Hi - left field

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-16-2007
Hi - left field
20
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 3:08pm

Meaning - this post is coming out of left field! :p

A couple things have "happened" in the last week that have me thinking. First off... I eat like a kid most of the time. I PREFER mac and cheese, pb&J and hamburger helper over exquisitely prepared meals. My favorite meals are either a steak and potatos with dinner rolls or homemade something (anything homemade country style). I will eat salads, Caesar or house but prefer my house to be loaded with cheese, hard boiled eggs and a good dressing. I like certain fast food places (but not all of them). A good chicken breast is hard to come by but slathered in Jack Daniels sauce at TGIFriday's I'll scarf it down!

Now... I read somewhere that Gwyneth Palthrow was asked if she takes her kids to McD's and she said "over my dead body" and then last week a lady came around at work asking if we'd buy a coupon book for Sonic to support her daughter's school something or other and I was like "sure I'll buy one" and my cube mate who has been on a diet for the last year and is doing really good (she's lost 56 pounds I believe, and has another 30 some to go) said "I don't eat that kind of food anymore" and I'm thinking "I'll take her's too!" *rolling my eyes*

So... I got to thinking - those girls that are a size 4 or do appear rather healthy (picturing Jennifer Aniston in my mind) do they just NOT eat things that aren't HEALTHY for them!? Are they all salads and salmon? Do they ever just sit at home and eat a box of mac and cheese? would they ever dream of grabbing a snickers bar midday? would a steak just do them in? is it really realistic to not want or need anything but healthy?

Just wondering! I often say I eat like a child - and to have the kind of body I dream of, I'd have to eat and make food decisions like an adult - so is that really how it works? :p

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 3:57pm

Unfortunately, if you're like most people you have to scale down the processed foods as you age because your body can't deal with them the way a child or a teenager can (although with the increasing cases of adult-onset diabetes in children, that's not so true anymore).

Speaking as someone who lost 60 pounds a few years ago, yes, that's what you have to do. You don't have to cut out the junk food completely and totally, but it has to become a once-in-a-while treat (like once a month). On the daily basis, it's salad with minimal dressing, lots of fruits and veggies, low on the red meat, whole grains and so forth. And you have to exercise on a daily basis as well. So, yeah, those celebrity bodies do not come easy unless you've lucked out and was born with the metabolism.

But, you also have to think about this: women like Jennifer Aniston and all those other size zero actesses - that's their JOB. If they gain weight, they no longer have a career. Sad but it's true. There are more actresses nowadays who are bigger, but the rule is that men can be bigger but women can't.

Additional and also out of left field - a good way to stop craving fast food is to read "Fast Food Nation." Once you read about what's in the burgers and the companies that run them - you'll never want one again. Trust me.

Avatar for cfk_3
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-1999
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 4:03pm

I'm not a dietitian but I think it must have to do a lot with both good genes and metabolism. I know some stick skinny girls who eat like horses but I also know some who I can tell would KILL for a donut however, their super human will power keeps them away.

I am about to hop on the diet band wagon myself. I am already at an unhealthy weight for my height but I have been thinking recently about what I may look like five or ten years down the road if I don't start changing my thinking/habits now. The visual scares me!

My weakness is fast food, plain and simple. It's quick and cheap! Unfortunately, I often miss cues that I am starting to get hungry and instead of stopping what I'm doing to go make a quick salad or grill a chicken breast, I wait until I'm almost nauseous I'm so hungry. That's when I run out to the nearest fast food eatery and get the greasy burger, fried french fries and sugary coke!

I read somewhere that just one of these meals (depends on where ya go) equals the daily allotted calories for a normal, healthy individual who is taking good care of themselves. YIKES!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-01-2005
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 6:20pm

I am a very healthy eater and have a healthy body/shape/size. I'm a bit of a weirdo -- I actually crave spinach, peppers, salads and sweet potatoes. :)

Yet, I don't deprive myself of "bad" foods that I love. I always make room for chocolate, I love Dairy Queen Blizzards, and I also love Mac n Cheese (especially mom's homemade - yum). For me, though, I don't have those every day (well, I eat chocolate pretty frequently) -- they are more special treats.

AJ, enjoying life with C.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-01-2005
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 6:33pm

>>I read somewhere that just one of these meals (depends on where ya go) equals the daily allotted calories for a normal, healthy individual who is taking good care of themselves. YIKES!<<

Yep. It's disgusting. Even the seemingly "healthy choice" on the menu, i.e. McD's 5-piece chicken breast strips below, are not great for you. I pulled these stats from www.chowbaby.com, where you can look up info on various fast food.

630 calories is more than a third of the calories an average woman should eat to maintain her weight - and we haven't even added the fries (400 calories for a medium fries) and coke (310 calories for a large, regular coke) yet. 35 grams of fat is MORE than half of the amount of fat a person should get in one day. Don't even get me started on the sodium content - scary!

McDonald's©
Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (5 Pc)©

Serving Size: 221 grams
Calories: 630
Calories from Fat: 290
Total Fat: 32 grams
Saturated Fat: 5 grams
Cholesterol: 85 milligrams
Sodium: 1590 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 47 grams
Fiber: 0 grams
Sugars: 0 grams
Protein: 38 grams

Even at fast-food places, though, you can make healthier choices. It's about being armed with information before going in.

These places are required by law to provide nutritional information -- so ask for it at the counter. It's eye opening.

AJ, enjoying life with C.

Avatar for cl_shywon
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 6:35pm

I know what it would take for me to be that size. A) A smaller skeleton; B) 1200 calories a day; and C) about an hour of exercise a day on top of that.

Avatar for cfk_3
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-1999
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 6:51pm
Chowbaby.com, good resource, I'd not heard of it. Thanks! Yes, it's scary what we put into our bodies on a daily basis. Honestly, I feel SO much better when I am eating healthier. It's as I indicated though, the bad stuff is cheap and fast. I just need to break the habit. I actually love to cook. I have no excuses!
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2005
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 7:43pm

Hi, I definately wanted to comment after my posting the other day. First off, I am a size 4... and I wasn't always. I come a family where my mother, grandmother and sister all were 2 or 0s--- and not due to eating disorders. So, for me, I am considered the "bigger one" which anywhere else people would laugh! Now, I don't think I could be a 0 or 2 unless I was on a STRICT diet all all times. However, I do not sit and watch everything I eat--- but I do try and stay within healthy guidelines. When I don't "watch" I tend to gain 15 lbs.

Now I'm 35, and my "normal" weight I have found out has moved up by 5 lbs.--- with NO change in my activity level or eating habits.

So, everyone to some extent has to watch--- but I LOVE a large chocolate chip cookie every other day or so, and have my wine and go out to dinner on the weekends and have whatever I want. But as a teacher, I see the kids eating TONS of candy bars, cheetos, pop--- you name it--- and there are those girls that are SO overweight, while there are others that are SO skinny and they eat the same, and the activity level is not necessarily that different.

But, I find now, I watch fat, sugar and fiber content--- and not as much calories--- and I find that I stay full, and feel energetic. I used to focus more on calories and not on fiber and sugar--- and have found it makes a HUGE difference. But again, I do trully believe that some people CAN eat whatever they want.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2006
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 10:47pm
I think if I ate nothing but salads, fruits and veggies for the rest of my life, I STILL would never be a size 4 ;0)...I'm just not built that way. I'm more a 12...and I bet the lowest I could ever be, given my body type, would be a 10, MAYBE an 8 (unless I got a couple of ribs removed). I just looooove food...always have. Tacos are my biggest weakness! I could easily become very overweight if I didn't watch what I ate once in a while. I also crave junk and fast food all the time, and am the hungriest at the end of the day...late at night, which is the worst time to eat. I have a few friends who are stick thin...we'll go to Mcdonalds, I'll order a grilled chicken salad and a diet coke, they'll order a big Mac, chocolate shake and fries, and I'm like UGH...so unfair. I highly recommend the website www.hungrygirl.com. It has recipes for low fat/low calorie versions of all of our favorite high fat foods, and great diet tips too, as well as eating out, happy hours, good choices to make....
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2005
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 11:38pm

The problem with things now is the current portion sizes we are sold that are "normal"--- if I ate out for lunch on a daily basis--- I would gain 10-20 lbs. without ever thinking!

If you now see the 100 cal snack packs on a lot of foods--- like doritos--- its like eating next to nothing! You imagine how many calories you eat when digging into a whole bag!

Its not that most of us can't get to an acceptable weight (and again not everyone is meant to be a size 0,2,4, or even 6)--- its the way we are sold things--- the habits that we "believe" are healthy--- and we don't prioritize healthy habits such as exercising for even 20 minutes a day.

Other countries don't have the problems we have--- its really if you look at a lot of your favorite items--- they are enough calories for a WHOLE day plus! If you ever watch the show "Celebrity Fit Club" you saw Dr. Ian check out some of the people on the show--- and some of them, like Erika, she used to be a Bay Watch girl! When you change your habits a lot is possible! But, as a society we do not recognize how often we tell people to "have a drink" if you have a bad day or "to have a cookie" if you have hurt feelings. For me, it took YEARS to undo learnings that my parents said I couldn't have certain foods (junk) or I would get fat. But, I know at least for me, I didn't want to REALLY look at my habits until I was ready to make a change.

The thing is no matter what--- its not easy to do some of these things! It takes a LOT of work to make these commitments. And if when I do, there are times I fall off the wagon for a month at a time and I see my clothes stop fitting! So, its back to the drawing board!

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-30-2005
Tue, 04-17-2007 - 4:16am
hmm. i can get away with a lot - am quite thin and always have been. if anything, i've worked to gain, not to lose. but the funny thing is, i've never enjoyed food all that much. there are periods when i really do, and then i get why people like food so much, but most of the time, i just eat because i know i have to. so it makes it not so satisfying that i can get away with a lot. that's life for you :)

Pages