I'd love to get this conversation started back up it was really interesting hearing everyones view. I still believe its part disease, but also you can do something about it. I was 220 when this year started and now I'm down to a very healthy 184. Its hard not to eat everything I want but with will power you find a way.
Somehow I missed this thread. I don't necessarily think it's a disease, but people do need support sometimes. I believe if you want to change your appearance, and surround yourself with the right materials and people, that it can be done. It's hard though, you have to really want to do it, and that level of 'hitting bottom' to want to change is different for everybody. Yeah, it sucks that some people can eat a double whopper and fries and not gain a pound. When people like that tell you how to watch your weight and 'it's your own fault' it's frustrating. Most that do are pointing fingers at a situation they know nothing about. Dieting doesn't work, changing your eating & exercise habits permanently is what works, IMO. The key word being permanent I'm about 5'7" and was 150 lbs till I hit 23 yrs, then I started partying all the time and ballooned up to 225 lbs by 29 yrs. Over 6 months I lost 75 lbs by eating less and exercising regularly, and stayed that way for about 3 years. Then for reasons I posted in the outreach forum a while back, I said '**** it' and put all the weight back on. Having a healthy body requires a healthy mind. And having people around you that want to help you succeed is a big part of that. Sometimes having friends that keep you motivated or can work out with you, or change their eating habits with you can really help. If everybody could do it by themselves without any help or motivation, there would be no weight loss programs, exercise classes, or gyms for that matter. I'm in pretty much the same boat as Big E right now, just gotta get that motivation back. But good luck man, losing weight can be a tough thing, tougher for some than others. It's a very commendable thing and I wish you the best at it.
Willpower is the key word, people. Get your mind right first and you'll have a much easier time with the body.
I completely agree with slickj101 above. I'm a tall (about 6'0" - 6'1") and skinny person (140 pounds) but my friend, who is a year younger than me, was at one point 230 pounds. He went to the doctors and they basically told him, keep the weight up and you'll pass away at a very young age. He changed his eating habits and he started exercising. He didn't eat late at night, stopped the fast food and junk food, ate mostly salad. I know its a pain in the *** to eat salad non-stop but he did so because he knew it was better for him. He also played quite a bit of basketball; I don't think one has to play a sport but at least do something active such as running. He did both of those, running a couple miles in the mornings and then hit the gym's treadmill during the afternoon. In about five month or so, he was around 170 pounds and now he's packing on muscle with the p90x system or something like that.
Well will power isn't exactly my problem as I can avoid things if I try (as far as eating goes), my bigger problem is motivation. Like I used to play basketball for hours at a time a couple days a week in college (plus ultimate frisbee and flag football on occasion), but now all I can really seem to do is walk/run (which I don't care for by itself). So I will go jogging a few days a week for a couple weeks, but then I get bored with it and quit for a while. I'm not obese (except according to the BMI) IMO, but I consider myself fat and definitely overweight. I know if I stuck with the walking/running I'd be fine and healthier. It's just tough for me to do, because I don't have the mindset for it.
OK well here's how I stand at it. I have gained almost all the weight I had lost and worked so hard to take off, I haven't been to the gym in like a month, I eat like a f-ing preggo cow, and I am clinically depressed and my private life has gone to crap...I think there's a major connection. I could go to the gym, but lately I have been having a hard time really giving a **** honestly.
If you want something bad enough, then that should be the motivation to do it. Willpower is having the consistency to keep doing what your doing and stay motivated even when you don't feel like it. We can debate terms all day but it's really the same idea.
I think there's a big connection between mind and body. When one is ****ed up, the other one usually follows and vice versa. I guess the question you have to ask yourself is what do you wana do?
that'll happen man, but hate to break it to you plenty of bad things are going to happen to you in your life. If you fall apart every time it happens you aren't going to have much of a life. Go to a shrink, talk to someone, learn to deal with it emotionally. You need to get emotionally healthy and at the same time get physically healthy.
Well so you've gained ALMOST all the weight back, but you can still stop it before you gain it ALL back. We all want to see you succeed man.
My older brother eats all the food in the house and doesn't work out or anything. He's about 6'0 290 pounds. My parents, little brother, and I try to help him. He'll eat 2 boxes of cereal at a time and he's eaten an entire box of 40 popsicles in one sitting. I get pissed off that he eats all the food because if I don't eat a ton myself I'll lose weight pretty fast and I'm not home all the time so I only have so many hours of the day I can eat unlike him. But I also feel bad for the guy because he's easily gained 100 pounds since high school. Really weird thing he gets mad because I get mad that he eats all the food (that and I actually supply the house with food fairly regularly while he doesn't have a job and doesn't contribute ****) and he spites me by eating EVEN more food (and jacking a full bottle of Jager I had in the freezer that i got as a present for my birthday a couple months ago) I think he has a disease. It has to be noone could really be wanting to do that to themselves. I mean god damn 2000 calorie snack = short life
Not my place to say obviously, but I think you guys really need to do SOMETHING to help him before you lose a family member....
Probably eating to comfort himself about another area of his life he doesn't like IMO. But yea, I would definitely tell your parents that all you guys need to do something ASAP before it gets any worse.
Depends on the person, and genes, IMO. Its definetly not a disease, but it can be a mindset. Like Eric said, it reflects on whats going on inside. Some people cut themselves, some people eat, its a way to run away, to hide so to speak. But its definitely controllable. And again, comes back to mindset, and power of will. Stoping to eat is not an answer. If your diet consists of barely eating, it won't get you far. Your body will go in to starvation mode, and will burn less calories, and store them as fat, because its in the starvation mode. Eating right, is the key. Im trying to tone up a bit. I took a pictures of myself in july, and looked at one that was taken exactly 2 years ago. I gained about 15 pounds. I was trying to gain weight for fooball...but at what cost. In my old pic I have abs, im toned. Im by no means a guy who looks at himself at the mirror, flexes or walks around without his tshirt, but I knew I had a good body. Now, its fat. Im not fat by "standard" i just got few extra rolls goin. I guess i would qualify under "average" And for some, that might not be an issue. For me it is. I signed up to a gym, been going 4-6 times a week for a month now. My goal isn't to lose weight, its to lose fat. I cut maybe 7 pounds, but I look better than I did a month ago already. This might not be irrelevant, but i felt like sharing, and this is the perfect thread. Mindset, thats the key. You wont lose 30 pounds in a month. Its not gonna happen. And if you will, by starving yourself, it will come right back. Eat healthy. I loved Mcds. I would eat 4-5 times a week. I haven't been to Mcds since mid june (well, ive had the coffee :P) I eat salads with my meals, I barely drink soda, and I was a soda addict. I would drink ALOT of soda. Now, maybe 2-3 times a week...and im trying to cut that down to nill. Take the small steps. If you go to Mcds 3-5 times a week, try to cut it down to 1-3 times a week. Instead of getting that snack for lunch, eat a salad. Small things like that will get you where you need to be. Don't expect immediate results. Give yourself at least 6 months to a year for anything to show up. And stay positive, no matter what you do in life, gotta stay positive.
For bigger people, it's not the initial month or so when the results are still very drastic. It's the next few months when changes don't come as quickly that are the tough ones. It's the same for people who weight train and try to gain muscle/strength. Just have to have the mindset to keep going and know that the hardwork will be worth it.
I agree with slick. Getting your mind set is the key to anything your trying to accomplish. Whether it be weight, stop smoking or what ever. IMO, if you get the mind set, then hopefully you can get motivated and have the strength to do what you have to do. With out the mind set, it seems you fight a losing battle.
I agree. Last night some of the people at church were fussing about my smoking. Well, they were all sitting there scarfing down hot dogs, chips, sodas, cakes and other desserts. So I asked them what the difference, health wise is. Also, I felt that always serving this kind of junk is teaching our kids wrong eating habits. I smoke away from the kids and the others, but they gorge out on all kinds of junk. To their credit, they hushed. I know it's not good to smoke, but there are more obese people in my church than smokers and a big majority of them have bad health issues. My minister never fusses at me for smoking, because he agrees with me on the over eating.
I agree with this 100%. No matter what you are doing to your body, if its negative it is going to hurt you just as much as anything else. I think people focus on obesity more because we're living in a world where how you look means a lot these days.
I know and it's terrible. All the talk about being thin, the commercials, the perfect looking actors etc. is a terrible message for kids. I would never walk up and tell anyone their fat. But, because I smoke, I get fussed at etc. alot. I think it is totally rude. I'm an adult, I know the reasons not to smoke, just as well as, they should know the risks on obesity. My sister is obese and confined to a wheel chair. I worry constantly about her, but never would I tell her she''s dumb for being fat. The one person who acts like a total idiot about smoking is a woman who is as round as she is tall. Now, her I may end of being rude to. Sorry, I'm ranting, but it just got me last night, worse than other times.
I think the difference between the two is that most people who smoke don't take offense to being called a "smoker" but a lot of people who are overweight take offense to be called "fat".
True, I don't mind being called a smoker. It's when they treat us like lepers that makes me angry. I don't mind staying away from non-smokers or anyone that it truly bothers, but for some one to come up to me and start in is an infringement on my right to smoke. I've also see obese people laughed at, teased and talked about where they can hear. IMO, that is just plain hateful and mean. I don't get where people think they have the right to down grade and bash others when I'm sure most have a lot of junk in their own back yards. Man, can you tell this is Monday.
Right. I'm not talking about making fun of or any of that other stuff, just the label. Most obese people that I've come across get extremely offended if someone calls them fat, which makes no sense.
How does it make no sense? Its no different from any other slander used against people. You call a black man the N word he gets offended, you call a woman a B, some or them like it, most get offended, obese people are the same way. Especially since most dont need to be reminded of it anyways....
Bc the N word is the most derrogatory thing you could call a black person. It's meaning is derrogative. Fat is the actual content, and not a derrogative word IMO. Now if you called a fat person a slob or lardass, etc. then I could def see why they'd be offended. When I made that original post I wasn't talking about yelling fat at some random stranger either, I just meant as in a general conversation.
Well, in this day age, with everyone being so PC it is better to use alternative words when describing someone who is 'fat'. Heavyset, for one, is more widely accepted in polite company.
There is no nice way to tell someone they are fat. I dont see how anyone can view it as anything but slander, IMO.
Well, I'm obviously not the most PC person. I think if society was less concerned about being PC, we might actually get rid of a few issues. It's not a nice thing but it is what it is. I'd rather not blow smoke up someone's *** and just try to be nice. Of course I don't go around just telling people their fat and trying to hurt feelings either.
