McDonald’s all day breakfast is coming. This is NOT a drill

[Valmy]

How many major occasions do we have?  I don't think it's a bigger, and it's a biggie only to extent that we feel comfortable with pure gluttony.

Lots actually, but I do not really want to discuss that. But the point is that we are used to seeing consuming lots of food as what one does for celebratory occasions.

And you do not have to feel comfortable with pure gluttony to get fat, it also has to do with what you eat and your physical activity. It can sneak up on you slowly. I don't think it is a moral failing so much as just going along with what is normal. Which is why the obesity rate is so high. 60 years ago people were just as weak, we were just skinnier while being weak.

[Valmy]

How many major occasions do we have?  I don't think it's a bigger, and it's a biggie only to extent that we feel comfortable with pure gluttony.

Any type of gathering means overeating.

Yep. For us sports fans this can simply mean 'Sunday during the Fall'

[crazy canuck]

too tired to eat

What an absurd concept.

I guess that is true for far too many people these days 

[Malthus]

It has been my experience that in this culture you have to work at it or you will be fat. I just remember how weird it was to go to France, basically do the same shit I did here, and drop weight like nobody's business. So it does not surprise me alot of people are obese, they are just doing what is normal.

Our agricultural past leads to celebrate most major occasions with food. That is a biggie. Another is we are often too busy to really think about what we eat. It is a constant struggle for me, I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact I am going to be going to weight watchers my whole life. Got to make a point to exercise and all that. I am just a tad annoyed that it requires that much effort for me to live here and not be overweight. If only I had a crazy hobby like Dorsey.

How many major occasions do we have?  I don't think it's a bigger, and it's a biggie only to extent that we feel comfortable with pure gluttony.

Depending on how big your family is and how busy your social life is, there can be an astonishing number of events you are expected to attend that involve eating or drinking booze (which is mostly calories).

My son has six cousins, eight aunts and uncles, and four grandparents; We are expected to go to birthday dinners for each and every one of those (plus of course his own, and my wife's and mine); plus two sets of major holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.) each with their own dinners; and that's just obligations with family - there are often get-togethers over and above that. Then there are functions for work, which also involve dinners - dining with clients, dining with firm people; drinks and cocktail parties; after-work drinks on Friday; wine-tasting events; recruiting parties for incomming students; plus the firm of course hosts its own holiday parties.

Then there are events with friends.

Add all that up, and it amounts to a huge amount of unnecessary eating, unless you watch it. If you don't want to do the eating, the onus is on you to explain why you aren't having a piece of Aunty Maria's birthday cake (that she made herself), or why you won't share some drinks with collegues after work - "I'd love to, but I'm dieting".   

[crazy canuck]

Exercise is good for your health in general, but the idea that you have to exercise to lose weight is highly disastrous for society's waistline.  It makes people think it's harder to lose weight than it really is, so they don't even try (for long).  It is more than sufficient for most people to merely eat properly, or more accurately to not eat improperly.  Just cut 80% of the sugary shit out of your diet.

This is why it's more important to focus on health, and not numbers on a scale.

People should exercise because it's healthy and good for them.  Just cutting back on calories and losing weight isn't actually getting you any healthier than you were being fat if you are still eating junk (though less of it) and not exercising.

A fat person who eats too much healthy food is still fat.  Being fat still has all of the health risks of being fat.

[DGuller]

And you do not have to feel comfortable with pure gluttony to get fat, it also has to do with what you eat and your physical activity. It can sneak up on you slowly. I don't think it is a moral failing so much as just going along with what is normal. Which is why the obesity rate is so high. 60 years ago people were just as weak, we were just skinnier while being weak.

I'm talking about big occasions.  For those to really be a significant factor in your fatness, you have to actively ignore your sense of fullness, and keep shoveling the food down your pie hole by truckloads.  If you're capable of doing that, then it's an indication that your relationship with food is dysfunctional, and it manifests itself in other situations as well.

[Camerus]

Did people have fewer social gatherings 50 or 100 years ago?   

I think the obesity epidemic has more to do with larger portion sizes, greater availability of and reliance on crappy processed foods, and perhaps a lack of self-control in eating that previous generations were taught as children. 

[Malthus]

And you do not have to feel comfortable with pure gluttony to get fat, it also has to do with what you eat and your physical activity. It can sneak up on you slowly. I don't think it is a moral failing so much as just going along with what is normal. Which is why the obesity rate is so high. 60 years ago people were just as weak, we were just skinnier while being weak.

I'm talking about big occasions.  For those to really be a significant factor in your fatness, you have to actively ignore your sense of fullness, and keep shoveling the food down your pie hole by truckloads.  If you're capable of doing that, then it's an indication that your relationship with food is dysfunctional, and it manifests itself in other situations as well.

Not really, no. All that is necessary is that the amount of calories you consume on those occasions be over the amount you require for that day. Even slightly over will do - assuming you are eating exactly what you require every other day.

Point is that it is cumulative over a very long period of time.

[Valmy]

My anniversary is coming up (six years! Holy shit) and I was looking around at places we could go eat and I thought: 'why the hell are we going to go out for a dinner? We are both dieting. We should do something to celebrate besides eat'

And I discovered how weird that felt. Damn how do you celebrate without eating again? 

[crazy canuck]

Did people have fewer social gatherings 50 or 100 years ago?   

I would say that is certainly true.  It is much easier to travel to attend such occasions now then it was at the turn of the last century.

[Razgovory]

Did people have fewer social gatherings 50 or 100 years ago?   

I think the obesity epidemic has more to do with larger portion sizes, greater availability of and reliance on crappy processed foods, and perhaps a lack of self-control in eating that previous generations were taught as children.

Fewer people worked at desks.

[Camerus]

Exercise is good for your health in general, but the idea that you have to exercise to lose weight is highly disastrous for society's waistline.  It makes people think it's harder to lose weight than it really is, so they don't even try (for long).  It is more than sufficient for most people to merely eat properly, or more accurately to not eat improperly.  Just cut 80% of the sugary shit out of your diet.

This is why it's more important to focus on health, and not numbers on a scale.

People should exercise because it's healthy and good for them.  Just cutting back on calories and losing weight isn't actually getting you any healthier than you were being fat if you are still eating junk (though less of it) and not exercising.

I wouldn't rely solely on numbers on a scale.  But there are all kinds of numbers, such as waist size, waist to hip ratio, blood pressure, etc, which taken together can give one a pretty good indication of one's health.

[crazy canuck]

My anniversary is coming up (six years! Holy shit) and I was looking around at places we could go eat and I thought: 'why the hell are we going to go out for a dinner? We are both dieting. We should do something to celebrate besides eat'

And I discovered how weird that felt. Damn how do you celebrate without eating again? 

Agreed, food is a very important part of our social lives.  Every significant event (and many insignificant events) are celebrated with food.  Our main problem, imo, is that the type and amount of food we consume has changed.

[Malthus]

Did people have fewer social gatherings 50 or 100 years ago?   

I think the obesity epidemic has more to do with larger portion sizes, greater availability of and reliance on crappy processed foods, and perhaps a lack of self-control in eating that previous generations were taught as children.

I agree that these are all factors, but the single greatest factor is that people 100 years ago did a very great deal more physical work in everyday life.

There was no tradition of teaching "self-control in eating" in the past. On the contrary, my parents' parents were basically made to eat as much as possible. My grandmother recalled that, when she was a kid, she would be punished if she left the table with uneaten food on her plate!

[Valmy]

Did people have fewer social gatherings 50 or 100 years ago?   

I think you are missing my point. It was appropriate to do that 50 and 100 years ago but our lives have changed and our traditions need to adapt. Hence why I made sure to mention the cultural roots of that practice.

I think the obesity epidemic has more to do with larger portion sizes, greater availability of and reliance on crappy processed foods, and perhaps a lack of self-control in eating that previous generations were taught as children. 

Yes it has alot to do with the food we are provided and how our lifestyles have changed. And LOL at all the self control the previous generations had.