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The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

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Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#91

Post by rjh29 »

mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #71

Prediction before reading to test myself: Whole grain all the things. Oats or rye where possible for more beta-glukans(clinically proven to lower LDL). Multi-grain is ideal. Use lean meats or fish. Don't sweat it about the dairy. Dairy fat is surprisingly good compared to fats from meat due to the high proportion of the saturated fat that's made up of short or medium chain fatty acids. These don't affect cholesterol…

Do you find wholegrain bread is more filling / less sleep-inducing than white? I don't find there to be a huge difference personally, especially compared to just reducing how much bread I eat. (Same with rice)

Jarlsberg is delicious!

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#92

Post by rjh29 »

spandrew wrote: post #31

God I really hate these "war on x food" articles. CARBS MUST DIE. SUGAR MUST DIE. FAT MUST DIE. Well no, most adult bodies are pretty good at dealing with most of those. Bread is fine much like most other foods. If you eat 2500 calories a day of broccoli you will gain weight . From broccoli. American portion sizes being out of control is a problem. If you want to lose weight you can by all means order a sandwich. But…

> Well no, most adult bodies are pretty good at dealing with most of those.

I mean, they aren't, that's why people get addicted to sugar and overeat ridiculously. Maybe the body can handle it but the brain can't, right?

UK portion sizes are nothing like the US and our obesity rate still sucks. People are going to keep drinking sugary drinks and eating chocolate and chips and cookies, getting drunk every weekend and ordering a kebab at 3am.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#93

Post by rjh29 »

natdempk wrote: post #14

Out of curiosity, what are popular lunch alternatives from other countries that are similarly quick and easy to sandwiches, but healthier? Would selfishly love some ideas to eat better lunches.

Lettuce wrap?

Increase the amount of meat (and cheese if you have the budget), wrap with lettuce, hold lettuce, get your munch on.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#94

Post by PuppyTailWags »

rjh29 wrote: post #88
mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

500 calories is not an unreasonable amount of calories at all for a lunch type meal. Even if you had 500 for breakfast, then lunch, then 1000 for dinner, that's only 2k which pretty close to a typical BMR for an adult male. The problem is the quality of nutrients. If all those 2000 calories were packed in with lots of fibre, and had a good ratio of protein/healthy fats/carbs that's likely to be enough to keep you fro…

I meant 500 for the bread alone, then 100 for mayo, 200 for cheese (or 1000 if it's the sandwich in the article, lol), and meat... it adds up.

I'm baffled by the notion of 500 cals just in bread. I make sandwiches at home with large sourdough slices, and that's 180 cal for the bread. [The meat is 90 cal, the cheese is 100 cal.] This is a hearty sandwich and I have no satiety issues.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#95

Post by PuppyTailWags »

rjh29 wrote: post #93
natdempk wrote: post #14

Out of curiosity, what are popular lunch alternatives from other countries that are similarly quick and easy to sandwiches, but healthier? Would selfishly love some ideas to eat better lunches.

Lettuce wrap? Increase the amount of meat (and cheese if you have the budget), wrap with lettuce, hold lettuce, get your munch on.

do you have a recommended lettuce variety? Most of them crumble away before I can use them.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#96

Post by dragonwriter »

rjh29 wrote: post #92
spandrew wrote: post #31

God I really hate these "war on x food" articles. CARBS MUST DIE. SUGAR MUST DIE. FAT MUST DIE. Well no, most adult bodies are pretty good at dealing with most of those. Bread is fine much like most other foods. If you eat 2500 calories a day of broccoli you will gain weight . From broccoli. American portion sizes being out of control is a problem. If you want to lose weight you can by all means order a sandwich. But…

> Well no, most adult bodies are pretty good at dealing with most of those. I mean, they aren't, that's why people get addicted to sugar and overeat ridiculously. Maybe the body can handle it but the brain can't, right? UK portion sizes are nothing like the US and our obesity rate still sucks. People are going to keep drinking sugary drinks and eating chocolate and chips and cookies, getting drunk every weekend and o…

> Maybe the body can handle it but the brain can't, right?

The brain is part of the body.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#97

Post by mtlmtlmtlmtl »

rjh29 wrote: post #91
mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #71

Prediction before reading to test myself: Whole grain all the things. Oats or rye where possible for more beta-glukans(clinically proven to lower LDL). Multi-grain is ideal. Use lean meats or fish. Don't sweat it about the dairy. Dairy fat is surprisingly good compared to fats from meat due to the high proportion of the saturated fat that's made up of short or medium chain fatty acids. These don't affect cholesterol…

Do you find wholegrain bread is more filling / less sleep-inducing than white? I don't find there to be a huge difference personally, especially compared to just reducing how much bread I eat. (Same with rice) Jarlsberg is delicious!

Absolutely. White bread spikes your blood sugar much faster because it's almost pure starch. The resulting drop can definitely be sleep inducing in my experience.

Whole grain bread also has a lot more protein, which is also more filling. But can also be more sleep inducing. The topic of post-prandial somnolence is a complicated one indeed. All sorts of hormonal, blood sugar, psychoactives in some foods, factors involved. And still poorly understood in many ways.

Sort of related: if I eat any amount of white bread or other processed grains I tend to get a lot of abdominal pain. I have a bunch of scar tissue down there due to appendicitis with bad complications many years ago. Whole grains help keep me pain free, it's the only consistent remedy I've found.

Do you live outside Norway? Is Jarlsberg expensive as an imported product? It's pretty affordable here so I might be amiss in listing it as the cheap option.

Re: The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

#100

Post by mtlmtlmtlmtl »

rjh29 wrote: post #88
mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

500 calories is not an unreasonable amount of calories at all for a lunch type meal. Even if you had 500 for breakfast, then lunch, then 1000 for dinner, that's only 2k which pretty close to a typical BMR for an adult male. The problem is the quality of nutrients. If all those 2000 calories were packed in with lots of fibre, and had a good ratio of protein/healthy fats/carbs that's likely to be enough to keep you fro…

I meant 500 for the bread alone, then 100 for mayo, 200 for cheese (or 1000 if it's the sandwich in the article, lol), and meat... it adds up.

Yeah I don't much care for baguettes for this reason. I just do good old brown, 1cm thick bread. Just enough to soak up the pesto and absorb all its flavours without getting too mushy. Man this is making me hungry, might have to go fix myself one of these :D
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