Why don’t Americans give a f*** about what they eat?

[Anonymous]

Op stop being so judgemental because you are rich and can afford healthy options. The average American is heavily stressed out and food is like a drug. Sugar is like a drug. Very addictive and satisfying makes us feel good and eases our stress. Sugar is in everything. Eating too much of anything will make you fat. Eating like a bird won't. The super skinny Asian women I know peck at their high calorie foods for a few minutes then stop and they're done. The bigger Arab guys I know devour 12 ft sandwiches for lunch and have a big breakfast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I am from Europe and it is true that a lot of what is considered food here would not pass in that category in Europe. Pretty much any gas station in Italy offers higher quality food than what one can buy here, including in places like Wholefoods, which are really mostly just overpriced and pretentious but not that great.

[Anonymous]

Exactly

[Anonymous]

I have to agree though that eating has gotten out of hand. Its very rare I see a slim person in the dmv area. All I see are fat people. Races like Indians and asians that are usually thin with their vegetarian or seafood diets look like sumo wrestlers now. Its insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you OP. It’s maddening! I do my best to watch what my family eats, but my kids are surrounded by junk at school and their friends. Don’t get me started on glyphosate. I’m Republican but would vote for any candidate who would more closely regulate the chemicals in our food supply.

My kid has gotten candy practically from every teacher. As a reward for good behaviour or work. Cookies during all special events.
What do they eat for lunch at school? Pizza and ice cream every Friday (not a quality one), corn dog, sloppy joe, mashed potatoes out of a box, canned green beans, etc. They sell chocolate milk at schools FFS! And then you seriously expect them to make good choices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly you care less about what you eat than the two thirds of Americans who AREN'T pre-diabetic.

I wasn’t pre diabetic until I moved to the states. That’s the point.

Right. And two third of people who live in the states, many of whom probably have always lived here, are still not pre-diabetic like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m staying at an upscale hotel in Nashville and for lunch my choices are either mystery bread and meat burgers with french fries or some weird salads with a thousand calorie dressing, as well as some cookie skillet.

I guess should just go, find a farmer’s market and cook it in my hotel room.

Name the hotel.

Gaylord Opryland

^Upscale?! BWAAHAHHAHAHAHA I've stayed there and it is no more upscale than eating at Disney. You pay a pretty penny to stay in a touristy superspreader hotel

Well, it’s not exactly Motel 8. Pre Covid rates for this hotel were 300-400 a night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually think that Americans should be much chubbier if you look at what Safeway, Giant and convenience stores sell. I was an Au Pair many years ago and even though I ran after the kids 45 hours a week, the sugar in foods I ate, made me add a few pounds. I ate all their fruits and veggies because I couldn't digest and didn't stomach well the food they ate: fish sticks, french fries, pancakes, ramen, poptarts, cereal, rice crispies, popcorn, and cookie jar was always full. Most food was some kind of brown or yellow fried crap.
I don't feel for grown-ups who eat the crap, but I do feel for the kids. I suspect the grown-ups were once kids and it's hard to change habits. Along with crappy food, the places where Americans can exercise are few and far between. They also work more and have less time to exercise.
Whats did I eat when I was growing up? All veggies and fruits that grow in Northern Europe (not a whole lot). I can have a chopped up tomato and cucumber and be very happy with it.I'm the person who eats all the greens (fixings) that are usually as a decoration next to a dish.
I order my bread from Europe through amazon. Not enough black bread, which I think is healthier, here or it tastes like water.
I wish the food commercials weren't on every corner, but rather "one more mile, you can do it!". It feels like being hungry means that you are poor or it's somehow bad to be hungry. I think it's good to be hungry - maybe it means you exercised, and food tastes good on hungry stomach. Also, not enough soups are eaten in US.
When I go to Europe I fill the fridge with all the foods I craved (lots of salads,special ham, smoked fish), but I'm suddenly just not hungry. I missed the food so much, but the food keeps me full so much longer. Mom always gives me hard time when she has to through out all the food I meant to eat. Another thing, European countries are much smaller. We prefer local food - made in the country, or even better, in the same town.
There are processed foods in stores that have no business even existing. Those foods made their way to NE Europe when I was a teen. I was 14 when I bought my first Lays chips. Never crossed my mind that it is complete garbage. America wouldn't let their people eat anything like that, would they? I used to crab fresh strawberries, carrots or even rutabaga (ate one fresh for 4 days) for snack. Rutabaga can't compete with Lays usually, but it wins in my book, but only because day care gave it to us as a snack and I remember how happy we all were eating out rutabagas.
I wasn't a chubby teen thanks to the junk making it there after my taste buds had developed. I am chubbier now that all my friends back at home. Everything to do with the lifestyle and the foods available (or not) here in US.
(Going to snack on box of blueberries. They are 3 for $10 in Giant, but make no mistake, I cannot eat that well every day).

That’s what many people say too. That the food they eat in, say, France, keeps them full longer, how they lose weight eating more, how you can’t find junky snacks there, etc.

I know of multiple exchange students who came here and gained weight. People have bets about this. “Are you going to America? I bet you will gain fifty kilos”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly you care less about what you eat than the two thirds of Americans who AREN'T pre-diabetic.

I wasn’t pre diabetic until I moved to the states. That’s the point.

Right. And two third of people who live in the states, many of whom probably have always lived here, are still not pre-diabetic like you.

Maybe the other 2/3 are working towards that state? It doesn’t happen overnight, building insulin resistance takes time. Maybe half of them are children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m staying at an upscale hotel in Nashville and for lunch my choices are either mystery bread and meat burgers with french fries or some weird salads with a thousand calorie dressing, as well as some cookie skillet.

I guess should just go, find a farmer’s market and cook it in my hotel room.

Name the hotel.

Gaylord Opryland

Are you vaccinated? Because the idea of staying in a hotel like that while so many people remain unvaccinated is more serious than prediabetes concerns, tbh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly you care less about what you eat than the two thirds of Americans who AREN'T pre-diabetic.

I wasn’t pre diabetic until I moved to the states. That’s the point.

The point people keep making is that when you moved to the States, you made poor choices. Your poor choices were your own. Perhaps you weren't educated about nutrition and this is why you made poor choices. But the choices were your own, and nobody forced you to make them.

Because 90% of choices are bad here and it’s really hard and expensive to pursue good choices. Get it?

How are 90% of choices bad here? I don’t go to fancy grocery stores and have no trouble finding fresh produce or meats and fish. This is at your average Giant or Harris Teeter. Haven’t you heard of shop the perimeter? I cook from scratch which is a lot more cost effective than buying processed or prepared foods or eating out and taking out. Much healthier too, which translates to lower medical bills. Tastes better and satisfies more so we eat less. We have leftovers for packed lunches the next day. No need to buy school lunch or fast food at work. I go to H Mart or Great Wall for cheap vegetables and fruits. Loads cheaper. I buy bulk items from Costco like flour to bake my own bread.

It’s not hard and it’s not expensive. You do have to learn cooking skills and be educated as to health. I learned from watching my parents and then reading books when I got married. What I didn’t do was get caught up in advertising and commercialism. I made deliberate choices to eat healthy foods yet I’ve never dieted in my life. And I’ve never ever been overweight in my life. I exercise and take care of myself. I don’t spend a lot of money on food or exercise—no gym, just a pair of running shoes and some weights and a bench.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree though that eating has gotten out of hand. Its very rare I see a slim person in the dmv area. All I see are fat people. Races like Indians and asians that are usually thin with their vegetarian or seafood diets look like sumo wrestlers now. Its insane.

Where do you live in the DMV? I have not seen Indian and Asians who look like sumo wrestlers around where I live which is very close-in to DC. I once went to Germantown to run an errand and saw a vast majority of people who were morbidly obese but I didn’t see any Asians there. All white people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree though that eating has gotten out of hand. Its very rare I see a slim person in the dmv area. All I see are fat people. Races like Indians and asians that are usually thin with their vegetarian or seafood diets look like sumo wrestlers now. Its insane.

Where do you live in the DMV? I have not seen Indian and Asians who look like sumo wrestlers around where I live which is very close-in to DC. I once went to Germantown to run an errand and saw a vast majority of people who were morbidly obese but I didn’t see any Asians there. All white people.

I live in Alexandria, VA but work in Springfield and visit friends in Woodbridge and Kensington/Silver Spring/Takoma park. All I see are fat people with a few slim ones here and there. Fat people of all races. The slimmest people I've seen have been Ethiopians. Rarely see fat Ethiopians or Eriteans. Fattest have been hispanics (I'm hispanic but I don't like fried foods).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Um yeah OP blaming “American food” for her poor choices is ridiculous. Sorry, you’re pre-diabetic and just decided now to give a f*ck. You’re in the minority, as you pointed out.

I didn’t just woke up. I’ve been fighting this battle for years. Do you know how hard it is for your kid not to get candy and cookies at school every day of their life in America?

Let me get this straight. You're prediabetic. You come from a superior nutritional culture with a proper understanding of healthy food, and what it looks like, and how it is prepared in a healthy way.

But -- you're prediabetic and have been fighting it for years.

And Americans like you are that way because they just don't give a f***.

But -- ....

Huh. That's a puzzler, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly you care less about what you eat than the two thirds of Americans who AREN'T pre-diabetic.

I wasn’t pre diabetic until I moved to the states. That’s the point.

Omg. Correlation is not causation. You were not pre-diabetic because you were YOUNGER. Type 2 diabetes happens as people age. Shocking, I know.