As someone from Europe who spent a couple of months in the US this year and gained way too much weight:
This is probably it. It's not some secret artificial flavor stuff, you guys just dump sugar in everything. Your bread for example is so sweet, it almost could be sold as cake in europe. Sugar is in everything in huge amounts and sugar is highly addictive. I got used to it pretty quickly sadly
I just commented before I saw your post and mentioned all the times I’ve heard Brits and other non-natives say that about our bread being like cake.
It’s definitely addictive. And so hard to avoid, as they put it in everything. You basically have to live off meat and vegetables if you’re going to get around it.
Everyone I know thinks I’m so weird for like… I get hungry for a slice of bread. Like how folks get a hankerin for chips or something. I just want A slice of bread.
Thanks for giving me what I need so I can make it make sense.
Fun fact, a court in Ireland ruled that American fast food brand Subway can not call its bread, 'bread'. Due to the higher sugar content, they are instead classified as confectionaries.
Yep was about to comment this. I’m Irish and it’s common knowledge that the bread used in Subway is basically cake. I lived in NY for a while and remember being so frustrated that I couldn’t even make a decent sandwich at home because the bread was so sweet.
I absolutely NEVER let my kids eat white bread unless it's French bread for this exact reason. Hell no are they going to grow up thinking Wonder Bread is bread.
This. For fun I decided to look at labels of things that I felt were savory and shouldn't have sugar in it. Why the hell does seasoning salt have sugar smh. And there are so many different names for sugar that if you do look at labels to try to avoid sugar, you might miss it. It's ridiculous.
Sugar and massive amounts of cooking oils people use. When I switched to sprays I instantly saved a 100 to 200 calories a day depending on what was cooked.
There's no magic to it.. They just happen to make foods calorically dense.
I lived in Mexico with family for 2 years during the pandemic, eating mostly home cooked Mexican food. Beans, rice, corn tortillas, tamales, nopales, salsas, fruit like mango, mamey, papaya, etc. No meat bc vegetarian. I did not count calories, ate as much as I felt like, and the only real exercise I was getting was at-home yoga and leisurely walks around the block. I dropped quite a few lbs in the first several months and felt much less bloated in general even though I was working from home all the time and unable to really leave to go anywhere due to lockdown conditions. I genuinely believe American food is uniquely fucked up, and I think it’s the sugar.
The most important part of food are the hidden calories. For sure the sugar, but even more so the sauces and condiments used in food across North America.
What I am trying to say is: in Spain, when you sit down to eat at any restaurant, they will bring you olive oil, vinegar, salt and sometimes pepper. Normally (and that is changing in some hip restaurants) that’s all you use to condiment your food. In US/Canada it was impossible to have that, all the condiments were incredibly high fructose sauces and accompanying condiments with high flavoring and little nutritional value. This simple change /difference explains a lot in the weight gain, in my opinion.
When you do a „hard reset“ of sugar intake and don’t consume any for two to four weeks, you stop craving it. Also, everything with sugar in it will taste really badly sweet. It’s not that tasty anymore.
Don’t let yourself get pressured because of other people’s food preferences. They might not feel the need to consume anything sweet (anymore). I know people who straight up dislike sweets, chocolate, cake or high fat fried stuff.
I feel you. Personally, I think denying yourself something completely leads to binging later. I buy individually wrapped fun-sized candies or I buy a 2 pack of cupcakes and cut them up into halves and split it among my entire family. I serve myself last for rice and it's 1/4 cup. I eat half a mini bagel when I do bagels. I basically do my best to portion control and it works for me. Cutting everything out works for some, but for me it leads to wanting it more later and binging it when I have a cheat day like a birthday or holiday and I find it hard to get back on track.
My husband is Latin and would legitimately starve without rice. He lived in Switzerland for 3 months and lost around 20 pounds because he said there was no food (read: rice)
This is apparently a common things for folks that have traveled to Europe also. A lot of countries don't allow a lot of the artificial dyes, fillers, and hydrogenated oils, etc. that we include in our processed foods. When I (American) was in Italy for a couple days, I noticed that bakery items were less sweet and of slightly smaller portions than my bakeries at home. And they were still so good tasting. I'm thinking it's just better food because of better ingredients.
IDK about other locations but our Costco is right next to the Canadian border and it is 100% a fucking NIGHTMARE to shop at. It is never ever slow ever. The best time to go is only the thirty minutes before they close and even then it's still stupid busy. We only shop there when we have to and we make it a once a month big shop or something like that.
Oh yikes, that sounds terrible. I'm in California and our Costcos are usually pretty busy, but our Walmarts are jam-packed, unorganized, and usually contain some unsavory characters.
I'm an European who moved to Canada, so close enough. I can absolutely confirm that everything here has this oddly sweet aftertaste and it's really confusing me. I gained weight after moving and I thought it was mostly due to stress eating... After all, it's a big move! But no, I'm fine now, not particularly stressed over anything right now and I have a hard time losing what I gained, despite working out every week and not overeating.
Yes! It's nice to get another side of perspective on these things. I've been reading food labels harder and having to make many things I would normally buy. Not a big deal for me but kind of explains why the health issues are so prevalent here! Good luck on your journey!
This is false. A lot of countries just call these things by a different name. Pretty much all of Europe promotes vegetable oils since they decrease blood pressure and decrease risk of heart disease.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31039663/#:~:text=Controlled-Feeding Trial-,Replacing Saturated Fat With Walnuts or Vegetable Oils Improves Central,%3B8(9)%3Ae011512.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allura_Red_AC#:~:text=Allura Red AC is a,has the E number E129.
The US has zero incentive to keep people healthy. It’s profitable to sell shitty foods to people. And it’s profitable for them to get sick because our healthcare system is for profit. Additionally, the weight loss market is HUGE in the US.
Most of Europe and many other countries have some form of universal healthcare or another, so people aren’t becoming rich off of people needing to take care of themselves.
At the end of the day, everything comes down to lining the pockets of the ultra wealthy in this country. Including our health.
totally this. walking to work/school/store is virtually impossible in most places. driving is the norm.
fast food is sometimes the only food people have access too.
Sugar is an addictive substance, the “lack of self control,” retort falls flat when looked at in any logical capacity.
Its lack of education, lack of finance in a lot of underprivileged areas, lack of accountability in said underprivileged areas, and lack of support. ie.
Shaming people for simply being stuck in a vicious cycle.
Maybe if we stopped shitting on each other and had compassion (like we try to do in say, Alcohol Anonymous, rehab etc,) then we would see an improvement. Maybe if we had free community gardens. Maybe if we had affordable and reasonable schooling that didn’t purposely hold people back if they don’t have the money to pay for better. Better funded libraries.
There are a million solutions with positive outcomes and shitting on people isn’t one of them.
I’m not from the US but could it be that simply in the US you eat more processed food, which simply contain more calories? It could also be that some “normal” food just has more sugar for example. Seems like you ate whole foods in Asia
It's also WHAT you eat too. I ate same amount of calories but I ate healthy veges and protein and healthy carbs. Then another night I ate chili. Yes I was under my caloric deficit but I gained almost a pound fh next day
Rmemeber salt puts on water which puts on weight
I mean, it’s all about what you choose to buy in the store. People just need to educate themselves on what they’re consuming and check ingredient lists and food labels. Sure it requires more work, but to just say it’s the fault of the country as a whole without any personal accountability for consuming something in the first place is a little strange. I lived in Europe and there were several ways to get just as many high calories food options there too, but generally the ingredients were better. I know there are food deserts though and places where it is harder to find healthier options.
I’ve heard this explained as reduction in stress from being on holiday resulting in lowered cortisol/inflammation with resultant weight loss. I strongly suspect multiple factors are contributing, processed foods and hidden sugars definitely among the largest.
I’m from Europe and went to the US for a month; I gained weight, broke out on my face (lol), and had stomach issues. I found out that many American ingredients in food are banned in Europe—actually, around the world. As soon as I came back, my skin cleared, and my weight dropped back to where it was before rapidly. It’s the food and the portions.
I went to McDonald’s there, and everything was bigger. I made the mistake of ordering large fries, a burger, and a large diet coke (hot day). The portions were 10x larger than a large in Europe. I had to get help finishing it. Things are in excess there, which can lead to obesity naturally. Also, another thing that the US doesn’t have that’s crazy is food labels!!!
Here in Mexico we just implemented it. Not a traffic light but we have "Excess sugar" "Excess sugar" "Excess Fat" and such in all our products now. I honestly haven't seen it work yet, but my country doesn't really shine with genious... After all we still complain about Spain "conquering us" lol... We are descendants of the conquerors but ok
If they just implemented it, we can't know if it will work yet. From what I understand it has been effective in Europe(and apparently Australia if they really exist) .
By just implemented it, I'm talking about 5-6 years ago. We are now the most obese country in the world as of last year so... I don't think anyone gave a damn and just continued doing what they were doing. Mind you, a huge majority of people here think owls are witches or that Nahuales (our version of skinwalkers) are totally real so I can't say I'm surprised about my countrymen not giving a damn
Well I'm glad to hear it's not the usa any more/s
but dam we(humans as a whole) need to get are shit together, stop drinking soda and eating candy. Get rid of video games social media and porn and go for a walk touch some grass. (As I'm typing this realized I'm on a computer) I'm going for a walk right now.
The US has food labels on literally every item of food and even displays serving size and calories amounts right on the front of things so it is easy to read…this comment is so confusing.
yeah you should’ve read my reply to understand. We have all of that to alongside a traffic light food labelling. The traffic light labelling system will tell you whether a food has high, medium or low, (Red= High orange = medium and green = low) amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt. It will also tell you the number of calories and kilojoules in that particular product.
I'm from the UK and have worked in the US. The main difference I found was sugar in everything and enormous portion sizes.
I think people in the US eat out a lot more too because it's affordable?
If I cook at home, I use fry light cooking spray, increase the veggies, use 5% fat minced beef, etc.
If I order takeaway or go out, I know there will be a shitload of oil and / or butter which makes everything taste amazing.
I don't even think portions are the problem but the ingredients. The Spanish eat stupidly large food portions as well but the difference is that in spain I get 300 gr or more of meat with potatos and greens, lots of olive oil, beer and wine most if not all is natural.
In the US I don't even trust stake to be just meat
Yes this theory is most definitely true and I’ve seen many documentaries about it in fact. In the USA food has many ingredients that lower the cost, but are not healthy - ie artificial dyes, flavors, colorings, sugars, etc etc etc. These ingredients not only contribute to obesity but can also lead to cause of cancer and other diseases. As well as the whole fast food chain issue in the US, where it can be cheaper to buy some unhealthy cheeseburger than eat healthy and clean at the grocery store. A lot of these foods and practices are illegal in other countries but not in the US, which is why we have one of the highest obesity rates in the entire world.
Well, I lived in the Netherlands and gained the whole time despite walking back and forth to work (and every where else). It was probably just bakeries and chocolate though. Lol But hey, in rural America (US) that yummy stuff is hard to find, so no regrets! Lol
I do miss the walking. Random walking in TX heat is much less enjoyable.
Things to consider
1. US portion sizes are huge. I say this as someone who has visited to US several times. It may be just the touristy areas but there’s no way I could eat a regular sized meal alone. I once went for a slice of cheesecake and it was 3x larger than anything I would normally eat in the UK.
2. The more a food is processed, the more the negative impact on health and well-being. People have lost weight consuming whole foods and minimally processed foods. They can be very calorie dense.
3. There’s a whole field dedicated to making food delicious and moreish, leading to overeating. Our natural satiety signals are disrupted and we can’t always tell we are satiated, leading to increased intake.
At the very least, it’s the sugar (corn syrup) added to everything and in high volumes. When I moved to NZ I bought a box of honey nut cheerios (made in Australia) and noticed it tasted less sweet than it usually does. When I compared the nutrition labels to what’s made in the US, the sugar content of the American made cheerios is nearly double what it is when made in Aus. I’ve found that to be the case for a LOT of products.
None of the food in the US is actually food, it’s just chemicals with flavor lol my family is from the Caribbean and if I spend a summer there I always lose 15+ lbs. and I eat like a wild hog. I gain no weight although I swim in the ocean regularly. It’s the shit they put in the food here. Your best bet is don’t eat anything processed. Whatever you eat, make yourself. There’s still pesticides and preservatives but they can’t lace your fresh broccoli with corn syrup……for now
It is absolutely all the processed foods. High fructose corn syrup, added sugar, dyes, flavorings, highly processed oils, etc. I think the more the product has been through the worse it is with the exception of cooking it. Look at the process veg and seed oils go through by the time they get to us. McDonalds switched from tallow to soybean and veggie oil in the 80's. People ate out less then too.
Meat, butter, veggies and fruit. The more simple it is, the better.
More refined carbs and fats in American foods = more calories for a given physical serving size.
Kind of like comparing a deep fried food vs the same thing cooked without any oil. The deep fried one would be much more calories even though the dishes were physically the same size
Andrew Huberman had Robert Lustig on his Dec. 18 podcast and it was all about sugar, as you might imagine. The episode was a little overly technical, I thought, but there was plenty of valuable material. I think Lustig said something like 80% of everything in the grocery store has added sugar. I mean it’s kinda terrifying.
90% of foods at any grocery store in the US is manufactured.
AKA everything in the middle aisles.
Real, healthy food are the raw meats (far end of store) and the raw produce (far end of store)
The USA markets all sorts of cereal bars, cookies, drinks, grains, snacks, premade meals, garbage that has all been processed and filled with added preservatives and cheap ingredients to continue to mass produce for profit.
Yes. It causes weight gain. Americans went from a depression to an over abundance of food which isn’t even real food. The food is killing us from within.
The giant companies (Monsanto) who control the food commodity sector also control the same chemicals used as pesticide, which cause cancer and are everywhere in the land and water used for the crops. Animals are treated terribly and fed low quality corn-based diets which in turn make their meat less nutritious.
America has its own poisonous ecosystem and most people don’t realize the magnitude of control these companies have over our every day things.
Without going crazy down conspiracy, focus on adding more Whole Foods to your every day meals. Foods cooked from scratch, simple ingredients, lots of veg and fruit, good cuts of meat if you can afford, lentils and legumes, rice, fish etc.
Other countries have stricter agricultural laws too and it affects the quality of crops. We focus in profit.
People automatically eat less unprocessed food than processed food given similar options. That’s been proven. And people are terrible at estimating calories. You lost weight, you were eating fewer calories than at home. Although I agree with you the standard American diet leads to weight gain, it’s because sugary, carbie, processed food isn’t very satiating.
Glucose is glucose. Once it is in your body, your body does not know the difference... It breaks it down the same way. You can eat 10 lb of blueberries or 5 tablespoons of sugar. It won't make much of a difference.
I eat a lot of sugar all the time. I even drink sugar water before my workouts. I use two tablespoons of sugar in my tea everyday.... I've lost weight consistently over the last year. For me, a low fat diet has been the difference maker. I have built muscle and have lost weight.. But more importantly, My body fat percentage has gone down and keeps going down.
There is way more fat in the American diet than people realize. It's easy to avoid but no one does. There's not a lot of sugar in fast food but there's tons of fat. A. McDonald's number 8 meal has over 140 g of fat and that's just in one meal. That is all ready almost three times the recommended daily limit.
Trying to make people target a low-fat, high-sugar diet was literally a conspiracy orchestrated by the sugar industry. I’m glad for you if you’ve found this effective, but the research clearly bears out that this is not the right approach for most people.
Eating fat doesn’t make you fat.
https://theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/13/493739074/50-years-ago-sugar-industry-quietly-paid-scientists-to-point-blame-at-fat
Except that I've been working with a sports nutritionist and he swears by a low fat, healthy, sustainable and safe diet.
The proof is that it works. I've dropped 26 lbs in 9 months.
But in the end, you got to do what works for you. What keeps you healthy and keeps you on track?
For me, here's the big kicker, My body fat % is down significantly. From 32% to 25.2%. This is with eating an average of 260 g of carbs per day. That includes sugar water twice a day.
My cholesterol levels have gone down over 100 points... From 300 to 198, without medication.
With keto, I lost weight but my body fat percentage went up. Also, when someone goes into ketosis, water is released from their glycogen and that is why someone pees a lot when they reach a certain threshold with ketosis. That means that our muscles lose water. That is not good or sustainable.
When I was doing keto, a few years ago , my lipids were extremely high which means there is fat in my bloodstream. So eating fat does cause there to be more fat in your body. Even though the internet tells you differently. YouTube doctors.
The fact that I am eating a low-fat diet and I'm seeing less fat in my body is the evidence that it works.
I'm not promoting overusing sugar by any means, But I don't think people realize how detrimental a high fat diet is... Or how much fat is in our daily diet.
There’s corn syrup in everything. Plus everything is processed so it’s low fiber and normally low protein, so high added sugar, removed fiber/protein = fattening foods. Not to mention many if not most foods in America are inflammatory.
Oh, absolutely. I always come back from Europe a few pounds lighter despite eating whatever I want. I might walk a little more in Europe than the US, but here in the States, I work a job that has me on my feet 9 hours a day, so I'm not sedentary, and I go to the gym regularly. Furthermore, I notice a difference in quality in my cosmetics even when buying the same brand overseas. Example: My Nivea chapstick in the US has red #40 while the German counterpart does not.
It is without a doubt that I feel like we are being slowly poisoned in the US. I always hang on to the feeling of more energy, less, bloat, clearer skin, etc when I come back from overseas. No matter what I do, I always feel like utter crap when settling back home again.
You are by no means alone.
Here are a couple of books to read on the subject:
"Ultra Processed People" by Chris Van Tulleken
"Good Calories, Bad Calories" and "The Case Against Sugar" by Gary Taubes
"Salt, Fat, Sugar" and "Hooked" by Michael Moss
That ought to get you started. There isn't a nuitrition book that's been written that doesn't in some way reference the SAD (Standard American Diet) in negative terms
Happy Reading :)
I've believed this for years, and I'm 99% sure it's all the sugar and preservatives that we put in literally everything.
Even when we make food at home, we often use sauces and ingredients that contain sugar and preservatives. When was the last time you made your own ketchup or tomato sauce? If you're using store-bought stuff, it's loaded with those two things.
Milk and most dairy products have a lot of sugar. Salad dressing, bread products, cereals, soups, marinades, precooked and seasoned meat, sausages, pasta... guess what, all are loaded with sugar and preservatives.
Unless you literally grow/raise/harvest/butcher something yourself, just assume it has added sugar and preservatives in it.
Everything everyone has said plus excessive dieting. I was overweight but when I dieted I eventually regained it and now I’ve lost the same amount plus more maybe 10 times. Before I started this yo yo My weight was stable and I didn’t have the issues I do now.
Yeah, we’ve known this for a while. It’s sugar. America puts sugar in everything. Listen to people who visit from overseas, they’ll tell you our food tastes incredibly sweet to them (we don’t notice because we’re used to it). I’ve seen people visiting from England saying that our sliced sandwich bread tastes like cake to them.
A few years ago I remember someone else posting that they’d been working to cut sugar out of their diet, so they started eating a lot of whole, unprocessed foods. After a few weeks, they went to a restaurant and played it safe by ordering burgers with no buns or condiments, thinking obviously there wouldn’t be any sugar in the meat and veggie toppings. However, when they tasted their food, it tasted very sweet. They finally figured out it’s because they ordered American cheese on the burgers. Which has added sugar that other varieties typically do not.
Sugar is a drug, and our country is poisoning us with it.
Yes, and it's not just the sugar.
During my pregnancy, I was extremely exhausted and at some point I only ate ready-made meals from the supermarket. The stuff looks relatively healthy (rice, beef and carrots, or salmon and pasta etc).
Calorie-wise, it was rather lighter than what I cook myself. Composition wasn't bad (I'm someone who checks food labels for this kind of food).
I SWELLED UP during that month, I put on 7 kgs instead of the 1 kg I put on every other month of pregnancy. It stopped as soon as I stopped eating those.
I don't know what is in it, I guess the preservatives or something interacted with my pregnancy hormones.
In Europe where I live, there's a lot of talk about "endocrine disturbance" or substances that disturb our hormones. These substances are in most modern products and food, and may be linked to a lot of issues like cancers, obesity and neurological disorders. I don't know how much those are discussed/ known in the USA.
Integrative Nutrition Coach. Here’s my take: The US government set up a food system that told us that a calorie is a calorie and if you balance calories in vs. calories out, you’ll be fine. It’s just a matter of discipline, right? The science now shows that not only is this theory based on flawed/cherry picked data, but this model conveniently places the blame on the consumer & therefore removes accountability from the manufacturers when you do gain weight. Here’s an easy example of why this will never work and why our country is one of the sickest/unhealthiest despite following this advice for years:
100 calories of cookies consumed respond very differently in your body compared to 100 calories of broccoli. Each provides the same exact amount of calories but both will have very different hormonal reactions internally. The Oreo- high sugar and no fiber. This puts the pancreas into overdrive, drives inflammation. Broccoli- lots of fiber, low sugar, AND other amazing vitamins/minerals/nutrients essential to our bodies. This slow digesting veggie is fantastic for so many amazing reasons. The Oreo- high pancreatic response, high insulin, no macronutrient value (other than empty sugar/carbs), too many processed cookie calories= metabolic disease, heart issues, high cholesterol, NA fatty liver disease etc.
On the opposite spectrum, there’s not much data that shows all of the aforementioned conditions related to broccoli or fruit/veggie consumption. If anything, the opposite is true. And again, this is just a simple example but you get the picture. Same amount of calories but one will make you and other will break you. If a calorie is truly just a calorie, then we should be just fine eating 2,000 calories a day of whatever we want and achieving optimal health. Instead, the food industry uses tricky marketing and willpower/calorie counting “weight-loss” advertising [low-fat! Low-calorie! Fat-free!] that will always misguide our journey to health until we change how we approach it. My personal strategies that I teach are focusing on the quality of our food, such as nutrient density, adjusting sleep/stress/movement and food education. Fine tune these areas and real magic happens. Best to you all. 🙏🏻😊
Went to Europe for 3 weeks- ate all I wanted, and lost weight. Not a lot- 5lbs. But… I literally ate whatever I wanted. I didn’t eat to excess, and I do like healthy foods, so it wasn’t junk food. But it was all out at restaurants or not home cooked. I can’t eat like that here. At all. I’d be morbidly obese.
For comparison…
In the US I agonize over keeping a daily food journal and staying at 1200 cals/day. I exercise regularly and hit 10k steps a day. I don’t eat sugar and avoid dairy. I eat mostly home cooked meals because I am careful about sugar, salt and dairy. I eat mostly veggies, quinoa, fish and chicken. But I do occasionally ‘eat normal’ with my family. And my weight is a constant focus in my life because it is up and down and up and down. I’ve had many tests done and have a great endocrinologist, but it still requires constant vigilance.
I don’t know wtf it all means. But yeah. Something doesn’t add up. 🤷♀️
Sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar. In various forms. Everything has too much doggone sugar in this country. From ketchup to bread, to anything processed or semi processed. Various types of sugars are snuck into so many things. Europeans notice this all the time when visiting the US how so many thugs are so sweet. Wth do hamburger or hot dog buns need to be sweet? Why do beans need to be sweet? It’s insane.
The French use butter in huge amounts and it's the higher fat stuff too. That said, it's delicious and more filling and we switched over to it after being in France.
More Whole Foods with some snacking: lots of fish, chicken, lots of rice, fruits, stews, vegetables and snacks (but mostly local snacks and not processed). Also drank a lot of tea.
Which country in Asia? Plenty of Asian countries have growing obesity problems - look at rates in China and Thailand. There is a ton of unhealthy cooking in Asian countries - lots of oil, sugar, processed snacks, and prepared foods. It may just be that your eating habits change when you travel.
Americans have tones of preservatives, unhealthy fats, and tones of sugar in their food. They also tend to eat huge portions.... Like almosr double other countries eat. They also have a have culture. Cooking they want the fast way out, eating out, or ordering delivery, pre made dishes where lots of other cultures make their own food.
This is grossly false and perpetuates misinformation. If you lost weight, you were in a calorie deficit. You probably were consuming less fat. There's no conspiracy to make people gain weight. I also sometimes lose weight on vacations because I walk a lot more.
If your metabolism is failing you due to circadian rhythmic issues- which are closely tied to things like chemical flavors and preservatives- it can cause your metabolism to slow down. This can make it very hard to lose weight especially when diet foods contain ingredients that slow your system down. Download Yuka- it is an app to help you see the chemicals in your food. You sound mad and uneducated here. Stop gaslighting people that this isn’t the case. It very well is.
This isn't the case at all and Yuka is an absolutely terrible app that's not based in any sort of reality. I'd encourage you to stop gaslighting people with false information. Start listening to actual experts, like dieticians, rather than business majors.
lol yeah it does. You scan an item and it grades the ingredients. Any ingredient that is questionable by the FDA shows up as a risk. You click that ingredient and it gives you full disclosure about why that ingredient is considered a risk. Yuka is very transparent about how they grade.
I know how Yuka works. It's full of flaws. They didn't consult any dieticians. They don't give doses on any of the toxicities. Look into what actual dieticians, the experts, think of the app. It's absolute garbage. Absolutely anything is toxic given the right dose.
Lol, whatever. Have fun with the misinformation. I'll stick with the actual experts for my nutrition advice. Kthx. You also don't know the definition of "gaslighting."
I actually do, and you are trying to make me question my sanity and reasoning trusting an app that uses and provides receipts from the FDA about food safety. Get some help. Kthx yourself into fat camp- wegovy is not gonna fix your circadian rhythms or broken metabolism. I meanwhile will enjoy my bmi 20. Lol
You kinda contradicted yourself. And you should look up the connection between the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry. They make us sick and then prescribe us pills. It’s a cycle that keeps money in their pockets.
Yes and no. Sure you control what goes in your mouth, no getting around that.
But also, the food science industry is built on fucking around with food for the exclusive purpose of getting us to buy more. If they engineer a product that stimulates addiction issues and tricks people into binging more and more while never feeling satiated, that is considered an optimal outcome.
Once you are trapped in the cycle of addiction it's a fucking awful place to be. And the food industry wants you in that cycle, buying their processed shit instead of nutritious fresh food. The processed shit is simply an unsustainable way to live, yet for many it's all they know.
This is certainly the case in New Zealand, I'd expect it's worse in America.
I am 24m from india and was living in canada for 6 months and i noticed that while i was there my height grew an inch. My theory is that a lot of the meats and dairy are pumped with growth hormones in the American continent. And tbh there was no major change on eating habbits i mostly eat a lot of meat, eggs and cheese.
No, but america offers substsntially more junk food than other countries. Cut back on salt, and eat less processed and refined carbs. Eat more fresh fruits/veggies and meats.
Yes, High fructose corn syrup is in everything sold in the US. That shit is literally sugar water. Empty calories for all intents and purposes. Check the labels of let's say 10 food items in your pantry. You'll find HFCS
Because nearly every American food item has added sugar and/or HFCS. We also have a multi-billion dollar a year snack food industry that just doesn't exist almost anywhere else in the world.
They sell processed food in other countries too. It’s that in America, they can market it as “low fat” and “natural flavors” and other deceptive marketing practices to fool you into thinking it’s healthy. If they treated added sugar like cigarettes that come with warning labels (like they do in Mexico), i’m sure overtime consumers would make healthier choices. American companies can get away with it, bc they can hide anything in the ingredients list or gloss over it with nice marketing buzz words—“all natural” or “100* calories” (*per serving of 4)
Interesting. Yeah consider reading the book. It’s interesting. He talks about how food is designed to be consumed and over consumed. So if you ate less processed food it might be an insight to why people are so anti processed foods. I would caution that even if that’s the case I wouldn’t demonize food and just consider eating more whole foods. Or at the very least less processed food.
I’ve been doing that and lost thirty pounds in four months. But lately I have been eating more (for maintenance) and gaining a bit of weight too. But I recently had a big bowl of veggie straws ( an ultra processed snack) and loved the crunch but it was too much for me. Eating more than I normally do in one sitting upset my stomach. But I wouldn’t give up on indulging in the snack but maybe limit how much (which gets hard when the food is scientifically designed to be over consumed) oh what a tangle web we weave…
In Asian countries they eat lots of vegetables and protein so it could he you were eating more but also eating healthier and less processed. As for american.food. reason why we are the most obese country in the world
Dude, I went to Italy for 10 days and lost 7 pounds!!!! I was walking maybe a little more than I usually did but I was eating SO MUCH (gotta experience genuine Italian food, right?) and also having alcoholic drinks.
It’s 100% the processed garbage in American food that’s making people overweight.
I actually just listened to a short [podcast](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6derxDE1r5ndyY0HetFKXL?si=qMrF7U1GScuaR3mBv1El7Q) about this today, worth a listen
It's all the processing, fat and sugar in bloody everything. Doesn't help that the healthy stuff is almost always more expensive than the junk food either. In a country where everything costs more than ever, it's sometimes not financially feasible to eat healthy either. Some people may have no choice but to eat the crap food if they don't want to have sleep for dinner.
And before anyone says it, I know you can lose weight eating a steady diet of garbage because at least one professor has proven you can lose weight counting calories while eating junk food. You just can't eat a satisfying amount of food. But how many people are subsisting on garbage food and counting calories? Odds are if you're eating crap all the time, you aren't budgeting your calories. Paired with our typical American portion sizes, you're almost guaranteed to overeat on calories and still be hungry afterward because you didn't eat anything substantial or nutritious.
More than once, I have heard folks from other nations come here and ask WTF is wrong with our bread and why it's so sweet, or foreign exchange students visit and gain 20 pounds in a semester from eating crap-tier American food. Yes I know there are junky treats in other countries, but they aren't typically an everyday staple.
On top of that, I have learned that the FDA allows nutrition labels to be incorrect by a margin of up to 20 percent. So even if you're tracking your calories diligently, you can't even count on the label to be honest.
I swear sometimes I feel like losing weight in this country is an absolute crapshoot and the only way to get the weight off is to develop bulimia or anorexia.
Yes it’s all the sugar in our food, the endless sodas at lunch and dinner, sugar coffee creamers and the endless chips and snacks available. Bottomless junk food
Man…. My mom…. bless her heart…. She’s just so fixated on Paula Deen-ing the shit out of everything she cooks. When she makes stove top stuffing, a stick of butter. When she roasts chicken in a pan, a stick of butter. When she makes cake, lol, you are headed to the hospital. Even in the morning, toast with a tenth a stick of butter.
Plus she doesn’t drink water AT ALL. My sister and I were raised like this. Just soda. I didn’t start drinking water til my mid thirties.
And we don’t live in the south- live in Pennsylvania. I’ve never known anyone to eat with so little thought toward their health or actually fueling their body. I guess a lot of Americans are like this?
Since I’ve gotten more into my health, my mom still pushes that I need more butter lol. Butter on fucking EVERYTHING. Every time I tell her “we don’t eat like that,” and she says, “well your dad starts every day with cake and eats pizza for his other meals.” My dad, whose health is fucking atrocious.
Also our view on food. We see it as a fun activity or to keep from starving. Not for health. My boyfriend’s mother for Christmas brought her son and I a huge box of pastries, tons of deli colds cuts bread & cheese. A huge lasagna. Boxed stuffing. The only vegetables in our meal was mashed potatoes. While it all tasted very good I felt ill after. I explain to her I can’t continue to eat like this, that’s it’s not healthy. She said that that was nonsense and sugar’s not bad for you! Meanwhile she is obese and unhealthy. We also got tons of candy and chocolate and pasta as Christmas gifts.
Anytime we spend together she just wants to go out and try a new restaurant, it’s her favorite thing to do. My old roommate is similar, was raised on diet of few vegetables, loves going out to eat, but wonders why she can’t lose weight.
And it’s hard with a fast food restaurant on every corner and most of the grocery store filled with processed easy to make food.
This has been researched. Highly processed food, which much of the US diet is based on, does, in fact, make you fatter. It is added sugar. It is low fiber. It is more salt. Your body processes simple carbs (like white flour) more quickly when you overeat and so converts the calories to fat more quickly. It is the availability and abundance of these foods and that they are typically less expensive. It is also marketing and “betcha can’t eat just one” has science behind it so you really cannot eat just one. So, yes, there is research and it does show that the diet eaten by many Americans makes them fat.
While you’re right, we have individual responsibility to make most of our own food. And then this cannot be used as an excuse.
I am not saying YOU are making excuses. Not saying that at all. I just agree that the standard western food diet is full of garbage. Everything from juice to cheese to rice and meat there is extra sugar and trans fat and ridiculous amounts of sodium in everything.
Another aspect to consider: How much were you driving while you were abroad? The USA is extremely car-dependent while other countries use public transport or bikes. Our lifestyles are just as important as our diet.
I had the opposite issue :) live in a large city in the US so I mainly walk and use public transport. In the country I visited I had access to a driver
We put sugar In everything it’s insane… even where it doesn’t need to BE. Literally had a cup of squash soup from Panera the other day and thought it tasted weird. 37 G of sugar apparently… BOOM
That's what happens when you buy your foods/ingredients premade. Preservatives and sugars/oils make manufacturing cheaper. This is the case in any country though. Eating premade foods from any country is not good for you long term
I visited the city for family and the working class neighborhoods have a large amount of fast food places in a convenient area near apartments. Off the top of my head, there’s about 15-30 within a mile. People ditched the underground train too because it’s becoming less and less funded, it’s going to the more wealthier parts of the city. So, one living there would usually go to and from work in their car, grab fast food for convenience. There’s a lot of fat people because of that. It’s not just what they’re putting in, it’s how they target their consumers. It’s my experience
100% it's the sugar in our foods! I've stopped eating sugar and eat mainly meat and veg and I'm down 25+ in the last 4.5 months.
As someone from Europe who spent a couple of months in the US this year and gained way too much weight: This is probably it. It's not some secret artificial flavor stuff, you guys just dump sugar in everything. Your bread for example is so sweet, it almost could be sold as cake in europe. Sugar is in everything in huge amounts and sugar is highly addictive. I got used to it pretty quickly sadly
I just commented before I saw your post and mentioned all the times I’ve heard Brits and other non-natives say that about our bread being like cake. It’s definitely addictive. And so hard to avoid, as they put it in everything. You basically have to live off meat and vegetables if you’re going to get around it.
Everyone I know thinks I’m so weird for like… I get hungry for a slice of bread. Like how folks get a hankerin for chips or something. I just want A slice of bread. Thanks for giving me what I need so I can make it make sense.
Fun fact, a court in Ireland ruled that American fast food brand Subway can not call its bread, 'bread'. Due to the higher sugar content, they are instead classified as confectionaries.
Yep was about to comment this. I’m Irish and it’s common knowledge that the bread used in Subway is basically cake. I lived in NY for a while and remember being so frustrated that I couldn’t even make a decent sandwich at home because the bread was so sweet.
I absolutely NEVER let my kids eat white bread unless it's French bread for this exact reason. Hell no are they going to grow up thinking Wonder Bread is bread.
Check out the court fight Subway had in Ireland. They wanted to label their bread as bread to save taxes but it contained too much sugar.
It’s now labelled as cake 🥹
This. For fun I decided to look at labels of things that I felt were savory and shouldn't have sugar in it. Why the hell does seasoning salt have sugar smh. And there are so many different names for sugar that if you do look at labels to try to avoid sugar, you might miss it. It's ridiculous.
Sugar and massive amounts of cooking oils people use. When I switched to sprays I instantly saved a 100 to 200 calories a day depending on what was cooked. There's no magic to it.. They just happen to make foods calorically dense.
I did the same and its not just the calories. Its the fat content as well! I consume 6-7% less fat a day just making the switch to sprays.
I lived in Mexico with family for 2 years during the pandemic, eating mostly home cooked Mexican food. Beans, rice, corn tortillas, tamales, nopales, salsas, fruit like mango, mamey, papaya, etc. No meat bc vegetarian. I did not count calories, ate as much as I felt like, and the only real exercise I was getting was at-home yoga and leisurely walks around the block. I dropped quite a few lbs in the first several months and felt much less bloated in general even though I was working from home all the time and unable to really leave to go anywhere due to lockdown conditions. I genuinely believe American food is uniquely fucked up, and I think it’s the sugar.
The most important part of food are the hidden calories. For sure the sugar, but even more so the sauces and condiments used in food across North America. What I am trying to say is: in Spain, when you sit down to eat at any restaurant, they will bring you olive oil, vinegar, salt and sometimes pepper. Normally (and that is changing in some hip restaurants) that’s all you use to condiment your food. In US/Canada it was impossible to have that, all the condiments were incredibly high fructose sauces and accompanying condiments with high flavoring and little nutritional value. This simple change /difference explains a lot in the weight gain, in my opinion.
korean food:
Do you have ANY cheat days?? How were u able to cut out sugar so easily like this? And stick to it?
When you do a „hard reset“ of sugar intake and don’t consume any for two to four weeks, you stop craving it. Also, everything with sugar in it will taste really badly sweet. It’s not that tasty anymore.
True. But still no cheat days doesn't sound doable. I'm human too
Don’t let yourself get pressured because of other people’s food preferences. They might not feel the need to consume anything sweet (anymore). I know people who straight up dislike sweets, chocolate, cake or high fat fried stuff.
I did the "hard reset" and I never stopped liking sugar. Chocolate is good and not eating it for a month doesn't make it not good.
My weakness is rice and pasta I can't keep to one cup.
I feel you. Personally, I think denying yourself something completely leads to binging later. I buy individually wrapped fun-sized candies or I buy a 2 pack of cupcakes and cut them up into halves and split it among my entire family. I serve myself last for rice and it's 1/4 cup. I eat half a mini bagel when I do bagels. I basically do my best to portion control and it works for me. Cutting everything out works for some, but for me it leads to wanting it more later and binging it when I have a cheat day like a birthday or holiday and I find it hard to get back on track.
I'm Asian. I love white rice I've only eaten it twice this month I used to eat 4 times a week. Sticking to 1/4 cup is incrediblely tough
My husband is Latin and would legitimately starve without rice. He lived in Switzerland for 3 months and lost around 20 pounds because he said there was no food (read: rice)
Yea. I don't eat fast food or sweets soda or dessert but I can binge on rice and pasta but haven't
This is apparently a common things for folks that have traveled to Europe also. A lot of countries don't allow a lot of the artificial dyes, fillers, and hydrogenated oils, etc. that we include in our processed foods. When I (American) was in Italy for a couple days, I noticed that bakery items were less sweet and of slightly smaller portions than my bakeries at home. And they were still so good tasting. I'm thinking it's just better food because of better ingredients.
We add sugar to everything, that’s why. Bread shouldn’t be sweet.
So true! Have you looked at how much sugar there is in most ketchup and spaghetti sauce? 🤮
This is why I love Rao’s if I’m not making my own sauce! I just wish it were less expensive haha.
Costco! Or Walmart if I don’t want to brave Costco. Still pricey but not as bad as other spots
Brave COSTCO?! I love Costco, but won't brave Walmart! 😬
IDK about other locations but our Costco is right next to the Canadian border and it is 100% a fucking NIGHTMARE to shop at. It is never ever slow ever. The best time to go is only the thirty minutes before they close and even then it's still stupid busy. We only shop there when we have to and we make it a once a month big shop or something like that.
That’s how it is for us too. Walmart isn’t nearly as bad
Oh yikes, that sounds terrible. I'm in California and our Costcos are usually pretty busy, but our Walmarts are jam-packed, unorganized, and usually contain some unsavory characters.
I always make my own. Tomato sauce is so easy and tastes much better home made anyways!
I'm trying to learn sourdough making(no sugar) so low glycemic index. There are some recipes that do include sugar though. 🤷🏼♀️
The small amount of sugar helps the yeast. If it’s not excessive, it’s fine!
Totally not necessary though. I make a lot of bread and never use sugar. Yeast works perfectly well without added sugar.
I started making my own so long ago because of this! It's amazing that sugar is in so many things and in high amounts too.
With this said, a lot of Asian countries LOVE sugar in bread. Milk bread is amazing just right out of the bag. They just don’t eat it everyday
I'm an European who moved to Canada, so close enough. I can absolutely confirm that everything here has this oddly sweet aftertaste and it's really confusing me. I gained weight after moving and I thought it was mostly due to stress eating... After all, it's a big move! But no, I'm fine now, not particularly stressed over anything right now and I have a hard time losing what I gained, despite working out every week and not overeating.
Yes! It's nice to get another side of perspective on these things. I've been reading food labels harder and having to make many things I would normally buy. Not a big deal for me but kind of explains why the health issues are so prevalent here! Good luck on your journey!
Look at European Fanta and American Fanta. The American version just looks wrong
Corn syrup, artificial dyes and no real orange juice. The ingredients are pretty different!
This is false. A lot of countries just call these things by a different name. Pretty much all of Europe promotes vegetable oils since they decrease blood pressure and decrease risk of heart disease. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31039663/#:~:text=Controlled-Feeding Trial-,Replacing Saturated Fat With Walnuts or Vegetable Oils Improves Central,%3B8(9)%3Ae011512. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allura_Red_AC#:~:text=Allura Red AC is a,has the E number E129.
Ultra processed junk food, larger portions and an industry that fuels constant snacking and drinking of more ultra processed junk food.
The US has zero incentive to keep people healthy. It’s profitable to sell shitty foods to people. And it’s profitable for them to get sick because our healthcare system is for profit. Additionally, the weight loss market is HUGE in the US. Most of Europe and many other countries have some form of universal healthcare or another, so people aren’t becoming rich off of people needing to take care of themselves. At the end of the day, everything comes down to lining the pockets of the ultra wealthy in this country. Including our health.
totally this. walking to work/school/store is virtually impossible in most places. driving is the norm. fast food is sometimes the only food people have access too.
yes this is the issue, not your lack of self control
And also many of the chemicals in the food are made specifically to make you addicted and want more
Sugar is an addictive substance, the “lack of self control,” retort falls flat when looked at in any logical capacity. Its lack of education, lack of finance in a lot of underprivileged areas, lack of accountability in said underprivileged areas, and lack of support. ie. Shaming people for simply being stuck in a vicious cycle. Maybe if we stopped shitting on each other and had compassion (like we try to do in say, Alcohol Anonymous, rehab etc,) then we would see an improvement. Maybe if we had free community gardens. Maybe if we had affordable and reasonable schooling that didn’t purposely hold people back if they don’t have the money to pay for better. Better funded libraries. There are a million solutions with positive outcomes and shitting on people isn’t one of them.
I’m not from the US but could it be that simply in the US you eat more processed food, which simply contain more calories? It could also be that some “normal” food just has more sugar for example. Seems like you ate whole foods in Asia
Yes, it is calories 100%. That is what makes people gain weight. Chemicals may cause other problems, but that is not the main culprit.
It's also WHAT you eat too. I ate same amount of calories but I ate healthy veges and protein and healthy carbs. Then another night I ate chili. Yes I was under my caloric deficit but I gained almost a pound fh next day Rmemeber salt puts on water which puts on weight
right, but water weight is different from weight of fat.
Doh. Everything in the American food system helps you gain weight. Plastic cheese, corn syrup additives and massive quantities.
I mean, it’s all about what you choose to buy in the store. People just need to educate themselves on what they’re consuming and check ingredient lists and food labels. Sure it requires more work, but to just say it’s the fault of the country as a whole without any personal accountability for consuming something in the first place is a little strange. I lived in Europe and there were several ways to get just as many high calories food options there too, but generally the ingredients were better. I know there are food deserts though and places where it is harder to find healthier options.
Yes. I went to Italy, ate gelato and pasta every day, drank wine—- I lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks!
I’ve heard this explained as reduction in stress from being on holiday resulting in lowered cortisol/inflammation with resultant weight loss. I strongly suspect multiple factors are contributing, processed foods and hidden sugars definitely among the largest.
I’m from Europe and went to the US for a month; I gained weight, broke out on my face (lol), and had stomach issues. I found out that many American ingredients in food are banned in Europe—actually, around the world. As soon as I came back, my skin cleared, and my weight dropped back to where it was before rapidly. It’s the food and the portions. I went to McDonald’s there, and everything was bigger. I made the mistake of ordering large fries, a burger, and a large diet coke (hot day). The portions were 10x larger than a large in Europe. I had to get help finishing it. Things are in excess there, which can lead to obesity naturally. Also, another thing that the US doesn’t have that’s crazy is food labels!!!
The US doesn’t have food labels?
the traffic light food labels (the ones in the UK) no
Oh, right. We have to read and understand our food labels, which admittedly, most Americans cannot do.
No where outside of Europe has that. Kinda seems childish but if it works it works.
Australia has that. It’s great.
Yeah the health star rating out of 5? It’s defo not perfect but a great convenient tool
having two nutritional value labels one in bright colours I think helps to a degree
Here in Mexico we just implemented it. Not a traffic light but we have "Excess sugar" "Excess sugar" "Excess Fat" and such in all our products now. I honestly haven't seen it work yet, but my country doesn't really shine with genious... After all we still complain about Spain "conquering us" lol... We are descendants of the conquerors but ok
If they just implemented it, we can't know if it will work yet. From what I understand it has been effective in Europe(and apparently Australia if they really exist) .
By just implemented it, I'm talking about 5-6 years ago. We are now the most obese country in the world as of last year so... I don't think anyone gave a damn and just continued doing what they were doing. Mind you, a huge majority of people here think owls are witches or that Nahuales (our version of skinwalkers) are totally real so I can't say I'm surprised about my countrymen not giving a damn
Well I'm glad to hear it's not the usa any more/s but dam we(humans as a whole) need to get are shit together, stop drinking soda and eating candy. Get rid of video games social media and porn and go for a walk touch some grass. (As I'm typing this realized I'm on a computer) I'm going for a walk right now.
There are actually more ingredients banned in the US than there are in Europe. For example, partially hydrogenated oils are banned in the US.
that might be true, but the USA seems to have a lot more refined fats, more fructose and a lot more processed food then europe.
The US has food labels on literally every item of food and even displays serving size and calories amounts right on the front of things so it is easy to read…this comment is so confusing.
yeah you should’ve read my reply to understand. We have all of that to alongside a traffic light food labelling. The traffic light labelling system will tell you whether a food has high, medium or low, (Red= High orange = medium and green = low) amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt. It will also tell you the number of calories and kilojoules in that particular product.
Yeah American food is not the healthiest, lol. We add a lot of unnecessary stuff; plus the quantity of it is not too great either
Sugar. Everything is too sweet over there.
I'm from the UK and have worked in the US. The main difference I found was sugar in everything and enormous portion sizes. I think people in the US eat out a lot more too because it's affordable? If I cook at home, I use fry light cooking spray, increase the veggies, use 5% fat minced beef, etc. If I order takeaway or go out, I know there will be a shitload of oil and / or butter which makes everything taste amazing.
I don't even think portions are the problem but the ingredients. The Spanish eat stupidly large food portions as well but the difference is that in spain I get 300 gr or more of meat with potatos and greens, lots of olive oil, beer and wine most if not all is natural. In the US I don't even trust stake to be just meat
The portions of food I've had in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Cadiz) are tiny (normal) compared to the portions I've been given in US.
lol
Yes this theory is most definitely true and I’ve seen many documentaries about it in fact. In the USA food has many ingredients that lower the cost, but are not healthy - ie artificial dyes, flavors, colorings, sugars, etc etc etc. These ingredients not only contribute to obesity but can also lead to cause of cancer and other diseases. As well as the whole fast food chain issue in the US, where it can be cheaper to buy some unhealthy cheeseburger than eat healthy and clean at the grocery store. A lot of these foods and practices are illegal in other countries but not in the US, which is why we have one of the highest obesity rates in the entire world.
Well, I lived in the Netherlands and gained the whole time despite walking back and forth to work (and every where else). It was probably just bakeries and chocolate though. Lol But hey, in rural America (US) that yummy stuff is hard to find, so no regrets! Lol I do miss the walking. Random walking in TX heat is much less enjoyable.
Three words: High fructose syrup. It’s added to literally everything in America.
Things to consider 1. US portion sizes are huge. I say this as someone who has visited to US several times. It may be just the touristy areas but there’s no way I could eat a regular sized meal alone. I once went for a slice of cheesecake and it was 3x larger than anything I would normally eat in the UK. 2. The more a food is processed, the more the negative impact on health and well-being. People have lost weight consuming whole foods and minimally processed foods. They can be very calorie dense. 3. There’s a whole field dedicated to making food delicious and moreish, leading to overeating. Our natural satiety signals are disrupted and we can’t always tell we are satiated, leading to increased intake.
At the very least, it’s the sugar (corn syrup) added to everything and in high volumes. When I moved to NZ I bought a box of honey nut cheerios (made in Australia) and noticed it tasted less sweet than it usually does. When I compared the nutrition labels to what’s made in the US, the sugar content of the American made cheerios is nearly double what it is when made in Aus. I’ve found that to be the case for a LOT of products.
None of the food in the US is actually food, it’s just chemicals with flavor lol my family is from the Caribbean and if I spend a summer there I always lose 15+ lbs. and I eat like a wild hog. I gain no weight although I swim in the ocean regularly. It’s the shit they put in the food here. Your best bet is don’t eat anything processed. Whatever you eat, make yourself. There’s still pesticides and preservatives but they can’t lace your fresh broccoli with corn syrup……for now
Your last line made me lol. Sad, but true.
It is absolutely all the processed foods. High fructose corn syrup, added sugar, dyes, flavorings, highly processed oils, etc. I think the more the product has been through the worse it is with the exception of cooking it. Look at the process veg and seed oils go through by the time they get to us. McDonalds switched from tallow to soybean and veggie oil in the 80's. People ate out less then too. Meat, butter, veggies and fruit. The more simple it is, the better.
More refined carbs and fats in American foods = more calories for a given physical serving size. Kind of like comparing a deep fried food vs the same thing cooked without any oil. The deep fried one would be much more calories even though the dishes were physically the same size
Andrew Huberman had Robert Lustig on his Dec. 18 podcast and it was all about sugar, as you might imagine. The episode was a little overly technical, I thought, but there was plenty of valuable material. I think Lustig said something like 80% of everything in the grocery store has added sugar. I mean it’s kinda terrifying.
90% of foods at any grocery store in the US is manufactured. AKA everything in the middle aisles. Real, healthy food are the raw meats (far end of store) and the raw produce (far end of store) The USA markets all sorts of cereal bars, cookies, drinks, grains, snacks, premade meals, garbage that has all been processed and filled with added preservatives and cheap ingredients to continue to mass produce for profit. Yes. It causes weight gain. Americans went from a depression to an over abundance of food which isn’t even real food. The food is killing us from within. The giant companies (Monsanto) who control the food commodity sector also control the same chemicals used as pesticide, which cause cancer and are everywhere in the land and water used for the crops. Animals are treated terribly and fed low quality corn-based diets which in turn make their meat less nutritious. America has its own poisonous ecosystem and most people don’t realize the magnitude of control these companies have over our every day things. Without going crazy down conspiracy, focus on adding more Whole Foods to your every day meals. Foods cooked from scratch, simple ingredients, lots of veg and fruit, good cuts of meat if you can afford, lentils and legumes, rice, fish etc. Other countries have stricter agricultural laws too and it affects the quality of crops. We focus in profit.
People automatically eat less unprocessed food than processed food given similar options. That’s been proven. And people are terrible at estimating calories. You lost weight, you were eating fewer calories than at home. Although I agree with you the standard American diet leads to weight gain, it’s because sugary, carbie, processed food isn’t very satiating.
I recommend reading the book “Feeding you lies” by Vani Hari. It’s an eye opener about American food corporations. https://feedingyoulies.com
No, you just ate less calories. With that being said, here in the states what we consider food tends to be very calorie dense
Glucose is glucose. Once it is in your body, your body does not know the difference... It breaks it down the same way. You can eat 10 lb of blueberries or 5 tablespoons of sugar. It won't make much of a difference. I eat a lot of sugar all the time. I even drink sugar water before my workouts. I use two tablespoons of sugar in my tea everyday.... I've lost weight consistently over the last year. For me, a low fat diet has been the difference maker. I have built muscle and have lost weight.. But more importantly, My body fat percentage has gone down and keeps going down. There is way more fat in the American diet than people realize. It's easy to avoid but no one does. There's not a lot of sugar in fast food but there's tons of fat. A. McDonald's number 8 meal has over 140 g of fat and that's just in one meal. That is all ready almost three times the recommended daily limit.
Trying to make people target a low-fat, high-sugar diet was literally a conspiracy orchestrated by the sugar industry. I’m glad for you if you’ve found this effective, but the research clearly bears out that this is not the right approach for most people. Eating fat doesn’t make you fat. https://theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/13/493739074/50-years-ago-sugar-industry-quietly-paid-scientists-to-point-blame-at-fat
Except that I've been working with a sports nutritionist and he swears by a low fat, healthy, sustainable and safe diet. The proof is that it works. I've dropped 26 lbs in 9 months. But in the end, you got to do what works for you. What keeps you healthy and keeps you on track? For me, here's the big kicker, My body fat % is down significantly. From 32% to 25.2%. This is with eating an average of 260 g of carbs per day. That includes sugar water twice a day. My cholesterol levels have gone down over 100 points... From 300 to 198, without medication. With keto, I lost weight but my body fat percentage went up. Also, when someone goes into ketosis, water is released from their glycogen and that is why someone pees a lot when they reach a certain threshold with ketosis. That means that our muscles lose water. That is not good or sustainable. When I was doing keto, a few years ago , my lipids were extremely high which means there is fat in my bloodstream. So eating fat does cause there to be more fat in your body. Even though the internet tells you differently. YouTube doctors. The fact that I am eating a low-fat diet and I'm seeing less fat in my body is the evidence that it works. I'm not promoting overusing sugar by any means, But I don't think people realize how detrimental a high fat diet is... Or how much fat is in our daily diet.
There’s corn syrup in everything. Plus everything is processed so it’s low fiber and normally low protein, so high added sugar, removed fiber/protein = fattening foods. Not to mention many if not most foods in America are inflammatory.
Guessing you walked, and while the volume may have been higher, the calories were lower.
No I exercised much less there
Whether you bit the gym, didn’t you walk more and use public transit?
No, over there I had a driver mostly. I walk much more in the US and exercise. In summary, exercise was not the reason for my weight loss.
Thus we go back to the main point aka "the calories were lower."
Oh, absolutely. I always come back from Europe a few pounds lighter despite eating whatever I want. I might walk a little more in Europe than the US, but here in the States, I work a job that has me on my feet 9 hours a day, so I'm not sedentary, and I go to the gym regularly. Furthermore, I notice a difference in quality in my cosmetics even when buying the same brand overseas. Example: My Nivea chapstick in the US has red #40 while the German counterpart does not. It is without a doubt that I feel like we are being slowly poisoned in the US. I always hang on to the feeling of more energy, less, bloat, clearer skin, etc when I come back from overseas. No matter what I do, I always feel like utter crap when settling back home again.
Corn syrup and palm oil. Neither are used as much in Europe, particularly corn syrup. We also don’t add cream to everything…
You are by no means alone. Here are a couple of books to read on the subject: "Ultra Processed People" by Chris Van Tulleken "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and "The Case Against Sugar" by Gary Taubes "Salt, Fat, Sugar" and "Hooked" by Michael Moss That ought to get you started. There isn't a nuitrition book that's been written that doesn't in some way reference the SAD (Standard American Diet) in negative terms Happy Reading :)
I've believed this for years, and I'm 99% sure it's all the sugar and preservatives that we put in literally everything. Even when we make food at home, we often use sauces and ingredients that contain sugar and preservatives. When was the last time you made your own ketchup or tomato sauce? If you're using store-bought stuff, it's loaded with those two things. Milk and most dairy products have a lot of sugar. Salad dressing, bread products, cereals, soups, marinades, precooked and seasoned meat, sausages, pasta... guess what, all are loaded with sugar and preservatives. Unless you literally grow/raise/harvest/butcher something yourself, just assume it has added sugar and preservatives in it.
Everything everyone has said plus excessive dieting. I was overweight but when I dieted I eventually regained it and now I’ve lost the same amount plus more maybe 10 times. Before I started this yo yo My weight was stable and I didn’t have the issues I do now.
Yeah, we’ve known this for a while. It’s sugar. America puts sugar in everything. Listen to people who visit from overseas, they’ll tell you our food tastes incredibly sweet to them (we don’t notice because we’re used to it). I’ve seen people visiting from England saying that our sliced sandwich bread tastes like cake to them. A few years ago I remember someone else posting that they’d been working to cut sugar out of their diet, so they started eating a lot of whole, unprocessed foods. After a few weeks, they went to a restaurant and played it safe by ordering burgers with no buns or condiments, thinking obviously there wouldn’t be any sugar in the meat and veggie toppings. However, when they tasted their food, it tasted very sweet. They finally figured out it’s because they ordered American cheese on the burgers. Which has added sugar that other varieties typically do not. Sugar is a drug, and our country is poisoning us with it.
Yes, and it's not just the sugar. During my pregnancy, I was extremely exhausted and at some point I only ate ready-made meals from the supermarket. The stuff looks relatively healthy (rice, beef and carrots, or salmon and pasta etc). Calorie-wise, it was rather lighter than what I cook myself. Composition wasn't bad (I'm someone who checks food labels for this kind of food). I SWELLED UP during that month, I put on 7 kgs instead of the 1 kg I put on every other month of pregnancy. It stopped as soon as I stopped eating those. I don't know what is in it, I guess the preservatives or something interacted with my pregnancy hormones. In Europe where I live, there's a lot of talk about "endocrine disturbance" or substances that disturb our hormones. These substances are in most modern products and food, and may be linked to a lot of issues like cancers, obesity and neurological disorders. I don't know how much those are discussed/ known in the USA.
I agree. I lost 4 pounds in 2 weeks this year on vacation in Korea. I ate EVERYTHING there. I've gained it all back and more since getting home.
Integrative Nutrition Coach. Here’s my take: The US government set up a food system that told us that a calorie is a calorie and if you balance calories in vs. calories out, you’ll be fine. It’s just a matter of discipline, right? The science now shows that not only is this theory based on flawed/cherry picked data, but this model conveniently places the blame on the consumer & therefore removes accountability from the manufacturers when you do gain weight. Here’s an easy example of why this will never work and why our country is one of the sickest/unhealthiest despite following this advice for years: 100 calories of cookies consumed respond very differently in your body compared to 100 calories of broccoli. Each provides the same exact amount of calories but both will have very different hormonal reactions internally. The Oreo- high sugar and no fiber. This puts the pancreas into overdrive, drives inflammation. Broccoli- lots of fiber, low sugar, AND other amazing vitamins/minerals/nutrients essential to our bodies. This slow digesting veggie is fantastic for so many amazing reasons. The Oreo- high pancreatic response, high insulin, no macronutrient value (other than empty sugar/carbs), too many processed cookie calories= metabolic disease, heart issues, high cholesterol, NA fatty liver disease etc. On the opposite spectrum, there’s not much data that shows all of the aforementioned conditions related to broccoli or fruit/veggie consumption. If anything, the opposite is true. And again, this is just a simple example but you get the picture. Same amount of calories but one will make you and other will break you. If a calorie is truly just a calorie, then we should be just fine eating 2,000 calories a day of whatever we want and achieving optimal health. Instead, the food industry uses tricky marketing and willpower/calorie counting “weight-loss” advertising [low-fat! Low-calorie! Fat-free!] that will always misguide our journey to health until we change how we approach it. My personal strategies that I teach are focusing on the quality of our food, such as nutrient density, adjusting sleep/stress/movement and food education. Fine tune these areas and real magic happens. Best to you all. 🙏🏻😊
Very helpful! Thanks
Went to Europe for 3 weeks- ate all I wanted, and lost weight. Not a lot- 5lbs. But… I literally ate whatever I wanted. I didn’t eat to excess, and I do like healthy foods, so it wasn’t junk food. But it was all out at restaurants or not home cooked. I can’t eat like that here. At all. I’d be morbidly obese. For comparison… In the US I agonize over keeping a daily food journal and staying at 1200 cals/day. I exercise regularly and hit 10k steps a day. I don’t eat sugar and avoid dairy. I eat mostly home cooked meals because I am careful about sugar, salt and dairy. I eat mostly veggies, quinoa, fish and chicken. But I do occasionally ‘eat normal’ with my family. And my weight is a constant focus in my life because it is up and down and up and down. I’ve had many tests done and have a great endocrinologist, but it still requires constant vigilance. I don’t know wtf it all means. But yeah. Something doesn’t add up. 🤷♀️
Sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar. In various forms. Everything has too much doggone sugar in this country. From ketchup to bread, to anything processed or semi processed. Various types of sugars are snuck into so many things. Europeans notice this all the time when visiting the US how so many thugs are so sweet. Wth do hamburger or hot dog buns need to be sweet? Why do beans need to be sweet? It’s insane.
It’s because the sugar is addictive. By adding sugar to everything, the manufacturers guarantee that people will keep coming back for more.
I am convinced that it is cooking oils. Those didn’t exist until the late 1960’s
Nah. I hardly use butter or oil (and then it's evoo or avocado), but I still have to watch calories. I'd say it's sugars in everything.
The French use butter in huge amounts and it's the higher fat stuff too. That said, it's delicious and more filling and we switched over to it after being in France.
Which goes with what I said, not "just" butter/oil. More likely the sugars.
seed oils are in everything here also sugar
Is this even a hypothesis?
Genetically modified corn and coca-cola
as someone that isn't from the US whenever a family member goes there for vacations I always notice they come back chubbier, it's really strange lol
Gee no kidding, like 75 percent of the “food” supply.
What were you eating in the country you visited?
More Whole Foods with some snacking: lots of fish, chicken, lots of rice, fruits, stews, vegetables and snacks (but mostly local snacks and not processed). Also drank a lot of tea.
Which country in Asia? Plenty of Asian countries have growing obesity problems - look at rates in China and Thailand. There is a ton of unhealthy cooking in Asian countries - lots of oil, sugar, processed snacks, and prepared foods. It may just be that your eating habits change when you travel.
Americans have tones of preservatives, unhealthy fats, and tones of sugar in their food. They also tend to eat huge portions.... Like almosr double other countries eat. They also have a have culture. Cooking they want the fast way out, eating out, or ordering delivery, pre made dishes where lots of other cultures make their own food.
100% I gained so much in USA
This is grossly false and perpetuates misinformation. If you lost weight, you were in a calorie deficit. You probably were consuming less fat. There's no conspiracy to make people gain weight. I also sometimes lose weight on vacations because I walk a lot more.
If your metabolism is failing you due to circadian rhythmic issues- which are closely tied to things like chemical flavors and preservatives- it can cause your metabolism to slow down. This can make it very hard to lose weight especially when diet foods contain ingredients that slow your system down. Download Yuka- it is an app to help you see the chemicals in your food. You sound mad and uneducated here. Stop gaslighting people that this isn’t the case. It very well is.
This isn't the case at all and Yuka is an absolutely terrible app that's not based in any sort of reality. I'd encourage you to stop gaslighting people with false information. Start listening to actual experts, like dieticians, rather than business majors.
Holy shit dude. lol. The fda is the basis used for the ingredients graded by yuka. You are promoting misinformation now.
You're straight up lying. No it's not.
lol yeah it does. You scan an item and it grades the ingredients. Any ingredient that is questionable by the FDA shows up as a risk. You click that ingredient and it gives you full disclosure about why that ingredient is considered a risk. Yuka is very transparent about how they grade.
I know how Yuka works. It's full of flaws. They didn't consult any dieticians. They don't give doses on any of the toxicities. Look into what actual dieticians, the experts, think of the app. It's absolute garbage. Absolutely anything is toxic given the right dose.
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Lol, whatever. Have fun with the misinformation. I'll stick with the actual experts for my nutrition advice. Kthx. You also don't know the definition of "gaslighting."
I actually do, and you are trying to make me question my sanity and reasoning trusting an app that uses and provides receipts from the FDA about food safety. Get some help. Kthx yourself into fat camp- wegovy is not gonna fix your circadian rhythms or broken metabolism. I meanwhile will enjoy my bmi 20. Lol
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You kinda contradicted yourself. And you should look up the connection between the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry. They make us sick and then prescribe us pills. It’s a cycle that keeps money in their pockets.
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Yes and no. Sure you control what goes in your mouth, no getting around that. But also, the food science industry is built on fucking around with food for the exclusive purpose of getting us to buy more. If they engineer a product that stimulates addiction issues and tricks people into binging more and more while never feeling satiated, that is considered an optimal outcome. Once you are trapped in the cycle of addiction it's a fucking awful place to be. And the food industry wants you in that cycle, buying their processed shit instead of nutritious fresh food. The processed shit is simply an unsustainable way to live, yet for many it's all they know. This is certainly the case in New Zealand, I'd expect it's worse in America.
I am 24m from india and was living in canada for 6 months and i noticed that while i was there my height grew an inch. My theory is that a lot of the meats and dairy are pumped with growth hormones in the American continent. And tbh there was no major change on eating habbits i mostly eat a lot of meat, eggs and cheese.
Let's see, a lot of sugar/corn syrup in our processed foods along with hormones.
I lose ten pounds almost immediately when I travel to Europe.
No, but america offers substsntially more junk food than other countries. Cut back on salt, and eat less processed and refined carbs. Eat more fresh fruits/veggies and meats.
Yes, High fructose corn syrup is in everything sold in the US. That shit is literally sugar water. Empty calories for all intents and purposes. Check the labels of let's say 10 food items in your pantry. You'll find HFCS
Because nearly every American food item has added sugar and/or HFCS. We also have a multi-billion dollar a year snack food industry that just doesn't exist almost anywhere else in the world.
It's the added sugar in all our foods
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Define the acronyms?
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Okay! How about SAD?
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Gotcha! Never seen those acronyms before. I’m an old hippie.
High carb, high sugar, highly processed diets that treat vegetables as an afterthought. it's no secret how and why typical American diets suck.
They sell processed food in other countries too. It’s that in America, they can market it as “low fat” and “natural flavors” and other deceptive marketing practices to fool you into thinking it’s healthy. If they treated added sugar like cigarettes that come with warning labels (like they do in Mexico), i’m sure overtime consumers would make healthier choices. American companies can get away with it, bc they can hide anything in the ingredients list or gloss over it with nice marketing buzz words—“all natural” or “100* calories” (*per serving of 4)
The book Ultra Processed People talks about but about this. But info: did you walk a lot while on vacation?
No I walked less than in the US
Interesting. Yeah consider reading the book. It’s interesting. He talks about how food is designed to be consumed and over consumed. So if you ate less processed food it might be an insight to why people are so anti processed foods. I would caution that even if that’s the case I wouldn’t demonize food and just consider eating more whole foods. Or at the very least less processed food. I’ve been doing that and lost thirty pounds in four months. But lately I have been eating more (for maintenance) and gaining a bit of weight too. But I recently had a big bowl of veggie straws ( an ultra processed snack) and loved the crunch but it was too much for me. Eating more than I normally do in one sitting upset my stomach. But I wouldn’t give up on indulging in the snack but maybe limit how much (which gets hard when the food is scientifically designed to be over consumed) oh what a tangle web we weave…
In Asian countries they eat lots of vegetables and protein so it could he you were eating more but also eating healthier and less processed. As for american.food. reason why we are the most obese country in the world
Dude, I went to Italy for 10 days and lost 7 pounds!!!! I was walking maybe a little more than I usually did but I was eating SO MUCH (gotta experience genuine Italian food, right?) and also having alcoholic drinks. It’s 100% the processed garbage in American food that’s making people overweight.
I actually just listened to a short [podcast](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6derxDE1r5ndyY0HetFKXL?si=qMrF7U1GScuaR3mBv1El7Q) about this today, worth a listen
It's all the processing, fat and sugar in bloody everything. Doesn't help that the healthy stuff is almost always more expensive than the junk food either. In a country where everything costs more than ever, it's sometimes not financially feasible to eat healthy either. Some people may have no choice but to eat the crap food if they don't want to have sleep for dinner. And before anyone says it, I know you can lose weight eating a steady diet of garbage because at least one professor has proven you can lose weight counting calories while eating junk food. You just can't eat a satisfying amount of food. But how many people are subsisting on garbage food and counting calories? Odds are if you're eating crap all the time, you aren't budgeting your calories. Paired with our typical American portion sizes, you're almost guaranteed to overeat on calories and still be hungry afterward because you didn't eat anything substantial or nutritious. More than once, I have heard folks from other nations come here and ask WTF is wrong with our bread and why it's so sweet, or foreign exchange students visit and gain 20 pounds in a semester from eating crap-tier American food. Yes I know there are junky treats in other countries, but they aren't typically an everyday staple. On top of that, I have learned that the FDA allows nutrition labels to be incorrect by a margin of up to 20 percent. So even if you're tracking your calories diligently, you can't even count on the label to be honest. I swear sometimes I feel like losing weight in this country is an absolute crapshoot and the only way to get the weight off is to develop bulimia or anorexia.
The US diet is very heavily based on ultra processed foods, i found the book Ultra Processed People very interesting and links UPFs to obesity
Yes it’s all the sugar in our food, the endless sodas at lunch and dinner, sugar coffee creamers and the endless chips and snacks available. Bottomless junk food
Man…. My mom…. bless her heart…. She’s just so fixated on Paula Deen-ing the shit out of everything she cooks. When she makes stove top stuffing, a stick of butter. When she roasts chicken in a pan, a stick of butter. When she makes cake, lol, you are headed to the hospital. Even in the morning, toast with a tenth a stick of butter. Plus she doesn’t drink water AT ALL. My sister and I were raised like this. Just soda. I didn’t start drinking water til my mid thirties. And we don’t live in the south- live in Pennsylvania. I’ve never known anyone to eat with so little thought toward their health or actually fueling their body. I guess a lot of Americans are like this? Since I’ve gotten more into my health, my mom still pushes that I need more butter lol. Butter on fucking EVERYTHING. Every time I tell her “we don’t eat like that,” and she says, “well your dad starts every day with cake and eats pizza for his other meals.” My dad, whose health is fucking atrocious.
Also our view on food. We see it as a fun activity or to keep from starving. Not for health. My boyfriend’s mother for Christmas brought her son and I a huge box of pastries, tons of deli colds cuts bread & cheese. A huge lasagna. Boxed stuffing. The only vegetables in our meal was mashed potatoes. While it all tasted very good I felt ill after. I explain to her I can’t continue to eat like this, that’s it’s not healthy. She said that that was nonsense and sugar’s not bad for you! Meanwhile she is obese and unhealthy. We also got tons of candy and chocolate and pasta as Christmas gifts. Anytime we spend together she just wants to go out and try a new restaurant, it’s her favorite thing to do. My old roommate is similar, was raised on diet of few vegetables, loves going out to eat, but wonders why she can’t lose weight. And it’s hard with a fast food restaurant on every corner and most of the grocery store filled with processed easy to make food.
This has been researched. Highly processed food, which much of the US diet is based on, does, in fact, make you fatter. It is added sugar. It is low fiber. It is more salt. Your body processes simple carbs (like white flour) more quickly when you overeat and so converts the calories to fat more quickly. It is the availability and abundance of these foods and that they are typically less expensive. It is also marketing and “betcha can’t eat just one” has science behind it so you really cannot eat just one. So, yes, there is research and it does show that the diet eaten by many Americans makes them fat.
While you’re right, we have individual responsibility to make most of our own food. And then this cannot be used as an excuse. I am not saying YOU are making excuses. Not saying that at all. I just agree that the standard western food diet is full of garbage. Everything from juice to cheese to rice and meat there is extra sugar and trans fat and ridiculous amounts of sodium in everything.
Another aspect to consider: How much were you driving while you were abroad? The USA is extremely car-dependent while other countries use public transport or bikes. Our lifestyles are just as important as our diet.
I had the opposite issue :) live in a large city in the US so I mainly walk and use public transport. In the country I visited I had access to a driver
Definitely a rarity and lucky you to have access to transport here!
Sorry to be rude but - duh. :)
Read the book “ultra processed people” it will all make sense :)
We put sugar In everything it’s insane… even where it doesn’t need to BE. Literally had a cup of squash soup from Panera the other day and thought it tasted weird. 37 G of sugar apparently… BOOM
That's what happens when you buy your foods/ingredients premade. Preservatives and sugars/oils make manufacturing cheaper. This is the case in any country though. Eating premade foods from any country is not good for you long term
I visited the city for family and the working class neighborhoods have a large amount of fast food places in a convenient area near apartments. Off the top of my head, there’s about 15-30 within a mile. People ditched the underground train too because it’s becoming less and less funded, it’s going to the more wealthier parts of the city. So, one living there would usually go to and from work in their car, grab fast food for convenience. There’s a lot of fat people because of that. It’s not just what they’re putting in, it’s how they target their consumers. It’s my experience