The first time I went into a health food store, I was a little horrified at how unhealthy everyone looked. It’s also possible, of course, that I was just used to seeing people who had some fat on them somewhere. This was a lot of years ago now. I assume there are fat people hangin’ at the health food store now.
Well, I dunno about a few years ago, but nowadays a lot of the “health food nuts” are into vegan or “raw food” diets.
Vegans don’t even eat eggs or dairy – no animal products at all – so not only do they have more of a challenge finding nutritional balance, their protein is usually gotten in sources that take a while to digest (since plants actually take longer to break apart than meat), meaning that to some extent, their “actual” caloric intake is lower (i.e. their body burns up more energy digesting the food than it would a softer protein).
This gets even trickier if they’re on a “raw food” diet – which usually seems to mean they’re not just eating mostly plants, they’re also eating them RAW – there’s a reason we cook a lot of our food, and that is that it makes it easier to digest (and thus, requires less energy on the part of our bodies to digest). AND they stay away from “processed” (again, easier-to-digest) foods and most sugars. This means their effective caloric intake is fairly low as well.
This doesn’t equate to “unhealthy” by default (it’s actually perfectly possible to have a vegetarian, vegan, or even “organic raw food vegan” level dietary restriction but still get all your required protein, calories, etc.) but if you’re that restrictive in your diet, to do it healthily DOES require careful, well-informed management, generally from a doctor or nutritionist. Otherwise, you might not be taking in enough calories or enough nutrients, and you can create deficiencies and thus health problems.
Another irony: some researchers in recent years have come to the conclusion that just because you’re thin doesn’t mean you won’t have health problems like heart disease or diabetes… BECAUSE it doesn’t actually mean you’re not carrying fat – it could actually mean you’re carrying fat that just isn’t subcutaneous. In other words, in places far worse than your butt. IIRC, this was called “brown fat” (in contrast to white, I think), and it’s actually WORSE than subcutaneous fat, because it hangs around things like organs. Not that being really overweight is a good thing either (since the actual weight can for instance, put extra strain on your back), but having a little pudge isn’t a death sentence, and being thin could actually MASK health problems.
I’m happy to know I’m in a happy medium – small and thin, but not unhealthily so (5’3″, small-boned, 125lbs – a comfortable, safe weight for my age/height/build). I attribute this in part to my diet of “mmm ham… mmmm fish… mmmmm!!!!!! fruit!!!!!!… ewwww I don’t want the fatty part of the steak, that’s slimy!… yes, I’ll eat the rest. Please pass the Worchestershire.” 😉
I also have this weird tendency to be able to polish off an entire box of Hostess cupcakes, and yet, when I do that, spend the next day craving nothing but fruit and salads. This is probably a good thing.
I do have SUCH a weakness for salt though 🙁 It will probably be my downfall someday!
If I had the willpower to resist French toast or ham or bacon for more than a week, I’d try the “pescepollovegetarian” diet – basically it’s “almost everything… except pork and red meat”. You know, fish, chicken, probably eggs and dairy, fruits and nuts and veggies. And none of it has to be raw! It’s an easy-to-make-healthy diet that’s a lot easier to follow than say, vegan or raw food. Then again, vegans and even some raw foodies tend to have moral or philosophical reasons for their diets, not just “health”. I mean, a lot of stuff sold as “organic” isn’t anything special (and in some cases, might require extra washing before eating, if you catch my drift), but the idea that they didn’t use pesticides or hormones or NPK fertilizers is a big deal for some people, and given the damage that certain pesticides and the not-so-careful dumping of NPK-riddled rinsewater has sometimes done, I can’t say I blame them.
I appreciate the irony of an overweight person working in a sporting goods store, or a lanky geek behind the counter in a GNC.
The first time I went into a health food store, I was a little horrified at how unhealthy everyone looked. It’s also possible, of course, that I was just used to seeing people who had some fat on them somewhere. This was a lot of years ago now. I assume there are fat people hangin’ at the health food store now.
Well, I dunno about a few years ago, but nowadays a lot of the “health food nuts” are into vegan or “raw food” diets.
Vegans don’t even eat eggs or dairy – no animal products at all – so not only do they have more of a challenge finding nutritional balance, their protein is usually gotten in sources that take a while to digest (since plants actually take longer to break apart than meat), meaning that to some extent, their “actual” caloric intake is lower (i.e. their body burns up more energy digesting the food than it would a softer protein).
This gets even trickier if they’re on a “raw food” diet – which usually seems to mean they’re not just eating mostly plants, they’re also eating them RAW – there’s a reason we cook a lot of our food, and that is that it makes it easier to digest (and thus, requires less energy on the part of our bodies to digest). AND they stay away from “processed” (again, easier-to-digest) foods and most sugars. This means their effective caloric intake is fairly low as well.
This doesn’t equate to “unhealthy” by default (it’s actually perfectly possible to have a vegetarian, vegan, or even “organic raw food vegan” level dietary restriction but still get all your required protein, calories, etc.) but if you’re that restrictive in your diet, to do it healthily DOES require careful, well-informed management, generally from a doctor or nutritionist. Otherwise, you might not be taking in enough calories or enough nutrients, and you can create deficiencies and thus health problems.
Another irony: some researchers in recent years have come to the conclusion that just because you’re thin doesn’t mean you won’t have health problems like heart disease or diabetes… BECAUSE it doesn’t actually mean you’re not carrying fat – it could actually mean you’re carrying fat that just isn’t subcutaneous. In other words, in places far worse than your butt. IIRC, this was called “brown fat” (in contrast to white, I think), and it’s actually WORSE than subcutaneous fat, because it hangs around things like organs. Not that being really overweight is a good thing either (since the actual weight can for instance, put extra strain on your back), but having a little pudge isn’t a death sentence, and being thin could actually MASK health problems.
I’m happy to know I’m in a happy medium – small and thin, but not unhealthily so (5’3″, small-boned, 125lbs – a comfortable, safe weight for my age/height/build). I attribute this in part to my diet of “mmm ham… mmmm fish… mmmmm!!!!!! fruit!!!!!!… ewwww I don’t want the fatty part of the steak, that’s slimy!… yes, I’ll eat the rest. Please pass the Worchestershire.” 😉
I also have this weird tendency to be able to polish off an entire box of Hostess cupcakes, and yet, when I do that, spend the next day craving nothing but fruit and salads. This is probably a good thing.
I do have SUCH a weakness for salt though 🙁 It will probably be my downfall someday!
If I had the willpower to resist French toast or ham or bacon for more than a week, I’d try the “pescepollovegetarian” diet – basically it’s “almost everything… except pork and red meat”. You know, fish, chicken, probably eggs and dairy, fruits and nuts and veggies. And none of it has to be raw! It’s an easy-to-make-healthy diet that’s a lot easier to follow than say, vegan or raw food. Then again, vegans and even some raw foodies tend to have moral or philosophical reasons for their diets, not just “health”. I mean, a lot of stuff sold as “organic” isn’t anything special (and in some cases, might require extra washing before eating, if you catch my drift), but the idea that they didn’t use pesticides or hormones or NPK fertilizers is a big deal for some people, and given the damage that certain pesticides and the not-so-careful dumping of NPK-riddled rinsewater has sometimes done, I can’t say I blame them.
So, I’m a “pescepollovegetarian”, huh? Cool! There’s a label for EVERYTHING now, isn’t there? I know – I’ll call it “Social Pixallization”!