3,900 - According to an article by Michael Pollan that was published in the New York Times, this is the amount of food calories produced every day for each American citizen.Think about this number for a minute. 3,900 calories is easily a thousand more calories than almost any of us will ever need in a day- but they are being produced so someone has to eat them. This is what I like to call the North American paradox. Food companies and food producers need us to consume more and more calories to keep their profits coming, yet we want to consume less and less calories to maintain our health and weight.This is why it is not an exaggeration when I say it is a constant battle to try to avoid overeating, and to make sure that the foods we do eat are healthy, nutritious foods. Imagine what would happen if everyone in North American suddenly decided to eat half the amount of calories produced by the food industry? That's 1,950 less calories per day and that's 1,950 calories worth of profit that food companies would lose out on. Most likely this would be financially disastrous. This is why we are bombarded with food advertising.
The best way to win this battle is to get closer to 1,950 than 3900. The key to doing this is always remembering that the foods you see in convenience stores and gas stations are there because someone wants you to buy them. Not only this, but they have spent a lot of time and effort to figure out what colors, names, and sizes will make you notice their products.So the way to win this battle is by not being a "good little consumer".
Try your best to buy only planned foods - The foods you plan to buy during your grocery run. Resist all unplanned purchases...gas stations, convenience stores, vending machines and checkout lines...these are all examples of places where we typically make unplanned impulse food buys.
Avoid the temptation to think that eating several meals in a day will "cause" weight loss. If you are eating too many calories, you are eating too many calories. It doesn't matter how many meals you eat.There are diet plans out there such as my book Eat Stop Eat that promote very brief periods of short term fasting as a method of weight loss. Plans like these teach us that we don't have to be constantly eating to be healthy. In fact, taking small breaks from eating every once in a while may actually be healthy for us.
By making at least one of these adjustments (avoiding "unplanned foods" and avoiding the urge to eat constantly) you will be one step closer to a healthy and nutritious diet. And remember, 3,900 calories per day is overeating for almost everyone.
Millions of people would love to lose weight, so you are not the only one feeling as such. I for one would love to shed some pounds to fit into my skinny clothes I haven't worn in a decade. We all know how hard we have to suffer to drop a few pounds, either exercise or starvation; we're just hurting ourselves for the most part. Moreover, we have all heard of the methods we get bombarded by the TV ads: pills, shakes, energy bars, diets, and so on. Nowadays you can even get your diet delivered right to your doorstep, for a huge amount of money of course. Do all these diet methods work? Sure they do, but only if we follow the instructions to the letter. People became really inventive with ways to get thin fast. Therefore, there is a huge business out there created to lose weight. So how come thousands of Americans are still over weight, despite all the means that guarantee weight loss? The answer is simply; we love to eat the wrong foods. You know all the bad tastes great?and none of the good has ever entered your mouth?right? Looking back at the 80s and even before then, everybody seemed to be a lot thinner. What happened in twenty or so years? The answer is: the revolution of fast processed foods. We feed ourselves hundreds more calories than what our bodies requires. Back when my mother used to be a housewife and cooked everything from scratch, I used to be 20 lbs lighter. Once I moved out and began a life of my own, I began to pile on the pounds. Obviously my metabolism changed, and so did my lifestyle. Working in an office long hours didn't give me much time to exercise, and I eat the wrong foods. Sound familiar? I tend to believe that twenty years ago foods were far better quality, even though they were not as tasty as they are today. And why was the food not as tasty as today? It contained far less sugar and fat. Back then, the animals were not fed hormones to grow overnight, and our vegetables and fruits were organic. That was a natural and healthy way of living. I believe that if you want to lose weight, the answer is to buy organic food and cook it yourself. Yes it does take time to cook, but the food is a lot healthier. Not only will you lose weight moving around in the kitchen preparing your food, but you will also lose weight eating it too. Think about it, isn't it ironic, losing weight while eating? Now, that doesn't make much sense, but it's true. You might say buying organic food is expensive. Yes it is, but so is eating five Big Macs at McDonald's. Think of the medical bills alone over time? Consider going back to the way things used to be for thousands of years, when we ate fresh and organic food cooked in our own kitchen. The world was a better place back then, and a lot thinner too!
Both Brad Pilon & Doug Wellens are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Brad Pilon has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Build Muscle and Fitness. Brad Pilon is a strength training and nutrition professional and author of Eat Stop Eat. You can learn about his new book "Eat Stop Eat" that is quickly changing the way people think about dieting, by visiting. Brad Pilon's top article generates over 3600 views. to your Favourites.
Doug Wellens has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food and Drink, Lose Weight and Web Development. Doug Wellens is a specialist in making the process of fat loss as easy as baking a pie. Download your handbook here and experience an "effortless. Doug Wellens's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.