I'm German. I spent a year in the US , as a part of an exchange program. All of us gained around 20 pounds in that time! The amount of junk food the average American consumes , was simply amazing to me. And it seemed so normal to everybody.
And I always thought Germans were fat. Many doctors think sausages, spaetzl, bread and butter, gummi behrs, ladles of gravy, and bier in 1.5 liter steins aren't so healthy either.
I'll never forget when an American friend came to visit me in Vienna. We went to a famous café which is known for it's fine pastries. She marveled how cute the tiny sizes are, that's it's so nice to be able to taste several cakes and so on. Guys, those were normal sized portions. One serving and you have no need for dinner anytime soon.
I am from EU. When GPS and google maps were invented i told my father.....: Remember when you were telling me about your 7 km walk to the elementary school in snow? Its 1.3 km.....
My dad (Finn) would tell me, “we’d ski to school with blizzards! And we still made it on time! We had no roads or established forest trails!” Years later my uncle confirmed that while they did ski race to school for fun, there were no blizzards and the forest trails have been established already before WW1! 😂
@seijika46 Yes, it appears that the corn syrup as a sweetener in everything is one of the big differences. It's not used at all or much less in Europe, at least in the Nordic countries.
@@Gittas-tube I haven´t seen HFCS in eny product ever in Finland. This is what google has to say about it. "Because of its low cost and long shelf-life, HFCS is used widely in manufacturing many food products, including candy, throughout the United States. However, due to strict EU regulations, HFCS is banned in much of Europe, including Sweden." Fructose is like alcohol. Only liver can burn it. It doesn´t store into the muscles like glucose. So if you consume lots of HFCS or fructose and your liver has hard times to process all of that. It will be stored in your liver as fat. Just like alcohol. Also bosy needs to get rid of frutose and alcohol before it can burn carbs. So the carbs are stored as fat into your fat cells. And in carb based diets it is hard to get your body to burn fat. Fat adabtation might take a long time so those things sure adds obesity. But even as i live in Finland and had low carb diet for long time and ate mostly whole foods gaved me insuline resistance becouse i wasn´t moving enough. So i started ketogenic diet what switches your metabolism to fat burn. I have lost 45kg / 99 lbs in 16 months. I have been on keto now almost 18 months and my weight has stabilized to the current weight. My BMI were 36,1 and now it is 22,3.
And soda with free re fills at lunch and dinner. An American youtuber living here in Finland thought it was so strange that we don’t have soda at our office cafeteria. We mostly drink water, milk or rarely juice at lunch.
@@marjar.5978 Rarely there is soda unless the place sells fastfood. Unfortunetsy there still is too much places where there is option to even have soda. Even that we don´t have HFCS in those, the amount of sugar isn´t healthy. Somthing that might surprice you is that all fruit juices have as much sugar as sodas and part of it is fructose. I used to think that "natural" fruit juices would be healthy. How wrong were i...
i lived in boston for 3 years and i had no car so i biked and walked everywhere, all year long, i watched what i was eating and still i gained 10kg. i am now back in france and within 6 months i already lost 4.5kg on top of having no more hormonal problems and i live in the counrtyside so i have a car here. food is for sure a big factor and stress in the usa.
@@jooproos6559 Having lived in the US for a few months, the taste and quality are lesser issues for me now - the safety of food is higher that ever though! I am repeatedly shocked to see warning labels on food items like nuts saying things like 'if you eat this item you may be exposed to LEAD' - WHATTT?! LEAD IN FOOD? How are these even allowed on the shelves??? I guess we should be thankful that we are in California which is the only state where they are at least required by law to put those warnings out! Honestly, I have stopped judging amercians for being obese and mental.
@@JN-wr9he Well,there a lot off americans who had a holiday in Europe and they were amazed by the taste off european food!And they were getting slimmer the longer they stay in Europe.The only "downside off european food is that it will not last as long as american "food¨.Because its all FRESH!Something you never will taste in the US!
Fastfood in europe, atleast for me and my close ones, is considered either the treat or long-drive-higway-food... we wouldn't eat McD etc as regular dinner or lunch...
Exactly. I either eat it when I travel across whole europe in a car, or when I just want to have McD, usually to reward myself after some frustrating event like exams in school or project completion in work.
I moved from LA to Slovakia (for good) and it’s only been 3 weeks and I already feel better and started looking slimmer. All food is cheap and what Americans would call “organic” (but here it’s just normal food here because it’s all fresh farms). Also, there’s like 90% less stress and I feel so safe and content. Best move ever! The country and people are beautiful. In the US I felt so tired and food tasted good but it was slow poisoning basically. I also walk and bike a lot here and everyone does it so I don’t feel like a freak for biking or walking like I did in LA. So much happier here!❤
Isn't it amazing how much not being stressed out of your mind constantly and being forced to work three jobs just to keep up with the rent improves your mental and physical health? Someone should tell the US politicians about this secret! 🤣
It is not true that in Northern European countries we walk less because it is cold. You only need clothes and shoes for snow. Instead of surfing we have skis and sleds. My dogs love winter walks more than summer ones, so I walk with them at least three hours a day and more on weekends.
@@BabzV 👩🏼🌾🇫🇮 We Finland-Swedes have that saying, too! 😊 We have all kinds of other sayings, as well. Like if somebody blocks your view or stands in your way, we may say: Was your father a Master of glass making (glasmästare)!? Meaning that if somebody's father was a Glass Master, you would be transparent, but since he's not, you're visibly in my way, so to speak.
Agree. People acclimatize to their surroundings. When you live in a place that gets cold, you are able to deal with living in a place where it gets cold. I'm Latvian and have lived in UK for over a decade. I can not handle the cold any more. -5 is super cold now, but I went to school when it was -30 (Celsius, of course).
I was in the USA 30 years ago. In 4 months, I put on 26 pounds and I was not overeating. Just had what the family I was staying with had. After those 4months I started doing steo-aerobic like 5 times a week and went swimming 2x. Had tennis as an after shool activity every day. Reduced the portions. Still took me 6 months to lose the half of it as I still had to eat the same food as the host family. Then I returned to Europe and just the first week of my mom’s cooking Idropoed 4 pounds. Took me another half a year of excercise and dieting to get to my original weight.
Living in EU, I dont really watch what I eat I never even think about it. I consume 2/3 home cooked meals made from organic sources (and its easy to get them because so many people grow food). You can buy homegrown meat, fresh fish - even supermarkets have 50/50 organic/industrial products ratio. I admit I am a little overweight but im over 50 and spend too much time on computer. I could use more outdoor activity - but my Cholesterol levels are healty
I’m Dutch and I remember that in 1984 when I was still in school, a classmate and girlfriend of mine went to live and study in the US for a year as an exchange student. She was a beautiful slim girl to see. After that year when she came back, she had gained almost 15 kilograms 😱 We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw her. And how come? For instance, here at home she had to bike around 20 kilometers every day to and from school. Where I lived that was/is completely normal to do so. In the US everywhere they went, was done by car. Another thing she told, is that every time she came home from whatever, the first thing to do is get to the refrigerator to get something to eat, hungry or not. Everybody did she told, that was completely normal over there. And like we knew from television back then, US refrigerators, to Dutch standards, were huge and fully stacked with food. That’s what amazed her most, that life in America evolved around eating food, lots of it and not necessarily the most healthy things. Luckily for her she came back to her normal weight but it took her around 6 months as I recall. And still the US in general has a very unhealthy relationship with eating food when it comes to both quality and quantity.
Second that. I am European as well. I am in the US because of professional reasons... I gained weight. A lot. Healthy food is expensive. Outdoor activities - as Europeans know it - is not happening!
Yes, I think it's more than just the quality. They eat enormous amounts, fill their huge plates and throw away what they don't finish. It's like they revel in the excess of food. I wonder where this comes from? Maybe the switch from the background the poor immigrants came from, to the abundance they found in the US was too much to handle in a relatively short time.
If it was like that in 84, I do wonder what it's like today, because I get a sense that standards have gone further down in the US whereas in Europe, standards have been raising a lot over the last 3 decades. It also does suggest that, as much free will as we like to think we have, the system we are living under has a big impact on us, which we should all want to improve on that.
Same happened to me, I'm Dutch, I was an exchange student in 1981-1982, gained around the same, ripped all my pants and had to buy new ones. And I lived on a farm in the US and was just as active there as I was at home. On the farm I was horse riding every day and had a fair walk to get to the school bus pick-up. It was the portions and unhealthy food and snack sizes. We only ate a proper meal together on Sunday, for the rest it was fend for yourself. People ate when they were hungry and grabbed whatever. A lot of time was spent in front of the tv, something I wasn't used to, I had not patience for all the commercials interrupting the programs, something we als didn't have in NL at the time. So I would often get the family to come outside with me and play games. When I returned to NL, I lost it in no time.
I read stories from American expats, stating that, since they moved to Europe, they lost weight, acne and other inflamations disappeared, they had lower cholesterol and blood pressure and some even got rid of their diabetes meds completely. When they went back, they gained 10 pounds in 3 weeks and all the other issues were starting to come back, too
Every time I go back to Romania I lose weight. I’m 5’7, around 125 lbs in Canada and try to eat healthy, I was in Romania for 2 weeks I lost 10 pounds eating everything, tons of fresh bread, fresh cheese etc, walking everywhere, no more bloating, just feeling great in my body. It happens every single time I go back there. My husband and kids were not trusting of the grapes and watermelon that had seeds and had a hard time getting used to it and figuring out how to eat them, it was the weirdest thing to see that they thought seedless fruit is what fruit is supposed to be like
Walking is a fantastic way to keep the weight off. I live close to a huge supermarket and I always drove there, but one day I saw one of my neighbours walking back from the supermarket and it suddenly it occurred to me that driving there was pretty silly. A 4 minute drive and park compared to a 7 minute walk. I had to spend 3 minutes longer to get there ; what a huge difference! I used to drive there once or twice a week, now I walk there two or three times a week. I went from weighing 207lbs to 198lbs in a few weeks. Now I'm down to 187lbs because walking every day now is just so "normal" to me.
I mean, if you exclude at least 800 calories of various sugars from your daily diet, it is a good starting point. If everything you eat is more natural and higher quality, it helps. On top of it, if you start using less your car and walk/bike more...
I have lived in Malaga in southern Spain for over 12 years now. I feel healthier and I attribute that to eating a Mediterranean diet. The food that I eat is free from preservatives and additives. I get fresh bread each day from a local bakery and fresh vegetables from the local market each Tuesday.Nothing I eat is processed all fresh ingredients from veg, chicken and fish the local food is fantastic and tastes great and is way more healthy. Lots walking each day don't own a car don't need one use public transport great bus service and superb high speed trains. The infurstructure is superb makes travel so easy and convenient. Compared to America food is processed crap the inferstructure is none existent and as a nation the car is king. I have heard Americans complain about McDonald's in Spain saying its not the same as in America of course it's not going to be the same you are in a different country. The local food options are way better than McDonald's or Burger King. The is shop near my house that sells a whole chicken from a rotisserie for €6.00 absolutely delicious. I have a great fantastic stress free life here in Spain.
I lived in Spain for near on 15 years, I plummeted in weight and was deemed severely underweight, but over about 12 months it crept back up to a healthy weight. Best piece of advice my dietician told me was enjoy the local diet: Fresh meats, fish and salad is always a good snack.
@@davidmalarkey1302 yeah. Especialy south is prety chill. Same in Granada or Seville. easy to live in avway.. Also south of Spain i think historicaly is lots of agriculture. Also now. Yeah, tomatos in many shops are local, and taste great. Same as everything else.
I often get the impression that Americans feel they have to shape and reinvent everything, and have no holistic approach to inherit from generations before but it's all deconstructed in seperate parts. For physical fitness you have to go to the gym, for health you have to follow a special diet and take special medicine. "We Europeans" do a lot like our ancestors because that worked with a general good outcome for health and fitness in regular diets and 'exercise' through mobilty, which is much easier. We also didn't feel the need to reinvent bread, the genetic make up of food crops, the way to preserve food etc. Just keep the good.
A while ago a friend showed me a video of an american youtuber. She advertised on the positive effects of red onions and she was completly buffled having found out the outer layers contain the most minerals etc. and she was so proud, she now started using also the outer parts of read onions. And I thought exactly: "what a dumbass". Everybody here uses as much from the outer layers of onions and any other vegetables/fruits already because we don't want to waste it and also because we just know that the most minerals are usually in the outer parts of vegetables and fruits and the american finds it out and immediately has to make a video about it, as if he or she had invented a rocket.
What you get wrong is that they do all of this for one thing only: money. Health, fitness, happiness, nature, none of it matter in front of the big $$$. Their food system is thus built for what earn the most. Not what is healthy, sustainable or tasty.
@@tatjanaflugel396 I didn't know that, but why would you trash half of the onion? We're always being told here in Norway, to not waste food. Making half the onion into waste is such a waste. It's also about the generation thing. Why reinvent the wheel? It's such a great life proverb. They have lived with the red onion for generations, if you suddenly have to waste half of it, you should start asking some serious questions.
@@ukaszszczepanski7441 yes I was even being told there was no need to peel potatoes. There's a lot of vitamins etc in the shell or what it's called. It's just for it to look prettier on a plate.
Southern Europe has a wonderful diet and some really great food. The idea of stuffing yourself with junk food when you have so much variety and fresh food available, doesnt even enter your mind. Sadly back here in the UK obesity is king, you just have to see the mobility scooter lined up outside McDonalds. Id say I in 3 is obese where I live in SE Kent.
Us Dutchies have good healthy food as well(northern Europe in general), but it is overall definitely not as tasty as the delicious Mediterranean food + it's also healthy. 👌
Here in Italy most people grow vegs and fruit in home garden, after launch we go walking in city center or take a nap in south where is hot, also preparing food from basic fresh ingredients is very important because the meal will be nutrient and healthy.
@@daredonte7787 tl;dr: F*ck summer and everyone who "loved" the heat this year. I hope they're looking forward to hell, where it'll be hot until the end of times. :) This year's summer still was/is the hottest in history, worldwide. I'm in Central Europe and while it doesn't get as hot as in the South, you must understand that we aren't acclimatised or prepared to deal with such high heat and abnormally long heatwaves at all. Almost no one has an AC at home, and only recently, my city started to implement very few ACs in the metro. In hotter countries, people spend most of their time inside with an AC blasting, but in my damn country, we are exposed to never-ending heatwaves since June, almost without a break. At home, at work, in public transport, at night. It's the second week of September and I'm literally burned out, but summer is still going strong. I'm so mad at this point.
The concept of the *Mediterranean diet* was born from an intuition of Ancel Keys in the 1960s. Keys identified the different dietary habits of different countries as responsible for the profound differences in cardiovascular mortality. Here in Italy we try to follow these directives.
There are a lot of reasons why Americans are much fatter. I was an exchange student in the US and people are overworked and stressed. Instead of trying to find a way to relax they dive into tons of comfort food in front of the TV, while sugar and just sitting gives you even more stress. My first week in the US, I suffered from severe belly pains, I begged my exchange family to let me return back to Italy. Finally we decided to go on a healthy diet and I learned them the Italian recipes my Nonna taught me. We all cooked together and it was much fun. We started to do more in the evening, going for a walk, instead of being in front of the TV, playing board games. Or other outdoor activities. The amazing thing was that they all lost so much weight, especially their son who has my age, he lost half of his weight in 3 months. Another thing, they were very Catholic but never really did something for a good cause. My family is Catholic but I have my own views on religion. I believe God is our own heart. I don’t pray in churches, I donate food to people who need it. We baked several cakes with my exchange family and we packed them and distributed them to the homeless people. They said I was a Gods gift when it was time to say goodbye. I said I am just like any other Italian of my age. We value our family deeply, we care a lot about our health. We enjoy activities that cost nothing, we don’t value expensive stuff. I don’t need the newest IPhone to be happy, I gladly use mine until it’s broken, because it doesn’t add any value to my life.
Wonderful story! ❤ Hope you're still in contact with your exchange family. But losing half of one's weight in 3 months sounds more like a life-threatening condition than healthier nutrition...
@@SatieSatie Yes we are, they came for 2 weeks to Milano Italy in July and are returning in November. Their son and me are going to study in Belgium next year.
@@SatieSatie About the body weight, their son and daughter are my age, I was 15y, (now 19y) their son was 16y and daughter 14y. Nick was obsessed with sugary things and didn’t move much. For someone of 16y old he was obese. When we started to eat like I do in Italy, I started to run with him. Daily a bit longer and after a week he felt already so much better. You could already see a huge difference. After 2 weeks he needed new clothes. All he ate before we met was fastfood and he made his homework and laid in the sofa after with snacks, Until going to sleep. Now he has my weight and runs 25 miles with ease while before he could barely walk that distance. We talk daily on WhatsApp and before his parents thought he wouldn’t be able to do university as his results weren’t really great. Now he’s also studying medicine at the university, just like me. When you cut sugars and fats you lose a lot of body fat very fast and your concentration gets much better, moving and running makes you mentally stronger. Of course the first week were hard for all of them because sugars are like a drug, an addiction, it’s very hard to cut them. We replaced it by fruits and things we baked ourselves using healthy alternatives instead of sugars. His mom was struggling with her knees, they were badly swollen the entire time, but because of her weightloss she started to feel much better, joining us for long walks. When they visited us in Italy we did more than 30.000 steps a day, which was unthinkable for her. She barely did 1000 steps a day. What they also realised in changing their diet completely is that they are actually saving money on food. They used to go to big stores buying tons of things, snacks, sodas,.. they overbuys each time they went shopping, now they drink water, get their fresh food from a smaller store. Sometimes they make lasagna and freeze it in. They make pasta salads for Nick and Noah as lunch at the university and they eat it too. They keep on walking every evening even with bad weather. And they all looked amazing and much more happy than when I first met them.
Walking is a huge deal. I live in germany, and I don't do any exercise at all. But just my normal job and commute adds up to around 8000-10000 steps a day, which is around 10 km according to my smartwatch. That is over 6 miles of walking a day, just while doing the usual stuff every day.
10:26 I'm from Portugal 🇵🇹 . It's the walking. I work 100% remote since the pandemic, and gained weight since then. In 2023 I started walking (>5km) and biking (>20km) every day just to keep in shape, and lost 20kg that year. Stopped exercising every day, and regained 10kg. It's just a question of ***DAILY*** exercise.
Same for me. I moved to Portugal shortly before the pandemic. Switched to the home office system during that time, and became a fatty. Now that everything is back to normal, I am down to my previous weight.
In your case, maybe. But I wish people would _stop_ spreading the bs Coca-Cola Company made up in the 90's about exercise to be the cure-all, just so they could keep selling their sugar trash.
Brit here, our diet is more similar to the USA than a lot of our European neighbours but even here portions are smaller than the USA . Our obesity rates are @ 28% compared to USA 40%. Not only are your food portions a lot bigger but one thing you don't get here is endless refills of sugary soda at restaurants.
@@taffygeek Yes, I am convinced that if Americans cut out all those fizzy drinks - whether they contain sugar and/or artificial sweeteners - many, if not most, of them would start to lose weight! The sheer volume of the stuff they drink is scary!
Well, I’m a bit here and I’ve just had my tea and it was like the picture you posted except mine had chickpeas, toasted hazelnuts, avocado, and tuna on top of a massive salad and homegrown tomatoes. We pretty much eat a Mediterranean type diet because we love fresh food. But I can appreciate it can be very expensive for some people.
For a lot of people, the exercise you don't notice is the most efficient. I moved to an apartment in Oslo which was on the 6th floor without elevator. The first couple of weeks were a nightmare, but then I got used to it and walked up and down many times per day without thinking about it. I've never been in better shape. That's a bit extreme, but just walking five minutes here and ten minutes there adds up through the day. But there's no doubt that it has something to do with the food as well. For instance, I read that American bread typically has 7-8 times more sugar than typical Norwegian bread.
@@nightsgrow6575 When I was a child, we ate white bread only a few times per year, which was in summer with shrimp. And I do remember really loving it and wanting more, but my mother said just that; it's cake. It's for special occasions only. But I do not condone eating shrimp with bread. It shall be white bread.
I don't call American bread "bread", it's a pastry to me. Can't eat it, it makes me feel sick. Even 'low sugar' bread from the US is too sweet and could at most be called toast. Actual bread can't have a sweet taste and must have a crust that is rougher than the inside imo.
I'm Dutch and several of my colleagues bike 1 or 1,5 hours a day from and to work. Some even longer than that. They take a shower at work when they arrive. (I am too lazy for that 😂 but it is common here)
I walk to work 6.5 kms and 2.5 kms home (its up hill after that and I'm too tired at the end of day to face it 😀) One day a colleague said "Oh when the weather get better I'm going to start walking" . I said to her if you are waiting for the weather to improve you will never walk and she never has. ☘☘☘☘
Hi Ryan. Portuguese here. I can speak for myself, I eat soup almost every day. I love green and tomato salad and fruit of course. But I'm still a mac fan, so I eat a mac menu once a month just for fun. Did you know that all Mac have soup and salads on their menus here?😀😀
I am from Spain, I think I hit a McDonalds or something alike once every 3 months or so. I lived in the US 5 years and I think even the McDonalds has some better base products here (still not healthy though).
I went to Europe for 8 weeks last year and wasn’t watching my eating at all and lost 8kg 😂 the walking made a huge difference. I’m Australian so can’t compare to American food but it probably helped I was in the Mediterranean.
My MIL visited some friends in South Carolina, and she went for a walk by herself, as one do (Swedish). The first time 3 cars stopped and wondered if she needed help, have your car broke down? -Thank you, no I'm just walking. -Just walking? One month later, the hole neighborhood did that Swedish just walking-walk, true story 🤗😂🤗
My local McDonald's closed down, in town, now we have no fast food joints like that, instead we have fabulous coffee shops/cafes/restaurants all with good quality food. Also, the supermarkets all sell organic fresh produce as well as stuff not classified as such, but good quality. There are farmers' markets, and specialist stores such as the usual butchers/fresh fish shops/and delis which sell a myriad of 'proper' cheeses, etc. There are artisan bakers/patisseries as well. This is normal for most towns, and much of it can be found in suburbs too. I used to love a Big Mac, back in the day, but now I don't even think about it, having so many better options. As you said, McDonald's is addictive, it's the additives in part, but you have to exercise some control. 🙋♀️🇬🇧🤪
This would never happen here in New Zealand, down the road from where I live there is a Mc Donald's amongst a mini shopping center/strip mall for my suburb. It's always packed with people inside, & the drive thru line is usually full.
Oh dear, I thought NZ was more like the UK, I found Australia to be more like the US, fast food outlets everywhere. Mind you they have some good stuff as well. I think you love Europe, France is one of my favourites, and Germany. Greetings from 🏴🙋♀️🇬🇧🤪
@@JenniferRussell-qw2co When it comes to obesity rates, New Zealand is actually worse than Australia. The last time I checked, we were ranked the third most obese country within the OECD, only behind the U.S & one other country. Fast-food stores are everywhere over here, it isn't uncommon to have multiple fast-food chains within close proximity of eachother. We even have what's called 'fast-food strips'(a building strip consisting of a row of fast-food chains with their own dedicated drive thrus).
There was a student in my high school that came to study to my country. She lost a ton of weight - I obviously didn't ask her the exact number, but you could clearly see the difference after 2 years. And she didn't really go on a diet or anything. When she went back I felt really sad to see she gained it all back and more in no time.
In my Danish local supermarket i saw an american cereal on sale once. It was some kind of sugary, grainy pillow filled with what looked like Nutella. Honestly serving your child something like that for breakfast, or even ever, is a form of child abuse. Also when it comes to food i get a homecooked meal every day. We may eat take out (McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza, kebabs whatever) once every 2 months at max.
Hi, Ryan! I just remembered something. The garlic bread that they serve you in bars or restaurants before your meal was actually real wheat bread, like sourdough and not at all the already sliced toast bread that people normally buy. That's the sweet stuff full of preservatives which give it an unusually long shelflife. So, it IS possible to make good, sugarfree bread. Why isn't this bread the norm just as in Europe? Is it just because the bread slices used for toasting last longer and are already sliced? What you miss is the aroma of freshly baked bread, the delicious crust that protects the bread from molding and getting hard on the inside. This type of bread is not meant to be used as a sandwich but as an open-faced slice suitable for toppings of all kinds, toasted or not toasted.
walking part is generally true. Lisbon or Porto in Portugal are extreme examples of that - they are so hilly that it's a legit workout moving around there. Also fast food is usually the more expensive option so there's no way it will become standard part of your diet. Unhealthy cereals are also a thing here.
I did the other way around transformation when I finished university and started working. When I was studying I didn't have a car, I used public transport and used to walk everywhere, I had more time to eat proper food. When I started working I bought a car, I spent a lot of time at the office sitting behind the desk, we ordered fast food to the office on regular basis. I went from 65kg to almost 80kg in no time. And that was while I kept playing football and going out for a run once or twice a week. So even in Europe our lifestyle matters so much. I believe in USA I'd be reaching 90kg with your XXXL portions and sugar-pumped everything. Sad thing is it seems you guys don't have much of a choice when it comes to food in US. My source of knowledge are mostly these videos so I can honestly say I don't know anything :D but if it is like that..... I feel for you guys.
I had a holiday in Italy the local restaurant were serving frozen pizzas they bought from the shop across the road. I found out because I asked for one without cheese as I'm allergic cheese. She said she couldn't help as it was bulk bought with the cheese already on it, and pointed to the grocery store.
@@jeanauguste-f7i That wasnt a real "local" restaurant. That was a tourist trap. No real Italian restaurant would serve that. That would be sacriledge! Even among tourist traps I have never heard of them serving frozen pizza from the supermarket, thats insane! Theres pizzerias everywhere in Italy. Even in heavy tourist areas they make them, as u watch, and theyre usually somewhere between fine and good. For really good Italian food u should go, where the locals eat. Not just in Italy, everywhere. I find it so sad, that so many ppl go to Italy or another country, and they think, they were eating the good local food, and they were just eating the crap at tourist trap places.
That's hilarious. 😂 Nothing beats actual real Italian pizza. (Italian food in general 👌) I actually bought an Italian pizza oven(Effeuno) and I've been making Napolitana pizza's, everybody loves them! 😃 Warm greetings from the Netherlands. 😊🌷
As being obese, it started when I got pregnant (nearly 40 yrs ago!), and had an accident during my second pregnancy, that made me almost invalid, it was hard, gaining weight while still working out and eating healthy. Whatever I did, it did not work, all bloodtest came out ok, the doctors got theories, but no solutions. Yep, just had to realize that I was going to be obese, no matter what. Then my life changed a few years ago (2019), got problems with my heart, due to a long-timed infection with my lungs, strange but true. What they found out, is that my body could not make use of a few vital vitamins naturally by food, but had to get prescripted (really high doses!) vitamins. In a couple of months, I started to get better when covid started, got the needed injections (was mandatory to keep my job), and this was also the beginning I was pressed to quit my job... During all this, I kept eating as normally, never got sick, though my co-workers got covid, some several times. (Today, never had covid! Everyone around me, yes. Family, friends, co-workers and the family where I rent a basement apartment.) So to 2020 during the fall, my heart started to get worse, and it was arytmia, my boss really started to pester me, and due to our laws, 🇧🇻, he could not fire me, but he and HR started to get creative, and since it started to get to me, I finally agreed... They have to pay me my salary (reduced to 66%) to the month of my 67th year, yep become a retiree (and still got 4 more yrs! 😊). (That is when the government starts paying my pension.) The best part is that I started to loose weight, still eating the same, drinking wine, have my heart restarted several times, my activity is actually much lower than when I worked (due to baaaad knees)... still loosing weight!😊 I think it is because I am not stressed anymore, not to think about work, where stress/high adrenaline happens during distress-situations, which we had almost daily. I am way more happy and relaxed now, and still loosing weight! 😁🌻 Sorry about ranting, but I get it, Portugal is a way more relaxed than US.😊
The problem lies with processed foods. Most European countries (especially the Mediterranean countries) do not eat processed foods (burgers, ready meals, fast foods). Unfortunately the UK is following (way too much in my opinion) the fast food fad. This can only lead to obesity, diabetes and early death…. but it seems that convenience wins over health.
Most simple answer, is that Europe probably has set meal times, with reasonable amounts of food. Americans probably eat more frequently, by grabbing quick bites of junk food when they can.
no. Most european has the same lifestyle as americans. Its 2024 not the sixities. Im french, and the 2 hours break lunch has become an old memory. Overall, Its just down to ingredient quality. Us food quality is garbage because there are almost no regulations and companies focus on profit. Its a real adventure in the US if you just want to find a tomato which tastes like a tomato. Im pretty sure than most americans dont even know the taste of a real tomato. In most places in Europe, there is a bunch of law, either on gmo, on processed food or on how unheallty a product can be. You cant crushed birds bones, add chemicals and sugar, and sell it as a chicken nuggets. Not yet.
@@homasas4837👩🏼🌾🇫🇮🍅 Salut! Luckily for us Europeans, contrary to what you're saying, we do NOT have the same lifestyle as the population of the U.S. Far from it. But you are of course right in pointing out that we live in the year 2024 now and things are not exactly the same as they were fifty or sixty years ago. In this context, I would agree that long lunchbreaks are mostly a thing of the past. Another thing is that American fastfood chains have already for quite a while been present in Europe and some Europeans, especially families with children, have become used to junk food from the U.S. or from local fastfood companies. More or less continuous snacking has also invaded Europe. But other than these two things, the lifestyles of most Western Europeans have nothing in common with those of the U.S. citizens. Anybody who has followed the news lately or looked at various ratings comparing life contentment, work - life balance, health care, education, security, trust, freedom, equality and so on, is already well aware of the fact that the ordinary citizen in a Western European country enjoys a lifestyle that an average American can only dream of. Sounds wrong, doesn't it? And yet, it is true, unless you are really well to do or a millionaire/billionaire in the States. In the final analysis, it's fruitless to compare all of Europe to all of the United States. There are just too many variables having their roots and reasons in history, values and power plays...
@Gittas-tube I lived in NY for a couple of years. Let me tell you that a parisian, a londoner or a new Yorker have pretty much the same lifestyle. Maybe it's not the same in Helsinki but it's not exactly what I would could a big European city.
I am sorry. As a french, i have to say: i feel like you are being naïve. It is simply that food in the USA is poisoned. And things won't change any time soon. The USA started to produce "artificial meat" in laboratories. Always the same logic, pushed always further. No holds barred. Same causes will always bring the same consequences.
@@nox8730 i agree 100 % with you. And i can say pretty much the same about UK food quality. im french too, and I lived both in UK and the US. It was litterally impossible there to eat the same things as I did in France, without becoming fat. Just british or american bread makes you obese.
I used to love Macine, when I lived in Italy as a child (and every time I came to Italy to visit family). But eventually they changed recipe, which made them taste terribly nowadays... Now I just get to the bar and get myself a cornetto with a cappuccino.
The important thing is not eating food with loads of sugar and fats all day round. If you think of Asian breakfasts, they tend to be savoury and even though for us Italians it may sounds too heavy having rice noodles with veggies and meat in the morning (or even rice and fish curry), it's healthy and keeps you "full" for a longer period
I'm Spanish living in Ireland, also a subscriber to Steve1989MRE. In my recent birthday(1 month ago) I decided to try and order a military MRE, and since the most convenient result was a USA field combat military ration from someone in the UK, then I took that just to try it out instead of a fancy cake. The best part of the ration was the discovery of the mixture of peanut butter and jelly over bread. I'd never tasted that before in my life, but since I knew it was a staple for US people, I put both the butter and the jelly over the piece of shelf-stable bread and had to accept that it is a match made in heaven. Now the worst part, which is the part relative to this video was... how sweet everything tasted. The bread was sweet, the pound cake was very sweet, the radioactive-looking lime beverage was sweet too, the beef stew tasted like it had some sweeteners into it, and the bag of skittles was the sweetest, most cloying(is that the word?) piece of 'food' I've had in years. I couldn't eat more than 3 and had to throw them away. I can't help but think that, if having such foods is a common trope in the markets from the USA, and knowing that most of them spend so much time driving cars instead of walking, plus the fact that the fast food is twice as cheap as where I live with their wages are twice as high, then being the most obese country in the world is only expected.
I also lost weight with no effort, but in the USA! When I was a student I went on W&T program in NYC and I lost weight while working in a fast food restaurant! I think there were few factors. I'm vegeterian and most of the free food choices at work were some kind of meat, other things I could eat were unnecessarily sweet, like bread, pizza and cheese that tasted like underdone pancake?! Another thing is that since I was serving people so much food, especially sodas, I lost my appetite for those things and only drank water instead. I also saw the oil used to fry French fries and things like that... So what I had left was salad and I lived on that. And the most important thing I think contributed to that is that I walked a lot because I was also a tourist (like the guy in the video) and there were so many things to see in NYC.
Mediterranean diet certainly doesn,t make you gain too much weight. It,s mostly vegetables, fruits,fish, beans .That goes for Portugal and also Spain as well.
@@miguelferrazcosta You what mate? Mediterranean cousine without loads of fresh vegetables? Or do you think they just do gyros and pizzas all day long?
@@sabre0121 Mediterranean cuisine is mostly plant based. It's not what we have here in Portugal. Unfortunately. But people think that we're consuming mostly Mediterranean cuisine which is not the case. We can say that it is somewhat Mediterranean cuisine based, but it is mostly for the behavior that Mediterranean cuisine includes, one thing that people forget is that it is also a lifestyle, that includes social behavior at mealtime. That's why we do havte normally longer lunch times.
Few years ago, my baseball club in Belgium, Europe, invited a minor league catcher to train us. He lived at my parents house for 2-3 weeks. At the end of his stay, he weighed himself and had lost 10 pounds. He was eating enough for him, but better quality food that was tasteful. He enjoyed the dishes, was drinking beers and wine.
My husband went on a worktrip to the States for a week, a few years back... Gained 3kg (over 6pounds if I'm not mistaken), with sauces, unlimited hyper sugared drinks, super processes cheeses on to many things and mega portions of everything.... Except veggies... then again, he went in the state with the higher rate of heart disease and obesity(apparently)
When you travel for a company you have no choice but to eat out in restaurants, and the company pays for it. Everybody gains weight when they interrupt their routine in a lavish way. Who goes to a restaurant with their workmates and orders veggies and water?
It's so funny that that's the "healthy" cereal aisle with like Rice krispies and Cheerios, cause that's like the "only-on-weekends" or even only on holidays-cereal (if you even eat them) here in Sweden 😅 (or at least in my perspective) Heard so many stories about people (and know some ppl) from Sweden who moved to the US and gained a lot of weight.
When I was working in Wisconsin I was amazed that, outside of any town centre, it was impossible to walk anywhere. At work I mostly only met other Europeans on the stairs as the Americans took the lift / elevator. Portion sizes were far too big in the US and us Europeans were trying to clear our plates, the Americans didn’t clear their plates but took what left home to have another meal. Completely different mindset to Europe.
British year and I’ve just had that meal you showed for my tea or dinner as you might say , but with chickpeas toasted hazelnuts, tinned tuna and a big green salad and homegrown tomatoes. Yum
I’m from the UK, and I have to say that all of our Supermarkets mostly have whole healthy foods on the shelves. I think we’re mostly brought up eating fresh fruit and vegetables from childhood. Our bread is usually very healthy also, very often incorporating seeds as well. Of course we have the odd cake or biscuit, but generally we’re a healthy lot.😊
Well, I Just looked it up. With an obesity rate of 28%, the UK scores the highest in all of Europe. To compare, that's twice the rate of the neighboring Benelux!
I had a girl at my school which was vary slim and sporty very well trained body Then she went to go study in the US and after like 6months posted a picture she must have gained around 20kg or more she was not really fat but definitely not slim eather but for sure a food bit overweight I couldn't believe my eyes because in Germany she really didnt have any problems staying in top form but there well...
In (the Nothern part at least) Europe we have actually healthy stuff like muesli. In the US you sugary cereal. There is a huge difference just there :)
The cookie crisps here actually are pretty low in sugar and contain whole grains, but taste great and sweet. The cheerios too I like both of them even when i'm on a diet
Spanish here. We have McDonald's since I was little, i went with my parents because I wanted some toy on the happy meal, and still go from time to time... The burgers have always been bad. As a six years old, I took the salad or mcnuggets (still bad), as a 30 years old, I usually take a wrap. And I go less than once per year. I don't get how anybody can enjoy those burgers, of course I know it works, ecen in Spain, they still open, but I at least I don't know any regular costumer
I loved frosted flakes as a child. I ate it again maybe 5 years ago and I almost spit it out with how sweet it was. Don’t get me wrongly love my chocolate but that one was definitely next level.
I'm European and those doors on an angle is very usual in many old towns. These days I would ask where is my steps and this is so inconvenient. They didn't think about that in the old days, just like they didn't think about staircases with unequal steps. It didn't occur to them it might be a health issue. Not everything they did in the old days was that great, but why change the things they did have a good grip on, you know.
The last time I had McD was last July when I came back from the F1 race in Budapest. We were very tired and didn't feel like going to a real restaurant. We just wanted to eat something and go to the hotel, take a shower and go to bed. The time when I had McD before that I really don't even remember. Must have been a couple of years ago.
He looks like he has been working out but maybe because he goes to the beach often, meets with friends outside who play sports like football or basketball, takes bnikerides and walks of course...
My sister is a US citizen, so I spend time there quite often. I love this junk food - at least for a few days! Everything is heavily spiced, looks beautiful and has an enhanced taste! Unfortunately, a few weeks and I gain extra kilos and my stomach starts to hurt. Evidently my body prefers simpler sets of food. In Poland, it is really easy (and relatively cheap) to get delicious vegetables, fruit, meat and bread. Only recently have they started to add chemical additives to them, but by choosing proven places you can still avoid them. When I go to the countryside to visit family, we can buy a supply of eggs or milk straight from the farmer - a neighbor. The food may have a shorter expiration date and does not look as fancy, but it is tasty and healthy.
America is so used to eating fast food with their hands, they have long ago lost their table etiquette and have the most peculiar way of using cutlery! I’m sure they knew how to use it two hundred years ago, but those people are all gone now and no one has taught them how it’s done, or if they have, it has been rejected because Americans don’t like change and resist it at all costs, even things that are better and more functional have been rejected, like the metric system and attempts to control gun ownership, even though thousands die every year from gunshot wounds.
@Jeni10 Hello there! 👋😊🍴🥄 Ah yes, table manners and the use of knife and fork... A depressing story and getting even more so every year. I take it for granted that you know that in the U.S. the proper way to use your knife and fork is different than in Europe. So that's perfectly okay. Also, to keep your hands on the table at all times follows French etiquette, while in some other countries you should keep your hands in your lap, on your serviette. The one thing that reveals that you have never been taught proper table manners is how you hold your knife and fork in most countries in Europe. It would take too long to explain it here, so if somebody is interested, please look it up. Anyway, there's method to this madness. The correct grip of the knife and fork is meant to prevent you or somebody else from accidentally poking out an eye or cutting themselves with their knife. Also, if you use your fork like a shovel in your left hand, you'll have to stick out your elbow and thus invade your neighbor's space making him or her uncomfortable. For someone who knows next to nothing about table manners there's much to learn. It sounds silly, but when a civilization slowly starts to decline, in addition to its language falling apart, its customs and culture soon follow suite.
I think if you just factor in that many places in the US aren't walkable or bikeable, higher amounts of sugar and such in food and drinks and that "grind" mentality really play a big part in it. I'd be so stressed living in the US, I mean, imagine you need a car to be able to work, the rent's high, you might need more than one job to pay the bills. If you went to uni you have to pay off large amounts of debt. You might not get much movement during your job or you're in such a physically demanding one that you have no energy left otherwise. And then you have drive thru everything. Starbucks? Drive thru. McDonald's? Drive thru. Bank? Drive thru. Unless you live in a city like Boston or Portland or New York I'd wager you don't move enough daily. And then overall stress. Stress at work, bad work-life-balance, not as good of a diet maybe. And personally I'd be stressed about potentially loosing my job or getting sick, because the truth is that the social safety net and health insurance in the US is a joke. That would give me nightmares. I mean, don't get me wrong I'd be worried about loosing my job here too, but I know at the end of the day society will break my fall if it comes to it. And I think if you factor in all of that, it's no surprise that Europeans might lead healthier lives.
i am Australian and in the early 2000s I lived in China for over years I went from 75Kg don to 71Kg. Some of that was because of a different diet but a lot was the exercise as I didn't drive there. When I got back it took a year to get back to 74Kg (i was not doing that deliberately). I am now back to 71Kg. Diet and availability of snacks makes a lot of difference. My snacks now are primarily fruit.
8:12 It's funny that he thinks we need sunny weather to go outside (or that it would be "easier" to go for walk etc.) 😅 Germans have a saying: “There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.”
@@BabzV We say that in Finland, too! Just as the one about donning the right kind of clothing. It seems that because the weather is so changeable in the northern countries of continental Europe and in all of the Nordic countries, we have use for the same sayings! I'm guessing that the Brits have the same sayings, too...
The more i watch Ryan's videos the more I realize he is actually an intelligent person who has questions and he gets answers in his own way which makes him similar to Joe Rogan... I wish to see him one day on his podcast
@@Megalomaniakaal French had influence on pretty much a lot of professional cuisine, from words, to names, to techniques, etc. That doesn't mean UK food is anything good. Sure they have a lot of various restaurant from everywhere, just like any other country, but does it really count if you don't eat outside every meal?
4:30 that is what I exactly thought, it is sugaaar over sugaaar. That do not ever come close what european mean when we are talking about healthy cereals…= like punched 100%oat flakes, but still it is considered too starchy and eaten with dry fruits (sugar) cooked in hot water/milk sooo it is more desert than healthy breakfast.
I'm Portuguese, I moved to The Netherlands many years ago I too struggled with food habits, everybody was eating bread with spreads at lunch, and I was eating a salad with a lean protein, not possible sometimes to warm food, like soup (self made) because some workplaces didn't have a microwave to use, and I don't eat their artificial powder soup. However, I went to NY for a course and I wasn't able to eat even a simple muffin, due to the amount of sugar! Everything was sugary-taste, quite far away from the Mediterranean diet I follow. I actually returned thinner! 😂😂😂
Yeah, Im European, and I'll admit it, Im overweight, I dont move around enough, and I have a low metabolism, which makes it worse. But in the US I felt almost slim. And their food really is horrible! The sugar alone, everything is sooooo sweet, its almost inedible, their so-called bread is nothing of the sort. And all their food is so filled with additives and hormones, pesticides, antibiotics etc from the production, that it all has a faint chemical taste to me. Finding something I could eat without gagging was a real problem. Their food alone is enough to keep me away!
Our Dutch diet is very different from the Mediterranean diet, so I can totally understand it would be a difficult change to get used to. But we do have a colder climate so we need good sturdy food to keep us going. 😉
@@BabzV Oh, I've been more or less able to keep my Mediterranean diet through all these years, but I still miss some vegetables and fruits. What was really difficult at first was not having a big variety of fresh products and a microwave at workplaces to warm my food, indeed a cold salad in a cold climate is not that enjoyable... that, and being asked a million times why wouldn't I eat bread instead😂 But I absolutely love living here, I have my own business (therefore my own microwave at lunch time🤣) and despite remaining completely unable to eat the famous "patat met..." I do enjoy your country ❤😊
@@helenan7368 The netherlands are not particurly a country I would call with good food. I'm Belgian so our level off food is another standard. although i ate french fries there that were not to bad to my Belgian standard of french fries. I hate there 'broodje kroket' and food out of the wall.
I'm Indonesian, back in 2020, I got my double degree in Germany even though it was COVID, but it was super healthy for me! I kinda missed my daily routine back when I was living in Germany. I even hit my weight to 76.9 kg and now I'm at 81.2 kg.
Hi Ryan, I follow a TH-camr you might find interesting, a professional American football player, (NALF), who published a vid with the following title : " What 8 Years In Germany Does To You " , in which he enumerates ' 8 Ways 8 Years In Germany changed [him] .
My sister in law is Canadian and she came to Romania a few months ago. She was blown away with the food, prices, safety and the fact that almost eveyone speaks english. Se felt so welcomed and overwhelmed with the love she received. She couldn't belive she was eating mushrooms that she picked from the forest and so so many other things. She and my brother are personal trainers and they were not so happy with the fact that they lost to much weight.😂
A few years ago I went to Texas on a school exchange. I'm from Germany. After a long flight me and the other students were hungry and went straight to McDonald's in the airport. I couldn't believe how awful the cheeseburgers i got tasted. It was like eating a sponge full of chemicals. In Germany I actually enjoy McDonald's from time to time for a quick bite. And I don't get it why almost every drink you order has ice cubes in it. You can't drink your tab water because again it taste like chemicals, but then you make cubes out of it which melt in your drink... Too be fair, I really liked the BBQ and the Mexican food in Texas
hi, I'm not American but the ice cubes are because of the climate. Not just Texas, but latitude-wise the American Canadian border is where the border between Slovakia and Hungary is in Europe. Everything is much more to the south in other words, and the drinks would warm up v quickly.
@@karlbmiles Germany. Until the water reaches your house pipes (older houses might still have old pipes which can effect the quality), it's even better than store bought water.
@@valreth5648 It's not very healthy to drink chlorine tho. Japan, Usa, Russia; china and so on, all use chlorine because they don't have a better filtration powerplant. Just filter your water in a better way instead of just throwing toxic chemicals in the water ( as a wise man said, choose the right way not the easy way. Albus Dumbledore)
I'm French, and here, it's even more in detail when it comes to food, as in, there's an emphasis on 'Made in France' food. Even McDonald's have their ingredients being produced in French farms, and so is far healthier than in some other countries. And that's what makes me, who can't eat any fruit or vegetables as they are (aside from potatoes and carrots), only have a kinda beer belly at 24, without it becoming worse, and though I'm not a sport guy AT ALL. So yeah, I surely wouldn't survive in the US food-wise.
This reminded me of my husband who flew to Atlanta some 25 years ago for a Microsoft conference. He was in the US for the first time. At the hotel he asked where the bike rental was. The gentleman looked at him in surprise, but it was a relatively high-quality hotel, and he had a bike ready within a few hours. From what he told me, the bike looked as if some hotel employee had lent it to him. Then, as he was driving around Atlanta, he realized that he had chosen a very unusual activity for the locals. 😊
America has always been a country that doesn't care about its citiziens. It's not just in terms of health, but also the school system. It's the country of globalization. From fairly early on we did everything we could so that we can tell the world " Look at us, look what we got, we're thriving, come here if you want the same". We invited great people who studied outside the US to come work for us and what we offered in return were great terms & conditions. Companies, people, everything. There was no need to elevate the competence of the general population. It was never about things like "diversity" and never will be. Nowadays shit's falling apart. The worker ant population doesn't buy into the unconditional patriotism as much as they used to.
Food, exercise and stress all have an effect. I am 54 years old, 6ft tall and 185lbs. I eat a lot, but its all healthy stuff. Work 4 days a week and I am off walking or camping every weekend.
Speaking as a (thank god!) retired UK doctor - lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle. That's it. (of course good food helps) Sit on your arse munching crap all day and you can't be surprised when you turn in to a blob. If you are a bit active and stop to eat only when you are hungry you'll be a different person.
The fact that in Europe and average restaurant meal is 800-900kcal or less, while the same meal in US and UK is like 1500kcal has to do a lot with it :D
I think it's more than just the quality. Americans eat enormous amounts, fill their huge plates and throw away what they don't finish. It's like they revel in the excess of food. I wonder where this comes from? Maybe the switch from the background the poor immigrants came from, to the abundance they found in the US was too much to handle in a relatively short space of time.
You do make me laugh with your opening move! ps Ryan, you’re missing out on a lot of great architecture in Europe, especially those houses that are on a hill!! 😂
5:48 anybody noticed that everybody is parking first with front of their cars? In europe most people would park with bottom first. This is interesting, not one car bottom first (not counting that white on on the edge)
Uhm, in Italy most people park with the front in first, in a grid like that. If the parking is by the side of the road we usually enter bottom first backing up. If the side of the road is pretty empty we just glide to the side, front first.
I recently had friends from the US come over, they had health issues with gluten and finding the right bread at home. Over this side of the pond, they could eat any bread and they were fine. They were quite stunned. They also noted the difference in sugar levels and how sweets and foods tasted far less sweet here in whatever EU country they travelled in. They couldn't get used to the naturally sour taste of yoghurt though even when they added honey.
You're also outside a lot more in northern Europe. Just because it's in the north (or east) doesn't mean that cities in the Middle Ages were prophetically built to be car-friendly today.🙄
What you say about McDonald's addiction/desensitisation is also true of many Europeans, including of my (middle aged) generation, who were brought up with it - but it was a treat, rather than a regular thing, for kids. I'm able to observe from the outside (wheat allergy so haven't been exposed) and I remember walking into one in Stockholm with some colleagues who wanted McDonalds because they were hung over after a very jolly party the night before. The smell made me want to vomit, so I had to go and wait outside, but they were all really into it. The difference is, they don't eat it every week.
My father smocked sigarettes for 40 years (from his 20 to 60) and always was super skinny whatever he eat. In his 60 his suit from high school prom fit him perfectly! He cancelled to smoke, now he's 69 and almost twice bigger in weight! His eating habits didn't change much, they became even healthier. So maybe sigarretes is the answer)))
Its a well known problem, that a lot of ppl, who quit smoking, gain weight. Theres several reasons for that, fx. something in the cigarettes (I dont remember what) does decrease appetite. In my opinion, as some1, who never smoked, but have known several ppl, who quit, its as much about, how they can suddenly taste everything again. Ask any former smoker, and they will tell u, that quitting smoking really improved their sense of taste (smoking basically numbs it). So natually, when everything suddenly tastes wonderful, compared to what u were used to, u eat more.
@@dfuher968 yes, people say, that after quit smoking everything tasting better, and my dad is one of them, but he has pretty quickly get over it. He didn't start eat much more. Dad even changes his eating habits for better: less salt, sugar, spicy food, oil, grilling, frying, more simple vegetables, fresh food. Because it started being tasty for him. But still got fat) As for the appetite during smocking. My granny was a the Leningrad's Siege survival, 900 days of starvation. She told us she survived because of smoking, people there even push their toddlers to smoke to ease their slow dying from a hunger.
Much of the food here in the states is very poor. Walking gives a lot of exercise in a gentle and natural way, and many people in Europe walk to the supermarket and buy their food every day or two. Carrying it home gives additional exercise as you are moving that extra weight and supporting it on your arms. Also when my wife who was born and raised in the USA is in the states she has a lot of allergies, causing her to sneeze and her eyes to tear up, but in the UK she has none at all. She suffers from acid reflux in the USA but not in the UK. There are definite health benefits to living in Europe, and it's a much better life than the US offers most people.
I am from the U.S and I have been on a few trips to Europe in which the trip itself was either two weeks down to one week and each time because of both the food I ate and the amount of walking around I would always end up loosing weight and come back healthier then when I left the U.S. I only have done 5 different trips, but I have visited 14 different countries that are mostly western, both north & south, with a couple of ones that sit in the eastern area.
I'm German. I spent a year in the US , as a part of an exchange program. All of us gained around 20 pounds in that time! The amount of junk food the average American consumes , was simply amazing to me. And it seemed so normal to everybody.
Sugar and bad oil in everything... I knew the same long ago...in 70ies
Same.
And I always thought Germans were fat. Many doctors think sausages, spaetzl, bread and butter, gummi behrs, ladles of gravy, and bier in 1.5 liter steins aren't so healthy either.
@@karlbmiles Reality is hard for Americans to swallow isn't it. Got to believe that the US is not in the third world.
I didnt recognize my sister when I went to see her during her exchange. she had put on so much weight.
I'll never forget when an American friend came to visit me in Vienna. We went to a famous café which is known for it's fine pastries. She marveled how cute the tiny sizes are, that's it's so nice to be able to taste several cakes and so on. Guys, those were normal sized portions. One serving and you have no need for dinner anytime soon.
😂
@@tiny.kawaii and I thought your Strudel und Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte , und Bienenstich were too sweet. Till I got across the ocean…
Hilarious 😂😂😂😂😂
👍
I am from EU. When GPS and google maps were invented i told my father.....: Remember when you were telling me about your 7 km walk to the elementary school in snow? Its 1.3 km.....
Truth hits hard 😂
For him it felt like 7km dont forget the snow :P
I mean that's within the acceptable margins.
@@Zibi21 If it was really deep snow, 1.3 km would feel like 7 km, it would have to be pretty deep for it to be hard work thought lol.
My dad (Finn) would tell me, “we’d ski to school with blizzards! And we still made it on time! We had no roads or established forest trails!” Years later my uncle confirmed that while they did ski race to school for fun, there were no blizzards and the forest trails have been established already before WW1! 😂
Not having high-fructose corn syrup in everything under the sun helps a great deal over here.
@seijika46 Yes, it appears that the corn syrup as a sweetener in everything is one of the big differences. It's not used at all or much less in Europe, at least in the Nordic countries.
@@Gittas-tube It's not just Northern Europe. It's the entire world minus the US.
@@Gittas-tube I haven´t seen HFCS in eny product ever in Finland. This is what google has to say about it.
"Because of its low cost and long shelf-life, HFCS is used widely in manufacturing many food products, including candy, throughout the United States. However, due to strict EU regulations, HFCS is banned in much of Europe, including Sweden."
Fructose is like alcohol. Only liver can burn it. It doesn´t store into the muscles like glucose. So if you consume lots of HFCS or fructose and your liver has hard times to process all of that. It will be stored in your liver as fat. Just like alcohol. Also bosy needs to get rid of frutose and alcohol before it can burn carbs. So the carbs are stored as fat into your fat cells. And in carb based diets it is hard to get your body to burn fat. Fat adabtation might take a long time so those things sure adds obesity.
But even as i live in Finland and had low carb diet for long time and ate mostly whole foods gaved me insuline resistance becouse i wasn´t moving enough.
So i started ketogenic diet what switches your metabolism to fat burn. I have lost 45kg / 99 lbs in 16 months. I have been on keto now almost 18 months and my weight has stabilized to the current weight. My BMI were 36,1 and now it is 22,3.
And soda with free re fills at lunch and dinner. An American youtuber living here in Finland thought it was so strange that we don’t have soda at our office cafeteria. We mostly drink water, milk or rarely juice at lunch.
@@marjar.5978 Rarely there is soda unless the place sells fastfood. Unfortunetsy there still is too much places where there is option to even have soda. Even that we don´t have HFCS in those, the amount of sugar isn´t healthy. Somthing that might surprice you is that all fruit juices have as much sugar as sodas and part of it is fructose. I used to think that "natural" fruit juices would be healthy. How wrong were i...
i lived in boston for 3 years and i had no car so i biked and walked everywhere, all year long, i watched what i was eating and still i gained 10kg. i am now back in france and within 6 months i already lost 4.5kg on top of having no more hormonal problems and i live in the counrtyside so i have a car here. food is for sure a big factor and stress in the usa.
and drinking water quality
Interesting
If you can call that "food¨!🤣🤣
@@jooproos6559 Having lived in the US for a few months, the taste and quality are lesser issues for me now - the safety of food is higher that ever though! I am repeatedly shocked to see warning labels on food items like nuts saying things like 'if you eat this item you may be exposed to LEAD' - WHATTT?! LEAD IN FOOD? How are these even allowed on the shelves??? I guess we should be thankful that we are in California which is the only state where they are at least required by law to put those warnings out! Honestly, I have stopped judging amercians for being obese and mental.
@@JN-wr9he Well,there a lot off americans who had a holiday in Europe and they were amazed by the taste off european food!And they were getting slimmer the longer they stay in Europe.The only "downside off european food is that it will not last as long as american "food¨.Because its all FRESH!Something you never will taste in the US!
Fastfood in europe, atleast for me and my close ones, is considered either the treat or long-drive-higway-food... we wouldn't eat McD etc as regular dinner or lunch...
I don't know where you are in Europe, but same here in the Netherlands.
Exactly. I either eat it when I travel across whole europe in a car, or when I just want to have McD, usually to reward myself after some frustrating event like exams in school or project completion in work.
I have never eaten Meck Donilds. 😢😢
I'm in the UK and I class McDonald's as car trip food or when busy shopping and just need something quick. It's not actually that nice tbh...
100% agree
I moved from LA to Slovakia (for good) and it’s only been 3 weeks and I already feel better and started looking slimmer. All food is cheap and what Americans would call “organic” (but here it’s just normal food here because it’s all fresh farms). Also, there’s like 90% less stress and I feel so safe and content. Best move ever! The country and people are beautiful. In the US I felt so tired and food tasted good but it was slow poisoning basically. I also walk and bike a lot here and everyone does it so I don’t feel like a freak for biking or walking like I did in LA. So much happier here!❤
Isn't it amazing how much not being stressed out of your mind constantly and being forced to work three jobs just to keep up with the rent improves your mental and physical health? Someone should tell the US politicians about this secret! 🤣
Happy you enjoy it, welcome to Slovakia ❤❤❤
Excellent move! Enjoy a longer happier life!
It is not true that in Northern European countries we walk less because it is cold. You only need clothes and shoes for snow. Instead of surfing we have skis and sleds. My dogs love winter walks more than summer ones, so I walk with them at least three hours a day and more on weekends.
Agreed. Us Dutchies cycle and walk everywhere in any weather.
A good old Dutch saying: 'you're not made of sugar, you won't melt.'😉
@@BabzV 👩🏼🌾🇫🇮 We Finland-Swedes have that saying, too! 😊
We have all kinds of other sayings, as well. Like if somebody blocks your view or stands in your way, we may say: Was your father a Master of glass making (glasmästare)!? Meaning that if somebody's father was a Glass Master, you would be transparent, but since he's not, you're visibly in my way, so to speak.
We say the same in Balkan, in Serbia😂@@Gittas-tube
@@Gittas-tubeIn Germany we say that, too. Interesting!
Agree. People acclimatize to their surroundings. When you live in a place that gets cold, you are able to deal with living in a place where it gets cold. I'm Latvian and have lived in UK for over a decade. I can not handle the cold any more. -5 is super cold now, but I went to school when it was -30 (Celsius, of course).
I was in the USA 30 years ago. In 4 months, I put on 26 pounds and I was not overeating. Just had what the family I was staying with had. After those 4months I started doing steo-aerobic like 5 times a week and went swimming 2x. Had tennis as an after shool activity every day. Reduced the portions. Still took me 6 months to lose the half of it as I still had to eat the same food as the host family. Then I returned to Europe and just the first week of my mom’s cooking Idropoed 4 pounds. Took me another half a year of excercise and dieting to get to my original weight.
Living in EU, I dont really watch what I eat I never even think about it. I consume 2/3 home cooked meals made from organic sources (and its easy to get them because so many people grow food). You can buy homegrown meat, fresh fish - even supermarkets have 50/50 organic/industrial products ratio. I admit I am a little overweight but im over 50 and spend too much time on computer. I could use more outdoor activity - but my Cholesterol levels are healty
I’m Dutch and I remember that in 1984 when I was still in school, a classmate and girlfriend of mine went to live and study in the US for a year as an exchange student. She was a beautiful slim girl to see. After that year when she came back, she had gained almost 15 kilograms 😱 We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw her. And how come? For instance, here at home she had to bike around 20 kilometers every day to and from school. Where I lived that was/is completely normal to do so. In the US everywhere they went, was done by car. Another thing she told, is that every time she came home from whatever, the first thing to do is get to the refrigerator to get something to eat, hungry or not. Everybody did she told, that was completely normal over there. And like we knew from television back then, US refrigerators, to Dutch standards, were huge and fully stacked with food. That’s what amazed her most, that life in America evolved around eating food, lots of it and not necessarily the most healthy things. Luckily for her she came back to her normal weight but it took her around 6 months as I recall. And still the US in general has a very unhealthy relationship with eating food when it comes to both quality and quantity.
Second that. I am European as well. I am in the US because of professional reasons... I gained weight. A lot. Healthy food is expensive. Outdoor activities - as Europeans know it - is not happening!
Yes, I think it's more than just the quality. They eat enormous amounts, fill their huge plates and throw away what they don't finish. It's like they revel in the excess of food. I wonder where this comes from? Maybe the switch from the background the poor immigrants came from, to the abundance they found in the US was too much to handle in a relatively short time.
If it was like that in 84, I do wonder what it's like today, because I get a sense that standards have gone further down in the US whereas in Europe, standards have been raising a lot over the last 3 decades.
It also does suggest that, as much free will as we like to think we have, the system we are living under has a big impact on us, which we should all want to improve on that.
Not to mention the sodas…
Same happened to me, I'm Dutch, I was an exchange student in 1981-1982, gained around the same, ripped all my pants and had to buy new ones. And I lived on a farm in the US and was just as active there as I was at home. On the farm I was horse riding every day and had a fair walk to get to the school bus pick-up. It was the portions and unhealthy food and snack sizes. We only ate a proper meal together on Sunday, for the rest it was fend for yourself. People ate when they were hungry and grabbed whatever. A lot of time was spent in front of the tv, something I wasn't used to, I had not patience for all the commercials interrupting the programs, something we als didn't have in NL at the time. So I would often get the family to come outside with me and play games. When I returned to NL, I lost it in no time.
I read stories from American expats, stating that, since they moved to Europe, they lost weight, acne and other inflamations disappeared, they had lower cholesterol and blood pressure and some even got rid of their diabetes meds completely.
When they went back, they gained 10 pounds in 3 weeks and all the other issues were starting to come back, too
Every time I go back to Romania I lose weight. I’m 5’7, around 125 lbs in Canada and try to eat healthy, I was in Romania for 2 weeks I lost 10 pounds eating everything, tons of fresh bread, fresh cheese etc, walking everywhere, no more bloating, just feeling great in my body. It happens every single time I go back there. My husband and kids were not trusting of the grapes and watermelon that had seeds and had a hard time getting used to it and figuring out how to eat them, it was the weirdest thing to see that they thought seedless fruit is what fruit is supposed to be like
Walking is a fantastic way to keep the weight off. I live close to a huge supermarket and I always drove there, but one day I saw one of my neighbours walking back from the supermarket and it suddenly it occurred to me that driving there was pretty silly. A 4 minute drive and park compared to a 7 minute walk. I had to spend 3 minutes longer to get there ; what a huge difference! I used to drive there once or twice a week, now I walk there two or three times a week. I went from weighing 207lbs to 198lbs in a few weeks. Now I'm down to 187lbs because walking every day now is just so "normal" to me.
I mean, if you exclude at least 800 calories of various sugars from your daily diet, it is a good starting point. If everything you eat is more natural and higher quality, it helps. On top of it, if you start using less your car and walk/bike more...
I have lived in Malaga in southern Spain for over 12 years now. I feel healthier and I attribute that to eating a Mediterranean diet. The food that I eat is free from preservatives and additives. I get fresh bread each day from a local bakery and fresh vegetables from the local market each Tuesday.Nothing I eat is processed all fresh ingredients from veg, chicken and fish the local food is fantastic and tastes great and is way more healthy. Lots walking each day don't own a car don't need one use public transport great bus service and superb high speed trains. The infurstructure is superb makes travel so easy and convenient. Compared to America food is processed crap the inferstructure is none existent and as a nation the car is king. I have heard Americans complain about McDonald's in Spain saying its not the same as in America of course it's not going to be the same you are in a different country. The local food options are way better than McDonald's or Burger King. The is shop near my house that sells a whole chicken from a rotisserie for €6.00 absolutely delicious. I have a great fantastic stress free life here in Spain.
I lived in Spain for near on 15 years, I plummeted in weight and was deemed severely underweight, but over about 12 months it crept back up to a healthy weight. Best piece of advice my dietician told me was enjoy the local diet: Fresh meats, fish and salad is always a good snack.
@@davidmalarkey1302 yeah. Especialy south is prety chill. Same in Granada or Seville. easy to live in avway..
Also south of Spain i think historicaly is lots of agriculture. Also now. Yeah, tomatos in many shops are local, and taste great. Same as everything else.
Totally agree, Malagas food is just incredible
I often get the impression that Americans feel they have to shape and reinvent everything, and have no holistic approach to inherit from generations before but it's all deconstructed in seperate parts. For physical fitness you have to go to the gym, for health you have to follow a special diet and take special medicine.
"We Europeans" do a lot like our ancestors because that worked with a general good outcome for health and fitness in regular diets and 'exercise' through mobilty, which is much easier. We also didn't feel the need to reinvent bread, the genetic make up of food crops, the way to preserve food etc. Just keep the good.
A while ago a friend showed me a video of an american youtuber. She advertised on the positive effects of red onions and she was completly buffled having found out the outer layers contain the most minerals etc. and she was so proud, she now started using also the outer parts of read onions. And I thought exactly: "what a dumbass". Everybody here uses as much from the outer layers of onions and any other vegetables/fruits already because we don't want to waste it and also because we just know that the most minerals are usually in the outer parts of vegetables and fruits and the american finds it out and immediately has to make a video about it, as if he or she had invented a rocket.
What you get wrong is that they do all of this for one thing only: money.
Health, fitness, happiness, nature, none of it matter in front of the big $$$.
Their food system is thus built for what earn the most. Not what is healthy, sustainable or tasty.
@@tatjanaflugel396 I didn't know that, but why would you trash half of the onion? We're always being told here in Norway, to not waste food. Making half the onion into waste is such a waste. It's also about the generation thing. Why reinvent the wheel? It's such a great life proverb. They have lived with the red onion for generations, if you suddenly have to waste half of it, you should start asking some serious questions.
@@TullaRask Same in Poland. My mom would smack me in my head if I peeled potatoes too thick :D
@@ukaszszczepanski7441 yes I was even being told there was no need to peel potatoes. There's a lot of vitamins etc in the shell or what it's called. It's just for it to look prettier on a plate.
Southern Europe has a wonderful diet and some really great food. The idea of stuffing yourself with junk food when you have so much variety and fresh food available, doesnt even enter your mind. Sadly back here in the UK obesity is king, you just have to see the mobility scooter lined up outside McDonalds. Id say I in 3 is obese where I live in SE Kent.
Fresh food, especially organic, is quite expensive in the UK, so many families simply can't afford to eat healthy
Us Dutchies have good healthy food as well(northern Europe in general), but it is overall definitely not as tasty as the delicious Mediterranean food + it's also healthy. 👌
@@BabzV Eastern European food is great as well, and they have kept their produce and diets clean and healthy
@@JN-wr9heOh absolutely, and on top of that they have beautiful nature, there really are some hidden gems in Eastern European countries.
US used to be the new bigger UK, now UK is a smaller, European US... 👀
Here in Italy most people grow vegs and fruit in home garden, after launch we go walking in city center or take a nap in south where is hot, also preparing food from basic fresh ingredients is very important because the meal will be nutrient and healthy.
Sounds wonderful! Except the heat, ofc. Europe got burned hard this summer and it just keeps going. ☠️
@@SatieSatie especially south Europe, continental Europe instead had heat weaves coming from Africa.
@@SatieSatie but in countries like Poland and Scandinavia isn’t hot summer don’t go more than 30 C
@@daredonte7787 tl;dr: F*ck summer and everyone who "loved" the heat this year. I hope they're looking forward to hell, where it'll be hot until the end of times. :)
This year's summer still was/is the hottest in history, worldwide. I'm in Central Europe and while it doesn't get as hot as in the South, you must understand that we aren't acclimatised or prepared to deal with such high heat and abnormally long heatwaves at all. Almost no one has an AC at home, and only recently, my city started to implement very few ACs in the metro. In hotter countries, people spend most of their time inside with an AC blasting, but in my damn country, we are exposed to never-ending heatwaves since June, almost without a break. At home, at work, in public transport, at night. It's the second week of September and I'm literally burned out, but summer is still going strong. I'm so mad at this point.
The concept of the *Mediterranean diet* was born from an intuition of Ancel Keys in the 1960s. Keys identified the different dietary habits of different countries as responsible for the profound differences in cardiovascular mortality. Here in Italy we try to follow these directives.
There are a lot of reasons why Americans are much fatter. I was an exchange student in the US and people are overworked and stressed. Instead of trying to find a way to relax they dive into tons of comfort food in front of the TV, while sugar and just sitting gives you even more stress. My first week in the US, I suffered from severe belly pains, I begged my exchange family to let me return back to Italy. Finally we decided to go on a healthy diet and I learned them the Italian recipes my Nonna taught me. We all cooked together and it was much fun. We started to do more in the evening, going for a walk, instead of being in front of the TV, playing board games. Or other outdoor activities. The amazing thing was that they all lost so much weight, especially their son who has my age, he lost half of his weight in 3 months. Another thing, they were very Catholic but never really did something for a good cause. My family is Catholic but I have my own views on religion. I believe God is our own heart. I don’t pray in churches, I donate food to people who need it. We baked several cakes with my exchange family and we packed them and distributed them to the homeless people. They said I was a Gods gift when it was time to say goodbye. I said I am just like any other Italian of my age. We value our family deeply, we care a lot about our health. We enjoy activities that cost nothing, we don’t value expensive stuff. I don’t need the newest IPhone to be happy, I gladly use mine until it’s broken, because it doesn’t add any value to my life.
Are you my long lost Cousin from Italy ??😂😂
Wonderful story! ❤ Hope you're still in contact with your exchange family.
But losing half of one's weight in 3 months sounds more like a life-threatening condition than healthier nutrition...
@@SatieSatie Yes we are, they came for 2 weeks to Milano Italy in July and are returning in November. Their son and me are going to study in Belgium next year.
@@SatieSatie About the body weight, their son and daughter are my age, I was 15y, (now 19y) their son was 16y and daughter 14y. Nick was obsessed with sugary things and didn’t move much. For someone of 16y old he was obese. When we started to eat like I do in Italy, I started to run with him. Daily a bit longer and after a week he felt already so much better. You could already see a huge difference. After 2 weeks he needed new clothes. All he ate before we met was fastfood and he made his homework and laid in the sofa after with snacks, Until going to sleep. Now he has my weight and runs 25 miles with ease while before he could barely walk that distance. We talk daily on WhatsApp and before his parents thought he wouldn’t be able to do university as his results weren’t really great. Now he’s also studying medicine at the university, just like me. When you cut sugars and fats you lose a lot of body fat very fast and your concentration gets much better, moving and running makes you mentally stronger. Of course the first week were hard for all of them because sugars are like a drug, an addiction, it’s very hard to cut them. We replaced it by fruits and things we baked ourselves using healthy alternatives instead of sugars. His mom was struggling with her knees, they were badly swollen the entire time, but because of her weightloss she started to feel much better, joining us for long walks. When they visited us in Italy we did more than 30.000 steps a day, which was unthinkable for her. She barely did 1000 steps a day. What they also realised in changing their diet completely is that they are actually saving money on food. They used to go to big stores buying tons of things, snacks, sodas,.. they overbuys each time they went shopping, now they drink water, get their fresh food from a smaller store. Sometimes they make lasagna and freeze it in. They make pasta salads for Nick and Noah as lunch at the university and they eat it too. They keep on walking every evening even with bad weather. And they all looked amazing and much more happy than when I first met them.
What a refreshing, delightful post. You do hit the nail on the head!
Walking is a huge deal.
I live in germany, and I don't do any exercise at all. But just my normal job and commute adds up to around 8000-10000 steps a day, which is around 10 km according to my smartwatch. That is over 6 miles of walking a day, just while doing the usual stuff every day.
10:26 I'm from Portugal 🇵🇹 . It's the walking. I work 100% remote since the pandemic, and gained weight since then. In 2023 I started walking (>5km) and biking (>20km) every day just to keep in shape, and lost 20kg that year. Stopped exercising every day, and regained 10kg. It's just a question of ***DAILY*** exercise.
Same for me.
I moved to Portugal shortly before the pandemic.
Switched to the home office system during that time, and became a fatty.
Now that everything is back to normal, I am down to my previous weight.
In your case, maybe. But I wish people would _stop_ spreading the bs Coca-Cola Company made up in the 90's about exercise to be the cure-all, just so they could keep selling their sugar trash.
Big part, sure. Not the only reason, by far
Portugal is a gorgeous place. The people there are very proud of their country
Brit here, our diet is more similar to the USA than a lot of our European neighbours but even here portions are smaller than the USA . Our obesity rates are @ 28% compared to USA 40%.
Not only are your food portions a lot bigger but one thing you don't get here is endless refills of sugary soda at restaurants.
@@taffygeek Yes, I am convinced that if Americans cut out all those fizzy drinks - whether they contain sugar and/or artificial sweeteners - many, if not most, of them would start to lose weight! The sheer volume of the stuff they drink is scary!
Well, I’m a bit here and I’ve just had my tea and it was like the picture you posted except mine had chickpeas, toasted hazelnuts, avocado, and tuna on top of a massive salad and homegrown tomatoes. We pretty much eat a Mediterranean type diet because we love fresh food. But I can appreciate it can be very expensive for some people.
@@Sine-gl9lyNot just fizzy drinks, there seems to so much sugar in their “coffee” choices.
@@nicolad8822 True - and it's served in vessels which approximate buckets rather than cups!
Oh my, that means the obesity rate of the UK is almost twice that of Belgium. And we are Neighbours of eachother!
For a lot of people, the exercise you don't notice is the most efficient. I moved to an apartment in Oslo which was on the 6th floor without elevator. The first couple of weeks were a nightmare, but then I got used to it and walked up and down many times per day without thinking about it. I've never been in better shape. That's a bit extreme, but just walking five minutes here and ten minutes there adds up through the day. But there's no doubt that it has something to do with the food as well. For instance, I read that American bread typically has 7-8 times more sugar than typical Norwegian bread.
Subway’s bread was officially classified as a cake in Ireland because of the high sugar content 😂
@@nightsgrow6575 When I was a child, we ate white bread only a few times per year, which was in summer with shrimp. And I do remember really loving it and wanting more, but my mother said just that; it's cake. It's for special occasions only. But I do not condone eating shrimp with bread. It shall be white bread.
I don't call American bread "bread", it's a pastry to me. Can't eat it, it makes me feel sick. Even 'low sugar' bread from the US is too sweet and could at most be called toast. Actual bread can't have a sweet taste and must have a crust that is rougher than the inside imo.
Sugar in bread? Abomination...
I'm Dutch and several of my colleagues bike 1 or 1,5 hours a day from and to work. Some even longer than that. They take a shower at work when they arrive.
(I am too lazy for that 😂 but it is common here)
I walk to work 6.5 kms and 2.5 kms home (its up hill after that and I'm too tired at the end of day to face it 😀) One day a colleague said "Oh when the weather get better I'm going to start walking" . I said to her if you are waiting for the weather to improve you will never walk and she never has. ☘☘☘☘
Hi Ryan. Portuguese here. I can speak for myself, I eat soup almost every day. I love green and tomato salad and fruit of course. But I'm still a mac fan, so I eat a mac menu once a month just for fun. Did you know that all Mac have soup and salads on their menus here?😀😀
@@leonorferreiragomes693 oh. I did not know that. In the Netherlands only salade. No soup
We have the Mac kroket here in the Netherlands 😂
Your soup and salads sound lovely.
I am from Spain, I think I hit a McDonalds or something alike once every 3 months or so. I lived in the US 5 years and I think even the McDonalds has some better base products here (still not healthy though).
I went to Europe for 8 weeks last year and wasn’t watching my eating at all and lost 8kg 😂 the walking made a huge difference. I’m Australian so can’t compare to American food but it probably helped I was in the Mediterranean.
My MIL visited some friends in South Carolina, and she went for a walk by herself, as one do (Swedish).
The first time 3 cars stopped and wondered if she needed help, have your car broke down?
-Thank you, no I'm just walking.
-Just walking?
One month later, the hole neighborhood did that Swedish just walking-walk, true story 🤗😂🤗
My local McDonald's closed down, in town, now we have no fast food joints like that, instead we have fabulous coffee shops/cafes/restaurants all with good quality food. Also, the supermarkets all sell organic fresh produce as well as stuff not classified as such, but good quality. There are farmers' markets, and specialist stores such as the usual butchers/fresh fish shops/and delis which sell a myriad of 'proper' cheeses, etc. There are artisan bakers/patisseries as well.
This is normal for most towns, and much of it can be found in suburbs too. I used to love a Big Mac, back in the day, but now I don't even think about it, having so many better options. As you said, McDonald's is addictive, it's the additives in part, but you have to exercise some control. 🙋♀️🇬🇧🤪
This would never happen here in New Zealand, down the road from where I live there is a Mc Donald's amongst a mini shopping center/strip mall for my suburb. It's always packed with people inside, & the drive thru line is usually full.
Oh dear, I thought NZ was more like the UK, I found Australia to be more like the US, fast food outlets everywhere. Mind you they have some good stuff as well.
I think you love Europe, France is one of my favourites, and Germany.
Greetings from 🏴🙋♀️🇬🇧🤪
@@JenniferRussell-qw2co When it comes to obesity rates, New Zealand is actually worse than Australia. The last time I checked, we were ranked the third most obese country within the OECD, only behind the U.S & one other country. Fast-food stores are everywhere over here, it isn't uncommon to have multiple fast-food chains within close proximity of eachother. We even have what's called 'fast-food strips'(a building strip consisting of a row of fast-food chains with their own dedicated drive thrus).
Lol my city actually banned fast food chains within city limits and forced them to close their stores.
There was a student in my high school that came to study to my country. She lost a ton of weight - I obviously didn't ask her the exact number, but you could clearly see the difference after 2 years. And she didn't really go on a diet or anything. When she went back I felt really sad to see she gained it all back and more in no time.
In my Danish local supermarket i saw an american cereal on sale once. It was some kind of sugary, grainy pillow filled with what looked like Nutella. Honestly serving your child something like that for breakfast, or even ever, is a form of child abuse. Also when it comes to food i get a homecooked meal every day. We may eat take out (McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza, kebabs whatever) once every 2 months at max.
Hi, Ryan! I just remembered something. The garlic bread that they serve you in bars or restaurants before your meal was actually real wheat bread, like sourdough and not at all the already sliced toast bread that people normally buy. That's the sweet stuff full of preservatives which give it an unusually long shelflife.
So, it IS possible to make good, sugarfree bread. Why isn't this bread the norm just as in Europe? Is it just because the bread slices used for toasting last longer and are already sliced?
What you miss is the aroma of freshly baked bread, the delicious crust that protects the bread from molding and getting hard on the inside.
This type of bread is not meant to be used as a sandwich but as an open-faced slice suitable for toppings of all kinds, toasted or not toasted.
The amount of sugar, corn syrup et al used in foods, (even in bread!), in the USA is a big issue.
walking part is generally true. Lisbon or Porto in Portugal are extreme examples of that - they are so hilly that it's a legit workout moving around there.
Also fast food is usually the more expensive option so there's no way it will become standard part of your diet. Unhealthy cereals are also a thing here.
I did the other way around transformation when I finished university and started working. When I was studying I didn't have a car, I used public transport and used to walk everywhere, I had more time to eat proper food. When I started working I bought a car, I spent a lot of time at the office sitting behind the desk, we ordered fast food to the office on regular basis. I went from 65kg to almost 80kg in no time. And that was while I kept playing football and going out for a run once or twice a week. So even in Europe our lifestyle matters so much. I believe in USA I'd be reaching 90kg with your XXXL portions and sugar-pumped everything. Sad thing is it seems you guys don't have much of a choice when it comes to food in US. My source of knowledge are mostly these videos so I can honestly say I don't know anything :D but if it is like that..... I feel for you guys.
In Italy they shut domino's pizza 🍕...I wonder why....we have the best pizza in the world 🌎 how could they even think of making that chain work here?
I had a holiday in Italy the local restaurant were serving frozen pizzas they bought from the shop across the road. I found out because I asked for one without cheese as I'm allergic cheese. She said she couldn't help as it was bulk bought with the cheese already on it, and pointed to the grocery store.
@@jeanauguste-f7i That wasnt a real "local" restaurant. That was a tourist trap. No real Italian restaurant would serve that. That would be sacriledge! Even among tourist traps I have never heard of them serving frozen pizza from the supermarket, thats insane!
Theres pizzerias everywhere in Italy. Even in heavy tourist areas they make them, as u watch, and theyre usually somewhere between fine and good. For really good Italian food u should go, where the locals eat. Not just in Italy, everywhere. I find it so sad, that so many ppl go to Italy or another country, and they think, they were eating the good local food, and they were just eating the crap at tourist trap places.
Domino's in Italy? Ok, that's a good one.🤣
That's hilarious. 😂
Nothing beats actual real Italian pizza. (Italian food in general 👌)
I actually bought an Italian pizza oven(Effeuno) and I've been making Napolitana pizza's, everybody loves them! 😃
Warm greetings from the Netherlands. 😊🌷
@@BabzVlove to the Netherlands 🇳🇱💕
As being obese, it started when I got pregnant (nearly 40 yrs ago!), and had an accident during my second pregnancy, that made me almost invalid, it was hard, gaining weight while still working out and eating healthy. Whatever I did, it did not work, all bloodtest came out ok, the doctors got theories, but no solutions.
Yep, just had to realize that I was going to be obese, no matter what. Then my life changed a few years ago (2019), got problems with my heart, due to a long-timed infection with my lungs, strange but true. What they found out, is that my body could not make use of a few vital vitamins naturally by food, but had to get prescripted (really high doses!) vitamins. In a couple of months, I started to get better when covid started, got the needed injections (was mandatory to keep my job), and this was also the beginning I was pressed to quit my job... During all this, I kept eating as normally, never got sick, though my co-workers got covid, some several times. (Today, never had covid! Everyone around me, yes. Family, friends, co-workers and the family where I rent a basement apartment.)
So to 2020 during the fall, my heart started to get worse, and it was arytmia, my boss really started to pester me, and due to our laws, 🇧🇻, he could not fire me, but he and HR started to get creative, and since it started to get to me, I finally agreed... They have to pay me my salary (reduced to 66%) to the month of my 67th year, yep become a retiree (and still got 4 more yrs! 😊). (That is when the government starts paying my pension.)
The best part is that I started to loose weight, still eating the same, drinking wine, have my heart restarted several times, my activity is actually much lower than when I worked (due to baaaad knees)... still loosing weight!😊 I think it is because I am not stressed anymore, not to think about work, where stress/high adrenaline happens during distress-situations, which we had almost daily.
I am way more happy and relaxed now, and still loosing weight! 😁🌻
Sorry about ranting, but I get it, Portugal is a way more relaxed than US.😊
The problem lies with processed foods. Most European countries (especially the Mediterranean countries) do not eat processed foods (burgers, ready meals, fast foods). Unfortunately the UK is following (way too much in my opinion) the fast food fad. This can only lead to obesity, diabetes and early death…. but it seems that convenience wins over health.
Just walking in general instead of sitting in a car sounds like a good start.
Most simple answer, is that Europe probably has set meal times, with reasonable amounts of food. Americans probably eat more frequently, by grabbing quick bites of junk food when they can.
no. Most european has the same lifestyle as americans. Its 2024 not the sixities. Im french, and the 2 hours break lunch has become an old memory. Overall, Its just down to ingredient quality. Us food quality is garbage because there are almost no regulations and companies focus on profit. Its a real adventure in the US if you just want to find a tomato which tastes like a tomato. Im pretty sure than most americans dont even know the taste of a real tomato. In most places in Europe, there is a bunch of law, either on gmo, on processed food or on how unheallty a product can be. You cant crushed birds bones, add chemicals and sugar, and sell it as a chicken nuggets. Not yet.
@@homasas4837👩🏼🌾🇫🇮🍅
Salut!
Luckily for us Europeans, contrary to what you're saying, we do NOT have the same lifestyle as the population of the U.S.
Far from it.
But you are of course right in pointing out that we live in the year 2024 now and things are not exactly the same as they were fifty or sixty years ago.
In this context, I would agree that long lunchbreaks are mostly a thing of the past. Another thing is that American fastfood chains have already for quite a while been present in Europe and some Europeans, especially families with children, have become used to junk food from the U.S. or from local fastfood companies. More or less continuous snacking has also invaded Europe.
But other than these two things, the lifestyles of most Western Europeans have nothing in common with those of the U.S. citizens.
Anybody who has followed the news lately or looked at various ratings comparing life contentment, work - life balance, health care, education, security, trust, freedom, equality and so on, is already well aware of the fact that the ordinary citizen in a Western European country enjoys a lifestyle that an average American can only dream of. Sounds wrong, doesn't it?
And yet, it is true, unless you are really well to do or a millionaire/billionaire in the States.
In the final analysis, it's fruitless to compare all of Europe to all of the United States. There are just too many variables having their roots and reasons in history, values and power plays...
@Gittas-tube I lived in NY for a couple of years. Let me tell you that a parisian, a londoner or a new Yorker have pretty much the same lifestyle. Maybe it's not the same in Helsinki but it's not exactly what I would could a big European city.
I am sorry. As a french, i have to say: i feel like you are being naïve. It is simply that food in the USA is poisoned. And things won't change any time soon. The USA started to produce "artificial meat" in laboratories. Always the same logic, pushed always further. No holds barred. Same causes will always bring the same consequences.
@@nox8730 i agree 100 % with you. And i can say pretty much the same about UK food quality. im french too, and I lived both in UK and the US. It was litterally impossible there to eat the same things as I did in France, without becoming fat. Just british or american bread makes you obese.
Cookies in milk with coffee is what the average Italian eats at breakfast. It's actually my daily breakfast.
And mine. Pan di stelle, spot on.
Eaten in reasonable quantities!
Italians got it right!
I used to love Macine, when I lived in Italy as a child (and every time I came to Italy to visit family). But eventually they changed recipe, which made them taste terribly nowadays... Now I just get to the bar and get myself a cornetto with a cappuccino.
The important thing is not eating food with loads of sugar and fats all day round.
If you think of Asian breakfasts, they tend to be savoury and even though for us Italians it may sounds too heavy having rice noodles with veggies and meat in the morning (or even rice and fish curry), it's healthy and keeps you "full" for a longer period
@@sarahfolla4816 except we don't need such a rich breakfast because we tend to have a richer dinner, so we don't wake up as hungry.
I'm Spanish living in Ireland, also a subscriber to Steve1989MRE. In my recent birthday(1 month ago) I decided to try and order a military MRE, and since the most convenient result was a USA field combat military ration from someone in the UK, then I took that just to try it out instead of a fancy cake.
The best part of the ration was the discovery of the mixture of peanut butter and jelly over bread. I'd never tasted that before in my life, but since I knew it was a staple for US people, I put both the butter and the jelly over the piece of shelf-stable bread and had to accept that it is a match made in heaven.
Now the worst part, which is the part relative to this video was... how sweet everything tasted. The bread was sweet, the pound cake was very sweet, the radioactive-looking lime beverage was sweet too, the beef stew tasted like it had some sweeteners into it, and the bag of skittles was the sweetest, most cloying(is that the word?) piece of 'food' I've had in years. I couldn't eat more than 3 and had to throw them away.
I can't help but think that, if having such foods is a common trope in the markets from the USA, and knowing that most of them spend so much time driving cars instead of walking, plus the fact that the fast food is twice as cheap as where I live with their wages are twice as high, then being the most obese country in the world is only expected.
I also lost weight with no effort, but in the USA! When I was a student I went on W&T program in NYC and I lost weight while working in a fast food restaurant! I think there were few factors. I'm vegeterian and most of the free food choices at work were some kind of meat, other things I could eat were unnecessarily sweet, like bread, pizza and cheese that tasted like underdone pancake?! Another thing is that since I was serving people so much food, especially sodas, I lost my appetite for those things and only drank water instead. I also saw the oil used to fry French fries and things like that... So what I had left was salad and I lived on that. And the most important thing I think contributed to that is that I walked a lot because I was also a tourist (like the guy in the video) and there were so many things to see in NYC.
its the food. stricter controls on additives , no gmos etc. smaller portions as well. cities are small so pple walk more.
Just having a vacation in Portugal..it’s really nice here
what have you visited ?
In France it's always said that you need to eat portions of 5 differents fruits/vegetables per day and walk 1 hour per day.
Mediterranean diet certainly doesn,t make you gain too much weight. It,s mostly vegetables, fruits,fish, beans .That goes for Portugal and also Spain as well.
Well, that could be true if it was a true Mediterranean diet (that isn't), based on beans, cereals and vegetables.
@miguelferrazcosta ?????
@@miguelferrazcosta You what mate? Mediterranean cousine without loads of fresh vegetables?
Or do you think they just do gyros and pizzas all day long?
@@sabre0121 Mediterranean cuisine is mostly plant based. It's not what we have here in Portugal. Unfortunately. But people think that we're consuming mostly Mediterranean cuisine which is not the case.
We can say that it is somewhat Mediterranean cuisine based, but it is mostly for the behavior that Mediterranean cuisine includes, one thing that people forget is that it is also a lifestyle, that includes social behavior at mealtime. That's why we do havte normally longer lunch times.
The med. Diet is ok for med. Climate, if you life in a colder country the body needs more than fruit n veg.
Few years ago, my baseball club in Belgium, Europe, invited a minor league catcher to train us. He lived at my parents house for 2-3 weeks. At the end of his stay, he weighed himself and had lost 10 pounds. He was eating enough for him, but better quality food that was tasteful. He enjoyed the dishes, was drinking beers and wine.
My husband went on a worktrip to the States for a week, a few years back... Gained 3kg (over 6pounds if I'm not mistaken), with sauces, unlimited hyper sugared drinks, super processes cheeses on to many things and mega portions of everything.... Except veggies... then again, he went in the state with the higher rate of heart disease and obesity(apparently)
When you travel for a company you have no choice but to eat out in restaurants, and the company pays for it. Everybody gains weight when they interrupt their routine in a lavish way. Who goes to a restaurant with their workmates and orders veggies and water?
It's so funny that that's the "healthy" cereal aisle with like Rice krispies and Cheerios, cause that's like the "only-on-weekends" or even only on holidays-cereal (if you even eat them) here in Sweden 😅 (or at least in my perspective)
Heard so many stories about people (and know some ppl) from Sweden who moved to the US and gained a lot of weight.
When I was working in Wisconsin I was amazed that, outside of any town centre, it was impossible to walk anywhere. At work I mostly only met other Europeans on the stairs as the Americans took the lift / elevator. Portion sizes were far too big in the US and us Europeans were trying to clear our plates, the Americans didn’t clear their plates but took what left home to have another meal. Completely different mindset to Europe.
British year and I’ve just had that meal you showed for my tea or dinner as you might say , but with chickpeas toasted hazelnuts, tinned tuna and a big green salad and homegrown tomatoes. Yum
I’m from the UK, and I have to say that all of our Supermarkets mostly have whole healthy foods on the shelves. I think we’re mostly brought up eating fresh fruit and vegetables from childhood. Our bread is usually very healthy also, very often incorporating seeds as well. Of course we have the odd cake or biscuit, but generally we’re a healthy lot.😊
Well, I Just looked it up. With an obesity rate of 28%, the UK scores the highest in all of Europe. To compare, that's twice the rate of the neighboring Benelux!
What.. UK supermarket are full of unhealthy processed food
@@caterthun4853 maybe, but at least we have the choice.
seeds are related to inflammatory disease.
I had a girl at my school which was vary slim and sporty very well trained body
Then she went to go study in the US and after like 6months posted a picture she must have gained around 20kg or more she was not really fat but definitely not slim eather but for sure a food bit overweight
I couldn't believe my eyes because in Germany she really didnt have any problems staying in top form but there well...
When I visited America (Disney world) I found out I am allergic to American beef with all its chemicals, yay
at 7:35 - you have structures like that, in San Fransisco ;)
In (the Nothern part at least) Europe we have actually healthy stuff like muesli. In the US you sugary cereal. There is a huge difference just there :)
Some mueslies are worst than cereals, but others are healthy
@@ilkkak3065 Mine consist of various grains, nuts, dried fruits for sweetnes etc. With a protein shake to go with it I'm usually good to go :)
The cookie crisps here actually are pretty low in sugar and contain whole grains, but taste great and sweet. The cheerios too
I like both of them even when i'm on a diet
No es cuestión de comer mucho y malo, sino de poco y bueno principalmente.
I would love to see you react to a few more of Dave's videos, he has some great ones.
Spanish here. We have McDonald's since I was little, i went with my parents because I wanted some toy on the happy meal, and still go from time to time... The burgers have always been bad. As a six years old, I took the salad or mcnuggets (still bad), as a 30 years old, I usually take a wrap. And I go less than once per year.
I don't get how anybody can enjoy those burgers, of course I know it works, ecen in Spain, they still open, but I at least I don't know any regular costumer
I loved frosted flakes as a child. I ate it again maybe 5 years ago and I almost spit it out with how sweet it was. Don’t get me wrongly love my chocolate but that one was definitely next level.
I'm European and those doors on an angle is very usual in many old towns. These days I would ask where is my steps and this is so inconvenient. They didn't think about that in the old days, just like they didn't think about staircases with unequal steps. It didn't occur to them it might be a health issue. Not everything they did in the old days was that great, but why change the things they did have a good grip on, you know.
The last time I had McD was last July when I came back from the F1 race in Budapest. We were very tired and didn't feel like going to a real restaurant. We just wanted to eat something and go to the hotel, take a shower and go to bed. The time when I had McD before that I really don't even remember. Must have been a couple of years ago.
He looks like he has been working out but maybe because he goes to the beach often, meets with friends outside who play sports like football or basketball, takes bnikerides and walks of course...
My sister is a US citizen, so I spend time there quite often. I love this junk food - at least for a few days! Everything is heavily spiced, looks beautiful and has an enhanced taste! Unfortunately, a few weeks and I gain extra kilos and my stomach starts to hurt. Evidently my body prefers simpler sets of food. In Poland, it is really easy (and relatively cheap) to get delicious vegetables, fruit, meat and bread. Only recently have they started to add chemical additives to them, but by choosing proven places you can still avoid them. When I go to the countryside to visit family, we can buy a supply of eggs or milk straight from the farmer - a neighbor. The food may have a shorter expiration date and does not look as fancy, but it is tasty and healthy.
America is so used to eating fast food with their hands, they have long ago lost their table etiquette and have the most peculiar way of using cutlery! I’m sure they knew how to use it two hundred years ago, but those people are all gone now and no one has taught them how it’s done, or if they have, it has been rejected because Americans don’t like change and resist it at all costs, even things that are better and more functional have been rejected, like the metric system and attempts to control gun ownership, even though thousands die every year from gunshot wounds.
Yeah, thats a classic for 1 of those "tell me, ur American, without telling me, ur American" videos. Table manners. Manners in general, actually.
Ah the cutlery 🤪🤪🤪
I can't even watch Americans eat
@Jeni10
Hello there! 👋😊🍴🥄
Ah yes, table manners and the use of knife and fork...
A depressing story and getting even more so every year.
I take it for granted that you know that in the U.S. the proper way to use your knife and fork is different than in Europe. So that's perfectly okay.
Also, to keep your hands on the table at all times follows French etiquette, while in some other countries you should keep your hands in your lap, on your serviette.
The one thing that reveals that you have never been taught proper table manners is how you hold your knife and fork in most countries in Europe. It would take too long to explain it here, so if somebody is interested, please look it up. Anyway, there's method to this madness. The correct grip of the knife and fork is meant to prevent you or somebody else from accidentally poking out an eye or cutting themselves with their knife. Also, if you use your fork like a shovel in your left hand, you'll have to stick out your elbow and thus invade your neighbor's space making him or her uncomfortable.
For someone who knows next to nothing about table manners there's much to learn.
It sounds silly, but when a civilization slowly starts to decline, in addition to its language falling apart, its customs and culture soon follow suite.
I didn't eat maccydeez till i was in my 20s in London..
We was brought up on home cooked food like spag bol, roast dinners, stew, bangers n mash.
I think if you just factor in that many places in the US aren't walkable or bikeable, higher amounts of sugar and such in food and drinks and that "grind" mentality really play a big part in it.
I'd be so stressed living in the US, I mean, imagine you need a car to be able to work, the rent's high, you might need more than one job to pay the bills. If you went to uni you have to pay off large amounts of debt. You might not get much movement during your job or you're in such a physically demanding one that you have no energy left otherwise.
And then you have drive thru everything. Starbucks? Drive thru. McDonald's? Drive thru. Bank? Drive thru.
Unless you live in a city like Boston or Portland or New York I'd wager you don't move enough daily.
And then overall stress.
Stress at work, bad work-life-balance, not as good of a diet maybe.
And personally I'd be stressed about potentially loosing my job or getting sick, because the truth is that the social safety net and health insurance in the US is a joke. That would give me nightmares. I mean, don't get me wrong I'd be worried about loosing my job here too, but I know at the end of the day society will break my fall if it comes to it.
And I think if you factor in all of that, it's no surprise that Europeans might lead healthier lives.
i am Australian and in the early 2000s I lived in China for over years I went from 75Kg don to 71Kg. Some of that was because of a different diet but a lot was the exercise as I didn't drive there. When I got back it took a year to get back to 74Kg (i was not doing that deliberately). I am now back to 71Kg. Diet and availability of snacks makes a lot of difference. My snacks now are primarily fruit.
8:12 It's funny that he thinks we need sunny weather to go outside (or that it would be "easier" to go for walk etc.) 😅
Germans have a saying: “There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.”
Us Dutchies always say, "you're not made out of sugar, you won't melt.'
If we would stay in with bad weather we'd never go out. 😂
@@BabzV We say that in Finland, too! Just as the one about donning the right kind of clothing.
It seems that because the weather is so changeable in the northern countries of continental Europe and in all of the Nordic countries, we have use for the same sayings! I'm guessing that the Brits have the same sayings, too...
@@Gittas-tube I think we have more similarities than differences up here in Northern Europe. 😊
@@BabzV👩🏻🌾🏞️🍁🍂☔
Absolutely! 👋☺️
The more i watch Ryan's videos the more I realize he is actually an intelligent person who has questions and he gets answers in his own way which makes him similar to Joe Rogan... I wish to see him one day on his podcast
US tourists returning from even one week vacations in the UK report increased stamina and better health.
But Bri'ish food is......
French in style to a significant degree, and they have italian and other restaurants in there as well.
@@Megalomaniakaal Ask any frenchman what he thinks of the french food in the UK, you'll understand how wrong you are.
@@DenshinIshin Hence why I specifically phrased it the way I did. Never said the French would own it, but they have had their influence there.
@@Megalomaniakaal French had influence on pretty much a lot of professional cuisine, from words, to names, to techniques, etc. That doesn't mean UK food is anything good. Sure they have a lot of various restaurant from everywhere, just like any other country, but does it really count if you don't eat outside every meal?
4:30 that is what I exactly thought, it is sugaaar over sugaaar. That do not ever come close what european mean when we are talking about healthy cereals…= like punched 100%oat flakes, but still it is considered too starchy and eaten with dry fruits (sugar) cooked in hot water/milk sooo it is more desert than healthy breakfast.
I'm Portuguese, I moved to The Netherlands many years ago I too struggled with food habits, everybody was eating bread with spreads at lunch, and I was eating a salad with a lean protein, not possible sometimes to warm food, like soup (self made) because some workplaces didn't have a microwave to use, and I don't eat their artificial powder soup. However, I went to NY for a course and I wasn't able to eat even a simple muffin, due to the amount of sugar! Everything was sugary-taste, quite far away from the Mediterranean diet I follow. I actually returned thinner! 😂😂😂
Yeah, Im European, and I'll admit it, Im overweight, I dont move around enough, and I have a low metabolism, which makes it worse. But in the US I felt almost slim. And their food really is horrible! The sugar alone, everything is sooooo sweet, its almost inedible, their so-called bread is nothing of the sort. And all their food is so filled with additives and hormones, pesticides, antibiotics etc from the production, that it all has a faint chemical taste to me. Finding something I could eat without gagging was a real problem. Their food alone is enough to keep me away!
Our Dutch diet is very different from the Mediterranean diet, so I can totally understand it would be a difficult change to get used to.
But we do have a colder climate so we need good sturdy food to keep us going. 😉
@@BabzV Oh, I've been more or less able to keep my Mediterranean diet through all these years, but I still miss some vegetables and fruits. What was really difficult at first was not having a big variety of fresh products and a microwave at workplaces to warm my food, indeed a cold salad in a cold climate is not that enjoyable... that, and being asked a million times why wouldn't I eat bread instead😂 But I absolutely love living here, I have my own business (therefore my own microwave at lunch time🤣) and despite remaining completely unable to eat the famous "patat met..." I do enjoy your country ❤😊
@@helenan7368Hahaha How dare you not like our national treasure patatje met?! 😂😭
I'm glad you were able to settle in nicely here and feel at home. 😊🌷
@@helenan7368 The netherlands are not particurly a country I would call with good food. I'm Belgian so our level off food is another standard. although i ate french fries there that were not to bad to my Belgian standard of french fries. I hate there 'broodje kroket' and food out of the wall.
I'm Indonesian, back in 2020, I got my double degree in Germany even though it was COVID, but it was super healthy for me! I kinda missed my daily routine back when I was living in Germany. I even hit my weight to 76.9 kg and now I'm at 81.2 kg.
Hi Ryan, I follow a TH-camr you might find interesting, a professional American football player, (NALF), who published a vid with the following title : " What 8 Years In Germany Does To You " , in which he enumerates ' 8 Ways 8 Years In Germany changed [him] .
My sister in law is Canadian and she came to Romania a few months ago. She was blown away with the food, prices, safety and the fact that almost eveyone speaks english. Se felt so welcomed and overwhelmed with the love she received.
She couldn't belive she was eating mushrooms that she picked from the forest and so so many other things.
She and my brother are personal trainers and they were not so happy with the fact that they lost to much weight.😂
A few years ago I went to Texas on a school exchange. I'm from Germany. After a long flight me and the other students were hungry and went straight to McDonald's in the airport.
I couldn't believe how awful the cheeseburgers i got tasted. It was like eating a sponge full of chemicals.
In Germany I actually enjoy McDonald's from time to time for a quick bite.
And I don't get it why almost every drink you order has ice cubes in it. You can't drink your tab water because again it taste like chemicals, but then you make cubes out of it which melt in your drink...
Too be fair, I really liked the BBQ and the Mexican food in Texas
hi, I'm not American but the ice cubes are because of the climate. Not just Texas, but latitude-wise the American Canadian border is where the border between Slovakia and Hungary is in Europe. Everything is much more to the south in other words, and the drinks would warm up v quickly.
@@watermelon7998 sure I get that, but I would rather have a warm drink than drinking chlorine
@@valreth5648 Chlorine is used the world over to keep water safe. Where do you live?
@@karlbmiles Germany. Until the water reaches your house pipes (older houses might still have old pipes which can effect the quality), it's even better than store bought water.
@@valreth5648 It's not very healthy to drink chlorine tho. Japan, Usa, Russia; china and so on, all use chlorine because they don't have a better filtration powerplant. Just filter your water in a better way instead of just throwing toxic chemicals in the water ( as a wise man said, choose the right way not the easy way. Albus Dumbledore)
2:49 They do but there's also sugar in it. So it's giving you constant sugar intake.
I'm French, and here, it's even more in detail when it comes to food, as in, there's an emphasis on 'Made in France' food. Even McDonald's have their ingredients being produced in French farms, and so is far healthier than in some other countries.
And that's what makes me, who can't eat any fruit or vegetables as they are (aside from potatoes and carrots), only have a kinda beer belly at 24, without it becoming worse, and though I'm not a sport guy AT ALL.
So yeah, I surely wouldn't survive in the US food-wise.
This reminded me of my husband who flew to Atlanta some 25 years ago for a Microsoft conference. He was in the US for the first time. At the hotel he asked where the bike rental was. The gentleman looked at him in surprise, but it was a relatively high-quality hotel, and he had a bike ready within a few hours. From what he told me, the bike looked as if some hotel employee had lent it to him. Then, as he was driving around Atlanta, he realized that he had chosen a very unusual activity for the locals. 😊
America has always been a country that doesn't care about its citiziens. It's not just in terms of health, but also the school system. It's the country of globalization. From fairly early on we did everything we could so that we can tell the world " Look at us, look what we got, we're thriving, come here if you want the same". We invited great people who studied outside the US to come work for us and what we offered in return were great terms & conditions. Companies, people, everything. There was no need to elevate the competence of the general population. It was never about things like "diversity" and never will be.
Nowadays shit's falling apart. The worker ant population doesn't buy into the unconditional patriotism as much as they used to.
Food, exercise and stress all have an effect. I am 54 years old, 6ft tall and 185lbs. I eat a lot, but its all healthy stuff. Work 4 days a week and I am off walking or camping every weekend.
I'm from Serbia and I think my mother would have had me legit starve to death rather than feed me those cookies with milk.
Moving to Protugal seems to solve everything. I should try it :P
Speaking as a (thank god!) retired UK doctor - lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle. That's it.
(of course good food helps)
Sit on your arse munching crap all day and you can't be surprised when you turn in to a blob.
If you are a bit active and stop to eat only when you are hungry you'll be a different person.
The fact that in Europe and average restaurant meal is 800-900kcal or less, while the same meal in US and UK is like 1500kcal has to do a lot with it :D
I think it's more than just the quality. Americans eat enormous amounts, fill their huge plates and throw away what they don't finish. It's like they revel in the excess of food. I wonder where this comes from? Maybe the switch from the background the poor immigrants came from, to the abundance they found in the US was too much to handle in a relatively short space of time.
Exactly. USA is where food eating competitions originated.
You do make me laugh with your opening move!
ps Ryan, you’re missing out on a lot of great architecture in Europe, especially those houses that are on a hill!! 😂
5:48 anybody noticed that everybody is parking first with front of their cars? In europe most people would park with bottom first. This is interesting, not one car bottom first (not counting that white on on the edge)
Uhm, in Italy most people park with the front in first, in a grid like that. If the parking is by the side of the road we usually enter bottom first backing up.
If the side of the road is pretty empty we just glide to the side, front first.
@@victorfries8859 Yes but you have usually smaller cars like smarts, not those truck like in USA
I recently had friends from the US come over, they had health issues with gluten and finding the right bread at home. Over this side of the pond, they could eat any bread and they were fine. They were quite stunned. They also noted the difference in sugar levels and how sweets and foods tasted far less sweet here in whatever EU country they travelled in. They couldn't get used to the naturally sour taste of yoghurt though even when they added honey.
You're also outside a lot more in northern Europe. Just because it's in the north (or east) doesn't mean that cities in the Middle Ages were prophetically built to be car-friendly today.🙄
I feel Ireland is the exceptions to all of those in Europe - it's extremely car centric despite not being exactly made for cars
What you say about McDonald's addiction/desensitisation is also true of many Europeans, including of my (middle aged) generation, who were brought up with it - but it was a treat, rather than a regular thing, for kids. I'm able to observe from the outside (wheat allergy so haven't been exposed) and I remember walking into one in Stockholm with some colleagues who wanted McDonalds because they were hung over after a very jolly party the night before. The smell made me want to vomit, so I had to go and wait outside, but they were all really into it. The difference is, they don't eat it every week.
My father smocked sigarettes for 40 years (from his 20 to 60) and always was super skinny whatever he eat. In his 60 his suit from high school prom fit him perfectly!
He cancelled to smoke, now he's 69 and almost twice bigger in weight! His eating habits didn't change much, they became even healthier. So maybe sigarretes is the answer)))
Its a well known problem, that a lot of ppl, who quit smoking, gain weight. Theres several reasons for that, fx. something in the cigarettes (I dont remember what) does decrease appetite. In my opinion, as some1, who never smoked, but have known several ppl, who quit, its as much about, how they can suddenly taste everything again. Ask any former smoker, and they will tell u, that quitting smoking really improved their sense of taste (smoking basically numbs it). So natually, when everything suddenly tastes wonderful, compared to what u were used to, u eat more.
@@dfuher968 yes, people say, that after quit smoking everything tasting better, and my dad is one of them, but he has pretty quickly get over it.
He didn't start eat much more. Dad even changes his eating habits for better: less salt, sugar, spicy food, oil, grilling, frying, more simple vegetables, fresh food. Because it started being tasty for him. But still got fat)
As for the appetite during smocking. My granny was a the Leningrad's Siege survival, 900 days of starvation. She told us she survived because of smoking, people there even push their toddlers to smoke to ease their slow dying from a hunger.
Portugal ROCKS!!! Welcome to Portugal!!!
Much of the food here in the states is very poor. Walking gives a lot of exercise in a gentle and natural way, and many people in Europe walk to the supermarket and buy their food every day or two. Carrying it home gives additional exercise as you are moving that extra weight and supporting it on your arms.
Also when my wife who was born and raised in the USA is in the states she has a lot of allergies, causing her to sneeze and her eyes to tear up, but in the UK she has none at all. She suffers from acid reflux in the USA but not in the UK. There are definite health benefits to living in Europe, and it's a much better life than the US offers most people.
I am from the U.S and I have been on a few trips to Europe in which the trip itself was either two weeks down to one week and each time because of both the food I ate and the amount of walking around I would always end up loosing weight and come back healthier then when I left the U.S. I only have done 5 different trips, but I have visited 14 different countries that are mostly western, both north & south, with a couple of ones that sit in the eastern area.
So many people can’t fathom how the tattoo could possibly be on the opposite arm 🪞
LOL. Have they not heard of a mirror image?
Where did his chest hair go?
I think you’re right. I ate McDonald’s for the first time as an adult and hate it, even the smell inside the stores makes me feel ill.