hw #6

           

            Over the past two days I have eaten far below what I am expected to based on the website provided. I am expected to consume 2564 calories a day, while based on my eating habits I only consume about 1800 a day. Over the past two days I have consumed a total of 3800 calories, 2200 the first day and 1600 the last. This is less than the expected amount, which is over 5000. While this may seem like it is healthy, I am not quite sure if it is. For one thing I may not be getting the nutrition that my body needs. Another point is that while I do not consume all that many calories, I do not eat very healthy foods. Vegetables rarely find their way into my diet, which cannot be good for my health. Most of the food that I eat is greasy and often fried food. The drinks that I have are almost always soda or juice which in addition to being high in calories is very sugary.  

            Day one began with my usual bowl of cereal, with milk of course. This was roughly 400 calories, mostly because of the milk, despite its being 1%.  From there, a few hours later, I enjoyed a granola bar. This was 90 calories. The day went on and for lunch I had Chinese food, fried chicken wings, a whooping 800 calories. My dinner that night, hamburger helper, was 400 calories. Aside from the foods, all I had to drink that day was soda and juice. I had one serving of soda and one of juice.  This added an extra 200 calories. Then the snack, adding 300 calories. Overall I enjoyed my eating for this day. The food was not particularly expensive and it pleased me. Food impacts people in several ways. In pleases your senses before and during the time you eat it. Before it arrives you are able to smell it, causing you to desire it all the more. While eating it, you taste it and enjoy it. Most foods are physically easy to eat, while some require more effort. I always wonder why foods have that smell about them. Is the smell intentional or does it come naturally with the ingredients? Why do the ingredients smell the way they do? Does the smell of the food actually impact the way it tastes?  

            Day two began similarly with my traditional bowl of cereal, followed by my granola bar. 490 calories. Then, being that there was early release; I assumed I would be home somewhat earlier than usual so I had a smaller lunch. Just one slice of pizza, along with the soda, added 500 calories. Dinner that night, rice, beans and chicken, added roughly 450 more calories. My juice for that night, 50, will give me a final of 1490 calories for the day. This is much less than the expected amount, leading me to believe that I should have ate more for lunch that day. Despite my lack of a full lunch, I am still overall pleased with my eating for that day.

            Generally my foods are unhealthy. They are often fried and/or greasy. My meals are usually very saucy, or wet. They almost always consist of rice or pasta, either for lunch or for dinner. The foods I eat are always tasty in my opinion. They tend to be very flavorful. I am satisfied with my meals for the past two days, however, if I could make a change or an addition I would like to incorporate fruits and/or vegetables into my eating more. I do not necessarily have the desire to take anything out of my meals; I would just like to add something healthy into my daily eating. Also, I would like to make eating every meal, every day, more of a habit. There are some days where I would not eat lunch or eat something small. I would like to have a full lunch everyday. There are also days where I may be pressed for time in the morning and therefore not be able to have breakfast. I would like to make time for breakfast every morning as well.

HW #4

            Dominant Discourse is how people argue but based on their specific position. For example my friends and I are arguing about where to go to lunch on a given day, likely candidates places that are not particularly healthy, the people whose opinions actually matter are us. If a random person shows up, or a person that will not be at lunch with us, we will not really take their opinion into consideration. Food fits into this discussion in several possible ways. For one, people have many discussions on what kinds of foods to eat. People discuss what is and is not healthy for you. They also argue which allows you to enjoy your food while still having the healthy aspects of the meal. All of these things come into play. The price if the foods are always a big deal as well. “Before we want health, we want taste, we want convenience and we want low cost,” Mr. Balzer said in a New York Times article.  Basically, all people want whatever is cheapest and tastes best. People don’t value the health aspect of food as much as the price and taste.

            Not everyone’s opinion matters as much as others when it comes to these discussions. For example people who are obese will almost defiantly be overlooked when health conversations are about. If the discussion is strictly about the quality, taste, and value of the food, the opinion of someone overweight may actually be heavily relied on. For health, experts like doctors will probably be the most listened to or people who have actually experienced the diet and benefited from it. Based on the articles, most of the people providing their opinions were doctors who have done research on health and know what is and is not healthy for you.

            While the experts do know what they are talking about, they may not be able to prevent the health recession. People will continue to eat unhealthy foods and pollute their bodies. It seems as if the doctors lived through a time where the health of food was not a huge issue. People were not overweight the way they are now so it was not as much a problem but now that obesity is such a problem, people need to eat healthier. That makes the problems more of an issue to doctors. Not only that, but the fact that seemed so easy not to be overweight in the past makes it harder for most doctors to understand the difficulty that people may have attempting to eat healthy. Fast food is very cheap where healthy foods are usually somewhat more costly, so people simply prefer to eat cheaper. It may not always be about the taste, the price plays a large role as well.  

HW #4

            My parents always eat healthier than I do. Not only that, but they are always conscious of what they are eating and how that will affect them in the long run. I however, hardly ever pay any attention to how what I am eating will affect my body. I do not pay much attention to how healthy the things that I am eating are. When asked, my parents said that their parents actually do not always eat healthier than they do, as I had thought. My grandfather apparently eats almost as unhealthy as I do. My grandmother however, eats far more healthy than the rest of our family. After putting thought into it, I concluded that my grandmother eats healthier because she is a diabetic while my grandfather has been blessed with great health.

            My parents said that the way they were raised did not really promote healthy eating habits. Although my grandmother, who did basically all of the cooking for my dad, eats healthy now, she had not always eating that way.  Becoming a diabetic completely changed her eating habits. Despite growing up with poor eating habits, my father now has much better eating habits for the most part. The main reason for this is really the desire to stay in shape as he ages. Although nobody in my family really struggles to maintain their fitness, my father now makes a conscious effort to keep in shape. Not only does he now workout, but he eats much healthier and is careful not to have to many foods that are not particularly good for him. In my opinion, the way that society is today has a lot to do with the way my father has changed the way he goes about his figure. The way that people are so critical upon others based on their appearance is what I think motivates him. In addition, he may be motivated by the fact that it is so easy to be careless and allow yourself to lose  a strong appearance and gain excess weight.

Basically, looking at , my fridge/menu, we mainly have some sort of meat along with a side or two. It will always be something like pasta, rice, mash potatoes, etc. along with a meat. This is what may be referred to as a typical/daily meal for us. Although we usually have the same thing for dinner, often together at the table, we have different routines after. My father and stepmother for example, usually do a physical activity later the evening or sometime the next day to work off the heavy meal, depending on the meal. Also, they do not always treat themselves to a snack, which I almost always do. This is how our eating habits vary.

HW #3

The McDonalds fast food restaurant and the Green Market have similarities and differences.  They both gather many customers; however, they gather different customers. We observed that McDonalds gathers primarily younger customers while the Green market has an older crowd. This relates to what we discussed in class earlier today, about how younger people are more able to eat less healthy and not be affected while adults have to care about their health more. Adults typically pay more attention and are affected more by the foods that they eat, so they are more careful to eat better foods. Kids and teenagers are able to be less affected by the foods so they can eat less healthy and get away with it.

            There were also more people at the Green Market. This may be a result a few things. One would be the health factor. Being that the food is healthier, more people, adults, would want to eat there. It was also observed that the food was somewhat more expensive there than at McDonalds. This also relates to the age group because usually adults have more money available than kids, so it is easier for them to afford the food at the Green Market.

            I generally eat fast foods like McDonalds rather than healthier foods like at the Green Market. In fact, I cannot remember ever eating there. Not only do I not eat there, but my friends do not either. It is likely because of the age factor, being that during lunch when my friends and I go to lunch we usually eat fast food. Not only that, but there are almost always other groups of kids there. Based on the observations made yesterday and the conclusions that I have made, it is very likely that there are not many teenagers or kids at the Green Market, at least not as many as there are at McDonalds.

HW #2

During class today we began our food unit. We discussed many aspects of food, however one thing particularly interested me. Talk of food being sacred was a very new way to think about food. I believe that food is sacred. It is an important part of our life and a necessity. We all partake in eating food, universally, therefore i believe it is sacred. Andy brought up a tricky question, "well if food is sacred because it is important than is money sacred?" Of my classmates that spoke all of them agreed that money is not sacred. I however, disagree because i feel that money is sacred in its own way. Looking at society today, it is clear that money is of great significance. the whole world revolves around money. Many people who observe different hollidays or are different religions have different rituals to perform. Many of them would likely say that these rituals are sacred, however the clothing worn may not be seen as sacred.You need certain attire or other seemingly less significant aspects of the ritual to be there before the ritual is done. This compares to the food and money conmparison because although the clothing may not seem sacred, it is just as important as the ritual itself, as is the money when it comes to food. You need money for food. In my opinion, both money and food are sacred.

Most of my meals are quite satisfying. I am usually full and happy with my choice. My ideal meal is a meal that will full me with the least amount of effort and that costs less, while still satisfying my taste needs. The typical lunch for me is some form of fast food. These meals normally meet all of my previously stated needs, however, they are extremely unhealthy. The only desire of mine that my meals lack are health.

I do not think of myself as a very picky eater. For this reason, i do not have many priorities for my food. Generally, i prefer a meal that tastes good and is able to full me up at a decent price, or with less effort involved, as well as the convinience. Depending on the situation, these things come into play. For example, if i am home and do nt have food but i have money, i can choose between pizza or chinese food. Often times i will choose chinese food because it is cheaper and it will be delivered faster. Also, if i have a choice between something like eggs or a bowl of cereal for breakfast, the majority of the time i will go with cereal because it is much easier to prepare, plus there will be less cleaning up do do after.