Much more likely – remember what we said about the insulin sensitivity and inflammation. But, carbs are not the main reason you get fat, they are a large part of the equation. It’s the snacking, the boredom, the less activity through computers and the fast food culture we have created to a big degree too.
Carbohydrates are guilty, no doubt, but not enough in my opinion to place people on a “low to no” carb diet. I remember growing up in the ’60s when carb wasn’t a four letter word. I came from a poor family that lived on white bread and plenty of jam when I was a kid. Supermarkets were just starting to appear and you still bought real bread from the bread man, vegetables and fruit from the guy who would come around once a week with his truck, and dairy products from the milkman, remember those days?
Supermarkets were hardly “super”, they sold a few tinned foods, a few packaged goods and chewing gum even had real sugar in it, none of that “artificial” rubbish that many of the foods you buy today contain. And then the lady would pack the lot up in a large brown paper bag too.
Fly buys and reward points were unheard of, no incentives, no Eftpos, zero “convenience” – just food and you pay cash. I’ll bet your grandparents probably ate double the carbs and fat than you do today, yet they certainly didn’t live in a society that had to accommodate persons with bigger seats in airplanes and larger hospital beds that can take up to 500 kgs or more.
The problem with supermarkets today is that they can potentially “supersize” your waistline by enticing you to buy everything in the one spot. Look at your trolley carefully, do you buy what you came to buy, or do you leave with that packet of iced pinky buns or that slab of chocolate or bottle of fizzy because it was only 99 cents? Maybe you are the “a quick treat” at the checkout type of person?
That is not to say that the modern supermarket today does not offer you a healthy choice, the one I shop in has probably a better selection of health foods than your local health food shop. That fault is NOT with the supermarket, it is with how we buy and what we buy. Treats are fine occasionally, but that is what they are…… treats!
Carb foods are often the quick to eat snack foods for many folk that generally smell or look good and satisfy the inner child, don’t you think?
Back in the ’60s food was just about eating, and today many of the carb treats you now consume were cleverly thought out by food psychologists who know (and get paid BIG money) to entice your inner child all the way to the till. Don’t fall for it any more than those “60 months interest free” deals. I still buy my meat at the butcher, my fruit and veges at the growers and the rest at the supermarket.
Is it the lifestyle?
It is not the fat or carbs; it is what we eat, how we eat it and how our lifestyle is based around our eating habits that is the real problem.
The problem is this: we are consuming additional calories from more refined flours, processed foods as well as a lot more sugar over the past 10 years. The reason for the rise in obesity is no mystery: many are still eating a high-calorie, refined carb and high-fat diet. More people today than ever before rely on “quick feeds”, the take-away or convenience foods. You’d be surprised to see how many different types of sugars are available today, and how much food you eat that really does contain sugar in one form or another. People perceive table sugar as sugar, but what about pasta, sugar and even potatoes? Yes – they all contain sugars.
Lifestyle convenience: Additionally, we all love our labour saving devices; we now do less activity than we did even 5 years ago. So we don’t even burn up all those additional calories anymore. Remember the old days, when your car had windows which you wound down manually and your toothbrush had no vibrating buttons to push? Way back people didn’t have to push buttons; they pushed play and didn’t need TV advertising to tell them. The more you move your body, the more you stimulate your metabolism, its as simple as that.
I want you to think WHY you want to lose weight. Is it to look good? Is it not to feel embarrassed when summer comes around? Many people focus on the look aspect, some on the feel aspect, but unfortunately not many focus on the health aspect. Here are five of the best reasons.
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