OK, a few days ago I was really spun up because certain relatives had visited, and I was disgusted by someone’s lifestyle - on So. Many. Levels.
I’m not here to bitch about that person, but so many of these issues generalize to the American public I feel like it’s a pretty relevant thing to blog about, so thank you, @T3hPwnisher , for offering me a place to note this down and maybe start a conversation.
I’ll start off by venting about some behavior patterns and character traits, and physical issues, that I saw.
Then I’ll generalize to the thoughts it spawned about eating, nutrition, and activity in general.
(The venty part)
Elevators are easier than stairs.
Candy is easier than meat.
Sitting is easier than playing.
Absorbing social media is easier than engaging in deep thought and or discussion.
Making excuses is easier than admitting you have a problem.
But can you imagine meeting one person who LITERALLY chooses “Easy” in EVERY SINGLE MOMENT of their life? In the specific ways listed above, but also in every other way you care to think of?
This woman is dangerously obese. She is somewhat aware of it. And every single moment CHOOSES to continue on the path that got her here. AND to make it worse, CHOOSES to meet every moment with an excuse.
“I don’t like sand” vs “I don’t want to go to the beach, where I’ll feel ashamed of my body, and/or be expected to physically move around more than on the couch”.
Can’t get up from a chair on the beach without help? “My chair sank in the sand” rather than “I am not strong or determined enough to lift my own body off a chair that is lower than a couch”.
Can’t, or won’t, even attempt to perform a basic physical task? “My joints are too stiff” rather than “I can’t sit up straight with my legs fully extended, because I’m literally shaped like a Wall-E person so the fat on my belly and the fat on my legs prevent my hips from taking that position.”
Don’t want to go for a walk? “I don’t like the sun”, “I don’t like the cold”, “I don’t like the heat”, “I don’t want my neighbors to judge me”, “My balance isn’t good. That’s why I don’t like walking uphill” instead of “Yes let’s walk, it would be good for me”.
(Full disclosure, some intentional walking did occur. Just not nearly enough haha.)
“Kids, where does your mom keep the candy” instead of “I’m hungry. What healthy food do you have?”
And I have watched this happen for YEARS.
(The nutrition part)
Dan John and others talk about eating like an adult. Most adults, however, don’t.
There are two focus areas of adult eating: Quality and Quantity.
Frankly, you ONLY NEED ONE. (We here at T-nation focus on both, but we are self-selected exceptions with much more complicated nutritional needs. Let’s not muddy the waters.)
Quantity is simple. Pay attention to how much you’re eating, and if it’s too much, scale back. You could have cereal for breakfast, fettuccini alfredo for lunch, a cheeseburger for dinner, and be in relatively good shape physically - if your portion sizes are appropriate.
Quality is another lever entirely. Once you realize that a snickers bar won’t fill you up, it becomes pretty obvious that eating snickers to satiation is a poor choice when you could instead eat an enormous chicken salad.
As an adult eater, you may realize reducing portion sizes leaves you hungry, so it’s pretty easy to choose less calorie-dense food and dial up the portion sizes. How many cubic inches of plain white rice equates to a bowl of ice cream?
“Dead food”, “The perimeter of the grocery store”, and many other discussions here have gone into this in much more detail than I ever could.
An adult can eat ice cream. An adult does not eat ice cream daily, and an adult who realizes they are obese avoids it entirely.
I’ve run out of steam and will stop now. Didn’t get as many nutritional thoughts out as I had intended to, and who the hell am I talking to anyway. But it’s shocking and disappointing the degree to which people will just eat garbage, day in day out, seemingly unaware of, or unconcerned by, the consequences.
And clean eating can go to some extreme levels, especially here on T-nation, but even for the general public - come on.
