America is one fat cat – and that’s not a compliment. While it’s somewhat amazing to read the stats on how many folks are overweight or obese – 67 percent – it’s not surprising.
Photo Ryn Gargulinski
A recent dinner at Village Inn easily illustrated the point. In addition to the massive Free Pie Every Wednesday signs, this “traditional American” diner served up fare that couldn’t be healthy if it tried.
I did try. Scrambled eggs on a pita. Sure, the eggs are going to be whipped up on a greasy grill, but I could offset that a bit. I told them to hold the bacon the sandwich normally came with and substitute fresh fruit for the side of hash browns. But I still got stuck with 9 million calories. As if eggs are not gooey enough, the pita came slathered in butter.
Buttered popcorn. Buttered toast. Buttered everything is one major American downfall. Half the time it’s not even real butter but some oily, florescent yellow substitute. I’m still having nightmares about that oozing pita sandwich.
Photo Ryn Gargulinski
I also just received an e-mail invite for Friday dinner. “Golden Corral? All-you-can-stuff-in-your-face fried food buffet?”
That’s the way America eats.
The second half of the equation is the national pastime. Never mind baseball – that no longer rates. Nothing is more American that watching TV.
Some may even consider it a recreational activity.
The average American watches more than four hours of TV daily, according to the A.C. Nielsen Co.
That means we are at work for eight hours, asleep for another eight and watching TV for four. That’s 20 hours accounted for. The remaining four hours are most likely spent eating free pie and butter.
So what’s the answer? Switch off the TV and go take a walk. Remember an empty stomach is the size of your fist – that’s it, your fist. And hold the butter.
[tnipoll]
What do you think?
Does it irritate you that it’s tough to get a healthy meal at the average diner?
Is your world slathered in butter?
Mornin’ Rynski. My world is ‘slathered in butter’. Luckily I’ve never had a problem with this, I have a metabolism that allows me to eat whatever I want. Lucky me. I also believe that you can eat whatever your little heart desires, as long as you burn it off! As far as the heffers I see around town, have people no shame? Too much ‘dancing with the stars’? Here’s a clue-get off your double-wide ass folks. (not you Rynski) 🙂
mornin’ radmax! that’s good you can burn off your butter slathering. always envied those folks – good for you! i try to stay active, with daily workouts and keeping my food downfalls to a minimum. i love my pizza! butter just makes me sick, or you may have gathered that from the post (haha). love your advice haha.
My downfall is that good ol’ comfort food Ma cooks up for me whenever I’m visiting her. Chicken Fried Steak, homemade mashed potatoes, corn with melted butter, salt and pepper, and some buttered bread on the side is one of my favorite meals she makes! MMMM!!
But alas, for the past month or so, I’ve been participating in a weight-loss challenge at my work. So, I’ve been eating a lot healthier – avoiding that comfort food – and trying to exercise a lot more than I used to. The purpose of the weight loss challenge is not exactly losing weight, it’s actually trying to get us in the habit of living a healthier lifestyle. By living healthier, you may lose weight…or rather circumfrence around the tummy area! 😛
I’ve never considered myself overweight, although at one time a couple years ago I weighed 150 lbs, and the Dr. said I was technically overweight and I developed a slight complex from that, haha. I’ve lost about 10 lbs while on this weight loss challenge thingy, and I’ve noticed a difference in my body and it motivates me to keep on going. 😀
ahhh, comfort food. yes, i can easily wrap myself in a chicken pot pie (you know how many calories that pie shell has? haha). good for you on your healthier eating habits and the challenge your undertaking. yaay!
i also find it amazing how doctors can so freely dispense complexes (haha)! i’ve had similar things occur – they’ll say one off-the-cuff remark that turns into the focus of the world.
keep up your motivation!
Okay.. you KNOW I had to “weigh-in” on this one! I am still working on my socio-economic experiment about eating healthy on the cheap, but the bottom line is that you really do need to cook at home more and eat out less… Have you tried Lovin’ Spoonfuls? Healthy, vegetarian restaurant on Campbell. As far as regular restaurants, I try to find ones that serve shrimp cocktail and side salads… but it is very difficult to eat healthy when out. You have to go to nicer places where you can do special requests and you have to be a pain sometimes… I don’t always choose to do that, so I just try to eat only half as much!
And RadMax… when you have obesity genetics it can be a lot harder to be slim… You can’t just eat whatever you want and burn it off. Just be grateful for your genes and try not to judge …
67%…must be a horrible gene pool out there.
hi karen –
yes, eating out and eating healthy are hard to put together, for sure. and yes, i have tried lovin’ spoonfuls – once. that was enough. i got some veggie sandwich that was so dripping with grease (i guess from sauteed veggies?) that I had a stomach ache for the rest of the evening.
even when things are billed as healthy, i.e. salads – they will either be ginormous portions served with cheese, bacon and other fattening additives or swimming in dressing (yes, i always say ‘no dressing’ and then get that strange look – none? you mean you don’t want your salad like a soup?)
Mmmm…. chips and salsa are my weakness.
those can be addictive…and you CANNOT eat just one….
Aw, for cryin’ out loud Rynski! Are you gonna tell us the evils of chips and salsa? I don’t butter them!(Mmmm…you got that right Marie!) You’re killin’ me. As long as you don’t eat 10,000-I think you’ll be alright. 🙂
actually, salsa is quite healthy – and the chips aren’t all too bad, usually, baked, as long as you don’t eat a truckload.
it’s the GUACAMOLE that will get you!
Uhhh…the chips are deep fried Rynski…sorry, if you get them at a good Mexican restaurant. The best you don’t even notice any grease. Doritos? Addictive, but not nearly as much fun.
those chips also come baked, mr. butterworth. we weren’t talking restaurant only.
okay… commence jumping on me… The french (i lived in europe for a year) put butter in/on everything. They eat cheese – a lot. They have one of the lowest heart disease rates in the modern world. Why? reasonable portion size. As Woody Allen opined via sleeper – all of the stuff they say is bad for you is really good for you. Butter is good for you. Calories are what make the difference. My rule – if it can be found in nature, your body can handle it – everything else is industrial waste. And no, corn with frog genes in it is not found in nature!
I agree Mike. People just need to realise there will be another meal. No reason to load up like pigs at a trough.
thanks for chiming in, mike – and I agree, ginormous portion sizes are another major fattening agent. that’s why i reminded folks that an empty stomach is the size of a fist. i often remember that when i look at some of the giant dishes people are gobbling down (at those restaurants that don’t let you eat healthy!) Super Size gets Thunder Thighs.
i also like your found in nature rule….although i still would be hesitatant to eat rocks. lucky for you living in europe for a year. i visited england for a summer study program and i KNOW if i lived there i would instantly lose weight – just because the food was so disgusting. i recall subsisting on bread.
Blood pudding, fish and chips(deep fried spuds)and kidney pie didn’t suit you Rynski? 🙂
not at all. also recall the meat having no standards or weird standards or very low standards and looking kind of slimy. even the cheese was weird, as i was going to go for bread and cheese. so i just stuck to the bread.
to radmax – hahahahhahahah
Am I workin’ my way up to 2% yet Rynski? PS-I promise the retain my level of hokiness, just for you. 🙂
1.3 percent – how’s that?
keep working!…but don’t get too far afield as hokiness does suit you (haha).
I revel in it.
Undercooked eggs were the most commonly eaten risky food. That includes eggs served sunny-side up as well as raw eggs used in preparation of hollandaise sauce, meringue, Caesar salad dressing, and the like.
Fast foods and processed foods are dangerous, hyper-palatable and almost unavoidable given the time involved in preparing healthy meals and the constraints on our time required to maintain “worker productivity”.
Not many people think of plain toast as a very fulfilling breakfast, so most of us dress up our toast with some kind of spread. Which spread you use – and how much – can have a dramatic impact on how many calories and how much nutrition you get out of your breakfast.