I recall the 1970s vividly and in all the photos of friends and schoolmates, the "fat" person was actually a few pounds over ideal weight. What happened?
We weren't working out in gyms and wearing fitbots.
We weren't counting calories.
We weren't obsessing about our waistlines.
We weren't getting type 2 diabetes in our college years.
We went to the beach without being self conscious.
I was modeling and entering pageants without bulimia, anorexia, cigarettes, or drugs. I didn't workout. I didn't worry about what I ate. Yeah, I had a youthful metabolism, but I also walked the malls and the college campus daily, mowed the yard, and generally thought of food as simply a homemade meal to fuel a whole day of activity.
So, what changed?
Here's the three keys -
1. We made our own meals.
2. Our portion sizes were appropriate.
3. There were not fast food shacks on every corner.
For instance, McDonald's Coke was 7 oz (80 calories) back then. Today? A large Coke is 30 oz. (300 calories)
Restaurants today not only overserve, but also use 12-inch plates. It is human nature to eat what is put upon your plate, assuming it is a "meal."
Mother portioned out your meals in the 1970s and that was what was on the menu, no rushes to McDonald's or Uber'ing more later. Pizza delivery services tout getting two pizzas in a package, maybe with bread, soda, chips....
The average American dinner plate is 11" and in Europe, where they stay slim, the dinner plate is 8-9".
When I dropped almost 20% of my body weight, there was no counting, measuring, or agonizing at the gym. I simple ate off an 8" plate (got rid of the dinner-sized plates most companies sell with their sets), and I made my meals. Use the dessert plates.
Here's a fantastic video that will highlight these principles that were second nature then, but in today's rush and frantic world with fast food close by and serving sizes of Godzilla portions, we forgot the simplicity that kept our weight in check without monitoring.
My friends and I in 1978 -
A bunch of our parents -
There are some good efforts, thanks to RFK Jr. and his team, so far as being sure we aren't getting harmful ingredients in food production, but that's not really food - it's calories, fillers. Real food is made from scratch but with dual-working couples these days, it can be very difficult to get a meal prepped when you arrive home at 6 o'clock. This might be why the meal prep trend is so popular.
For years, I've made broth from bones and veggies and frozen it in 2-cup portions, pre-cooked meats and froze them, and now simply get meal prep containers and make my own frozen meals without all the chemicals and salt.
I get home from the grocery store once a week and I prep things. I cut up chicken, marinate it in freezer bags and have it ready for teriyaki, barbecue chicken, country herb chicken, or buffalo chicken. I made large batches of rice or quinoa and freeze. If you are making all this, you can pre-cook and put the meal together in containers and have it ready. It takes a couple hours a week to make a week's worth of meals.
These containers are great to have on hand because there are 50 reusable ones and if you ever send a family member or friend home with some leftovers, you can store it in there and send it off and not miss the container.
Air fryers make fast and healthy meals easy. They are not only super fast cooking, but only need a spray of oil on the outside of the items to get that wonderful crispy vibe. If you freeze the meats and potatoes and such ahead of time, you can put them in the fridge to thaw before air fying. I like the ceramic ones -
Yes, times have changed, but we can use newer concepts and technologies to our advantage. Just remember -
McDonald's Big Mac
580 calories (calories equals one meal of the day)
34 g fat (30 g daily for men, 20 g daily for women) over the daily limit for an entire day of fat.
1007 mg sodium (2300 mg salt daily) more than half your daily salt intake.
Be ready to be shocked -
Wendy's Cobb Salad
Salad 410 calories dressing packet 250 (660 calories - more than a Big Mac)
Fat 26 g (a day's worth of fat)
Sodium 1170 mg (more than a big Mac!)
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