Spinoff: How come people don't care about being fat?

SuperWify

Fri, Nov 10 2017, 2:45 pm

Raisin wrote:

The time I did best on weight watchers was when I was nursing. Nursing can help you lose weight too.

But 8 pounds is not a lot. (how tall are you?) Maybe you were underweight before. Even so its baffling that you eat so little and don't lose weight.

You might also have a seperated muscle (called diastasis recti) from pregnancy which gives you a big stomach.

1. I lost the majority of weight in less then 3 months pp. but from month 3-6 while nursing and barely eating I stayed the same.
2. Now that I stopped I lost another 2 pounds
3. I am short so weight piles...
4. My waist gets skinner and skinnier when I diet but my stomach and hips are not going away Sad

5. I’m told that I look great and skinny but I still want to lose all my baby weight especially those hips

Thanks for the tips!

MrsDash

Fri, Nov 10 2017, 2:48 pm

amother wrote:

Alright so it seems most people's response was that medications were the culprit for the weight gain and not the cookies and chocolate. So "overweight" ladies I am curious what do you eat? How much do you eat? How often do you eat? I am not the op of the original thread but I always feel like I am relentless with my eating yet I am only 8 pounds overweight according to BMI chart. Made me always wonder how much more are overweight people eating as I never see my overweight friends eat while I am always shoveling food in..

A little proud for someone who is considered overweight, aren’t we? “Only” 8 pounds. While all the “more” overweight folk are starving themselves in front of you, you’re shoveling food in. Interesting way of putting things. I wonder what the woman next to you, who is “only” 1 pound overweight, thinks when she sees you chow down?

This whole topic is just so sad. “Fat” is not a four letter word. Geez.

Kiwi13

Fri, Nov 10 2017, 2:57 pm

I didn’t read all the responses yet, just replying to the original post. No good will come from such a discussion. Everyone’s bodies and caloric needs are different. And those needs vary even for the same person as they age, have children, experience medical issues, exercise more/less, etc. and even if everything was always the same and you got everything down to a science, it will STILL never be as simple as calories in/calories out. The best nutrition lesson I ever had (while in treatment for an eating disorder) was: “the body is not a checkbook.” As in, you can’t expect a perfectly predictable response from your body just because you followed whatever diet was “supposed” to make you lose weight.

OP, conversations like the one you’re trying to start aren’t helpful, don’t generally provide (healthy) motivation to anyone, and can actually do a lot of harm. It might not be your intention but I’m telling you, as someone who has struggled with an eating disorder and poor body image, this thread has the potential to really hurt people who are vulnerable in these areas. I’m sure that’s not your intention, but these are very sensitive topics for very many people. Perhaps you yourself struggle. Eating disorders thrive on “competition.”

I remember feeling happy when someone I knew would recover from her eating disorder - because then there was less competition to be the thinnest! It’s sick and twisted, and taken to an extreme it’s easy to see that. But the subtler stuff along the way - comparing calories consumed/burned or food choices, etc. - that’s harder to see. And still as dangerous.

thunderstorm

Fri, Nov 10 2017, 3:18 pm

I am really offended by these threads. I happen to be at least 50 lbs overweight but I'm tall and carry it well, so nobody realizes that I'm really obese. However, I barely eat and what I eat is pretty healthy. Whole wheat sandwich or oatmeal for breakfast.
A Greek yogurt for lunch .
Soup, chicken , salad and sweet potatoes for dinner.
Snacks: pretzels, whole wheat crackers or a fruit
I don't touch chocolate, ice cream or doughnuts during the week at all.
I walk everyday up hill for a half hour every day.
But I keep gaining and gaining.
For me to lose weight would mean to go on a completely carb free, sugar free, sodium free, low fat diet AND do rigorous exercise for an hour a day. I do have a hypothyroidism, so of course that's part of it.
Now enough with my excuses, I don't even know why I'm bothering to answer this question to begin with.
Don't judge a book by its cover... or rather don't judge a woman by her weight...

RebekahsMom

Fri, Nov 10 2017, 3:57 pm

MrsDash wrote:

Great point. I remember being in the 180’s in high school, my best friend had to be 220-230. We would sit next to 2 girls, maybe in the 140 range (really a guess- they were tall but in shape), who constantly complained how fat they were. And when we’d say shut up, you think you’re fat? Look at us!, it was “oh no, you’re not fat! You look fine!!”

Really.... 40/ 90 lbs heavier than fat is “fine”. I think people don’t realize how offensive they can be.

RebekahsMom

Fri, Nov 10 2017, 4:01 pm

Also, we have to be careful how we look at ourselves and other people. My closest friend was often concerned with her weight- she had gastric surgery and didn’t want to gain it back. While she never used the word fat and often tried to make the healthiest choices possible.

By the time her child was 4, she (girl) was nearly paranoid about being fat. I don’t know if she learned it from school, tv, or mom. To the point of drawing pics of elephants with the words dont get fat/ no snks allod (no snacks allowed) on the fridge/ cookie jar. It was disturbing to see a child so small be so concerned about her weight.

dancingqueen

Sat, Nov 11 2017, 8:29 pm

SuperWify wrote:

5. I’m told that I look great and skinny but I still want to lose all my baby weight especially those hips

Thanks for the tips!

It sounds like you might not be eating enough and you’re body is in starvation mode. You won’t lose weight that way.

southernbubby

Sat, Nov 11 2017, 10:53 pm

Emotional wrote:

So as long as you can reassure yourself that heavy women UNDOUBTEDLY eat more than you, then you will feel better because they are more deserving of shame than you are???

I feel bad that you were hurt by my comments and I looked up Cushings to see what is done. Usually surgery has to be done, either on the pituitary or the adrenal glands. Then there is a medication given to help with weight loss which may be given prior to surgery. A person with active Cushings is given a very low calorie diet which won't make them lose weight but might keep them from gaining more. No, people with Cushings are not eating more than thin people; they are eating only half the amount. Cushings, however, is not a common illness but it is a serious illness.

For most people, however, weight is tied to lifestyle and the day to day choices that we make. I personally gain weight when I overeat. I also think that our bodies were created with the ability to gain weight because in pre-modern times, the extra weight helped humans survive the winter but we have central heat now and food is plentiful so most people have the challenge of eating less and exercising more. Fat shaming, however, never helped anyone lose weight.

southernbubby

Sat, Nov 11 2017, 11:04 pm

nicole81 wrote:

Medication was not responsible for my weight gain. I definitely had metabolic issues that probably were the result of crazy yoyo dieting since my teen years, since I was overweight from the time I was 10. I can tell you that following a strict weight watchers plan, I was able to get down from 240 to 200, but never lower. It was demoralizing and I let the weight creep up again. Years later, I meticulously kept to 1500 calories a day of nutritious food, and worked out intensely 5 times a week. Again, I was able to get down to 200 lbs, but never lower no matter what I did. My body was stuck. Anything greater than 1500 calories and I gained quickly. Anything lower, I was starving, and I didn't lose.

My husband, who I was dating when I was morbidly obese, used to remark how he didn't understand how I ate so little compared to him yet put on weight so easily. That's basically the story of my life. My mom is morbidly obese, as was her mom, and so on and so forth.

A doctor recommended weight loss surgery, saying that because I already had a handle on proper nutrition, I would be the ideal candidate and the surgery would be very likely to "shock" and reset my metabolism. I chose to do this because of the long term health effects of morbid obesity. He was correct, BH, but I can say that I think I actually ate healthier before the surgery. And I was definitely stronger and in better physical shape when I was working out all the time, even at 200 lbs.

Heavy people don't just eat junk all the time and there are a plethora of factors that cause obesity that most people don't understand at all, and even researchers are discovering new truths about obesity every day.

But you have really made my point!!! It is very obvious that your slow metabolism was genetic but you persevered, ate the right diet, exercised, and you saw a doctor who recommended surgery and that cured the problem. Even when the problem is genetic, there are options!

amother

Bronze

Sat, Nov 11 2017, 11:12 pm

southernbubby wrote:

How are you so sure that she was healthier AFTER the (life-threatening) surgery? She already clarified that she was eating better and exercising more.

It is not clear to me if PP got the surgery for herself, or so that society would stop looking down on her.

amother

Papaya

Sat, Nov 11 2017, 11:22 pm

SuperWify wrote:

I was always very skinny.
Then... I had a baby. And there are 8 pounds glued to my hips and belly that just won’t go away.
Even though it’s been 8 months.
Even though I stopped nursing.
Even though I barely eat ( breakfast- nothing or a bowl of cereal, lunch- 1 1/2 slices ww bread veggies, dinner- protein and veggie side snack-banana)
So.... why do I am I fat?

You're 8 pounds overweight, you're not fat!

RebekahsMom

Sat, Nov 11 2017, 11:37 pm

nicole81 wrote:

The big problem is the way the body handles post-weight loss/ regain. Essentially, we’ll pretend that you weigh 200 lbs, and your body maintains on 2000 cal/ day. Now you diet, get down to 160, and maintain on 1500 cal/ day. But as life happens, you eat more, slowly regain.

You would think that since last time, you maintained on 2000, you’ll be fine. But now, the body still thinks it needs only 1500 cal, even though it survived on more previously. Anything above that becomes fat. You NEED under 1500 to lose again, even though your size dictates more.

Most of it has to do with a hormone called Leptin.

southernbubby

Sun, Nov 12 2017, 6:33 am

amother wrote:

If she is getting regular blood work, she will know what effect the procedure is having on her health. There, of course, is the possibility that being thin was at the expense of her health, rather than protecting it. My friend who passed away at age 50, as a result of type 2 diabetes, was active and athletic but her weight made it hard to control her blood sugar and possibly surgery could have helped.

As far as society looking down at obesity, change is a long way off.

amother

Powderblue

Sun, Nov 12 2017, 8:14 am

heidi wrote:

I actually wonder the same thing. I love salad and chicken-- it's my main source of food. So why am I morbidly obese?? I eat nosh very very infrequently. Even on Shabbos, I'll have maybe a cookie. Stay away from carbs. Exercise 3 times a week--high intensity, with a personal trainer. Now that I'm on weight watchers I've actually increased my food intake and I'm losing-- extremely slowly-- and if I go one point over one day, that's it for the week--my thyroid is fine.
So you tell me OP-- whyyyyyyyyyy am I so fat?????

Are you eating fake sugars (like splenda, etc.) or whatever they put in diet soda these days? Because they cause weight gain, but most Americans are clueless about that and wonder why they're gaining weight on the "right" foods.

mammala120

Sun, Nov 12 2017, 8:32 am

I did not read all the responses but to me it seems like the reason a lot of you ladies are overweight is because you don't eat enough WOW was that a shock. Well you don't eat enough of nutritious food at the right time. rIGHT food at the RIGHT time. I used to be normal weight all my life then after 3rd child I became 200lb I didn't even realize how big I got. No one told me to take a look at my self. Even my dh was lax about it. Then I was diagnosed with gallstones. I did lots of research on the topic and realized to get rid of stones you need to stimulate gallbladder often by eating healthy FATS while softening them up by drinking lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. Plus green leafy veggies and apples. I lost lots of weight. Breakfast was most important of the day followed after glass of water with lemon juice. If you realized this is the beginning tactic in loosing weight. Staying away from BAD fats. Incorporating lots of good FAT (yes organic grass fed butter is healthy and will help you loose weight). Otherwise you starving your body and it will hold on to anything else even small that enters your mouth.