What Are Our Options?

Some people do not feel that they should have to completely change their way of eating to lose weight. I recently read Eat This, Not This by David Zinczenko which shows people different options on their favorite food. This book has been being updated every year since 2007. The book explains what are better choices of food even if they are unhealthy to the really unhealthy food.

There are many different restaurants in the book like KFC, McDonald's and Pizza Hut. KFC's Grilled Chicken Breast and Drumstick and Mashed Potatoes with Gravy is healthier than an Extra Crispy Chicken Breast. The calorie count in the Grilled Chicken Breast meal is 380 calories while you would be saving 110 calories because the Extra Crispy Chicken Breast has 490 calories. McDonald's Big N' Tasty has 460 calories while the Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips have 860 calories which helps one save 400 calories. Finally, Pizza Hut's 360 calorie Fit N' Delicious Chicken, Red Onion and Green Pepper pizza is 190 calories healthier than the Veggie Lover's Personal Pan pizza. As one can see, there are plenty of healthier choices one can make at a restaurant.

The book also describes healthier food that can be bought at your local market. For example, a package of Chips Ahoy! Chewy is a little healthier than a package of Chips Ahoy! Chunky. The contents of each package is for 2 cookies one is eating 120 calories while the other one is eating 160 calories per 2 cookies. Another example is in a Red Bull Cola, there is 90 calories while there is 150 calories in a Pepsi. Zinczenko does not stop there; he continues to meals on holidays and special occasions like Thanksgiving and Fourth of July. During Thanksgiving, it is healthier to white meat turkey than dark meat turkey because there is 895 calories in white while there is 1,475 calories in dark. On the Fourth of July, one should have 150 calorie coleslaw over 190 calorie potato salad.

What We Should Eat?

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”


Recently, I read an article about Michael Pollan's views on what we should eat. He has written many food books such as Food Rules and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. The article was written by Tara Parker-Pope and titled Michael Pollan Offers 64 Ways to Eat Food.

I was surprised at logical Michael Pollan’s approach: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He brings up several valid points – our ancestors managed to know what to eat without all the scientific knowledge we have today. How did they manage to eat in a healthy way? As a society, we have access to mountains of nutritional information, yet the United States is the most overweight country in the world. One particular problem is that “special occasion” foods (i.e. French fries) have become every day foods. Not only are they every day foods, but also they are fairly inexpensive and easy to obtain. If you want to have these "special occasion" foods, make them yourself. The food experience is different when you invest the time and energy to prepare it.

I learned that the problem with food is not due to a lack of nutritional information. The problem comes from the psychological and emotional connections that people have with food. People play psychological games with the food experience. Sometimes food is used an award (i.e. if you behave yourself, you will get a cookie). People mistake an intense food experience with large quantities of food. Europeans have intense food experience with small portions of food. Somewhere along the way, Americans have lost their ability to appreciate a pleasurable food experience with a small quantity of food.

The Help We Need

Recently, I interviewed Heather Sachs, a local nutritionist, to find out her opinion on the eating habits of the United States. Our interview confirmed all the information I obtained from my research.

Q: Why do you think the United States consumes a higher percentage of prepared and fast foods compared to Western Europe?

A: In my opinion, we in the US consume such a high percentage of prepared and fast foods because it is convenient. As a society, we tend to be very rushed in whatever we do. Fast food is more inexpensive and easy to get. People who are considered "poor" lack the education they need to make proper nutritional choices. For example, studies have shown that the more fast food establishments there are in a particular area, the more unhealthy food choices people make.

Q: What do you think is the most important thing Americans should do about their diets?

A: Every American should eat more fresh foods!

Q: What is your opinion about the fast food industries?

A: McDonald's is one of the few fast food establishments that is making an effort to offer healthier choices on their menu such as salads and snack wraps. Also, an continuous change of restaurants (about 7-13) in the state of New York has to put the amount of calories in the food on their menus.

Q: What do you think the healthiest food to eat is?

A: I believe any type of berries for the fruit category and sweet potatoes for vegetables. Fish are also healthy but fish has a high level of mercury. In addition, eggs are great if you do not have high cholesterol.

Q: In your opinion, does exercise undo the effects of a nutritionally deficit diet?

A: I think the calories you take in can be worked off. There is 3500 calories in 1 pound so if you want to lose one pound a week, you need to lose 500 calories a day. Overall, you should not have to eliminate your favorite foods but eat smaller portions of your favorite foods.

You Are What You Eat

A healthy country is defined by its consumption of non-processed and non-pre-packaged foods. According to Hungry Planet by Faith D'Aluisio, one country consider healthy is China. China is unique because it is considered an industrialized country like the United States, Germany and Great Britain. Industrialized countries tend to spend a higher percentage of their food budget on prepared and pre-packaged foods than on fresh foods, vegetables and meats. In contrast, China spends a higher percentage of its food budget on fresh foods, vegetables and meats versus pre-packaged and prepared foods. Two other countries that have the same eating habits as China are Bhutan and Chad.

All three countries, China, Bhutan and Chad, do not spend over $60 per week. The majority of the food budget for all three countries is spent on meat, fish, fruits and vegetables. There is very little money budgeted for starches and dairy products. In most cases, these countries have little or no money budgeted for fast food.

Even though China is a industrialized country, its percentage of the population that is consider overweight is a fraction compared to other industrialized nations such as the United States, Germany and Great Britain. About 28% of men and 23% of women are overweight. The other industrialized countries should use China as an example and listen to the specialists in the field of nutrition to prevent the overweight population to grow.

The World's Unhealthy Eating Habits

The Bainton Family of Great Britain

Did you know that many of the citizens in industrialized countries have poor eating habits? People of Great Britain, Germany and the United States are a few of the worst eaters in the world. A typical family in each of these countries will spend between $250 to $500 on food for one week. These three countries spend a large amount of money a week yet they continue to eat unhealthy when they have access to fresh foods not packaged items. For example, a family in Great Britain spends about $63 on meat, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and nuts while they spend a combined total of about $55 on prepared food, snacks and desserts. Why is it that there is only a $8 difference between the two combined totals?

Many people wonder why so many people are overweight. It is from the horrible decisions made like the family in Great Britain. The overweight percentage in Great Britain for males and females is 63% and 59%; one half to three fourths of the country is overweight for men and women. Germany's overweight percentage for men and women is around the same. In Germany, 64% of men and 54% of women are part of the overweight population. Now, everyone knows that the United States has the worst percentage of overweight people which I knew as well but I was unaware of how high it really is. In the United States, 72% of males and 70% of women are overweight, which is almost three fourths of the country. Also, there are about 13,500 McDonald's restaurants within the United States while Germany and Great Britain has no way near that many McDonald's restaurants. These countries should be focusing on what fast food and other unhealthy foods (packaged) are doing to the citizens of their country.

The Revis Family from the United States