Can't lose weight? Try spending more.

Americans Aren't Fat Because They Lack Willpower; They're Fat Because They're Broke · Violent Acres
The basis of this discussion. Funny and eerily insightful.

Njoke says: Who has the time?

Who has the time to put any meaningful thought about what they're going to have for dinner...EVERY DAY! I mean I only live five minutes away from my office. If anybody is an ideal candidate for going home for lunch every day to eat freshly cooked 5-a-day compliant meals it should be me. But more often than not I am chucking something unfortunate into my mouth in the middle of replying to e-mail or completing a report. In fact, I contend that a large portion of mindless eating happens at the office desktop as much as in fron t of th TV!

Dinner is only marginally better. Sometimes by the time I get off work I am so exhausted I would cook dinner lying down if I could. I tried once with disastrous results. So I am often tempted to drive through for my fine dining needs. If I could afford a personal chef to prepare my meals on a daily basis, please believe I would be in a much better place.

Jason: The basic premise is right

We have an infrastructure in our country that rewards efficiency. Unfortunately, it applies to our food (and "foodstuffs") industry. The fact is that freeze-dried, trans-fat soaked, sugary junk that are loaded with preservatives last much longer on the shelves and in your pantry than fresh foods, which are more expensive and definitely expire more quickly. Retailers love trans fats, sugar and salt because it means they'll never have to throw away food they've paid for. People like that stuff because trans fats, sugar and salt taste good. Meanwhile, our arteries are stiffening and our muffin tops straining against the tops of our jeans with each bag of extra-"butter" popcorn we toss into the microwave.

Njoke says: YES!

Who doesn't?! I often have a monologue in my head about going to the gym more often than I am actually there. And when I am there, I am usually counting the seconds till I can get off the ellptical. Having an external source of motivation would really go a long way for me. Even just having a workout partner would be a good thing. My competitive nature would keep me performing at peak intensity for the entire workout rather than findings ways to minimize the pain and duration of my workout sessions

Jason: Do you need a personal trainer?

I have to admit I gave in about a month ago. I could never understand paying someone upwards of $60 an hour to tell you which piece of equipment in the gym to use next. Call me cheap, but I thought looking at the equipment's decals, watching others, and subscribing to "Men's Health" were good enough.

I was wrong.

The problem? Poor technique, stagnation/plateauing, and motivation.

It's a little too early to tell if my recent sessions with Chris @ Club One will have paid off, but the fact that I'm drenched with sweat after each session and sore as hell the next day tells me something is working. Most of the time before, I could leave the gym without even showering.

The other important thing is motivation. Are you going to skip out on a session when that means flushing $65 down the toilet? Ummm....no. I can't convince myself that I need to skip going to the gym if I'm going to lose that kind of money. Call it using my own frugality to my benefit.

Njoke: Perhaps fat retention is in your genes

Well you got me to thinking with your last comment about the French being relatively affluent whereas us overwight Americans are descendents of immigrants. I think you are on to something and I believe I have read this argument somewhere else. A few decades ago when our immigrant ancestors were struggling to keep body and soul together having a genetic predisposition for fat storage would have given you an advantage over the competition. Now there is hardly a shortage of food but our genes keep on doing what they do best. Perhaps in another 100 years everyone will be thin because the people whose genes did not promote fat retention would not have died your from diabtes and cardiac disease. Just a thought!

Jason: Quality of food and cost

With a few exceptions, I've personally noticed that the more I spend on food, the less I have to eat of it to feel satisfied. And no, this is not my wallet barking at me to be happy with what I've got!

I've had really great meals at high-end restaurants, and I've eaten relatively small portions and been full, satisfied and felt little urge to eat more. At other times, I've stuffed myself with crappy food like refrigerated sandwiches and the like, and have been starving later. Maybe it's the carbs in those dry sandwiches? Don't know. But I do know that I can have one great small-medium entree at a great restaurant, or have a mediocre sandwich, big bag of chips and half a carton of Ben & Jerry's, to have the same level of satisfaction.

I know that if I spent half my salary on food and never paid a bit of attention to the price of food, I'd be a thin man. But yet I can't make that leap. (Well, is anyone ready to spend that kind of money on food? Apparently Violent Acres).

I will say this: people I know that spend on food without a second's thought are almost always thin. The French are relatively thin, and they've been relatively wealthy compared to most of the world for centuries. Americans (myself included) are largely descended from poor immigrant stock. Is that the root of the problem?

Print Share it! — Rate it: up down flag this hub

Comments

RSS for comments on this Hub

Scott Webster (Chewie) says:
3 years ago

I really like the articles. Thanks for taking the time to look at our site as well. I bookmarked this page and will definitely be checking in regularly!