but i do have big bones. i have a 49" waist and 28% bodyfat. dammitalltohell.
It’s a little more complicated than that. I’ll direct you to a two-part article (part 1, part 2) written by a guy who’s working on his PhD in nutrition that explains how food choice affects metabolism.
Zoe I’m sorry I just don’t seea conflict. The studies do indicate that reduction of calories does result in weight loss. Its just plain physics. The site you prefer has more support and helpful advice and states correctly the facts about some yoyo dieting trends. But that does not contradict what Fumento says.
So we have
Fumento: If you gain ten pounds, you can lose ten pounds.
Anred.com: You can lose those ten pounds, but if you try to lose them by making yourself hungry all the time, you’ll likely just gain them back.
Neither of these statements are wrong, and I certainly don’t see any support that Fumento’s comments are aginst known science. Fumento can be accused of being simplistic in his answer, but his is not a dieting site for detailed advice.
Divemaster, you could be one of my daughters ten years from now. Thank you for your perspective. Yes, it’s a form of suicide.
By the way, you slender and healthy people should thank us who won’t live long enough to get our pensions or Social Security. We are helping to support you in your old age. 
Pretty obviously not true. If you didn’t give a shit, you would not be posting to this thread. Your attitude is not so much one of not caring as it is one of white hot rage. Either this is a hot button issue for you or you are simply an asshole by nature. The level of vitriol you are spewing is far out of proportion to what is warranted.
What’s up with that? Anything you want to share with us?
Don’t confuse being brutally honest with simply being brutal.
I have an aunt whom I would estimate weighs 300 lbs.
She’s constantly bemoaning about her weight. And of course, “it’s not her fault.” She claims has a “condition” or “disorder,” low metabolism, etc.
A number of other family members suggested diet and exercise.
“I’ve tried dieting and exercising. It doesn’t work for me.” (Mmm, I see. So the laws of physics don’t work for you?)
At any rate, she also claims to eat like a bird, and watches everything that goes in her mouth.
So a few months ago I was at her house. I open the refrigerator, and what did I see? 3 sticks of butter, 2 jars of mayonnaise, cheese, donuts, ice cream, cake, etc. It made me sick just looking at it.
Suffice to say, I no longer listen to her pity excuses…
Right. Problem is, Tarantula keeps implying that all anyone has to do to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than they burn. Weight loss doesn’t always work that way.
divemaster, your post brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing that.
I’ve been fat, thin, fat, thin, etc. Until two years ago, I was fat. I ate anything I wanted. I just thought I had no willpower. I was a binge eater and an emotional eater.
Then I started getting therapy for sexual abuse from my childhood - I’d never dealt with it before and I was 25 before I started. I came to terms with it, managed to deal with a lot of issues and became more relaxed in my own skin.
Right after I dealt with those issues, I started a diet program (WW) for the hundredth time. This time, I had success. I credit part of that to WW because their program worked, but I also credit a lot of it to the fact that I wasn’t afraid of myself anymore. I wasn’t afraid to let people get to know me anymore. I kept myself heavy because it was a safety net for me. If I was fat, no one would want me and I didn’t have to deal with issues like sex and intimacy.
I lost the weight and became involved with a wonderful guy last year. I didn’t become involved with him because I’d lost the weight, I opened myself up to him because I was ready to let go of my past and I was ready to let myself be loved. And now we’re planning on getting married next year and I couldn’t be more happy. If I hadn’t dealt with my emotional issues that were keeping me fat, I’d have never been able to let him love me.
And now I’ve gained some weight. Part of it is because I fell off of a horse last year and damaged the nerves in my right upper leg, so it’s painful to exercise like I’m used to doing. But part of it is because my SO constantly tells me that I’m beautiful, that he doesn’t care what I weigh. And again - I feel safe. But this time, it’s feeling safe in a more positive way. That doesn’t mean that I should have free reign to eat. But again, I’ve started picking up my old bad habits.
I am planning to lose this 35 or so lbs. However, throw in some hypoglycemia and typical low-fat diets aren’t my cup of tea - although the doctor’s recommendation for hypoglycemia is to eat small meals of carbs all day. That’s how I gained the weight eating in the first place. WW worked the first time because I was a vegan and cut out sugar. I’m not willing to go back to veganism, so I’ve decided on a no-sugar, lower carb (but nowhere near as strict as Atkins) way of life. It’s not for everyone, but for me, it’ll be something I can live with.
However, I’m also going back to therapy because it’s something I need to do. I need to figure out why I equate food with both bad and good feelings of safety. I need to figure out why I get out of control. And I need to deal with the emotional issues that damage my life. I may go to Overeater’s Anonymous for this - although since I don’t look very much overweight right now, I just worry that it won’t be as supportive as I’d hope or that the others would think I don’t belong there. I’m also going to get my own place again as soon as possible - since I seem to be reverting to the fifteen-year-old chubby girl sneaking food from the kitchen at night so my mother doesn’t catch me. I do better away from her - she means well, but she’s hurtful without realizing it. I need my own kitchen.
So for those of you who think it’s just a matter of ‘take that doughnut out of your mouth!’, you might want to keep in mind that if we take the doughnut out, there may be a lot of other issues that need tending to - and for some of us, it’s a lot less painful to eat the doughnut and ignore the other issues.
Ava
I used to know a woman that was pretty overweight. She and a friend decided to join a gym. After an hour of what she said was a great workout, she weighed herself and found that she’d gained a pound. She was livid.
I tried to explain that while exercise helps you to lose weight, there is no direct correlation, i.e. one workout does not mean automatic and immediate loss of X number of pounds. In fact, I told her, you may even see a slight weight gain for a short time.
“Well, that’s just bullshit”, she said. “This whole exercise thing is a scam.” She then proceeded to order a bucket of fried wings.
Another fun anecdote: A former girlfriend decided she was going to get in shape. She joined a gym in January, and complained about all of the fat losers who only joined because of New Year's resolutions made while drunk. It was obvious that they would quit after a week. Unlike her. She even joked with her trainer about all the "New Year's quitters." But she was different. She was in it for the long haul.
She lasted a week.At the same time, for every real glandular case, there are 100 people who are like crafter-man’s aunt. Excuses are easy, conditions are rare.
Agreed. But you know what else? Giving unasked for advice is easy. Exercising tact is rare.
(This is not necessarily pointed at you, but at some attitudes I’ve seen in this thread.)
My vote is compassionless asshole.
No kidding. I once had an unfortunate encounter with a rude woman who told me that I’m fat and I look funny. All I could say in response was, “Yeah, I know.” Should’ve added that I talk funny, too.
FTR: I’m a perfect example of what too much food and too little exercise can do to a person. I was in 8th Grade when I started to do somthing about my late-night stomach growls. I never really had a problem until I ended up in a homless shelter, I must have gained at least 60 pounds in the seven months I was there. I once lost much of what I gained during that time, gained it back, now I’ve started losing again.
Rude comments, being stared and/or laughed at, etc., do not help those of us who know we have a problem and are trying to do something about it. Such actions may have the opposite of the desired effect or, depending on who you’re making fun of, get you knuckle sandwich.
Now that we’ve explained simple carb addiction, can someone help me understand my unhealthy (ha, ha) fascination with cheese?
Seriously though, how do we account for the “epidemic” level of obesity facing Americans? Is it a gradual replacement in our attitudes of self-improvement with self-acceptance? Is the detoriaration of the nutritional quality of our food (i.e. “fast food nation”) the biggest culprit? Is a fatty food tax so ridiculous a proposition in that case, when as it has been pointed out, we tax other unhealthy indulgences pretty heavily?
Portions, DaveX, combined with a much lower level of physical activity than in previous generations and the fact that healthy food is more expensive than junk.
Our portions have expanded so much in the last 30 years that it’s almost unbelievable. A small drink at McDonald’s used to be 8 oz. Now it’s 12. And they’ve expanded the size range as well, with a supersize 32 oz. soda. That’s a quart of pop! It’s not limited to drinks, either. Our perceptions of what is “enough” food have changed and it’s working to our detriment.
DaveX:
it’s actually much simpler than that. If you bench press weights every day, you will get stronger.
If you fill your stomach up every day it will expand, and you will need more food to attain that level of fullness you had before.
Then there’s the chocolate chip cookie effect:
I make great buttery, sugary chocolate chip cookies. When I make them, I make a ton of them at a time and freeze them.
On the day I make the cookies, I will eat three of them before I start to get that buttery overload slightly sick feeling.
A couple of days later and my butter/sugar resistance has increased to where I can eat 7-8 cookies without feeling sick.
Simply put, if you do something a lot, you get used to it and it becomes no big deal.
If you are used to eating a lot, it’s no big deal and feels normal. Cutting back from that point can be a hardship giving you headaches or leaving you feeling faint or weak.
To give you another example, I’ve been on a mild diet since May 30. I’ve lost 15 pounds so far, by just eating smaller portions and trying to cut out junk.
The other day I went out for Sushi which calls for a diet hiatus, and I ordered a dragon roll, a rainbow roll, a spider roll, a spicy tuna roll, and the the spicy whitefish (which is what I usually order.)
I’ve gotten used to eating less though over the last two months, and only got two thirds of the way through my meal before I was completely stuffed even though that would have only been a moderate lunch just two months ago.
Your body adjusts to habits, and if you are in the habit of eating until you are full, your stomach will expand so that it takes you more to feel full which means that for as long as you eat this way your portions will gradually tend to increase.
Agreed. The portions at fast food joints are outrageous. If I can become a fatass eating the mediums (and throwing out most of the fries at that!), who the HELL needs a supersize meal?
Me. My “diet” is about 5,000-6,000 calories a day, down from the 8,000-10,000 I usually consume.
Yeah, but I don’t think that explains all of it. It’s just plain easier to eat unhealthy these days. At least for me, getting a healthy meal takes some real doing, and sometimes I feel it’s just not worth the effort. That which is cheap and convenient – and sometimes all that’s available – is laden with fat, sugar, salt, and chemicals. That which is healthy is often non-existant in the stores where I shop.
Another barrier to healthy eating is peer pressure. As an extreme example, several years ago when I was really concentrating on weight loss, my coworkers were having the “Big Fat Ass” contest – a competition to see who could pack on the most pounds during the project cycle. I made it clear that I intended to lose the contest, and everyone – including those that had the power to fire me – made it known that if I was a team player, I’d go along with it. They would go out of their way to tempt me with chips and candy, as if it were a challenge. I occasionally caved, but for the most part my extreme will power won out.
I really appreciated Sylla’s tale of the two women who looked chunky, but in fact were very fit.
I am fat, and I’m not fit, but I hope to change that soon. Anyway, in the past I was about a size 12, which looked OK on me. I probably looked like I could lose 20 pounds. I ate well and prudently, and I walked regularly and was in reasonably good shape.
While being 20 pounds overweight (or looking 20 pounds overweight) is far from “thin”, it’s not exactly being a circus lady, either.
But, at size 12, lookinig about 20 pounds overweight, height of 5’4", I actually weighed about 185 pounds. OH MY GOSH! All of a sudden I am supposed to be a fat sow, right? I mean, I was 185 pounds, and everyone knows that a 5’4" woman should be about 120-130 pounds, right? So how could this be? How could I not look 65-55 pounds overweight if I was (supposedly) that overweight, according to the charts?
I am not really sure, but some of it is my frame, the fact that I had some muscle on me (I could easily pick up heavy things that my more delicate friends could not) and I have big boobs. I often pointed to my boobs and asked, “If I cut these things off, I’d lose many pounds right there!” But they were there, big, heavy boobs. So I was heavier than I had “ought” to be, according to the charts. And some people just can’t see past the charts.
Me, I’ve decided to go by how I feel, how much I’ve lost, how much is “normal” in my family (all my family “look” normal weight while weighing probably 30 pounds more than the charts think they should). I’ll go by how fit I am, and how well I eat.
As Scylla says, some thin people are basically bone and fat. I hope when I lose weight, I will be bone, some fat, and a lot of muscle. And if I don’t fit into that perfect size 6 (my bleached bones couldn’t fit into a perfect size 6) that’s tough shit.