Counting Calories

My best friend has just begun an incredibly daunting task: counting calories. Whatever the end goal may be, from losing weight to looking good for spring break, we soon learned that counting calories can take over your life. No more random snacking throughout the day, no more chocolate chip cookies, and no more late night snacks.

When you count your calories, you become extremely aware of how much you really eat in one day. Everything really adds up by, which made it seemingly impossible for my friend to stay under 1220 net calories a day. She has to record every little thing that she consumes, from every sip of coke to each meal, and is constantly thinking about it.

So this got me thinking. Why does dieting or counting calories take over our lives? Why is it that when we diet, it is all that we think about? What gives it that power?

In short, we are controlled by the food that we eat, and cannot eat for that matter. Most of us who diet or count calories have an end goal in mind, like a specific weight or a size to fit in to, and will do anything, even count every single calorie consumed, to achieve it. I hope that my friend doesn't get too obsessed with counting calories, as it can easily spin out of control.

The thing that can be the most dangerous about counting calories is the guilt that it causes. Having a bowl of ice cream after dinner makes you feel awful when you are finished, or going 100 calories over you limit can ruin your whole day. Guilt or bad feelings can lead to more serious issues that may even risk your life.

So a word of advice, when you decide to count calories or diet, know that you are in control of your food, and your food is not in control of you.

Peace out, and rock on.

Weight: a Paradox

Recipe of the Week: Poori - my favorite Indian food from my trip!

During my trip to India, as incredible as it was, one of the most heartbreaking things I experienced was the poverty. It was hard to see little kids running up to me and pull on my shirt, begging for money and motioning to their mouths for food and young mothers using their young babies to evoke one's sympathy and therefore money.

But something that I noticed about the poverty in India was their weight. Everyone was extremely thin, showing evidence of their malnutrition. In addition to this, you could tell which people were wealthy, also by their weight. People with enough money to adequately feed themselves were heavier and sometimes even overweight, while the people in poverty were thin. Now, this isn't always the case, of course, but it seemed to be a general trend.

I found this extremely interesting, because back at home, it seems to be just the opposite. People who don't have enough money to feed themselves are resorted to buying the cheapest foods, which often is unhealthy and heavily processed. On the other hand, wealthy people can afford to buy much healthier foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, and can therefore afford to stay thin.

This trend is not something radically new; in fact it is described in the book The Fattening of America: How the Economy Makes Us Fat, If It Matters, and What to Do About It by Eric Finkelstein and Laurie Zuckerman. The book covers many, many topics regarding the power and influence of food and obesity in our society today, but relating to this post, it specifically discusses how much cheaper it is to be fat than it is to be thin. In tough economic times, more and more people are turning to the cheapest food out there: unhealthy, greasy, and overall fattening.

A little more about the book, its main message is the link between America's obesity and our economy. According to the authors, obesity is actually improving the economy. The book coined the term "the ObesEconomy" which refers to the new markets and services caused by the increase in obesity.

Overall, I found the book to be extremely informative, giving a new and fresh perspective on the fattening of America, and filled with fun stories from the authors. It is definitely worth the read.

Peace out, and rock on.