Why do we get fat?

[HFWR]

I believe our collective social attitudes about "fat" people are one of the last socially acceptable forms of prejudice.

Oh, there are plenty more where that came from...

 

[dumpster56]

Too much food too little movement. You get older and metabolism slows down. Me 60 6 feet tall, 157 pound man. Caloric amount to keep weigh at 157 is 1750 calories a day. That is it!! Try eating 1750 calories a day on the western american fast food diet!! Not gonna happen. Have you looked a how much 1 slice of bread is? 120 calories, 1 beer 180 poof there is 300 calories ! HA! mumbo jumbo from all the diet/ gurus. Eat less move more. My running 10 miles a day and biking another 25 adds another 2000 calories to my diet and keeps weight at 157. But that is only 3750 a day. Easily done! Now keep eating over 3000 calories a day and in 6 months one gains 10 pounds easily. Sad to say but restricting calories , eating whole foods is the only way to stay thin. just my 2 cents here.

 

[nash031]

One of the "new" things I'm doing in my current diet plan is eating an entire Haas avocado per day. Not too long ago that would have been considered diet suicide! But now as a superfood it is known to actually aid in dieting with a host of good fat adding to the all-important satiation factor. I'm losing weight and loving the avocado!

I did that for a while until I realized that a whole avocado a day was causing IBS. Avocado allergies are pretty common and manifest that way for a lot of people. Now, when I eat avocado it's a few slices up to a half of a large avocado. I can't handle a full avocado every day.

 

[athena53]

I If you say salad to them it means potato or macaroni salad.

LOL! One of my FB contacts continuously jokes about how losing weight and getting fit is futile. She posted from a restaurant where she'd ordered a chicken salad, noting she'd ordered it that at another restaurant they'd visited, and it included very little chicken. She posted her chicken salad from the current restaurant and said, "Now THIS is what I call a chicken salad!". It had a giant deep-fried chicken breast filet set on top of iceberg lettuce.

Deep-seated eating habits aren't easy to change; for many, there are emotional issues with eating as well. There can even be family pressures. I hung out on a fitness board for a long time (myftnesspal) and the stories of bingeing, of young adults living with parents who actively sabotaged their attempts to eat healthier, etc. were really sad. I also remember from taking BC pill sin the 1970s that medication can certainly mess up your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight.

So, I try to remember there are many reasons people are overweight and not all of them are under their control.

 

[Amethyst]

Oh yeah. If you're not aware of them, it must be that you're not one of the targets (lucky you!)

Oh, there are plenty more where that came from...

 

[kaydedid]

Throwing in my two cents as a very fat (290 lbs, 5'8) person. For a long time, I thought an eating disorder was the sole cause of weight creep and inability to lose much. However, after reading a book on diabetes control (have PCOS and some insulin resistance, but no full-blown diabetes), changed diet to keep blood sugars between 85-100, even after meals. The weight started falling off-20 lbs. in the first month, no calorie - counting or deprivation, heck, I even enjoyed eating more! A lot of cravings, especially for carbs, just went away, and portion sizes automatically shrank. Long-term hip bursitis issues massively improved, as did energy levels. Had to move back to a high-carb diet this month while waiting for gallbladder surgery, and guess what - weight plateaued, then started creeping back up, and I'm hungry all the time again.

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[Ronstar]

That's what I found too. The more carbs I ate, I hungrier I got.

 

[Chuckanut]

One thing that works for me sometimes, is waiting at least 30 minutes when I start to feel hungry or get cravings - IF it has been less than 4 hours since I ate. Usually, the hunger or cravings go away as my body's metabolism adjusts and finds (I assume) energy already stored in my body.

 

[aja8888]

In one year I have lost 30 pounds (now ~ 200) and have 20 more to go. Gave up eating "white" stuff (essentilly low carb).

I have learned to love celery.

 

[MRG]

That's what I found too. The more carbs I ate, I hungrier I got.

For me the type of carbs matter. I don't crave rice, even white. Throw some sweet, sugary, gooey carmel filled crap out there and I want more. Before I finish the first where's the second one and third. Why am I still hungry? YMMV

 

[Chuckanut]

In one year I have lost 30 pounds (now ~ 200) and have 20 more to go. Gave up eating "white" stuff (essentilly low carb).

There's a pretty good book out that explains very well why a "lower carb" diet makes sense for weight loss - "Always Hungry". It's not fanatical about carbs and does allow many fruits and even some whole grains (And they mean the whole grain - as in chunks) in the later stages.

It's got some pretty good recipes in it. I particularly like the Shepherd's Pie and the waffles made from garbanzo bean flour.

The doctor who wrote the book emphasizes controlling insulin levels. Insulin is called "fat fertilizer' for its tendency to force the body to store calories as fat.

As always, one's response to any diet is individual so YMMV. Do what works for you.

 

[brett]

It may well be that a lot of people develop thyroid problems after age 50.

And a lot blame casually blame thyroid as an excuse to continue on as they have been.

I know one or two like that who have been through the tests and were hoping that their weight was caused by a thyroid issue. Alas, their physician gave them a simple equation that is common to those of us in the IT industry. Garbage in, garbage out. That, plus a diet sheet that few will bother reading let alone following in order to change their lifestyle.

I have a SIL just like that. Complains about her thyroid. Stuffs down another two of her homemade cinnamon buns/lashings of butter, swallows her special not sold in stores vitamin pills, and then starts on the bacon or the sausages. Not a speck of fruit on the horizon other than the jam. All the while insisting that the physicians tests/conclusions were incorrect.


People need to take control of their own issues and move forward. Stop making excuses. Whether it is financial, health, career, family...whatever. My observation is that there is an ever growing trend to blame everyone else and everything else for one's problems or one's failure to get down to making the effort to improve their situation.

 

[nash031]

There is no doubt in my mind that overeating carbs is the chief cause of a lot of obesity. Refined carbs break down into sugar, which causes an insulin spike, which makes you feel hungrier sooner. Thus, you eat more, and your caloric intake rises as you eat more energy dense but nutrient lean foods.

I replaced a very high carb breakfast (oatmeal with raisins and granola topping with honey and a bagel with sun butter and all fruit preserves) with a low carb, high protein, high fat breakfast that sustains me much longer without getting hungry on about half the total calories.

It works. Bottom line is figuring out why you're consuming more calories than you need, and doing the best you can to solve that problem.

Beer is my current battle! [emoji15]

But I don't advocate cutting all carbs. Fruits, veggies, root carbs and whole grains are OK, even necessary for some folks like me!

 

[Fedup]

You can't cut out all carbs, they are in fruit and veggies. So the bottom like is even if you don't eat any bread, rice, pasta, potato, etc.. you will get some regardless. And it's healthier to eat more vegetables.

 

[eytonxav]

People need to take control of their own issues and move forward. Stop making excuses. Whether it is financial, health, career, family...whatever. My observation is that there is an ever growing trend to blame everyone else and everything else for one's problems or one's failure to get down to making the effort to improve their situation.

People that are trying to lose weight, but are dealing with a health condition or some other life situation that makes weight loss very difficult, shouldn't be labeled as "making excuses." Hopefully, you will never find yourself with such a condition.

 

[ElizabethT]

Aside from watching your caloric intake and getting balanced real food, it is obvious to me, that maintaining optimum nutrition means making adjustments as we age, as exercise levels, hormones and other system functions decline.

This.

I am dismayed that in spite of being able to maintain my weight (5'3", 118 lbs) for over 30 years via a regular 'diet' of miles and hours of hiking, biking, race walking, stair climbing at the gym, etc., per week, I can no longer take my metabolism for granted. It's slowing down, clearly.

I do find, however, that eating things as close to how they stood on, or came out of, the ground as possible makes an enormous difference in pretty much everything - my energy level, my daily caloric consumption, my mood, my ability to concentrate, and my sleep. For sure I love sugar, but processed sugar increasingly does not love me back. So, I've accepted that moving forward it's just not in the cards. The benefits of removing it far, far, far outweigh keeping on with it.

Having just disembarked from a four week river cruise with non-stop food, anecdotal evidence indicates those with weight issues carried far heavier plates to the table than those without. Additionally, my spouse and I had the gym to ourselves the entire cruise. In fact, our dedication to arising early in order to workout before breakfast caused us to become quasi-celebrities by the end of the trip. People couldn't seem to understand why we bothered, which I found rather sad. The benefits in energy and mood we receive in return for our 60 minutes of perspiration are amazing, and we struggle to understand why people regularly choose to forego such an automatic life quality improvement vehicle. And yes, for sure it assists in managing weight, but increasingly that is secondary to the other positive benefits it delivers.

 

[Chuckanut]

I do find, however, that eating things as close to how they stood on, or came out of, the ground as possible makes an enormous difference in pretty much everything -

That's a great way to describe this way of eating.
May I use it?

 

[brett]

Agree with Eliszabeth T.

We cruise often. One only has to watch the buffet traffic for five minutes to understand why there is an ever increasing trend to obesity. The sad thing for us is watching families whose children are overweight by a considerable margin. It is a terrible way to start life and an indicator of what is to come. Perhaps they should teach more about healthy diets at school.. some of it might stick.

We don't exercise to loose weight, we do it to feel better. Besides, if we sit around doing nothing there is a tendency to snack on junk food. Far better to get out and be active. It achieves both of our goals. We immediately felt better after eliminating the processed and fast foods from our diet. After doing this we noticed that all of our food started to taste better. The hardest part was cutting back from my usual glass of wine every day to just a few times a week.

We decided some time ago that if we were going to have the retirement that we desired, and do the things we wanted to that we had to be in good health. So we moved down that path and it has yielded more benefits that we anticipated.

 

[ElizabethT]

I do find, however, that eating things as close to how they stood on, or came out of, the ground as possible makes an enormous difference in pretty much everything - my energy level, my daily caloric consumption, my mood, my ability to concentrate, and my sleep.

That's a great way to describe this way of eating.
May I use it?

You may!

 

[aja8888]

There's a pretty good book out that explains very well why a "lower carb" diet makes sense for weight loss - "Always Hungry". It's not fanatical about carbs and does allow many fruits and even some whole grains (And they mean the whole grain - as in chunks) in the later stages.

It's got some pretty good recipes in it. I particularly like the Shepherd's Pie and the waffles made from garbanzo bean flour.

The doctor who wrote the book emphasizes controlling insulin levels. Insulin is called "fat fertilizer' for its tendency to force the body to store calories as fat.

As always, one's response to any diet is individual so YMMV. Do what works for you.

Thanks, I'll see about ordering the book.

 

[tmm99]

I replaced a very high carb breakfast (oatmeal with raisins and granola topping with honey and a bagel with sun butter and all fruit preserves) with a low carb, high protein, high fat breakfast that sustains me much longer without getting hungry on about half the total calories.

Can you please share what's on your typical breakfast menu? Thank you!

 

[Fedup]

I avoid buffet and all you can eat place. Cruise is another thing I have not been on. I've heard too much food. It's much easier to gain weight then to lose weight. I don't want to get there in the first place.

 

[Amethyst]

I wish I could say, as so many do, that I "felt better" after cutting out sweets and junk food, but it didn't make a bit of difference in how I feel. I don't have any more energy, don't sleep any better, don't get fewer colds or whatever. Still, I feel it was worth doing.

I did it for my oral/dental health. Despite diligent oral hygiene, I was developing early gum disease. I decided to greatly reduce my consumption of refined sugars that could be encouraging bad bacteria to colonize my teeth. Subsequent check-ups confirmed that my gums appreciated the change in diet. I also lost about 5-6 pounds.

 

[Fedup]

I have less mood swing if I control my blood sugar. Wish I knew it when I was younger.

 

[ElizabethT]

Can you please share what's on your typical breakfast menu? Thank you!

My perfect low carb breakfast, which keeps me humming until lunch, is an egg (good protein), some avocado (good fats), and some fruit. Egg and avocado taste delicious together, regardless of how the egg is served (boiled, scrambled, or fried).

I wish I could say, as so many do, that I "felt better" after cutting out sweets and junk food, but it didn't make a bit of difference in how I feel. I don't have any more energy, don't sleep any better, don't get fewer colds or whatever. Still, I feel it was worth doing.

I did it for my oral/dental health. Despite diligent oral hygiene, I was developing early gum disease. I decided to greatly reduce my consumption of refined sugars that could be encouraging bad bacteria to colonize my teeth. Subsequent check-ups confirmed that my gums appreciated the change in diet. I also lost about 5-6 pounds.

I think some folk, like myself, are more sensitive to blood sugar spikes/plunges than others. It's brutal, so consider yourself fortunate if you don't know what I'm referring too.

I have less mood swing if I control my blood sugar. Wish I knew it when I was younger.

This, along with my energy remaining more consistent, as well as my appetite.