Overeating: A Weighty Matter

The title is the same as the title of last night's topic at church. The presenter was Marvin, a young man from Cedar Crest with a bachelor's degree in nursing.

I admit to not having many expectations beyond hearing the usual "eat less and exercise more." And that was indeed what we heard--but that was not all we heard.

The first surprise was that the presenter had had a weight problem earlier. I have known him ever since he moved here from Paraguay with his parental family. But I did not know that his weight soon escalated from 165 pounds to 220 pounds. He attributed that to drinking a lot of pop (soda). Over a three-year period of time, he lost the 55 lb. gain, and is now back to an ideal 165 pounds.

We learned little tidbits of information like this:

Unless your wrist measures more than 7 inches in circumference (for men) and more than 6 inches (for women), you're not "big-boned."

Here's how to establish your ideal weight: The first five feet of your height should count for 105 lbs. of body weight (for men) and 100 pounds (for women). For every inch above 5 feet in height, men should add 6 pounds of weight, and women should add 5.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is another benchmark number to look at when determining a healthy weight. To calculate this, first take your height in inches and square it (take it times itself). Make this number the bottom number of a fraction (or the divisor--outside number-- in a division problem). Then take your weight in pounds times 703. Make this the top number in the fraction (or the dividend--inside number--in a division problem). The answer equals your BMI. Normal range is 18.5-24.9. Between 25 and 30 is overweight and over 30 is obese.

We all chuckled when Marvin itemized the calorie count of the ingredients in Underground Ham Casserole from one of his mother's cookbooks. The ingredients included ham, sour cream, butter, Velveeta cheese, potatoes, and cream of mushroom soup, with crumbled bacon on top. The casserole, without the bacon topping, totaled well over 4000 calories. Divided into six servings, one serving of that dish made up about a third of the ideal daily calorie intake for an adult.

Marvin appealed to us to find alternatives to soft drinks and fruit juices, processed foods in general, and high fat foods--especially saturated fats. Eating whole foods, and lots of fruits and vegetables is preferable. In the recipe he analyzed, he noted that, although he's not an experienced cook, substitutions are possible for many of the highest-fat ingredients, or they can simply be eliminated. I thought privately that I could enjoy the ham and potatoes with nothing more than seasonings and a flour-thickened chicken broth "gravy" to bind it together. I think that's what my mother would have done--that, or perhaps used whole milk instead of chicken broth for the "gravy."

I told someone afterward that I thought that the way most people cook and eat, it's a wonder anyone is at a reasonable weight if they routinely use recipes like the Underground Ham Casserole one. I already eliminate most of those kinds of ingredients in my cooking for my family. I serve lots of vegetables, and seldom serve dessert of any kind. My family does not miss it. My main challenge is finding healthful foods to prepare when I do it for company or a carry-in.

I know that when I take food to a carry-in, I often prepare food that is less healthful than that which I usually feed my family. I'm looking for convenience when I put together Tater Tot casserole, for example, but I almost never make it for my family because I know all those things about processed foods and high calories in canned cream soups and cheese, etc. Even then, I always add vegetables to the casserole, and don't worry if I don't have a lot of cheese to add. I use deer meat for some of the hamburger, and add liquids like broth or milk instead of the full amount of cream soup. For a dish that already has plenty of protein, the cheese is not nutritionally necessary, and if it can be good without it I don't feel obligated to add it. If I have shredded potatoes on hand, I mix them in and use the Tater Tots only on top. Marvin is absolutely right to recommend that recipes routinely be altered to make them more healthful.

If we can work toward creating a more healthful-eating culture, that would help take care of the "company and carry-in" dilemma for people who want to eat healthfully. Hearing the same "overeating" information when we're gathered for a midweek service is one way to begin creating that kind of culture.

I still had a few questions after the meeting was over. Marvin told us that not everyone that overeats is overweight. He didn't explain this, and I'm not sure what that means. I wondered if he could also assert its counterpart--that not everyone that is overweight overeats.

Last week I read an article written by an endocrinologist who said that two hormones, Reverse T3 (a thyroid hormone--but not the one that is usually tested) and Leptin are often abnormal in people whose eating and exercise habits should make a healthy weight possible, and they still become or remain overweight. Read more here. Articles like this tell me that more is often going on than inactivity or a failure of will power. Obviously Marvin did not have time to address all that might have been said about remaining at or regaining a healthy weight. Instead he focused on what applies to the vast majority of people, and is within reach for many of us.

My "unbiased opinion" is that to reduce calories sufficiently for weight loss often almost guarantees that the nutrient intake will be inadequate according to government-recommended guidelines. IMHO, food supplements are the most logical way to fill in the gaps. I believe the right kind of supplements can also help the body's many systems work together efficiently. I note, for example, that the Reverse T3 and Leptin issues are basically not a glandular malfunction problem initially, but a problem with cells processing the hormones effectively. The Leptin problem triggers a Reverse T3 problem, and the merry-go-round picks up speed (and weight). Good communication between cells is the underlying mechanism that has gone awry, and it takes the right kind of nutrient intake to create/rebuild the body's cellular communication system.

Another thing Marvin did not address at all is the role of genetics in metabolism. That's an area I often wonder about.

It's usually misguided to fault a speaker for what he did not say--since saying all that could be said is always an impossibility. I certainly don't fault how Marvin handled the topic. In fact, it was unusually informative and interesting. Perhaps he or someone else will delve into some of these other "weighty" perplexities, and clear up the mysteries for the rest of us. In the meantime, doing what we know to do--eating moderately and exercising regularly--is a good place to begin.