderful thing. Acknowledge and accept it, instead of lying to yourself about "rewards". And when you eat the ice cream, make a decision to truly enjoy it. Pay close attention to the flavor and sensation, eat it slowly, and enjoy it as thoroughly as possible. If you aren't willing to commit to thoroughly enjoying your ice cream, why buy it at all?
If you recognize and are truthful with yourself about why you are eating the ice cream, and you commit yourself to enjoying it thoroughly, trust me -- you won't overeat it.
34
Yours is a wonderful philosophy except for the outcome. Guilt-free indiscriminate consumption invariably leads to disease, a reduction in the quality of life, an overburdened health care system, and a shortened lifespan. Eat to live - not the other way around - and spend your savings and extra time enjoying good health and indulging your other senses. And yes, from time to time, enjoy a scoop of ice-cream but accept it as a conscious choice of a generally unhealthy, calorie dense foodstuff that calls for an offsetting sacrifice in some other area.
I am not a Puritan, and of course ice cream is good, but so is well prepared vegetables etc. I eat this way because I am 65 and like to date young men, because I am building an expensive home and can't afford to be sick and must work for ten more years, and because I just love how I look and how I feel. If I am self-righteous, it's because the rest of you are fat slobs.
THANK YOU for identifying this correctly as The New Puritanism.
In my great-grandma's day, the Puritanism was all about sex and sensuality -- they were BAD. They were IMMORAL. If you wanted them, you were bad and immoral!
Of course, people kept having sex ... because sex feels really, really good. And human beings were designed to enjoy sex, and reproduce sexually.
Today, you can have all the sex you want, with whomever you want, whenever you want, in any kinky way you can dream up -- but now you must feel guilty over nearly everything you eat. Meat is murder! milk is cow mucus! Fast food makes you fat. Nearly everything makes you fat. People feel guiltier over eating a bowl of ice cream than over cuckolding their spouse. Being fat is a worse crime than lying, cheating or stealing.
In my great-grandma's day, the Puritanism was all about sex and sensuality -- they were BAD. They were IMMORAL. If you wanted them, you were bad and immoral!
Of course, people kept having sex ... because sex feels really, really good. And human beings were designed to enjoy sex, and reproduce sexually.
Today, you can have all the sex you want, with whomever you want, whenever you want, in any kinky way you can dream up -- but now you must feel guilty over nearly everything you eat. Meat is murder! milk is cow mucus! Fast food makes you fat. Nearly everything makes you fat. People feel guiltier over eating a bowl of ice cream than over cuckolding their spouse. Being fat is a worse crime than lying, cheating or stealing.
6
The easiest and most effective way to eat right is to do it for the right reason. NOT to get into that dress for the wedding, NOT to show up at your reunion looking fabulous. Those reasons come and go and then what? Eat healthily because you wish to BE healthy.
19
All those health nuts will someday be lying in a hospital dying of nothing.
5
But they usually die cheaper, thus avoiding a larger dent in government coffers and, cumulatively, aiding in limiting the fiscal damages of the ACA. "Who'd 'uv thunk it", Casey might have said. Not withstanding, I like your diagnosis.
2
What an odd philosophy, kwb, that trying to live healthfully is "nuts."
2
BALANCE EFFECT? I'm not so sure. I prefer foods that are also healthful. I'd take granola and yogurt with fruit any day for lunch to a hamburger or lunch meat sandwich. In fact, I've done that for many years. And, no, I don't balance off the "good" lunch with empty calories later in the day.
Is the shopping list test accurate in all cases? I think not. You can include kale in a dish that is also cooked with wine or beer. Or you can include dandelion greens in a salad dressed with hot bacon, including its fat. In the latter case, if the pigs are fed naturally, their meat may be more healthful than factory produced pork. Likewise, those who choose grass-fed beef may be consuming fat that is closer to olive oil than that of beef given grain to fatten them.
In the dairy aisle, one might select rich cheeses for after the main meal, in the French fashion. If the cheeses are naturally produced, they may contain substances that break down the saturated facts. Also, if the cheeses are consumed with red wine, that may mitigate the effects of their fat content.
I think the better question is, Why do Americans think that junk food tastes better than wholesome food? Perhaps if people have a garden vegetable patch, they'll begin to crave natural salads with a healthful vinaigrette. Just like the French.
Vive la difference!
Is the shopping list test accurate in all cases? I think not. You can include kale in a dish that is also cooked with wine or beer. Or you can include dandelion greens in a salad dressed with hot bacon, including its fat. In the latter case, if the pigs are fed naturally, their meat may be more healthful than factory produced pork. Likewise, those who choose grass-fed beef may be consuming fat that is closer to olive oil than that of beef given grain to fatten them.
In the dairy aisle, one might select rich cheeses for after the main meal, in the French fashion. If the cheeses are naturally produced, they may contain substances that break down the saturated facts. Also, if the cheeses are consumed with red wine, that may mitigate the effects of their fat content.
I think the better question is, Why do Americans think that junk food tastes better than wholesome food? Perhaps if people have a garden vegetable patch, they'll begin to crave natural salads with a healthful vinaigrette. Just like the French.
Vive la difference!
13
Of course, the granola is usually a sugar bomb as is almost all American yoghurt. Look at an American yoghurt section and try to find the one hidden one without sugar. In my local supermarkets there are usually one or two of those; when traveling through the US, it's often impossible to find a yoghurt that's not sweetened. And by sweetened I mean heavily sweetened.
5
"Why do Americans think that junk food tastes better than wholesome food?"
Perhaps because companies have "food science" research departments studying and implementing the qualities in food that are immediately addictive and at the same time unsatisfying, so one wants more more more.
Perhaps because companies have "food science" research departments studying and implementing the qualities in food that are immediately addictive and at the same time unsatisfying, so one wants more more more.
2
I agree. I think this may apply to those who find healthy eating and being physically fit a burden but not so much to those who like kale and real, quality yogurt (for example). The trick is to change your mindset to think of eating well and enjoying working out as enjoyable activities that lead to a better quality of life and to shun junk that neither truly tastes good nor contributes to a good life.
I suppose this proves that it is all in the marketing, after all. Who hasn't made these observations, calling them things like "diet algebra" -- my friends' and my label in the late 70s to 80s and beyond -- and then laughing at ourselves for the folly that we'd choose better "next time"?! Had we made our observations a "study" back then, we could have finished doctorates much earlier -- and then rewarded ourselves with cake, saving salad with fat free dressing for a lunch on some other day.
1
"How Salad Can Make Us Fat"
Hmm. I thought I was reading the times, not gimmicky headlines on BuzzFeed.
Hmm. I thought I was reading the times, not gimmicky headlines on BuzzFeed.
9
I've never understood nor been tempted by the idea of "rewarding" oneself with cake/unhealthy food after a good workout. I've often heard of this tendency but it is totally incomprehensible to me. When I have a tough workout, run a lot of miles or otherwise do a lot of physical work, it is very easy to look at a cookie and think of it in terms of physical activity: "that is a 2.5 mile cookie". "that is a 6 mile pint of ice cream." Nothing makes me stay away from junk food more than the recent memory of running!
4
Some of us are just not as perfect as you. And some of us actually like that cookie or the ice cream. And a pint of ice cream is not a single serving.
1
Yeah, no kidding. Thankfully I never got into the (bad) habit of rewarding myself with food/drink.
To an athlete, eating a poor diet fundamentally disrespects the effort you put into your sport.
To an athlete, eating a poor diet fundamentally disrespects the effort you put into your sport.
Such nonsense!
If I eat 'bad' food, i KNOW I'm eating bad food.
If I smoke, I KNOW nothing will compensate for the damage I'm doing to myself.
If I drink more than I should, I know nothing will balance it out.
Nonsense!!
We are always finding ways to justify our actions.
If I eat 'bad' food, i KNOW I'm eating bad food.
If I smoke, I KNOW nothing will compensate for the damage I'm doing to myself.
If I drink more than I should, I know nothing will balance it out.
Nonsense!!
We are always finding ways to justify our actions.
3
My great grandmother lived to be 103, eating bacon and eggs almost every day for breakfast and ice cream and pound cake for dessert after dinner. She was a very active woman, but the main factor was that she was not prone to overindulging and people typically ate smaller portions of REAL FOOD back then.
Portion sizes, processed food, added hormones, added sugar, and general laziness makes us fat. And a lot of that is the result of convenience and habit. The best thing I ever did for myself is buy a food scale. The portion sizes on most foods are dubious at best and as the article shows, eyeballing calorie content is too subjective. Even guides like keeping meat portions to the size of a deck of cards or a handful of something are misleading...Foods have different density and I have big hands!
Portion sizes, processed food, added hormones, added sugar, and general laziness makes us fat. And a lot of that is the result of convenience and habit. The best thing I ever did for myself is buy a food scale. The portion sizes on most foods are dubious at best and as the article shows, eyeballing calorie content is too subjective. Even guides like keeping meat portions to the size of a deck of cards or a handful of something are misleading...Foods have different density and I have big hands!
15
@Wcdessert Girl:
This begs a further question -- why don't today's large portion sizes make us feel full? How/why was your great grandmother satisfied with a smaller portion size?
It's the nutritional quality of the food.
This begs a further question -- why don't today's large portion sizes make us feel full? How/why was your great grandmother satisfied with a smaller portion size?
It's the nutritional quality of the food.
13
The solution to this problem is self-evident. The licensing effect does not apply to addictive substances -- the more we consume them, the more we want. A shot of bourbon on your salad, a shot of vodka in your low fat yogurt, and a shot of Scotch with your string beans, and you'll forget that you ever craved cheeseburgers and ice cream.
7
Thank you so much for the best laugh so far today !
4
The only thing that makes us fat is eating too much.
10
@R.R.:
Eating too much is an effect, not a cause. The article describes _unconscious_ social/behavioral factors that can lead people to eat more. There are also numerous _unconscious_ physiological factors that can increase or decrease appetite -- hormones, drugs, nutritional quality of the food.
"Eating too much" is also a circular argument -- it begs the question of _why_ a person is eating too much, and why overeating has increased on a population level.
Eating too much is an effect, not a cause. The article describes _unconscious_ social/behavioral factors that can lead people to eat more. There are also numerous _unconscious_ physiological factors that can increase or decrease appetite -- hormones, drugs, nutritional quality of the food.
"Eating too much" is also a circular argument -- it begs the question of _why_ a person is eating too much, and why overeating has increased on a population level.
3
Eating too much -- that is, eating more calories than you expend --CAUSES you to gain weight.
The EFFECT is that you gain weight.
Eating too much causes weight gain. Please, it is exactly this illogic and subconscious but futile desire to avoid and evade the laws of physics that the article describes.
The EFFECT is that you gain weight.
Eating too much causes weight gain. Please, it is exactly this illogic and subconscious but futile desire to avoid and evade the laws of physics that the article describes.
My theory has more to do with a primal need for satiety. After so many years of being told fat is bad, I've realized that fat is actually satiety and flavor and contentment, and very much needed by our brains. It's what enables us, if we pay attention, to feel full and satisfied with a lower volume of food so that we don't overeat. When I buy kale, I buy it for the deep, earthy flavor and nutrition. But kale is not filling. I'd get sick of it if I had to eat enough to feel full. So I balance with some nice grated cheese, french butter, etc. I think that's what our brain is often doing-- seeking to balance the lean with the fat.
31
AGAIN, it seems to come down to THE ZEN OF WHEN.
O.K. We already know What To Eat - proteins, fats, and carbohydrates - and we have a good idea of how our food should be proportioned and prepared, so that it's Healthy. We just need to remember WHEN and WHEN NOT to eat.
(the) zen of when. (n.) The positive feeling of accomplishment and maintenance of a healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle through the practice of Bellytivity. (Don't Worry, Be Healthy.)
bellytivity. (n.) The responsible awareness of when (and when not) to put calories into one's own stomach. (It Ain't That Tough…After Awhile!)
(the) theory of bellytivity. (n.) The energy needed for a healthy individual to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle can be obtained from THREE SQUARE MEALS PER DAY PLUS WATER.
(from: The Theory Of Bellytivity, 2015)
O.K. We already know What To Eat - proteins, fats, and carbohydrates - and we have a good idea of how our food should be proportioned and prepared, so that it's Healthy. We just need to remember WHEN and WHEN NOT to eat.
(the) zen of when. (n.) The positive feeling of accomplishment and maintenance of a healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle through the practice of Bellytivity. (Don't Worry, Be Healthy.)
bellytivity. (n.) The responsible awareness of when (and when not) to put calories into one's own stomach. (It Ain't That Tough…After Awhile!)
(the) theory of bellytivity. (n.) The energy needed for a healthy individual to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle can be obtained from THREE SQUARE MEALS PER DAY PLUS WATER.
(from: The Theory Of Bellytivity, 2015)
The most important finding this article reinforces is that, for pretty much every situation, there is a Seinfeld episode to explain it. Kudos to the writer for acknowledging this. "Even Steven!"
9
When "professors of marketing" start writing about eating habits and preferences for various food products, it is time to stop either eating or reading such nonsense.
Human species has evolved as a panphagous (= omnivorous) creature. In addition to food, it has discovered and developed a taste for alcohol and tobacco. If one were to measure the masterpieces of the great chefs by the modern leftist and so-called politically correct yardstick of what is, or is not "healthy", how many cook-books would there be left on the shelves?
Dear health- or healthy-food addicts, get real and enjoy life!
Human species has evolved as a panphagous (= omnivorous) creature. In addition to food, it has discovered and developed a taste for alcohol and tobacco. If one were to measure the masterpieces of the great chefs by the modern leftist and so-called politically correct yardstick of what is, or is not "healthy", how many cook-books would there be left on the shelves?
Dear health- or healthy-food addicts, get real and enjoy life!
2
How about we're not trying to lose weight but just want to add the vegetable part of the food group (salad) with protein (hamburger), carbohydrates (bun) and dairy (ice cream)?
5
Interesting, but these data all involve choices people make. What's far more interesting is that over and over again, subjects in a clinical trial who were given a placebo instead of a statin, saw their LDL drop by 30%, almost as much as those who were given a real statin. These people are not making choices, they are having a measurable physiological reaction to an inert pill based on the suspicion that it might be lipid lowering. That is why many clinical trials are double-blinded, to eliminate the powerful effects of suggestion. Placebo is the most effective medication in earth. And it works in almost all disease states. Cheap, too.
7
Having noticed how certain supermarkets put the veggies near the entrance, I wonder if they are trying to take advantage of this phenomenon.
2
As for salad, lettuce is virtually worthless nutritionally.
A commercial tomato on it and some croutons doused with low quality oil based commercial dressing and you have…
Nothing.
No, you have negative.
Take a small amount of time to search "most nutritional foods" (preferably non meat).
Then go buy them and eat them.
Prepare any way you like but over cooking everything will negate all benefit.
Take a good multi vitamin (a tiny bit more research) and a multi mineral tablet.
A little exercise and you are on your way!
Twice a week reward yourself with a nasty sweet item.
Other days eat fruit for a sweet.
Not too hard.
A commercial tomato on it and some croutons doused with low quality oil based commercial dressing and you have…
Nothing.
No, you have negative.
Take a small amount of time to search "most nutritional foods" (preferably non meat).
Then go buy them and eat them.
Prepare any way you like but over cooking everything will negate all benefit.
Take a good multi vitamin (a tiny bit more research) and a multi mineral tablet.
A little exercise and you are on your way!
Twice a week reward yourself with a nasty sweet item.
Other days eat fruit for a sweet.
Not too hard.
3
It's too bad that your "most nutritional foods" are largely unaffordable for low income people. And by the way, not all lettuces are worthless nutritionally. Even the lesser ones such as iceberg lettuce have some fiber.
3
That's a cop-out argument.
If you consciously try to hard to avoid the unhealthy stuff, the unhealthy stuff will find you young grasshopper; kind of like when your parents forbade something.
5
I almost had a heart attack when I read the title of this article. I eat a salad every day. There is no cheese, no pasta, no croutons, no creamy dressings. I make my own dressing from shallots, garlic, herbs de Provence,salt, pepper, dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I process it until it's emulsified. I have any green I want along with tomatoes, half an avocado, black olives, cucumbers, green pepper, celery, hearts of palm and sometimes an egg cooked sunny side up on top which, when tossed, allows the yoke to run all over the whole shebang.
Most of the calories come from the olive oil which are negligible. The whole thing is filling, satisfying and super tasty. On nights I don't have the egg, a piece of chicken or fish will accompany it. ( Also tastily prepared)
On May 1st, I stopped eating sugar, starches, chips and anything else in the middle aisles of the grocery store. I ride a bike to go to that grocery store up the hills along the Hudson. Twenty five pounds melted away. More to come.
I was exactly as described in this article, deluding myself that my salad consumption deserved to be partnered with a brownie, or a cookie or potato chips. But after three weeks of not eating that garbage, I simply stopped missing it. Now after 5 months, everything is different. EVERYTHING.
I'm no spring chicken either! Just one happy, healthy hen.
Most of the calories come from the olive oil which are negligible. The whole thing is filling, satisfying and super tasty. On nights I don't have the egg, a piece of chicken or fish will accompany it. ( Also tastily prepared)
On May 1st, I stopped eating sugar, starches, chips and anything else in the middle aisles of the grocery store. I ride a bike to go to that grocery store up the hills along the Hudson. Twenty five pounds melted away. More to come.
I was exactly as described in this article, deluding myself that my salad consumption deserved to be partnered with a brownie, or a cookie or potato chips. But after three weeks of not eating that garbage, I simply stopped missing it. Now after 5 months, everything is different. EVERYTHING.
I'm no spring chicken either! Just one happy, healthy hen.
56
And what do you eat for breakfast and lunch? A salad with protein every night, good for you, but that can't be your entire diet. Also, you must not have to prepare meals for other family members, or occasionally guests. Life is complicated.
2
Hate to tell you this, but 5 months is nothing. Get back to us in a few years.
1
If this works for YOU, that's terrific. You have every right to eat whatever you like.
I can tell you that your salad is not LOW CALORIE, as it is full of eggs, sometimes meat, avocados (healthy but not low calorie!), and the dressing -- though fresh and appetizing -- is just as full of fats and salt and calories as any commercial dressing. (BTW: the dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar have sugar in them).
Also: May 1st until now is less than six months. I am happy for you that losing 25 lbs is what you wanted. But if you think it is "gone forever", you may be sadly disappointed. Most diets do NOT work long term, and most dieters end up regaining all the weight they lost, AND MORE.
BTW: you've been dieting on just salad during the mild SUMMER months. What happens in November through March, when it is cold, wet and snowy? and a cold salad is the last thing on earth you want to eat?
I can tell you that your salad is not LOW CALORIE, as it is full of eggs, sometimes meat, avocados (healthy but not low calorie!), and the dressing -- though fresh and appetizing -- is just as full of fats and salt and calories as any commercial dressing. (BTW: the dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar have sugar in them).
Also: May 1st until now is less than six months. I am happy for you that losing 25 lbs is what you wanted. But if you think it is "gone forever", you may be sadly disappointed. Most diets do NOT work long term, and most dieters end up regaining all the weight they lost, AND MORE.
BTW: you've been dieting on just salad during the mild SUMMER months. What happens in November through March, when it is cold, wet and snowy? and a cold salad is the last thing on earth you want to eat?
2
Yogurt is also a classic example. We throw a lot junk into it, which makes it unhealthy.
3
I've been known to put both kale and ice cream in my shopping cart. Quelle horreur!
This is such an absurdly extremist society. I'm so glad I'm NOT one of those Times readers who are constantly crowing about their flawless diets. "I allow myself one glass of wine per month, but I generally don't feel the need for it," etc. Gah.
This is such an absurdly extremist society. I'm so glad I'm NOT one of those Times readers who are constantly crowing about their flawless diets. "I allow myself one glass of wine per month, but I generally don't feel the need for it," etc. Gah.
26
Agree. I have vegan relatives who will go on and on at holiday meals about the superiority of 'plant based protein'. One of them brought a bag of oranges to Easter dinner last year and ate only that. I joked about it to my daughter later as being comically extreme, and she said it was probably a sign of an eating disorder, and I realized she was right. This person keeps an eating chart and grades himself on his diet every day. The days he eats perfectly in accordance with his diet get an "X" and he needs to see rows of x's.
11
Wow. How depressing.
2
Francois: your relative has an increasingly common mental illness called "orthorexia". It where people have a clear eating disorder, but they justify it (to themselves & others) as "some kind of health diet". In our society, EVERYONE is supposed to be dieting -- the fat folks to lose weight, the average weight folks to keep from getting fat. So to hear someone is on some crazy diet is now THE NORM.
It's at the point I dread holidays like Thanksgiving or Xmas, because you have to deal with so many restrictions -- this one is now vegan, that one must have gluten free, someone else has a peanut allergy, another one is diabetic and everything must be sugar-free -- and that isn't even counting the folks with just weird aversions to this or that. Today, anything a person does not like to eat, they claim is an "allergy" or that they are on "diet" so they don't have to eat it.
ORTHOREXIA. You can look it up.
It's at the point I dread holidays like Thanksgiving or Xmas, because you have to deal with so many restrictions -- this one is now vegan, that one must have gluten free, someone else has a peanut allergy, another one is diabetic and everything must be sugar-free -- and that isn't even counting the folks with just weird aversions to this or that. Today, anything a person does not like to eat, they claim is an "allergy" or that they are on "diet" so they don't have to eat it.
ORTHOREXIA. You can look it up.
1
Today I walked eight miles and ate a delicious pastry and nearly three quarters of a pound of "sour neon worms." I don't know whether to feel smugly self-righteous or deeply ashamed.
26
Hey, gummy worms are a dieter's dream. I gorged on them once to the point that I wore out my jaw. Coudn't eat solids for a couple days.
As a nurse, I can also tell you that many people who take a medication to lower cholesterol, such as Lipitor, think they can now eat anything they want. MDs rarely review dietary habits during office visits. They are more focused on labs and medications. Same is true with diabetics. No more 1200 calorie ADA diets, now there are insulin pumps you can bolus to cover that donut you crave.
And we continue to get bigger and sicker. And more medicated. Stress also plays a huge part. Another aspect of our health that is often ignored, frequently medicated. Often with food and drink.
And we continue to get bigger and sicker. And more medicated. Stress also plays a huge part. Another aspect of our health that is often ignored, frequently medicated. Often with food and drink.
21
@Janice: people lie and deceive not just doctors, but themselves -- and over a heck of a lot more things than what they eat. It is human nature. Also, it is very difficult for even thin, healthy people to honestly report what they ate in the last couple of days -- even with a food diary, most people are not honest.
Why would they be, with snarky judgements such as you make here? Implying the very worst, most demeaning behaviors -- "they think they can eat anything they want". How do you know this, Janice? because you are a nurse? Does that give you the power to read people's minds?
Do you think a number on a scale tells you what people think or feel, let alone how they behave? Because of judgmental behaviors from medical personnel such as yourself, people have learned to lie and act defensive around doctors -- so they DO NOT get the help or advice that MIGHT really do some good.
NOTE: do you really think there is anyone out there who WANTS diabetes, or thinks it is "fun" to have an insulin pump -- a big cumbersome machine, that costs a fortune, and can't even be hidden by your clothing? Shame on you.
Why would they be, with snarky judgements such as you make here? Implying the very worst, most demeaning behaviors -- "they think they can eat anything they want". How do you know this, Janice? because you are a nurse? Does that give you the power to read people's minds?
Do you think a number on a scale tells you what people think or feel, let alone how they behave? Because of judgmental behaviors from medical personnel such as yourself, people have learned to lie and act defensive around doctors -- so they DO NOT get the help or advice that MIGHT really do some good.
NOTE: do you really think there is anyone out there who WANTS diabetes, or thinks it is "fun" to have an insulin pump -- a big cumbersome machine, that costs a fortune, and can't even be hidden by your clothing? Shame on you.
1
The truth is that we really don't know what makes us fat or have high cholesterol or get cancer. My grandparents ate all the wrong things and did all the wrong things and their bodies could no longer take the abuse by age 89 and 95, respectively. My father lived a healthy life and died of pancreatic cancer (with no risk factors) at 63. Some people look at food and gain weight. Others can eat all they want and lose weight. There are hormone we don't know about. Most of the people I know who had bariatric surgery or procedures lost some weight, but are still fat. We're all looking for a simple solution, and there isn't any.
45
Firstly, the causes of most serious diseases are largely known. They are mostly down to stress, a sedentary lifestyle, environmental contaminants, a broken food chain and gluttony.
Moreover the solution is simple - it's the implementing it that is hard. Made all the more so by the temptation that comes with constant opportunity, reinforced by an omnipresent marketing message that begs us to consume more.
But most of us use the causal uncertainty to which you refer - the absence of complete scientific proof - as justification for ignoring all the evidence-based knowledge that does exist in favour of doing, and eating, exactly what we want.
Moreover the solution is simple - it's the implementing it that is hard. Made all the more so by the temptation that comes with constant opportunity, reinforced by an omnipresent marketing message that begs us to consume more.
But most of us use the causal uncertainty to which you refer - the absence of complete scientific proof - as justification for ignoring all the evidence-based knowledge that does exist in favour of doing, and eating, exactly what we want.
Yes! We want a simple quantifiable answer -- and science simply does not have one (so far). We want a simple, workable way to control our weight in such a fashion that we can make ourselves very, very thin -- like the actors and models we see in the media -- without pain, suffering or deprivation. Again, science has no way to do this.
My longest lived relative was a great aunt who lived to 97; she was the eldest of six children, and outlived ALL of her siblings (by a considerable number of years) and one of her adult children. She was not particularly athletic or active. She was plump, though not obese. She LOVED to eat and loved to cook, especially rich specialties from Eastern Europe where she grew up. She baked an amazing strudel!
Every night, Aunt Sarah had a nice big swig from the bottle of Four Roses bourbon on her nightstand. She often drank wine with meals, and she enjoyed a cocktail on occasion. She was a casual smoker, though less so in her old age. She certainly NEVER belonged to a gym or worked out! though she was a homemaker and raised four kids, so she was no slacker.
I had relatives who were slim and athletic, and ate sparingly and never drank a drop -- and they died decades before Aunt Sarah.
The truth is that you probably CANNOT game how long you live or your overall health -- not solely, anyways -- by what you eat. There are thousands of factors, beyond your control -- such as your environment, stress, your job, your family, genetics ... and simple luck.
My longest lived relative was a great aunt who lived to 97; she was the eldest of six children, and outlived ALL of her siblings (by a considerable number of years) and one of her adult children. She was not particularly athletic or active. She was plump, though not obese. She LOVED to eat and loved to cook, especially rich specialties from Eastern Europe where she grew up. She baked an amazing strudel!
Every night, Aunt Sarah had a nice big swig from the bottle of Four Roses bourbon on her nightstand. She often drank wine with meals, and she enjoyed a cocktail on occasion. She was a casual smoker, though less so in her old age. She certainly NEVER belonged to a gym or worked out! though she was a homemaker and raised four kids, so she was no slacker.
I had relatives who were slim and athletic, and ate sparingly and never drank a drop -- and they died decades before Aunt Sarah.
The truth is that you probably CANNOT game how long you live or your overall health -- not solely, anyways -- by what you eat. There are thousands of factors, beyond your control -- such as your environment, stress, your job, your family, genetics ... and simple luck.
1
What is a "single shot"? I need to know if I want one.
3
"Ultimately, we all know how to live healthfully: Exercise regularly, eat real food, get plenty of sleep and so on. But these simple precepts can be inconvenient and time-consuming."
sheesh. how can they be more time-consuming than this ridiculous article, that takes people an chomping at their nails over what-oh-what will i eat now!!
really.
or another telling quote from this "health column":
" . . . it’s a particular problem in health because we’re confronted with
so many decisions on a daily basis and yet
the outcomes we’re most concerned about . . . are difficult to measure, heavily influenced by chance or too far into the future to be sure of cause . . ."
that kind of informative insight one wants to take with a GREAT BIG GRAIN OF . . . oooh, salt?
it nearly obviates the useful first quote i placed here!
my maxim: we eat to live; so,
don't turn it in to a war!
i quit "the sauce" [thank you jonathan williams for this term] sometime in the last several months (which in my case meant stopping drinking good beer at the rate of two or three per night, most nights)
what happened next i found was
(in less than a couple of months) i'd dropped 15 pounds (down from 224; i do rowing machine 30 min a couple times a week at the Y, age 72.
i can't tell you whether it was two or more months ago i quit beer.
and that's not the point, with respect to facts that we generally "know" how to eat healthfully.
just sayin' . . . !!
sheesh. how can they be more time-consuming than this ridiculous article, that takes people an chomping at their nails over what-oh-what will i eat now!!
really.
or another telling quote from this "health column":
" . . . it’s a particular problem in health because we’re confronted with
so many decisions on a daily basis and yet
the outcomes we’re most concerned about . . . are difficult to measure, heavily influenced by chance or too far into the future to be sure of cause . . ."
that kind of informative insight one wants to take with a GREAT BIG GRAIN OF . . . oooh, salt?
it nearly obviates the useful first quote i placed here!
my maxim: we eat to live; so,
don't turn it in to a war!
i quit "the sauce" [thank you jonathan williams for this term] sometime in the last several months (which in my case meant stopping drinking good beer at the rate of two or three per night, most nights)
what happened next i found was
(in less than a couple of months) i'd dropped 15 pounds (down from 224; i do rowing machine 30 min a couple times a week at the Y, age 72.
i can't tell you whether it was two or more months ago i quit beer.
and that's not the point, with respect to facts that we generally "know" how to eat healthfully.
just sayin' . . . !!
2
Reducing your intake of caloric drinks is excellent, as you're seeing from your weight loss. Yet teetotalers do not live as long as those who drink a little alcohol each and every day. That moderate alcohol intake also improves cardiovascular health, and provides a host of other health benefits.
Reducing calories will reduce your weight. Of course, you can reduce them in a variety of ways. JUST SAYIN'!!!
Reducing calories will reduce your weight. Of course, you can reduce them in a variety of ways. JUST SAYIN'!!!
Always a good idea - don't try to get healthy, live healthy.
6
What about reading articles on health and well-being in a highly respected newspaper? Will this very piece "license" us to behave badly?
Quick, where's the sports section?
Quick, where's the sports section?
13
As for Sports? Well, the last I read, Charlie B, the Mets may be facing the KC Royals in the World Series.
If so, I may fly 3,000 miles east to savor once again, the very best hot dog I've ever eaten.
Which was at Shea Stadium almost a half century ago.
If so, I may fly 3,000 miles east to savor once again, the very best hot dog I've ever eaten.
Which was at Shea Stadium almost a half century ago.
Interesting study and I'm glad it calls me out. I'm certainly guilty of pretending to be healthy. Just today in fact, I ordered a salad but added a creamy ranch dressing. Last night I took a yoga class, then went out for a couple of beers with my wife because I somehow felt like I earned them. I exercise regularly but spend more time slouching behind my computer for work. And because I put up with the stress of living in NYC and I don't use a car, I think it gives me license to be a couch potato at night. Anyone else out there like me?
21
More scientifically proven diet facts:
1. Food eaten while standing has no calories.
2. Food licked off a knife has no calories.
3. Food picked up off the floor has no calories.
4. A high-calorie food and a low-calorie food eaten together cancel each other out.
1. Food eaten while standing has no calories.
2. Food licked off a knife has no calories.
3. Food picked up off the floor has no calories.
4. A high-calorie food and a low-calorie food eaten together cancel each other out.
83
Free food (like when they put out donuts at work) also has no calories.
14
5. Snitched food is calorie-free.
2
You forgot - food eaten off your children's plates has no calories.
2
Who are who are these people? Since when does healthy diet mean fries or ice cream are OK on the side. Healthy is healthy and I for one stick to that. I do not do fries or ice cream. These are not healthy eaters but just ones who fool themselves that one good thing cancels out a bad thing. These findings from this study seem somewhat absurd. Need to see corroborating studies on this one to believe these conclusions.
2
Author states: "Ultimately, we all know how to live healthfully: Exercise regularly, eat real food, get plenty of sleep and so on."
Actually, we have no well-researched scientific proof of what constitutes a healthful human diet. That is the heart of the problem. We really only have a lot of ideas, cottage industries, and careers with vested interests in perpetuating the "scientific" dogma. No different than religion, really.
Actually, we have no well-researched scientific proof of what constitutes a healthful human diet. That is the heart of the problem. We really only have a lot of ideas, cottage industries, and careers with vested interests in perpetuating the "scientific" dogma. No different than religion, really.
18
Scientific proof? The attempt to find one is very much part of the problem.
Wrong. We need better research.
We also have the MULTI BILLION DOLLAR Dieting Industrial Complex -- a vast industry made up of everything from academic pundits, diet products, diet books, diet TV shows, diet doctors, diet camps, diet foods in the supermarket, etc. etc. etc.
That industry depends for its income on ensuring that as many people as possible are trying to diet, and lose weight, and become very thin. Since this is illusive (and maybe even impossible. on a population-wide scale), they are very, very VERY rich of our collective misery.
Anyone who has observed this over the years will note that theories and fads fly fast and often, and they make the rounds in cycles -- fat is bad, no it is good. Oat bran will save your life...wait, not it won't. Eat fiber, no fiber doesn't matter. Exercise, no don't bother exercising....no, DO exercise. Eat eggs, no eggs will kill you. Eat low carb. Eat high carb. Eat vegetables (even if you absolutely HATE vegetables).
And most of all: be sure you HATE ON your natural body, because whatever it looks like or behaves like, it is somehow "wrong" and you must diet in order to fix it.
That industry depends for its income on ensuring that as many people as possible are trying to diet, and lose weight, and become very thin. Since this is illusive (and maybe even impossible. on a population-wide scale), they are very, very VERY rich of our collective misery.
Anyone who has observed this over the years will note that theories and fads fly fast and often, and they make the rounds in cycles -- fat is bad, no it is good. Oat bran will save your life...wait, not it won't. Eat fiber, no fiber doesn't matter. Exercise, no don't bother exercising....no, DO exercise. Eat eggs, no eggs will kill you. Eat low carb. Eat high carb. Eat vegetables (even if you absolutely HATE vegetables).
And most of all: be sure you HATE ON your natural body, because whatever it looks like or behaves like, it is somehow "wrong" and you must diet in order to fix it.
Yet another argument against the facile logic and proven ineffectiveness of corporate wellness "biggest loser" and other get-thin-quick programs.
3
"Drop a bunch of kale into your cart and you’re more likely to head next to the ice cream or beer section. The more “virtuous” products you have in your basket, the stronger your temptation to succumb to..."
Not!
We have exactly the same things on our shopping list every month: Mostly fish. Fresh fruits and vegetables. Dried fruits and nuts as snacks. In the summer lots of salads. In the winter lots of beans and stews.
Each day I make two cups of fresh kefir. Each night I refrigerate it. Each morning I mix the kefir with a carrot, a banana, two tbsp of blueberries and two tbsp of yeast extract. It's all we eat until lunch time. We never get hungry before lunch time, which we eat right after exercising for 45 minutes. Every day.
We mostly cook at home. We eat out once a week, always at a real restaurant. If we have dessert, we have one dessert split between two people. We usually bring food home and eat it for lunch the next day.
We go to sleep and wake at the same hour. Every day.
We don't smoke.
I drink 1 glass of wine per day; my wife doesn't drink any alcohol most days.
Not!
We have exactly the same things on our shopping list every month: Mostly fish. Fresh fruits and vegetables. Dried fruits and nuts as snacks. In the summer lots of salads. In the winter lots of beans and stews.
Each day I make two cups of fresh kefir. Each night I refrigerate it. Each morning I mix the kefir with a carrot, a banana, two tbsp of blueberries and two tbsp of yeast extract. It's all we eat until lunch time. We never get hungry before lunch time, which we eat right after exercising for 45 minutes. Every day.
We mostly cook at home. We eat out once a week, always at a real restaurant. If we have dessert, we have one dessert split between two people. We usually bring food home and eat it for lunch the next day.
We go to sleep and wake at the same hour. Every day.
We don't smoke.
I drink 1 glass of wine per day; my wife doesn't drink any alcohol most days.
There are exceptions to very generalization, of course. Some people have absolutely no flaws whatsoever.
6
Ya, eating habits have been studied to death - if you will allow.
Its the adding to what is already here that is troublesome. Apparently under the TPP you Americans allow hormones into cows to produce more milk.
That doesn't fly in many other thinking nations.
Which in turn means people having to turn around the product to read what is actually in and not in what they are buying.
Its the adding to what is already here that is troublesome. Apparently under the TPP you Americans allow hormones into cows to produce more milk.
That doesn't fly in many other thinking nations.
Which in turn means people having to turn around the product to read what is actually in and not in what they are buying.
1
"'hedonic activities' like casual sex, sunbathing and excessive drinking. " Sunbathing equated with excessive drinking? Whoa!
1
Skin cancer is epidemic.
2
So that is why the little Italian place down the street offers a ceasar salad "free" with a 8- or 10-inch pizza as a "lunch special." What the article says is true. I don't feel like I've had a lunch that is too bad. LOL
2
Does that Caesar salad have a creamy dressing with lots of parmesan?
“One is to focus on the process of living healthfully rather than the goal of being healthy.”
That’s what has worked, and is working for me. I don’t use the scale, except at the doctor’s office; the focus is on healthy eating and exercise rather than achieving a set goal. If I cheat on diet, who am I cheating? Myself.
That’s what has worked, and is working for me. I don’t use the scale, except at the doctor’s office; the focus is on healthy eating and exercise rather than achieving a set goal. If I cheat on diet, who am I cheating? Myself.
11
A fantastic read. I can fully empathize with the feeling of 'chasing a given weight' or trying to get to an appearance. I am sure I'm not the only one with a propensity to indulge in that 'extra spoon of peanut butter/almond butter' just because I've run the 3 miles today :)
Some wise words (not mine) on best diet plan/lifestyle plan : "The best plan is one that you can stick with"
Regards,
Vishnu
Some wise words (not mine) on best diet plan/lifestyle plan : "The best plan is one that you can stick with"
Regards,
Vishnu
6
I have found that when dieting, if I lost weight, I had much more will-power the next week to stick to my diet; if I didn't lose, it was so discouraging that it was very tempting to just eat what I wanted.
After church on Sun, our Sunday Sexton (that's Episcopal for janitor), has started a ministry to feed the hungry and homeless. He gets cookies donated and then asks for a "donation" if we take a cookie. Most people donate $1 a cookie. I get one every single Sunday and feel quite righteous that eating that cookie is feeding the homeless!
After church on Sun, our Sunday Sexton (that's Episcopal for janitor), has started a ministry to feed the hungry and homeless. He gets cookies donated and then asks for a "donation" if we take a cookie. Most people donate $1 a cookie. I get one every single Sunday and feel quite righteous that eating that cookie is feeding the homeless!
6
"Ultimately, we all know how to live healthfully: Exercise regularly, eat real food, get plenty of sleep and so on. But these simple precepts can be inconvenient and time-consuming." REALLY??? Give me a break! Healthy food is readily available -- an apple, a handful of nuts, dry or canned beans, grains, a microwaved yam. For exercise, a thirty-minute walk three or four times a week, no gym membership or special eqipment required. If you do shift work, must hold two jobs, or have diagnosed insomnia, you have my sympathy -- but otherwise, getting enough sleep is a matter of making good choices about how you spend your time.
43
I've found that ordering a salad with my pizza makes me feel better about eating pizza. I'm pretty sure you can deduct one pizza calorie for every salad calorie you eat.
18
Eating the salad with the pizza may help you digest the pizza better and you will consume better nutrients. But you are consuming more calories over all and the dressing you chose to put on your salad could act as it own "licensing effect". Olive oil is good, creamy thousand Island will add fat and calories- So put that one pizza calorie back and add another for the dressing.
1
Kate: ah, the circuitous arguments of the Dieting Mania.
Olive oil is good -- but Thousand Island dressing is BAD. Olive oil is wonderful, but it is a fat with as many calories as any fat has -- a lot. Thousand Island dressing is made from oil, so it could easily be made from OLIVE oil. Sure it has other things in it, but individually they are all fine -- eggs and oil as the emulsion, some tomato sauce as the flavoring & color, tiny pieces of pickled cucumber as the "islands".
Spoon for spoon, the Thousand Island dressing is probably almost identical in calories to the olive oil vinagrette you think is so "virtuous".
Note: in some cases, a person might eat a salad before the pizza, fill up to some degree (especially if it is a very good salad, with lots of fresh, crunchy ingredients) and then eat FEWER slices of pizza.
So a lot would depend on how fancied up the salad was (bacon bits? lots of cheese?) and how much dressing, vs. the pizza -- thick or thin crust? lots of cheese? meat toppings? -- and how many slices a person ate with or without the salad first.
As you can see, it is MADDENING. Every detail, every morsel, every bite of ANYTHING must be accounted for, weighed, and measured -- which is why it drives people nuts and in the end always fails.
DIETING DOES NOT WORK. Diets do not work for long term weight loss.
Olive oil is good -- but Thousand Island dressing is BAD. Olive oil is wonderful, but it is a fat with as many calories as any fat has -- a lot. Thousand Island dressing is made from oil, so it could easily be made from OLIVE oil. Sure it has other things in it, but individually they are all fine -- eggs and oil as the emulsion, some tomato sauce as the flavoring & color, tiny pieces of pickled cucumber as the "islands".
Spoon for spoon, the Thousand Island dressing is probably almost identical in calories to the olive oil vinagrette you think is so "virtuous".
Note: in some cases, a person might eat a salad before the pizza, fill up to some degree (especially if it is a very good salad, with lots of fresh, crunchy ingredients) and then eat FEWER slices of pizza.
So a lot would depend on how fancied up the salad was (bacon bits? lots of cheese?) and how much dressing, vs. the pizza -- thick or thin crust? lots of cheese? meat toppings? -- and how many slices a person ate with or without the salad first.
As you can see, it is MADDENING. Every detail, every morsel, every bite of ANYTHING must be accounted for, weighed, and measured -- which is why it drives people nuts and in the end always fails.
DIETING DOES NOT WORK. Diets do not work for long term weight loss.
The investigators didn't "unwittingly stumble" on anything.
Per the link, they say:
"We examine 3 sets of established behavioral hypotheses"
"The second factor is the composition of the shopping basket. Khan and Dhar (2006) find "licensing effects" in consumer choice where the purchase of "virtue" categories improves a consumer's self-concept, which in turn increases the likelihood of a "vice" purchase by providing the consumer a "license" to do so."
The study was specifically designed to test this factor, already established.
Per the link, they say:
"We examine 3 sets of established behavioral hypotheses"
"The second factor is the composition of the shopping basket. Khan and Dhar (2006) find "licensing effects" in consumer choice where the purchase of "virtue" categories improves a consumer's self-concept, which in turn increases the likelihood of a "vice" purchase by providing the consumer a "license" to do so."
The study was specifically designed to test this factor, already established.
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the line says that they "unwittingly stumbled on a metaphor," not that they stumbled on confirmation of a hypothesis for which they were testing.
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