Hello everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. Here’s something I’ve been wondering lately…
Is it possible to eat right and exercise sufficiently, and still be fat? They say obesity is a problem, but I’m just not really convinced it is. Not a real problem like say, cancer is a problem.
As far as I understand it, it’s a matter of simple physics- you get fat when you consume more energy than you expend. Of course metabolism comes into it, but at the end of the day, even someone with a horribly slow metabolism would lose weight if they were burning more calories than they were putting in, they would just have to work harder because their baseline burning rate at rest is much lower.
I’m 5’7" and I weigh 142 now, but I workout 4 times a week and run twice a week. A couple of years ago I only did light exercise 3 times a week (mostly calisthenics) and I ate like a hog. I would eat grits and bacon for breakfast, a dinner sized lunch, dinner, and snacks and port almost every night. I’m surprised I didn’t develop gout and die. I went up to 170 and sheesh, yeah I was not in good shape at all- 170 is a lot for a short guy like myself. I lost weight when I cut the calories and started exercising more.
Back to the original question though- is it really possible to be powerless to lose weight? Can one do actually in reality do everything right and still be fat? Note the “in reality” part, I know people who swear they are trying their best but show up to work with McDonalds every morning.
When I worked PICU we had a teenage pt who was morbidly obese because of an inborn metabolic problem. She reached the point where there wasn’t a scale in the hospital that could hold here, we were to the point that we’d wrap a b/p cough around her fore arm, pump it up and then manually feel for the return of the radial pulse at the wrist, that was our b/p, eventually we had to put a trach in here throat and mechanically assist her breathing. We were not over feeding her.
It is possible on certain medication or with certain medical conditions (such as thyroid conditions) for it to be effectively (though not physically) impossible to lose weight. But such circumstances are rare.
That said, while it’s simple it’s not necessarily easy, due to factors ranging from psychological, to physical, to societal.
I would say no, barring a very small minority with unusual metabolic conditions. The emphasis is very much on the eating though - if that is right then weight will be lost. What right actually means is of course a big question - there’s more to it than simple calories in / calories out.
You could have a great exercise regime and still be fat. Maybe not excessively fat, but I think we all know people who have good fitness but are a bit chubby. The war against fat is waged in the kitchen.
I also saw a program once where they had a very “round” looking man who had pretty much zero body fat and ran triathalons - but his shape would definitely make you class him as fat
I don’t agree at all that the war on fat is waged in the kitchen. Or maybe it is for some people but not for others.
Since February I have switched out two of my meals for healthy ones, five or six days a week. I eat oatmeal in the morning, and salads at lunch. Just salads, with a tiny bit of dressing, some cranberries, and walnuts. I haven’t lost any weight.
It’s all down to exercise, for me. And exercise three times a week doesn’t do it. It needs to be vigorous exercise at least 5-6 times a week.
This is why I roll my eyes at people who say “just eat less and exercise”, like it’s a magic formula. It’s more like “Eat a LOT less and exercise a LOT.” That’s fine, that’s what we need to do, but people make it sound so easy - it’s actually a major time and mental commitment - exercise every single day and change your food habits forever.
This is why people can’t lose weight. Not because they can’t just eat less and exercise. Because it’s a huge commitment and it never stops. Not that I think they shouldn’t try, but it’s disingenuous and unhelpful to imply it’s super easy.
(I also get pissed when I see the impression that all fat people eat is potato chips. I actually eat really healthy. I’m just lazy about the exercise!)
It’s called a lifestyle change and yes, it takes years to break old habits and form new ones. The key is to find an exercise that you like and make it part of your life. I never knew how to swim until I was 48 years old but found that working out in the water was enjoyable so I tried it; now I do it several times a week and feel bad if I can’t make it to the pool. This from someone who was terrified of water before.
It’s entirely possible to exercise like a fiend and still be fat.
It’s impossible to actually reduce your caloric intake and still be fat unless you also reduce activity. You are not, despite some peoples’ protestations, a Magical Mass-Energy Making Machine. Every calorie must be accounted for, in and out, and if you reduce intake your activity must be fueled by something.
You’re free to disagree with me on this. Plenty of people believe idiotic things, why not you?
There is a lot of arguing at the edges about specific foods and, of course, you must maintain a baseline intake of everything, calories and nutrients (micro- and macro-), to not die.
So it comes down to definitions: If you define ‘eating right’ as ‘going on a diet that reduces caloric intake’ and ‘exercise’ as ‘doing some exercise’, then, no, you can’t ‘eat right and exercise’ and still be fat. It is physically impossible.
I think the OP is right, but this line of reasoning can be misleading because people then take it to mean that fat people simply lack willpower or are greedy.
Sure, that might be an apt description for some, but hunger responses vary a lot, and some people’s bodies are far more “eager” to store surplus energy as bodyfat.
Put everyone on a low calorie diet and everyone will eventually be slim but some may be in a state of hunger far more often than others.
Put everyone on a high calorie low exercise diet, and some people will still remain in decent shape, within reason.
I think that many overweight and obese people don’t eat right, but this is not always the case.
I note most people in this thread aren’t defining “eat right”. When answering questions like this, often people assume that “eat right” means (by definition), eating few enough calories to cause weight loss. This is a circular argument - if you define “eating right” as enough to lose weight, then if someone doesn’t lose weight then you just say that obviously they weren’t eating right.
I think that a better definition of “eating right” is eating healthful foods, ideally whole foods or more organic or local or less processed foods. The exact types of foods can vary between people - various cultures around the world eat relatively high carb/low carb, high fat/low fat, high protein/low protein, meat-based/vegetarian, etc… diets and they are all healthier than a “Western” highly processed diet.
I think that under this definition of “eating right” it is entirely possible to eat right and exercise and be “fat”. And I think too many people conflate weight and health unnecessarily. People assume there is such thing as a “healthy weight” without taking lifestyle factors into account. So nearly all fat people assume they can’t be healthy without losing weight, and many skinny people assume they are healthy regardless of their habits.
I do think that ideally eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly will lead to weight loss for people who are fat, but I think too often they get discouraged if they don’t lose weight or if they regain it, and then they stop those healthy habits. This is because they are defining the goal of those habits as weight loss, and not health. People should be encouraged to follow healthy habits regardless of their weight, and not feel that there’s no point to bothering with the habits if weight loss does not result (either temporarily or permanently).
Think of all the studies reported in the news that state that there are huge health benefits to starting healthy habits, even if you only lost 10% of your body weight. For any obese person, they will still be obese or overweight if they only lose 10% of their starting weight. And yet they still gain most of the health benefits from eating better and exercising, even if they only lose that 10%.
Scientific studies - such as thing one (link to abstract, with free full text PDF available) indicate that overweight and even obese people who have healthy habits have the same mortality rate as “normal weight” people. I really recommend clicking on the full-text PDF, which has a great chart on page 13 showing the hazard ratio for mortality for normal vs. overweight vs. obese people who have 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 healthy habits (fruit and vegetable intake, don’t use tobacco, regular exercise, moderate alcohol consumption). It shows that obese people with 0 habits are at much higher risk, but with 2, 3, or 4 habits there is virtually no difference in risk with different weights.
I’ve read elsewhere that you shouldn’t do this. I’ve read that after vigorous exercise you should give your body a day of relative rest. So vigorous exercise 3 days a week and mild exercise the rest of the week.
The Latino population seems to have an obesity problem but I read an article that said they were, as a group, still quite healthy. Now of course I can’t find it. :smack:
Also, when I look at girls like Sara Ramirez, I think, hubidda hubidda, not moooo.
To build on this–when I was in high school, I started gaining weight. I was old enough that I had gotten most of my full growth, so I tried dieting.
In many respects, it was the most miserable time of my entire life. For two weeks, I was almost constantly hungry. When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I weighed myself again before starting to eat what my body demanded.
During that period of time—
I actually GAINED weight.
I said “never again.”
I’m 5’6" and I currently weigh 206. I have managed to lose a little–my high was 218. But for the past several years, I go for an hour-long, vigorous hike 4 or 5 days a week. And by “vigorous,” I mean that I have to stop every 10-15 minutes to catch my breath when on the uphill leg.
It’s almost infinitely easier for me to stay active than it is for me to lose weight.
Yes, well, laziness proclaims I do this anyway. No way could I get enough motivation to do that 6 times a week! :eek: I did though, for about six months, and during that time steadily lost a pound a week. However, it proved difficult to maintain. This is also what tells me that for me at least it’s not about food but about exercise. During those six months I didn’t change my diet at all…yet I lost weight just because I was active.
On the other hand, my cholesterol levels are all well within normal. My blood pressure, low. Etc. I’ve pretty much decided my reasons for eating right and exercising are not for losing weight, but just for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, as Waenara says.
Suffice it to say, while the general “eat less and exercise” is good and all, it’s not nearly comprehensive enough. One needs to spend time and discover what works for them!
Yes, if by “eat right” you mean eat foods regarded as healthy, regardless of how much you eat; in the end, it is always about how many calories you consume, whether it is potato chips or vegetables. Of course, you may not get sufficient nutrients, and too much of others, if you only eat the former (actually, that goes for vegetables too, if not as bad, which is why a balanced diet is important), even if you didn’t eat too many calories. Although as already mentioned, you can be active but overweight (as in more fat than usual, not just muscle, but that too) and be healthier than a normal-weight sedentary person who never exercises (mortality is also lowest in people who would be considered overweight by current standards, before they lowered the BMI limit):
Of course, way too many Americans are over that limit, where risk increases dramatically and being fit (and most also aren’t) likely can’t offset the risk.
This is the key. Do what works for you. For me, it was a combination of diet and exercise when I dropped my 40 pounds several years ago. But, I’d break down my personal weight loss to about 75% improving my diet choices, and 25% the contribution of exercise. It really was mostly about paying more attention to the caloric loads of food that had me drop the weight steadily and efficiently. Keeping an honest and totally accurate food diary made me realize just how much a little bit of this here and little of that there adds up. And how many calories something that seems innocuous like a slice of bread or a handful of nuts has. While I enjoy the exercise, it’s a heck of a lot easier to just not have that couple extra hundred calories at the end of the night than to run the extra two or three miles to make up for it.
