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[–]usehername 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

It's so expensive to remain thin here, only the very wealthy can afford to do so.

That's a myth. Vegetables, fruits, rice, and beans are the cheapest foods you can buy, and if you have a good diet, exercise is not that important; you can get away with taking short walks or simply having a job that requires you to move around a little.

[–]PatsyStoneMaverique 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

Please refrain from, yet again, picking an argument with me unprovoked. You don't know what you're talking about.

only the very wealthy can afford to do so.

If you are interested in what I have to say- how nice!

[–]usehername 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Please refrain from, yet again, picking an argument with me unprovoked. You don't know what you're talking about.

I am literally just stating a fact. If you aren't prepared to be challenged when you post something that isn't true, why are you even posting on this forum? This is not a personal attack. I am simply telling you that what you said is not true.

If you are interested in what I have to say- how nice!

What do you mean? I clearly was interested, or I wouldn't have responded.

[–]PatsyStoneMaverique 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

You know exactly what I think of you, I've been blunt about it.

To answer your... statement... fresh vegetables are not cheap in comparison to a lot of grain and dairy staples, especially shelf stable ones. The most important ingredient in middle and working class peoples' diets is time, which they lack. Cooking from scratch is time consuming and is also physical labor, people who work 60+ hours per week and also have other household chores have to budget their time and energy just like everything else. The main reason people prior to the 80s ate at home so much was the prevalence of married women who didn't work outside of the home.

There's also the issue of equipment and storage, cooking at home can get expensive fairly quickly with all of the accoutrements it takes to make a full dinner at home every night. Then you have to have dishes to store it in and a way to reheat it all, unless you're a trained chef who can do three portioned meals a day.

There are many middle and working class families who do this successfully, but they're usual religious fundamentalists and they accomplish it by having the wife be a full-time housekeeper. This is actually how it is in Europe too (minus the religion.) I studied abroad in France and was shocked to see that out of the dozen or so French students we exchanged with only one had a mother who worked. Some worked part-time, but they all cooked and cleaned much more than American moms I've known.

So, there's my opinion. I think a lot of people from wealthy backgrounds lack life experience to understand why people from lower social classes make the decisions that they do. It's because they're in a different situation with different contributing factors, not because there's a simple trick to success they're stupidly missing out on.

[–]usehername 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

You know exactly what I think of you, I've been blunt about it.

Yes, you've called me a lot of things, including a slur, which you didn't even get a warning for.

So... I'm guessing from this reply you're assuming I'm rich and don't work? That's false. I support myself, go to school (on scholarship), cook, and do household chores. Depends what you mean by "cooking from scratch". I don't make my own pasta or bread, though it would be much cheaper in the long run if I did, so I don't eat a lot of it. Cooking is an acquired skill, and the more you practice, the faster it becomes. It's really not that hard to cook some rice/dry pasta (especially ramen noodles) and throw some veggies in the pan, or put a couple things in a casserole dish and throw it in the oven, or heat up some leftovers.

fresh vegetables are not cheap in comparison to a lot of grain and dairy staples, especially shelf stable ones

Fresh vegetables are cheaper than dairy, and what dairy product is shelf-stable? Canned milk? Rice is indeed cheaper than fresh vegetables, but is the same price as dry beans, and fresh veg is much cheaper than fast food. A 10lb sack of potatoes is $3, 4lb of jalapeño peppers is $1, a 3lb bag of carrots is $2, and other local veg is around that price or cheaper.

cooking at home can get expensive fairly quickly with all of the accoutrements it takes to make a full dinner at home every night.

I have a pan and two pots.

Then you have to have dishes to store it in and a way to reheat it all

You're not being honest here. The vast majority of obese adults in the U.S. aren't too poor to afford dishes or electricity. This is a barrier for the extremely poor and homeless, but not the average person.

There are many middle and working class families who do this successfully, but they're usual religious fundamentalists and they accomplish it by having the wife be a full-time housekeeper.

Well call me a middle-to-working class family who is a religious fundamentalist with a full-time housekeeper wife. No, seriously though, having that makes it a breeze, but not having that doesn't mean cooking simple meals at home is impossible, it just means that making very elaborate meals is more difficult. Most meals only take about 20min max. You're just going to have to be okay with not eating that much meat or dairy and eating lots of filling veg like potatoes, beans, and carrots, which may not really be that delicious compared to restaurant/fast food, but is much healthier and cheaper.

This is actually how it is in Europe too (minus the religion.)

Not sure why you would say this, as Europe is very Catholic, but not really relevant.

I studied abroad in France and was shocked to see that out of the dozen or so French students we exchanged with only one had a mother who worked.

And how many years ago was that?

I think a lot of people from wealthy backgrounds lack life experience to understand why people from lower social classes make the decision that they do.

I agree with this statement, but I can also tell you're implying that I'm just some rich brat who just thinks "poors are lazy/stupid". It's really not worth arguing this point with you because think I'm a liar for reasons unknown to me, but I will say this: there is a culture of eating out and not cooking in the U.S. The better you are at cooking, the cheaper and quicker your home-cooked meals become. Cooking has a very steep learning curve, and a lot of people never learn. Also, many people who do learn to cook, only learn to cook very unhealthy meals that are mostly meat, some bread/starch, and dairy products.

not because there's a simple trick to success they're stupidly missing out on.

I never called anyone stupid, but the fact remains that what you said is a myth. A person may think, "wow, a $1 hamburger is so cheap!", but doesn't understand that for $3, they could get two weeks worth of potatoes.