We are living in BurgerWorld, you know?

Sometimes, I just have to have a Wendy's Single Combo With Cheese, Plain. Diet Coke. "No Thank You" on the Biggie Size.

But, y'all: http://www.olen.com/food/

You will be alarmed. Here's to a healthier MATH+1 Community.

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2002

Answers

(NOT a testimonial..your mileage may vary)

Ah, but aside from lack of exercise, what is it that causes obesity? Protein and fat, or carbs and sugar, or something else? I tell you, me and my hubby had zero luck on a low-fat diet for six months, despite exercise. We stopped gaining, but weren't losing at all, we were hungry and snarly and felt bad. We went on the Atkins out of sheer desperation, after seeing Dan Rather unable to dig up any dirt on it on "48 Hours". Blammo. 4 months and 30 pounds lighter, feeling great. No problem sticking to it. It made me seriously question...why does this work? I don't think Atkins is God or anything (his book- writing style gets unbearably prissy) but I think he's stumbled on something..by all rights, this diet should *not* work. It completely rearranges the food pyramid. But it works, at least for us.

I don't think science has scratched the surface of what food does in our bodies, by a long shot. I think carbs and fat and protein and sugar are a lot more complicated than we thought. In the meantime I guess I'll just keep eating my double bacon cheesburger sans bun, sans fries, with a salad and a Diet Coke, because nothing else works for me.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2002

just a thought about atkins and all the other crazy-ass fad diets; losing weight does not = healthy.

nothing beats moderation and exercise.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2002

emjaybee -- have you had your cholestrol checked lately? You should.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2002

Eating a diet low in carbohydrates/sugars is the only way to get my body to function properly.

After years of low fat eating (fucking Food Pyramid) and gaining more and more weight, I finally learned that I have insulin resistance problems. Honestly, I don't know if I had the insulin problem so low fat/high carb diets didn't work, or if eating high carb diets just ruined bodies capacity to deal with sugars properly.

What I do know is that eating a diet low in carbohydrates makes me feel better and pretty much eliminated my food cravings - something that I have had huge problems with. I feel healthier. My blood pressure is low, I have no cholesterol problems, and while I am never one to gorge on bacon and sausages anyway, I just feel so much better when eating a high protein diet that I have to believe that it isn't a thousand times more healthy for me.

And after years of watching people grow fatter and fatter on low-fat diets, I just can't believe that whole idea isn't fundamentally flawed.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2002

The problem with low fat diets is they are not necessarily low in calories. I've been on a low fat diet for like eight years now for health reasons. I gained weight until I made a concerted effort to cut calories and exercise more. And I mean serious exercise. Walking doesn't cut it for me although I know it does for others.

Consumer Reports did an article on diets this month. They questioned their readers and the successful people echoed droogie's comments about moderation and exercise. Interestingly, CR reported the medical research on the Atkins diet hasn't come up with any negative effects of the diet, including cholesterol levels. But read the article if your interested, my memory may be faulty!

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2002

I will be honest...I haven't had my cholesterol checked. No health insurance at the moment. And I know that Atkins (I think there's other similar ones as well) is regarded as a fad diet. But most fad diets work by starvation (using grapefruits or some such as a gimmick) and this doesn't. And, from what I could tell, no proven health problems have come up in the 30 years that the diet's been around...I'm pretty sure there'd be lawsuits out the wazoo if it in fact was /hurting killing people. There are *allegations* of health problems, but no study has proven them...though I believe a few studies have been started in the last few years. So hopefully we'll learn more.

I mean, it does sound weird. I would never even have considered it, except my weight was giving me other health problems. And those have diminished or disappeared as the weight has. Same for my husband. Actually, we think it may be tied in to insulin/glucose issues or even allergies to certain carbs that we didn't know we had. Or the weird ways sugar affects the body. Which may be one reason it may not work for everyone.

This doesn't *feel* like unhealthy weight loss..my energy is good, my skin and hair look healthier, I sleep well, whereas low fat diets were having the opposite effect.

And I really don't miss carbs that much..pasta tastes pretty blechy to me now, and bread seems bland and uninteresting. Sugar I still crave and cheat with on occasion, but I eat a whole lot less of it than I used to. I eat more vegetables, and I will never, ever go back from real butter to that margarine stuff again.

sorry for the long post..wanted to respond to everyone's comments.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2002

Emjaybee, I bought these great low carb chocolate bars to help with the cravings. Initially, I was craving sweet like mad, but after a few days it just didn't really matter. The bars are pretty expensive - I found them at an organic grocer - but just one bite a day pretty much satisfied me.

And sugarfree jello. God bless sugarfree jello.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2002

I did SugarBusters for a while and had success, and I'd recommend SB over Atkins as you can have whole-grain carbs - Triscuits, whole wheat pasta, Ezekiel brand bread, etc. I lost weight but felt much more balanced that I would have with no-carbs. The thing, I think, with Atkins and SB is that you shouldn't take the no-carbs thing as a license to eat nothing but bacon and steak and cheese - there has to be balance, there.

Having said that, I weigh 18 pounds less now than I did last August (oh, and the whole "you'll drop 10 pounds the week of your wedding!" thing is a myth, for real) and it was due to a true lifestyle change - I only cook with butter when I'm baking, I NEVER, EVER use margarine or anything else that is "butter," I am a huge fan of butter-flavor PAM and olive oil PAM... We try to only eat out on the weekends, I tend to bring a lunch to work, I don't keep junk food at home, and when I grocery shop, I try to do all my shopping from the perimeter of the store. IE, the produce section, fish, dairy, bakery. We really made an effort to eliminate processed foods from our diet. In addition, C was diagnosed with high blood pressure last year, so the insurance company footed a visit to a nutritionist. I tell you what, if losing weight isn't incentive to eat better, keeping your husband from having a stroke at age 33 like his kielbasa-eating grandfather did is reason enough.

That, and I started running. Nothing near serious - probably about 8 or nine miles during a good week - but it made a difference. So, 18 pounds and nine months later, I have to say that the whole exercise and eating in moderation is the best way to lose weight.

And having said THAT, God bless Chick-Fil-A. I rarely eat McDonald's or Wendy's anymore, but there is nothing better than a chicken biscuit or a Chick-Fil-A with that fried breast, a hot buttered bun, and a couple of pickles. Thank God Truett Cathy is a God-fearing man, so I know there's incentive to go to heaven.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

"And having said THAT, God bless Chick-Fil-A."

That's a good point to add...seriously! It's obviously important to watch what you eat and to exercise, but there's something to be said about sometimes giving in to your cravings. (I said sometimes.) And I can't think of a better place to indulge than at Chick-Fil-A. That, or Steak 'N Shake. (for the shakes, not the steaks.)

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Chick Fil-A's not really fast food though. I refuse to believe that. For one, it costs a jillion dollars and two, they have diet lemonade. Which is a sign from heaven if there ever was one.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

They have diet lemonade? I really didn't know that. All the more reason to go there!

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Why are all the Chick-Fil-A's 20 miles away? How far is too far to drive for Chick-Fil-A, anyway?

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Possibly one of the greatest things about living where Al and live is that there is Wendy's next door to our apartment and a Chik-Fil-A right across the street.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Did any of y'all ever read onefatman.com? Because, I hadn't checked in there for a while... and... you just have to go see what's new with him, is all I'm saying.

To say that I am impressed would be putting it mildly.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Leaving town might be going too far, unless the town is like a burb of the town you are in, and then it's okay.

Or, maybe it's if you have to take the interstate to get to the Chick- fil-a, it's just too far away. But it's perfectly reasonable to buy extra Chick-fil-a to freeze and reheat later whenever you happen to be in that neighborhood.

The only CFA here is at the Uni, and during the summer it is perfectly reasonable to go onto campus and take a little stroll to get to it, but during the winter when all of the students are there lined up like crack addicts waiting for the dole, it's too much effort.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Maybe I should print out the CFA map, in case any of my messengering brings me in that area. There's one in Redondo Beach, where the Jeff and I are going this Sunday, but he's already been very excited to take me to this Czech restaurant there.

I started WW again yesterday. Went to the gym today for the first time in almost 3 months. Y'all, it just isn't that much harder to have a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast instead of a donut. Or pack a simple salad of some bagged lettuce (it's already washed!) with sliced cherry tomatoes and low fat Parmesan Ranch dressing instead of having a Whopper Jr. And then you can pretty much eat anything for dinner, and even have a cookie or two. I just get lazy.

And Al, I Love OneFatMan. I hadn't checked in on him in ages, but wow.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Arby's, Boston Market, Bruegger's, Godfather's Pizza, Hardee's, Leeann Chin, Rax, Taco Bell, Taco John's, Wendy's, White Castle. There is the list of places from that guy's list that I've never eaten. The other places, I've been to about once a piece. I need to get out more...

I've never been to Chick-fil-a (I mean, there's one in the mall in Plymouth Meeting...but who eats at the mall?).

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

wow, thanks for the onefat(or phat)man link. That's amazing.

I still need to read Fast Food Nation...but I have to say, even before the whole diet thing, I always got a little impatient with people who overly chastise you for using fast-food places. I mean yeah, home cooking is great, and so are nice restaurants if you can afford them, but I've eaten at little mom-and-pop places, and a lot of the time, they suck, I'm sorry to say. Some are great. Many are scary (small-town place in Louisiana that overcharged me AND made me sick, I'm looking at you).

Here in NY some little neighborhood restaurants can be disturbingly dirty and non-health-inspected looking. Maybe the food is great, but having experienced food poisoning before, I'm not gonna risk it.

Of course, you get sick from fast food as well...but I think they try a little harder because they're such lawsuit targets.

It's so hard to eat without feeling guilty about something. And damn it, I miss Whataburger like crazy up here. Sigh.

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2002

I just discovered something horrible. Salads could be the thing making you fat!!! sure the lettuce is just like drinking water, but what about the 200-300 calories the fast food resturaunt gives you in dressing? Or the Crutons? Crutons are usually about 15 calories a piece! Then there's the cheese which isnt exactly fat free. You might as well just eat a wendy's Jr hamburger (310 calories) instead of trying to fill up on useless calories!

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002