A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
The LA Times has a nice little photo montage, illustrating the “thin” line between eating a 1600 calorie weight loss diet vs. a fat-inducing 3000 calorie one. Now, in my view, the line really isn’t that thin…the difference between the meals is pretty obvious. The 1600 calorie day meals are all low fat and high in fiber: veggies or fruits are featured in each meal. What I find interesting about the 3000 calorie day, is that – from a sheer “bulk food” perspective, the amount of food really isn’t that large - it’s just that the foods are indifferently chosen and contain a lot of “hidden” calories from fat and sugar.
This is what the 3000 calorie day looks like:
Glazed doughnut + coffee w/half-and-half
Chicken Caesar Salad w/dressing from Chili’s
12 oz. Coke1 1/2 oz. Hershey Bar
2 slices Papa John’s Pepperoni Pizza
Green salad w/Italian dressing
cup of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
Look familiar? The meals are just the sort that many white collar desk jockeys might eat, too – which is the scary part. It’s all “grab and go” type food that doesn’t require any thought or preparation. The pictures really bring it to life: it really doesn’t take a lot of the wrong kinds of foods, to add up to a substantial number of surplus calories…which add up to extra pounds around your waist.
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Sarah on 25 Jun 2008 at 2:00 pm #
It’s so sad that there are 99% unhealthy grab-and-go “food” places than healthy ones. Even if you want to pick something healthy, it’s virtually impossible. Cookies, donuts, pizza slices, burgers, sandwiches on “whole wheat” bread that is in fact just brown because of caramel color … if you for some reason forgot your helathy meals cooler at home, you’e sc***d!