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Well, it looks that way in most places that I visit with the exception of the state of Colorado and Montana. I've noticed that I don't see many fat people when I'm out and about in those states as I do in other states.
I think with the majority of food sold is GMO food that has as an ingredient corn syrup or processed sugar, that is the culprit why so many are fat. It's placed in basically everything which has a compound effect on the body. It's not that everyone is a pig at the trough but the foods that are available to us whether store bought or restaurant-fare are horrible for the body, not half as nutritious as it should be, and addicting. Hence so many people are fat or have lump rolls in their mid-section, even young people.
I was just saying why some give up to being fat. I have worked out and documented my diet for years and I am very honest (weigh everything). I know a lot about nutrition and eat cleanly. Maintaining my weight and even losing weight (after holiday eating) was always easy and simple for me. But those same tactics now are exponentially harder as I get into the late 40's/50's. Yes I can tweak my diet and eat even less and add more strength training (recommended for aging) but that just feels like an even bigger mountain to climb. OP asked about people "giving in" to being fat and I think this is a huge reason why people do.
I agree. I think there is something to it because many women have said this about their body. They've experienced the same thing: stubborn pockets of fat that refuse to budge regardless of how well they eat or work out as they hit menopause years.
Surprisingly, I've heard from quite a few people over 55 who said their doctors told them to give up. Doctors apparently are telling patients in late middle age that it's not possible at that age to lose weight, so they should just accept the new normal.
Is that the new trend in the medical field? Wow, that's news to me. I'm not too far from that age. I don't have a weight problem but I do want to lose 10-15 lbs so that I'll have a buffer from the stage of having to seriously watch my weight or obsess about everything I eat. I want freedom to eat poorly on occasion and I don't mind working out longer to pay for it.
If you read the OP, it said that that s/he is traveling for work for 6 weeks at a time, which can often make having a regular diet really difficult. If you are not in a hotel room that offers a regular kitchen, that is really going to limit what you are able to eat during that time. If you are stuck with the hotel breakfast offerings, sometimes they are healthy and sometimes they are not. Additionally, you can't guarantee your work location will allow you to store food, so you may end up having to go out for lunch. Again, if you don't have a real kitchen, storage is going to be difficult. The exercise end might be the OP's only option if there isn't much that can be done for food.
The OP travels a lot so she might end up in places where the options are very limited. Also take into account when you have to travel a lot you are exhausted from airplanes, airports, hotels, and the unknown of the place you are in. That alone makes searching for healthy food options a real chore.
What I would do in her place is pack nuts, instant oatmeal packs (the kind without any added sugar), meal replacement bars (the kind without a lot of added sugar), dried apricots (great for killing a sweet tooth, and other non perishable items that she can eat when she is in an area with no good food options.
I am 55 and at my desired weight - which is 10 pounds heavier than I was 7 years ago. I look better, and I am not as stressed to keep a certain weight because I just can't kill it working out like I used to on a frequent basis. I have tried, but I realized I am at a point in my life where I am weighing the enjoyment of my life to some preconceived notion of what I think I should look like. Of course to maintain I need to still watch my caloric intake and exercise. Just not as fervently.
You too have a good understanding of the challenges that one faces when traveling a lot. Not only are those things you mentioned problematic but with many flights having a layover, only serving a tiny bag of pretzels in lieu of a meal, and then arriving late which means I have to rush to my connecting flight with no time to find a meal at the airport, I sometimes don't get meal on a travel day - only a few packages of snacks and water.
Thanks for the suggestions on foods to pack! I love dried fruit but sugar is added to those as well. Dried banana chips have sugar added as does dried pineapples, cranberries, etc.
You too have a good understanding of the challenges that one faces when traveling a lot. Not only are those things you mentioned problematic but with many flights having a layover, only serving a tiny bag of pretzels in lieu of a meal, and then arriving late which means I have to rush to my connecting flight with no time to find a meal at the airport, I sometimes don't get meal on a travel day - only a few packages of snacks and water.
Thanks for the suggestions on foods to pack! I love dried fruit but sugar is added to those as well. Dried banana chips have sugar added as does dried pineapples, cranberries, etc.
Not all have added sugar: figsand raisins are first in my mind. Cherries too.
When I am on a trip I grab a few healthy energy bars with not too many ingredients. Beef jerky and those all cheese chios are great too. And nuts.
I have also made frittata and brought it in the plane for a healthier meal option.
In my case I am 6 ft and in my late 20s I weighed 145 lbs no matter what I ate, even if that was an entire box of donuts. Sometime in my 30s that became 175, at 48 that is now 210.
Frankly, I'd love to be slim again but the idea of having to watch what I eat is appalling to me. The way it was before, when people would say "you're lucky" I would say "no, that's how it OUGHT TO BE and for EVERYBODY" and I still feel that way. To me a person is ENTITLED to eat all they want of whatever they want AND be slim ANYWAY. If one is fat, it isn't because they failed to control their intake, it's because their body is too picky to "just handle it" a la the way my body "just handled it" when I was in my 20s. I have no interest in a life consisting of denying myself dinner rolls with margarine and never having a slice of pie and having to eat rice patties and cottage cheese and celery sticks just to keep from looking like the Good Year blimp. What I had in my 20s, I wasn't "lucky," that's how it should be for EVERYBODY, from age 20 to age 90. I'm totally serious.
The thing is, I know sometimes you "have to do what you have to do" as it were but it seems like it's that way ALL of the time and it just flat-out sucks.That's a problem because I'm really big on doing what I WANT to do and that's especially the case because it seems like you're ALWAYS having to do things you don't like. You have to clean your house seemingly hours a day for it to not look like an episode of "The Hoarders." You have to work everyday or starve. You have to brush your teeth or they rot out. You have to shave or else you look like a convict within 3 days. You cut your hair and get it just like you want and inside of 30 days it's a mess again. The toilet paper, paper towels and ESPECIALLY the bread and eggs are ALWAYS running out. (I would LOVE bread & eggs which lasted for 6 months, I'd buy 6 months worth and stock it in a cellar. I CANNOT STAND having to run errands buying such things, I HATE it.) If you have allergies you have to remember to take the pill 2-3 times a day or you sneeze 32 times in a row. You have to stop for gas for your car seemingly every time you turn around. Bills are every month, which is WAY WAY WAY too often. Dirty clothes pile up quickly. IF you cook anything now there's a mess to clean up, when right after eating all you want to do is relax, having to clean right then I'd just about rather be whipped with a bullwhip naked. Smartphones can't go an entire week without charging the way they should be able to. When we had those incandescent light bulbs I swear a bulb would blow at least once a week. You absolutely had BETTER put your wallet in that one spot or you will spend 1½ hours looking for it. You get stuck behind someone going 15 mph below the speed limit and if you drive too fast in getting around them YOU end up in trouble and they get off scott-free.
You have so many such things, and so when people years ago would tell me I was "lucky" in terms of being able to eat however I pleased and still weigh 145 lbs, I would tell them "no it's only fair given all of that other nonsense you have to put up with. All of that other stuff should work that way too." Exactly.
I agree. I think there is something to it because many women have said this about their body. They've experienced the same thing: stubborn pockets of fat that refuse to budge regardless of how well they eat or work out as they hit menopause years.
My younger daughter is a perfect example. Other than her freshman year in college when she discovered beer and then when she quit smoking she has never had a weight problem. Now, at 54 she has gained about 15 lbs and no matter what she does she can not take it off. Menopause does slow down a women's system. For those who have never had this problem good for you.
As for what we eat, I will always remember my doctor in VA, when I was about 50 telling me it is still all based on the calories you eat. As he put it, if I ate 1500 calories a day, I would lose weight and it didn't matter what calories. He said I could consume them all in wine if I wanted. Of course he also said if I did that I may not have a weight problem but I certainly would have a liver problem. So what did I do? I continued to eat at least my 1500 calories and drink my wine. That way I might not have a liver problem.
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There's something to this
