I was thinking the other day that part of the reason Spurlock gained so much weight was because his diet was so healthy before. I also suspect with this woman who lost weight at McD's, that her diet was unhealthy before. Granted, also, any time you cut cals, you'll lose, any time you up cals, you'll gain.

Where is the common sense in this country? Its all or nothing!

*sigh*

quote:

Originally posted by schoolmom:
The other day I had a soda, and my 3yo said, "Mommy, that's not healthy for you!" It takes effort, but our children can be rescued from the fast-food giants.

Kathy

My daughter has become the soda police too. I drink about one CFDC a week and she ALWAYS points out that it is unhealhty. Sometimes I feel guilty about drinking it in front of her, but sort of think it is ok and that she gets that the big picture is healhty.

I'm assuming that Morgan Spurlock is the guy in SuperSize me. I never saw it. How much did he gain?

There are some things that are going in the right direction. As far as educating kids, mine love Sesame Street. And this past season one of their main focuses was on making healthy food choices. Even Cookie Monster cleaned up his act a little. I talk alot to my kids about healthy food choices. The other day I had a soda, and my 3yo said, "Mommy, that's not healthy for you!" It takes effort, but our children can be rescued from the fast-food giants.

Kathy

I watched Supersize Me and thought, why did someone need to actually make a movie about this? Of course we all know if you eat at ANY fast food restaurant, three meals a day for one month, that you will gain weight. As far as the woman who lost weight eating there, do we know her previous diet and was she also exercising? I don't blame McD's, Wendys, BK, etc. because I am overweight, I had to make the choice to go in there restaurant and order the food. It is all about personal accountability-we know what is in these foods, and as far as advertising, it is up to us to counter the ads and tell our children the truth. We will never eliminate this type of advertising, these companies have way too much $$$, it is up to us as parents to do whatever we can to instill in our children what is the right decision. I agree with Jen, funding for school food programs is so needed to get rid of the junk being fed to our kids.
I am as guilty as the next guy for buying these foods, but it is my choice, no one forces me to do it, I make that decision so the only one to blame is myself.
Jill

I agree that personal responsibility is important, but I'd like to see a limit on the amount of food advertising allowed during kids' shows. I'd also like to see public schools funded adequately by the government so they wouldn't be so desperate for money that they would allow fast food companies and soda companies to sell in their buildings.

We watched Supersize Me just a couple days ago with dd. Many parts of it were over her head, but she got the basic message. I want her to get the message that fast food and, in fact, most restaurant food is not as healthy as food from home. I want her to know that there are consequences for eating bad food. (I was struck this time watching about the tibit saying that Chicken McNuggets are not made from things a home cook would use- they use parts of the chicken we would not touch.)
Of course people can make choices. Of course what I put into my mouth is my responsibilty. And McDonald's has gone a long way toward deception. I especially hate how they market to pre-verbal kids- get the addictive cycle going strong at an early age.
My thought is that this movie should be on a recommended list for middle and high school age students.

This is my opinion, but I think for alot of folks the common sense is sort of distorted when it comes to food... For years the restaurants have have given us portions larger than we need. True we aren't forced to eat it...but an image is worth a thousand words. Our society has become accustomed to those sizes.

As I have worked to shrink my portions down to size, it's amazing the difference. Most of the time unless I'm having salad(since it requires more area because of it's lack of being dense).....I can usually fit all of my food on a salad plate... as even our dishes have gotten somewhat bigger.


I heard about the woman who lost weight at McD's.... of course it boils down to calories...

It's that all or nothing attitude that contributes to a successful diet industry.

Cate, have you seen "A Big Fat Documentary" on the Discovery Health Channel? A British comedienne named Victoria Woods takes a look at the obesity epidemic, starting in Los Angeles and ending in London. It's very funny and very insightful, and she makes many of the same kind of "only in America" observations. She follows a couple of "food consultants" during one of their kitchen raids, and says, "Yes, in LA, you can actually pay someone to throw away food you've spent good money on."

I especially liked the way she summed up her encounter with Richard Simmons: "I want to hit him quite hard. But I also think he's quite wonderful."

I would recommend it, if you get a chance to see it.

That common sense is the kind that says "Fast food restaurants force us to eat there".....not once when I drive by Micky D's has an employee or manager come an dragged me out of my car and forced fed me....

there is no common sense when people talk about fast food restaurants and dieting....it's all finding an excuse for bad eating habits.