Letters to the Editor
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"broken windows"
Maybe it's just me but might there be a "broken windows" effect in play. [regarding fitness]
That's a very good point. I think many people do fall towards extremes and have a competative mindset, needing to be above average to enjoy fitness.
That's the danger of an exclusively competitive motivation. A good basis for motivation is self satisfaction and enjoyment for their own sake, and the social aspects. Physical fitness is its own reward and one doesn't need to be competitive to enjoy fitness, though there is nothing wrong with competitiveness in addition to that.
I like hiking, weight lifting, and other low impact, and strength building (physical and mental) exercise. They get me high as I always feel euphoric afterwards. It's very addictive.
The rest of the time I enjoy the lean muscle and health benefits, the metabolic lift and extra energy, the social aspects, and as a perk look healthy because I am. None of which would be diminished in any way if more people got fit.
Actually, since I also enjoy sharing the experience with others, and enjoy seeing other happy and healthy people, including without jealousy those far more healthy and beautiful, more fitness is fine by me.
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@juliebird
get them sometimes for them as a "treat"
Try to get your kids eating "treat" foods that are exciting in other ways with more complex flavors. Emphasize those treats as being better, "classier" so to speak. For example, rather than a "fruit roll-up" or soda or such, a real French pastry with real fruit and custard from a good bakery is better, even if it has 10x the calories. Or baklava. Or dark high grade chocolates, esp drk chocolate. Etc. It'll really help if you have people around them who are themselves excited about higher grade sweets.
It'll be more satisfying because all that rich fat causes a feeling of fullness and metabolizes slower for less buzz. They can't get it at the corner store for pennies like soda or candy bars. They'll learn to eat quality rather than quantity.
Also, try to avoid the forbidden fruit effect of junk food. Admit it's there, and tempting, but also point out whats lowly about it and the are superior alternatives for sweets. The problem with simple sweet treats that they're like crack cocaine. Yes they produce a buzz, but they're a very low-grade buzz with a very low level entry point to appreciate them, leading to unhealthy addiction.
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"whole wheat" vs whole wheat grains
there is plenty of health food you can make from "scratch" or nearly so. How hard is it to grate cheese over whole wheat pasta?
Whole wheat pasta isn't "healthy." No pasta, or anything made from ground up starches, is really "healthy" from the perspective of carbs that metabolize quickly into sugar. "Whole wheat" pasta is almost equal to semolina flour pasta, white rice, potatoes, etc on the glycemic index.
The health benefits of "whole grains" i.e. actually unbroken grains, they're referring to two things: the increased fiber from the husk, and more importantly their slow conversion to sugar because the starchy part is unbroken and still encased in the husk.
Also, most "whole wheat" breads are almost as bad as white bread. For more healthy breads get the "flourless" kinds which have a large quantity of whole or only partially broken grains in them.
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re: Juliebird
What healthyskeptic said. Plus, cheese is extremely fattening compared to what you get out of it.
How hard is it to grate cheese over whole wheat pasta? How hard is it to wash a bunch of grapes? How long does it take to grill a chicken breast and zucchini slices?
1) Harder than buying a pasta entree or eating at Olive Garden (which has NASTY greasy food). 2) Harder than opening the wrapper of a candy bar. Requires a sink. A candy bar can be purchased and eaten in the car. 3) Longer than it takes to heat a frozen dinner.
The grocery stores are starting to deal with this a little bit, as people demand healthier foods. It's now possible to buy pre-washed, pre-peeled carrots in little bags that are single-serving and take a long time to go bad. I can get edamame in a bag that goes in the microwave now. But we're still a long way from good food being as convenient as junk food.
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@ aka smoth
Part of the problem is that no one really agrees what eating healthily is anymore, and we cannot trust the government to give us the truth.
Not really. Actually the basics of a healthy diet and exercise have never changed and are pretty basic. You know, choose exercises wisely to minimize impact/wear on the body, eat more vegetables and less carbs/sugars, reduce calories to fit lifestyle, and enjoy eating in quality not quantity.
Of course if one is a day laborer in the late 19th century, a diet heavy in potatoes is relatively healthy, but not for an office worker today.
The problem is people have habits that are derived from cultures maladapted to the modern world. So they don't enjoy eating healthy. That requires a sort of enlightenment and adjustment of habits to fix. Some cultures are more enlightened in that way, others less so.
Cultures which come from hot Mediterranean climates tend to be more enlightened in that regards, as they're accustomed to highly flavorful and spicy food with fresh ingredients.
Cultures from cold climes tend to be culturally programmed to load up on carbs to put on fat for the hard and cold winter when one will burn 4000 calories just to keep warm, and during periods of famine. So they eat far more bland foods heavy in salt and fat and simple carbs. Of course in the modern world there is always heat and plenty of food, so it's terribly maladapted.
The best thing is to get kids at an early age eating highly flavorful and spicy foods such as one sees in European and Asian Mediterranean to tropical climes, and less of the heavy fat, salt, and carbs diet of Northern Europe.
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@healthyskeptic
I confess to loving bread. Not the kind that I generally get at the grocery store, but the crusty, home-baked kind. (What I missed most when I was on Atkins.)
So when I buy commercial whole wheat flour, what am I actually getting?
Do you know how to make at home good quality, healthy whole-grained bread? In the small town where I live, there is no bread at the local herbalist and the bread at the grocery looks rather iffy to me. Also, what does it mean when wheat is sprouted? Is bread made from sprouted wheat high or low glycemic? I get to a larger city about every two months.