By Jenna Mitby
Do you ever wish you could eat whatever you wanted without worrying about gaining weight? I do. But, I didn’t always have such a hostile relationship with food.
Rewind to my senior year of high school, a typical day included: pancakes for breakfast, a candy bar or two during second period, three bagels for lunch, a foot long sub after school, and a huge dinner with pasta, a salad, chicken and broccoli. That’s not just a lot of food, that’s a ton. And, I was a size 0.
How was this possible? I was an athlete that never had a day off. After school, I would race home, change into my tennis gear and go to practice. Then I would leave 15 minutes early to go to soccer practice where I was training, lifting, or running for four more hours. I wouldn’t be home until after dark, exhausted and starving. I could eat whatever I wanted without worry.
Fast-forward to my senior year of college. My soccer career was done, and I didn’t want to work out for year. I thought I had a great metabolism, yeah right. Without activities or a desire to workout, I gained weight, fast. Something I wasn’t used to, and I actually didn’t think it was possible. It happened so quickly I thought I had shrunk all of my clothes. Nope, I just got fat. (OK maybe not fat, but I wasn’t thin anymore.)
Now, only a year and a half after college, I struggle with food. I didn’t know what it meant to diet or need to lose weight. As an athlete, I didn’t have a problem with my body like so many girls do. The only thing I ever hated were bruises on my feet because it affected my gift: controlling the ball.
Today, my curse is an inability to control what I eat. Leading up to my sister’s wedding, I tried every diet out there. Nothing stuck. I hated myself, why couldn’t I do one simple thing? Portion control shouldn’t be hard, ha. Ohhhh but it is.
I thought if I didn’t eat certain foods, I’d be all right. No, that didn’t work. How about Nutrisystem? Ew, disgusting. How about one meal a day? Nope, I’d eat the whole fridge in one sitting. Finally, this past August I faced my problem: I don’t know how to eat a normal size meal. At least, I can say I’m learning. Putting weight on, easy. Taking it off, hard. So hard.
This struggle is nothing new. Food and weight management are common threads across generations, especially for women. From watching my generation, we are in the transitional phase as our once active lives turn sedentary when we enter the working world.
The one thing that makes this transition harder for our generation is the rise of media. We sit at our computers or with our cell phones. Constantly moving in the online world, yet, remaining motionless in our physical surroundings. The true effect of media on our bodies and eating habits is just taking form. Years from now our generation may be lucky because the next, next great generation is already marred by childhood obesity.
It looks like I’ll be counting my blessings, calories and miles on the treadmill for the rest of my life.
Photo Credit: lifeontheedge
My girlfriend and I talk about food a lot. She’s from Paris and usually has her camera out at the grocery store, taking pictures of pre-diced onions and frozen cheesecake bites. The American approach to food amuses her to no end.
That being said, I’ve often heard reference to, and experienced first hand, the European paradox: that “they” don’t really eat any better than we do. A common menu item I found at small restaurants throughout Paris was Steak and Fries with Aioli sauce. The only difference across the pond is that we grind our beef and make patties…
In terms of activity, I’m pretty sure the French are far less active than we are. There is virtually no gym culture that I’ve seen–very few runners in the mornings etc. In the end, the only real differences I’ve seen between our cultures regarding food are these: smaller portions–we will eat what’s in front of us, and in France they give you slightly less; less preservatives, more fresh ingredients; regular meal times–you eat breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon etc… The differences seem insignificant, but I think the difference is clear. Small can be big.
I’m experiencing a very similar dilemma… I walked EVERYWHERE in college and now that I’m working at a desk job 9-6 and drinking ten times more lattes, I’m starting to gain weight. I tried to start running, but it’s hard to make the time for something you don’t enjoy.
Finding an enjoyable routine that fits into my lifestyle is much harder than it used to be, especially now that we don’t really have the option of something like a soccer team – an organized and social group. I used to be on dance teams, in theater troupes, and in choirs… it never felt like working out because it was so much fun, but the exercise was there. The adult equivalent of things like that don’t seem as appealing, for whatever reason.
It is true that Europeans don’t really have a gym culture. At least not in the same sense as Americans do. We rarely work out or jog. But we play a lot of sports – soccer, volleyball, tennis, skiing, etc.
As Jason said, what really makes a difference is the fresh ingredients, the small portions and the regular meal times. When I am home (Bulgaria), I eat 5 times a day and my meals consist of fresh fruits, fish, meat, etc. that was bought the day of or the day before the meal. When I am in the USA, I pretty much have only dinner, which most of the time is something that I microwave or something I make quickly with the ingredients I have bought 2 weeks ago. I end up eating much more than if I have 5 regular meals throughout the day. The only time I eat healthy is during the weekends.
Jenna,
I am on the same page as you- college athlete that also ate a TON of food. That constant need to eat just to be able to keep going throughout the day was something I was used to and enjoyed. The hardest part is finding a new way to workout that I enjoy almost as much as playing my sport. I find it best to get a gym buddy or take a class. At least then I can get my competitive edge going and bust it out!
Many women (and men) have faced the same problem, that of intensively practicing sports and then suddenly stop. There is a phase where we have to adjust to the fact that we need to become careful about what we eat, if not able to work out, and we have to ask ourselves: what is really essential to me?
I am French and living in the US I discovered a lot of Americans were overweight because they drank very high calorie drinks like lattes and flavored waters. To me that was one big difference between Americans and French people. We drink our coffee black which when you think about it is already a lot less calories in one day.
I really love take out, but I make it a rule to cook whenever possible. It takes time, and we don’t always have it, but really, preparing a big salad, cooking some meat with rice, mashed potatoes or vegetables do not take very long. I usually go shopping once or twice a week and have the fresh ingredients I need without having to go back out.
I think it’s very true that eating at regular hours helps a lot, but eating less is also very energizing because we are not tired from a difficult digestion that fast food or high glucose food usually provoke.
Even though we do not exercise as much as Americans, because cities are designed for pedestrians, it allows us to walk on an average of 45 to 60 minutes a day. So I guess weight problems are mostly about food culture. Now the question is, is it possible to get out of it when it all looks so delicious, quick and affordable?
Thanks guys I appreciate all of your responses!