So good news and bad news for me… I went a couple of weeks ago for a full blood panel.
The good news is that I don’t have any of the major ailments…yet.
Cholesterol still below 180…but the LDL is higher than it should be.
Fasting glucose…borderline prediabetes.
Hormones…menopause has had her way with me. My markers are all pretty out of whack.
So..Bhrt, and some supplements to help bring it back in line…and the cardiometabolic diet, which is a modified Mediterranean-type diet.
It is nice to have the number affirm what I suspected, and thrilled to have found a doctor who believes she didnt need to simply write scripts, but prefers to help me find the diet, exercise, and support to get back on track.
Over the summer, I had gained about 15 pounds – it came on slowly. Because of the extreme heat of the summer (here), I didn’t exercise as much, which was a contributing factor towards this weight gain. But, mainly it was me – snacking at night while I watched TV.
I needed to get back down as I have my annual doctor’s visit in November. So on Sept. 1st, I increased my exercise (mainly bicycling) and was strict about what I ate – no snacking!!
As of this morning (Oct. 9th), I hit my goal weight and lost that stubborn 15 pounds. It probably wouldn’t hurt to lose another 5 pounds before November, but at least I’m at the same weight I was last year.
I think that’s a big problem for people here in USA. We snack too much. Maybe all the ad everywhere are partly to blame but it’s also part of our culture now. This becomes apparent if you travel to other countries and notice they don’t snack in between meals like we do.
I saw a very overweight young woman on instagram showing you what she ate in one day. What really hit me was that her beverages equaled in calories to her food intake. Imagine, if she only drank water and unsweetened tea she would cut her calories in half. I still remember a doctor saying “don’t drink calories.” I convinced my best friend to stop buying sodas and juices for the home … they just drink water, tea and coffee now. Eating the whole fruit instead of drinking orange juice is so much better for you.
It’s not just in the US. Snack ads in Germany are everywhere, with the subsequent and continuing increase in population mass (sic). People are getting fatter on average in almost
every developed nation.
A snack is when you don’t sit down? Probably something you know has no “nutritional value” or maybe unplanned. I can’t eat much volume so I might eat “snacks” several times a day.
Assuming the “we” is the majority and not isolated places within the US, I was not aware of that!
Now I’m wondering if “street food” counts. I love watching those international street food shows on Netflix.
This one, which references the same research says “However, the current evidence on FOE is conflicting; it does not indicate whether eating more frequently is a healthful behavior or not”
My car is a '95 … I bought it when it was 4 years old. It still looks great and I’ve kept up on most repairs. One way I’m weird (for an American, anyway) I don’t allow eating or drinking in my car. (Water is fine!) I can’t understand how people think their kids can’t travel in cars without eating/drinking. Their cars look like junkyards in no time. It’s really odd, but my car came without any drink holders! Now you find drink holders everywhere, shopping carts, even kiddie cars!
(I’m not a fanatic at home … I regularly eat in the living room but I’m pretty neat about it.)
I usually associate snacking as in something we nibble on between meals. I usually associate it with something unhealthy (chips for example) although I personally try to have something healthy if I need a snack. I will be heading out shortly to pick up my CSA so by the time I get home and put away my veggies I know I will be having dinner later. I had hummus and celery and carrot sticks as a snack this afternoon to tide me over until dinner. One of my colleagues rarely has three square meals a day so she has several small “meals” throughout the day. (I don’t sit near her when I am in the office so she could be grazing on Doritos and fries for all I know…)
But it is still a completely different level when you compare the US to European countries. The eating habits in the US are completely different than in most countries in Europe
In the US statistics show that >90% of Americans eat at least one snack a day
That reminds me also the habit here in the US to eat in front of the TV (sometimes not even at a table) whereas that isn’t something you see much in Europe
Bite sized is the new normal as food is snackified: Snacks are no longer just eaten between meals, but alongside and instead of a traditional breakfast, lunch or dinner. 13% of Europeans say they eat snacks instead of a main meal and 28% consume them alongside. 4 out of 10 snack products consumed outside the home are now eaten at lunch or dinner.
I’m wondering what snack means here? Are there examples in the article? I’m still reading.
Before I went on vacation to Kyoto and Tokyo in November 2019, (just before Covid hit!) I’d read that the Japanese people don’t eat on the go in public like we do … they consider it very rude. So, I was careful not to do that but it made me very aware of how much we’re used to eating while walking around here. Also, it’s shocking to find that public trash bins are almost nonexistent there. You’re supposed to carry your trash home or something. (They also have many more categories of recycling! Read Pretty Good Number One, very entertaining!)
Yes and no - it is always hard to generalize across European countries on trends but at the same time nearly all European countries have in general a different culture and mindset about food and its importance within society than the US. There are differences between European countries but as a “whole bloc” it is overall quite different than the US wrt to food and eating
Probably something you know has no “nutritional value” or maybe unplanned. I can’t eat much volume so I might eat “snacks” several times a day.
