Why I am cutting back on sugar

In moderate amounts, sugar is relatively harmless. So what is a moderate, or safe amount of sugar? The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that an adult consume less than 10% of their calorie intake or about 25 grams. To put it in perspective, below are a few foods and their sugar content:

Coke, 12 oz can = 25 grams
Yoplait Original Yogurt 6 oz = 26 grams
Orange juice raw 12 oz = 31 grams
Ragu Marinara Sauce 1/2 cup = 12 grams
Fruit Loops 1 cup = 12 grams
Wonder Bread small 2 slices = 4 grams
Cliff Bar 1 serving = 22 grams
Grapes 3.5 oz serving = 15 grams

With numbers like those in common foods, even someone who tries to avoid "sweets" still has the potential to go way over the recommended amount.

Can we trust the recommendation of the World Health Organization? Despite it being an internationally respected organization, I won't blindly follow the recommendation of any one group or person. I did some research and purposefully tried to find any evidence the counters the recommendation. While it was easy to find people on discussion boards who will still argue for sugar, I have yet to find a single nutrition authority who will claim that sugar is safe to consume in the quantities that people typically consume.

I'm not going into the science behind why sugar is bad. Just search on the web, "Is sugar bad" and read for yourself. The main problem is that sugar appears to be the main cause of obesity.

I was under the assumption that we needed some sugar in our diets, but I have yet to find any recommendation for a minimum amount. There are people who suffer from hypoglycemia that can experience blood sugar emergencies and need to consume sugar quickly, but as for the average person, I don't know.

To be clear, I don't intend to cut out sugar completely so my interest in minimum amounts is purely academic. I won't go completely sugar-free because, as the WHO recommendation suggest, I believe a moderate amounts of sugar is safe. I will avoid foods with added sugars as much as possible. By tracking in MyFitnessPal, I want to keep my sugar intake between 12 and 25g.

Some may consider this extreme but it is the average person's diet that is really extreme. The average person's intake of sugar is double the recommended maximum amount.

What is your take on sugar? Is it something you try to restrict or do you just concern yourself with calories.

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*sigh* First part of my last post was a quote from lemurcat. Haven't figured out how to get it to copy partial quotes.

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I disagree with this for a number of reasons, some of which have already been covered.

FitnessTim wrote: »

While it is a company's job to make their products appealing that does not take them off the hook. Are the cigarette companies right to continue to push their products to kids because it is not their responsibility. They can't push it to kids in the US because it has since become illegal to do so but they do so in developing countries..

I’m not sure what hook you’re talking about. There is no hood aside from maybe the FDA. If they approve a product for general consumption, any duty these companies have has been met.

FitnessTim wrote: »

Knowingly making a product for profit that contributes to the poor health of consumers IS malevolent. It isn't illegal but it is wrong. The difference between selling cigarettes and selling Coke is that the jury is still out on whether or not Coke does in fact increase the health risks.

I take issue with all three components bolded above. It is perfectly possible to eat fast food or candy bars and maintain good health, and it’s up to the consumer to find that balance. These things only “contribute" to poor health if eaten in excess, like anything else. Finally, I’m not sure that the companies “know” anything of the sort, and even if they did, are you seriously suggesting they stop manufacturing e.g. candy bars? Their mandate isn’t to police the eating habits of people.

FitnessTim wrote: »

At the very least, with the prevalence of childhood obesity, products with a high percentage of calories coming from sugar should not be marketed to children.

I second the view that parents have the responsibility to do this. Nonetheless, you are aware that fruit has more calories from sugar than a Snickers bar? I know you purport the way they’re processed is different, but this does not change the fact that an excess of calories is what leads to weight gain. Should fruit producers warn people to enjoy their product in moderation?

Large orange (270g): 132 calories, 23g sugar, 92 calories from sugar (69.7%)
Red grapes (126g): 88 calories, 20g sugar, 80 calories from sugar (90.9%)
VS
Regular Snickers bar (59g): 280 calories, 30g sugar, 120 calories from sugar (42.6%)
Skittles (2.6oz): 250 calories, 47g sugar, 188 calories from sugar (75.2%)

FitnessTim wrote: »

Just because the general population is not well informed, or even misinformed, that doesn't mean they should be fair game to companies who do know better.

I disagree. I take responsibility for my choices, and so should the general population. Educating people on eating in a way that maintains their health and an appropriate weight is what should happen, not prohibiting Nestle from manufacturing candy bars or from advertising them to certain segments.

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I’m with you on this. I grew up on a farm, ate only food from our backyard or local farmers, ran around the hills all day long, and was still chubby growing up. Why? Because I ate too much. Calories and math is right.

Emilia777 wrote: »

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I’m with you on this. I grew up on a farm, ate only food from our backyard or local farmers, ran around the hills all day long, and was still chubby growing up. Why? Because I ate too much. Calories and math is right.

Agreed to a point, but I believe obesity was less of an issue 30 years ago because we played outside from sun up to sun down, which left wayyyy more "margin for error" in our CICO (even though we weren't really tracking it).

I try to avoid all processed foods that contain added sugar and try to only eat natural sugars and even with that I go over the daily recommended goal. There's not much you can eat that doesn't have added sugar that's also quick or "on the run" type snacks so eating a healthier lowered sugar diet not only takes a lot of dedication but it takes a lot of time. I pre-plan my menu's and pre-portion my foods. It's been working weight wise though, I'm finally beating the slump...

RGv2 wrote: »

Emilia777 wrote: »

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I’m with you on this. I grew up on a farm, ate only food from our backyard or local farmers, ran around the hills all day long, and was still chubby growing up. Why? Because I ate too much. Calories and math is right.

Agreed to a point, but I believe obesity was less of an issue 30 years ago because we played outside from sun up to sun down, which left wayyyy more "margin for error" in our CICO (even though we weren't really tracking it).

Looking at my kids vs me and my siblings growing up-my kids play outside way less than what me and my sisters did, and yet my kids are all thin, compared to my sisters who were both overweight. And my kids eat out regularly, whereas we never ate out as kids. So what's different?

I observe how my kids eat and they hardly ever eat all the food on their plates, and will turn down food if they're not hungry-regardless if it's pizza, candy, etc. Yesterday my 10 year old daughter and I went to Mcds for lunch and she ordered a double cheeseburger, small fry and then a hot fudge sundae. She ate 3/4 of the cheeseburger, left most of the fries on the tray and then only ate half of the sundae. She ate until full and then stopped. I wish I could bottle that up and sell it-I'd be rich

Why are some people better in tune with their body's hunger signals than others? I don't know, but it's interesting to think about.

RGv2 wrote: »

Emilia777 wrote: »

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I’m with you on this. I grew up on a farm, ate only food from our backyard or local farmers, ran around the hills all day long, and was still chubby growing up. Why? Because I ate too much. Calories and math is right.

Agreed to a point, but I believe obesity was less of an issue 30 years ago because we played outside from sun up to sun down, which left wayyyy more "margin for error" in our CICO (even though we weren't really tracking it).

I don’t disagree. It didn’t help that I was of the “clean your plate” mentality. Like Sara is saying, knowing when to stop eating is pretty amazing. These days I eat about 70% of my lunch and then feel full. What do I do? I stop eating, set it aside, and finish it later mid-afternoon if hunger strikes. It’s amazing how long it took me to realize I can do that.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

tedboosalis7 wrote: »

Fiber - the fiber in fruit mitigates the effects of fructose in metabolics. There is not enough fiber in yogurt to do that.

Doesn't it depend on how you eat the yogurt? Lots of people eat it WITH fruit or on oatmeal, for example.

I don't add sugar to yogurt (my personal preference is to eat it plain with berries or some other fruit), but if I did and otherwise ate it as I almost always do--with a breakfast including lots of veggies and some fruit--why would the bit of added sugar be an issue?

Exactly. Foods aren't eaten in a vaccuum and all that.

tedboosalis7 wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

granturismo wrote: »

Acg67 wrote: »

And you do understand all carbs are sugars? Right?

All sugars are carbohydrates, not all carbohydrates are sugars.

No, all carbohydrates are sugars. They're synonyms.

Not true. The difference between total carbs, fiber + sugar = starch. Fiber is NOT sugar. Fiber is included in total carbohydrates.

All carbohydrates are saccharides and that word comes from the greek word for sugar.
Also Fiber is just a s***ton of glucose glued together (in layman's terms).

stevencloser wrote: »

tedboosalis7 wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

granturismo wrote: »

Acg67 wrote: »

And you do understand all carbs are sugars? Right?

All sugars are carbohydrates, not all carbohydrates are sugars.

No, all carbohydrates are sugars. They're synonyms.

Not true. The difference between total carbs, fiber + sugar = starch. Fiber is NOT sugar. Fiber is included in total carbohydrates.

All carbohydrates are saccharides and that word comes from the greek word for sugar.
Also Fiber is just a s***ton of glucose glued together (in layman's terms).

Is that more or less than a crapton? I can never remember...

corriebenedict wrote: »

I try to avoid all processed foods that contain added sugar and try to only eat natural sugars and even with that I go over the daily recommended goal. There's not much you can eat that doesn't have added sugar that's also quick or "on the run" type snacks so eating a healthier lowered sugar diet not only takes a lot of dedication but it takes a lot of time. I pre-plan my menu's and pre-portion my foods. It's been working weight wise though, I'm finally beating the slump...

sugar has nothing to do with your weight loss....what does, is the fact that you have restricted so many calorie dense foods and have now replaced them with less calorie dense foods.

ceoverturf wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

tedboosalis7 wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

granturismo wrote: »

Acg67 wrote: »

And you do understand all carbs are sugars? Right?

All sugars are carbohydrates, not all carbohydrates are sugars.

No, all carbohydrates are sugars. They're synonyms.

Not true. The difference between total carbs, fiber + sugar = starch. Fiber is NOT sugar. Fiber is included in total carbohydrates.

All carbohydrates are saccharides and that word comes from the greek word for sugar.
Also Fiber is just a s***ton of glucose glued together (in layman's terms).

Is that more or less than a crapton? I can never remember...

The more expletive the word, the more it is supposed to symbolize. 1 cellulose = hundreds to thousands of glucose bonded together, it differs apparently.

ceoverturf wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

tedboosalis7 wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

granturismo wrote: »

Acg67 wrote: »

And you do understand all carbs are sugars? Right?

All sugars are carbohydrates, not all carbohydrates are sugars.

No, all carbohydrates are sugars. They're synonyms.

Not true. The difference between total carbs, fiber + sugar = starch. Fiber is NOT sugar. Fiber is included in total carbohydrates.

All carbohydrates are saccharides and that word comes from the greek word for sugar.
Also Fiber is just a s***ton of glucose glued together (in layman's terms).

Is that more or less than a crapton? I can never remember...

I think it's more. What I'm unclear on is whether it's a measurement of weight or volume.

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

There are always exceptions and outliers, but the obesity rate has increased.

RGv2 wrote: »

Emilia777 wrote: »

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I’m with you on this. I grew up on a farm, ate only food from our backyard or local farmers, ran around the hills all day long, and was still chubby growing up. Why? Because I ate too much. Calories and math is right.

Agreed to a point, but I believe obesity was less of an issue 30 years ago because we played outside from sun up to sun down, which left wayyyy more "margin for error" in our CICO (even though we weren't really tracking it).

Yes, this.

I'm not saying anyone is predestined to get fat in any environment or that overweight people didn't exist before the last 20 years. obviously. I'm saying that the percentage of people who bother counting calories (or the like) and do it successfully is limited, for whatever reason, so environmental factors make a difference, on average. Is the US (currently, we shall see in 20 years) fatter than Europe because Americans are just lazier and more gluttonous? Or are there social and environmental differences? I think the latter, although I don't think that means Americans can't lose weight if we choose to or avoid becoming fat. (I don't hold anyone but myself responsible for my weight, but I also acknowledge it's a social issue, so thinking about causes is interesting and valuable.)

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I wasn't trying to oversimplify, and of course people are different. But I do think the prevalence of fast food and changing lifestyles has negatively impacted health in general, and specifically that of children.

Emilia777 wrote: »

RGv2 wrote: »

Emilia777 wrote: »

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I’m with you on this. I grew up on a farm, ate only food from our backyard or local farmers, ran around the hills all day long, and was still chubby growing up. Why? Because I ate too much. Calories and math is right.

Agreed to a point, but I believe obesity was less of an issue 30 years ago because we played outside from sun up to sun down, which left wayyyy more "margin for error" in our CICO (even though we weren't really tracking it).

I don’t disagree. It didn’t help that I was of the “clean your plate” mentality. Like Sara is saying, knowing when to stop eating is pretty amazing. These days I eat about 70% of my lunch and then feel full. What do I do? I stop eating, set it aside, and finish it later mid-afternoon if hunger strikes. It’s amazing how long it took me to realize I can do that.

I grew up with "clean your plate" parents, too! After moving out in college and as an adult, I had to learn that it was ok to stop eating when I was full and not when every scrap of food was gone from my plate. Even to this day as an adult when I go home I will sometimes get the "finish your ____" request from my parents.

My folks still do the "protein + veggie + salad + starch" equation when it comes to dinner. And salad used to be either iceberg lettuce or jello.

I love my Midwestern upbringing

SconnieCat wrote: »

Emilia777 wrote: »

RGv2 wrote: »

Emilia777 wrote: »

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I’m with you on this. I grew up on a farm, ate only food from our backyard or local farmers, ran around the hills all day long, and was still chubby growing up. Why? Because I ate too much. Calories and math is right.

Agreed to a point, but I believe obesity was less of an issue 30 years ago because we played outside from sun up to sun down, which left wayyyy more "margin for error" in our CICO (even though we weren't really tracking it).

I don’t disagree. It didn’t help that I was of the “clean your plate” mentality. Like Sara is saying, knowing when to stop eating is pretty amazing. These days I eat about 70% of my lunch and then feel full. What do I do? I stop eating, set it aside, and finish it later mid-afternoon if hunger strikes. It’s amazing how long it took me to realize I can do that.

I grew up with "clean your plate" parents, too! After moving out in college and as an adult, I had to learn that it was ok to stop eating when I was full and not when every scrap of food was gone from my plate. Even to this day as an adult when I go home I will sometimes get the "finish your ____" request from my parents.

My folks still do the "protein + veggie + salad + starch" equation when it comes to dinner. And salad used to be either iceberg lettuce or jello.

I love my Midwestern upbringing

That doesn’t sound like a bad equation to me

. It makes such a big difference not to overeat. For a good part of my life, I’m not even sure I knew what it’s like to stop eating before I felt actually stuffed. It’s crazy! I still love food, and still eat lots of it, but just not all at once lol.

SconnieCat wrote: »

Emilia777 wrote: »

RGv2 wrote: »

Emilia777 wrote: »

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

What seems different now is that a lot of the things that were special occasions for us are commonplace now--fast food for numerous meals, giant sodas and "energy drinks" for kids, limitless sweets vs. a small afterschool snack.
But more significantly, social mores have changed. There were ideas about what a meal was, what snacks were and the role they should play, that most meals should be homecooked and eaten together as a family, etc., back when I was growing up that seem to no longer be in existence.

When I was a kid (mid 70s), soda was a treat we had on pizza night every few weeks. Nobody guzzled it daily. We ate at home, under the watchful eye of a parent. I remember a trip to McDonalds about 3 times, and that was as a family. The meals my mom prepared certainly were not always "healthy", but we were served reasonable portions of them and then sent outside to play. Lots of factors working against kids these days.

Your experience is not the same as mine. My mom cooked all our meals from scratch, and many of the ingredients came from our large garden (I have never been to a Mcds with my parents, ever). But my mom did not understand portion sizes and was obese while she ate those home cooked meals, and continues to have a bmi in the obese range while still eating mostly home cooked meals.

I eat at Mcds at least once a week and also have pizza out at least once a week (in the past two weeks I've had take out pizza 4 times and will have it again on Saturday), and my bmi is around 19.4. So I could argue that home cooked meals are inferior to fast food and pizza, and if my mom would eat out at Mcds and pizza more often, then she'd be thin. Or, it could be because I watch my calorie intake, regardless of where/what I eat and my mom does not.

There is no 'good old days'-people were overweight back then and they're overweight now (my family tree is obese going back several generations, way before fast food/processed food was even available). Calories and math.

I’m with you on this. I grew up on a farm, ate only food from our backyard or local farmers, ran around the hills all day long, and was still chubby growing up. Why? Because I ate too much. Calories and math is right.

Agreed to a point, but I believe obesity was less of an issue 30 years ago because we played outside from sun up to sun down, which left wayyyy more "margin for error" in our CICO (even though we weren't really tracking it).

I don’t disagree. It didn’t help that I was of the “clean your plate” mentality. Like Sara is saying, knowing when to stop eating is pretty amazing. These days I eat about 70% of my lunch and then feel full. What do I do? I stop eating, set it aside, and finish it later mid-afternoon if hunger strikes. It’s amazing how long it took me to realize I can do that.

I grew up with "clean your plate" parents, too! After moving out in college and as an adult, I had to learn that it was ok to stop eating when I was full and not when every scrap of food was gone from my plate. Even to this day as an adult when I go home I will sometimes get the "finish your ____" request from my parents.

My folks still do the "protein + veggie + salad + starch" equation when it comes to dinner. And salad used to be either iceberg lettuce or jello.

I love my Midwestern upbringing

Midwest here too-cracked me up this morning when my grandma called to talk about the food plan for a family get together for this weekend-she immediately offered to bring the jello salad lol. There has never been a get together without the jello

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