Was tipped off to this great infographic located here by Online Education.
What I like, is just visual images with charts. 19 slices of bacon?
I could eat that in ONE SITTING…
I find that for me, by avoiding junk food completely (pop, Starbucks, burgers, ice cream, etc) .. it seems to work.
I’d be close to the verge of throwing up if I ate 2000 – 3000 calories worth of good, organic foods made up of meats, grains, fruits & veggies.
Created by OnlineEducation.net
- The Cheap Grocery Stores in Montreal
- Tricking yourself into drinking water
- Does eating out make it taste better?
- I forgot one last store: Spices & Dried Fruits and items
- Minced Pork and Spinach with a Sweet Mash on the side
Alexandra
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 5:57 PM:
geez! 3000 calories a day! That's a lot!
And yes, I agree with Little House, exercising is super important.
Even more important at preventing diabetes and obesity than eating less.
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 1:29 PM:
I feel like I don’t exercise much.. I do like public transportation and walking or biking long distances with BF, so I don’t consider it exercise.
But I never made it a goal like: I MUST bike 5 km today… it’s just when we feel like it
Meg
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 6:35 PM:
I found this video recently and it makes a lot of sense:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
Diet is a huge part of the problem. But it's not just that we're eating too much because we lack self-control, it's that what we're eating is making us feel less satiated and just overall crappy. In other words, when you eat (and drink) bad stuff, you're more likely to eat too many calories and less likely to exercise and be active.
I'm not a big junk food eater to start with, but things are finally starting to turn around for me now that I'm eating a moderately low-added-sugar, vegan diet. I'm feeling better which means that I'm more active and I'm not feeling like I'm starving anymore. I hope it continues to work! (Of course, my hubby is losing about 5 times as much on this diet, but go figure. Men!)
Michelle
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 1:48 PM:
What really, really bothers me about stuff like this is that it keeps mentioning “overweight” and “obese” without saying how they’re defining those terms. Does a lot of America practice a sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle? YES. I can totally get on board with that. But AFAIK the only “scientific” definition of “overweight” and “obese” is BMI, which is a crock. Let me illustrate.
We have two women. One is a vegetarian, does yoga every day, walks or rides her bike 2-3x a week, and never eats fast food or drinks soda. One is a chainsmoking diabetic who rarely exercises, isn’t a vegetarian, and regularly eats fast food. One of these women has a BMI of 27, which is very nearly “obese” (a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese, 25 or over is considered overweight) and one has a BMI in the lower end of normal. Which is which?
I’m the first woman and I weigh 150 lbs at 5’2″ despite exercising everyday and etc. The other woman is my neighbor. If we go by the common logic, I’m much less healthy than my neighbor. I don’t buy that.
I think people need to focus less on weight and more on health, because things that focus on weight lead to a lot of ignorant people hating on anything who isn’t super svelte, without having ANY idea whether those people are actually healthy or not. I also think something that needs to be thought about is why cheap food is so unhealthy and what part that, and poverty, plays in this whole “obesity crisis omgz”.
Michelle´s last blog ..Marvelous Monday!
Duddes02
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 1:57 PM:
@littlehouse- Obesity is caused by overeating. Study after study show that if individuals overeat and excercise-they will stil be fat
Duddes02´s last blog ..Student Loans and such
Little House
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 2:30 PM:
I noticef that their is a small graphic towards the bottom of the chart that mentions exercise. I think this is a key issue in the fight against obesity. I don't eat healthy all the time, I like McDonalds and drink Starbucks daily, but I exercise at least 3 days a week (much of this is riding my bike to and from places). Too many people sit on their butts in front of the television, in their car, at their desk at work, and don't move around enough. If more people got up and walked, biked, or even took public transportation which involves a little walking, the US wouldn't be as heavy. Even parking their car far away from the entrance of a building would help get people moving!
L.A. Daze
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 2:39 PM:
Starbucks is considered fast food?
Oh well, I have my latte and mushroom piadini almost every morning. I haven't gained weight from it…yet. But then again, I do exercise a lot. Everything in moderation. They should start by decreasing portion sizes. It's disgusting how much food one gets, when there are others out there who are starving.
In the meantime…I guess we get to enjoy more land-whale watching.
geekinheels
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 8:39 PM:
I think the price of food also plays a big factor. I'm not sure about other countries, but here in America fast food and unhealthy food is so much cheaper and convenient compared to healthier food. When I still worked full-time, I remember being appalled at the price of healthy food vs non-healthy during my lunch break. Many times I would just pay $5 for an entire meal from McDonald's because my budget would've died if I paid more than $15 for a salad every day.
There's also the fact that the portions here are HUGE compared to other countries. It's like the nation WANTS us to be fat!
Emma
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 8:42 PM:
Well, I don't think exercise enough is going to do it. Let's be realistic here. If the average person is consuming 4000 calories on a DAILY amount, then I don't think you can possibly exercise enough (unless that's your job) to take that weight off.
My favourite ice cream, for example, is 180 calories per 1/2 cup serving (PC's Candy Cane ice cream with fudge crackle). If I was to eat that, and only that, to consume these 4000 calories, I would have to eat 3 and a half tubs of that ice cream (or, 5.25 litres of ice cream). That's a lot of ice cream!
Emma
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 8:42 PM:
My reply had to be split for being too long …
I think there's a remarkable difference between eating out once in a while, and eating out for at least one meal a day. I disagree with your argument that exercise alone is the issue. Serving sizes, serving types, and eating out is more of an issue, I think.
Is it easy to consume large amounts of calories if you're eating the wrong things? Definitely. If you're making healthier choices, then you aren't going to hit the 4000 calories. But if you always go for the deep fried foods, ribs and wings, milkshakes, etc, then you are more likely to hit that 4000 mark on a regular basis. If you're eating stir-frys full of chopped veggies, limited sauce, and leaner protein, you're going to be full before you can hit that mark.
PunchDebt
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 9:41 PM:
God bless America, my home sweet home. I guess the positive thing about obese America is it probably makes me more attractive since I fall within a healthy bodyweight
The Asian Pear
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 10:35 PM:
this reminds me of another website…
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
Financial Samurai
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 6:33 PM:
Great chart! It really is just food. Nobody needs to exercise believe it or not! I wrote about my own experiment in “Losing Your Way To More Money” and it worked WONDERS!
Best,
Sam-urai
Financial Samurai´s last blog ..The Public Loves Wall Street Again!
Investing Newbie
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 6:40 PM:
I used to love bacon. I then studied abroad and my host family just didn't share the same enthusiasm for it. Just try it. 4 months without bacon and you'll gag the next time you see it.
That said, I still remember loving bacon. Maybe the connection between my memory for loving bacon and the thing that makes me want bacon is broken. I think I'm ok though.
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 6:55 PM:
I am in love with bacon. But GOOD bacon, not that cheap stuff in thin slices you get in a package
I am talking about lard fermier, or that stuff that comes in a block that they slice off
God it’s amazing
Or Pancetta – Italian bacon
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 6:56 PM:
That’s a good point Emma. Exercise alone is not sufficient.. you just can’t exercise 24/hours a day to get rid of it
For me, it’s more food than exercise.. I don’t even consider what I do exercise.
Food is what really controls my weight, and not stocking junk to tempt me.
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 6:57 PM:
It is definitely more expensive to eat healthier
Just looking at organic fruits makes me nauseous, with the 100% hike in the price, so we stick to stuff like bananas or avocados, where “organic” doesn’t really matter with such a thick skin.
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 6:58 PM:
For me, yes..!
The chai latte I drink has like 450 calories by the time I’m done adding stuff like gingerbread syrup on top of chai syrup
It’s a sugar rush….! I gained 5 pounds after a daily Starbucks for 3 months (I experimented on a project once), even with walking 2 km a day there and 2km back!
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Dec 7th, 2009
@ 7:00 PM:
MEN indeed.
That’s a good point about what you’re eating too.
But people just make bad food choices, period… I’d rather eat a cake and some bacon for meals too, but you can’t always just eat the bad or fatteningly good stuff and leave out things like fruit (which by the way, is very sweet if you start to cut back on sugar intake and pop)
Moneyreasons
on Dec 8th, 2009
@ 1:20 AM:
I don't ingest that many calories, but I don't get out and move much either… Next year! next year…
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Dec 8th, 2009
@ 7:41 AM:
Which is exactly my lifestyle, and I’m not fat…
frugal zeitgeist
on Dec 8th, 2009
@ 2:49 PM:
Seriously, getting off the sugar made a world of difference for me. Running marathons doesn't hurt either.
Michelle
on Dec 8th, 2009
@ 11:50 AM:
@Investing Newbie: Yeah. I stopped eating bacon when moving to America. In Australia bacon is the “eye” part and is all meat. Here in America when you order bacon, it is the fatty strip bacon. It grosses me out terribly. I haven’t eaten bacon in 3 years!
Michelle
on Dec 8th, 2009
@ 4:59 PM:
Yikes. Thats a lot of calories. I eat somewhere between 1400 – 1800 calories per day, exercise about 2-3 times per week. I'm a pretty average build/weight, definitely not super slim. I can't even imagine how people can eat that much food?! Or what stress that would put on the body.
I'm originally from Australia, and put on some weight when moving to America. 10lb later I decided to start checking calories in foods and portions. The big problem for me was that I was used to eating all the food on my plate in Australia. When you dine out the portions are nowhere near as big as American portions. In America I learnt to halve my plate of food and get a "to go" box. I think portions and overly fatty foods here are a big problem. I couldn't believe it when I moved here – people eating big fried breakfasts, chicken fried steak… massive stacks of pancakes… coffee cake after a massive breakfast? Everything is bigger here. At the cinema/movies – a "small" soda is huge. A small popcorn is the equivalent to a large in other countries. A small fries here in America is the equivalent to a medium or large in other countries.
Shawanda
on Dec 8th, 2009
@ 6:56 PM:
I can identify with the average American. I too have a love affair with bacon. I'm not at 19 pieces a day, but I can probably knock out at least 7 or 8 pieces in one sitting. The unfortunate side effect is the coma like sleep that results after eating that much bacon.
Okay, enough about bacon. What I find most interesting is that the average American consumes 3,767 calories per day, but the nutritional information on packaged foods is based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet. Not even the Chinese can swing that!
I would like to add that we should focus on getting our weight under control in order to be healthy. I'm not buying the "I can be fat and healthy" argument. And it doesn't look like there's any substantive research supporting that either.
I think most people would be surprised at how much physical exertion is required to burn just one hot dog and bun. Just from my own personal experience, it's extremely difficult to lose weight within a reasonable period of time without cutting back on my calorie consumption.
Moneyreasons
on Dec 8th, 2009
@ 11:01 PM:
I think just living in the city, people tend to hustle more from place to place. I live in suburbia, so I don't walk too much, I just drive the kids to practice, sit and wait for them to be done, then drive them back home.
Next year, I'm going to start a super quick, low intensity 30 minute workout session…, every other day.
guest
on Dec 9th, 2009
@ 12:34 AM:
No one explanation covers it all, but it is also worthwhile to look at the role that endocrine disorders. If someone's hormones are completely out of whack (or even simply off track), that can play a major role in metabolism, energy level and hunger.
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Dec 9th, 2009
@ 8:01 AM:
I’ve noticed that when I go back to visit my sister.
It’s really suburbia and there’s no real chance to walk unless you go to a mall
Moneyreasons
on Dec 11th, 2009
@ 2:37 AM:
Hmmm, we have a mall close to where I work (10 minutes away)! Maybe I'll use your idea and walk a few times a week there (at least in the winter!) for lunch!
Thanks for the tip!
Rowan
on Dec 14th, 2009
@ 9:16 PM:
I'm so happy I live in that huge white square in the middle of the map where I get plenty of regular exercise daily and have a plethora of active and adventurous friends who love to get outside and play. The 300+ days of sunshine helps too. Bacon, Beer and BBQs are awesome! Just earn it by exercising first (beer is a great refreshment after a bike ride) or, here is a good, tip -don't eat until you are actually hungry. Yeah, simple, right but letting your body tell you when and what to eat is much more sustainable than listening to a television commercial tell you it's time for a Whopper. It may sound trite but, your body knows how best to take care of itself if you can just turn off your mind.
Ande
on Feb 5th, 2010
@ 8:43 AM:
Dang, you got me with that bacon chart…. and even though it points to a terribly obese illustration of a man, I want nothing more than to go eat a pound of bacon.
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Feb 5th, 2010
@ 10:40 PM:
I love bacon too much to give it up