When people ask their doctor about losing weight, even though they know there’s no one “best diet,” patients often demand one. They want rules. There is a comfort in certainty. When you’re looking for a solution to a problem that’s really troubling, a problem that affects your health, self-esteem, and relationships — and the solution isn’t obvious — it’s only natural to want to find something that you can be absolutely certain about.
Some food facts:
Women should have no more than six teaspoons of sugar per day, and men no more than nine teaspoons. Yet the Center for Science in the Public Interest reported that the average American is now consuming 23 teaspoons of added sugar each day.
Over 50% of our food dollars are now spent on restaurant foods and processed, convenient, on-the-go meals. You’re much more likely to gain weight when you eat out. Compared to home-cooked meals, breakfasts at sit-down restaurants typically have 261 more calories, lunches have 183 more calories, and dinners have 219 more calories. That’s about 600 extra calories per day.
Relative to grains, meat, dairy and fat, Americans eat few fruits and vegetables. On average, people in the U.S. now eat about 250-300 grams of carbohydrates per day, more than half of their caloric intake. Obesity experts agree that in order to maintain a healthy weight, about half of every meal should come from plants.