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Thank you for proving my point. Hyperthyroidism doesn't have to make people fat. Yes, you might have to work a bit harder to stay slim, but it's not impossible. It's just easier to make excuses than take control of your weight issues.
It would be quite strange for someone to gain weight with HYPERthyroidism. When people speak of thyroid issues causing them to gain weight, they are speaking of HYPOthyroidism. It can be very difficult to control with medication.
It is always interesting when I hear that 100 years ago, people weren't fat. When I look at old family photos from "the old country" and after my family fled the pogroms of Russia and moved to New England, most of my great great grandparents, great great great aunts and uncles, etc were overweight. Many were obese. They weren't particularly wealthy, especially after they came to the US. They didn't start slimming down until the 1940s when they began to develop some wealth to make better food choices, but even then, there were quite a few large women.
While few health conditions cause obesity alone (though some absolutely do), many can exacerbate existing weight issues and make losing weight difficult. For instance, my cancer was misdiagnosed for 5 years and I was on steroids off and on for symptoms causes by the cancer over that time. The steroids and fatigue caused me to gain around 50 pounds over the 5 years. I was in college as well, so I wasn't making the best food choices all the time and while I worked out, I also had 2 majors, 2 minors, an internship, and a job for most of that time (when I wasn't studying abroad). The steroids weren't the ONLY cause for the weight gain, but they absolutely contributed. When I finally got my diagnosis, I gained almost 60 pounds in 6 months of treatment, again due to heavy duty steroid and heavy duty fatigue. Could I have eaten better? Maybe. But I certainly couldn't exercise and most food was completely unappetizing and difficult to prepare (I was working full time during chemo and struggling financially - many days all I was able to eat was pasta). My metabolism has COMPLETELY shifted due to treatments. I have the metabolism of a 60 year old, not a 26 year old.
So did my medical issues cause my weight alone? No. Would I be this overweight without my health issues? Absolutely not. I eat well, budget my calories, and workout - but the scale doesn't move. And that's completely normal in the eyes of my doctors.
It's not always the thyroid. It can be chronic fatigue, PCOS (1 in 4 women), cancer, transplants, chronic injury or illness, or autoimmune disease.
If you are hyper, that is overactive, so you would more than likely be thin.
I am not sure but I can tell you this:
I am pretty much always hungry. I could eat all day. I don't. I discipline myself. I eat, I am full. Half an hour / hour later I could eat the same amount again. BUT I DON'T. I don't take much food to work so I don't get tempted. I walk my dog during lunch while others eat in a restaurant. I cook my own (healthy meals) for dinner. Every now and then I go crazy on food just to keep myself from getting too frustrated. I work out. I walk alot.
The key is SELF CONTROL.
I had a surgery half a year ago and had to gain 14 lbs for it. Within 5 weeks, I gained the weight EASILY by eating unhealthy, fast food, drinking beer/wine/soda and eating whenever I was hungry and as much as I wanted.
After the surgery, I went on a diet and 3 months later I had lost the weight.
And what's stopping people today from exercising? There are still plenty of places to walk. And there are also a lot more gyms and fitness classes people can take advantage of.
People today live busier sedimentary lives and putting aside the time, effort and money to walk or go to the gym isn't on top of their priority list.
I could get up at 4:30 instead of 5:50 so I could work out before my 45 minute commute to work. Perhaps I could walk instead of eat lunch. Perhaps I could go to the gym after work and get home at 6:00 instead of 5:00. Perhaps I could exercise instead of doing things I enjoy but, Moderator cut: . it. I'd rather sleep a little longer, eat lunch and socialize with my co-workers and I hate the gym and organized exercise. Call me lazy. I don't have the same body at 50 I did at 30 and its just not the most important thing to me. Why should it be to you.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 07-02-2014 at 07:58 PM..
Reason: Inappropriate language includes slang terms
I have hyperthyroidism. Check out my pics - I am slim.
The overweight people around me whom I see on a daily basis at work:
- eat big lunches in restaurants while the others bring their sandwich or have salad
- pour tons of sugar in their coffee
- bring Starbucks coffee to work
- drink soda while others drink water
- eat unhealthy snacks in between their meals on desks while we eat nothing or fruits
- always linger around the free snacks when somebody brings in something bec of special occasion.
- don't seem to be interested in any sporty activity other than just watching it on tv.
Then they look at me and complain I have better genetics. Makes me mad.
I have a friend who is also hypo and "slim." In my case, I didn't have a slim stage....other than being a preemie. I was always a little heavier than other kids. In adulthood, It makes things infinitely harder to lose even a few pounds being hypo. I gain weight when I eat over roughly 2100 calories a day and maintain moderate exercise levels.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Delahanty
I have to say....I don't think that the OP's statement is fair. I'm saying that as one who's always been thin despite eating like a field hand.
When I was in college, my first roommate was substantially overweight. When she first met me (we were initially assigned roommates back then), she kiddingly said "I hate you." We became good friends and, it's a fact, that I ate a lot more than she did! Yes, she snacked a lot (I still don't), but I ate larger portions and, generally, more than she did.
DH and I are both thin, and so are our kids. That doesn't mean we're necessarily making healthy choices, so people shouldn't wag their fingers at others about that, either.
All I'm saying is that, for many people, the tendency to put on weight is genetic. All you'd have to do is flip through our family albums and you'd see generations of thin, well-fed people. As an adult, I often think of that poor kid (my roommate) and am sad for how so many others made judgments about her eating habits.
What appears to be is not always the case.
I take after my "sturdier" relatives on my Dad's side. I won't be "skinny" ever. Not really in my DNA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LivingDeadGirl
Perhaps not all fat people claim they are hypo-thyroid but I love it when they do. I am hypo-thyroid, have been all my life and until the past 5 years maintained my 105 lbs with great difficulty. It's simple: food in - fat on unless you work out vigorously all the time. So many people are just lazy. I taught dancing/aerobics for years and you wouldn't believe the excuses people come up with for being fat and not exercising. Then they tell people they are taking exercise classes and can't understand why they don't loose weight!
It is way more complicated than that. Although you think "food in" is enough, the problem is there is huge variation in that formula. I know people who weigh 50 pounds less and I do with similar activity levels who eat the same as I do, it doesn't impact them the same way at all. Some people at my size/weight lose weight eating 2000 calories. I gain. There is no magic one size fits all formula.
I am pretty much always hungry. I could eat all day. I don't. I discipline myself. I eat, I am full. Half an hour / hour later I could eat the same amount again. BUT I DON'T. I don't take much food to work so I don't get tempted. I walk my dog during lunch while others eat in a restaurant. I cook my own (healthy meals) for dinner. Every now and then I go crazy on food just to keep myself from getting too frustrated. I work out. I walk alot.
The key is SELF CONTROL.
I had a surgery half a year ago and had to gain 14 lbs for it. Within 5 weeks, I gained the weight EASILY by eating unhealthy, fast food, drinking beer/wine/soda and eating whenever I was hungry and as much as I wanted.
After the surgery, I went on a diet and 3 months later I had lost the weight.
HYPER thyroidism is having an OVER active thyroid. You could eat all day and not gain weight.
Have you been tested - given a diagnosis or is this just something you think you have?
A person should be able to eat normally and not gain weight without even thinking about what they are going to eat, when they are going to eat, did I eat too much, did I work out enough blah, blah, blah.
And what's stopping people today from exercising? There are still plenty of places to walk. And there are also a lot more gyms and fitness classes people can take advantage of.
There are still plenty of places to walk? Sure, if you live in a city. However, where I live in the 'burbs, sidewalks are scarce and street lights are even scarcer.
When you are forced to get into a car just to go a short distance, believe me, it is frustrating. We ended up living where we are because it was where we could find affordable housing and decent schools.
When I was younger, I went to college in a large city. Everyday I loved to take long, brisk walks. Even then, no one would look at me and call me thin. Still, I did weigh less than I do now.
In my late 20s, I developed IBS-D which seriously curtailed my ability to exercise. Before the IBS-D, I would take long walks during my lunch break at work. That came to a stop.
Eventually, I got the IBS-D into remission which enabled me to eat a healthier diet and get on the treadmill. As a result, I lost weight. Right now, the IBS-D seems to have come back so I've had to make adjustments to my diet---sadly, less healthy foods but to balance it out, I am eating far less food. Fortunately, I can still get on the treadmill.
I really miss taking evening walks and right now, along with my husband, we are working on making city living happen once again. If I could wave a magic wand, I'd be there tomorrow
There are lots of reasons that people put on weight. I certainly don't judge anyone negatively for being overweight. For one thing, that would be incredibly hypocritical of me. If anything, my heart goes out to those who are morbidly obese
Wow, what I said was not mean and nasty. If you thought that, you are way too sensitive. People these days get so mad when you tell the truth. The majority of fat people are that way because they overeat. There's just no nicer way of saying it. Like I said before, not many people were fat 100 years ago, so obesity isn't just an accident. If people were actually honest with themselves and stopped making excuses, they could lose weight and be healthy.
In 1900 the average life span for men was just over age 46, for women just over 48. In addition crops were not genetically altered so that "you can't eat just one," like they are now. The environmental situation is placing us in a position to actually NEED shorter life spans for the human species to survive. Not suggesting it morally, but all of you looking to live to a hundred or more need younger people to make MORE poor choices.
Incidentally, our government has set the economy up to do just that. The short film, AGRICULTURE, can be obtained on HBO on Demand. It points out the horrible consequences of obesity, and then highlights how agricultural tax breaks are given to growing starchy foods--primarily corn and soy beans which are found in just about all foods, making processed foods saltier (soy beans), more sugary (corn), and higher in fat (soy), than foods were 35 years ago. There are so few fruit and vegetable growers in the U.S. now that imports of fruit and vegetables have tripled. The government artificially price supports the worst foods we can eat---all to benefit corporate farming of corn, soy beans and wheat.
And it's amazing the number of Congressmen who are at least part owners in corn or soy bean operations.
It gets worse, because we import so many fruits and vegetables they must be canned or otherwise preserved with chemicals, or even genetically altered to make them last longer that they decrease the natural taste so that young people are growing up not knowing how really good fresh fruit and vegetables can taste.
The cheapest foods are those supported by those price supports--and that's what continues to influence many of us, particularly the poor, or retired, fixed income folks, to buy less healthy. It has very little to do with choices by people. The government is controlling what we most likely will purchase by using our tax money to support the worst kinds of food.
Now add to that the fact that the food industry employs scientists to constantly look for the perfect mix of salt and sugar that will act on the brain like any other addictive substance---tobacco, crack, whatever--- that is exactly what the food industry is doing to the American people.
Bottom line, you must be better educated and in a higher income bracket to obtain unaltered, fresh fruits and vegetables.
In 2008 Congress provided 45 billion dollars in support to farmers. Fruit and vegetable farmers received less than 3% of that total. The conglomerate farmers simply have more political clout.
And why would you want to blame a poor struggling fat woman in Mississippi or anywhere else, for buying the least expensive food to feed her three kids?
A better course of action is to write your congressman and tell them either switch subsidies from corn, wheat, and soy to fruit and vegetable growers or face a "no" vote from you. Over time the best foods will become less expensive and the worst foods more expensive---and guess what, you will have positively influenced how fat America is. Or don't and look at a continuing upward spiral on your healthcare costs.
That's taking personal responsibility to help yourself with financial burdens, and millions of others with their health problems. To paraphrase JFK, ask not why others aren't taking personal responsibility, ask what you can do to help others help themselves.
Last edited by Wardendresden; 07-02-2014 at 04:35 PM..
Reason: Spelling
In 1900 the average life span for men was just over age 46, for women just over 48. In addition crops were not genetically altered so that "you can't eat just one," like they are now. The environmental situation is placing us in a position to actually NEED shorter life spans for the human species to survive. Not suggesting it morally, but all of you looking to live to a hundred or more need younger people to make MORE poor choices.
Incidentally, our government has set the economy up to do just that. The short film, AGRICULTURE, can be obtained on HBO on Demand. It points out the horrible consequences of obesity, and then highlights how agricultural tax breaks are given to growing starchy foods--primarily corn and soy beans which are found in just about all foods, making processed foods saltier (soy beans), more sugary (corn), and higher in fat (soy), than foods were 35 years ago. There are so few fruit and vegetable growers in the U.S. now that imports of fruit and vegetables have tripled. The government artificially price supports the worst foods we can eat---all to benefit corporate farming of corn, soy beans and wheat.
And it's amazing the number of Congressmen who are at least part owners in corn or soy bean operations.
It gets worse, because we import so many fruits and vegetables they must be canned or otherwise preserved with chemicals, or even genetically altered to make them last longer that they decrease the natural taste so that young people are growing up not knowing how really good fresh fruit and vegetables can taste.
The cheapest foods are those supported by those price supports--and that's what continues to influence many of us, particularly the poor, or retired, fixed income folks, to buy less healthy. It has very little to do with choices by people. The government is controlling what we most likely will purchase by using our tax money to support the worst kinds of food.
Now add to that the fact that the food industry employs scientists to constantly look for the perfect mix of salt and sugar that will act on the brain like any other addictive substance---tobacco, crack, whatever--- that is exactly what the food industry is doing to the American people.
Bottom line, you must be better educated and in a higher income bracket to obtain unaltered, fresh fruits and vegetables.
In 2008 Congress provided 45 billion dollars in support to farmers. Fruit and vegetable farmers received less than 3% of that total. The conglomerate farmers simply have more political clout.
And why would you want to blame a poor struggling fat woman in Mississippi or anywhere else, for buying the least expensive food to feed her three kids?
A better course of action is to write your congressman and tell them either switch subsidies from corn, wheat, and soy to fruit and vegetable growers or face a "no" vote from you. Over time the best foods will become less expensive and the worst foods more expensive---and guess what, you will have positively influenced how fat America is. Or don't and look at a continuing upward spiral on your healthcare costs.
That's taking personal responsibility to help yourself with financial burdens, and millions of others with their health problems. To paraphrase JFK, ask not why others aren't taking personal responsibility, ask what you can do to help others help themselves.
Many many thanks for this information. Things just aren't the same today.
OP how many times have you been pregnant? How many children have you given birth to (not always the same as being pregnant), how many times have you been through menopause? How many divorces have you experienced? How many hysterectomies have you had? How many tiimes have you broken your foot or leg and been laid up for months? How many times have you had cancer? How many car accidents have you been in? How many parents, spouses, siblings or children have you buried? How many times have you nursed a dear one through a debilitating illness? How many times have you been unemployed and worried about losing your home to foreclosure?
In other words--how much have you lived? Any one of the above is enough to make a person gain weight and prevent them from losing it in a timely manner. Sometimes life can make you fat...but I doubt it will happen to you cause you have all the answers, don't you!
I think that if you were to watch a few seasons of The Biggest Loser you will see a pretty good representation of why people in this country are obese.
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