www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall A Perverse Chuckle

Looks like we Americans just cause trouble everywhere, doesn't it?

oversized [msnbc.msn.com]

Now we are trying to destroy the QM II

Can we even begin to imagine how the rest of the world sees us?
No, I thought not...

This is so sad. Gluttony and sloth are sins, and in the majority of cases that is what contributes to extreme obesity in the U.S.

Our perceived 'coveted' lifestyle, with all its implications, is what has done us in! However, I don't see our lifestyle as 'superior' to that of others at all...

If you go to foreign countries, you will see heavy people, but NEVER obese people.

On a tour group in Italy, where we were lavished with the most gourmet three course meals in the best restaurants of Rome and Florence, yet the few American men in the group, complained that the food wasn't enough! (Italians do not eat the enormous portions served in some chain Italian restaurants here...besides, food is relatively expensive there)

My son went to Japan with an American group for course credit this summer, and sure enough, there was an older American couple in the group complaining that the food wasn't enough!

At the Olympic stadium at this summer in Athens, the American correspondents complained that there wasn't enough food! It seems that the local fast food vendors (fast food, Greek style: round cheese pies which Greeks eat on the go for a light lunch for instance) had not predicted the voracious American appetite! Where as a local will eat one, the Americans wanted to eat four or five!!

It is so predictable, that it is humorous, but at the same time very, very sad.

Daniel/Iconophile--on this topic, I agree wholeheartedly with your statement.

In Christ,
Alice

Dear Friends,

Be carefull! Have you noticed how American restaurant's food portions are getting larger?
Apparently diners want more food.

I try to avoiding "cleaning my plate" (sorry Mom) when dining out. Instead I eat a comfortable portion then take the rest home and have a meal of it later.

A friend of mine, who is a priest, alway leaves a portion of food on his plate as a reminder to avoid glutony.

Paul

Gluttony is such an easy trap to fall into.

It's hard to escape when all the adults around you (in my case, my parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, etc.) are telling you to "clean your plate" and "don't you want seconds?" and "you don't eat enough; you're just gonna wither away."

There is no doubt is my mind I am very gluttonous. I have an extremely active metabolism and play sports and really don't have an ounce of fat on my body. Might sound like a good thing, but when one can stuff oneself like I do and not gain weight, it's all the more temptation for gluttony.

Sometimes I wish my metabolism would slow down so that I would get what I deserve. I think it's easier to amend oneself when one suffers repercussions.

I'm not saying I eat myself out of house and home or go to grotesque extremes, but I do, oftentimes, eat food even after I'm not hungry anymore.

Logos Teen

In many Southeast Asian cultures, it is a sign of disrespect to clean one's plate if one is a dinner guest. You are, in essense, saying that the host cannot feed you enough.

That's funny. I've always been taught that, when a dinner guest, you should clean your plate no matter if you hate everything on it or else it's like saying (pardon my age-appropriate expression) "Your food and cooking ability suck, Mrs. X."

Logos Teen

It's quite normal for active teenagers to burn lots of calories and have a very high metabolism. I did, too, when I was in my teens. As you age, that metabolism slows and it becomes easier to put on weight. I find I have to exercise like a maniac these days to not put on pounds, but I have always liked exercise, so it isn't a problem. But don't wish for the slower metabolism, you'll eventually get it whether you want it or not.

Charles,

You sound like a clone of my dad!

My mom says, "Honey, I'm so worried that you don't eat enough blah blah blah..."

My dad says, "You're gonna have to really exercise when your metabolism starts slowing down! You need to work out more often! You need to blah blah blah..."

As you can see, it's pretty easy to throw my parents' chatter aside, since they've already divided and conquered for me!

Logos Teen

Dear Garrett:

We, parents, are here purposely to "divide and conquer" you hardheaded teens!

Failing that, as we usually do, we go "on strike," like the couple in Florida against their 17-year old son and 12-year-old daughter.


Amado

Dear-in-Christ Logos Teen,

Not everyone's metabolism is the same, so there is a chance that you will be able to eat whatever you want and still not become overweight or have any other related problems. But, it is risky to try it and see. Your dad is probably talking from his own experience. I am old enough to be your father, I'll tell you about my aging, weight etc.

I ate as much as I wanted and whatever I wanted until my mid-twenties. I weighed my ideal weight (in all the charts the list ideal weight by height) until then. In my late-twenties I started gaining. It got worse after thirty and even worse after 35.

Maybe part of it is less exercise, I'm not sure, but I didn't exercise back then either. On the flip-side my cholesterol is good. That is surprising for me, usually excess weight and high cholesterol go hand-in-hand but not always.

Oh well, anyway, coming from someone who was there and didn't listen and wishes he could go back and fix it, I just wanted to share this with you.

Tony

Garrett, what are parents for besides dividing and conquering? At the age of 57, I am more concerned about the calories than when I was younger. So I do weights 4 days a week, 300 crunches per day, 200 side crunches, and walk. Of course, I am an organist and we have to live like athletes to play that physically demanding instrument. I think genetics can work against you. My early childhood memories are of my furniture-crunching aunts. I recall one sitting on a small bench and flattening it to the ground with the legs flying in all directions of the compass. It's funny now, but really scared me at the age of 3. So a piece of advice from an old guy - eat everything you want now and enjoy it. The sins of the flesh are the best kind - chocolate, twinkies, etc.

Dear Friends,

I don't think you should blame yourselves for obesity.

There are lots of places in the world that dream of having your problems!

Ukraine is one of them . . .

Alex

While gluttony is a sin and the numbers of overweight people in the US indicate that this must be at the root of a lot of the problem, we must be wary about looking down on obese people.
My wife, at 30, and after four children, is slender as can be, and she eats whatever she wants, in large quantities.[I am sure other women secretly hate her]. She just has that kind of metabolism. I often joke to her that if her metabolism ever changes she is going to be huge. Other people can eat moderately and still grow fat..

Paul:

Loretta and I have solved the problem of large restaurant portions. We use one of two strategies when we dine out.

One way is to agree on a main course and ask for an extra plate, dividing it in half and eating a larger salad.

The other way is to immediately ask for a take-out box and divide the main dish before we even begin to eat. Half goes home for the next time we come home too late to cook.

We decided to do some of these things after trying to order "lunch portions," only to find that they, too, were huge. Fortunately some places are now offering "half portions" that are truly half.

BOB

BTW, there is another downside to this problem. My sister-in-law, a retired nurse, is suffering some terrific back problems from having to move larger and larger people around in the hospital setting. I myself became disabled after moving two people around one night who were twice my weight.