Killing Obesity!!! (A plan)

[JAJT]

Eating healthy can get pricey

Putting aside organic for a second, eating healthy can be dirt, dirt, dirt cheap.

The problem largely boils down to 3 issues:

1. People don't know how to cook
2. People don't know what to cook
3. When people do cook they waste most of what they bought

And IMHO #3 is the big one. Healthy food gets very, very expensive when you throw away 90% of what you buy. It's only dirt cheap when it's used.

Older generations were AMAZING at finding a use for every shred of food in the house and this and it's frankly a lost art.

Although it doesn't help either that so many recipes out there have blown up into "ingredient monsters" that use either too many ingredients or too many "weird" (or "one-off") ones.

If you ever look at really old cookbooks each recipe is like 4-5 ingredients tops, and used things everyone had in the house and things that many, many other recipes called for. Big "throw it in the pot" recipes were also super common. If you had leftover veggies you made simple but tasty stews, soups, chili, and stir fries. All the recipes also focus on the cheapest cuts of meat and spread it as far as it would go. It used whole cuts (like an entire chicken) instead of broken down parts that are more expensive. It wasn't rocket science.

I would genuinely challenge anyone who says that cooking healthy is expensive by simply asking them what they buy and what they throw away. Because that will likely point to the problem. If you aim for buying as "unprepared" as possible (whole pork shoulder, whole chickens, dry beans, traditional rices, making your own sauces, individual spices instead of mixes, etc...) and use everything you buy, it's pretty damn hard not to come out WAY ahead of any pre-packaged garbage.

And of course eating a proper amount helps. If you eat 3x more than you should it is obviously going to cost you 3x more than it should.

 

[Kak]

As @cmor16 said, some of it is probably just pricing at what the market will bear. A lot of it is probably spoils though. We get spoils billbacks and our product has a 15 month shelf life. I can't imagine what the spoils factor is on raw veggies.



Something @amp0193 pointed out as well. I'd being lying if I said fear had nothing to do with it, as I've already got so much uncertainty in my life. Also, though, @Kak inspired me to think about time separation from day one. I could go make the product happen in a rented commercial kitchen right now,... I've got the money and the time to go to market, but I need to make the economics work separate from my time from the beginning. (Ops/distribution wise,... obviously product development and marketing will be yugely time-intensive).

I will find a way to make it work. It's nothing revolutionary, just a combination of improvements on existing products with a marketing slant that I've seen play extremely well in other food categories, so it can obviously be done.

I'm wondering if the solution isn't to just say screw it let's do it and quit my job to free up my time/creative capacity.

Cool man. While I definitely think scale and time separation from the genesis of a business... There is absolutely nothing wrong with you taking on any and all tasks in the beginning... All I make sure of is that there is a way out.

I know a guy who built a company, took a bunch of investor money, and worked basically 25 years for his own company without much choice in the matter. That is a job. He made good money, but he had to show up to work every day. He also wasn't able to grow his portfolio of holdings because his time was absorbed running his business. After the investors sold the company, he got sold with it. Once he sold his stock which was only about 10 percent, for a couple of million dollars he didn't know what to deploy it into to make it last. Last I heard things weren't going so hot.

Moral of the story... Working 25 years, needing to show up to work every day, and cashing out at the end with a few million sounds a lot like a good slowlane job to me, even if he was the entrepreneur.

Don't trap yourself.

 

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[Scot]

Really good write up @Spicymemer45!

The sugar addiction comes from the newly released controversy where Coke was paying researchers to make fats the villain in diet not sugar. So as long as you avoided egg yokes and sucked down a 6 pack of Coke you were fine... right?

I was just thinking yesterday about the simple trend of healthy food restaurants. But you know what's still missing? Healthy drive through. If someone could come up with the idea of good healthy drive through, it could be huge. Serve Korean lettuce wraps, protein shakes, baked sweet potato fries, turkey burgers on protein bread.

We have plenty of quick service places that do healthy food, but have you ever tried eating a salad or quinoa bowl going 75 mph on the highway?

 

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[JAJT]

It's amazing how much ignorance there still is in the world.

To be fair, a lot of this is major marketing nonsense and not necessarily the (entire) fault of people in general.

My in laws still talk about the food pyramid and how everyone should be eating more fruit. They look at my egg eating habits like I'm going to die at any moment from cholesterol poisoning. They are bombarded by very convincing health experts that flaunt nonsense. Even Dr. Oz claims to be a medical doctor with the goal of helping people who does little more than shill other people's products and ideas. Best selling books written by hacks are endorsed by trusted sources. Infomercials star well known athletic figures claiming this new thing is "the shit".

People ARE ultimately responsible for not being ignorant but I also find it hard to blame them. When the government, doctors, experts, books, tv, and other authority sources all start spouting bullshit under the guise of reality it's not hard to believe that people are going to get really mixed and f*cked up ideas of what they should be doing.

And to make matters worse the "above average" folks know enough about the bullshit going on that it becomes extremely hard to convince them what is actually real.

 

[AustinS28]

I think mental health needs to be addressed with obesity as well.

I read in one of the posts in here something about economics and while sure, some workaholics have terrible diets and make terrible food choices, but I'd venture to make the statement that people who make more are also healthier. They can afford better food, and they have better self esteem. Increased self esteem usually leads to increased physical and financial prosperity. You take care of yourself.

Obesity is rampant in poor communities.

 

[amp0193]

I know that diet is probably the biggest cause of obesity, but inactivity is another contributing factor.

The chart in the op coincided with the industrial revolution and the on-set of automobiles.

The bicycling/walking/horseback riding of the past has been replaced with 70mph la-z-boys. The rise of surburbia and urban sprawl from the 1950s onwards has only increased the amount of time americans spent in their la-z-boys. It's to the point where 60 mile drives are "not that far".


I spent last summer in Copenhagen, Denmark and southern Sweden. I saw one obese person every week or two. Not exaggerating.

The couple of times I went out into the country, I observed that the percentage of obese people went up slightly. City-dwellers were simply just not obese, at all.

Yes, their diet was better. There was some processed stuff in the grocery store, but not much. The stuff that was, wasn't near as prominent... except for candy at checkout. That was the same as the U.S.

There were vegan/vegetarian only restaurants everywhere... and they were packed. My wife was in heaven.

Even the beach-side snack shacks were serving up plates of (damn good) meatballs and mashed potatoes. No shitty burgers or hotdogs in sight. Museum food was out of this world fantastic. It was straight up gourmet. In comparison, last week, the brand new museum in Dallas served me a plate of grease with a side of pizza.

But here's something else: the cities were set up for biking, and everyone biked. It was faster and more convenient to bike to your destination, than it was to drive. The last statistic I read was that only 29% of Copenhageners even own cars.


Coming back to the USA, the very first thing I noticed when I got off the plane in Houston was fat people everywhere. It was shocking.

 

[MidwestLandlord]

That's pretty cool. I think the solution would have to be branded. You don't want people saying, "they have XYZ salad at the RaceTrac", you want them to say "They have an XYZ kiosk at the RaceTrac and they have salad". Looks like the Danes are on to something.

Food service in the c-store arena is very, very, very, very, very hard to do well. There are multiple reasons for this.

1) Image. Gasoline and "quality food" don't exactly go together.
2) Discretionary spending. It's been proven many times over that the higher wage earners are the least likely to shop inside the store. Instead, they just swipe, pump, and go. The inside very much caters to lower income earners.
3) Service. C-stores consistently rank the lowest in customer service in various studies compared to grocery stores and restaurants. This even includes the top service providers such as Racetrac, Kum & Go, Casey's. They rank lower even if it's proven the service was actually better...so again, image.

Even companies like Couche-Tard & Kroger (Loaf n' Jug) have struggled with food service being profitable. Only a select few have done OK with it, and that's selling crap like Casey's selling and delivering pizza.

I have direct experience in this industry.

 

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[Spicymemer45]

Being fat sucks

Eating like your fat doesn't

The end.




Just kidding.

Obesity rates in America are still on the rise despite the fact that the fitness industry has and is growing at an exponential rate! So what's up with all the blobs? The answer is hidden in time.

*Flashback*

After the agricultural boom in the late 1800's and early 1900's obesity increased; obviously, but only in small margins (≤1.2% Annually from 1880-1939). But if you'll take a peek at the graph below that displays a timeline of obesity in the U.S you'll see where it all goes to chubbish hell.

Notice that sneaky little cunt SUGAR

It's no coincidence that the correlation between availability of sugar and obesity levels are so strong. But if you'll look at this graph.

Something clearly happened in the early 90's to make Americans a bunch of obese little piggies! Now what could it be? Here are some of the MOST POPULAR FOODS IN THE 90's

35 snacks that will take you back to the '90s

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar.....


Oh look!

Some more F*cking SUGAR!!!!

Sweet Jesus I feel like I'm listening to "The Archies" on repeat

Well, okay spicymememan! Sugar is bad! But why?

Sugar is bad for everyone, BUT ESPECIALLY MEN!

Studies have shown (Real studies like this one: Abrupt decrease in serum testosterone levels after an oral glucose load in men: implications for screening for hypogonadism. - PubMed - NCBI) (Remember lads, if it's not science, it's a sales pitch) that sugar significantly decreases the big
"T"

That beloved Bullshark Testosterone that makes the world spin and has developed cultures! Packs on the gains, helps you make the hanky-panky, keeps you alert and feeling like a man!

Sugar comes and kicks your t-levels in the balls (Ba-dum-chh)

Plus, sugar spikes INSULIN

Insulin is the most anabolic hormone in your body, which is good, IF, you're trying to repair tissue and muscle. Sadly the more often you eat some sugary substance, the more insulin levels rise in your body, the less insulin resistance you have (Which can lead to diabetes and a plethora of other health problems)

Ok, Spicymemegod, what do we do about it?

We replace it with meats and unprocessed breads (Brown rice is pretty much the most pure of pure grains you'll find)
Proteins regulate cell growth and fats will regulate and optimize your hormonal outputs!

BUT

Animal husbandry is on the decline, which means prices for meat are on the rise!
The return to the good old "Eggs and bacon!" diet would set the WHOLE country on a better track (Along with fewer meals per day)

To accomplish this there'll have to be a way to do the following:

1.) People are ADDICTED to sugar: How can we stop this

2.) How will we fund more meat producing businesses'?

3.) How can we make it the economical choice for all income levels?



I hope this thread sparks some ideas as to how we can help developing countries (Not just the U.S) with their obesity problems. Feel free to chime in!

Cheers!- Grayson. J​

 

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[Scot]

Also @MidwestLandlord and @G-Man if you think about it, there's already a good model to base this off of.

Bodybuilder have been obsessed with clean eating for a while and have it down to a literal science. There are so many companies that are doing the food subscription/delivery business with clean foods. And the best part is, they've gotten creative. Take my favorite dish my wife cooks. Turkey burger on a sweet potato "bun" (it's just two slices of grilled seeet potato) with curry ketchup. Boom, handheld and healthy.

Take the creative menus bodybuilders and fitness junkies use and turn it into a fast food menu.

Then buy a large wheel barrow and burlap sacks with dollar signs to bring that money to the bank.

 

[amp0193]

This.

I travel a LOT, and it is so freakin' difficult to eat well on the road.

I made a commitment to myself last year, to eat healthy no matter what while on the road. No more fast food. It means I pay 2x-3x as much for a sit down place, (or order carry-out and wait 15min), then so be it.

Healthy fast food would be a game changer for me. Not sure if there would be enough demand to sustain the biz, especially in the small towns dotted along the interstate. They would have to knock it out of the park with their menu/price/convenience.

 

[amp0193]

Kak inspired me to think about time separation from day one.

That's what I did/do. I had a great idea for a business 2-3 months ago, but what killed it was the day-to-day involvement that would be needed on my part for 1-2 years. Just not gonna happen if I want to spend time with my kid.

I opted for a new business that I could start from scratch and keep it relatively hands off.

Freedom of time is more important to me than anything.

 

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[JAMES-L67]

Super interesting topic! I work slowlane as an Exercise Physiologist here in Aus, and obviously see my fair share of overweight/obesity clients. And while I definitely agree that there needs to be some "treatments" made available for obese people, particularly in the diet/cooking bracket, I personally believe it's far more important to focus on the "prevention" of obesity.

I would argue that one of the best places to start is simply with education, particularly for parents and their children. It's frightening the amount of parents I see currently that have NO IDEA when it comes to nutrition, and their beliefs are trickling down to their children. I have a mother who comes in and she told me one day (I swear to god she said this) that her son eats pretty healthily, "-he eats a lot of meat and veggies. You know, chicken nuggets, fish fingers, hash browns." She honestly did not know that those foods are drenched in fat and sugar, and their caloric content is through the roof. There is simply no hope for these people by pushing "healthy" food down their throat, as they don't see or understand the benefit.

Just my 2c, and to be honest I've just come home from driving 10+ hours today camping so I'm likely incoherent.

-James

 

[MidwestLandlord]

If there was a way where we can make carrots,

Baby carrots are not baby carrots

I've always loved the history behind baby carrots. Turned a vegetable into a somewhat sexy and more interesting food.

The guy that invented these things saw a few NEEDS in the form of farm waste (discarded carrots), lack of sales for his retailers, and convenience for the end consumer, and responded.

His invention more than doubled carrot consumption in the USA in the following 12 years.

Fastlane indeed.

 

[G-Man]

If you eat 3x more than you should it is obviously going to cost you 3x more than it should.

It's also how you become a fat bastard. I was already way out of shape from being so sedentary and overeating, and it got worse when my wife got preggers and there was a neverending supply of shit food in the house. I ran into a guy I hadn't seen in a month or so last night, and he's like "I see you're still losing weight, what are you doing?"

Me: I'm not eating so damn much.
Him: Really, I've tried, (lists a bunch of diets which I too have tried),...
Me: Seriously, I don't eat outside of meal time, and at meal time I don't go get "seconds",... also stopped drinking liquid sugar.

My super scientific plan for not being a fat bastard: Don't eat like a fat bastard. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

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[MidwestLandlord]

This.

I travel a LOT, and it is so freakin' difficult to eat well on the road.

This would be a literal life saver for me.

(I was trying to quote @Scot haha)

 

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[Scot]

This.

I travel a LOT, and it is so freakin' difficult to eat well on the road.

This would be a literal life saver for me.

(I was trying to quote @Scot haha)

I'm in my car 8-10 hours a day and days when I'm not doing a lunch meeting, if I don't bring my own food, it's a matter of which burger looks the least disgusting.

I avoid food ideas like the plague, especially the idea of running a restaraunt because I know how challenging it is. But man, if someone could conquer the challenge of healthy handheld food and serve it through a drive through,I think that would be ground breaking.

 

[G-Man]

But when a cheeseburger is like $2, and a salad is $10...ya know?

I honestly think this is always going to be the case, and I don't know that there's a market solution for f-ed up priorities. Conversely, a gym membership is cheaper than cable, but everyone has cable and not everyone has a gym membership. People will spend money on what's truly important to them.

Plus, it's impossible to eat a salad on the interstate. I have to hold the bowl with one hand, the fork with the other, which is fine...but how am I supposed to text too?

Your dad never taught you to knee steer?

The problem is grain products (bread, tortilla's, etc) make food much more convenient to eat.

 

[Scot]

But when a cheeseburger is like $2, and a salad is $10...ya know?

Plus, it's impossible to eat a salad on the interstate. I have to hold the bowl with one hand, the fork with the other, which is fine...but how am I supposed to text too?

The problem is grain products (bread, tortilla's, etc) make food much more convenient to eat.

I've never understood the economics of why salads cost so much at fast food joints, because I've seen the PO for produce. Bulk romaine is cheap. And you can buy bulk chicken to bake or grill for just as cheap as ground beef.

@G-Man yes, you obviously do hate yourself. But why not build your own thing?

 

[Scot]

And even if they aren't a shit show...most people assume they will be.

It's a very hard image to break. Impossible even.

So "I need to eat healthier!" doesn't translate to "let's go to Racetrac!" very well.

Which is why I think the real differentiator will be the person who tackles a healthy drive through option.

If you can run business the way Chic Fil A does but make it healthy, it's a win.

 

[Andy Black]

Cool man. While I definitely think scale and time separation from the genesis of a business... There is absolutely nothing wrong with you taking on any and all tasks in the beginning... All I make sure of is that there is a way out.

I know a guy who built a company, took a bunch of investor money, and worked basically 25 years for his own company without much choice in the matter. That is a job. He made good money, but he had to show up to work every day. He also wasn't able to grow his portfolio of holdings because his time was absorbed running his business. After the investors sold the company, he got sold with it. Once he sold his stock which was only about 10 percent, for a couple of million dollars he didn't know what to deploy it into to make it last. Last I heard things weren't going so hot.

Moral of the story... Working 25 years, needing to show up to work every day, and cashing out at the end with a few million sounds a lot like a good slowlane job to me, even if he was the entrepreneur.

Don't trap yourself.

Ouch. Just goes to show that having CEO on your business card means jack.

Thanks for sharing that story @Kak. Frightening and sad in equal measure.

 

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[Kelly C]

I think a good start would be if sugar wasn't put in unnecessary things. When I went to Iowa for 9 months 10 or so years ago - I noticed a lot of choice but all of the options had sugar in - in things that really didn't need it like canned tomatoes for example.

My sister married a Texan and she is in Texas right now and has been telling me her struggles with food shopping. She said she got margarine without thinking and when she had some she said it tasted sweet - well it had sugar in. She then went on the hunt for one without sugar and couldn't find it (I told her to go get real butter though lol). Seriously why is there sugar in margarine? She said she is finding it really hard with the amount of sugar and salt in everything - it is a constant check of all ingredients even on things you wouldn't even think would have it in.

I know that the UK has its own obesity problem but at least I can buy a lot of things without thinking and know they won't have sugar in them!

 

[Argue]

These damn white people, if only they added spice to their meals they wouldn't only love the packaged foods.

But in all seriousness, yes sugar is fastlane. But it's also a fastlane problem that can be solved for it.

We could either

A.) Like you said, make better foods more appealing

B.) Mass hypnotize the populace into loving their greens

Yeah, it can be done.

We need to make our vegan cookies packaging look very similar to Oreos.

We need a Ronald McDonald type clown who inspires magic and fun through healthy eating.

We need to alert people about the rewards of eating healthy greens.

Healthy eating awareness needs to be revolutionary and innovative tho. I think there's progress happening across the country but it's not significant yet.

Imo, we need "fast food" healthy eating styled restaurants, grocery stores that carry healthier organic products, and programs that condition people to eat healthy.

 

[G-Man]

I travel a LOT, and it is so freakin' difficult to eat well on the road.

This would be a literal life saver for me.

I avoid food ideas like the plague, especially the idea of running a restaraunt because I know how challenging it is. But man, if someone could conquer the challenge of healthy handheld food and serve it through a drive through,I think that would be ground breaking.

There are some people doing things in this space restaurant-wise. Snappy Salads is growing fast in TX - there is market demand for a restaurant that is healthy yet tasty and not head-up-its-a$$ douchey. There is huge opportunity here.

As for hand held, I have a CPG food idea that I think will fit in this space, but I can't find a damn co-packing scheme that will make it work, and I don't have the time and energy to do it myself in a commercial kitchen.

You guys have already seen some of my struggles with the current food company I'm at, and I'm already thinking about starting another one on the side. How much must I hate myself?

 

[MidwestLandlord]

There are some people doing things in this space restaurant-wise. Snappy Salads is growing fast in TX - there is market demand for a restaurant that is healthy yet tasty and non-head up its a$$ douchey. There is huge opportunity here.

As for hand held, I have a CPG food idea that I think will fit in this space, but I can't find a damn co-packing scheme that will make it work, and I don't have the time and energy to do it myself in a commercial kitchen.

You guys have already seen some of my struggles with the current food company I'm at, and I'm already thinking about starting another one on the side. How much must I hate myself?

But when a cheeseburger is like $2, and a salad is $10...ya know?

Plus, it's impossible to eat a salad on the interstate. I have to hold the bowl with one hand, the fork with the other, which is fine...but how am I supposed to text too?

The problem is grain products (bread, tortilla's, etc) make food much more convenient to eat.

 

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[G-Man]

I've never understood the economics of why salads cost so much at fast food joints, because I've seen the PO for produce. Bulk romaine is cheap. And you can buy bulk chicken to bake or grill for just as cheap as ground beef.

As @cmor16 said, some of it is probably just pricing at what the market will bear. A lot of it is probably spoils though. We get spoils billbacks and our product has a 15 month shelf life. I can't imagine what the spoils factor is on raw veggies.

@G-Man yes, you obviously do hate yourself. But why not build your own thing?

Something @amp0193 pointed out as well. I'd being lying if I said fear had nothing to do with it, as I've already got so much uncertainty in my life. Also, though, @Kak inspired me to think about time separation from day one. I could go make the product happen in a rented commercial kitchen right now,... I've got the money and the time to go to market, but I need to make the economics work separate from my time from the beginning. (Ops/distribution wise,... obviously product development and marketing will be yugely time-intensive).

I will find a way to make it work. It's nothing revolutionary, just a combination of improvements on existing products with a marketing slant that I've seen play extremely well in other food categories, so it can obviously be done.

I'm wondering if the solution isn't to just say screw it let's do it and quit my job to free up my time/creative capacity.

 

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[G-Man]

So "I need to eat healthier!" doesn't translate to "let's go to Racetrac!" very well.

Which is why my fat a$$ was in there getting jalapeno cape cod chips and trying to figure out if that stripper was actually a dude.... she had very muscular arms, and clearly eats better than I do.

 

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[MidwestLandlord]

I bet Paige Spiranac could sling turkey burgers. Sexy but not sleazy. Appeals to men, aspirational for women. Now all we need is a menu

EXACTLY.

That's exactly what I meant.

Off-topic, but CKE (Hardee's, Carl's Jr,) also had Paris Hilton do training videos for the crew. And they weren't any tamer than the commercials.

"Here you go my new 15 year old female crew member! Watch this training video with your host, Paris Hilton!"

How on God's green earth they didn't get sued is beyond me.

 

[Scot]

I hate kale.

 

[Scot]

"Hi my name's Steve Weatherford, and when I'm on the road and hungry I like to hit the drive thru at Scot's House of Kale.

Not quite random haha

 

[RSN]

I was just thinking yesterday about the simple trend of healthy food restaurants. But you know what's still missing? Healthy drive through. If someone could come up with the idea of good healthy drive through, it could be huge. Serve Korean lettuce wraps, protein shakes, baked sweet potato fries, turkey burgers on protein bread.

It looks like a great idea to me as well and it's definitely a need that's not being served right now. Now if you take the "healthy eaters" niche and take a closer look at it, to me, it looks more like a bunch of sub-niches that are sometimes more against each others views than otherwise being just a group of people that just want to eat "right" or "natural".

You have "eggs and bacon" crossfitters and you have vegans. Low carbs, right carbs ( no white or processed carbs) and no carbs. High fat and high protein. Many people are now moving away from grains at all while others will eat only certain grains like quinoa. And of course, the organic and/or GMO question that will always turn some people off but many won't care.

I think the people who are the most likely to be really excited about a healthy fast food drive thru are also people who are more likely to be very attached to a specific point of view of what "healthy" really means. People who are more vague on their definition of healthy would also be more vague as to whether to pass by the healthy drive thru or the burger king's drive thru.

So I think the person who decides to pursue this healthy drive thru model needs to decide first if he will cater for one of the sub niches or if not, how he would define "healthy" for the business?

Personally, I would cater first for the paleo/crossfitter niche. It's already a huge group that tend to be very passionate about their food choices. Not as big as "everyone who wants to eat heathy" group but certainly a more engaged one. Engagement is good for business.