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Have you seen Asian people? There is a nation with amazing metabolisms, they can eat, eat, and eat and not gain weight.
I am Asian and I can attest that I can get fat. It's the diet. Although I've been told that I must have Latina and Black parts in me. I'll take it as a compliment.
I always believed the whole calories in VS calories burned was a big fat lie. I grew up counting calories and watching what I ate and nothing seemed to help. So I did a 30 day experiment. I went on a 1000 cal diet. One pint of Baskin Robbins per day. They weighed it so I knew exactly what I was eating. Besides the ice cream I was allowed water and calorie free drinks. I was in my late 20's when I tried this and I didn't change my activity level at all. Still went to work every day and did all the same things.
I didn't cheat and I didn't get sick. I felt fine. When the 30 days was up, I had gained 3 lbs.
No my point is not that ALL obesity is genetic or caused by health issues.
In many, perhaps even most obese individuals, it is caused by diet.
Which absolute doesn't discount the fact that in SOME of these people it is genetic, hormonal, or combo of both. Where they perhaps can lose on a regimen of extreme calorie restriction, but cannot eat the same 'normal' diet that the majority of normal weight people eat.
Just like for the vast majority, consistent overeating will lead to weight gain. BUT, in a lucky few, like the lazy husband a poster described here or the Asian man from the documentary, the same sort of overeating will NOT lead to weight gain.
Overeating and lifestyle account for our rise in obesity stats over time , by region etc, no doubt. But it does NOT account for every.single. case of obesity out there. That's what I'm trying to say.
The "in" part of the calorie equation is easy; it's the out that's not under our control. Exercise and muscle mass help but it doesn't account for much. It's how our body processes these calories that differs between people, and it's ridiculous to state otherwise. Meds like steroids for example will make you balloon up with no change to diet and often people cant lose that weight even after going off the steroids and cutting more calories - calories they were eating fine before and weren't gaining. What gives? Seems to defy laws of thermodynamics but there it is. People are even different in how they react to meds - for example most people on chemo will lose weight, but a few gain it uncontrollably, even in spite of not being able to keep down food. I believe there's a member here, cholastra, who described that happening to her. How do you explain that?
I've helped a lot of obese people and I've noticed one common similarity between all of them:
Excuses.
They're full of them.
"I had a kid."
"I went through a hard time."
"I don't have time."
Yada yada yada.
The thing that sickens me about obese people is that it is so easy to lose weight. There's a simple solution:
Eat less.
Voila, weight loss.
99%+ of people are fat because they eat too much.
You're not fat because you're big boned, because your metabolism is bad, you have bad genetics, because you have a bad knee, etc, etc. You're fat because you can't put the fork down.
Uh, NO, it is not "so easy to lose weight". Maybe when you're in your 20s, but in your late thirties and forties and beyond? No, I don't think so. I gained weight during my pregnancy at 35 and it took me a helluva time to finally get it off, unlike my first pregnancy years earlier. it was a very hard battle but I finally got it off. it was anything but as simplistic as you make it out to be. everyone's weight battle is different. the one advice I can give people over 35 is perseverance. it is not easy and your body will try and fight you. you just have to stay the course. work out, watch what you eat, don't weigh yourself every day.
the OP does have some validity in his arguments. I've read in a publication that a person's set point can be thrown off kilter due to obesity and yo-yo dieting. It doesn't mean that someone should just give up, however. Once again, staying the course is the key and modifying one's lifestyle.
Uh, NO, it is not "so easy to lose weight". Maybe when you're in your 20s, but in your late thirties and forties and beyond? No, I don't think so. I gained weight during my pregnancy at 35 and it took me a helluva time to finally get it off, unlike my first pregnancy years earlier. it was a very hard battle but I finally got it off. it was anything but as simplistic as you make it out to be. everyone's weight battle is different. the one advice I can give people over 35 is perseverance. it is not easy and your body will try and fight you. you just have to stay the course. work out, watch what you eat, don't weigh yourself every day.
the OP does have some validity in his arguments. I've read in a publication that a person's set point can be thrown off kilter due to obesity and yo-yo dieting. It doesn't mean that someone should just give up, however. Once again, staying the course is the key and modifying one's lifestyle.
Yeah, it is easy to lose weight. You just watch your calories. It isn't rocket science.
Is it harder to lose weight as you get older? Sure it is. But that again is an excuse.
No my point is not that ALL obesity is genetic or caused by health issues.
In many, perhaps even most obese individuals, it is caused by diet.
Which absolute doesn't discount the fact that in SOME of these people it is genetic, hormonal, or combo of both. Where they perhaps can lose on a regimen of extreme calorie restriction, but cannot eat the same 'normal' diet that the majority of normal weight people eat.
Just like for the vast majority, consistent overeating will lead to weight gain. BUT, in a lucky few, like the lazy husband a poster described here or the Asian man from the documentary, the same sort of overeating will NOT lead to weight gain.
Overeating and lifestyle account for our rise in obesity stats over time , by region etc, no doubt. But it does NOT account for every.single. case of obesity out there. That's what I'm trying to say.
The "in" part of the calorie equation is easy; it's the out that's not under our control. Exercise and muscle mass help but it doesn't account for much. It's how our body processes these calories that differs between people, and it's ridiculous to state otherwise. Meds like steroids for example will make you balloon up with no change to diet and often people cant lose that weight even after going off the steroids and cutting more calories - calories they were eating fine before and weren't gaining. What gives? Seems to defy laws of thermodynamics but there it is. People are even different in how they react to meds - for example most people on chemo will lose weight, but a few gain it uncontrollably, even in spite of not being able to keep down food. I believe there's a member here, cholastra, who described that happening to her. How do you explain that?
You saw the video? Is this the one you are referring to? They say it is a virus.
You can curb a slow metabolism by remaining active and keeping(or even gaining) muscle.
If your metabolism is slow, you eat less calories.
Just keep a log of what you eat. If you're gaining weight, cut the calorie count.
There is nothing hard about that.
But in today's society, everyone wants to blame something else, like a slow metabolism, instead of putting away the cookie jar.
Uh huh. Sure. In your previous post, you said weight loss is achieved by simply cutting calories. Weight loss for life is achieved by caloric restriction, proper diet, exercise, behavior modification, and also emotional support. Simply cutting doesn't do jack when you're older. Sorry, but if a dietitian suggested that I go no lower than 1300, I'd take her advice before the interwabs. You can cut but so much before you morph into some food obsessed creature. I prefer the balanced approach.
Btw note if you read my post, you'd see that I said that I lost the weight, so I'm not excusing anything. I lost it and have kept it off. That doesn't mean that I can't acknowledge that there are some very real hurdles for people.
The original poster is an obesity facilitator and apologist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by huckster
Whoever wrote this thread? Short of a glandular problem, obesity is not a physical condition, it is a state of mind.
That's right.
Quote:
Originally Posted by boxus
Ok, here are some counter-arguments;
- You are basically stating that in only one generation, humans have evolved to where being obese is a genetic condition. This counters all evolutionary science.
- This genetic change is regional, whereas some regions have way higher obesity rates than other regions.
- While certainly there are some people, and there always has been people, who are obese due to bio-mechanics, however, you are stating the giant increase in one generation is due to circumstances beyond their control, which is false due to at the minimum the two points above.
- Obesity rates have followed the Western (aka the US) diet. As more and more US inspired diet as crept onto the world stage, the obesity rates have gone higher and higher. This is not a knock at the US, but a knock at the excessive calorie consumption, insulin spiking diet that seems to maybe not originate wholly out of the US, but the US has taken the lead on it.
So no, being obese is a choice for probably 99% of people. Current obesity rates are a recent, very recent phenomenon, which only one generation ago did not exist even half as much, and two generations ago not even measurable.
Additionally, obesity rates are only high in certain regions, and very low in other regions, which counters your argument it is genetic. If it was genetic, we would see an even dispersion rate throughout the US and West. However, there is a 14% spread between the state with the highest and lowest rates. The trend in Arkansas for example shows in 1995, the rate was 17%, and in 2014 it was 35.9%. so in 20 years, the rate has doubled, yet you proclaim this is a non-controllable genetic issue? Genetics changed in 20 years? Absolutely ridiculous argument you have.
That's, right, too.
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