Just 3% of Americans...
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Just 3% of Americans...
| Tue, 04-26-2005 - 8:32am |
This was in the Washington Post today that just 3% of Americans follow guidelines to exercise, eat 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, not smoke. I can't believe it's just 3%!
Jean,


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See, this bothers me because people refuse to believe that you can still eat well without loading up your arteries with all sorts of fats. I was talking with a new client yesterday and the poor thing was so confused about what she should be eating and there being so much conflicting information in the media. There are two things that people don't seem to realize...
1. Eating healthy does NOT have to be complicated. Thank you Atkins, South Beach, Sugarbusters and the many others who put their "rules" out there for people to follow. Ughghgh.
2. Healthy food can be delicious! I always think that one of the reasons diets fail is that people fail to take the time to prepare food that tastes good. They think that diets and/or eating healthfully consists of nonstop salads and grilled chicken. I know I certainly thought that way and it wasn't until I became interested in cooking that I realized it's very possible to make tasty food that won't clog my arteries. Not to mention that it sure makes eating healthfully a lot more enjoyable when it's tasty.
Stepping off my soapbox now....
No, healthy eating doesn't have to be complicated but it takes a while before it becomes second-nature. In the beginning, you do have to think about things and pay attention to labels. You have to read a lot and learn what's healthy and what's not because people just don't know. One minute, canola oil is healthy, the next it's olive oil, then cocount oil. One minute eggs are death, the next they're perfectly fine to eat, then they're bad again. Then there's the confusion over low fat, high protein, transfats, low-cal, etc. I can see why people throw up their arms in disgust. A lot of people don't want to spend their time reading and learning about food. They just want to eat it and enjoy it. That's why they say it's too complicated to eat healthy food. It takes some education, but once you're educated, it's not complicated anymore.
As far as healthy food being delicious... It can be, but I think it takes time to really change the way you enjoy food. If you have a strong, emotional attachment to fried chicken, the best grilled chicken in the world isn't going to compare to Mom's fried chicken. And if you've always seasoned your collard greens with ham hocks and salt, you probably won't like the actual taste of collard greens. I know it would be very difficult for my MIL or ANY of my in-laws to change the way they eat. It would be complicated for them and the food wouldn't taste as good. But at some point, you have to be willing to pay the price for a healthy body. They're not there yet.
Jean,
I actually read somewhere (I think it might have been in the Obesity Myth book that I posted about here a while ago) that people who are underweight have just as many (if not more) health risks than the overweight.
And yes, Jean, that's a peeve of mine as well. When I think about that though, I think about how deeply socialized we are to believe that thin = healthy. Most of the women I passed this morning on my 4 mile hike were thinner than me and with the exeption of a few, I think I could probably take them all. *grin*
You're absolutely right. I missed the point that people need to "think outside the salad" for healthy ways to eat. :)
It does take a while to acclimate ourselves to eating differently, that's true. But I think the biggest factor is an open mind and getting rid of the notion that healthy dishes equate to eating rabbit food. It *can* be that way, but it doesn't have to be. I always tell my clients that my break-through as far as my own health/weight loss was getting interested in cooking. I used to hate cooking and DH did most of it. Now, we share duties. I was a lot less willing to try stuff than I am now... I am always looking for ways to "cheat the system" (meaning finding recipes that taste unhealthy but really aren't). :) Cooking Light helps me do that.
I don't know why you are so surprised Jean.
re: my earlier post about living on McDonalds 10 years ago.
I was under 100 pounds at the time and I thought because I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain any weight that I was super-healthy.
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