Not to be mean...

[thyme4change]

I was reading the train wreck thread on YM and thought about how there seems to be very common pitfalls in money, and how we can spot them a mile away.

But in eating, it seems to be more difficult.

Do you know anyone who is a nutritional train wreck? What do you see them doing?

[thyme4change]

The first one I see a lot is drinking your calories. Yes, you might eat fairly healthy, but those 2 beers and 3 cokes throw you completely over your approproate calorie count.

[dancinmama]

Speaking of nutritional train wreck, where' that box of doughnuts I bought?

[Abby Normal]

Jan 19, 2011 16:02:47 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Do you know anyone who is a nutritional train wreck? What do you see them doing?

I just look in the mirror

[thyme4change]

The other thing I see people do is say "This is healthy" and that sort of makes everything okay. So, maybe someone bought SunChips instead of Fritos, but then they proceed to eat a full sized bag, because it is okay to eat, because it is healthy.

My neighbor, who makes a lot of nutritional mistakes, always gives her kids snacks and assures me it is okay because the snacks are healthy. I'm not against snacks, but if you wonder why your kids will never eat dinner it is because you let them eat 5 servings of "organic" fruit snacks (whatever that is) and 4 glasses of lemonade at 5:30 pm.

[Abby Normal]

My favorite is chocolate milk. But it's milk so it's healthy.

The school actually sent a note home with my youngest one day. They had run out of regular milk. My youngest said he'd go without rather than drink the chocolate milk. They were letting me know they had given him apple juice instead. Apparently, they've never had a kid not drink chocolate milk.

[thyme4change]

One of my friends told me she was going to start eating healthy, so last night she ate a whole bag of carrots...with ranch dressing.

[steff]

How much Healthy Choice ice cream can you eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?

[Abby Normal]

probably about the same amount as those 100 calorie snack packs.

[thyme4change]

I think about 1 teaspoon.

I mean, really, you don't think there is actually a health food benefit to ice cream - do you?

I guess my Grandmother use to say that was how she got her calcium, but she was 90 - I don't think she cared if she was heating healthy anymore.

[steff]

it was a joke

[Abby Normal]

Jan 19, 2011 18:57:05 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I think about 1 teaspoon.

I mean, really, you don't think there is actually a health food benefit to ice cream - do you?

I guess my Grandmother use to say that was how she got her calcium, but she was 90 - I don't think she cared if she was heating healthy anymore.

That reminds me of that old Bill Cosby bit about chocolate cake for breakfast. It's healthy because it has eggs, and milk and flour.

[thyme4change]

But - definately a classic mistake. People think that something is healthy because it has less than the original version. But alas - still junk food, slightly less junkie.

[Tiny]

Jan 19, 2011 16:02:47 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Do you know anyone who is a nutritional train wreck? What do you see them doing?

Oh, man. There's the people in the office who drink a "diet shake" for lunch and then snack all afternoon...
There's the woman who eats/drinks a variety of suppliments - I took a peek at the calories per servings on some of them... YOWSA! I think the suppliments are suppose to replace some of the food you eat each day (or maybe you need to be training for a marathon?)... she's easily adding 500 calories a day from the "suppliments"-- could be the reason she appears to be gaining versus loosing weight.
There's the woman who constantly eats salads for lunch piled high with high calorie fixings from the salad bar... 3 eggs, pile of ham, 1/2 cup of marinated whatevers, croutons, or a pile of breaded fried chicken breast strips.... all drowned in Low Fat dressing. She can't seem to figure out why she can't loose weight even though she's "eating healthy"!

Then there's the guys who are drinking alot of extra calories - beers after work...

[Cookies Galore]

I try to eat a balanced meal, snack on carrot sticks and apples at work, don't keep chips or treats at home, but when sushi or pizza are in my face I turn into the nutritional trainwreck.

[The J]

My rooommate is a nutritional trainwreck. He "wants" to lose weight, but he eats everything and anything in sight. He made his way through a costco box of oreos in about 10 day. He bought chocolate milk mix -- when I pointed out that he was trying to lose weight, he brushed it off because it's not adding that many calories to his day (except for the fact that it's on top of all his other calories). When he gets home from work, he eats dinner. A few hours later, when I make dinner, he eats another full meal.

[thyme4change]

I hope that is a big box - because I have never, ever seen a box of oreos last 10 days.

[The J]

It's something like 400 oreos.

[thyme4change]

Is it sad that my first reaction was "I could do that."

[The J]

Not sad. I could do it too. But since I'm trying to lose weight, I chose not to. There were nights where it was "you're on your own" for dinner, and I'd have a piece of naan with hummus and he's eat 20-30 oreos with a glass of chocolate milk.

[Frugal Nurse]

In my line of work, pretty much everyone I see is a nutritional trainwreck- and the nurses I work with are the worst! I'm vegetarian and always get questions when I eat lunch. At least one person every shift says "where's the meat?" or "why are you eating vegetarian today?" I'm like OMG, it's not like I'm eating some weird cuisine, it is the same thing everyone else eats, without meat! Once, I was working in the cardiac ICU, and was having a conversation with a few people who were saying "Well, I HAVE to have my steak, I just couldn't live without it." These were very overweight people. I come back with "Well, let's looked at my arteries compared to yours and see who's are more clogged" Their Response: "I'd rather have a shorter life that I enjoy than a long one with no fun"

I'm like, really? You would rather cut years off your life over a piece of food than have more healthy years by cutting that food out? It's not like I said you can live longer but you have to work everyday and never go out... some people's line of thinking...

[Frugal Nurse]

I also see lots of 400-500 pounds patients that don't want o move or do anything for themselves, and sit in bed and eat all day. Their families bring them KFC and McDonalds and I'm not kidding, when we turn them over so they don't develop bedsores, they will have pieces of food embedded in their skin. Just seeing it makes me sick, I can't imagine living like that.

[dividend]

I have a friend who's wife won't eat cooked vegetables, so most of the time, they just don't eat vegetables. His doctor told him he was morbidly obese, and she's overweight also. They constantly "go on a diet". For her, I think this means Lean Cuisine lunches and 100 calorie snack packs. For him, it's the turkey sandwiches at the Subway near his office. I invited them over for dinner one time, and, while I didn't design the meal to be healthy, there was a free range roast chicken, tender crisp green beans to balance out the homemade mashed potatoes and pepper gravy, and a pumpkin spice cake. She looks at me in awe, and says, do you eat this healthy all the time? Then she looks in my fridge, wrinkles her nose, and goes, "ew, what's all this weird stuff?" My fridge is full of real food - brightly colored fruits and veggies, juice, whole milk, real butter, herbs standing in water in jars, and glass containers of leftovers. I've looked in their fridge, and it's all diet soda, snacks, and meat. I suppose that's why I weigh less then her, even thought I'm 5'10", and she's 5'4".

[Frugal Nurse]

Dividend- doesn't that just frustrate you to no end? I have people tell me I'm "lucky" that I'm a vegetarian and eat a lot of healthy foods. I'm not lucky, I made a dietary choice that I stick you. I wasn't born and raised vegetarian, I just chose as an adult to not eat meat and to make fruits, veggies, and beans the bulk of my diet. People don't realize that once they make the change to eating healthier, after a few weeks, their bodies will crave fresh fruit instead of snack cakes, fresh veggies instead of french fries. Once you detox form the junk, you realize that eating it makes you fell so crappy.

[thyme4change]

Oh yes "lucky." I hate when people tell me I'm "lucky" to be skinny. I want to retort back "If I'm so damn lucky, how come I haven't had a cheeseburger in a month?" (I love burgers, but I limit myself.) I could replace cheeseburger with just about anything - ice cream sunday, onion rings, bownies, etc. I know I have a leg up with a naturally high metabolism, and parents that made healthy eating a priority - but luck is only part of the equation. I make decisions all day every day that contribute to health and weight control. It is a priority for me.

[Deleted]

I have a friend who absolutely refuses a regular sized piece of dessert (cake, brownies, pie, etc.). She will ask for just a sliver because she's watching her weight. However, she always goes back for a second "small" piece and then another...and sometimes another. I really believe she would eat less if she took the regular sized piece the first time around.

Also whenever we go out to eat she makes me feel guilty about how fattening my meal is while she's staring at her low-cal dinner. I exercise and eat what I want, especially when I go out because I'm there to enjoy myself! I really do enjoy her company, just not when food is involved.

[Abby Normal]

Damn- now I want an oreo. Those brownies don't sound bad either.

I better go grab some celery before I derail myself for the day.

[dianartemis]

Totally off topic. I dislike how the definition of diet has changed. Good grief people what you eat = your diet! Changing your diet is a lifestyle change. Dieting is bad! I do my best to never say I'm on a diet or dieting, because it's one of those things that's a pet peeve.
Mini rant over.

[caddy]

famcfo -- I have to admit, I'm the sliver-of-a-brownie-at-a-time type of person, like your friend. I don't binge on a giant slice of cake, but I'll nibble all day. It's not rational. So I'm an all-or-nothing dieter. I can't eat in moderation, so I'm always in a slow flux of losing or gaining weight (the same 5 lbs).

[Tiny]

Yeah, I hate when people comment on or imply how the food I'm eating is "bad" or how if they ate that they'd be as big as a house (um, excuse me but you ARE big as a house). I've lost weight by taking in fewer calories and moving more during the day (a lunch time walk). Yes, I'm still eating Kraft Mac and Cheese - but the box is no longer a single serving... it's 3 meals - and I add lots of brocolli to it and a side salad. You gotta have a couple of "bad for you things" in your everyday diet!
No one wants to hear eat less move more. But that's the hard cold fact. I really tired of hearing about how your body "burns" different kinds of things "faster" so therefore you should eat more of the fast burning stuff... well, the day I can eat 3000 calories (even the "fast burning "stuff) while only using up 2000 calories during the day each and every day of my life and NOT gain weight I'll buy into it.
;DDon't get me started about the awful excuse of "well, I just need to boost my metabolism" - Why??? I'm thinking I WANT to lower my metabolism... so low in fact that I would only have to eat a big meal once a week or maybe once a month! Think of the money I'd save and all the time I'd reclaim (not shopping, not cooking) sign me up!