Article: Meals Give Way to Grazing

Noturningback · Post by **Noturningback** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 11:27 pm

Sit-down meals give way to days of grazing

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industrie ... zing_x.htm

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 12:01 am

You know that's really scary.

Starbucks as a meal replacement? Good god...

I know Reinhard cautions against "nutritionism" and he's got a point, but Sweet Baby Jesus, having a latte instead of a meal is SCARY.

And don't even get me started on the 1,000 calorie Cinnabon roll. I mean, don't get me wrong, I bought some Ben and Jerry's ice cream for treat tomorrow, but I'm probably gonna have a custard cup full after dinner tomorrow night and call it good.

We have really become disconnected from how to nourish ourselves.

lmt2pt · Post by **lmt2pt** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 12:23 am

"It's better than a candy bar."

Um, not really.

CrazyCatLady · Post by **CrazyCatLady** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 2:24 am

Wow...I was definitely a grazer before No S....but also had substantial meals! What a difference this is making for me! Scary article...thanks for posting it!

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:10 am

have to admit ... i often enjoyed a chai tea latte with soymilk extra hot as a meal replacement!

Hey! what's wrong with that?!?!?!?!?!

Blueskighs

Mavilu · Post by **Mavilu** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:14 am

Great article!.
It reminds me that the other day I read an article about... snacking, of all things, in an old magazine and in it it says that the CEO of one of these food companies (I think it was Kraft) was known for asking always the same thing when presented with a new food project: "Can it be eaten with one hand?".

lola628 · Post by **lola628** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:24 am

When and why did our society become so uncivilized??

lmt2pt · Post by **lmt2pt** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:47 am

lola628 wrote:When and why did our society become so uncivilized??

I'm guessing it is about the same time and for the same reason the television became a substitute for things like quality time, socializing and enjoying outdoor activity. But that is just a guess.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:55 am

You know I've always felt like a weirdo because I don't like television. In my area, if you want TV you have to pay for cable or something. Since I don't like it anyway, I don't bother to get it.

Thing is, it is a problem socially. When you get the "Have you seen X show/commerical/political ad?" and I say no, all of a sudden there's nothing to talk about.

Shirls · Post by **Shirls** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 12:45 pm

I can relate to that Noel. My husband would have withdrawal symptoms without TV and so we have three (in case one breaks down

) but although I hear the news in the morning I don't actually watch it. My media addiction is audiobooks - I listen while I cook, wash dishes, make beds and even in the bath. TV obliges one to sit and watch and do nothing else - except graze perhaps. Sorry if I veered off topic there.

OrganicGal · Post by **OrganicGal** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 1:10 pm

Very interesting article.....God this society is getting scarier and worse all the time. I am a proponent of going back to some of the 'old' 'traditional' ways of doing things. For example, I would have no problem of going back to the days of no Sunday shopping. That is why my store is closed on Sundays (and partly because I'm not working 7 days a week ).

I remember as a kid having Sunday dinner together as a family, almost without fail. It was always a roast or chicken with potatoes and veggies, and that is when we were most likely to have a dessert for the week.

I could rationalize and say I hadn't fallen into the grazing pattern, but now that I look at it through the eyes of No S, of course I was a grazer if I had breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner/supper, snack!

All I can say is thank God for Women's World and Reinhard for giving me/us the No S plan!!!!

Noturningback · Post by **Noturningback** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 3:37 pm

OrganicGal wrote:Very interesting article.....God this society is getting scarier and worse all the time. I am a proponent of going back to some of the 'old' 'traditional' ways of doing things. For example, I would have no problem of going back to the days of no Sunday shopping. That is why my store is closed on Sundays (and partly because I'm not working 7 days a week ).

I'm 35 and I remember those times and miss them. Things have changed and rather quickly!

I have been without television for long stretches of time and I must say, when I am without it, I am much more calm, happy and frugal. The more television I watch, the more I realize just how much bull**** is out there in advertising.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 4:02 pm

Noturningback wrote:
OrganicGal wrote:I have been without television for long stretches of time and I must say, when I am without it, I am much more calm, happy and frugal. The more television I watch, the more I realize just how much bull**** is out there in advertising.
Yeah, I watched a football game with a friend a few months ago and was astonished how quickly I got a case of the "I wants".

Advertising is just awfully powerful, even when you think you're immune.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 4:40 pm

NoelFigart wrote:You know I've always felt like a weirdo because I don't like television. In my area, if you want TV you have to pay for cable or something. Since I don't like it anyway, I don't bother to get it.

Thing is, it is a problem socially. When you get the "Have you seen X show/commerical/political ad?" and I say no, all of a sudden there's nothing to talk about.

Same here. We don't have cable. My husband is more into movies than I am, so we have a subscription service for those. But there have been times I would have been happy to get a 30-minute reel of "top commercials and trailers" just to not feel like a total social dweeb. (I don't do spectator sports, either, so the combination really kills a lot of small talk. I've learned to ask "so, what have you been busy with lately?" to get the ball rolling. While it carries the loaded assumption that "everyone in our society is busy", it opens the door to talk about hobbies and kids as well as work, and most people can respond in some fashion.)

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:18 pm

My children are grown, and it's just my husband and me.
However, we have 8 working television sets, and all but one are attached to cable.
The "main tv" is a 46" HDTV hanging on the living room wall right in front of my husband's spot on the couch.
We have the HDTV connected to a cable box with DVR (direct video recording)
and "On Demand" which includes many free movies that will start whenever one wishes,
but we seldom even look at those.

Almost every minute my husband is home a tv is on and set to a sports channel...
I don't care, and I even encourage it.
It makes him happy, keeps him at home,
and he is the envy of all his male friends at work.

I almost never watch tv live, because it mostly bores me.
However, I subscribe to netflicks,
and watch lots of DVDs while I walk on the treadmill or Gazelle.
Some of the DVD's I get are past television seasons of tv shows I find interesting,
like Lost, or Boston Legal, or Gilmore Girls
I get to see these without any commercials and
can do a whole season in a row without waiting from week to week.
I enjoy that.

During the past three and a half years since I added exercise to my life,
I can't believe the change.
I can't even remember the last time I sat down to watch a movie here at home,
and I haven't been out to a movie in a couple of years.
I think...."why bother? I'll have to resist snacks like candy and popcorn there and have to sit still the whole time,
and if I wait 3 to 6 months I can watch it here while I treadmill.

However I still sit and read a lot...and snacking has always been a problem then.
If I could just figure out HOW to read (other than books on tape) while exercising, not snacking would be way easier.

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:19 pm

Ahhhhhh yes, back in the day

In my twenties I lived without a TV.... so nice! But I have a husband now and you know ... those big TVs such guy things. He had to have one

Blueskighs

FarmerHal · Post by **FarmerHal** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:40 am

Wow. We are becoming a nation of overfed, undernourished people. I would much rather have a nice plate with meat, veggies, and rice than a powerbar any day.

Scary stats!

Post by **reinhard** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:33 pm

Great article. Wish there were more on the subject. Permasnacking is such a glaringly obvious problem -- and yet almost entirely neglected. I'm not one for corporate conspiracy theories, but this is a little suspicious...

Reinhard

Informatix · Post by **Informatix** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:58 am

Did anyone else notice that this article was apparently written in 2003, well before the advent of the nefarious 100-calorie packs and at the height of the low-carb craze? It's sad that such a subject is quickly turning into something "timeless".