I blame breakfast cereal.

I mean, look at the picture on the box. Bowl is full to nearly overflowing.

Then look at the "serving size". 40g, maybe for 200 calories. Put a bowl on a digital scale, weigh out 40g. Look at the picture again. The picture is probably over 1000 calories of food, and that's what we regard as a normal bowl of cereal...

I also blame giant beverages. I remember when 16 oz Cokes were new and were huge. They're bigger now. Even if they have no calories, a quart of fluid is 2 pounds. If you're not peeing it away, you're carrying it around. And who knows what the artificial sweeteners are doing to your body's sense of satiatedness, etc., etc.

A pound of body fat is supposedly around 3500 calories. If one is eating an extra 1000 calories in the morning, every morning, it doesn't take long to put on the pounds... :-(

But, yeah, it was a bit of a culture shock when we vacationed in Switzerland and the portions were so "small". We got used to it in a few days, but it was an adjustment!

Cheers,
Scott.

...but not that much of a thing (outwith certain medical conditions).

Losing weight is tough, especially when you get over the initial novelty and early gains from a caloric deficit, and into the long haul of maintaining self-discipline. It becomes very tempting to rationalise away one’s failure to lose a kilo this week on “water weight”, but it’s much more likely you just ate (or, if you’re not a diet pop person, drank) more than you thought or wanted to think.

You’re right - breakfast cereal is ridiculous and those “serving suggestions” are misleading at best. Other prime offenders are pop (soda), coffee (many people load their coffee with milk and cream and syrup and a myriad other things, none of which have any business being in a cup of joe), and of course processed food - even if you set aside the “ultra processed” issue, a lot of processed food is extraordinarily calorie-dense.

It doesn’t help that The Internet stands ready and willing to tell you that your weight is not your fault, you can and indeed should eat whatever you like, whenever you like. Furthermore it’s fine to be fat, because fat people are just as healthy (until they hit fifty and their knees and hearts and whatever all say “fuck you, I’m ruined”).

It’s all horseshit, of course. Anyone can lose weight at a caloric deficit. It requires a lot of self-discipline in the face of a epicurean environment designed to thwart you at every turn, and depending on where you live (food deserts suck) it can be really hard. But ultimately it can be done, and the alternative is worse. I think of all the things I fear in later life, losing my sight and my mobility* are top of the tree, other than dementia.

No-one says “oh, I know you shouldn’t smoke, but giving up is hard, and intuitive smoking is fine anyway, and grandma smoked a hundred a day well into her nineties. And grandad took heroin every day for fifty years and it didn’t do him any harm!”, so I’m not sure why being addicted to food gets a free pass the way it does.

Post #444,220 by Another Scott 6/19/24 10:35:48 PM 6/19/24 10:35:48 PM Reply	I blame breakfast cereal. I mean, look at the picture on the box. Bowl is full to nearly overflowing. Then look at the "serving size". 40g, maybe for 200 calories. Put a bowl on a digital scale, weigh out 40g. Look at the picture again. The picture is probably over 1000 calories of food, and that's what we regard as a normal bowl of cereal... I also blame giant beverages. I remember when 16 oz Cokes were new and were huge. They're bigger now. Even if they have no calories, a quart of fluid is 2 pounds. If you're not peeing it away, you're carrying it around. And who knows what the artificial sweeteners are doing to your body's sense of satiatedness, etc., etc. A pound of body fat is supposedly around 3500 calories. If one is eating an extra 1000 calories in the morning, every morning, it doesn't take long to put on the pounds... :-( But, yeah, it was a bit of a culture shock when we vacationed in Switzerland and the portions were so "small". We got used to it in a few days, but it was an adjustment! Cheers, Scott.
Post #444,224 by pwhysall 6/20/24 1:37:33 AM 6/20/24 1:55:19 AM Reply	Water weight is a thing... ...but not that much of a thing (outwith certain medical conditions). Losing weight is tough, especially when you get over the initial novelty and early gains from a caloric deficit, and into the long haul of maintaining self-discipline. It becomes very tempting to rationalise away one’s failure to lose a kilo this week on “water weight”, but it’s much more likely you just ate (or, if you’re not a diet pop person, drank) more than you thought or wanted to think. You’re right - breakfast cereal is ridiculous and those “serving suggestions” are misleading at best. Other prime offenders are pop (soda), coffee (many people load their coffee with milk and cream and syrup and a myriad other things, none of which have any business being in a cup of joe), and of course processed food - even if you set aside the “ultra processed” issue, a lot of processed food is extraordinarily calorie-dense. It doesn’t help that The Internet stands ready and willing to tell you that your weight is not your fault, you can and indeed should eat whatever you like, whenever you like. Furthermore it’s fine to be fat, because fat people are just as healthy (until they hit fifty and their knees and hearts and whatever all say “fuck you, I’m ruined”). It’s all horseshit, of course. Anyone can lose weight at a caloric deficit. It requires a lot of self-discipline in the face of a epicurean environment designed to thwart you at every turn, and depending on where you live (food deserts suck) it can be really hard. But ultimately it can be done, and the alternative is worse. I think of all the things I fear in later life, losing my sight and my mobility* are top of the tree, other than dementia. No-one says “oh, I know you shouldn’t smoke, but giving up is hard, and intuitive smoking is fine anyway, and grandma smoked a hundred a day well into her nineties. And grandad took heroin every day for fifty years and it didn’t do him any harm!”, so I’m not sure why being addicted to food gets a free pass the way it does. _{* Weight-related failure modes: joint failure, COPD, heart issues, just being too damn fat to walk any distance, etc. At the extremes, losing limbs and appendages to diabetes sure does seem like it’d suck. Quick and permanent weight loss though, so; to-may-to, to-mar-to.} Edited by pwhysall June 20, 2024, 01:55:19 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #444,225 by static 6/20/24 2:52:58 AM 6/20/24 2:52:58 AM Reply	We get trained to ignore satiation.

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