What Happened to the Way We Eat?

Family Dinner in the 70’s

Have you ever looked at an old family photograph from the 1950s, 60s, or 70s and noticed how different people looked?

I have.

I was born in 1963, and when I think back to my childhood, I don’t remember anyone talking much about diets.

We certainly didn’t count macros. 😂

We didn’t have protein bars in our purses.

Nobody was walking around with a giant water bottle reminding them to hydrate.

And we definitely weren’t discussing our gut microbiome around the dinner table!

We just ate.

Food Was Pretty Simple

My mom cooked.

Most of our meals were made at home, and we sat around the dinner table together as a family.

Pop was a treat.

I can still remember those summer road trips across the hot prairies to visit Grandma and Grandpa.

There was no air conditioning in the car, so the windows were rolled down and the hot, dusty wind blew through while we drove.

And every once in a while, we’d stop for a cold glass bottle of pop.

What a treat that was!

It wasn’t something sitting in our refrigerator every day.

Snacks were pretty simple too.

An apple.

A banana.

Or homemade cookies.

And we were allowed two. 😂

We drank water from the tap—and occasionally straight from the garden hose.

Chips were a rare luxury.

Food wasn’t perfect.

But looking back, I realize something:

It wasn’t nearly as complicated as we’ve made it today.

Somewhere Along the Way, Food Changed

Over the decades, our food environment changed dramatically.

Fast food became more available.

Portion sizes grew.

Packaged convenience foods filled grocery-store shelves.

Sugary drinks became everyday beverages rather than occasional treats.

And increasingly, foods were created that were inexpensive, convenient, shelf-stable and extremely easy to eat.

At the same time, our lives changed.

We became busier.

We sat more.

We ate on the run.

Families ate together less often.

Food became available virtually everywhere, all the time.

And perhaps without even realizing it, our relationship with food changed too.

The Rise of Ultra-Processed Food

There’s an important distinction between processed and ultra-processed food.

Processing itself isn’t necessarily bad.

Frozen vegetables are processed.

Greek yogurt is processed.

Canned beans are processed.

Cheese is processed.

The bigger concern researchers are increasingly studying is diets containing large amounts of ultra-processed foods—products often made with refined ingredients, additives and formulations that bear little resemblance to the foods they started from.

Think:

Soft drinks.

Candy.

Many packaged snack foods.

Some frozen ready-to-eat meals.

Sugary cereals.

Certain fast foods.

They’re convenient, often inexpensive, and frequently very easy to overeat.

That doesn’t make someone weak for enjoying them.

It means we live in a very different food environment than our grandparents did.

Food Marketing Changed Too

This part fascinates me.

Think back to the commercials of our childhood.

“Snap! Crackle! Pop!”

I bet some of you immediately heard it in your head. 😂

Food wasn’t simply sold based on taste.

It was associated with fun.

Family.

Happiness.

Convenience.

Childhood.

Rewards.

Celebrations.

And those associations stay with us.

There are foods I can see or smell today and instantly be transported back decades.

That’s powerful.

And companies understand it.

Packaging, advertising, placement, texture, flavour and branding can all influence what we choose and how much we consume.

That doesn’t mean we’re helpless.

But understanding those influences can help us become more intentional.

So Is It All Our Fault?

I don’t think fault is a particularly helpful word.

Our body weight and health are influenced by many things—genetics, hormones, medications, sleep, stress, activity, our environment, socioeconomic factors, medical conditions, and yes, what and how much we eat.

So rather than blaming ourselves—or blaming one particular food—I think there’s a better question:

What can I do with what I know today?

That’s where our power is.

Maybe We Don’t Need Another Diet

This is where I’ve landed after years of learning about health.

I don’t think most of us need another complicated set of food rules.

Maybe we need to make food simple again.

Cook more often.

Eat foods that look like food.

Fill our plates with colour.

Include protein.

Enjoy fruit.

Eat vegetables.

Choose satisfying carbohydrates and fats.

Sit down when we eat.

Taste our food.

Enjoy treats without turning them into something forbidden.

And perhaps even gather around the table again whenever we can.

Pay Attention to How Food Makes You Feel

One thing I really encourage is curiosity.

Instead of:

“I was bad today.”

Try:

“How did that meal make me feel?”

Did you feel satisfied?

Did you have energy?

Were you hungry again 30 minutes later?

Were you actually hungry when you ate—or were you bored, stressed, lonely, or exhausted?

There’s no judgment required.

You’re simply learning about yourself.

A food-and-feelings journal can be wonderful for this—not as another way to obsess over calories, but as a way to notice patterns.

Awareness gives us choices.

You Don’t Have to Fear Food

This might be the biggest change in the way I think about nutrition.

I don’t want women to be afraid of food.

I don’t want us standing in grocery-store aisles terrified that one ingredient is going to destroy our health.

And I certainly don’t want us feeling guilty because we ate a cookie.

I want us to become informed.

Read the label.

Learn what’s in your food.

Cook when you can.

Choose nourishing foods most of the time.

And then enjoy your life.

Because birthdays will happen.

Grandchildren will want ice cream.

There will be Christmas dinners.

And sometimes on a hot summer road trip, a cold bottle of pop might still taste pretty wonderful. 😂

Perhaps Grandma Knew Something

Maybe we don’t need to reinvent eating.

Perhaps we need to remember some of what previous generations did naturally.

Real food.

Home cooking.

Meals around a table.

Treats that were actually treats.

And food that was enjoyed rather than feared.

Our world is different now, and there’s no going completely backward.

But we can take some of that simplicity forward with us.

One meal.

One grocery trip.

One choice at a time.

Not because we’re trying to eat perfectly.

But because caring for ourselves today is one of the ways we care for the person we’re becoming tomorrow.

And if you happen to drink out of the garden hose once in a while…

Well, some of us survived that too. 😂❤️