Oh, I can’t see this ending well. Still I want to know; if you are overweight (and if you are, I’m *really *not having a dig, just want to know perceptions about the cause) how much do you think the causes are out of your hands? And by overweight, I mean having more body fat than is healthy.
I made the poll based on percentage; so 100% me is if you reckon that it is entirely down to things you control and 100% other factors if you reckon it’s factors that are entirely out of your hands (by which I mean, everything from say, glandular factors, metabolism, genetic predisposition, the food industry etc.), as well as points in between. And another option if you don’t really think of it like that.
I tend to eat too much of the wrong things and don’t get enough exercise. So I could stand to lose 20-30 pounds. Part of it is metabolism, but that’s my own fault as well. I think I messed mine up from the eating disorder I went through in my 20s.
I went the 90% route because I have physical problems limiting my activity. But I could still do much better in terms of exercise and diet. I should only be slightly overweight as a result of the physical problems alone, but I have 15 pounds to drop and I’m not getting further than 5 pounds before I bounce back up again.
I’m not sure I believe in a “fat gene”, but I do believe the tendency to put on weight is genetic. Everyone in my immediate family is overweight, and much of my extended family is either overweight or has worked hard not to be. Even my brother with Crohn’s disease tends to be a bit overweight when he’s in remission. We all struggle. All the time.
That being said, I know I can lose weight and I am doing it. In fact, I got to my goal weight this summer (after losing 90 lbs from my highest weight) and maintained until the holidays. That’s all my fault. I have put on 15 lbs since December. Most of it in December. And no, I didn’t just sit around eating great gobs of food all day. I just let slip my watchfulness. Anytime I do, that last 10-15 lbs I’ve lost pop right back on very quickly.
I said 100% me because it is my own behaviors. But if you are born with an addiction personality/develop a compulsion, is that out of your hands? Not really, but it does make it more difficult to overcome these destructive behaviors.
[ul]
[li]I’m a lifelong asthmatic with exercise-induced asthma. Both can be tricky to control. This can make doing cardio difficult. [/li]
[li]I use steroids (normally inhaled, sometimes oral). This really screws with your metabolism. I suspect that having to take them heavily for several years in my late 20s didn’t help. [/li]
[li]I have chronic pain due to migraine, spinal stenosis, and a bum knee. I take an antidepressant to help with the pain. This also can cause weight gain. [/li]
[li]I also take an opiate, which can make me a little lazy, and can cause weight gain. [/li]
[li]I also have a limited amount of energy and hate to cook after working all day. [/li]
[li]And my thyroid is lazy, but only subclinically so.[/li][/ul]
IN my hands:
[ul]
[li]I make myself exercise 3x a week, whether I want to or not. [/li][li]I have reduced my bread/muffin/bagel intake. I buy real multi-grain bread. [/li][li]I’ve swapped out ice cream for Greek Frozen yogurt. Protein boost and much fewer calories and less fat! [/li][li]I can have anything I want when I go out to eat…but only half of the serving or less. [/li][li]I drink more water. [/li][li]I avoid fake food, including things like “Healthy Choice” lunches. [/li][li]I rarely eat fast food. (Now it tastes very salty)[/li][li]I make a couple of freezable entrees/soups/stews every weekend. I take them to lunch and also eat them when I don’t want to cook dinner.[/li]
[/ul]
tl:dr
I take lots of meds and have some medical issues.
But I exercise and eat halfway decently.
BTW, I’ve lost a total of 43 pounds since last February. I noticed I’d lost 20 of those pounds only after my jeans literally slid over my hips and bum one day when I’d bent over. Luckily, I was at home! I can take those jeans off without unbuttoning them!
I’ve been hovering between 50 and 60 pounds lost since last June, and I can definitely say that it’s 100% in my hands. Always has been. I just love to eat. Love it, love it, love it.
I’m very petite and so even though I have fewer than 10 pounds I’d like to lose, it feels like so much more. I carry it all in my upper body too. That makes it worse.
I’m like, 0.5 too high on the BMI chart so I’m considered overweight. It’s totally me. I was in great shape when I was in the military a few years ago. But going from moving a machine gun to typing on a desk has not been too kind to me.
I’m changing that, though. My goal is to drop fifteen-twenty pounds and get back into shape.
How I became overweight was all me. I started putting on pounds in 8th Grade by doing something about those midnight hunger pangs instead of ignoring them. Then way too much food and way too little physical activity while in the homeless shelter really packed on the pounds.
I have dieted and lost about 100 pounds in about three years but my body seems to be very resistant to losing more.
I gained almost 100# when my migraines became chronic, mostly because of the medications my doctors tried (tricyclics, anti-seizure meds, SSRIs) but also because of weird cravings and lack of exercise because of the awful pain.
Out of my hands:
[ul]
[li]I’m a lifelong asthmatic with exercise-induced asthma. Both can be tricky to control. This can make doing cardio difficult. [/li]
[li]I use steroids (normally inhaled, sometimes oral). This really screws with your metabolism. I suspect that having to take them heavily for several years in my late 20s didn’t help. [/li]
[li]I have chronic pain due to migraine, spinal stenosis, and a bum knee. I take an antidepressant to help with the pain. This also can cause weight gain. [/li]
[li]I also take an opiate, which can make me a little lazy, and can cause weight gain. [/li]
[li]I also have a limited amount of energy and hate to cook after working all day. [/li]
[li]And my thyroid is lazy, but only subclinically so.[/li][/ul]
IN my hands:
[ul]
[li]I make myself exercise 3x a week, whether I want to or not. [/li][li]I have reduced my bread/muffin/bagel intake. I buy real multi-grain bread. [/li][li]I’ve swapped out ice cream for Greek Frozen yogurt. Protein boost and much fewer calories and less fat! [/li][li]I can have anything I want when I go out to eat…but only half of the serving or less. [/li][li]I drink more water. [/li][li]I avoid fake food, including things like “Healthy Choice” lunches. [/li][li]I rarely eat fast food. (Now it tastes very salty)[/li][li]I make a couple of freezable entrees/soups/stews every weekend. I take them to lunch and also eat them when I don’t want to cook dinner.[/li]
[/ul]
tl:dr
I take lots of meds and have some medical issues.
But I exercise and eat halfway decently.
BTW, I’ve lost a total of 43 pounds since last February. I noticed I’d lost 20 of those pounds only after my jeans literally slid over my hips and bum one day when I’d bent over. Luckily, I was at home! I can take those jeans off without unbuttoning them!
I voted “I’m not overweight” but that’s not really true. I’ve struggled with the same 10 pounds my whole life and could easily be quite overweight if I didn’t keep on top of it. On the other hand, I could be in better shape if I ate better. Not that I eat a lot of junk, but I’m super picky and don’t eat all the good things I should. So, that part is on me. I also drink too much (calorie wise, not fucked up life wise) which is also on me.
I said 90% me. My entire extended family on both sides is a little pudgy. Only a few genuinely obese folks. But there is some great fat potential in my genes. I’m currently about 30lbs overweight (mostly baby weight), which is a lot for my frame.
I played competitive sports all my life, so I was always very fit as a kid and growing up. But after college, when I stopped having 4 hours of mandatory exercise a day, I had to seriously change my lifestyle. Sometimes I’m good. Sometimes I suck. So I go up and down gaining and then losing the same 30lbs.
I took the weight off super easily with the first kid. The second kid has been hard though. I have this new flap of belly that I NEVER had before in my life. Now that I’m nearing the end of my 30’s, I think I’m going to have to get a bit more serious about it.
I can still play a 90 minute soccer game. So I suppose it’s mostly a vanity issue for me, rather than a serious health issue.
I said 90% me, but I’d be willing to say 100%. My 10% fudge factor is age. Not really an excuse. But it is hard, despite good health, to lose weight at this age (53). However, I’m doing it. Down 20 pounds right now. 10 to go for “acceptable.”