Talk Back: Sick of the new dietary guidelines already? Do they even matter?
Eat less food. Choose more fruits and vegetables. Drink water. Cut back on salt. Sigh.
As columnist Nicole Brochu wrote earlier this week:
"Most people know that eating bags of potato chips and chocolate-chip cookies, and
downing them with a liter of Coca-Cola, won't get them in bathing-suit shape in time for summer. They know that eating less meat and snacks, more fish and greens, and cutting back on high-fat foods would do wonders to lower their cholesterol and blood pressure. And if they don't know any of that by now, government guidelines certainly won't be the revelation they've been waiting for."
She adds: "Either people don't want to hear it, or they don't have the means to do something about it."
I'm not sure it's that simple, having read more than my share of Two Guys Lose Weight (or try to) posts of late.
Guy 1, Tony, was firmly convinced that hummus-laden carrots were essentially calorie-free. "But they're carrots," he exclaimed with some befuddlement when it was gently suggested that continuous late-night noshing on such food might not be the best weight-loss strategy. He then switched to cashews. Cashews.
Guy 2, Jimmy, just eats what he's told by a company that sends him food in portion-controlled, limited-calorie packages.
These are smart people. They are educated people. They read, they listen, they try. And they're never ever going to pore through the new dietary guidelines.
So tell me -- tell everyone: Will such "authoritative advice" matter? If not, what will?
If you've got some grand notions, or basic advice, about what it might take to help Americans eat right, by all means, share them. Surely, we don't all have to be told precisely what to eat, as does Jimmy. But perhaps, as in Tony's case, some people have a hard time figuring it out on their own.
Related: New U.S. dietary guidelines: Less salt, more fruits and vegetables
Related: Dietary guidelines that tell us to eat less -- finally?
Related: Salt reduction -- one of a variety of strategies to help get your blood pressure down
Related: Salt is everywhere. Does anyone trying to meet the Dietary Guidelines have a prayer
Related: 'Eat less,' U.S. says as fast-food chains super-size their offerings
Related: New diet guidelines coming today: Is it hard to eat healthfully in America?
Photo: U.S. Agriculture (yes, agriculture) Secretary Tom Vilsack discusses advice that tells Americans, in part, to eat less. Credit: Michael Reynolds / EPA
As columnist Nicole Brochu wrote earlier this week:
"Most people know that eating bags of potato chips and chocolate-chip cookies, and
downing them with a liter of Coca-Cola, won't get them in bathing-suit shape in time for summer. They know that eating less meat and snacks, more fish and greens, and cutting back on high-fat foods would do wonders to lower their cholesterol and blood pressure. And if they don't know any of that by now, government guidelines certainly won't be the revelation they've been waiting for."She adds: "Either people don't want to hear it, or they don't have the means to do something about it."
I'm not sure it's that simple, having read more than my share of Two Guys Lose Weight (or try to) posts of late.
Guy 1, Tony, was firmly convinced that hummus-laden carrots were essentially calorie-free. "But they're carrots," he exclaimed with some befuddlement when it was gently suggested that continuous late-night noshing on such food might not be the best weight-loss strategy. He then switched to cashews. Cashews.
Guy 2, Jimmy, just eats what he's told by a company that sends him food in portion-controlled, limited-calorie packages.
These are smart people. They are educated people. They read, they listen, they try. And they're never ever going to pore through the new dietary guidelines.
So tell me -- tell everyone: Will such "authoritative advice" matter? If not, what will?
If you've got some grand notions, or basic advice, about what it might take to help Americans eat right, by all means, share them. Surely, we don't all have to be told precisely what to eat, as does Jimmy. But perhaps, as in Tony's case, some people have a hard time figuring it out on their own.
Related: New U.S. dietary guidelines: Less salt, more fruits and vegetables
Related: Dietary guidelines that tell us to eat less -- finally?
Related: Salt reduction -- one of a variety of strategies to help get your blood pressure down
Related: Salt is everywhere. Does anyone trying to meet the Dietary Guidelines have a prayer
Related: 'Eat less,' U.S. says as fast-food chains super-size their offerings
Related: New diet guidelines coming today: Is it hard to eat healthfully in America?
Photo: U.S. Agriculture (yes, agriculture) Secretary Tom Vilsack discusses advice that tells Americans, in part, to eat less. Credit: Michael Reynolds / EPA
