Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is constant vigilance. I spend 4x as much on food in the US. For staples like pasta, rice, flour, I buy EU imports. I buy bread every other day and pay 8.50 a loaf so it has only flour, yeast, water, and salt.

I make my own baked goods. Never eat anything with sugar added by the manufacturer (no jarred pasta sauce, no cold cuts, no prepared or frozen meals). Only drink coffee and water. Eat fish 2x a week, always wild-caught.

Make mostly traditional recipes: soups, stews, roast meats with vegetables. Live in a relatively walkable place where I can walk to the bakery, coffee shops, grocery store.

Then I go to Europe and eat literally whatever I want and I still lose weight. It's awful but true, to eat well in the States, it's a job.

Hello, would you please share what brands of pasta you buy? Thank you in advance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Cook your own food, weight yourself every couple days. Up 5 lbs? Eat a little less than you have been. It really is an simple as that.

Amen.

Except that it just isn't that simple. I weigh myself maybe two or three times a year, because my weight just doesn't fluctuate no matter how I eat. Super healthy week with tons of fresh produce? No change. Busy week where I'm stress eating or picking up processed crap on the go? I might not feel good, but no change in weight. Low blood pressure and cholesterol, even though I don't exercise and I'm menopausal.

But rather than pat myself on the back for my superiority, I recognize that I clearly hit the genetic lottery, because it doesn't work that way for everyone. Some people will not lose the weight they've gained no matter how much they reduce intake, and they don't have the time or know how to cook every meal from scratch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at the World Bank/IMF, which together employ more than 1,000 people in the DMV. There are very, very, very few visibly fat people working here. Some senior people have lived in the United States for a decade or more, continuously. I know a couple of people coming up on their 30th anniversary.

Point being, it's not just "the US food supply" that magically makes humans living in the USA fat. The Danish, Japanese, Moroccan and Swiss friends who have lived in DC since ~2000 (without a significant break to their home countries) are STILL normal weight .

I am fascinated by this, honestly. ie, if the problem _really_ was "the US food 'supply'" then presumably a lot of Bank/IMF long haulers would be plump by now. Because while you can choose to 100% avoid Coke and Lunchables, it would be difficult if not impossible to avoid any flour, eggs, milk, MEAT, etc. for years on end.

Right?

I would also add that the expats you mentioned don’t have American food habits either.

Anonymous wrote:I’m in my late 30s and have lived in Europe for about two years. I am hypothyroidism and have always struggled with my weight as a result. Here I have lost weight. I think food is far less preserved and much less sugar is added. I will say I can eat pastries, bread, pasta and desserts here much easier with feeling sick or noticing tighter jeans. I pretty much avoided these foods in the US.

I spent six weeks in the US over the summer and had diarrhea often. Sometimes like almost instantly after eating. It was worse when eating restaurant food. My husband who is thin and has no health issues has similar issues. There must be something in the food that destroys the gut, especially for those that aren’t used to it.

The other thing no one has mentioned is now lunch is usually the main meal of the day. Not in places like the UK but in Spain, France, Italy etc. I really think eating the majority of calories midday makes a difference.

Lastly I think Americans suffer more. People I know here have a much better relationship with food. They enjoy it and don’t seem to obsess or feel guilty. They eat bread and cheese and pasta but in smaller amounts too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I struggle to understand this too, as a European who now lives here. I think it is down to American tastes, which aren’t the same as mine (I love cake but my recipes have literally half the sugar of an American one) and the increasing obesity in Europe is due to importing of more American foods which is changing the taste there.

This. It’s the added sugar. The food companies have figured out how to make their foods more addictive and don’t care about the consequences to people’s health. It’s capitalism. Vote with your wallet and don’t buy foods with added sugar or flavorings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn’t a thread about simplistic “advice” for weight maintenance. Start your own thread if that’s what you want to discuss. Thanks.

But that is the point. It doesn’t really matter about US vs Europe food. US food doesn’t make anyone fat. Inability to implement basic weight maintenance and heathy choices does

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I struggle to understand this too, as a European who now lives here. I think it is down to American tastes, which aren’t the same as mine (I love cake but my recipes have literally half the sugar of an American one) and the increasing obesity in Europe is due to importing of more American foods which is changing the taste there.

This. It’s the added sugar. The food companies have figured out how to make their foods more addictive and don’t care about the consequences to people’s health. It’s capitalism. Vote with your wallet and don’t buy foods with added sugar or flavorings.

Anonymous wrote:I struggle to understand this too, as a European who now lives here. I think it is down to American tastes, which aren’t the same as mine (I love cake but my recipes have literally half the sugar of an American one) and the increasing obesity in Europe is due to importing of more American foods which is changing the taste there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is constant vigilance. I spend 4x as much on food in the US. For staples like pasta, rice, flour, I buy EU imports. I buy bread every other day and pay 8.50 a loaf so it has only flour, yeast, water, and salt.

I make my own baked goods. Never eat anything with sugar added by the manufacturer (no jarred pasta sauce, no cold cuts, no prepared or frozen meals). Only drink coffee and water. Eat fish 2x a week, always wild-caught.

Make mostly traditional recipes: soups, stews, roast meats with vegetables. Live in a relatively walkable place where I can walk to the bakery, coffee shops, grocery store.

Then I go to Europe and eat literally whatever I want and I still lose weight. It's awful but true, to eat well in the States, it's a job.

Hello, would you please share what brands of pasta you buy? Thank you in advance.

Anonymous wrote:

Cook your own food, weight yourself every couple days. Up 5 lbs? Eat a little less than you have been. It really is an simple as that.

Amen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn’t a thread about simplistic “advice” for weight maintenance. Start your own thread if that’s what you want to discuss. Thanks.

But that is the point. It doesn’t really matter about US vs Europe food. US food doesn’t make anyone fat. Inability to implement basic weight maintenance and heathy choices does

Anonymous wrote:This isn’t a thread about simplistic “advice” for weight maintenance. Start your own thread if that’s what you want to discuss. Thanks.

Anonymous wrote:I work at the World Bank/IMF, which together employ more than 1,000 people in the DMV. There are very, very, very few visibly fat people working here. Some senior people have lived in the United States for a decade or more, continuously. I know a couple of people coming up on their 30th anniversary.

Point being, it's not just "the US food supply" that magically makes humans living in the USA fat. The Danish, Japanese, Moroccan and Swiss friends who have lived in DC since ~2000 (without a significant break to their home countries) are STILL normal weight .

I am fascinated by this, honestly. ie, if the problem _really_ was "the US food 'supply'" then presumably a lot of Bank/IMF long haulers would be plump by now. Because while you can choose to 100% avoid Coke and Lunchables, it would be difficult if not impossible to avoid any flour, eggs, milk, MEAT, etc. for years on end.

Right?