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I believe it. During the heat wave a few weeks ago I was walking my dogs much later than normal, nearly dark to avoid the heat. This is a bike path through a park and wooded area. In the parking area I encountered a very overweight woman who had been jogging and was headed back to her car. I asked her “isn’t it kind of dangerous running in the dark? Aren’t you afraid you will trip?”. And she told me it’s better than being made fun of by the young men and teens during the daylight hours.
I hadn’t even thought about the fact that this lady was trying to lose weight, and was getting harassed in public for doing so. So yes, I believe that most fat people are trying to lose weight.
...I encountered a very overweight woman who had been jogging and was headed back to her car. I asked her “isn’t it kind of dangerous running in the dark? Aren’t you afraid you will trip?”. And she told me it’s better than being made fun of by the young men and teens during the daylight hours.
I have seen this often over the past years and it always made me kind of sad for them. But at least they were doing something.
It reminds me of the discussion of why exercise isn't the best option for losing weight.
You're right - exercise is NOT the best option for losing weight. Some people could exercise 24 hours per day, and still not work off all the carbs they consume.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suburban_Guy
Never before in our lifetime have we had SO much information on what to eat, what exercise to do, how often, etc., yet we have continued to get fatter and fatter.
Perhaps it's because much of that information is just plain wrong?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suburban_Guy
It has nothing to do with diet (keto, vegan, etc.), and everything to do with portion control and lack of control in caloric intake.
It has EVERYTHING to do with diet, and NOTHING to do with portion control.
This is old news now. If you want to lose weight, cut the carbs. Yeah, yeah...you've heard it all before, but it WORKS. Why? Because carbs become glucose when digested, which stimulates the production of insulin (a normal hormone that all healthy people secrete). And insulin makes people gain weight.
If you avoid carbs, you can eat all the protein and fat that you wish, and you will not gain an ounce. Why not? Because protein and fat do not stimulate insulin production, as carbs do.
Less insulin production = less weight gain, more weight loss. Look it up.
Well, dang. In all my life, I've never lost a pound I've gained.
This wasn't such a problem when I was younger. I gained ten pounds in Air Force basic training, and needed to.
But as I got older in the military, it took more and more work to keep the weight down. When I went over 35, it just kept gradually, slowly increasing, despite the fact that I was watching my calories closely and cycling 250 miles a week (generally, a 75-100 mile ride every Saturday morning).
So I just recently learned from what must be a better doctor than I've ever had before (he does mixed martial arts on the side) that my thyroid has shut down. Well, hell, how long has that been?
So I'm on thyroid hormone replacement...I'll see how that works out.
You're right - exercise is NOT the best option for losing weight. Some people could exercise 24 hours per day, and still not work off all the carbs they consume.
Perhaps it's because much of that information is just plain wrong?
It has EVERYTHING to do with diet, and NOTHING to do with portion control.
This is old news now. If you want to lose weight, cut the carbs. Yeah, yeah...you've heard it all before, but it WORKS. Why? Because carbs become glucose when digested, which stimulates the production of insulin (a normal hormone that all healthy people secrete). And insulin makes people gain weight.
If you avoid carbs, you can eat all the protein and fat that you wish, and you will not gain an ounce. Why not? Because protein and fat do not stimulate insulin production, as carbs do.
Less insulin production = less weight gain, more weight loss. Look it up.
I think that different diets work for different people. When I was in school, 50 years ago, I was taught that 3,500 calories equal one pound. If you want to lose a pound, cut out 3500 more calories than you use -- so when I wanted to lose weight I would cut my daily calorie intake by 500 to 1000 calories, resulting in a weight loss of one or two pounds a week. That has ALWAYS worked for me -- but I do understand that other diets work for other people. Btw, increased exercise might make me feel better, but it did not really have any effect of my weight loss, as I always "rewarded" (lol) myself by having a small portion of ice cream afterward!
(But, personally, I would feel VERY deprived if I had to cut out all breads and pasta from my diet, and I could NEVER stick with such a diet.)
The biggest problem is that most people want the fast and easy fix, and there is no long lasting, fast and easy fix for weight loss. Everyone wants to know "the secret", and the secret is that it is hard work. But the harsh truth is that it is much harder for some than for others.
I wasn't a large child, I wasn't a large teenager, but after graduating from college, I've put on a bunch of weight. I found out this year that I have both PCOS and hypothyroidism, both of which can make it very easy to gain and very hard to lose weight. I got put on low doses of meds to treat those, and now the weight is melting off pretty fast.
Last time I tried seriously to lose weight, I exercised 6 days a week for an hour. 3 days weight training with a trainer, and 3 days swimming laps in the pool. I also only ate about 1200-1400 calories a day, weighing and measuring everything and keeping a log. In 10 months, I lost a whopping 18 pounds and didn't even go down 1 size.
I got swimmers shoulder and couldn't raise my arm, and then got frustrated and went back to eating what a normal, non-dieting person eats. I still ate fruits and veggies, lean meats, complex carbs and healthy fats, drank maybe 1 or 2 sodas per MONTH, no alcohol, but had some sweet and salty foods on occasion. I didn't go crazy, but I'd eat a bag of Fritos over the course of a month, for example. Maybe a package of Oreos over the course of 3 months. Not like I sat down and ate the whole package in one sitting like everyone assumes for obese people. When I had something bad, like pizza, I'd have 2 small pieces, not the whole pizza. I rarely had fast food at all, maybe once a month. I was eating 2000-3000 calories a day, and by all the charts, at my weight and lifestyle, I should have been burning around 3000 calories just by living. So I should have been maintaining or slowly losing. Even so, I gained weight very quickly.
In contrast, this time around, with proper medication (not weight loss supplements, just balancing my system where a "normal" person's should be), I've taken off 30 pounds and 2 pant sizes in under 4 months, with just moderating my portion sizes, cutting out the snacks, and walking in my neighborhood. I'm probably eating about half again more calories that I did last time, and working out far less, and the weight and inches are dropping faster than ever in my life.
So my point is, don't assume it is always just "lazy" or "not doing it right" or "ignorance". Sometimes, you can do all the right things, and still not get the same results as someone else. Obese people get so ashamed that they can be too afraid of being judged to go to the doctor to get checked out, when that could be actually exactly what they need to get the tools to help them succeed.
I pretty much eat what I want. BMI says "overweight" but my weight doesn't inconvenience me, inconvenience others, or cause me to be hideously unattractive. If any of the above were true, I'd do something about it.
I stay away from the disgusting stuff. I just don't eat processed snacks, processed meats, or consume fake cheese / butter / anything else with hydrogenated oils.
Always get a few handfuls of raw fruit / vegetables every day. At least something with a definite skin like apples or grapes. But I put what I want in my salad (feta, sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes, onions, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice), eat a steak or marinated chicken breast whenever I want.
As far as carbs go, I don't like how white bread can turn to mush so easily and get stuck between my teeth, I'm more of a red/white potato fan, and I will eat those really grainy hard breads with seeds and whatnot.
The biggest problem is that most people want the fast and easy fix, and there is no long lasting, fast and easy fix for weight loss. Everyone wants to know "the secret", and the secret is that it is hard work. But the harsh truth is that it is much harder for some than for others.
I wasn't a large child, I wasn't a large teenager, but after graduating from college, I've put on a bunch of weight. I found out this year that I have both PCOS and hypothyroidism, both of which can make it very easy to gain and very hard to lose weight. I got put on low doses of meds to treat those, and now the weight is melting off pretty fast.
Last time I tried seriously to lose weight, I exercised 6 days a week for an hour. 3 days weight training with a trainer, and 3 days swimming laps in the pool. I also only ate about 1200-1400 calories a day, weighing and measuring everything and keeping a log. In 10 months, I lost a whopping 18 pounds and didn't even go down 1 size.
I got swimmers shoulder and couldn't raise my arm, and then got frustrated and went back to eating what a normal, non-dieting person eats. I still ate fruits and veggies, lean meats, complex carbs and healthy fats, drank maybe 1 or 2 sodas per MONTH, no alcohol, but had some sweet and salty foods on occasion. I didn't go crazy, but I'd eat a bag of Fritos over the course of a month, for example. Maybe a package of Oreos over the course of 3 months. Not like I sat down and ate the whole package in one sitting like everyone assumes for obese people. When I had something bad, like pizza, I'd have 2 small pieces, not the whole pizza. I rarely had fast food at all, maybe once a month. I was eating 2000-3000 calories a day, and by all the charts, at my weight and lifestyle, I should have been burning around 3000 calories just by living. So I should have been maintaining or slowly losing. Even so, I gained weight very quickly.
In contrast, this time around, with proper medication (not weight loss supplements, just balancing my system where a "normal" person's should be), I've taken off 30 pounds and 2 pant sizes in under 4 months, with just moderating my portion sizes, cutting out the snacks, and walking in my neighborhood. I'm probably eating about half again more calories that I did last time, and working out far less, and the weight and inches are dropping faster than ever in my life.
So my point is, don't assume it is always just "lazy" or "not doing it right" or "ignorance". Sometimes, you can do all the right things, and still not get the same results as someone else. Obese people get so ashamed that they can be too afraid of being judged to go to the doctor to get checked out, when that could be actually exactly what they need to get the tools to help them succeed.
I feel ya I have PCOS too. Exercise and cutting calories do not work. I actually had symptoms when I was younger (cysts and miscarriages) but when I did fertility testing, they didn't think PCOS because I was 5'9", 145. I gained weight over 3 pregnancies. When I couldn't get it off the typical way I went back to the doctor and the full workup showed the PCOS hormonal issues. Medication and a low carb diet and I've lost 30 lbs since March 1. Still have a little to go, and I work out like crazy. My BMI will probably always be on the high to slightly overweight side because I have great lean muscle mass...so I just focus on body fat %, not weight.
When it comes to weight loss so many people who aren't actually trying to lose are just so.darn.ignorant. My god! It's very hard! There are a lot of reasons people might not be successful or as successful and laziness is only sometimes that reason. So much more to it than that. People are complex. Chalking it up to "fat people are lazy" is small minded and ignorant and completely lacks any sort of empathy.
Plus, 50% of people dieting is not remotely surprising. Heck, many women are dieting all the time even when they are at a healthy weight because the so called ideal is so freaking unrealistic (and actually unhealthy...i.e. the underweight model). Some of you people should also note that being underweight is AS unhealthy (same increase risk of early death) as being obese. And MORE unhealthy than being slightly overweight. But when one is underweight, the ignorant are totally willing to see this as a "great metabolism" or genetic...when one is slightly overweight or even at the high end of healthy, they are automatically lazy/eating too much/not exercising enough...couldn't possibly be genetic then right?
Well, dang. In all my life, I've never lost a pound I've gained.
This wasn't such a problem when I was younger. I gained ten pounds in Air Force basic training, and needed to.
But as I got older in the military, it took more and more work to keep the weight down. When I went over 35, it just kept gradually, slowly increasing, despite the fact that I was watching my calories closely and cycling 250 miles a week (generally, a 75-100 mile ride every Saturday morning).
So I just recently learned from what must be a better doctor than I've ever had before (he does mixed martial arts on the side) that my thyroid has shut down. Well, hell, how long has that been?
So I'm on thyroid hormone replacement...I'll see how that works out.
I was going to say, that sounds like a thyroid problem. Glad you found a doctor, who helped you with that. They can be hard to find. Thyroid problems tend to be more rare among men, than women, too. I have no idea why that is. Stick with that doctor, though!
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I have PCOS too. Exercise and cutting calories do not work. I actually had symptoms when I was younger (cysts and miscarriages) but when I did fertility testing, they didn't think PCOS because I was 5'9", 145. I gained weight over 3 pregnancies. When I couldn't get it off the typical way I went back to the doctor and the full workup showed the PCOS hormonal issues. Medication and a low carb diet and I've lost 30 lbs since March 1. Still have a little to go, and I work out like crazy. My BMI will probably always be on the high to slightly overweight side because I have great lean muscle mass...so I just focus on body fat %, not weight.
