Obesity - WHY?

Some are just as you suspect. Others tho, are like your aunt. They have a medical problem that causes it, or medication to take care of the problem causes it. I met many ladies who were considered obese (like your family, it does not run in mine either), but it was a thyroid problem that caused it.

Like most things in life, I doubt you can pin obesity on a single cause.

I was obese for many years. And now that I look back at photographs I can't believe I ever let myself get that way. In truth, no I didn't realize I was so large. I've since lost several dress sizes. And somehow now i have that mechanism that switches on when I see I have gained a couple of pounds. It makes me work harder and eat less. Just wish I had been like that years ago. I wasted so much of my life being overweight. I have so much more energy now and can do so many things that I couldn't do before.

I gained weight with each of my pregnancies. After each pregnancy there was about 15 pounds that I didn't lose, well after three pregnancies that is 45 pounds which is a lot on my 5' frame. I think it's easy to be in denial about it. I really don't think I look that bad when I look in the mirror maybe a little chunky but not huge or gross but when I try on clothes or get pictures back I feel horrible. I have started weight watchers and lost 3 pounds.

I am not making excuses but my family is all big. I think your weight can still be controlled regardless of your heritary facotrs but some people are blessed with a lean frame and a high metabolism. Others of us have to work really hard at it. I can get myself back to a healthy weight but it's not going to be easy.

Self-control is key. But genetics do play a part. I am learning that the body is a very fine instrument....throw off a couple hormones and suddenly your body can't heal itself, internal organs start malfunctioning, lots of things, including the inability to burn calories effectively.

I used to look at fat people and think, "Good grief. Stop eating."

But now I know sometimes you can do all the right things and something still go wrong with your body.

In the end, each person's body is their business. What good does it do me to think someone is fat? Or thin? Does it matter in my life?

No.

Who am I to judge them based on my ideal standard?

I am talking on a relationship level here, a human level, not a "driving up the cost of health care" kind of thing.

take a look at the list of product ingredients for nearly every manufactured food item offered to the general public--as opposed to unprepared produce, meat, fish and non-processed grains--and you'll easily see one major factor: corn sweetener.

stop ingesting anything containing corn sweeteners to experience results similar to going off the sorts of medications referred to in previous replies to your post.

I don't think obesity is considered "okay" so much as people are starting to see it as inevitable (which it's obviously not in most cases).

I personally come from a family filled with fat people and have some close relatives who are obese (my mother is morbidly obese).

Currently I'm about 15 lbs. overweight. NOT 15 lbs. over a size 2, but actually 15 lbs. over what is considered a healthy weight for my height. I was briefly "obese" according to my BMI just before I got pregnant (size 14 American), and that SUCKED.

I would say for me that it's about 94% lack of discipline on my part and 6% heredity and other factors.

At one time I was much better at controlling my weight (I actually led Weight Watchers meetings several years ago) but I've worked hard at killing my metabolism, I have little interest in exercise, and I indulge myself far too often.

I tend to put on weight when things are going well in my life. Happiness leads to fatness for me.

Right now I'd love to take off some weight but a)I'm scared it will affect my milk supply and b)I'm so stressed out as it is I don't think I can handle another demand. Neither are very good excuses.

Time will tell if I get this weight off or not.

I'm a size 12 right now and I would like to be a 10, which is still large, but more realistic for me than something like a 6 (the smallest I've EVER been was a 4 in HS and I was literally starving myself to achieve it).

Wow, sorry to ramble!

So, is this a bad time to tell you that yo momma is so fat she has smaller fat women orbiting around her?

Would it make you feel any better to know that yo momma is so stupid she put a ruler in her bed to see how long she slept?

PS - Don't encourage me (yes, even a "Gah" is encouragement), cause I have PLENTY more!

Yeah that's probably true. But I'm more focusing on those that could be a healthy weight but aren't. You know, the ones who



An aesthete? A tall person who finds that seats on public transport have been widened rather than lengthened? Someone stuck next to an obese person on a plane who finds themselves crushed beneath a sweaty roll just when they least expect it?

Public obesity is a public problem, just like smoking.



Sounds interesting. I know that when I stopped eating readymade foods and forced myself to cook it was easier to stay healthy. I didn't know that was the cause.



I wouldn't worry too much about that. Mothers usually carry a little extra weight. There are few things more disgusting than a woman who neglects her children so that she can have rockhard abs just weeks after giving birth.



Gah to you too! That kind of claim is so patently false it's not funny. Hardly any okay jokes rely solely on fatness to be funny. What about a show like Boston Legal or the Daily Show? Or Chappelle? Or (racking my brains for good US comedies...) uumm... those other American shows that are funny?

Trust me - Norbit is the best Eddie Murphy movie of his fat decade. How YOU doin?



More! More!

I have never had a problem with an obese person in public. Ever.

Really? You're lucky. I've been crushed against windows in buses, sat on on planes (Now that's a hideously unpleasant experience), and had the wind knocked out of me by a flab roll in the moshpit at Big Day Out (another singularly unpleasant experience).

Is that a problem? Or just an accomodation?

In my group of friends, I have some who are overweight, some how are skinny, some who are fitness-mad and some who are not so fitness inclined. My friends are such because of who they are not because of how they look. Having said this, I'm lucky because I have a high metabolism and am naturally fit and slim.

I think it is a combination of genetics and that I eat very well. The occasional fried, fatty food is okay, but not as a regular part of my diet. I believe, as Tova said, self control also has a lot to do with it.

Most American airlines don't yet require obese people to purchase an extra seat, but my mom always does as a courtesy to other passengers but also for her own comfort.



No danger of that here, haha. I've found that young children tend to like soft mommies.



(courtesy of my 6 year old) Yo momma's so ugly, she looked out the window and saw a hideous beast. Then she realized it was a mirror.

Hehe.

Alternately, yo momma's so fat, she jumped up in the air and got stuck. Of course, that was before she fell and cut her leg and gravy poured out.

I am considered borderline obese, yet the funny thing is, I go to the gym every freaking day, for about two hours. (Ok, I only go 6 days a week. Everyone needs a break) I can out last many of the "skinny" people at the gym. I can lift more, run faster, and run longer.

I'm slowly losing weight, but it is extremely difficult. Besides the fact that I think my fat is just plain stubborn, I've had some problems with food in the past: I'm a severe emotional eater. I eat when I'm bored, when I'm lonely, when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Food is a reward. Food is comfort. Food is a band-aid. It takes a lot of control to not eat when I'm not hungry.

The thing is, most people don't consider how hard it is to avoid eating. Think about it: alcoholics avoid alcohol. They don't go to bars, they avoid situations that will bring them in contact with alcohol. Gamblers don't go to casinos or horse tracks. Someone who is addicted to food can't avoid food. You have to eat to live. We have to face food three times a day. Food is everywhere and at everything.

It takes a lot to control yourself when you are addicted to something. There are times when all I want to do is eat. I'll find myself in the kitchen looking in the fridge and think, "How did I end up here?" I don't even remember going to the fridge.

I could be at a healthy weight. I know I could, even though I've never been there. It's taking a lot of work to stop my eating problems, and even more work at the gym. So far, I've lost 25 lbs... but I've still got a long way to go.

SHE: I saw a pic of you a while back and I thought you were a total hottie!

WWW Link

Thanks. *blushing* Be that as it may, I'm a size 16 hottie. Even though I'm 5'8", that's still a bad size to be.

SHE congrats on the weight loss so far, just don't give up!

Tex you're a riot!!


I can relate to the emotional eating because I'm one too. I've been learning to undo that side of my persona and so far it's working, in that I don't use food as my crutch anymore. I've been working out on and off and on and off and it's a constant battle but I do understand SHE.


BTW Whip, Martin Lawrence did the Big Momma movies. I haven't seen Norbit, I'll wait for it to go on Cable. I know it will be funny because it's Eddie but I'm tired of the fat jokes too. I'll still laugh though!!



I watched a show last night, actually it was from the BBC and it showed three (or four?) people who were morbidly obese....we're talking over 700 pounds one of them and what they go through in their daily lives.

I guess it's up to the individual and what's going on thier lives and how they view themselves and their world, whether it's important being thin and living up to an ideal. Being healthy and in good shape, even if it's not pefect shape, is the best way to be.

Sorry, didn't mean to drone on!

Since I've actually seen results this time, I feel like continuing. I think the hardest part is writing down all the things I eat. I just forget to do it sometimes. It's still hard to go to dinner, look at all the food and say, "No. I am full now. I don't need to eat any more... no matter how good it tastes." not to mention the "Ok, I've studied for a long time now, and I need a break. Oooh! Popcorn. And a soda. And then something sweet..." Now, I try to take a walk, get some water, do anything other than eat.

It's just good to hear that someone else understands.



I'm not huge by any means, but I fear this look from people. I feel like if I do get dessert, the waiter is thinking, "Like you need it." The fear of people looking at me like this caused me to eat in secret. I don't go into fast food joints, because I don't want people looking at me. I eat in my room so I don't have to worry about people criticizing what I eat. It also depressed me which, big surprise, made me eat more.

I say this to ask something of the skinny folk. When you see an plus-sized person to an obese person eating... try not to look at them with disgust on your face. Even if you think you're hiding it, we can be very self-conscious and will interpret even the slightest glance & frown as you thinking we are horrible people. I'm not saying this is what you were doing... I just wanted to make you all aware.

they're not alone.   

Both, I imagine.



I'll do my best, but no promises. Like all good habits I've grown accustomed to a fat bias. The last thing I want to do in life is overcome a familiar habit, but if you reckon it'll help the obese lose weight I'll do as you request and try not to look at them.



Yeah I'm with you there. A mate of mine got married a few months back (far too young in my opinion) and, to be honest, I hate his wife. But just after she got preggers she got incredibly hot. I don't understand it, but I've gone from hate-hate to hate-lust in a matter of a few months. There's something unbelievably en-hot-ening about a newly pregnant woman.



Hell yeah! Nothing satisfies like excess!

But to be honest I wouldn't be thinking your diet was healthy. What's V8 juice? It sounds like some carbonated, sugar-ated monstrosity like Red Bull. That can't be healthy. And toad-in-the-hole (eggy bread as you call it) isn't exactly the health food of champions.

I wouldn't have thought such a diet would lead to clinical obesity, but I guess you just don't twitch enough. Fidget more and you might be able to burn those extra calories, or maybe not. It's always hard to know exactly how much physical activity a person needs.

I'd say you could probably drop the sugar though. Up to you if you think you can live without it or not. I find that vodka can be mixed with a decent fresh-squeezed orange or a squirt of lemon juice and still taste refreshingly fine, so maybe that's an option?

LW: "Two bloody marys with vodka and V8."

Yum, yum.

I worry more about obese children. I agree that there are all sorts of factors that contribute to obesity, but I believe that there are many children eating too much junk food. Home made pizzas and burgers seem to be much more nutritious than the crap McDonalds and Pizza Hut dole out.Look at this recipe:

Home made burgers:

1lb of lean minced pork or beef or mixed.
An egg, breadcrumbs, chives,
Mix and form a patty.

Grill or barbecue and top with tomato slice, mustard and fresh rocket or lettuce.

No french fries. Lightly saute carrot sticks and sweet potato slices in olive oil.

These burgers and the accompaniment are using fresh ingredients and cooked delicately as opposed to the "manufactured" processed stuff the big take-aways push out.

Uhh, V8 juice is VEGETABLE juice, cacto. The only knock on it is the sodium content, and they DO make a low sodium version. I know you're not familiar with American brands, but...we always have google.

The truth is, I know a LOT of overweight people who don't eat massive diets. I won't make excuses for my own weight, as I won't hesitate to say that personal decisions played the largest role in my being the size I am. But, honestly, that's my decision, and if I want to change it badly enough, I will.

Yes, Sabrina probably could have cut her caloric intake had she so chosen. But experience tells me that if you cut too many foods out of your diet, the likelihood of binge eating increases greatly.