By André Picard
Canadians are obsessed by food: They read about it, they turn chefs into celebrities, they dine out a lot and they know how important a healthy, well-balanced diet is. But too often, André Picard reports, when it comes to what they put on their plates — from burgers and fries to doughnuts and pop — they're out to lunch
As a high-octane businessman, Alister Archibald likes to get an early start on the day. He rises before the sun and is at work by 6 a.m. But you won't find him jostling for position in the drive-thru of a fast-food emporium —— at least not any more.Instead, he downs a hearty breakfast and never leaves the house without a brown-bag lunch and snacks. He also knows precisely what he will be eating for supper before stepping out the door each morning.
"The key to eating well is planning. If you plan, you're not going to be tempted by unhealthy stuff. You're not going to overeat. And you're not going to get fat," he says.
The words are spoken with the zeal of a convert, and rightfully so. Until five months ago, Mr. Archibald, the director of operations at Molson Breweries in Vancouver, ate a typical businessman's diet: coffee and muffin on the run, a fast-food lunch, a belt-busting meat-and-potatoes dinner, and a rum and Coke nightcap.
The lifestyle took its toll: His weight crept up to 222 pounds on a 5-foot-8 frame and, at the age of 49, he started to worry as his peers were felled by heart disease and other health problems. "I looked at myself in the mirror one day and realized, 'Hey, I'm getting fat, and I don't like it,' " he says.
With 48 per cent of the adult Canadian population overweight, staring at a corpulent reflection of one's self is a dreadful feeling many people know all too well.
But from behind the blubber is emerging a new consciousness, a growing subculture of label-reading, menu-analyzing foodies who are turning TV chefs into celebrities, sending Bonnie Stern cookbooks to the top of bestseller lists and forcing supermarkets to stock organic produce and low-fat alternatives to all kinds of foods.
It's a testament to their numbers and potential influence that even the fast-food giants are taking notice, investing heavily in marketing "lite" fare such as salads, veggie burgers and even fresh fruit.
But while this generation of Jared Fogel wannabes — you know, the guy who lost 245 pounds on a diet of low-fat Subway subs — knows that eating well is essential, they are struggling to do so.
"People today are more aware of nutrition than they have ever been, but life constantly gets in the way of good intentions," says Ramona Josephson, a Vancouver-based nutrition coach to whom Mr. Archibald turned for help.
The advice she offers is largely common sense. Eat more fruits and vegetables, cut down on the fats, particularly the hydrogenated fats found in snack foods and fast foods, and eat more fibre.
And like Mr. Fogel, control your portions, though not in such a monotonous manner. Ms. Josephson said the secret to her success is that she adapts a diet to a person's lifestyle and food preferences rather than imposing rigid rules.
For example, Mr. Archibald still gets to drink beer, eat the steak and pasta he loves, satisfy his sweet tooth and go to his favourite Italian restaurant. He just does so in moderation and, with eyes wide open.
He has altered his lifestyle in conjunction with his wife, Bonnie, an executive assistant at Vancouver General Hospital. He says that changing the way they eat as a couple has made it infinitely easier for them, because there is always someone to turn to for support and to keep the other person honest.
"When we eat out now, we're a lot more inquisitive about our food. It's the same at home: You start reading the labels. We still eat really well, but we've become much more disciplined," he says.
The result has been a 33-pound weight loss for him and a 17-pound loss for his wife without feeling they have made a sacrifice.
Ms. Josephson says her clients don't count calories, but they actually think about what they eat before ingesting it, a rarity in our harried world. "We are surrounded by food, but most of us don't give any thought to what we are eating or why," she says. "I believe that unless you make a conscious choice to eat healthy, you won't."
Given how ubiquitous food is in our lives — three meals a day plus snacks — and the importance of good nutrition for long-term health, it is remarkable how little we know about what Canadians eat.
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