Everywhere you look, obesity is there. I am not advocating to be a food policeman, but we need to start making a voice in our land. People do not like being overweight. But certain foods are addictive and the public needs to be educated on proper unbiased nutrition. Meat and dairy products and foods that are fried are absolutely in no way beneficial to the human body. The human physiological system is completely adaptable to a total vegetarian diet. But with the refined sugars and fatty foods that poison our body and cloud our minds, addiction sets in deep and becomes 'nearly' impossible to break the bonds.
I am challenging every nurse to take up the baton on this one. If we, health care professionals cannot make the first stand on the nutrition value of America, then the general population have little to no hope.
And using the word "addiction" to describe overeating is a cop-out.steph
Steph, "Addiction" to food is real. The fact that it is not illegal does not change the its ligitimacy. I speak from my own experience, I am working very hard to overcome my addiction to food. I use food just as other people use drugs. I don't say overcoming addiction to food is more difficult than breaking an addiction to drugs, alcohol or smoking. I only know that I cannot quit cold turkey because I have to eat to survive. I'm trying to learn to eat to live and not to live to eat.
You know, I've given this a tremendous amount of thought and have come to the conclusion that you make some very valid points.
Our society struggles with food addiction and surely, if we continue along as we all have been, we are inevitably going to eat each other for lack of hot wings and ho-ho's (we're BOUND to run out, you know...). If you look at it like I have begun to, the world is a snack-cracker and we are but its hapless caviar garnish, ready to be consumed by our zombie-eyed, greasy-faced brethren after the mini-gherkins and crock-pot meatballs are devoured in our non-stop feeding frenzy.
Well, enough, I say! I say, ENOUGH. Put down your cheez-its! Fling that half-gnawed turkey leg to the floor right now! We must rally together to stop this demonic inhalation of extra calories and come together to do something more productive. I hear there's a clothing-optional group "activity" down by the pool- anyone with me?
Oh, and for those of you whose gorging has left you too winded to frolic scantily clad, we're serving cheesecake in the Cascades room.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa garner all of the attention, yet compulsive eating disorder (overeating) is the most common eating disorder to plague America today.
I think this thread is ridiculous. I choose not to read it anymore. You can't change the mind of people who don't understand over-eating. They don't get it. Never will. I'm outta here!
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Oh no, who dug up THIS old chestnut??!!:uhoh21:
FYI: The OP was something of a 'problem child' who has long since gone to wherever such individuals go to when they have worn out their welcome on a particular board. I'll leave this thread up for now, but pleeeeeeeeeeease keep it nice.......no personal attacks, no nasty remarks about the obese, etc. Thank you.:)
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
I once had a vegetarian roommate (she wasn't vegan, though). She would go days without eating, marking them off on a calendar and noting what she'd had to drink. "8 glasses of Crystal Light Lemonade, 2 glasses CL Fruit Punch, 2 glasses of water" Then, one day she'd eat a whole half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. Then there was my neighbor the anorexic. I have to wonder if she's even still alive. In her early 30s, her skin looked like a woman in her 60s. Her hair was brittle and she was all bones and sharp angles. She couldn't have weighed 80 lbs. I used to see her jogging 10 miles from our house. She didn't drive, I don't know if she didn't know how or if it was all about an exercise compulsion. A neighbor who got paid to lock up the pool at night told me this woman was once in tears when she got home from work too late to do her laps. She was messed up. Thank you, I'd rather struggle with a few extra pounds than have my life consumed with worries about how many glasses of Crystal Light I've consumed or whether I can swim my laps after a day of walking and jogging everywhere I've gone.
I have been a vegetarian for ten years. I eat very healthy. (meat isn't the only food in the protein group) My husband has been a vegetarian for ten years also but he doesn't eat healthy...more of a junkatarian really. Vegetarianism isn't a cure all.
A lot of people don't seem to care about being obese. They don't care what their kids eat. Its seems like they think its a joke. You can't help people who don't want it.
eliminating entire food groups never works. it's all about proper portion sizes and moderation. want some candy... have a small piece. (YUMMY).
A good part of the problem is our sedentary lifestyles. People just don't move anymore. We rely upon our cars to take us to the grocery store a block away. We live too far from our jobs... Surburban sprawwlllll. Ugh.
Luckily, I am a cyclist and a runner, and I eat whatever I want. My cholesteral is fine (Just even got the new VAP test to make sure), my weight is at the low end of normal, and I feel fabulous! I'll tell ya, exercise is my life saver... I feel like crap if I can't do it. I feel wonderful because I can and I do and I absolutely love it.
No veganism isn't a cureall. But I firmly believ we should detoxify and cleanse our bodies a minimal two times a year. This can be achieved by fasting and eat raw fruits and veggies for 2-4 weeks at a time. With this in mind, the cravings for 'bad' foods normally discontinue after the toxins leave the body.
There isn't such a thing as "detoxifying" our body. It's done all the time by the kidneys, etc.
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
There isn't such a thing as "detoxifying" our body. It's done all the time by the kidneys, etc.
Of course, you're right from a scientific viewpoint. Still, I like the feeling of going on a liquids only fast for a couple days at a time a couple times a year. It makes me feel as if I've detoxified myself. I guess that's where the myth of detoxification came from.
DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN
3,932 Posts
Steph, "Addiction" to food is real. The fact that it is not illegal does not change the its ligitimacy. I speak from my own experience, I am working very hard to overcome my addiction to food. I use food just as other people use drugs. I don't say overcoming addiction to food is more difficult than breaking an addiction to drugs, alcohol or smoking. I only know that I cannot quit cold turkey because I have to eat to survive. I'm trying to learn to eat to live and not to live to eat.