Time Magazine recently published an article with an excerpt from the book “What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets”. It’s pretty interesting, if not surprising. Unfortunately there are many that still believe that calories are everything.
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2037749_2219823,00.html
Cool photo essay.
What does “unfortunately there are many that still believe that calories are everything” mean?
I am seriously depressed, pretty much everybody except the first lady [the pastoralist or whatever they called her] eat almost twice what I do … though the podgy bus driver eats around what I normally eat calory wise, but I make what I consider a lot better choices [about the main starchy carbs I eat tend to be oatmeal/buckwheat groats for breakfast, and a couple of tablespoons of hummus with veggies as snacks, and as occasional single servings of wholegrain bread as defined by my nutritionist.] He eats meal replacement bars which tend to have way more sodium or sweetening agents than I can have, and his plate has way more than a single portion of pasta …
I don’t understand how some of this is possible. The size 4 model eats 2400 calories per day? The mountain farmer eats 3800 calories per day and weighs 119 lbs? The home maker eats 2700 calories per day and weighs 98 lbs? The shepherd eats 3800 calories per day and weighs 154 lbs? Jeebus, the baker is 5’3", eats 4900 calories per day and weighs 143 lbs! Calories in vs. calories out is constantly pounded into our heads but obviously either that isn’t always accurate or this article is full of more shit than a porta-potty.
Basal metabolism is different for everyone; averages are just that, averages.
Some people are a lot more active than others.
Some people are much more or less accurate in reporting their caloric intake.
The size 4 model probably works out as part of her profession.
The mountain farmer farms … on a mountain.
The home maker is wearing a set of weights under her burqa.
The shepherd sheps all day, chasing after strays.
Did you see the size of the bread stone the baker was hefting? Solid granite. Plus, the ovens are four stories above where the flour is stored.
Calories out … calories out …
Sure there is some variation (and some disorders throwing everything out of whack), but most high-calorie captions seem to have something to suggest a much greater daily caloric output than the typical American. Heck, even most pedestrian-bound city-folk here expend more than most suburban- or country-folk merely in chasing trains and buses.
The Vietnamese rice farmer in pic #8: is that a bamboo bong?
:eek:
If the author had visited an hour later, would the day’s calorie count have jumped by a thousand or so?
Note that the calories listed aren’t per day. They’re just for this day. And this is just a sample from the book.
Essentially. This is probably what he’s smoking.
Okay, that makes a lot more sense.
I’m referring to the seemingly wide-held belief that one can accurately and independently determine their basal metabolic rate, determine their daily energy expenditure above that rate, and then determine the caloric content of the food they consume. Sure, calories in = calories out maintains weight, but it’s near impossible for a normal person to determine the left side of equation never mind the right side. Furthermore, I believe that what you eat (not just the caloric content) can have a significant effect on your metabolism and how effectively your body extracts the energy from your food.
Too many people, especially in the US, take the starvation approach to weight loss which may work in the short term but, IMO, screws you up in the long term.
This was a fun read. Excellent visual example that the total number of calories you eat each day has relatively little to do with your weight and appearance. Other factors (many) have much more impact. Genetics, which does have some effect on individual resting metabolic rate (which can vary between individuals of like size/weight more than most people think), body composition (higher bodyfat percentage means lower BMR), what food you are eating more so than how much, and of course the type and amount of daily activity (probably the biggest influence).
–rhubarbarin, 5’5", 107 lb on 3000+calories per day
Did anyone else get hungry looking at this? Oy, I know, it’s pathetic that I can’t seem to go 15 minutes without thinking of food. I’ll take what the Spanish shepherd is having, even if I have to shep 
all day.
Actually, it almost makes me want to photograph everything that I eat in 1 day sometime. Perhaps this weekend, if I can get mrAru to go along, I’ll have to check my meal plan to see if it is all stuff I can make ahead [unfortunatey? lot of stuff I cook is not something I can make in the morning and eat in the evening, I rarely cook single portions of anything, there are 3 of us here and I usually make things in 4 serving batches.]
I like most of the Middle Eastern and South American tables. I think I’d take any of those before any of the Americans’.
A lot of that food looked goooood.