Working Women who don't cook&obesity

[ScarlettO]

(I'm doing a seperate thread so C.Ann's thread doesn't get hyjacked)



Is the fact that women are too tired to cook a healthy meal each night-and rely solely on Fast food- the reason this country's young people are overweight?



edited-(clarification: a a poster by name of pugdog-something was trying to turn C.Ann's thread into an obesity debate-thus the resaon for this thread)

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by ScarlettO
Is the fact that women are too tired to cook a healthy meal each night-and rely solely on Fast food- the reason this country's young people are overweight?

What - the husbands can't cook?

I work full time...dont' have kids...but I still manage to get home a cook a decent meal at the end of the night. Granted sometimes I just have cereal for dinner...but how hard is it to cook up some chicken and a veggie for dinner? Takes like 20 minutes.

so no - I don't think it's right to blame a working woman...

 

[jrydberg]

Well, I'll disagree with the premise. I'm a single dad and I cook a good meal for me and my 5 year old dd almost every night. It's really not that hard to do.

It's a combination of factors, fast food being just one. Plopping kids down in front of video games/tv doesn't help either. The fact that most adults eat huge portions teaches their kids to overeat. Busy parents (both mom and dad) wave their hand in the air and say, "No, no bike ride today. I'm exhausted from work."

The fault, IMO, lies clearly with parents, but it's not one single thing that leads to overweight kids. It's everything about their upbringing.

 

[Pop Daddy]

Im gonna start a thread about women who dont cook and the men who love them

 

[EsmeraldaX]

DBF and I both work. We leave home at 6 am and get home together at about 6:30 PM. We still find time to eat good food.

He usually cooks too, because he just enjoys cooking more than I do. Neither of us is terribly overweight (I could lose 5, he could lose 20 or so).

 

[coliebird]

Let's see - I work full-time, at 5:00 I leave work and go pick up my daughter (almost 2) from daycare. We get home around 5:30. My husband is home by that time, he plays with our daughter while I start dinner. I make a meat (beef/chicken/pork), a side dish, a vegetable and a salad. We eat dinner together as a family. Then I play with my daughter for a while until it is her bath time. My husband usually gives her the bath so I can do the dishes or else I do the dishes after she is asleep along with any laundry or picking up that needs to be done. Then I spend some more time with my daughter before she goes to bed. Am I tired? yes. Do I wish I could stay home or work part time? Yes, but the fact is I need to work. Do we eat fast food occassionally? Yes. Is my daughter obese? Far from it. Please don't generalize all working mothers as lazy or too tired to take care of their families.

 

[Cruise04]

I also don't think it's right to blame a working woman. We get enough things blamed on us because we work. I have to work and because of that I don't use fast food because I'm tired. I have a very high stress job and I leave here after a long day totally exhausted some nights. But I make sure my family has a healthy meal sitting in front of them most nights. And I say most nights because some nights my husband is kind enough to give me a break and take us out. Once a week, maybe. And it's not to a fast food restaurant. It's to a restaurant where we can have a conversation and salad and good things to eat - not junk. And I'm obese. Why - I wish I knew. I have tried all diets, I have exercised, I have talked to my doctor. I've tried everything I can and I guess I'm just built this way. I've gotten weight off and put it right back on due to fad diets that made me starve myself. Do I like being this way - no. But it isn't because I don't cook at home.

We were one of the only families last year that I made sure, even though I got off work at 5:30 and dd would have a softball game at 6, we had a home cooked meal before we left for softball. I would either cook something the night before that could be heated or dd or dh would get home before me and cook - not very often would that happen but I wanted her to have nutrition for energy, not junk for energy.

I hate it when people try to blame everything on the reason of it's because moms work. Whatever.... Oh and I've been heavy my whole life and several members of my family are as well. We didn't have video games or weren't allowed to park out butts in front of the tv except for MAYBE an hour an night. When the weather was nice, we were forced outside (partially because my dad didn't want to listen to us in the house - don't ask, whole other thread) to play and ride our bikes and run around. So that's not the reason why I'm heavy either. Guess sometimes docs are right - sometimes there are flukes in the gene pool.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Stinkerbelle stole my thunder, but my DW typically works longer hours than I do, thus I do more of the cooking for DS, myself and for her.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I agree with the premise that Americans as a society eat at restaurants far more frequently than in the past. I also agree that most restaurant meals have significantly more calories and fat than the traditional meal cooked at home.

Whether or not Working Women (or men) are too tired to cook at the end of the day, I'm not going to touch that with a 100 foot pole.

 

[Melora]

Of course its not the only reason. There are plenty of working moms with skinny kids and stay at home moms with fat kids...

But it is diet! There are SO few medical conditions out there that cause you to be fat. (Im NOT talking about the poor little kids on steriods!)

Im talking about the kids who eat nothing but junk, no veggies in their diet, hardly any fruit or WHOLE grains, very little exercise etc etc. So many people want to make excuses... oh my kids eats so little and they are still fat,...its the genes.... etc etc

Sorry folks... too many calories and not enough activity makes Johnny a fat boy.

Jeff and I are currently trying to change our lives (and bodies) and are trying to adapt a diet like the one followed by the longest living people in the world..The Japanese of Okinawa.

They have the largest population of people who live to be over 100 than anywhere else on the planet. They do not have disease like we do (as a matter of fact they have practically NO disease).

They have found that the typical American has 7+ years of diminished capability at the end of their life (in our 60-70s) where as these people have less than 2... and that last 2 years by diminished they mean not working in the fields anymroe (at 90+). For us that means disease, diabetes, stroke, heart disease etc etc

AND.. please note this.. studies have shown that it is their DIET, NOT their genes that is the major factor in their longevity. The moment these people leave their homes and move to where they eat more like our Western Diet, the same diseases show up.

There are very very few excuses for being fat other than not eating well. There may be people who want to debate that and say "Oh Ive got this condition or that condition".. but the proof is in the studies.... if you eat healthy you will be healthy. (OK I am also not talking about conditions you are born with... I am talking about conditions that come up in your life that could be prevented by a healthy diet..)

Jeff does a lot of the cooking in our house and he makes a GREAT meal thats very healthy in less than 30 minutes! No excuses! If you want to take charge of your life and live it long and healthy, you have to make time. Your health and your childrens depend on it!

Plenty of stay at home moms feed their kids fast food! (ACK me being one of them until I am trying to make this change )

 

[buddy&wooz]

Originally posted by Pop Daddy
Im gonna start a thread about women who dont cook and the men who love them

Oh, please do!

I'm a non-cook and my kids are skinny little things. I may not give them a "home-cooked" meal everynight, but it's just as easy to grab healthy foods from the supermarket as it is to stop at a fast food place. So we might have pasta, we might have veggies from the salad bar, we might have chicken or ribs precooked at the store if we're in a rush (or, really, if we have the time, how hard is it to cook a chicken? )

Last night was a busy, running around night. When I was finally headed for home I grabbed a flank steak, a bottle of Italian dressing, a bag of salad, and a package of fresh corn on the cob. I threw the steak into a dish with the dressing to marinade, tossed the corn into a pot of water, broiled the steak, all told it tool a half an hour, most of which I wasn't even in the kitchen, just waiting for the food to cook.

I'm sorry, I just don't buy the "no time to cook" excuse. I think it's more an "I hate to cook" excuse, and that, I can relate to !

 

[clutter]

Thanks Pop Daddy! i have a thing hanging in my kitchen that says "if you are what you eat, I'm cheap, fast and easy."

Single working mom (who commutes 2.5 hours a day, on GOOD days), with a kid that is in a ton of activities. Yeah, we end up fast fooding it (especially for her) more than I like. My dd needs to wear size 7 or 8 clothes for her height, but when she does, she ends up with her bottoms hanging low. (You know, the look that so many of us said "I'll never let my child look like that!" Safety pins help, but her clothes still tend to sneak south.)

1. You can't blame parents, except for maybe the metabolism that they passed on to their kids.

2. Just because it's home-cooked, doesn't mean it's healthy. And the healthiest foods don't require a lot of preparation time.

I'm too tired to do much of anything at night. But I still eat pretty healthily. Not as healthy as my health-obsessed friends, but more so than most people I know, and that includes the ones that pride themselves on their home cooking.

 

[southernclass]

Originally posted by EsmeraldaX
DBF and I both work. We leave home at 6 am and get home together at about 6:30 PM. We still find time to eat good food.

I work full time and so does my fi and we both manage to work out two hours a day and eat healthy. I get up at 4 in the morning and drive an hour and a half to work, do not get off until 5 and have to drive back home. Am I tired?? Sure I am, but I am also dedicated. I think it is all a matter of what you make time for. SOme people don't find it THAT important to stay in shape and that is there problem, but often times it is those same people who criticize someone who is in shape because they feel intimidated.(Not everyone, but most).

I love and respect my man and when he met me, I was in shape and I intend to stay that way. I am 5'4 and weigh 115 and my body fat is only 12 percent.

If you don't have time to cook there are many protein drinks that are the same price as what you pay for a whopper combo.

THere are also many meal bars that taste like candy bars that you can sneak in your purse.

It is just as easy to eat healthy as it is to eat crud all day.

 

[Pugdog007]

Originally posted by ScarlettO
a poster by name of pugdog-something was trying to turn C.Ann's thread into an obesity debate-thus the resaon for this thread)[/COLOR]

It's 007, thank you. The thread wasn't hyjacked until a few softies decided to slam me for my comment about working Mom's and fast food. Give me a break.

 

[Christine]

I have a job and I cook!! I hate doing it but I do. Every night I make a protein dish (usually meat) and two veggies. It's the way I was raised and I can't possibly imagine feeling good any other way.

I don't think you can blame the working woman on this. In fact, there was a thread going a few months ago that was started by a woman who complained that her stay-at-home DH would not cook a meal, nor did it seem did ANY of his stay-at-home compadres (mostly female) were doing any cooking. It was Lunchables, Hot Pockets, etc. Apparently they were all too *busy* to cook. Oh, and the house was a mess. As you can imagine, the thread didn't go too well. But the point is, the "lack of cooking" seems to an equal opportunity problem.

 

[Pugdog007]

For those of you in metabolism-denial...

you absolutely should blame parents for children who are overweight. A child can't buy their own groceries now can they?

And I never said this was solely the reason for obesity. I simply stated it is a contributor... which I stand by. I don't get home by 5:30 or 6... it's typically more like 7 or 8:00. We eat too much fast food... not unlike many of my colleagues here who also put in long hours. My child is not overweight, BTW. My pugs are though.

I just didn't realize there were so many "perfect" people out there that would never DREAM of purchasing fast food! I'm so happy to associate with some of them here

 

[jrydberg]

Agreed Christine... that's why I say blame the parents. Especially in a household where the mother is working, dad needs to take a good bit of the responsibility. If a single parent can do it, surely between two it can be done. It's a question of priorities.

Honestly though, I think overweight kids have a lot more to do with lack of activity than junk food. I didn't exactly eat "healthy" while growing up. But I was outside playing all the time, burning it all off instead of sitting at a computer/tv/video game. You've got a lot more to work with on burning calories than on the intake (everyone's gotta eat something).

 

[aprincessmom]

I'm a working mom and I cook most every night...and I also cook breakfast everyday and we pack our lunches. My child eats less fast food than almost all in our neighborhood and I'm the only mom who works so I don't think working moms have the monopoly on feeding kids fast food.

I agree with the premise that Americans as a society eat at restaurants far more frequently than in the past. I also agree that most restaurant meals have significantly more calories and fat than the traditional meal cooked at home.

I think this is true especially when you look at the portion size. Most restaurant meals are actually 2-3 portions per plate. Americans eat large quantities...you can eat healthy and still gain weight if you don't monitor the portions. How many of us truly only eat a piece of meat the size of a deck of playing cards or only a cup of cooked pasta or a 3 ounce apple? Probably not too many yet that is the size for one serving.

Can you blame obesity in children on only working parents. No. Can you blame obesity in children on all types of parents? Yes.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Originally posted by Pugdog007
For those of you in metabolism-denial...

you absolutely should blame parents for children who are overweight. A child can't buy their own groceries now can they?

And I never said this was solely the reason for obesity. I simply stated it is a contributor... which I stand by. I don't get home by 5:30 or 6... it's typically more like 7 or 8:00. We eat too much fast food... not unlike many of my colleagues here who also put in long hours. My child is not overweight, BTW. My pugs are though.

I just didn't realize there were so many "perfect" people out there that would never DREAM of purchasing fast food! I'm so happy to associate with some of them here

Nope, never claimed perfection. For every day I (or DW) cook, there's probably just as many days that we either go out, get takeout or pop something into the microwave.

I wish we could get a few more pounds on DS, though -- he's like 15 percentile in weight for his age.

 

[Christine]

I do agree that activity levels are the major influence for weight gain in kids. Generally, kids have wonderful metabolisms--I know mine was. I didn't eat great either as a child (lots of bologna sandwiches, white bread, etc) but when I think about it, McDonald's was a real treat. I mean MAYBE I went once a month. And a candy bar--again a real treat. I didn't have desserts all the time. My kids think they should have a "lunch dessert" and a "dinner dessert". I still think they eat far more sweets and drinks then we ever got.