!!WARNING!! You are fat!

[Merko]

It's not just obese people who put the weight back on when they stop exercising, it's everyone. So don't stop.

Not me. I lose weight if I stop exercising. Well - the conclusion still holds.

Besides, although the idea that just 'eating less' would cause weight loss holds from a thermodynamical sense, I get the impression that this would cause even obese people to get weak and ill, not healthy. Of course if you only eat junk food you might get weak, ill, and obese at the same time. But if I were to put any major importance on food, I'd suggest that the right diet is one that gives you enough power to keep on exercising, not one that contains as little energy as possible.

 

[RandFan]

Does this not support the proposition that 'exercise is key'? You seem to take for granted, that if you had not quit, you would not have gained weight again.

I've lost a lot more weight WITHOUT exercises. If I had continued to do what made me lose weight then I would not have gained the weight.

I have not ever claimed that it would be a novel idea, or that obese people would not be aware of it, or have not tried it. I'm just saying that it's the key.

And you are wrong. We've tried many combinations of all of the above and they all fail in the end to solve the real problem which has nothing to do with what we know we must do.

And I'm asking how it can be that most of the discussion always focuses on food, not on exercise.

It's not. There are many, many infomercials on TV selling Pilates, exercise videos, contraptions, exercise programs, etc., I'm sorry but you are just wrong. I've bought many programs and devices.

 

[Iamme]

According to my fine nutrition textbook, 60-65% of calorie expenditure is the basal metabolism, 10% is the thermic effect of food, and the remaining is physical activity.

So they can't help it then, being born with a slow metabolism?

I feel sorry for fat people. They can't help it. *I* can eat as much as I want, and if I am active enough, I can actually LOSE weight! I have a VERY difficult time gaining weight. When sick and I lose 5-7 pounds, it takes me like 2 months to get it back. I can't fathom how any one can get 300...400...80-0...1100 hundred pounds! When I eat too much, the wind starts to fly and I have to relieve myself.

 

[RandFan]

I feel sorry for fat people.

I don't want your pity. I'm responsible for myself and I'm not a victim or anything. I'm just me trying to deal with my own situation while trying to educate others.

 

[Kerberos]

I'm definitely no expert, but: Every year we see some new theory about how to lose weight. One year it's no fat. One year it's only some special fat. One year it's only fat. One year it's no sugar. One year it's all sugar. One year it's no flour. One year it's only vegetables. One year it's only meat. Ok, some of these theories may be sillier than others, but my impression is that even the most serious of nutritionists can't claim with any certainty that about half of these theories would be better or worse than any other.

All the while, everyone agrees that exercise is the key.

So why is most of the focus on food? I think it's because there's more money to be made by selling supposedly healthy food/diets, than there is by offering physical training for fat people.

Exercise is certainly important. IIRC it's healthier to be moderately overweight, but in good shape than thin and in bad shape. Still you exaggerate the fluctuations in what food is considered healthy. Vegetables, fibres and unsaturated fatty acids are relatively healthy while sugar and fully saturated fatty acids should only be consumed in moderate quantities. You can find some disagreement about white bread, exactly how healthy beans are compared to apples and so forth, but it's not like no one knows what healthy food is.

 

[Bjorn]

If I had continued to do what made me lose weight then I would not have gained the weight.

This might be a stupid question, but: Why did you stop doing what made you lose weight?

 

[Lisa Simpson]

I first saw a registered dietitian about 17 years ago, and what was I told? Eat mostly lean meat, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. All that other stuff is coming from people selling diet books, not nutritionists.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

So they can't help it then, being born with a slow metabolism?

I feel sorry for fat people. They can't help it. *I* can eat as much as I want, and if I am active enough, I can actually LOSE weight! I have a VERY difficult time gaining weight. When sick and I lose 5-7 pounds, it takes me like 2 months to get it back. I can't fathom how any one can get 300...400...80-0...1100 hundred pounds! When I eat too much, the wind starts to fly and I have to relieve myself.

People get fat because they eat too much and stop moving. It's a vicious cycle. You gain weight, and don't feel like moving, so you move even less and gain more weight. The more weight you gain, the harder it is to move.

 

[RandFan]

This might be a stupid question, but: Why did you stop doing what made you lose weight?

No, its not a stupid question at all.

It's a difficult thing to explain. I would say that when I alter my life significantly by changing my lifestyle be it a reduction in calories or an increase in physical activity or a combination of both I don't feel normal. I don't sleep and I'm very irritable. Life becomes laborious and I start to get a feeling of dread. The longer I do whatever it is that is helping me lose weight the more unhappy and depressed I become. I hate to wake up in the morning and I have thoughts of suicide. It's like losing a loved one. Thing is, the moment I stop doing whatever it is that I'm doing to lose weight I have a tremendous feeling of well being. I used to diet just to have that feeling but it lead to binging and a dramatic weight increase.

My doctor started to treat me with anti-depressants while I was dieting and I was in the UCLA Bariatric weight loss program but I lost my insurance and now I'm out in the cold.

 

[tkingdoll]

Not me. I lose weight if I stop exercising. Well - the conclusion still holds.

Well, when people first join a gym, they often complain that they get bigger - that's because their muscles bulk up but they still have the same amount of fat over the top. Eventually the fat goes and just leaves the muscle.

Might you be the same in reverse? Just speculating here, I'm no expert.

 

[Bjorn]

Thing is, the moment I stop doing whatever it is that I'm doing to lose weight I have a tremendous feeling of well being.

Ah, there's nothing like that first drink after being on the wagon for a while ....

Seriously - you'd rather be happy and fat/unhealthy/risktaking than slim and grumpy?

Exercising can be hard, boring and something to hate - however, it's common to hate to (start) excersising until one day you start loving it. Maybe that's just me?

 

[Merko]

Might you be the same in reverse? Just speculating here, I'm no expert.

Nah. It's pretty simple. Fat just doesn't stick on me, no matter how much of it I eat or how little I exercise. But if I don't exercise, I'll start losing muscle mass.

Ok, since this is a board where people like to nitpick, I'm sure there's some minute quantities of fat somewhere on my body, or I'd die for some reason that some physician could explain. But what I mean is that it doesn't build up.

 

[RandFan]

Ah, there's nothing like that first drink after being on the wagon for a while ....

Seriously - you'd rather be happy and fat/unhealthy/risktaking than slim and grumpy?

Oh, well, I guess I didn't realize it was not a big deal. Thanks.

Exercising can be hard, boring and something to hate - however, it's common to hate to (start) excersising until one day you start loving it. Maybe that's just me?

Is a 13 months long enough?

I don't think people can accept that people are different. I tried drugs. I like them. I like them a lot. I'm not addicted to drugs. I tried gambling. I like gambling. I like it a lot. I'm not addicted to gambling. I drink every Friday night. One or two rum and cokes. Sometimes more. I have a friend who is addicted to gambling. My brother is an alcoholic. My nephew is addicted to crystal meth.

I think I will tell them all that since I don't have their problems then they shouldn't either. I'm sure that their experiences are exactly the same as mine. I'll tell them, hey, it's not easy you just need to "do it" right?

Odd thing is, none of them are fat.

 

[Merko]

Seriously - you'd rather be happy and fat/unhealthy/risktaking than slim and grumpy?

I find this perfectly understandable. It's not just about being 'grumpy'. If you're happy for a while and then you die, then surely it's better than being unhappy for a longer while and then die?

I can't explain all the mechanisms that make it difficult for fat people to keep getting exercise, but they obviously exist.

 

[RandFan]

I find this perfectly understandable. It's not just about being 'grumpy'. If you're happy for a while and then you die, then surely it's better than being unhappy for a longer while and then die?

I can't explain all the mechanisms that make it difficult for fat people to keep getting exercise, but they obviously exist.

It's not about being "grumpy". This is just Bjorn's way of belittling another person. Suicidal and misserable is NOT grumpy.

People just don't want to question their assumptions. Most people have some bit of woo.

 

[tkingdoll]

Nah. It's pretty simple. Fat just doesn't stick on me, no matter how much of it I eat or how little I exercise. But if I don't exercise, I'll start losing muscle mass.

Yes, that's what I said. You have no fat (hence are skinny) but build your muscles through exercise. When you stop, your muscles aren't built up any more. The reverse of the fat people.

 

[Bjorn]

It's not about being "grumpy". This is just Bjorn's way of belittling another person. Suicidal and misserable is NOT grumpy.

A bit jumpy today?

I wasn't trying to belittle you, RandFan - if you feel suicidal when trying to lose weight, it might not prolong your life to continue your diet.

However, if that is so, why try again and again - why not just say "I'm happy being fat and if it kills me it was worth it?"

 

[RandFan]

A bit jumpy today?

No, I'm just tired of the ignorance on the subject.

However, if that is so, why try again and again - why not just say "I'm happy being fat and if it kills me it was worth it?"

I don't understand your point? I'm trying to get medical help for a serious condition. I don't want to be fat and I don't want to die young. It's not really an easy thing nor is it simply an either or proposition. I'm not simply going to give up because I like life and the current trend isn't good. I'm looking for a solution not someone to say, "well, ok then just go with it". It's a complex problem Bjorn, I'm only trying to get people to understand that.

I don't get your kind of thinking. Addicts and alcoholics should just give up?

 

[Bjorn]

If you're happy for a while and then you die, then surely it's better than being unhappy for a longer while and then die?

I have a friend who has been saying the same for the last decade, and he's been into relatively heavy drinking, smoking and to a certain extent drugs. It was hard to argue with him whe he said that fewer, but happier days are better than a longer, but boring life ("When my last day comes, I will count how many pleasures I had in my life, not the number of days I existed").

A year ago he got cancer. He immediately changed his mind and stopped doing them all.

 

[clarsct]

Would this be a bad time to mention that my wife has lost 45 lbs on LA Weightloss?


Anyway, I dunno, RF. I do know a family of folks who are all obese, and can't really do anything about it. Been through the tests, and the docs are pretty sure it's a genetic abnormality that causes the body to process foods differently. There's a long name for it, but damned if I remember it now, 10 years later.

The oldest daughter ate salad and watched her diet to no end. It simply didn't help. I know she was miserable doing it. But it was almost a compulsion with her. The younger sibling, a son, decided to eat what he would, as it didn't make a difference anyway and tried to be as happy as he could being fat.

Which one came out ahead?

And, if it isn't too personal, if it is, just tell me to f k off, how much weight are we talking here? 50 lbs, 500lbs? If you ask me those weight charts are way off. At 6'7", they want me to weigh 215lbs. I'd look like a bean pole! I know I'm probably overweight at 300, and I could stand to lose a little gut, but I'm not unhealthy, really. I seriously doubt I'm going to lose 85lbs, though. It would be torturous to try. I could probably drop 50 comfortably.

(When I get around to it.... )