Who doesn't like to eat?

@maporsche,

A double cheeseburger a day is a lot, though!

That's straight to "Supersize me" territory if we're talking about a full regular diet and then a double cheeseburger on top of it.

Person A has cereal for breakfast, a ham sandwich and fruit for lunch, and chili, cornbread and salad for dinner. Person B has cereal for breakfast, a ham sandwich and fruit for lunch, a double cheeseburger for a snack, and chili, cornbread and salad for dinner. If all other things are equal, person B is going to gain more weight over the course of a year than person A. And over several years, that weight is going to really add up.

So yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I mean -- needing to burn off, through exercise, ~500 more calories a day. Since I work out four days a week instead of every day, that means I need to burn off about 875 calories per workout -- that my husband doesn't need to. That's probably about right.

1 Reply

@maporsche,

OK, thanks.

0 Replies

@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

So yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I mean -- needing to burn off, through exercise, ~500 more calories a day. Since I work out four days a week instead of every day, that means I need to burn off about 875 calories per workout -- that my husband doesn't need to. That's probably about right.

Well, assuming that your husband and yourself eat the exact same amount of food and he weighs the same as you and has the same body composition.....then sure.

But from what I've learned, the double cheeseburger difference is at the very very high end of variation for an already overweight individual. If you both are near normal weight, say 150lbs, the caloric variance based on horomones, thyroid conditions, etc, is probably closer to 100-200 calories. A person with a slow metabolism compared to someone with a normalmetabolism will burn between 100-200 fewer calories per day, everything else being equal. That's probably half of a regular cheeseburger at McDonalds.

2 Replies

@maporsche,

Well, what I was saying before is that there are offsetting differences. He eats more (both portions and snacking) than I do, but is taller. I exercised (everyday stuff) more than him. Etc.

It doesn't apply now because we both work out regularly. What I'm referring to is especially the period between when my daughter was born and when I started to seriously work out, about 2 years ago (moderate exercise before that didn't accomplish much). He started to work out shortly after I did.

But between about 2000 and 2007, I gradually gained a significant amount of weight. Very gradually. During that same stretch, he didn't. Again, it's hard to quantify exactly but from just food intake and behaviors, it would seem that he would be the one to gain weight, not me.

When I was nursing, the additional calorie burn/ loss/ whatever you want to call it was enough to keep my weight in check, so really more like between 2002 and 2007.

I am not a junk food person at all -- I have maybe 3 cheeseburgers a year, if that. I make my own food, eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, etc., etc. The non-cheeseburger day's meals I described is what I had today.

Even if it's just 200-250 calories a day (I'd guess at least 250/ day from how much I need to exercise/ burn off per workout plus the general metabolism boosts from regular exercise that lets you burn more while resting), that explains the difference. And it's still -- my point -- something that requires that I expend significant effort to combat, rather than just resting on the laurels of eating well and exercising moderately, which is enough for some, like my husband.

0 Replies

@maporsche,

Mcdonalds puts the regular cheesburger on a bun to make it easier to find. Their Angus Deluxe Cheeseburger weighs in at 750 calories. No fries, no drink, it is 750 calories. Somehow, printing all this good information on the back of the place mats hasn't hurt sales a bit.

0 Replies

I'm not heavy, though I have been a few times into the overweight zone (and not due to muscles, or at least not due to more than 3 day a week exercise muscles). I've just read that overweight is essentially the same for health (given exercise and lack of self destructive habits) as under 25 bmi. I think that's in the new Susan Love book - she's a UCLA breast cancer surgeon who has written, to me, the best information book on the breast and breast cancer. (That's overweight, as opposed to obesity.)

First time I went into overweight was when I quit smoking..

I don't believe in water fasts but I've posted before on that and, besides, you didn't ask my opinion on that, Maporsche. So good luck with it, whatever our differences.

On food, I've followed food as a subject for decades, at least since the late sixties. I love to eat and I love to cook, and I like to learn about foods of different cultures. I was a foodie before that was a word. This is all remarkable since I too probably have strange taste buds, as I have almost no sense of smell. This is a strange lack, though it isn't total; I've been tested and drove 'em nuts at UC Irvine. I probably only identified less than five things I smelled a bit - guessing it was two or three, or maybe two or three out of ten I thought I smelled - and since they insisted the testee identify, I just put the first the on the list on all the other 90 or 95 I didn't smell at all, and told them so. Thus, invalidating the test, I presume. But I'm very insistent that I can taste. I haven't just been chewing cardboard all these years. I am probably a deficient herb identifier.

Wonder how that chef (forget his name, starts with A, or the restaurant does, in Chicago) who had cancer of the tongue is doing these days..

Back to food - I like all the rigamarole that goes with food too.. the warmth by the hearth kind of thing, the conversations, whether or not I might like any given meal.

0 Replies

@BorisKitten,

I don´t know any society where they don´t like to get together for eating.
We do it Scandinavia, the French, Italians and Spaniards love to eat and so do the Germans. The Swiss get together to eat and so do the British and Irish.

1 Reply

@saab,

I'm a solitary eater Sad

I could quit anytime I wanted, though.

1 Reply

@maporsche,

Quote:

Food choices make up the vast majority of reasons why people are overweight...the vast, vast, vast majority.

I have to agree with this, and in fact, reading this thread prompted me to calculate my own BMI and then look up the percentile for a woman of my weight at my age.

My BMI was between 21-22, so squarely in the normal range - not underweight- not overweight. But when I looked at what percentile my weight put me in for a woman of my height and age (I was thinking about the scale pediatricians use to chart childrens' growth) I was in the 11th percentile.

That's pretty shocking! A normal weight puts someone, compared to other people her age and height, in the 11th percentile?
I just don't believe that so many of those people who are heavier than normal for their age and height to the point that it makes a normal weight look unusually low, have thyroid or metabolic imbalances that cause their problem. If so, it's become somewhat of an epidemic.

I think it's more likely primarily due to how and what people eat.

1 Reply

@aidan,

Very good points. I think that in the US people DO eat far too much, in general. I suppose the real question is, WHY?

2 Replies

@BorisKitten,

Because in the natural food makes us feel good and some people take food as "comfort food" to make them feel better, if they are depressed, nervous, sometimes they tend to eat too much.

0 Replies

@roger,

Solitary eating has its own pleasure, was this a question?

0 Replies

@BorisKitten,

BorisKitten wrote:

Very good points. I think that in the US people DO eat far too much, in general.

I suppose the real question is, WHY?

Because if u choose the right food, it TASTES GOOD.

It makes HAPPINESS in your mouth.

For instance, I went to Daniel 's on 65th St near Park Ave,
and after a fine fish feast, I had a really good chocolate souffle
with extra pistachio premium ice cream. My enjoyment was such
that I had 8 more of them, with plenty of extra pistachio ice cream.
The restaurant threw in the last 3 of them for free, saving me $45.
All 9 of them were extremely hedonic and that is what life is FOR.

I value that experience.
I gotta go back for more.

David

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Quote:

Because if u choose the right food, it TASTES GOOD.

It makes HAPPINESS in your mouth.

That's true and probably the simplest answer right there. Although my daughter made an interesting and astute observation the other day when she said, 'In the long run, it's probably a lot easier to put the effort into taking care of yourself physically from the very begininning than it is to deal with all the repercussions that years of abusing your body bring as you get older.'

Quote:

For instance, I went to Daniel 's on 65th St near Park Ave,
and after a fine fish feast, I had a really good chocolate souffle
with extra pistachio premium ice cream. My enjoyment was such
that I had 8 more of them, with plenty of extra pistachio ice cream.
The restaurant threw in the last 3 of them for free, saving me $45.
All 9 of them were extremely hedonic and that is what life is FOR

My question is, how do you have room in your stomach to consume that much? I seem to have this innate safety valve when it comes to eating and drinking - after a certain point it's not pleasurable at all - it makes me feel sick - so I stop. And if I eat or drink too much one day, the last thing in the world I want to do is get up the next day and repeat it.

(I hope you're keeping track of your blood sugar levels David - that's an awful lot of sugar to consume in one sitting and if you do that on a regular basis...I don't know).

3 Replies

@aidan,

If you choose the right drugs, they feel good too.

Happiness and indulgence are not the only reasons one should consider when eating food.

Poor food choices often do much harm.

0 Replies

@aidan,

aidan wrote:

My question is, how do you have room in your stomach to consume that much?

Well, tho the quality was good the quantity was a little stingy, but if u buy 9 of them, then its OK.

David

0 Replies

@aidan,

Ha, in retrospect my question (Why do people eat too much?) seems pretty stupid. But I'm with aidan:

Quote:

I seem to have this innate safety valve when it comes to eating and drinking - after a certain point it's not pleasurable at all - it makes me feel sick - so I stop.

I feel this way too. When I eat too much I feel awful. Sick. I guess not everyone has this reaction.

David, did you really eat 9 desserts? You're kidding, right? If not, did you feel sick afterwards? Heck, makes me feel sick just thinking about it.

2 Replies

@BorisKitten,

BorisKitten wrote:

Ha, in retrospect my question (Why do people eat too much?) seems pretty stupid. But I'm with aidan:

Quote:
I seem to have this innate safety valve when it comes to eating and drinking -
after a certain point it's not pleasurable at all - it makes me feel sick - so I stop.

I feel this way too. When I eat too much I feel awful. Sick.
I guess not everyone has this reaction.

David, did you really eat 9 desserts?

Yes

BorisKitten wrote:

You're kidding, right?

Rong.

BorisKitten wrote:

If not, did you feel sick afterwards?

No. I stopped ordering them when I felt full (or gorged).
I did not get bloated (tho that has occurred on other occasions).

BorisKitten wrote:

Heck, makes me feel sick just thinking about it.

Thay were all delightful n replete with flavor.

Temperature contrasts between the extra premium pistachio ice cream
and the souffle were superb, too.

David

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Love your honest answers. Those desserts must have been ridiculously small!

I think I would have been too... (lemme think)... afraid of ridicule... to order more than the second dessert.

I'm glad you did, now that I think of it. You weren't intimidated by what restaurant-folks would think of you. I like that.

1 Reply

@BorisKitten,

BorisKitten wrote:

Love your honest answers. Those desserts must have been ridiculously small!

I thawt thay were kinda stingy (but then thay gave me the last 3 of the 9 for free).
That dessert was their signature dish.

BorisKitten wrote:

I think I would have been too... (lemme think)...
afraid of ridicule... to order more than the second dessert.

1. Its against my nature to fear ridicule about anything
(except about asking out a chick; that has made me nervous).
2. I am the founder and the leader of the group.
I write & possess the membership list.
I can and have thrown people out of it (but not for that reason).

BorisKitten wrote:

I'm glad you did, now that I think of it.
You weren't intimidated by what restaurant-folks would think of you. I like that.

I am well known for recidivisticly gluttonous behavior.
I know no fear; that did not occur to me.

It has been a fairly common experience that when visiting
a new restaurant, or a restaurant in an unfamiliar city,
I explore the menu; this has resulted in multiple desserts
arriving for my consumption. Many have been rejected.
I have hi standards.

David

0 Replies

Who doesn't like to eat?

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know