A question for overweight people

In My Humble Opinion
21

She was desperate too, as I was describing my diet (as above) she kept jumping in…

“Soda? You should cut out all that soda, all those calories…”
“It’s diet. No calories. Just sweet caffiene.”
“Oh…and what kind of cereal is it? One of those sugary ones? Cause…”
“No, usually like Raisin Bran or Grape Nuts or something.”
“The milk, then, you should try skim milk!”
“I drink soymilk?”
“Oh…well, um, the beef, is it the real fatty stuff, cause you shouldn’t eat…”
“It’s lean, the leanest I can get, and I don’t have it often.”

I almost felt kinda bad.

22

Why does anyone continue to do what is bad for them when they know better?

At the hospital where I work I see patients admitted with cirrhosis, vomiting up blood because they drink to excess. I’ve seen these same patients, as soon as they’re stable, go right back out and start drinking again. One guy signed himself out of the ICU to do that. I’ve seen people beg to be admitted for detox because they’re so tired of drinking. And I see a good many of them back in the ER, intoxicated, within hours of their release.

For some people (note some) food is much the same problem. I used to binge until sick, the entire time knowing I shouldn’t, but it didn’t matter. Over the years I’ve managed, with help, to sort out a lot of the issues involved. Not all, maybe, but enough to help a great deal. Of course, now I’ve arrived at that time in life when the family curse of joint disease had caught up with me making exercise problematic. Ain’t that grand?

I do what I can.

Meanwhile, my brother has smoked himself into an early MI. And does he stop? You can guess the answer to that one.

23

It’s very hard to lose and keep off weight especially in America. I’m not at all overweight but I’ve seen how people who are go through a lot to lose weight and then don’t see satisfactory results. That tends to discourage people.

24

My sister is about 115, goes to the gym, eats semi-healthy and when she was about 7 years old (she’s 24 now) her cholesterol was 450 something… I got lucky, mine was only 252. At 26 it hasn’t changed much for me, but then my diet consists of caffeine and perhaps some carbs. But my cholesterol is the same approx…these things are most definitely inherited

25

What a bizarre way to attempt a comparison. For example, there are 4.4 liters per gallon. Here are some accurate average prices for foods, comparing prices per pound:

chocolate chip cookies $2.92
potato chips $3.59
soda (per gallon, 2L size) $4.76
Sorry there aren’t more junk food prices available.

bananas $0.52
apples $0.99
oranges $0.87
carrots $0.58
broccoli $1.13
whole wheat bread $1.45
beans $0.76
pasta $0.95
low-fat milk (gallon) $2.50
fresh whole chicken $1.03
extra lean ground beef $2.65

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index

If you bought a pound of each of those foods, you’d have a pretty well balanced diet for about a week that would cost you $13.43 - about the price of two super-sized meals at McDonalds. Actually I would skip the milk and definitely the cereal - it’s really expensive and high in carbs.

26

The average obese person loses a grand total of 3 pounds from a diet.

Encouraging, huh?

27

It’s hard to loss weight when you are allowed no exercise. By no exercise I mean not even a walk to the end of the block and back. When I get home from work, I am too tired to fix anything to eat that can’t be nuked quickly. Work takes all the strength I have. But I must to keep working so I don’t loss my insurance.

I’m one of those fat people you see riding the scooter at Wal-Mart. I get to watch people sneer at me and assume I’m disabled because I’m fat. The opposite is true. When I’m through with the scooter I jump off and walk to my car (which is parked in a handicapped spot by the doors). However if I tried walking through the store you would find me sitting on the floor sweating, panting for air and trying to get my heart to slow down before it stops. Yes that does happen, then the little computer hooked to my heart will shock it back into beating. Hopefully.

The hard part is that I need to loss weight before I am put on a waiting list for a transplant. My cholesterol is around 320 but being a lifelong vegetarian I already eat low-fat healthy meals.

28

That’s because diets suck. They may cause you to shed some weight, but it will come back. You just can’t diet down to your ideal weight and then think you can stay there while living as before. It takes changing your entire lifestyle, top to bottom, says this guy who’s been there.

29

Water: You’re already paying the bill every month, drink that, and only that.

Bacon, eggs, and sausage is generally pretty cheap. As well as other meat products.

Basically, stick to an Atkins type diet. And also, do something physical. I cannot stress the physical stuff enough. Too many people think they can go on some kind of Wonder Diet with just watching what you eat. You need to get outside. Fix the car yourself. Do yard work yourself. Do some home projects yourself. Go for a jog. Play sports.

That’s great that you people like yourself the way you are. But how do you like it going up the stairs and running out of breath? Do those stretch marks really make you look beautiful?

As to why people don’t do it? Mainly I feel it’s depression, lack of self esteam, and control. Also there is society to blame. There’s two parts to this! So bear with me. Those who think you should be skinny, AND those who are fat saying, “You’re beautiful the way you are!”. BS!! These are the types that make excuses for themselves. Being “husky” isn’t the problem. It’s being grossly over weight that is unattractive. And believe me, it is. Sue me. Get off your ass and stop buying “biggie size” fries.

30

On the subject of intolerance of fat people, I had a strange experience last year. I went through a hypomanic period, in which I slept very little for months on end yet still maintained incredibly high energy levels. I was incredibly productive, like I was working under the most stringest of deadlines, nonstop for this entire period.

The most amazing part, though, was that my eating habits changed most markedly of all. I not only ate small portions of healthy foods at well-spaced intervals, BUT I LITERALLY COULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY EVERYONE DIDN’T DO SO, notwithstanding the fact that I myself had been a frequent eater of large portions of moderately unhealthy food for 99.9999% of my life.

For this brief period (2-3 months) my brain was wired differently, and what made eminent sense to me is now (that I’ve stopped being hypomanic) impossible to attain. I ask myself sometimes “Where did that kind of discipline come from?” , when really there was no discipline or self-control involved. I couldn’t understand then why someone would want to pop open a bag of potato chips in the middle of the afternoon, and now I can’t understand why someone wouldn’t feel a mild pang of hunger two hours after a meal.

31

Not to be too much of a nit pick, but a US gallon is 3.78 liters. :slight_smile:

32

If someone is overweight and still healthy, then losing weight is for pure aesthetics. Not everyone is worried about being Hollywood thin, and they shouldn’t be. I really do think there are some happy overweight people - they just value other things over vanity.

I think most people are overwhelmed by all the diet information out there. What really counts in the end is the number of calories consumed, and of course, the the other nutritional value of food like vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, a lot of food labels are misleading in terms of portion size, which makes calorie-counting pretty tricky. To keep a running tally in your head (or on paper) of calories you’ve eaten in a day is not fun, but it’s something that needs to be done to ensure that you’re eating fewer calories. It also keeps you accountable. It’s similar to budgeting money. You can spend more here or there depending on what is a want vs a need. You wouldn’t likely buy something without knowing the price. I’m not saying you’d have to scrutinize that closely your whole life once the weight is lost, but once you get the hang of it, you can make it part of your lifestyle.

33

I must admit I’ve been a bit of a lurker here, but after ParentalAdvisory’s reply I had to jump in.

(I will say that I’m well within my normal weight range now and actually lost a fair amount of weight in recent years)

First of all, advising people with weight problems to eat bacon, eggs and sausage to lose weight? Unless you’re a registered dietician or doctor, I’d like to say “WHAT?!” I know Adkins mania is sweeping the country, but come on.

Secondly, being fat is not the only unattractive trait people have. Everyone has something about them that someone else has a problem with, for you it might not be weight. It might be, i don’t know, let’s say insensitivity. i know a lot of people who would be much more attracted to an enlightened obese person than a jerk who looked like a greek god.

People with weight issues usually aren’t just suffering from fat. There are so many other things (emotional, hormonal, etc.) that could be wrong, that advice like “just drink water” won’t fix.

And finally, stretch marks also come from LOSING alot of weight

34

Eight times, at least, for me. Best I ever did was dropping almost 50, but it all crept back. Plus more.

When I was younger, I wanted to look better, but comfort food was too important to me. After my daughter was born, convenience meant more than the extra poundage. Now as I’m creeping up on 50, having just recently lost my dad to heart failure, I’ve started eating right. Interestingly enough, I no longer crave sweets as I used to. I do spend a little more time preparing meals, but I’m saving money by not grabbing a drive-thru biscuit for breakfast or hitting the candy machine mid-morning. The slap of mortality has me more aware of what I eat.

Honestly, if I didn’t lose an ounce, but if the way I’m eating will bring down my cholesterol and triglycerides as promised, I’d be happy. The weight loss is a bonus. Apparently for me, I needed more than just vanity - I needed to focus on my health. Here’s hoping I can maintain that focus.

35

I ask the same question as the OP about smokers. In fact, I will admit to being very, very intolerant of smoking and smokers. But here’s the thing about being overweight vs. being addicted to tobacco or alcohol or drugs: I think it’s safe to say that overweight people often have an addiction to food (even if it’s psycological as opposed to physical - which may or may not be true). Unlike tobacco or alcohol or drugs, it is impossible to cut food out of your life. The temptation is always right there in front of the food addict.

36

A question for overweight people: What are 100 reasons Kirk is better than Picard?

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Seriously, ask yourself - is there nothing you mean to do, but just haven’t managed to?

37

To answer the OP, and this is all my own personal experience. YMMV:

Weight gain is such a creeping thing. After a point, you see that you’re overweight and you realize you need to start losing weight–probably starting tomorrow.

It’s always “tomorrow.”

In the meantime, at each meal or snack, you have the attitude, “Well, I’m already fat. One more bad meal isn’t going to have much effect.”

And it doesn’t. But you have to eat again. And again. And again. You have the same attitude. And, of course, you’ll always start doing something “tomorrow.”

Also, weight loss is slow. You want something that shows results right away. But it takes time, and that is very discouraging.

I started losing weight (don’t know how much, but I pulled in a total of six belt holes), almost by accident, 6 years ago. Now, no one would ever say I am skinny, or even thin, but I am at a weight where all my clothes fit, and I’m not self-conscious. It happened over the course of a year, and have been able to keep it off, now for *five years. But that entailed doing some permanent lifestyle adjustments, not going on the latest fad diet (whatever that might be).

*Not to say that I never gain weight. Not at all. But it’s only small amounts, and I keep it in check. When I notice it, I start evaluating what I’m doing wrong, and take corrective actions.

38

I’m curious why you say WW (Weight Watchers) doesn’t work.
Do you mean that after you stop following the program you gain the weight back, or that you never lost any to begin with?

I’ve been on WW twice, and both times, when I followed the program correctly (ate within my point range and drank the water) I lost weight consistently. (and gradually, averaging about 1.5 pounds per week)

Sure, it can be hard to stay within the point range, but when I go over, I say that I went over, not that WW doesn’t work.

But to answer the OP, the problem is that eating something gives immediate satisfaction, but the weight gain comes later. Exercise is immediate effort/pain, but the benefits come later.

39

I think the biggest problem is that we don’t completly understand the body and it’s many quirks yet. If dieting actually worked, people would be less fat. If it were possible to simply not eat or walk 20 mins. then a lot of people could do it. ‘Could’. Most people WANT to do things but never do. Lots of people have wills made of pure steel but still cannot achieve what they try to do.

I was diagnosed as PCOS and ‘insulin resistant’. I lost 90 lbs and have kept it off for 3 years because I have a better idea how my body works. Oddly, it meant throwing out everything I thought I knew about dieting.

40

I’m gonna shed some unneeded mass from this forum. Hang on to your candy bars while I move this hot potato(e) over to IMHO.