Weekends are awesome. I live for them, for vacation time, public holidays and pretty much any time I don't have to go to work. It's Sunday now so the weekend is coming to a close but it's not over yet! I tend to do a lot with my weekends working on a plan determined in the week prior to the weekend arriving. This strategy gives me the ability to squeeze as much as I can out of it through deploying the plan or to plan nothing and simply wing it. Assuming a person lives for 80 years there's only 4,160 weekends and so one must get the most out of each one.
Last weekend was full on with a shooting event 500km away from home which was great, but tiring. This weekend was similar, well Saturday was. I shot a small IPSC competition at my gun club against some 50 or so shooters. We got hailed on twice, rained on and it was windy and only 8 degrees Celcius so you can say it was overall shit! I shot commensurate with the weather too. Well, stage one was terrible; I couldn't have messed it up more if I tried. The next four stages were ok. In fact I shot well in the rest. Still, it's the weekend so it's all good mate!
Saturday night was spent watching Formula One Qualifying from the Singapore track which was pretty good fun although usually I'd be there, in Singapore, watching so was also a bit of a bummer at the same time. Unfortunately circumstances kept me away this year, my recent UK/EU 6 week vacation and work commitments.
Whilst watching the qualifying session I found myself feeling a little hungry for corn chips. Nacho Cheese corn chips to be completely honest about it. Something about those crunchy little chemical covered triangles makes them the perfect snack-partner for Formula One Qualifying, well I thought so last night anyway. The problem was that the household was corn chip-less. What I did have in the fridge was berries; The one's you see in the image below.
It's pretty obvious what's the more healthy snack although after eating the berries I still wanted corn chips. What is it about highly processed snack foods like corn chips that make them so tasty and desirable? I mean, don't get me wrong, the strawberries and blueberries were awesome too but just didn't satisfy my snack food craving as well as a big bowl of nacho cheese corn chips would have. Is it marketing, habit maybe? It made me think about how hard it must be for parents to keep young kids off heavily processed snack foods. Here's me, a reasonably health-conscious guy in his late 40's and I'm pining for corn chips, what must it be like for parents who have kids doing the same.
It's easy to eat badly these days. I watched a show about nutrition and vitamins recently and a comment was made that those in a lower socio-economic demographic tend to eat more unhealthily than others. I think the premise revolved around them needing to find lower cost, more filling, food which leads them to fast food and foods high in fat, sodium and carbohydrates; Highly processed foods rather than fresh prepared-at-home meals. With fast food outlets like those assholes at McDonalds serving up breakfast, lunch and dinner (You can now buy Bigmac's at breakfast time too) and the cost of the food (aka shit) being so cheap and easy it's so simple to stop in and grab some shit, I mean food, quite cheaply and easily. So easy in fact that you can do it on a touch screen without even talking to a human. Human's don't know how to converse these days except on a phone screen anyway so no loss there.
I've eaten at McDonalds of course and probably will again, however it's a sometimes food, maybe 4-5 times a year; If even that. I know that many people eat it, and other similarly poor foods, a lot more often...Just like I wanted to with the corn chips last night. I guess it comes down to education, choice and opportunity mostly. We all have the choice to eat better but sometimes it's easier not to, or cheaper. I'm not judging people of course, I mean eat what you want really, but just maybe putting some thought into it may pay some dividends.
Last night my corn chip craving went unrequited however I made a better choice and feel better for it. Will I succumb to the corn chip at some stage? Yes of course I will, however every time I make a decision not to is a step in the right direction. Habits are easily made and almost as easily broken just as it's relatively easy to prepare a decent, healthy meal. It's as simple as a piece of fish and some steamed vegetables, a chicken breast and baked sweet potato, carrots and some minted peas...Even a home made burger is better than the food, I mean shit, purchased via touch-screen at McDonalds.
We are all going eat things we shouldn't, especially when watching TV on the couch, although making the right decisions means we might be on the planet a little longer to enjoy our weekends, and life in general. I'm 48 and 6 months old, so I've had 2,522 weekends in my life...How many have I got left? A lot if I look after my health as best I can I hope! Now...Where's that chocolate bar...
I have to say that what really annoys me about junk food is that the food itself isn't theoretically that bad, if it weren't for all the extra crap added to it. Make a burger pattie yourself and it's just mince meat, salt and whatever extra flavouring you might want to add. Look at the list of ingredients on prepackaged ones and it's huge! Same with bread. It's incredibly hard to find it with just the standard ingredients. What is this addiction to chemicals we now have?! 😅
I agree completely. A homemade burger isn't that bad for you. It's all the numbers that they put in the processed foods that make it bad. 401, 951, etc.
I make great home made burgers, nothing fancy, just good ingredients...
People seem very comfortable trading health and control of what goes into their bodies for ease of use. I don't know if it's just laziness or stupidity and laziness combined. Nothing wrong with eating this stuff sometimes I guess, but it seems to be the staple diet these days.
It's certainly much easier to not have to make it yourself. So I'd certainly go with laziness or certainly time poor. Stupidity, maybe. I do think people know that it does them no good, but I think many aren't truly aware exactly what the ingredients are in them. So it's easy to put it to the back of your mind. As long as the effects aren't immediately apparent, then it can't be all that bad, surely?! Sickness and obesity can creep up slowly.
Says it all pretty well doesn't it. :)
I know the feeling. Sometimes I'll get done stuffing my face full of delicious dinner, and then I'll still be craving some sort of snack, ice cream, or cookie. I'm not quite sure what it is as I don't eat those often.
Maybe it's healthiest just to stay busy so you don't have time to eat garbage. That fruit does look tasty though!
I love your writing mate!
So truth, I could label your words as practically mine, I thought you were taking it out of my head! I feel identical in emotion at these things.
I also succumb to the fast food crave here an there. But @kelsnm strive to try and cook as much as possible, since I am growing a ton of veggies now! I also consider how difficult it must be to teach good habits to the youth with all the propaganda of shit food literally EVERYWHERE. ARGH.
Would fist bump right now if I could.
But those snack foods, gotta be the salt! I crave a salt fix so bad sometimes. I devour a damn near whole 1lb bag of salty thin pretzels lol
But hey, seemed like a half decent weekend. Too bad for the Singapore miss. You know, you work ethos could land you in early retirement with way more time thant just those "weekends". Just my thought though.
Peace brother from across the world.
Thanks mate, I appreciate it. Yes, I think many people think like this but far more defer to their laziness and embrace fast food. I'm glad you liked it though. I've noticed you have a lot of vegetables growing. It's good. I have a couple of friends that do the same. The difference in taste is huge. I think most people eat snack foods but as long as it's a sometimes food then not so bad.
I was bummed about not going to Singapore. This time last year I was there and it's a trip I've always loved making. Maybe next year.
Anyway, have a great day mate.
They're doing 24 nuggets for $10, with 4 tubs of big mac sauce.
Too easy to grab them on the way home from the school run. $1 frozen cokes for the grown ups, easy picnic.
Dangerous.
Yeah, it makes it a very difficult option to refuse. Ease and cost factors considered.
"It made me think about how hard it must be for parents to keep young kids off heavily processed snack foods."
The best method I have seen is to highly restrict heavily processed food from the start. As you said, habits get formed. I have friends who feel ill almost immediately if they eat McDonald's or anything similar.
Yep, that's one way. I'm not a parent so didn't want to make any suggestions. I rarely eat Maccas, more Burger King (Called Hungry Jacks here) and yeah, I never feel great afterwards. McDonalds is worse though, if was to eat it. I think I haven't done so for about 2 years.
It's obviously an issue as the government campaign about better choices. Look at the obesity and diabetes stats...Says it all.
I agree it is an issue. I would argue with the govt. about who's issue it is , though. I tend to think it is the consumers responsibility, not the vendor.
I have never seen unwilling patrons being marched into a fast food chain with a gun to their head.
Anyway, your berries looked quite tasty. I occasionally like to add just a slight amount of raw honey and cream.
I agree with you completely...The people choose to eat it, or smoke, or drink drive, take ICE...It's all the same really...Choices are made and that's that. Different choices can be made though...
One of the most freeing paradigm shifts I've ever had was realizing I was responsible for choosing my life. Too many people don't want to own the responsibility for things in their life they don't like. Consequently, they give up power over their lives, and the freedom(responsibility) to control and change it.
Some training buddies were talking about this the other...weekend (I haven't been for a while, bad me :S). It has a name an everything, but of course now that I want to tell someone about it I can't remember what it is XP Basically it's that the snacky food has something in it that triggers the dopamine producer (or maybe it was seratonin? Obviously I need to sleep better, memory is going x_x) so no matter how much you know that it's not that great for you and you'd be much better off just eating the damn fruits, you just want the shitty food because for the few minutes that you're eating it your brain is tricked into thinking that it's happy, and logic and health be damned.
I know this and am still eating the 2min noodles because right now I need to short circuit my brain.
It's when you fall into the easy/convenient/want that happy feeling all the time trap that it becomes a major problem XD
Yep, I heard something like that also. Habits can be difficult to break too as they deny one the enjoyable habit. Thanks for commenting.
Upvoted.
DISCLAIMER: Your post is upvoted based on curation algorithm configured to find good articles e.g. stories, arts, photography, health, etc. This is to reward you (authors) for sharing good content using the Steem platform especially newbies.
If you're a dolphin or whales, and wish not to be included in future selection, please let me know so I can exclude your account. And if you find the upvoted post is inappropriate, FLAG if you must. This will help a better selection of post.
Keep steeming good content.
@Yehey
Posted using https://Steeming.com condenser site.
The lighter the grape the less intense the flavonoids they contains, the darker the grape the more ground-breaking the flavonoids they contain. For instance: red, purple and dark grapes all contain resveratrol, however white and green grapes don't.
You must be a grape expert.
I hope you Stay with Us
I'm not sure if I can stay, my home planet may call me back at any stage...I must obey.
I hope you Stay with Us
Hi @galenkp!
Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 4.255 which ranks you at #2529 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has not changed in the last three days.
In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 373 contributions, your post is ranked at #32.
Evaluation of your UA score:
Feel free to join our @steem-ua Discord server
You got a 57.47% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @galenkp!