Jezebel 
Enter your username and password.
New York, 10:37 AM
Fri Dec 11
66 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors:
Editor-in-Chief:
Anna Holmes
| Twitter
Deputy Editor:
Dodai Stewart
| Twitter
Senior Contributing Editor:
Tracie Egan
| Twitter
Contributing Editors:
Anna North
| Twitter
Sadie Stein
| Twitter
Reporter:
Irin Carmon
| Twitter
Editorial Assistant:
Margaret Hartmann
| Twitter
Contributors:
Rich Juzwiak
Email | Twitter
Latoya Peterson
Email
Jenna Sauers
Lizzie Skurnick
Interns:
Katy Kelleher
Twitter
Weekends/Commenter Moderator:
Hortense
| Twitter
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
06/18/09
I actually finally started taking Adderall a couple months ago, and while I absolutely would NOT suggest anyone take ANY sort of pill to help with weight loss, by treating the ADD, I've managed to calm myself down with the medication to the point where I'm not constantly eating, because I'm not really doing things as impulsively/compulsively anymore, which includes reaching into the chip bag. Honestly, I don't think it's a "natural" way to control the incessant desire to chomp down on things, but it's made life much simpler not to constantly be dealing with thoughts about food. It's not about weight loss for me, or I wouldn't dare post this on here, it's about controlling the constant urge to eat to calm myself. Of course, I'd take the medication anyway for the ADD, and maybe it wouldn't have that affect in people who don't have ADD, but I almost think it is cruel to expect people who may be having those similar thoughts about food just to control them because of the stigma of taking something like Adderall. I probably eat about the same amount that I did before (because I don't need to diet or lose weight), but it is a godsend not to have to agonize over it anymore.
06/18/09
What I'm trying to say is that I don't understand is why this study doesn't address insulin resistance, PCOS for women, etc., because clearly weight issues have a lot to do with endocrinology. [en.wikipedia.org] Essentially once your body hits a certain weight, if you are genetically prone, you'll have insulin resistance problems and then it will become nearly impossible to lose the weight. And in fact, because you can't process insulin correctly, you will just keep gaining weight. Or you will loose weight on a strict diet and exercise regimen, but not enough to not be insulin resistance-free. Moreover, hypothyroid patients typically experience insulin resistance after treatment even stabilizes their T3/T4. levels.
And in terms of preventing insulin resistance, it just shows why eating patterns in childhood is so important, and honestly, why people should be aware of their thyroid health, since it can screw up your entire system. I feel like a broken record when I comment on the "health/weight" items on the blog, but seriously, it's important. I don't want anyone else to have the year I've had!
06/18/09
It's not talking about weight loss or weight gain, which are definitely variable and are complicated by endocrine issues, absolutely. It's just talking about overeating, and why it might be easier for some than others to minimize it, and how it's gotten worse in the past 60 years.
06/18/09
06/18/09
My grandma and grandpa eat very hearty, rich food. They eat a lot of meat, eggs, cheese, and flour. They eat fried breakfast stuff (sausage, bacon) and eggs every day, but here's the thing--they eat small portions and they're always on the go.
Grandma makes the most beautiful baked dishes with melted cheese, and roasts and pan-seared meats and whatever, with sides of mashed potatoes and butter-drenched veggies--but instead of snarfing down gallons of it, she carefully places reasonable portions on an attractive plate. She freezes extra portions so she doesn't have to waste anything. She doesn't have huge giant ice cream bowls--she just has cute tiny little crystal dessert dishes.
Grandma and Grandpa eat slowly, too, and while they do keep sweets and ice cream in the house, it's not something they eat every day.
I think it's a different approach to eating. They have never really been in a hurry for any reason, either. They both work from dawn to dusk on the farm, but they never have any reason to snarf down something fast. They do everything promptly and efficiently in the fields and pastures, but when the day is done, they don't have to hurry. They can dawdle lovingly over a decent, reasonable portion of food, take pleasure in it, and savor it.
For me, my commute in the morning can be an arduous ordeal. I wake up starving at 6AM, and I need something that will fuel me for an hour-long bus ride and a long walk and frustrating deadlines. Then it's busy, busy, busy all day--I could slow down and pay attention to my food, but I seriously have better things to do-- and by the time I finally manage to do it all in reverse and get home and think about dinner, it's like 7:00PM and I have to wash dishes or try to work on freelance stuff or mop or sweep and then I still have to get in a workout, somewhere, and make dinner, and take a shower, and do laundry, and I don't even have academic obligations or children! I can't imagine how insane my life would be if I added more to the mix.
No, it's no excuse to eat like shit, but I think people today are overscheduled and crushed for time, and prepackaged unhealthy stuff can be really appealing. If you work full-time and you're trying to have some semblance of a meaningful personal life/interests outside of work, it can be very difficult to find time to prepare healthy meals, and the time to savor them.
06/18/09
Are you my cousin? ;)
My Dad (who is a nutritionist) is always trying to get my Grandparents to eat 'healthier' and they are genuinely perplexed most of the time. My Grandma has cut corn syrup out of their diet and eats little salt because they don't care for it, but for the most part they see no problem with their dietary habits because they ahve always eaten the same foods. Whole milk, breaded and fried meats, cooking with animal fats, etc - none of those things seem 'unhealthy' to them and they eat those things every single day. Grandma is always trying to shove a cheese biscuit in my face, telling me that its healthy simply because it has cheese in it. Cheese = dairy = good.
This is how they were raised. They are able to eat like this and still be healthy because they have always been and still are extremely active, they eat small portions and they don't sit around and snack on a bunch of junk between these meals. My Grandfather has a 4 pack of peanut butter crackers and a can pepsi every day at 10 a.m. and that is the only snack he has all day long (and its been that way as long as I've been alive). He's outside working from sunup to sundown. All this at 75!
You should see the looks on their faces when they see my 14 year old brother scarf down an entire family-size bag of flamin' hot Cheetos, wash it down with two Dr. Peppers and spend the rest of the day working off the calories by playing his Xbox.
06/18/09
I'm pretty sure my body is in constant "feast or famine" mode - it is never sure when the next meal will come (stupid body, it's not like it's going to be long!) so it shuts down the metabolism to prepare for the famine.
I learned early on that when I was on Atkins I "had" to eat breakfast every day, or I wouldn't lose weight.
06/18/09
But once I start craving food, it's hard for me to stop wanting it. The more I tell myself not to, the more I want it. Fuck.
Now if you'll excuse me, my SlimFast should be close to getting chilled now.
06/18/09
06/18/09
My body is getting used to eating less. Sometimes, I take out my journal when I have a craving after finishing a meal and write: You are not hungry. You are not hungry. You are not hungry.
Sad, but it works for me.
06/18/09
I might have to try the "you are not hungry" thing. I am an inveterate boredom eater.
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
It's grand at home as you can have a smaller portion in the first place but eating out means wearing pants that have some give and being on you main course when people have finished their desserts and are onto their coffees.
06/18/09
06/18/09
But seriously, I think it does have a lot to do with how much we eat out and the amount of fast food available. How much more accessible is food now that we have fast food, microwaves, and efficient refridgerators?
TRY making or getting a "quick meal" without the three and you'll see why, back in the 60s and earlier, eating was not the hobby it is today.
06/18/09
It's a matter of knowing how to cook. Need to heat up pre-cooked pasta? Toss it in a plastic bag, toss the bag into boiling water. That also works for beans, meats and veggies. I've learned more techniques in the past 3 years than I ever thought I would. Defrots meat? 20 minutes submerged in cold water works every time.
At this point I would cut off my right arm for a dishwasher, but I don't care much about a microwave. Once you break yourself of the convenience habit (and I was forced to -- I moved into a tiny, tiny, TINY apartment with literally no room for a microwave) it's pretty easy to stay away from it.
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
/rant
06/18/09
06/18/09
But more importantly: Food is NOT just about nuitritional value. A salad with, say, iceberg lettuce, carrots, bell peppers, kidney beans and a vinaigrette dressing provides nuitrition through its toppings, water through the iceberg, and more importantly: TEXTURE. How many times have you had a spinach salad and then afterwards wanted chips? Or a dessert of wafers or something like that? You're not still hungry, you just want a certain texture.
Things like iceberg lettuce, which aren't nuitrtitionally bad as much as they are nuitritionally neutral, aren't things to be avoided. If you want the texture, isn't it better to be eating a 15 calorie wedge of crunchy lettuce than it is to eat the 500 calorie bag of chips?
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
1. It seems a lot of wine, but if there was no available clean water, it made sense that people drunk alcoholic beverages.
2. I have no idea what street food people bought, but I'm sure it was not as cheap or available as it is now for working class people. Many people struggled to eat once a day and malnutrition was rampant.
06/18/09
I will agree. My mother has often said the reason she didn't know any really overweight people when she was growing up was because they were all poor and starving.
She is not being all that hyperbolic, she grew up in rural Sask (Canada) and they had... wheat. And wheat. Followed by some wheat.
You can bet your ass that the moment they had a bit of money (not often), the sugar flowed. But then it was back to subsistence level farming.
06/18/09
Ah, the poverty diet. It'll do amazing things to an entire family! :-(
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
Remember when Martin orders "something without sugar" at the diner in Back to the Future?
06/18/09
06/18/09
But you're right about the limited food options. 80 years ago people regularly went hungry in this country because there simply wasn't enough food or we couldn't move it around quickly enough. (Today people still go hungry but it's not because there's not enough food.) I'm oversimplifying, but the same systems and technologies that enabled a generation to finally get enough to eat are the same systems and technologies we're demonizing (rightfully in some cases) today.
I mean, preservatives were invented for a good reason. But they weren't intended to be in everything, you know?
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09
06/18/09