Obesity, is it really an illness or a lifestyle choice?
Discussion
FNG said:
Anyway, to me it’s often mental issues not an illness as such.
Poor relationship with food.
Comfort eating.
Bad habits becoming ingrained.
Yes, can be laziness or lack of education but I think a lot of it comes down to low self esteem, depression, general unhappiness - reach for the chocolate / ready meals etc. Then it’s the vicious circle of I feel sad and have low self esteem because of my weight, and the thing that gives me a short term boost is a bar of dairy milk.
However there are other reasons.
Middle class lifestyle - I gained 6kg or so due to getting comfortable once married, two bottles of wine per night over a nice meal, the wife likes chocolate so it’s always in the house (I haven’t got great willpower so when single I used to just not buy it - then when it’s constantly available it’s hard to not eat it) and bad habits like a beer when getting in from work becoming something that happens every night, the wife offers a bar of chocolate every evening, it becomes very habitual very quickly and I need to be really careful not to start that sort of thing as it becomes embedded quickly and proves really hard to break out of.
Moving on, I’ve now got two autistic children, post concussive syndrome from a car crash which means a days work exhausts me, and low testosterone levels too - so I have no spare time whatsoever and no energy to exercise even if I did.
As a result I’ve put on a further 18kg and am now just about obese at 112kg and 6’3”.
I’m hoping to get the testosterone thing sorted this summer but I haven’t the slightest idea how I can get time to exercise the blubber back off.
IMO it's about changing habits. Easier said than done, but maybe try changing one at a time. If you can do it properly and eliminate carbs and sugar until you're down to say 95kgs - you can do that in around 8 weeks. All the best!Poor relationship with food.
Comfort eating.
Bad habits becoming ingrained.
Yes, can be laziness or lack of education but I think a lot of it comes down to low self esteem, depression, general unhappiness - reach for the chocolate / ready meals etc. Then it’s the vicious circle of I feel sad and have low self esteem because of my weight, and the thing that gives me a short term boost is a bar of dairy milk.
However there are other reasons.
Middle class lifestyle - I gained 6kg or so due to getting comfortable once married, two bottles of wine per night over a nice meal, the wife likes chocolate so it’s always in the house (I haven’t got great willpower so when single I used to just not buy it - then when it’s constantly available it’s hard to not eat it) and bad habits like a beer when getting in from work becoming something that happens every night, the wife offers a bar of chocolate every evening, it becomes very habitual very quickly and I need to be really careful not to start that sort of thing as it becomes embedded quickly and proves really hard to break out of.
Moving on, I’ve now got two autistic children, post concussive syndrome from a car crash which means a days work exhausts me, and low testosterone levels too - so I have no spare time whatsoever and no energy to exercise even if I did.
As a result I’ve put on a further 18kg and am now just about obese at 112kg and 6’3”.
I’m hoping to get the testosterone thing sorted this summer but I haven’t the slightest idea how I can get time to exercise the blubber back off.
Speed1283 said:
FNG said:
deckster said:
Lord.Vader said:
Stop eating so much and you won’t be as fat it really is that simple.
A lot of people are confusing "simple" with "easy".It is simple to lose weight: just eat less.
It is simple to get rich: just invest in the right stocks.
It is simple to play golf as well as Tiger Woods: just swing like he does.
Telling people that they are lazy, greedy, and they could lose weight if they just tried is entirely missing the point. If it were easy then there wouldn't be any fat people just like there wouldn't be any poor people or any bad golfers.
Now having said that I do happen to agree with the original premise of the thread. Overall, genetic factors are small and affect only a tiny minority of people. Society, lifestyle, and mental health pressures all have a much bigger effect.
I could stand to lose a couple of stone and indeed I have done so in the past, several times. But it's hard. It's hard to get the motivation to exercise. It's hard to ignore the fridge. It's hard to say "no" to mates who want to spend the afternoon in the pub.
Until we can have a mature discussion as to the causes of obesity, we aren't going to get anywhere. And whilst blaming your genes isn't going to work, nor will calling people lazy or disgusting.
At 5ft 10 and C.70kg I'm by no means heavy, but I do try and keep my eating in moderation, it's a constant thought process, sure I do treat myself but it's never on a daily basis. As much as I'd love a few pastries from my local bakery every day for breakfast I keep it to once a week!
Exercise is not easy, and motivation is difficult, I do some form of exercise each day as my ethos is that it's easier to maintain what I've got, rather than let it go and then to try and recover.
I'm fairly fit, but I do struggle with motivation, I pretty much force myself to do it. I can only imagine that being obese would require a lot more motivation and effort to exercise by comparison.
It's literally doing less of something to achieve a better result.
98elise said:
I disagree. Losing weight doesn't require any skill, luck or practice. You simply eat less or eat healthier meals. You don't even need to exercise.
It's literally doing less of something to achieve a better result.
And yet you say above you’ve struggled with being a fatty for decades. So surely you appreciate it’s easy to write down what you need to do, but a sIt's literally doing less of something to achieve a better result.
tload harder to do it. That’s all I’ve been saying. The principle is easy and the root causes are the polar opposite.
"'Fat but fit' is a MYTH: Obese people who regularly exercise are at increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and respiratory disease, study warns"
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-96...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-96...
P-Jay said:
I'm overweight, I think I'm actually obese by my BMI.
I make no excuses for myself, I'm over-weight because I consumed more calories than my body used for many years, be it beer or food.
I find it very hard to lose weight, that's just how my body works, to give you an example.
According to the NHS, to maintain my body weight I would need to consume around 3000 calories a day, whilst sitting on my arse watching TV at home, or banging away on the keyboard in work, but I don't.
I consume about 2000 calories a day, no weekly cheat day, no picking at the kids food, no "oh you don't count drinks", no "holiday calories don't count". I have two cheat days a year, my Birthday and Christmas. It was my Birthday yesterday, I had 2300 calories and felt pretty ill.
I'm in the Gym doing strength training Mon, Tues, Thurs. I ride my Bike Weds & Sat. Usually about 20km off-road, steep climbs etc, Weds ride is worth about 1500 cals, Sat about 2000 according to Strava so, in theory on Saturday I run about a 3000 calorie deficit.
I should, in theory being losing 2kgs+ a week, it should be falling off me. I'm doing well if I lose 0.5Kgs a week.
Despite my bulk I'm 'fit' RHR is 55ish, perfect blood pressure with a cuff, slightly raised ABPI on the right side, but better then the average man on the street at 43. I can't run for st (injuries)_but I can ride my bike for hours non-stop and aside from very steep climbs, I'm pretty quick too. I'm not hugely into heavy weights, not my thing, but I can squat 120Kgs (4 sets of 6) but don't take this as any sort of "My BMI is 34 because I look like Arnie in his prime" I'm all belly, bh tits and chins.
Some of my friends can't gain weight, eat whatever the hell they like, now what they like may be less than what I like, but they put zero effort into their diet and exercise because, well they don't have to. Some, like me, have to work at it, but mostly they have an easier time of it. A few took a good look at themselves at 40, saw the way the wind was blowing an dropped a couple of stone over a year. Me, I've been banging away at it for nearly 3 years, I'm getting there, but bloody hell it's hard work.
I occasionally get called a fat wker or something, it's an easy insult to throw I guess, it's usually from the safety of a moving car when I'm on my bike. FYI, it's not a 'motivator' for me, but if should they fall foul to an unhelpful red light, I guess it could lead to a punch on the nose, but I'm not much of a fighter.
Obviously your present body weight will affect this but 3000 calories per day to maintain your weight seems very high.I make no excuses for myself, I'm over-weight because I consumed more calories than my body used for many years, be it beer or food.
I find it very hard to lose weight, that's just how my body works, to give you an example.
According to the NHS, to maintain my body weight I would need to consume around 3000 calories a day, whilst sitting on my arse watching TV at home, or banging away on the keyboard in work, but I don't.
I consume about 2000 calories a day, no weekly cheat day, no picking at the kids food, no "oh you don't count drinks", no "holiday calories don't count". I have two cheat days a year, my Birthday and Christmas. It was my Birthday yesterday, I had 2300 calories and felt pretty ill.
I'm in the Gym doing strength training Mon, Tues, Thurs. I ride my Bike Weds & Sat. Usually about 20km off-road, steep climbs etc, Weds ride is worth about 1500 cals, Sat about 2000 according to Strava so, in theory on Saturday I run about a 3000 calorie deficit.
I should, in theory being losing 2kgs+ a week, it should be falling off me. I'm doing well if I lose 0.5Kgs a week.
Despite my bulk I'm 'fit' RHR is 55ish, perfect blood pressure with a cuff, slightly raised ABPI on the right side, but better then the average man on the street at 43. I can't run for s
t (injuries)_but I can ride my bike for hours non-stop and aside from very steep climbs, I'm pretty quick too. I'm not hugely into heavy weights, not my thing, but I can squat 120Kgs (4 sets of 6) but don't take this as any sort of "My BMI is 34 because I look like Arnie in his prime" I'm all belly, bh tits and chins.Some of my friends can't gain weight, eat whatever the hell they like, now what they like may be less than what I like, but they put zero effort into their diet and exercise because, well they don't have to. Some, like me, have to work at it, but mostly they have an easier time of it. A few took a good look at themselves at 40, saw the way the wind was blowing an dropped a couple of stone over a year. Me, I've been banging away at it for nearly 3 years, I'm getting there, but bloody hell it's hard work.
I occasionally get called a fat w
ker or something, it's an easy insult to throw I guess, it's usually from the safety of a moving car when I'm on my bike. FYI, it's not a 'motivator' for me, but if should they fall foul to an unhelpful red light, I guess it could lead to a punch on the nose, but I'm not much of a fighter. The NHS average for a male is 2500 and presumably if you have a sedentary occupation that will be less.
98elise said:
Just eat less than you need, or eat more healthy food.
I've struggled with being a fatty for a couple of decades. Recent I've massively reduced my alcohol content, cut out snacks, and eat more healthy meals
In the past month I've lost a stone, and I aim to lose 2 more. No forced exercise or gruel needed.
Being fat is a choice.
It is a choice, no doubt. Upbringing and educating the palate is a factor, fat children make fat adults. I've struggled with being a fatty for a couple of decades. Recent I've massively reduced my alcohol content, cut out snacks, and eat more healthy meals
In the past month I've lost a stone, and I aim to lose 2 more. No forced exercise or gruel needed.
Being fat is a choice.
P-Jay said:
I'm overweight, I think I'm actually obese by my BMI.
I make no excuses for myself, I'm over-weight because I consumed more calories than my body used for many years, be it beer or food.
I find it very hard to lose weight, that's just how my body works, to give you an example.
According to the NHS, to maintain my body weight I would need to consume around 3000 calories a day, whilst sitting on my arse watching TV at home, or banging away on the keyboard in work, but I don't.
I consume about 2000 calories a day, no weekly cheat day, no picking at the kids food, no "oh you don't count drinks", no "holiday calories don't count". I have two cheat days a year, my Birthday and Christmas. It was my Birthday yesterday, I had 2300 calories and felt pretty ill.
I'm in the Gym doing strength training Mon, Tues, Thurs. I ride my Bike Weds & Sat. Usually about 20km off-road, steep climbs etc, Weds ride is worth about 1500 cals, Sat about 2000 according to Strava so, in theory on Saturday I run about a 3000 calorie deficit.
I should, in theory being losing 2kgs+ a week, it should be falling off me. I'm doing well if I lose 0.5Kgs a week.
Despite my bulk I'm 'fit' RHR is 55ish, perfect blood pressure with a cuff, slightly raised ABPI on the right side, but better then the average man on the street at 43. I can't run for st (injuries)_but I can ride my bike for hours non-stop and aside from very steep climbs, I'm pretty quick too. I'm not hugely into heavy weights, not my thing, but I can squat 120Kgs (4 sets of 6) but don't take this as any sort of "My BMI is 34 because I look like Arnie in his prime" I'm all belly, bh tits and chins.
Some of my friends can't gain weight, eat whatever the hell they like, now what they like may be less than what I like, but they put zero effort into their diet and exercise because, well they don't have to. Some, like me, have to work at it, but mostly they have an easier time of it. A few took a good look at themselves at 40, saw the way the wind was blowing an dropped a couple of stone over a year. Me, I've been banging away at it for nearly 3 years, I'm getting there, but bloody hell it's hard work.
I occasionally get called a fat wker or something, it's an easy insult to throw I guess, it's usually from the safety of a moving car when I'm on my bike. FYI, it's not a 'motivator' for me, but if should they fall foul to an unhelpful red light, I guess it could lead to a punch on the nose, but I'm not much of a fighter.
The BMI metric is absolutely garbage because doesn't take into account muscle mass.I make no excuses for myself, I'm over-weight because I consumed more calories than my body used for many years, be it beer or food.
I find it very hard to lose weight, that's just how my body works, to give you an example.
According to the NHS, to maintain my body weight I would need to consume around 3000 calories a day, whilst sitting on my arse watching TV at home, or banging away on the keyboard in work, but I don't.
I consume about 2000 calories a day, no weekly cheat day, no picking at the kids food, no "oh you don't count drinks", no "holiday calories don't count". I have two cheat days a year, my Birthday and Christmas. It was my Birthday yesterday, I had 2300 calories and felt pretty ill.
I'm in the Gym doing strength training Mon, Tues, Thurs. I ride my Bike Weds & Sat. Usually about 20km off-road, steep climbs etc, Weds ride is worth about 1500 cals, Sat about 2000 according to Strava so, in theory on Saturday I run about a 3000 calorie deficit.
I should, in theory being losing 2kgs+ a week, it should be falling off me. I'm doing well if I lose 0.5Kgs a week.
Despite my bulk I'm 'fit' RHR is 55ish, perfect blood pressure with a cuff, slightly raised ABPI on the right side, but better then the average man on the street at 43. I can't run for s
t (injuries)_but I can ride my bike for hours non-stop and aside from very steep climbs, I'm pretty quick too. I'm not hugely into heavy weights, not my thing, but I can squat 120Kgs (4 sets of 6) but don't take this as any sort of "My BMI is 34 because I look like Arnie in his prime" I'm all belly, bh tits and chins.Some of my friends can't gain weight, eat whatever the hell they like, now what they like may be less than what I like, but they put zero effort into their diet and exercise because, well they don't have to. Some, like me, have to work at it, but mostly they have an easier time of it. A few took a good look at themselves at 40, saw the way the wind was blowing an dropped a couple of stone over a year. Me, I've been banging away at it for nearly 3 years, I'm getting there, but bloody hell it's hard work.
I occasionally get called a fat w
ker or something, it's an easy insult to throw I guess, it's usually from the safety of a moving car when I'm on my bike. FYI, it's not a 'motivator' for me, but if should they fall foul to an unhelpful red light, I guess it could lead to a punch on the nose, but I'm not much of a fighter. By that measure I'm also obese despite having only 12% body fat.
Drawweight said:
P-Jay said:
I'm overweight, I think I'm actually obese by my BMI.
I make no excuses for myself, I'm over-weight because I consumed more calories than my body used for many years, be it beer or food.
I find it very hard to lose weight, that's just how my body works, to give you an example.
According to the NHS, to maintain my body weight I would need to consume around 3000 calories a day, whilst sitting on my arse watching TV at home, or banging away on the keyboard in work, but I don't.
I consume about 2000 calories a day, no weekly cheat day, no picking at the kids food, no "oh you don't count drinks", no "holiday calories don't count". I have two cheat days a year, my Birthday and Christmas. It was my Birthday yesterday, I had 2300 calories and felt pretty ill.
I'm in the Gym doing strength training Mon, Tues, Thurs. I ride my Bike Weds & Sat. Usually about 20km off-road, steep climbs etc, Weds ride is worth about 1500 cals, Sat about 2000 according to Strava so, in theory on Saturday I run about a 3000 calorie deficit.
I should, in theory being losing 2kgs+ a week, it should be falling off me. I'm doing well if I lose 0.5Kgs a week.
Despite my bulk I'm 'fit' RHR is 55ish, perfect blood pressure with a cuff, slightly raised ABPI on the right side, but better then the average man on the street at 43. I can't run for st (injuries)_but I can ride my bike for hours non-stop and aside from very steep climbs, I'm pretty quick too. I'm not hugely into heavy weights, not my thing, but I can squat 120Kgs (4 sets of 6) but don't take this as any sort of "My BMI is 34 because I look like Arnie in his prime" I'm all belly, bh tits and chins.
Some of my friends can't gain weight, eat whatever the hell they like, now what they like may be less than what I like, but they put zero effort into their diet and exercise because, well they don't have to. Some, like me, have to work at it, but mostly they have an easier time of it. A few took a good look at themselves at 40, saw the way the wind was blowing an dropped a couple of stone over a year. Me, I've been banging away at it for nearly 3 years, I'm getting there, but bloody hell it's hard work.
I occasionally get called a fat wker or something, it's an easy insult to throw I guess, it's usually from the safety of a moving car when I'm on my bike. FYI, it's not a 'motivator' for me, but if should they fall foul to an unhelpful red light, I guess it could lead to a punch on the nose, but I'm not much of a fighter.
Obviously your present body weight will affect this but 3000 calories per day to maintain your weight seems very high.I make no excuses for myself, I'm over-weight because I consumed more calories than my body used for many years, be it beer or food.
I find it very hard to lose weight, that's just how my body works, to give you an example.
According to the NHS, to maintain my body weight I would need to consume around 3000 calories a day, whilst sitting on my arse watching TV at home, or banging away on the keyboard in work, but I don't.
I consume about 2000 calories a day, no weekly cheat day, no picking at the kids food, no "oh you don't count drinks", no "holiday calories don't count". I have two cheat days a year, my Birthday and Christmas. It was my Birthday yesterday, I had 2300 calories and felt pretty ill.
I'm in the Gym doing strength training Mon, Tues, Thurs. I ride my Bike Weds & Sat. Usually about 20km off-road, steep climbs etc, Weds ride is worth about 1500 cals, Sat about 2000 according to Strava so, in theory on Saturday I run about a 3000 calorie deficit.
I should, in theory being losing 2kgs+ a week, it should be falling off me. I'm doing well if I lose 0.5Kgs a week.
Despite my bulk I'm 'fit' RHR is 55ish, perfect blood pressure with a cuff, slightly raised ABPI on the right side, but better then the average man on the street at 43. I can't run for s
t (injuries)_but I can ride my bike for hours non-stop and aside from very steep climbs, I'm pretty quick too. I'm not hugely into heavy weights, not my thing, but I can squat 120Kgs (4 sets of 6) but don't take this as any sort of "My BMI is 34 because I look like Arnie in his prime" I'm all belly, bh tits and chins.Some of my friends can't gain weight, eat whatever the hell they like, now what they like may be less than what I like, but they put zero effort into their diet and exercise because, well they don't have to. Some, like me, have to work at it, but mostly they have an easier time of it. A few took a good look at themselves at 40, saw the way the wind was blowing an dropped a couple of stone over a year. Me, I've been banging away at it for nearly 3 years, I'm getting there, but bloody hell it's hard work.
I occasionally get called a fat w
ker or something, it's an easy insult to throw I guess, it's usually from the safety of a moving car when I'm on my bike. FYI, it's not a 'motivator' for me, but if should they fall foul to an unhelpful red light, I guess it could lead to a punch on the nose, but I'm not much of a fighter. The NHS average for a male is 2500 and presumably if you have a sedentary occupation that will be less.
I've never really put much faith in those figures, my PT with the exercise I do wanted me to stick to 2400 a day, but it's not that I COULDN'T eat that, as above, Big mac meal for lunch and that's easy, I just don't need to, I seem to be able to stick to 2000 a day fairly easy, except Saturdays when I've been on my bike for 3 hours, I can feel like hammered crap, it's usually dehydration though.
There has to be something in it (with respect to the article).
On my mothers side of the family, we're all lanky bean poles. On my dads side, they're more stocky but none of them are blobs.
My mum hasn't done a days exercise in her life beyond walking round the shops (and of course growing up in the 60's which meant lots of outdoor time and walking everywhere)... Stick thin. Even now in her 60s with metabolisms slowing. My Dad, shorter, stockier, eats crisps and drinks beer like its going out of fashion, likes to go to the gym, probably has less body fat than I do and I don't do the crisps or the beer!
My brother takes after my dad. He doesn't exercise at all now and he's pretty sedentary and likes his sweets, though he doesn't just shovel crap into himself all the time. He seems to put on weight more easily than I do. He has put on some weight since his uni days, but had never got beyond being a bit pudgey. The moment he's taken a bit of concentration on what he eats, and picked up Yoga he's come straight back down. He's one of these people that if he went to the gym on the regular and put some effort in, he'd get massive.
I take after my mum, and throughout lockdown my main sport, swimming, basically not allowed unless you want to brave a the local canals. Also had our first born in 2020, so proper exercise really did drop off the radar for quite some time. I put on some weight, got up to about 82kg (6ft 3in) from my usual 78 kg. I will confess, with working from home a lot I was spending most days sat, motionless and I must have eaten my own weight in biscuits and sweets in that time. Having only been back swimming a few weeks, I am back down to 79 kg already. I found it incredibly difficult to actually put on weight a few years ago when I was quite heavy into weight lifting. I squeaked myself up to 80kg and just gave up because I didn't want to give up swimming to do it and I couldn't stomach the amount of calories required to keep building muscle. Within weeks of backing down, I was back down to close to my usual weight.
Contrast my wife, who does more exercise than me, eats the same stuff I do and has a baby stealing calories from her boobs every day... she yo-yo's up and down way more and often struggles to keep weight off. Her mum and all her mum's sisters are exactly the same.
TL;DR Basically, if on my mothers side, its very hard to put on any meaningful weight and weight gain is a slow process. As soon as you take your foot off the gas, weight comes off. On fathers side, its easier to gain but at the same time they can build muscle and become athletic very easily if they try and still seem to be immune from the beer and crisp gut.
There's got to be a genetic component. My cousin (mums side) eats like a horse and can eat what he wants. He's about 11 stone wringing wet and about my height.
On my mothers side of the family, we're all lanky bean poles. On my dads side, they're more stocky but none of them are blobs.
My mum hasn't done a days exercise in her life beyond walking round the shops (and of course growing up in the 60's which meant lots of outdoor time and walking everywhere)... Stick thin. Even now in her 60s with metabolisms slowing. My Dad, shorter, stockier, eats crisps and drinks beer like its going out of fashion, likes to go to the gym, probably has less body fat than I do and I don't do the crisps or the beer!
My brother takes after my dad. He doesn't exercise at all now and he's pretty sedentary and likes his sweets, though he doesn't just shovel crap into himself all the time. He seems to put on weight more easily than I do. He has put on some weight since his uni days, but had never got beyond being a bit pudgey. The moment he's taken a bit of concentration on what he eats, and picked up Yoga he's come straight back down. He's one of these people that if he went to the gym on the regular and put some effort in, he'd get massive.
I take after my mum, and throughout lockdown my main sport, swimming, basically not allowed unless you want to brave a the local canals. Also had our first born in 2020, so proper exercise really did drop off the radar for quite some time. I put on some weight, got up to about 82kg (6ft 3in) from my usual 78 kg. I will confess, with working from home a lot I was spending most days sat, motionless and I must have eaten my own weight in biscuits and sweets in that time. Having only been back swimming a few weeks, I am back down to 79 kg already. I found it incredibly difficult to actually put on weight a few years ago when I was quite heavy into weight lifting. I squeaked myself up to 80kg and just gave up because I didn't want to give up swimming to do it and I couldn't stomach the amount of calories required to keep building muscle. Within weeks of backing down, I was back down to close to my usual weight.
Contrast my wife, who does more exercise than me, eats the same stuff I do and has a baby stealing calories from her boobs every day... she yo-yo's up and down way more and often struggles to keep weight off. Her mum and all her mum's sisters are exactly the same.
TL;DR Basically, if on my mothers side, its very hard to put on any meaningful weight and weight gain is a slow process. As soon as you take your foot off the gas, weight comes off. On fathers side, its easier to gain but at the same time they can build muscle and become athletic very easily if they try and still seem to be immune from the beer and crisp gut.
There's got to be a genetic component. My cousin (mums side) eats like a horse and can eat what he wants. He's about 11 stone wringing wet and about my height.
Al Gorithum said:
P-Jay said:
I'm overweight, I think I'm actually obese by my BMI.
I make no excuses for myself, I'm over-weight because I consumed more calories than my body used for many years, be it beer or food.
I find it very hard to lose weight, that's just how my body works, to give you an example.
According to the NHS, to maintain my body weight I would need to consume around 3000 calories a day, whilst sitting on my arse watching TV at home, or banging away on the keyboard in work, but I don't.
I consume about 2000 calories a day, no weekly cheat day, no picking at the kids food, no "oh you don't count drinks", no "holiday calories don't count". I have two cheat days a year, my Birthday and Christmas. It was my Birthday yesterday, I had 2300 calories and felt pretty ill.
I'm in the Gym doing strength training Mon, Tues, Thurs. I ride my Bike Weds & Sat. Usually about 20km off-road, steep climbs etc, Weds ride is worth about 1500 cals, Sat about 2000 according to Strava so, in theory on Saturday I run about a 3000 calorie deficit.
I should, in theory being losing 2kgs+ a week, it should be falling off me. I'm doing well if I lose 0.5Kgs a week.
Despite my bulk I'm 'fit' RHR is 55ish, perfect blood pressure with a cuff, slightly raised ABPI on the right side, but better then the average man on the street at 43. I can't run for st (injuries)_but I can ride my bike for hours non-stop and aside from very steep climbs, I'm pretty quick too. I'm not hugely into heavy weights, not my thing, but I can squat 120Kgs (4 sets of 6) but don't take this as any sort of "My BMI is 34 because I look like Arnie in his prime" I'm all belly, bh tits and chins.
Some of my friends can't gain weight, eat whatever the hell they like, now what they like may be less than what I like, but they put zero effort into their diet and exercise because, well they don't have to. Some, like me, have to work at it, but mostly they have an easier time of it. A few took a good look at themselves at 40, saw the way the wind was blowing an dropped a couple of stone over a year. Me, I've been banging away at it for nearly 3 years, I'm getting there, but bloody hell it's hard work.
I occasionally get called a fat wker or something, it's an easy insult to throw I guess, it's usually from the safety of a moving car when I'm on my bike. FYI, it's not a 'motivator' for me, but if should they fall foul to an unhelpful red light, I guess it could lead to a punch on the nose, but I'm not much of a fighter.
The BMI metric is absolutely garbage because doesn't take into account muscle mass.I make no excuses for myself, I'm over-weight because I consumed more calories than my body used for many years, be it beer or food.
I find it very hard to lose weight, that's just how my body works, to give you an example.
According to the NHS, to maintain my body weight I would need to consume around 3000 calories a day, whilst sitting on my arse watching TV at home, or banging away on the keyboard in work, but I don't.
I consume about 2000 calories a day, no weekly cheat day, no picking at the kids food, no "oh you don't count drinks", no "holiday calories don't count". I have two cheat days a year, my Birthday and Christmas. It was my Birthday yesterday, I had 2300 calories and felt pretty ill.
I'm in the Gym doing strength training Mon, Tues, Thurs. I ride my Bike Weds & Sat. Usually about 20km off-road, steep climbs etc, Weds ride is worth about 1500 cals, Sat about 2000 according to Strava so, in theory on Saturday I run about a 3000 calorie deficit.
I should, in theory being losing 2kgs+ a week, it should be falling off me. I'm doing well if I lose 0.5Kgs a week.
Despite my bulk I'm 'fit' RHR is 55ish, perfect blood pressure with a cuff, slightly raised ABPI on the right side, but better then the average man on the street at 43. I can't run for s
t (injuries)_but I can ride my bike for hours non-stop and aside from very steep climbs, I'm pretty quick too. I'm not hugely into heavy weights, not my thing, but I can squat 120Kgs (4 sets of 6) but don't take this as any sort of "My BMI is 34 because I look like Arnie in his prime" I'm all belly, bh tits and chins.Some of my friends can't gain weight, eat whatever the hell they like, now what they like may be less than what I like, but they put zero effort into their diet and exercise because, well they don't have to. Some, like me, have to work at it, but mostly they have an easier time of it. A few took a good look at themselves at 40, saw the way the wind was blowing an dropped a couple of stone over a year. Me, I've been banging away at it for nearly 3 years, I'm getting there, but bloody hell it's hard work.
I occasionally get called a fat w
ker or something, it's an easy insult to throw I guess, it's usually from the safety of a moving car when I'm on my bike. FYI, it's not a 'motivator' for me, but if should they fall foul to an unhelpful red light, I guess it could lead to a punch on the nose, but I'm not much of a fighter. By that measure I'm also obese despite having only 12% body fat.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
On your first comments about fast food and advertisingI think its gotten pretty disgusting in this country, especially over the lockdown. Adverts by KFC basically egging you on to stick your arse into your couch and order KFC direct to your sofa then presumably not move all night whilst you binge some brain melting crap from one of the streaming services. Deliveroo et al, all doing the same and even the Government actively promoting it; making people stay in doors, putting the kibosh on just about anything that wasn't going for a run or a walk, eat out to help out etc.
And its been very clear from the pandemic. If you are obese, you're at much higher risk of ending up in hospital and/or dying if you catch covid.
Perfect opportunity to kick the country onto a health drive. But no.
Instead we got fat arses in the media telling people they should deny people the NHS if they don't get vaccinated. Ironic because their being obese means they're far more likely to be a drain on the NHS than if they weren't. I felt quite compelled to write in and say people who are overweight should be denied the NHS by the same token. After all being overweight, like taking the vaccine, is a personal choice and both impact the health service.
But I do think both aspects are more complex than that so didn't write in. I do think there is some genetic component that makes it harder/easier with respect to weight and I do think there are valid concerns on the vaccine. I've had mine, so I am not bothered if someone else choses not to.
If person a and person b both eat the same but person b stores significantly more as fat and perhaps needs fewer calories to operate then from where I'm sitting they're at a genetic disadvantage when it comes to staying slim.
Of course all the same rules about eating less and moving more still apply but it's going to be harder for them and it's hard work anyway with the amount of advertising etc. I've heard it referred to as an obesogenic environment and that's about right really.
If it's normal to order takeaways and eat crisps and chocolate etc is it any surprise that people do so?
Of course all the same rules about eating less and moving more still apply but it's going to be harder for them and it's hard work anyway with the amount of advertising etc. I've heard it referred to as an obesogenic environment and that's about right really.
If it's normal to order takeaways and eat crisps and chocolate etc is it any surprise that people do so?
kambites said:
towser44 said:
The BMI thing is a crap measurement in my opinion. I'm similar to you, can cycle 50 miles quite easily, run 10km plus at a decent pace and generally run circles around a lot of people without killing myself, yet I'm overweight on the BMI scale as well.
The counter argument is that anyone with that degree of fitness is likely to know that the BMI scale isn't really suitable for them and hence that they can ignore it. For those who don't know enough about fitness and health to understand that BMI has its limits, it's probably quite accurate.Of course it also has to be mentioned that it's perfectly possible to be both fit (in the muscular and cardiovascular sense) and be carrying unhealthy amounts of body-fat.
AS for not fat shaming....f it we should we shame smokers an heavy drinkers so why not if you are too lazy to burn it off an want to ppile it on then expect NHS to pick up the peace's F you
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Well, it's easy to find less calorie dense foods and less carbohydrate laden foods, so what isn't easy? Your resolve? Yes it can be tough - and painful - to deliberately restrict your diet, especially if you're a food lover. So we're back to willpower and wanting not to be fat. Can you go swimming?It seems v plausible that there is a genetic element to obesity. In which case there is a spectrum - at one end of which some people are naturally too thin and struggle to gain weight, while at the other they are too fat and struggle to lose it.
So there probably are a few people at the extreme 'fat' end of the spectrum for whom obesity could just about be classified as a disease. But for the vast majority it's just about eating less and moving more. Some will find that easier than others, and be more or less motivated to try.
Many fat people sleep walk into obesity and then it is a major undertaking to lose the excess weight. Perhaps it seems mpossible.
I am at the fat end of normal on my proposed genetic spectrum. I have friends who are skinny yet eat more and move less than I do. But you can only play the hand you are dealt - I will never be a racing snake but am thinner and fitter at 50 plus than I was at 30. Less booze, healthy diet, more exercise. Helps mental health too.
So there probably are a few people at the extreme 'fat' end of the spectrum for whom obesity could just about be classified as a disease. But for the vast majority it's just about eating less and moving more. Some will find that easier than others, and be more or less motivated to try.
Many fat people sleep walk into obesity and then it is a major undertaking to lose the excess weight. Perhaps it seems mpossible.
I am at the fat end of normal on my proposed genetic spectrum. I have friends who are skinny yet eat more and move less than I do. But you can only play the hand you are dealt - I will never be a racing snake but am thinner and fitter at 50 plus than I was at 30. Less booze, healthy diet, more exercise. Helps mental health too.
FNG said:
98elise said:
I disagree. Losing weight doesn't require any skill, luck or practice. You simply eat less or eat healthier meals. You don't even need to exercise.
It's literally doing less of something to achieve a better result.
And yet you say above you’ve struggled with being a fatty for decades. So surely you appreciate it’s easy to write down what you need to do, but a sIt's literally doing less of something to achieve a better result.
tload harder to do it. That’s all I’ve been saying. The principle is easy and the root causes are the polar opposite.
My wife is eating the same meals as me, plus exercise, but hasn't cut back on the snacks/alcohol. She hasn't lost a pound in the last month, I'm down a stone.
Don't get me wrong it's mentally it was difficult (initially), but it's bugger all to do with fat genes.
There was a TV programme on about a week ago, where the presenter ate junk food for 4 weeks or a month. As well as health going to st, his brain developed new connections that made it harder not to eat. I think it was self control, and pleasure or addiction parts.
But yes, eat less, lose weight.
t, his brain developed new connections that made it harder not to eat. I think it was self control, and pleasure or addiction parts.But yes, eat less, lose weight.
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