Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?

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2009-06-09 2:57 PM

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Champion
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Subject: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
Gosh, it's near impossible to stay on the path of eating healthy when we are surrounded by unhealthy food choices... and they are many times, presented as a good food choice.

Shoot. www.lays.com has a WHOLE SECTION devoted to selling you on the idea that sitting around eating potato chips is a GOOD and HEALTHY decision.

http://www.fritolay.com/your-health/feature-answers.html

Q: Doesn’t Frito-Lay make junk food?
A: At Frito Lay, we make great-tasting snacks that start with quality, farm-grown ingredients. All Frito-Lay chips start with real, simple ingredients (corn or potatoes) and are minimally processed. And all of our chips are cooked in either sunflower, soybean, or corn oil, which support heart health because they have a higher ratio of good fats to bad fats and 0g trans fat.

That's just ONE example.

When I sit down and start looking at the nutritional value of items where I eat out... to determine what to eat so I can stay in my calorie count... well, it's near impossible to find anything that is low in calories and not full of fat and carbs.

I drive around the city and I see establishment after establishment filled with food items I can't eat if I want to stay within my calorie range.

With so much crap food out there to eat... trying to make Americans healthy and NOT obese, is a losing battle.

As for me, I can't cook worth a darn... so I'm left to eat frozen food entrees to meet my caloric intake. Yes, gets very old and boring.... but at least it fills me up and is low in calorie.



2009-06-09 3:11 PM
in reply to: #2205846

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Member
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Kailua, Hi
Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
you know me and my wife were in the same situation a few months ago.  It was hard to cut out fast food but we try to only eat out 1 time a week.  the rest of the time we cook.  we spent some of the savings from fast food and bought some good cook books.  It is surprising how easy it really is and once you get ahang on it you start making your own recipes.
2009-06-09 3:55 PM
in reply to: #2205889

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Champion
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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
chapman5410 - 2009-06-09 3:11 PM

you know me and my wife were in the same situation a few months ago.  It was hard to cut out fast food but we try to only eat out 1 time a week.  the rest of the time we cook.  we spent some of the savings from fast food and bought some good cook books.  It is surprising how easy it really is and once you get ahang on it you start making your own recipes.


Eh, it's just me... and by the time I buy all the ingredients and cook it.. I've spent most of my evening and I have so many left overs I'm eating the same thing for 3 days.

When I get home after training I have maybe 2 hours to shower, unpack my stuff, repack my stuff, eat, call the boyfriend... etc. So my time is very limited.

Not to mention that I have no skills when it comes to cooking. AND it's hard to track the exact amount of calories being consumed.
2009-06-10 2:40 AM
in reply to: #2206001

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Master
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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
I hear ya...it is very hard to eat healthy when eating out all the time.  Like Chris, my hubby and I had to literally break that habit and now do it only a couple times a month.  Can you freeze some of your leftovers so that you're not eating it for 3 days in a row then it will give you days where you don't have to cook anything?!
2009-06-10 8:17 AM
in reply to: #2205846

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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
I love to cook - but like everone else we are all pressed for time, so I like to cook fast.
Stir fries are good. just dice or slice any meat, cover in spices and throw in for 2-3 mins then throw in any veg you have lying around and 2-3 mins later just dish it.

Its easy enough to buy a pack of 3 chicken breasts, then marinade each in a different style of your chosing and put 2 back in the fridge and cook one for you there and then.
Stick them in a george foreman style grill for a few mins and they are ready.
So go with whatever tastes rock your boat, lemon and oregano, cajun spices, oriental spices, etc

Swap chicken for salmon or steak - whatever you like...

As a side you can cook some noodles, steam some rice, boil some frozen veg, or rinse out a pack of salad and add some tomatoes, herbs and lemon.

Lots of healthy and FAST options that generally taste SOOO much better than anything that the junk food shops have to offer.

And if you still cant manage it maybe you can get your boyfriend to move in and do the cooking!

Good Luck!

2009-06-10 9:02 AM
in reply to: #2205846

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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
X2 what BikeFu said.  I love to cook too but it just doesn't have to be that hard.  When I was working 14 hour days, Hubby and I did the freezer cooking thing which means you take one day a month and prep everything, then you get to eat home cooked freezer meals for the rest of the month.  We even made healthy Egg McMuffins for breakfast (yeah!).  It was the best thing I ever did for our health.  Forget about cookbooks, go to www.myrecipes.com and search the Cooking Light recipes- they give you nutrition info so you don't have to worry about it.  PM me if you want some more really simple and inexpensive ideas that can get you started.  What BikeFu said about marinating chicken breasts is an excellent idea.

2009-06-11 11:41 AM
in reply to: #2205846

Master
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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
I'm the cook of the house but do see your side of the "spare room" (kitchen). Making your own food is the way to go (sorry). But you are 100% right about all the hidden cals. etc.

My cousin was in the same boat as you and he did what I suggested - he took cooking classes at a local college and one in a culinary school. He said he learned a lot and even pass a lot of good info on to me. He said he would do it all over again - money well spend/wished he had done it a long time ago.
Look up any cooking classes in your part of the world (local college, YMCA, cooking schools, etc.) and find out if they have healthy/simple recipe classes going on. Ask the staff at any gym (pref. a trainer or manager), and they may know of either an individual giving classes (maybe even a small group at your house), etc.

Hope this helps. Yeah, time is short but something has to give and our health should come first. As you and a lot of us have exprienced, it is depressing looking at food readily available. Like training, it take a bit of practice but you will get it and will get easier....PROMISE.



2009-06-11 12:09 PM
in reply to: #2205846

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Champion
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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
All right... I appreciate all the "you can cook" input. That's probably best saved for another thread... as that wasn't the topic of this thread. I could go on, and on.. with that topic. At the end of the day it's all about motivation and what you care about. I hate cooking and I don't care to spend hours in the kitchen cooking... cleaning... all to sit down for 5 minutes to eat.



The point of my thread was this... we are surrounded by food that is laden with calories and fat... it's impossible to get away from the temptation and the EASE of it all.

And even "junk food" is trying to brand itself as "healthy food" through marketing campagins.

With all of that... who has a fighting chance to stay thin? Without having unbelieveable will power.
2009-06-11 12:22 PM
in reply to: #2210670

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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?

First of all, Frito Lay tells you thay make "snacks".  If you limit yourself to using them as an infrequent snack, they will do you little harm.  Now, if you allow yourself to believe that a "snack" is a full bag of chips then you have a problem.

Second, you, like all Americans, get to choose what you eat.  If you choose to eat crap put in front of you, that's your own fault.  And this includes being too lazy to cook or make your own meals.  That convenience is a choice you make.  Your "can't cook worth a darn" is a (lame) excuse.  There are plenty of ways to eat healthy without spending "hours" in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.  If you care so much about it, make the effort.

Sorry if that comes across too rough, but your post is all about blaming forces outside your control.  And, IMO, that's your issue.  Take charge!

2009-06-24 7:16 PM
in reply to: #2210722

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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
JohnnyKay - 2009-06-11 11:22 AM

First of all, Frito Lay tells you thay make "snacks".  If you limit yourself to using them as an infrequent snack, they will do you little harm.  Now, if you allow yourself to believe that a "snack" is a full bag of chips then you have a problem.

Second, you, like all Americans, get to choose what you eat.  If you choose to eat crap put in front of you, that's your own fault.  And this includes being too lazy to cook or make your own meals.  That convenience is a choice you make.  Your "can't cook worth a darn" is a (lame) excuse.  There are plenty of ways to eat healthy without spending "hours" in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.  If you care so much about it, make the effort.

Sorry if that comes across too rough, but your post is all about blaming forces outside your control.  And, IMO, that's your issue.  Take charge!



Oh SNAP! This really hits home for me. It's true, the world is fraught with excuses, and they are lame. I'll remember this the next time I'm tempted to take the opportunity to use one. Thanks!
2009-06-24 7:18 PM
in reply to: #2205846

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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
I do a lot of frozen meals too. I know home cooked would be better, and I do try to cook some stuff, but I can hardly stand to even chop an onion! If it weren't for tons of bags of frozen vegetables and SmartOnes frozen meals, I'd easily be 30+ pounds overweight.

I know they are loaded with sodium and high fructose corn syrup, but I think it goes along with anything in moderation. I exercise a ton, I am trim, my skin looks good, my clothes fit... I look around at people in public and I'm often so appalled at how they look. Not just heavy, but with bad skin, no muscle tone, they look tired, etc.

Probably daily i think how easy it would be for people to be thin and healthy if restaurants and supermarkets did not exist. 

edit: oh, and also, obviously millions of american hate to cook too, since the frozen meal companies and restaurant chains are doing such great business! Plus, a lot of home cooked meals can be crap loaded with butter, salt, cream, cheese, grease, etc. 

Edited by chasing3 2009-06-24 7:25 PM

2009-07-03 3:51 AM
in reply to: #2241167

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Subject: RE: Why must we be surrounded by food we aren't supposed to be eating?
as someone young, just ouf of school, and surrounded by people eating fast food, my thoughts:

first, just need to say it, you can learn to cook, the thingsy ou are looking to eat are the easiet to make anyway.

second, if you like the fast food/eating out, etc, do it once a week, or something along those lines, its your treat, enjoy it that time, and then look forward to it for another week or 10 days or whatever. if its something you enjoy that much, and jsut go cold turkey, as with any habit you will then crave it all the time. i have one day a week where food is not a huge priority, eithger i go out with friends or cook something i would not ever eat on a daily basis. this leaves me not craving it the rest of the time.
and frankly, you would be better wildly overdoing the cal one day a week and eating healthy the rest, than being 200 over everyday.

third, frozen veggies keep a lot of epople (myself included right now) in a position so that they can actually afford them at all.

i think thats it for now.
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