primitives discuss fat; bonfire thin on fat apologists

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5624975

Oh my.

It's an enormous bonfire, but surprisingly there's damned few fat apologists at it.

FarCenter (1000+ posts)      Sat May-09-09 05:47 PM
Original message
 
Diet, not lack of exercise, to blame for obesity 

Over-eating rather than more sedentary living is almost entirely to blame for the rise in obesity in the developed world, according to research.

A study of the US obesity “epidemic” — a precursor of world dietary trends — suggests that there has not been any significant reduction in levels of exercise in the past 30 years. It concludes that the surge in obesity is a result of excessive calories.

Researchers at the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia, said that the findings would be reflected in other industrialised countries such as Britain.

Last year the largest British study into obesity, backed by the Government and compiled by 250 experts, concluded that excess weight had become the norm. It predicted that by 2050, 90 per cent of today’s children will be overweight or obese — costing taxpayers an estimated £50 billion.

<SNIP>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/...

Taverner  (1000+ posts)         Sat May-09-09 05:49 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. Its both

Look - if you watch TV all day, and just occasionally head out for work by bus or car - then it could be lack of excersize

If you are constantly active, but still have weight you want to lose, then it could be diet

The pilgrim primitive, who's all bent out of shape because the magisterial one mistakened her gender:

HereSince1628  (1000+ posts)        Sat May-09-09 05:54 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
4. I know its incredible, but we did have television in 1979.

I must also say that back then healthcare people were already going nuts about obesity and heart disease and lack of active life-style.

cbc5g  (1000+ posts)        Sat May-09-09 05:50 PM
Response to Original message

2. Only partly right

It's the overeating of processed foods / HFCS products

The overprescription of anti-depressants

Poor exercise regime

cbc5g  (1000+ posts)        Sat May-09-09 06:07 PM
Response to Reply #5
 
9. genetics is mostly a scapegoat for poor diet and a lack of exercise. Exercising for one month and then giving up because one doesn't see immediate results is not adequate exercise. Walking on a treadmill or down the street a 3-5 times a week isn't enough. It requires strength training with weights and more intense cardio, especially if one does not want to give up their favorite foods.

LostinVA  (1000+ posts)      Sat May-09-09 06:38 PM
Response to Reply #20
 
27. Both aren't true at all

It just takes longer for obese people to get fit and very thin men and women to gain muscle. Genetics just means you'll lost the weight/gain muscle mass quicker, that's it.

I have a slow metabolism like my Dad, and it also takes me a long time to gain good muscle, so that just maans I have to work harder and eat better.

Blaming genetics is, mainly, a copout, an easy excuse. Nothing else.

Some people DO have legit medical concerns/reasons. Many don't

cbc5g  (1000+ posts)        Sat May-09-09 06:08 PM
Response to Original message
 
12. Another factor is the overprescription of anti-depressants

I've seen people that exercise more than most and still not lose fat or weight because they were on those drugs. Those drugs are meant to be on for a few months to overcome a serious issue, not many years. Sadly my mother cannot lose weight at all even though doing intense training because she is dependent on those drugs.

marshall (1000+ posts)      Sat May-09-09 06:52 PM
Response to Original message
 
31. I would like to see Congressman Nadler take on this issue

As a formerly Obese-American he can go far in explaining the pitfalls of this trend, and he can speak from experience about how to deal with it and come out successful.

I haven't seen Jerome Nadler (D-New York) for years; I thought he was still fat.

Lex  (1000+ posts)        Sat May-09-09 06:56 PM
Response to Reply #31
 
35. he had gastric bypass surgery as I recall

Oh.

Vickers  (1000+ posts)         Sat May-09-09 07:40 PM
Response to Original message
 
40. I've lost about 26 pounds over the last 4 months.

It wasn't one single thing that I did, but a "tweaking" of several things.

1. Portion control. Figure out what you want to eat (or snack), put it in a bowl, and put the package away. I try to limit between-meal snacks to 100 calories or so, and try to keep it healthy.

2. Regular meals, but spaced out (for instance, having a sandwich for a meal? Split it in half and eat one half then the other half 1.5 hours later).

3. Eating better. At least one bowl of steel-cut oats per day.

4. Drinking a LOT more water, up to about a gallon a day.

5. Walking. Started at 1.5 miles per day, up to 5.5 miles per day (or at least 4 times per week), and looking to add some other exercises.

6. Lay off the beer.

I still have about 15-20 pounds to go.

My point is, you have to look at ALL aspects of your health, tweak the ones you can, and stick with it.

RandomKoolzip (1000+ posts)        Sun May-10-09 03:37 AM
Response to Reply #47
 
62. Bullying? Shaming? Feh. Whatever.

Look, i used to be over 300 pounds, and I hated myself and my image and my inability to meet anyone of the opposite sex who wasn't appalled by my weight. I was also sick of feeling like utter shit all the time: out of breath, tired, cranky, bitter, envious of more attractive people. I finally got sick of it, and started eating better and working out. In January of 2006 I was 260 lbs.; in December of 2006, I had lost about 80 lbs. Three years later, I still work out all the time to maintain my weight (about 190 now), and i LOVE IT. There's nothin' better than getting outside on a nice spring day and running around my neighborhood for an hour, or going to the local gym and pounding weights with some Fugazi or a sweet Zappa bootleg cranking on my iPod. I live for that hour!

So, NO, I didn't win the "****ing genetic lottery," whatever the **** that means. I was a fat mother****er, and I did the hard work to become healthy. And it WAS hard work, believe me. VERY hard work. There were days when i said "**** IT!" But i refused to give up completely. Now, the hard work has become fun work, something I look forward to everyday. And it all came down to two simple rules: eat less and exercise more.

Now, i KNOW no one likes to hear that, but it's honestly the only thing that works if you want to lose weight. If there is such a thing as a "fat gene", I had it. I dieted and worked out for three months a before I began losing even the tiniest amount of weight. BUT I KEPT DOING IT UNTIL IT HAPPENED. If it takes longer for someone to lose weight because of some biological factor, then that's unfortunate, but that's how it is and you'll have to work through it like I did.

The people on this thread suggesting and promoting good health and lifestyle habits shouldn't be maligned as "bullies" (yeah, right!) just because they're giving practical advice. Nobody here wants to shame or bully anyone else - if your disproportionately defensive response is any indication, i think this thread may have hit a personal nerve. However, I doubt anyone's intention was to enter this thread to make fun of or humiliate overweight people.

And if you think that THIS post is bullying, then god help ya.

Tx4obama (263 posts)        Sun May-10-09 05:56 AM
Response to Original message
 
69. It's sitting on our arses and eating badly.... 

When I got married in 1983 I weighted 99 pounds.

I became a stay at home person and gained tons of weight - up to 175 pounds!

Got divorced and stopped eating all junk food and lost tons of weight - down to 100 pounds!

Stayed at home again and gained weight - up to 170 pounds!

Went to Italy and stopped eating junk food and BUTTER walked a lot each day and got skinny again - down to 100 pounds again!

Came back to the states and BUTTER was back in the diet - sat around on the computer a lot and got fat again.

The reason people are fat is because of BUTTER and COMPUTERS !!! That's my story and I'm stickin' to it

BlooInBloo  (1000+ posts)        Sun May-10-09 08:46 PM
Response to Original message
 
93. Bzzt! In DU-world, there's absolutely nothing that obese people can do to lose weight...

And anyone suggesting that it's remotely within obese people's ability to control, moderate, or choose what to eat and how much energy to expend are fat-haters, or something like that.

You have to learn that obesity is always a genetic condition, and that obese people are really the most powerless people on the planet.

oxygen destroyer (33 posts)      Sun May-10-09 09:48 PM
Response to Reply #93
 
96. Yes, isn't it funny how people who refuse to take control of their eating...refuse to take control of their eating?

Obamanaut  (1000+ posts)     Tue May-12-09 08:37 AM
Response to Reply #96
 
132. Yes. And it is also amazing how people will site various resources that will allow them to continue with their bad eating habits saying words to the effect that it is their "fat genes", or "ancestry", or their "set point is higher than it was", or similar.

Then they will type responses telling that diet and exercise don't work.

The sparkling husband primitive's wife puts in her two cents, but as I'm in a hurry, no time to copy her comment.

TwilightGardener  (1000+ posts)      Wed May-13-09 10:26 AM
Response to Original message
 
141. Stop eating so damn much. The heavy people I'm related to all suffer from   Hand-To-Mouth" disease. They eat, all day long, whether they're hungry or not. In fact, they really believe they ARE hungry, when they've probably never had a truly empty stomach in years--don't even know what it feels like.

All they know is, if it's 8 am, they're hungry. If it's snack time, they're hungry. If it's noon, they're hungry. If the McDonald's Drive Thru is calling, they're hungry. I mean, it's been, like--what? Three or four hours since they last ate? They're FAMISHED! Light-headed! Then they end up diabetic and have bad joints and can't move around and eat some more to make themselves feel better--vicious cycle.

I suffer from Hand-To-Mouth sometimes, too, so I know of which I speak. Only cure is to PUT DOWN THE SECOND PORK CHOP. DON'T EAT THE COOKIE. DON'T SUPERSIZE. Learn what TRUE hunger feels like, don't eat out of habit, or because the clock says it's lunch, or because it's simply there. Pick the right foods. And move your ass.

[JohnnyReb]

You have to learn that obesity is always a genetic condition, and that obese people are really the most powerless people on the planet.

Yes, it's a genetic condition caused by the combination of three genes. One gene gave you a mouth, one gene gave you an arm and Gene down at the welfare office got you on foodstamps.

[jtyangel]

I'm agreeing with DUmmies...for once

Random Kool Zip is totally spot on! I've sat on the crappiest of plateaus for about 3 months now--still working out despite being down a time or two. I mean, it's something that has to happen for life to stay at that place whether it's in the gym or running the track or doing kickboxing in the garage with the heavy bag. The benefits though really are life alternating: both the health benefits and the improvement in self-esteem not only because of the changes in how one looks, but also because of the accomplishment--the mini ones even everyday you finish that 40, 60, 90 minutes of working out. Really is a great feeling and in some ways the results are immediate if you count the accomplishment in getting through intense training for 60 minutes.

[franksolich]

You have to learn that obesity is always a genetic condition, and that obese people are really the most powerless people on the planet.

Yes, it's a genetic condition caused by the combination of three genes. One gene gave you a mouth, one gene gave you an arm and Gene down at the welfare office got you on foodstamps.

Damn, you're good again, sir.

[Wineslob]

TwilightGardener  (1000+ posts)      Wed May-13-09 10:26 AM
Response to Original message
 
141. Stop eating so damn much. The heavy people I'm related to all suffer from   Hand-To-Mouth" disease. They eat, all day long, whether they're hungry or not. In fact, they really believe they ARE hungry, when they've probably never had a truly empty stomach in years--don't even know what it feels like.

All they know is, if it's 8 am, they're hungry. If it's snack time, they're hungry. If it's noon, they're hungry. If the McDonald's Drive Thru is calling, they're hungry. I mean, it's been, like--what? Three or four hours since they last ate? They're FAMISHED! Light-headed! Then they end up diabetic and have bad joints and can't move around and eat some more to make themselves feel better--vicious cycle.

I suffer from Hand-To-Mouth sometimes, too, so I know of which I speak. Only cure is to PUT DOWN THE SECOND PORK CHOP. DON'T EAT THE COOKIE. DON'T SUPERSIZE. Learn what TRUE hunger feels like, don't eat out of habit, or because the clock says it's lunch, or because it's simply there. Pick the right foods. And move your ass.

Wow, a DUmmie that actually said something...........correct! 

[Vagabond]

I need to lose weight too, for myself.  Three years in the putting on, and my goal is to lose it 10 weeks.  I've got a bad knee from the army, and a bad ankle from being clumsy and unlucky.  I just started pulling the knee brace on and running signal hill here on Camp Liberty.  I'm right around 245 and 205 is about the right weight for someone with my height and build, I'll get there.

I also got $1 bet with my boss.  He's 50, had a double bypass surgery, and weighs a touch over 300 pounds.  I told him I could have him to 275 by the time he left for leave in a month.

It is nice to see DUmmies taking other DUmmies to task for their excuses.  I'll have to see if the GG primitive has weighed in yet.  I bet he avoids threads like this harder than he

[Vagabond]

I need to lose weight too, for myself.  Three years in the putting on, and my goal is to lose it 10 weeks.  I've got a bad knee from the army, and a bad ankle from being clumsy and unlucky.  I just started pulling the knee brace on and running signal hill here on Camp Liberty.  I'm right around 245 and 205 is about the right weight for someone with my height and build, I'll get there.

I also got $1 bet with my boss.  He's 50, had a double bypass surgery, and weighs a touch over 300 pounds.  I told him I could have him to 275 by the time he left for leave in a month.

It is nice to see DUmmies taking other DUmmies to task for their excuses.  I'll have to see if the GG primitive has weighed in yet.  I bet he avoids threads like this harder than he swerves to the buffet bar.

[franksolich]

Now, that was just funny, vagabond, sir, your second post with the addition.

[Vagabond]

Now, that was just funny, vagabond, sir, your second post with the addition.

oops, gave the edit button a complete miss on that one.   

[MrsSmith]

A couple months ago, I went to the local recreation center with several kids for a swim party.  Being the only adult, I stayed out and made sure none of our kids drowned - not fulling trusting the 16 year old lifeguard who was flirting with a girl instead of watching the water.

While there, another group of kids came in, with their parents and both sets of grandparents.  With the adults were a couple extra guys, not sure if they were friends or relatives or what.  Every single one of the adults must have topped 300, and a couple of the guys had to have been 400+.

While the kids were swimming, laughing, diving...the adults were clustered along the wall, snacking on various things from the vending machines.  (That machine looked pretty empty when we left!)

I'm willing to bet that most of those people blame genetics for their weight, and never stop to think how different their lives would be if they were swimming instead of snacking. 


That said, I do want to point out that the government changed the obesity tables several years ago.  For my height, it used to be that I'd need to weigh like 240 or something to be considered obese.  When they changed the table, it dropped to 185 or so.  Now, I have never been skinny, (I was in really good shape in college at 135), but weighing 50 pounds more by my 50's shouldn't have made my weight a health issue. In fact, that was considered pretty normal for women with multiple kids - it used to be called "matronly."  But now it's called "Obese."    

Strangely enough, there have been multiple medical studies that concluded that obesity - actual obesity, not "middle-age spread" - is HELPFUL in surprising ways.  For example, obese dialysis patients survive longer than thin patients.  Obese people are also more likely to survive a heart attack.   

[AprilRazz]

I need to lose weight too, for myself.  Three years in the putting on, and my goal is to lose it 10 weeks.  I've got a bad knee from the army, and a bad ankle from being clumsy and unlucky.  I just started pulling the knee brace on and running signal hill here on Camp Liberty.  I'm right around 245 and 205 is about the right weight for someone with my height and build, I'll get there.

I also got $1 bet with my boss.  He's 50, had a double bypass surgery, and weighs a touch over 300 pounds.  I told him I could have him to 275 by the time he left for leave in a month.

It is nice to see DUmmies taking other DUmmies to task for their excuses.  I'll have to see if the GG primitive has weighed in yet.  I bet he avoids threads like this harder than he

Do you have access to a pool? Swimming or even walking/running in the pool is low impact and a great workout.

[Karin]

Speaking of eating, Moonbattery.com today is featuring a screencap from the DU's food section.  It's entitled "Moonbat Cuisine."   Not very appetizing. 

[Vagabond]

Do you have access to a pool? Swimming or even walking/running in the pool is low impact and a great workout.

I've done the pool thing during the time I was rehabbing my knee.  It's effective and actually pretty hard.  I'm a true waterbug though, if I got a pool I will swim laps.

I'm not sure if the BIAP complex has a large pool except at the Ba'ath party house, and that one has never had any water in it.  The other problem would be proper attire.  They seem to frown on skinny dipping around here.

[AprilRazz]

I've done the pool thing during the time I was rehabbing my knee.  It's effective and actually pretty hard.  I'm a true waterbug though, if I got a pool I will swim laps.

I'm not sure if the BIAP complex has a large pool except at the Ba'ath party house, and that one has never had any water in it.  The other problem would be proper attire.  They seem to frown on skinny dipping around here.

I have bad knees as well due to military service. The thing that is saving my butt right now is the elliptical machine. No pounding there and the daily mobic helps.

Either that or tell them to fill that thing up. It's hot over there! :D

[Vagabond]

I have bad knees as well due to military service. The thing that is saving my butt right now is the elliptical machine. No pounding there and the daily mobic helps.

Either that or tell them to fill that thing up. It's hot over there! :D

Ellipticals are lifesavers. 

I don't think they'll fill that pool up.  That building took hits froma couple of tomahawks and a J-DAM.  The pool itself is historically significant, it was one of the places where Saddam Hussein administered governance to the Iraqi people.  I'm told the stains remain.  I get a chance to go on the palace tour and see for myself on Sunday.

[delilahmused]

I can't believe they're actually advocating personal responsibility over there. No way that's a democratic ideal.

Cindie

[Texacon]

Those who are crying 'GENETICS' ..... those make me wonder just how many people are turned down by 'Biggest Loser' because they are genetically predisposed to being fat.

 

KC