How do people get so fat?

Great Debates
161

My five year maintenance anniversary is in February.

I changed how I ate, and stuck to those changes. I deliberately picked foods I liked, enough foods to feel satisfied so I would never want to stop. I feel so much better about myself, have so much more energy, I am never tempted to return to my old ways.

I think it’s hard for people because they are so desperate to get the weight off THAT second, they think they can do ANYTHING, so they do something restrictive and sucky, expecting the diet will be for a short time. I speak from 20 years of failed dieting experience, where I always thought if I wanted it enough, if I tried really really hard (ie sub 1000 calorie days) I could lose weight. Which was true, I usually did lose a little weight (sometimes a lot of weight).

If you had asked me, I would have said I had tried EVERYTHING, slimfast, dexatrim, “low fat”, Atkins - all diet plans that I can’t stick to for longer than a few months. I thought dieting was awful, I hated the foods, I was hungry all the time, I frequently binged.

What I never tried was giving up crap foods and eating measured portions of healthy foods. I am lucky - I love almost all foods. A bowl of fresh raspberries is pretty yummy, not quite a cinnamon roll, but a breakfast to look forward to (breakfast this morning was half a bowl of sliced strawberries, fat free Greek yogurt with honey and a little sprinkle of Grape Nuts for crunch - delicious and less than 300 calories). I love spinach and broccoli and brussel sprouts, I have always preferred mustard to mayo and never liked fettucini alfredo or drank a lot of soda. I know that makes me lucky.

I participate on a weight loss forum with a bunch of maintaining women, so I know if someone is committed, the odds for permanent weight loss can be a lot higher than the dire “5%” statistic that gets thrown around a lot. Almost everyone on that forum does the same thing - they keep the weight off the same way they lost it. For me, that meals food journaling, calorie estimating, meal planning, avoiding my “trigger” foods (like cold cereal, crackers, baked goods) and still using my measuring cups and food scale. Is it a bother, it is a hassle? Well, no more than having to pay bills or floss every night.

I still love food and have the occasional very nice meal in a restaurant - but I realized food did not make me happy. I had the chance, to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and although it might have made me happy at the time, ultimately I was a sad, heavy, lethargic, depressed woman with one pair of jeans that fit. Now, I eat mindfully and I am the happiest I have ever been - cute haircut, closet full of adorable size 6 clothes. I smile more, I love pictures of myself (unlike the 10 years I spent dodging every camera, 10 years with a handful of family pictures).

I wasn’t happy when I was heavy, and my weight was increasing every year.

162

The entire paragraph this began was incoherent, but are you seriously arguing that there is no such thing as discrimination based on size, that everyone is treated equitably at all times regardless of their size? Did you read any of the links in the post I quoted? this one, for example?

163

Thank you for your story and proving that it is possible, given enough willpower. Also, thank you for showing that by taking control of your own life (and not sitting around, blaming others), you were able to change your life. Great, now I feel like Tony Robbins. :slight_smile:

164

I’m very sorry you have reading comprehension issues, but yes, I do think discrimination exists against overweight people. But guess what? Try saying that discrimination is the same kind of discrimination that black people get in the South, or that gay people get in… Well, the South too! I have a feeling that people who suffer through real discrimination (that’s not based on poor eating choices they make) would have a problem with people like you somehow equating the two kinds of prejudices.

Is the cure for racial discrimination for the person to change colors? No. Is the cure for homosexual discrimination for the person to change sexuality? No. Is the cure for fat discrimination for the people to lose weight? Yes.

And I read some of what you wrote… Honestly I never get too far on these “Waaah, a doctor told me I’m too fat!” blog sites. Sure it’s not the nicest thing to say to someone, but isn’t that what a medical professional is supposed to do? Help the person with their health?

165

I’m gay, and I’m a Queer rights activist, and I have little problem with what I or the people on the blogs I cited wrote. (Not that I’ve seen the the people on those blogs actually participating in the Oppression Olympics you attribute to them.)

Yes, actually, and frequently that involves, for example, treating their epilepsy by choosing a drug on the basis of its effectiveness against epilepsy, not because one of its side effects is weight loss. Or, when a patient consults for sudden onset of shortness of breath, actually taking a medical history and discovering that that is the side effect of a medication he was recently given, rather than immediately deciding it’s due to his weight and then giving him drugs for that that make him feel even worse and don’t do anything.

So in many cases doctors are poorly serving their patient’s health because they focus myopically on the patient’s weight – and remember, in the large majority of cases we are not talking about the nameless “person taking up two seats on the airplane” (remember the BMI project?) – and refuse to treat them for the problem they are presenting with.

166

Excellent example - now, instead of obsessing over calories, please share what you believe is the reason nearly dying didn’t change this woman’s behavior?

167

By the way, mods, I don’t think that this question belongs in general questions at all. The OP itself is not asking a strictly factual question, and the thread is proof enough that this is a Debatable matter of Opinion.

168

Then go right ahead and keep eating whatever you want and however much you want. You’re right. Eating lots of food has no effect on weight gain. Every single overweight person is that way only because of a medical condition. I’m sure they all eat reasonable portions and exercise daily. My apologies.

169

It’s fascinating watching the “it’s just that simple” crowd completely ignore everything that’s being said.

170

Well what are you saying? :confused:

171

The “It’s just that simple crowd” is off-base, yes, but IMO so is the “it’s basically impossible and you shouldn’t even try” crowd. I mean, you have people in this thread saying that they’ve lost weight and maintained the loss, and other posters are treating that as though it’s equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest or something. It’s not just that simple, but it’s not impossible, either.

172

I’m not going to RE-say it! Read the thread. Read the thread that inspired this thread. Read the links I’ve given several times.

Identifying the most simplistic of facts, scraping away all other components, and announcing that it’s “just that simple” is ridiculous.

173

That’s kind of what I’ve been thinking, too. All addicts have a difficult time. Life is not easy for alcoholics or drug addicts (including nicotine addicts), either. It can be an exhausting, daily struggle to fight those addictions. And a lot of people look down on them, too.

Unfortunately for food addicts, when they are overweight, everybody can see that so I guess that’s why they feel more discriminated against or actually are more discriminated against by unkind people. Usually, you can’t tell if somebody is an alcoholic or drug addict just by looking at them so they don’t have to feel judged by the population at large all the time. I guess that is a difference that has to be dealt with. If anybody is feeling persecuted or inferior for any reason, they should probably seek counseling. Maybe that’s what food addicts should do.
And if they’re depressed, they may find that certain anti-depressants will lead to weight loss.

174

Barring medical EXTREMES, if you are overwieght it is because you either don’t give a crap or you ARE ADDICTED TO FOOD BECAUSE YOU CANNOT CONTROL YOURSELF.

You can dress it up all you want, but you are addicted to food.

Just admit it OR fix it AND definitely quit bitching about it.

If you are honestly happy with your addiction (or again dont care), whatever it is, more power to you, and I mean that sincerely.

Edit : Haunted just beat me to it, sorta.

175

You realize this is a nonsense statement, right? Like saying “you are an alcoholic because you drink too much” or “you are a drug addict because you use too many drugs” or “you are tall because you are 6 feet long” or " you are a truck driver because you drive trucks".

But in any case, yes, obviously, the issue is self-control, but the disconnect in this discussion is the folks who think lifetime mastery of a slim physique is a self-control issue in the same way that not stealing your roommate’s shirt to wear no matter how much you love it is a self-control issue, and people who think that it’s a self control issue the way not peeing with a overflowing bladder is a self-control issue.

176

Why is this mental problem so very much more prevalent in the USA? What is it about/in our country/culture that makes so many people “go crazy” in this way?

177

I think we are confusing the *reason *for being fat, and the *fix *for being fat. The reasons are obviously complex. The fix is not. The fix is simple.

When it comes down to it, we really shouldn’t care why people are fat. It’s complicated subject and full of debate. Why talk about the reasons, when the fix is obvious and simple?

178

There is NOTHING fracking illogical about those statements.

If you cannot control how much you eat, don’t give me a list of why not. Just admit you ARE AN ADDICT.

179

So what is the customary cure for addiction?

180

quiting or die trying.

explaining to othes WHY you are an addict never fixed a damn thing. YOU telling ME YOU can’t resist jelly doughnuts sure aint going to allow ME to do ANYTHING to prevent you from scarffing them down. Unless, of course I own the shop and can practice tough love.