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ylvisaker
New Member
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Posted: 28 August 2007 10:48 pm |
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I live in Rochester, Minnesota. I work at Mayo Clinic as a life style behavioral counselor. I spend 8 hours a day counseling (strength-based approach) people on making behavioral changes for weight management, stress management, exercise, and nutrition. My kids grew up in New York though (Syracuse).
Lois Ylvisaker
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Trixie.in.Dixie
New Member
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Posted: 28 August 2007 11:06 pm |
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| Hi Lois - that's so cool that you work at the Mayo Clinic. (I love the Mayo Clinic website and use it for reference quite often.) Your experience as a behavioral counselor there will be invaluable for us here - I hope you will post often!
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
| Joined: | 24 May 2005 |
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| Posts: | 4178 |
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Posted: 29 August 2007 01:35 am |
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Then you are from the U.S. and you shielded your kids from McDonald's French fries. Truly amazing.
I showed this topic to a friend and he wrote back:
Aside from the greasy fingers, it's probably better to play with them than eat them!
Peter
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1seekspie
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 29 August 2007 06:36 am |
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I for one believe that we are physically responsible for putting the weight on our bodies. McDonalds workers do not literally come up to us and shove Big Macs down our throat (at least 99% of them....maybe a few do but I'm pretty sure that's illegal). We're the ones who go out and buy them. We're the ones who put them in our mouths.
I think that a lot of people have trouble accepting this...think about it...who wants to blame his or herself? It's easier just to find excuses but sometimes we have to face the truth...especially in this situation.
Then again, there is such a thing as temptation and the tempted. While in the end, it's us who makes the final decision as to whether or not we give in to our cravings and eat a burger, the temptation process can change a consistent, determined dieter into a raging fast food fiend in...oh 30 seconds...the time it takes to show us those deviloush morsels.
Let's face it, temptation is made to tempt. Don't get me wrong, there are people who can resist these evil urges. Others, however, are not so resistent. And after seeing something so good on TV so much, will power tends to fade...and well...no further explanation necessary...
In conclusion, while the fast food companies aren't physically shoving food down our throats, they're tempting us and using our physcological weaknesses against us, and they know darn well they're doing it.
P.S, In case any one wants to know, I haven't had something from MacDonalds that wasn't a salad or a diet soda in over a year. It wasn't that hard to cut those nasty things out of my diet and get healthier. McDonalds failed in tempting me! Starbucks, however, continues to win the battle with their frappacinos of mass (as in weight) destruction...against my mom! Curse their ruthless, deliciousness!
P.P.S, Great debate, Peter! I didn't get debate this year because I have to take stupid Intro. to business, but if I did, it would have been interesting to have you in class!
Last edited on 29 August 2007 06:39 am by 1seekspie
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Matinee
New Member
| Joined: | 10 September 2007 |
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| Posts: | 5 |
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Posted: 10 September 2007 01:58 pm |
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I generally despise McDonalds, everybody knows that it is blatently unhealthy yet people continue to consume the greasy over priced produce. I can't speak for America, but in the UK, portions are puny anyway, I would much rather buy some decent supermarket burgers that taste of something, some whole wheat buns, and maybe some relish. The drinks on the other hand are too big, who needs nearly a litre of coke? Ok, so they are taking steps to introduce healthier options into the menu... salads, packed with as much salt and fat as a Big Mac. Maybe thats all changed since I last went but it is a fast food chain, it's never going to be perfect. The question however, should we sue McDonalds? I don't think so, as a company they clearly don't care about the health of their customers, or at least they care more about keeping costs down; pushing a load of chemicals into the food so it keeps longer. As it stands, their are only certain restrictions on the proportions of fat and salt allowed and as long as McDonalds stay within these resrictions, we have no right to even consider blaming them. The time and money that people have spent into trying to do so would have perhaps been put to better use by putting presure on the government to tighten any control they have over the fast food industry. I love the government for banning fast food advertising aimed at kids yet there is still a lot more to be done; I suggest that adults may find it even harder than kids to resist the advertising, since we have been subject to the advertising for such a long time.
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Matinee
New Member
| Joined: | 10 September 2007 |
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| Posts: | 5 |
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Posted: 10 September 2007 02:14 pm |
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| P.S. Many people have commented saying 'they dont force us to eat it', perhaps persuasion is stronger than force? I know I can be persuaded into KFC a little too easily, especially when drunk, luckily I don't drink too often and Subway has finally arrived in my town, which is the perfect compromise between 'finger lickin chicken' and yet another 'sensible' meal.
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Fatale
New Member
| Joined: | 9 April 2007 |
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| Posts: | 133 |
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Posted: 10 September 2007 05:27 pm |
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Yesterday I went to different Fast Food web sites and I have to say McDonalds had the best nurtional information there, easy to read, it wasn't hidden somewhere behind 10 links and it was complete to the pack of ketchup.
I think McDonalds came a long way.
However, I decided for myself yesterday NOT to eat fastfood anymore at all. I know, that will complicate things, especially when we go on long road trips, but there are alternatives. I can make my own food or maybe stop at a sandwich place! (Somehow i don't consider subway fast food :o ) Since I recently changed to a vegetarian diet, it's getting hard to find fast food places that cater to my needs.
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Trixie.in.Dixie
New Member
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Posted: 10 September 2007 05:51 pm |
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Keep in mind, those of you who curse McDonald's and other "fast food" restaurants, that there is plenty of horrible food to be found in your average grocery store that is just as bad - if not worse - for you, and it's up to you to choose wisely.
You only shop at Whole Foods? Well guess what? Even if you eat "healthy" foods, you can eat too much, and you are still going to suffer. It's all about BALANCE. Be conscious of what you are eating, regardless of where it comes from, and stop blaming fast food restaurants for "tempting" you to eat their food.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the substances that are served in fast food - it's all in how you choose to eat them (or not). There is no poison in any of it, but if you don't understand food nutrition, you could be in trouble for devoting all of your calories to french fries. Face it, we have choices, and it's up to us to care for ourselves and our families, not the fast food industry, nor any food-producing company for that matter.
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CodeMonkey
New Member
| Joined: | 6 August 2007 |
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| Posts: | 350 |
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Posted: 10 September 2007 06:05 pm |
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Didn't McDonalds try to sell a more healthy burger, but had to stop selling it because the lack of demand? I remember the burger was a lean burger but nobody wanted it.
I've read that fast foods can't offer a lot of healthy foods because most people won't eat them. Darned if you do and darned if you don't, I guess (had to edit this because of the cussing filter).
I admit I visit fast food places more than I should, I don't have a lot of time to cook at home and it's easier for me to just order a salad from McDonalds than bring packed lunch from home. I do plan on cutting back though, and forcing myself to take the time to prepare more meals at home.Last edited on 10 September 2007 06:09 pm by CodeMonkey
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Trixie.in.Dixie
New Member
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Posted: 10 September 2007 07:31 pm |
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| There was a chain called Delite's that was supposed to be an alternative to unhealthy fast food. I've read articles here and there that suggest that it wasn't so much that people didn't want healthy food, but that they weren't offering anything new or interesting - it was essentially just the exact same food, supposedly lower in calories or fat. I remember thinking it was very good food, and at the age I was back then, I was thrilled at the idea of fast food that might be a little more healthy. And it was the first fast food place that I remember having salads - that was to me a great idea. I always thought that it was odd that places like Lettuce Souprise You and later, Sweet Tomatoes, and others similar launched upon the concept of salads and items that could go with them and did really well! I think Delite's was an idea before its own time. People weren't diet obsessed and workout obsessed just yet, and not many (at least in the South) would forego a trip to Wendy's or Burger King for some unknown brand of "healthy" fast food.
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crcolt
New Member
| Joined: | 6 September 2006 |
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| Posts: | 99 |
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Posted: 10 September 2007 08:43 pm |
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I watched the news this morning and watched the new advertising they had out on hardees. the kids were oglolateing the teacher. they had the kids singing a rap song about what the teacher was dancing about. Hardee's said they only air the advertising at night but with advertising like that where all going down hill. And I don't think Hardee's is the only one doing it.
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Matinee
New Member
| Joined: | 10 September 2007 |
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| Posts: | 5 |
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Posted: 11 September 2007 10:48 pm |
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| I think another reason the 'healthier' options dont sell is the price. A McDonlads salad meal could be priced at around £5, whereas a whole cucumber and lettuce, a few tomatoes, couple of chillies and some chicken fillets will cost about the same and you can squeeze a good few meals out of that. I know you can say the same about the other fast food meals to a degree, but' McDonalds' generally means burgers, KFC means fried chicken. If you want a salad and you want it fast, just look a little harder and you might find a salad bar, or at least a subway, then the salad isn't a million miles away from what the place is known for.
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aislinga
Senior Member
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Posted: 12 September 2007 06:41 am |
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The problem I've always had with the idea of blaming someone or something else for a problem is that I feel I am abrogating my responsibility for my own health. Major empowerment loss.
Personally I think McDonalds is a great example to teach children how advertising can be used to manipulate people into making very poor choices.
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mjrjm31
New Member
| Joined: | 4 October 2006 |
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| Posts: | 4 |
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Posted: 12 September 2007 03:20 pm |
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| You are so right about advertising manipulating our children. My 7 year old for the longest time wanted to try Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup. Once he tried it he practically spit it out. He then turned to me and said mommy I don't feel a party in my mouth. I believe their advertising campaign at the time was Try Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup, you will feel like there is a Party in your mouth. What kid doesn't like a party.
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momster
New Member
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Posted: 12 September 2007 04:02 pm |
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This is a great topic. Granted, fast food is not good for you. But I don't think having a burger, small fries, and a drink once in a while is going to make much difference on the scale. People who eat fast food one or more times on a daily basis have a problem. For one thing, it's expensive. I don't know about anyone else, but I can't afford to eat my meals out like that. And that's when the "Fast Food Nation" thing kicks in. Yes, kids are influenced by advertising but parents have the option of turning off the television! Send your kids out to play! Say no when they want to go to McDonald's. Teach your kids to make good food choices and hopefully it will stick with them. At least they'll have the knowledge in hand. Sueing McDonald's or any other chain is ridiculous. No one is to blame for my weight gain except me. I think for most people, weight gain isn't caused just by the food we eat, but primarily by the lack of effort to burn off the calories
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Fatale
New Member
| Joined: | 9 April 2007 |
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| Posts: | 133 |
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Posted: 12 September 2007 05:18 pm |
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I moved to the US about 5 years ago and one thing I've notied rather quickly!
Americans don't want to be told what to do and what not to do, but when something goes wrong, it must be somebody elses fault. Somebody gets the blame and a lawsuit is filed. I like living here, but i don't like this mentality.
You know, putting a warning on a coffee cup stating the coffee might be hot makes all of us here look pretty stupid to the rest of the world. So NO! We should not sue anybody but take responsibility for our wrong doings and start to change! (sorry if this was harsh)
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Matinee
New Member
| Joined: | 10 September 2007 |
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| Posts: | 5 |
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Posted: 13 September 2007 11:30 pm |
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| Momster, thats a good point, if kids eat fast food, its usually because the parent has bought it. Its a shame government feels that they have to target only a few areas when it comes to, well, anything; do we teach nutrition to children teens or adults for example. Why not all of the above? It was only when I took PE and food tech at high school that I learnt a few basics about good nutrition (other than 'apple good, sweets bad',which is'nt strictly true anyway). When I have children, I'll follow in my brothers foot steps who's son hates to have his carrot sticks put out of reach when he's naughty.
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momster
New Member
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Posted: 14 September 2007 03:12 pm |
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I know - you'd think that in this day and age, nutrition would be a mandatory topic in health classes. Especially where there is so much controversy surrounding our food supply these days (contaminated lettuce, genetically engineered corn, etc.) Most kids don't have a clue about their food sources. A local farm here in Maine has a summer "farm camp" for kids. It's great - the kids go to the farm and learn how to plant, maintain, and harvest vegetables (on a little kid scale.) Then at the end of camp, they get to prepare a "meal" using the veggies they've picked. I think it's a great idea.
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Ohm
Senior Member
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Posted: 15 September 2007 02:26 pm |
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You know, that sounds great for kids, but I really find it hard to believe that people don't know that a diet of nothing but fast food is bad for you. Everywhere you look in the popular press there are stories about which vegetable is the wonder food of the week, which celebrity has whittled her waist down to 4 1/2 inches by eating nothing but meal-worms (OK slight exaggeration there) -b tu you get my drift. Food stories are in the media all the time; diet stories are in the media all the time and the media is in our faces allt he time (well,cometimes it can feel that way).
It's great that kids are being taught early on, but unless people have very selective attention they cannot fail to pick u some information about the componenets of a ehalthy diet, don't you think?
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Matinee
New Member
| Joined: | 10 September 2007 |
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| Posts: | 5 |
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Posted: 16 September 2007 03:26 pm |
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| I'm not so sure really, if you want to know about a reliable, tried and tested diet, buy nutrition for dummies, not heat magazine. The media might provide motivation by pushing images of size zero models in peopls faces, but maybe it's a little too much motivation, we want to be healthy, not under weight. I don't think I've ever seen any helpful information in mainstream media when it comes to nutrition; 'loose 8lb in a week with our ten easy steps', how often do you see something along those lines, 8lb a week? You'd have to be exercising constantly or eating so little that you're bound to feel ill. On the other hand, how many people really take notice of all this media? I don't take notice of anything in the media, or at least I try not too, I don't really care who the next anorexic celebrity is, and I don't like being told I can loose ridiculous amounts of weight in a short space of time when I know it's not good for me. This is probablly the extreme end of the media scale, but media is a buisness, and like McDonalds, they are in it for the money at the end of the day, it's rarely reliable, entertaining perhaps, but thats about it. So aswell as the media not exactly being the perfect source for learning about healthy eating, not everybody takes notice of it anyway, which is probablly a good thing. I think we need to teach more about healthy eating in schools. If we don't have a good understanding as a child, we're less likey to do so as an adult, and no amount of media is going to change that.
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Ohm
Senior Member
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Posted: 16 September 2007 07:42 pm |
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| Yes, Matinee, I can absolutely see your point, but when I said "media" I meant the whole of the media. TV is full of diet and lifestyle progs, cooking progs, and even the news is full of items on health and diet, reporting, not touting for business. Everyone knows that chips and burgers are full of fat and likely to make you fat. Everyone hasheard about the dangers of additives and too much sugar. That's the sort of thing I was implying. It might not give you the whole story, but everyone knows that carrot sticks are a better nutritional choice than doughnuts - that sort of thing.
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momster
New Member
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Posted: 17 September 2007 03:16 pm |
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You know, I used to assume that "everybody" knew all about some aspect of nutrition and health. I work in a library so most of the people I encounter read - a lot. A few years ago we started an employee wellness program and had nutrition classes. I couldn't believe the number of people who had no idea what soy is. Many had never even tried a soy product. A lot of the folks were hearing the information the dietician was giving out for the first time. A woman who came on board as a staff member recently came back from her doctor's visit and asked, "What's cholesterol? How do you get it?" I couldn't believe it. So it may be wrong to assume that everyone knows about nutrition and the problems of being overweight, etc. It's a sad commentary on today's society but there is still a large segment of people out there who won't or (sadly) can't read, and who just don't pay any attention to news itrems, etc. (denial maybe?)
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Ohm
Senior Member
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Posted: 17 September 2007 04:34 pm |
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| You may well be right.
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Trixie.in.Dixie
New Member
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Posted: 17 September 2007 09:49 pm |
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I second that. I am constantly shocked at how uninformed people are these days, especially when it comes to health issues. Thank goodness for sites like this where we can share ideas and sources for more information!
It's funny that you mention someone not being aware of soy. I would be surprised as well, because it seems that in the US, everything has soy added and soy products of all kinds are more and more visible in everyday grocery stores, not just specialty stores. I live in Georgia, where soy is grown. They've even developed a new improved bean called the L-star.
By the way, if you have the cable/satellite channel Discovery Health, there is a great mini-series starting tonight called "The Truth About Food" with Dr. Mehmet Oz. Dr. Oz wrote "You: On a Diet" which also airs on Discovery Health.
health.discovery.com/convergence/truth/truth.html
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momster
New Member
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Posted: 17 September 2007 10:04 pm |
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I do get the Discovery Health channel. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be sure to record the whole series! I just finished last night "You: On a Diet." I liked it a lot. Tons of information.
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Trixie.in.Dixie
New Member
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Posted: 18 September 2007 12:24 am |
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| I was looking at the DH website today, and it looks like they are airing You: On a Diet again, but I didn't read to see if they were new episodes or the same as before. At any rate, if you never saw the series, you should check it out. It's like "What Not to Eat" - he and Dr. Roisen go into the kitchens of the people and start throwing out all the bad food, and they have a great time doing it.
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