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Calories in-calories out DOES hold water, for the exact same reason among "genetically disposed" as it does for people with thyroid issues, as it does for people with no genetic or hormonal problems at all. Here's some hypotheticals so you can do the math yourself.
We have Sue, Ann, and Joan.
Sue has no hormonal problems, and is not genetically disposed to obesity. She's practically perfect in every way, except she eats too much crappy food and rarely exercises.
Ann has hormone problems. Maybe she takes steroids, maybe it's a thyroid issue, who knows. It's a hormone problem, that's all that matters.
Joan comes from a family of obese people on both sides, her siblings are all obese, and so is she.
Sue needs to lose 50 pounds. Her current daily intake of food is 2500 calories, her current activity level, including exercise and just sitting there (since just sitting there burns calories too) is 1900. She is eating 600 calories per day more than she is burning off, and so she will gain weight consistently every week.
Ann only eats 2100 calories per day in food, but because of her hormone problems, she's only burning 1600 calories per day even though she walks twice as much as Sue walks. She is also eating 600 calories per day more than she is burning off, and so she will gain weight consistently every day.
Joan eats only 2100 calories per day in food, and she also exercises twice a week at the gym. But because of her genetic disposition, her metabolism causes her to crave saturated fats and starchy carbs. So that 2100 calories she's eating is mostly ice cream and potato chips. The salt on the chips causes her to retain water, and makes her thirsty, so she sucks down non-nutritive diet sodas to quench her thirst, and ultimately has no room left in her appetite for things like vegetables and lean proteins. So even though she's only eating 2100 calories, it's all stuff that doesn't digest very efficiently _especially_ in people with slow metabolism problems. So she's eating a reasonable number of calories, but it's all crap calories, that doesn't get absorbed to nourish her. So she's not burning off calories efficiently, and is therefore only burning off around 1800 calories per day, even with exercise twice a week. So she's still burning off 300 calories less than she's eating, daily.
Now - if Sue cut out the twinkies, had only 1 scoop of ice cream in a dish instead of a 3-scoop hot fudge sundae three times a week, AND started walking for 30 minutes daily at a brisk pace, she would discover she is burning off around 100 calories MORE than she is consuming, and the weight would start to (slowly) come off.
If Ann could get her hormones back to normal, she would probably find she's neither gaining nor losing, but maintaining. Unfortunately, because her hormones are out of whack, she'll need to up the exercise, and reduce the calories a bit. Perhaps cut her starch intake in half, and add some more greens. And walk another mile in addition to what she's doing now. If she can do this, she will burn more calories than she's consuming, and she will lose weight.
Joan will need to eliminate the ice cream and chips, entirely. She already knows she has a propensity for obesity, she already knows her brain is wired to crave this stuff and binge, leaving her with little room for things that she -should- be eating. She will also need to add another day at the gym. If she can eliminate the ice cream and chips, and add one more day to the gym, she will burn off more calories than she's consuming, and she will lose weight.
Calories in calories out does not hold water for "Ann" because she has a broken metabolism that diet will not fix, and depending on the metabolic disorder it is likely there is no treatment or "cure".
When I see an obese child I usually see an obese parent. That kid was not born that way, nor was it gaining weight more rapidly than anyone else his age. I am sure his diet is very much like his parents and he will not know proper nutrition. If this goes unchecked into adulthood, he will then have kids and follow the same pattern. This is not genetic so much as passed down.
You can have genetic problems that make it harder to lose weight, but it is very rare those disorders cannot be kept in check. When someone says their entire family is overweight or obese, I do not think genetics, I think of a culture that has been created within the family to eat poorly and not exercise. Being obese puts a person at a high risk for diabetes. Proper nutrition and exercise can go a very long way as to insuring that one does not get diabetes.
I've known several families who eat healthy for generations and have weight problems caused by type II diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Despite these medical problems they face prejudice and people judging them as being over-eaters or having a poor diet. Meanwhile salads and poached fish is a typical dinner for them.
Are there some who do pass down bad eating habits? Sure, sometimes, and huge number I've seen with lousy familial eating habits are rail thin people with healthy metabolisms.
So who are you going to give the benefit of the doubt to? The fat family who are all fat even though they eat healthy? OR are you going to say something to the skinny family down the street that wolfs down boxed mac and cheese with a bag of chips for dinner?
I find it odd that everyone who says obesity is genetic doesn't eat healthy and exercises very little.
And I find it odd that a lot of people who don't need to loose weight don't eat healthy and exercise very little. There's plenty of people who shovel crap down their gullet and don't gain weight. But it's only the "fat ones" who get reamed over it. Double standards.
Calories in calories out does not hold water for "Ann" because she has a broken metabolism that diet will not fix, and depending on the metabolic disorder it is likely there is no treatment or "cure".
That's just plain untrue.
If she's taking steroids that cause her to gain weight, then she'll have to eat less, and exercise more, and the weight will come off.
If she has a thyroid problem, then she needs to take thyroid replacement hormone, which will return her metabolism to normal, and a standard "eat less exercise more" routine will work just fine.
If her estrogen levels are out of whack, then taking estrogen replacement will return those levels to normal, and a standard "eat less exercise more" routine will work just fine.
The point is, if something is wrong with your hormones, than you will not burn as efficiently as if nothing was wrong. And so, you have to adjust your intake, and your burn level. And that is done by eating less, and exercising more.
What if I start to eat 1200 calories a day? Will I start losing weight naturally with no exercise? The only time I can exercise is on weekends. How much weight could I lose in a month if I eat the same amount of food that will amount to 1,200 calories a day?
Jade and LuckyD had some excellent and realistic suggestions for you.
I still see you making excuses on the exercise issue. There's no need for you to join a gym or run a marathon. Just make simple, easy increases of physical activity that are realistic- like walking around the block in the morning with the dog. Without some increase in your physical activity a diet is not going to do very much, and the chances are higher for your metabolism to slow down even more.
And I find it odd that a lot of people who don't need to loose weight don't eat healthy and exercise very little. There's plenty of people who shovel crap down their gullet and don't gain weight. But it's only the "fat ones" who get reamed over it. Double standards.
That's because the people who have no dietary or health -problems- have nothing that needs to be solved. Only people who have problems, have something to solve. And so, people with slow metabolisms, people who are gaining weight -as a result- of lack of exercise or overeating, people who have thyroid problems that they don't get treated medically, people who are overweight due to things they -can- do something about, but choose not to do something about - are the people who...
can do something about it, but choose not to.
People who are at a healthy weight, and a healthy physiology, don't have "problems" with their weight or physiology that need to be treated. And so, there's nothing to gripe about, with them.
It's not double standards at all. If you get fat and out of shape because you eat wrong, or because you refuse to medicate properly, or because your body requires exercise EVEN IF YOUR NEIGHBOR DOESN'T...
then it's your own fault that you're fat and out of shape, and it sucks to be you - until and unless you make an attemp to do something *appropriate* about it. Such as...
eat less, exercise more, medicate properly.
It's that pesky american ingenuity and culture, it is like a virus spreading all over the world. It is definitely pretty sad. Let's consider something like Pad Thai. I am sure in Thailand it is made with crushed peanuts and whole tomatoes. In America, ketchup and peanut butter are the main ingredients.
(I don't think white rice is the villan we make it out to be. I think that generally speaking Asians are pretty slim is the abundance of veggies in their diet, compared to the standard American diet. Conversely, supposedly in a few spots in Japan, brown rice has been part of the diet for a while as well.)
It is really sad the uniquely American phenomenon of totally fake food is catching on elsewhere, as well as American suburban car culture.
I wouldn't call it American per se or a culture, it's "convenience", where people who think they're too busy to cook a healthy meal just pick up something ready made, and the food industry is just trying to provide those products- but they do it cheaply and with lots of processed components. While it got a big start in the USA, the demand is not uniquely American. Families all over the world are looking for the same exact time-saving short cuts when it comes to feeding their kids. It's more of a universal consumer demand than a culture thing.
Nevertheless it's a shame, people who use convenience foods are forgetting what a good home cooked meal tastes like, not to mention they're endangering their health with malnutrition. I like what cooking shows are doing even if they're trendy, it's getting people interested in cooking their own food once again.
I eat almost no processed foods whatsoever, I make everything from scratch except for things like peanut butter and mayo. Once you get used to making your own food from scratch you can't stand the taste of anything processed.
Ever see those frozen PB&J sandwiches in the freezer section? WTF! How hard is it to make one?
Some of our problems stem from what we call exercise.
To many people, this seems to mean going to a gym every day. This is NOT needed.
The advice about parking as far away from work is a good one. That's exercise and you will do it twice a day. Slow but sure means of exercise.
Also, if you work in a building with an elevator, take the stairs. If you shop in a building with an escalator, find the stairs and walk. Then walk back to your car, which you should have parked as far away as possible.
If you send the kids out to the mailbox, go yourself. Instead of going to the grocery store once a week, go two or three times. Park away from the door and walk.
Any time that you WALK you are exercising. You don't have to go to a gym. If a good friend lives several blocks away.....walk, there and back. If you don't do anything but walk to the corner of your block, it's better than not walking. Just keep at it.
This wasn't mentioned,but I do believe bone structure has a lot to do with it too.
I have large bones,and a wide frame. I will never be a size 8,and it will be a struggle for me to get into a size 10.
Everyone who is big isn't big due to fat,some have bigger bones and some have more muscle.
As far as genetics,this may get deleted. But think about it.
Asians have a small bone structure,and that's why they always look petite.
The Germans I have seen have large bone structures,as eveident by the big wrists and ankles.
Sure,they were big in size,but did they look unhealthy? No.
There is this website,naturallyintense.net, where there was a study done in England,that showed that overweight people who exercised were healthier than skinny people who didn't exercise.
So just concentrate on being healthier,forget about weight loss. It may come,but if it doesn't,you will still be healthier at the weight you are now.
All my life I have been obese. Nearly everyone in my family is obese. We just never seem to lose weight no matter how hard we try.
What, exactly, have you tried, and for how long? To lose weight, you need a clear goal and a specific plan.
Does anyone else think obesity is genetic? I have read several studies online showing that obesity is indeed due to genetics.
There may be a genetic component, but there is also a lot of learned behavior that is passed down. Your eating and exercise habits play the biggest role in your health and fitness levels.
These studies have also shown that if I, an obese person, do manage to lose the weight it is highly likely that I will put the weight right back on quickly and easily. With this information out is it really worth the effort to diet & exercise?
This will be your biggest obstacle. It appears that fat cells themselves affect the production of hormones that make you feel hungry and also affect your metabolism. But it doesn't mean that it's impossible.
I myself have really 0 time for exercise and I have no energy. I am predisposed to getting health problems such as diabetes, nearly all of the people in my family are either diabetic or pre diabetic. If I could lose at least 1-5lbs a month I would be happy but I just never lose.
The reason you don't have any energy is because you're overweight and out of shape. I'm sure that you can carve 30-60 minutes out of your day to exercise if you really want to.
I think that you're wanting people to tell you "yep, it's genetic, give up," but you're not going to get that on here. You need to educate yourself about diet and exercise. Sparkpeople.com is a good place to start. Then you need to write down everything you eat and drink and use Sparkpeople on Fitday or WeightWatchers to calculate your calories, fat, etc. so you know exactly how many calories you're consuming every day. Once you know that, you can figure out some places to cut back.
You can lose weight and feel better if you want to. But you have to want it.
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