Author Topic: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"  (Read 54575 times)

Gerard

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #150 on: November 02, 2014, 06:47:03 AM »
I like that the MMM forums give me so many chances to re-examine (improve?) my attitudes and approaches to things. From this thread:
1. The simple-mindedness of the "I did it, so anybody can" argument is more obvious when people other than me say it. I grew up in poverty, in a family where nobody had gone beyond high school. Now I have a PhD and a high-paying job. I'm often tempted to think people who don't make that jump are lazy or stupid. Then I remind myself that I grew up with hard-working organic-gardening highly-literate parents in the socialist paradise of Quebec, where my poverty included free healthcare, free good centrally-administered public schools, and free or cheap post-secondary. From birth to BA in hand, my total costs for health care and education were $1590. Many people have far harder roads. So I'll seek out opportunities to shut up about how smart and hard-working I am.
2. I often have trouble putting myself in other people's shoes. I'm extremely grateful when someone spends time to write a thoughtful explanation of their situation. I need to remember to not pay them back by dismissing their experience because it's not mine, or because I like winning arguments.
3. Circle of control, obviously. Other people's weight is outside it. I don't get thinner or healthier by insulting them. This last one is hypocritical, though, because we come to the wall of shame and comedy specifically to insult *somebody*.

Public Hermit

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #151 on: November 02, 2014, 08:21:20 AM »
People can make all the excuses they want for being overweight. Physiology is only a small part of it. What percentage of people were overweight/obese 40 years ago as opposed to today? Do genetics change that much in 40 years where 70% of the AMERICAN population suddenly has the "fat, malfunctioning thyroid gene"? I think not. I'm not "fat shaming" anybody. I just think it is selfish and unfair for the fit/healthy people to have to pay higher medical premiums as a result of all the health issues from the 70%(which, in most cases, is preventable).

I dropped 50 pounds about two years ago. Do I still eat junk food? Yes. Do I still drink alcohol? Yes. What's different? I started exercising, cut out the soda and cut back on the alcohol and junk food. Everything in moderation.
So you are allowed to eat junk food and drink alcohol ("in moderation"), which may do things to your health as you grow older, but just because I am overweight, I am increasing your premiums. Fyi, i have no heath issues at all, whatsoever. Barely see a doctor. Your premiums are not due to my weight, thats for sure. So lets take that out of the discussion.

That may change in 10 years. And alcohol consumption in moderation has been known to produce health benefits over the long term.

Public Hermit

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #152 on: November 02, 2014, 08:27:46 AM »
People can make all the excuses they want for being overweight. Physiology is only a small part of it. What percentage of people were overweight/obese 40 years ago as opposed to today? Do genetics change that much in 40 years where 70% of the AMERICAN population suddenly has the "fat, malfunctioning thyroid gene"? I think not. I'm not "fat shaming" anybody. I just think it is selfish and unfair for the fit/healthy people to have to pay higher medical premiums as a result of all the health issues from the 70%(which, in most cases, is preventable).

I dropped 50 pounds about two years ago. Do I still eat junk food? Yes. Do I still drink alcohol? Yes. What's different? I started exercising, cut out the soda and cut back on the alcohol and junk food. Everything in moderation.
My grandma was, so was my dad, and still is, age 77, btw, on no prescription drugs at all. its your anecdotal evidence against mine.  Absolutely, eating junk and not exercising will make almost anyone fat. Bit it will make some people obese, some only modestly overweight. Some of us have to make a job of staying on top of our weight. That is the problem.  Life gets in the way. I am not obese, but that is because I have spent half of my waking hours working out, preparing food, reading up on nutrition and fitness. What a drain on time.

Most common excuse I hear. Life is almost always in the way. I work 65 hours a week and I still find the time to exercise and eat properly. Time devoted to fitness/nutrition is an investment against a future of crushing medical bills and doctor visits. It is inevitable that your poor health will also "get in the way" if you're not willing to put forth the effort.


mm1970

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #153 on: November 02, 2014, 08:50:19 AM »
People can make all the excuses they want for being overweight. Physiology is only a small part of it. What percentage of people were overweight/obese 40 years ago as opposed to today? Do genetics change that much in 40 years where 70% of the AMERICAN population suddenly has the "fat, malfunctioning thyroid gene"? I think not. I'm not "fat shaming" anybody. I just think it is selfish and unfair for the fit/healthy people to have to pay higher medical premiums as a result of all the health issues from the 70%(which, in most cases, is preventable).

I dropped 50 pounds about two years ago. Do I still eat junk food? Yes. Do I still drink alcohol? Yes. What's different? I started exercising, cut out the soda and cut back on the alcohol and junk food. Everything in moderation.
My grandma was, so was my dad, and still is, age 77, btw, on no prescription drugs at all. its your anecdotal evidence against mine.  Absolutely, eating junk and not exercising will make almost anyone fat. Bit it will make some people obese, some only modestly overweight. Some of us have to make a job of staying on top of our weight. That is the problem.  Life gets in the way. I am not obese, but that is because I have spent half of my waking hours working out, preparing food, reading up on nutrition and fitness. What a drain on time.

Most common excuse I hear. Life is almost always in the way. I work 65 hours a week and I still find the time to exercise and eat properly. Time devoted to fitness/nutrition is an investment against a future of crushing medical bills and doctor visits. It is inevitable that your poor health will also "get in the way" if you're not willing to put forth the effort.
"Time devoted to fitness/nutrition" does not guarantee you won't be overweight.

You can put in the time, and the effort, and still be fat.  I hate the assumption that you can tell, just by looking at someone, whether or not they put in the time.

Just because you can do it, everyone can?  Even when I was working 50-60 hours a week - it was a LOT easier to spend my spare time cooking, eating healthfully, and working out, because I didn't have kids.  I could go lift with my husband, run on my lunch break, shop for and cook healthy exciting meals.  I didn't spend every spare waking minute coloring, changing diapers, feeding small children, doing 3rd grade homework.  My "free time" to work out is an occasional walk to the park with the kids to play.  Sometimes a workout DVD in the morning, but only before they wake up.  (Which was at 4:57 am today).

I still exercise many hours a week - I squeeze it in.  But it's a LOT harder with small children than people without children realize.

Bob W

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #154 on: November 03, 2014, 11:54:39 AM »
Weird.  I live outside any fire protection district, which probably makes my insurance premiums higher than Bob's.  But I don't pay any property (or other) tax for a fire department.  I guess the nearest department would come fight the fire and bill my insurance company, but since my house is made of cedar I assume they will not be successful at saving the house.

Most of my property tax goes to pay for schools, even though I don't have any kids.  Oh well, I don't feel like moving to Somalia.

You might want to check those insurance premiums.  When we insured our house my regular agent and several other quotes where in the $225 a month range.   I was eventually able to find one for $75 with a county mutual company.  (wasn't even my county)


waltworks

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #155 on: November 03, 2014, 12:49:10 PM »
As a former personal trainer and professional athlete, let me briefly throw my hat in the ring here and hopefully I won't upset anyone.

I trained a lot of overweight people, as well as some people who weren't overweight and had some specific fitness (or "beach body") goals. All types. Mostly guys but some women as well, and mostly <30 (college and graduate students - this was at a university).

The folks who were aiming for weight loss inevitably failed. Progress is horribly slow, there are lots of unexpected/expected (holidays?) reversals, and let's be honest - none of my overweight clients were going to be heading out to modeling careers once they lost a few pounds. So the goals were simultaneously overambitious ("lose 75 pounds!") and abstract (probably dying at 90 instead of 75 isn't a bit motivator for college students).

On the other hand, I had some overweight (and normal weight) folks who weren't there for weight loss specifically. Typically they had discovered some activity they loved (powerlifting, tennis, cycling, you name it) and wanted to cross train/prevent injury/rehab from some mishap. They were motivated by *making their bodies do something cool*, whether that was a triple-digit bench press for the first time ever, or being able to do 2 consecutive pullups, or run a 7:00 mile, or whatever.

The folks who could focus on performance goals almost all lost weight. Some of them lost a lot. Some of them are probably unrecognizable today (sadly I didn't stay in touch with most of my clients after moving to another state). And it's because they had goals that were attainable and fun to try to reach, and which rewarded giving it everything they had every time they hit the weight room or the track or the erg. They could feel and see the improvements in their bodies every time they got out of bed, or picked up a sack of groceries, or walked up a big hill on campus with a date.

So my advice is this: find something you love that uses your body. It doesn't have to be running ultramarathons or swimming thousands of boring laps in a pool. Play basketball and realize you need to work on your vert. Get your bike out of storage and sign up for a century charity ride with friends. Enter a bench press competition at the gym and make a plan to be ready to give it your best on the day of the comp. Try to set a new record for your walk/jog/run to work every week. ANYTHING. Then try to kick ass at it. If it's not fun enough, try something else. If you have friends who are into a sport that seems interesting, ask to tag along, even if you feel ridiculous. You just might love it. And once you love to use your body - the rest is easy.

-W

golden1

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #156 on: November 03, 2014, 12:58:45 PM »
Quote
I like that the MMM forums give me so many chances to re-examine (improve?) my attitudes and approaches to things. From this thread:
1. The simple-mindedness of the "I did it, so anybody can" argument is more obvious when people other than me say it. I grew up in poverty, in a family where nobody had gone beyond high school. Now I have a PhD and a high-paying job. I'm often tempted to think people who don't make that jump are lazy or stupid. Then I remind myself that I grew up with hard-working organic-gardening highly-literate parents in the socialist paradise of Quebec, where my poverty included free healthcare, free good centrally-administered public schools, and free or cheap post-secondary. From birth to BA in hand, my total costs for health care and education were $1590. Many people have far harder roads. So I'll seek out opportunities to shut up about how smart and hard-working I am.
2. I often have trouble putting myself in other people's shoes. I'm extremely grateful when someone spends time to write a thoughtful explanation of their situation. I need to remember to not pay them back by dismissing their experience because it's not mine, or because I like winning arguments.
3. Circle of control, obviously. Other people's weight is outside it. I don't get thinner or healthier by insulting them. This last one is hypocritical, though, because we come to the wall of shame and comedy specifically to insult *somebody*.

Love this attitude!

I agree with Waltworks too.  I am trying to concentrate on improving my running, because it keeps me fit without obsessing about weight.  Everytime I concentrate on hitting a certain goal weight, I just start getting negative.  That is part of the reason on why I am concentrating on how a certain food makes me "feel" heathwise.  If I eat like shit, I feel like shit and I can't run effectively.  It is amazing what a mental shift will do for you. 

winterbike

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #157 on: November 03, 2014, 05:59:58 PM »
All the calorie counters need to watch this: 6 reasons why calorie counting is crazy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WLmcB7Ea3c

Sure, calories matter, but the way to lose weight is to not focus on them, and focus on food quality instead. Your hunger signals will go back to normal (and the cravings will go away) and you'll naturally eat less.

Public Hermit

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #158 on: November 04, 2014, 01:27:34 PM »
People can make all the excuses they want for being overweight. Physiology is only a small part of it. What percentage of people were overweight/obese 40 years ago as opposed to today? Do genetics change that much in 40 years where 70% of the AMERICAN population suddenly has the "fat, malfunctioning thyroid gene"? I think not. I'm not "fat shaming" anybody. I just think it is selfish and unfair for the fit/healthy people to have to pay higher medical premiums as a result of all the health issues from the 70%(which, in most cases, is preventable).

I dropped 50 pounds about two years ago. Do I still eat junk food? Yes. Do I still drink alcohol? Yes. What's different? I started exercising, cut out the soda and cut back on the alcohol and junk food. Everything in moderation.
My grandma was, so was my dad, and still is, age 77, btw, on no prescription drugs at all. its your anecdotal evidence against mine.  Absolutely, eating junk and not exercising will make almost anyone fat. Bit it will make some people obese, some only modestly overweight. Some of us have to make a job of staying on top of our weight. That is the problem.  Life gets in the way. I am not obese, but that is because I have spent half of my waking hours working out, preparing food, reading up on nutrition and fitness. What a drain on time.

Most common excuse I hear. Life is almost always in the way. I work 65 hours a week and I still find the time to exercise and eat properly. Time devoted to fitness/nutrition is an investment against a future of crushing medical bills and doctor visits. It is inevitable that your poor health will also "get in the way" if you're not willing to put forth the effort.
"Time devoted to fitness/nutrition" does not guarantee you won't be overweight.

You can put in the time, and the effort, and still be fat.  I hate the assumption that you can tell, just by looking at someone, whether or not they put in the time.

Just because you can do it, everyone can?  Even when I was working 50-60 hours a week - it was a LOT easier to spend my spare time cooking, eating healthfully, and working out, because I didn't have kids.  I could go lift with my husband, run on my lunch break, shop for and cook healthy exciting meals.  I didn't spend every spare waking minute coloring, changing diapers, feeding small children, doing 3rd grade homework.  My "free time" to work out is an occasional walk to the park with the kids to play.  Sometimes a workout DVD in the morning, but only before they wake up.  (Which was at 4:57 am today).

I still exercise many hours a week - I squeeze it in.  But it's a LOT harder with small children than people without children realize.

Sounds like more excuses to me. I can't count how many times I've heard the "I've got kids" excuse.

NumberJohnny5

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #159 on: November 04, 2014, 02:18:21 PM »
There are some parallels in getting physically fit and financially fit, but we have to realize there are some fundamental differences.

I can have a "no spend" November (or any month of your choosing). Let's say I'm allowed to continue paying rent/mortgage, basic utilities, and basic food (we're focusing purely on finances at the moment). How deprived am I going to be?

If I had a smart phone last month, I still have it this month. I can still play Angry Birds just as well as before (oh, and receive calls, I guess).

I still have my entertainment system, so I can watch free OTA TV, and watch a backlog of DVDs I may have (and if I have none, go to the library and check some out for free).

Project Gutenberg can fill up my Kindle, plus any newer stuff I can check out from the library.

My shoes are still in great shape, so my feet will be comfortable.

I can go about a month before I need to fill up the car's gas tank, so I'm set there.

Now, try to have a no-eat November. I challenge all of you. It's just a matter of willpower, isn't it? Yes yes, we actually spent some money in no-spend November above...you can have a (small) plate of rice and beans for lunch every Friday. And all the water you can drink. Even if you survive no-eat November...I can almost guarantee it's going to be a LOT harder, and a lot less comfortable, than the no-spend version.

So, let's not take it to extremes. Let's just talk about the average person, wanting to improve both his (or her) financial and physical fitness.

Let's cut cable and replace it with Netflix, a savings of $50-$100/mo. We've gone from having an almost limitless amount of entertainment at our fingertips, to having an almost limitless amount of entertainment at our fingertips (minus obvious commercials). Food wise, let's cut out donuts and replace them with rice cakes, a savings of 300 calories a day. We've gone from super yummy delicious food, to a cardboard analog.

Next, let's cut out Starbucks coffee purchased from Starbucks and replace it with Starbucks coffee from the grocery store, a savings of $100/mo (I have no idea, I'm making numbers up now). We've gone from having to find a place to park, go in the Starbucks, wait in line, then wait for it to be made, to...um...ok, no real sacrifice here. Food wise, we'll cut out all cookies and replace them with sugar free gum. We've gone from chocolate chip goodness to minty fresh breath.

Point is, most of us can drastically reduce our spending and still have a very full, luxurious life. Most of us cannot drastically reduce our eating and notice little/no change.

Living a Mustachian life can mean "Hrm, I have a super capable smartphone that does everything I want/need; I'll just keep using it every day and will think about upgrading in another couple years." Living a healthy live generally does NOT mean "Hrm, these plain chocolate chip cookies taste fine; I'll just keep eating them every day and will think about adding sugar glaze and sprinkles in another couple years."

Just as we can't look at a person and immediately know their financial health, neither can we know their physical health. Personally, I'm a bit overweight. I drink too many sodas and eat too many sweets (and non-sweets too). I rarely drink alcohol (occasional mixed drink is ok, never had a sip of beer), I don't smoke, I don't do drugs. Am I less healthy than the skinny person who smokes five packs a day and drinks like a fish? Probably not, but at a quick glance you'd give a thumbs up to the 30yr old chain-smoker, and mutter something about willpower to me.

MrsK

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #160 on: November 04, 2014, 03:10:34 PM »
As a French women, living now in America, I am fascinated by this thread.  I love the saying "Live below your means and within your seams." I think the MMM movement is about both.  I also think my lovely, wonderful, American friends, that so many of you have too much guilt and shame issues about food.  Interestingly, both those claiming to have trouble losing weight and the super-fit people giving them advice here--you all seem to make food the enemy, something to be controlled and have rigid rules around.  Calories to count, fitness plans . . . this all seems to take the joy out of the 3 times a day you get to sit, relax and savor your meal.

For me, the goal is not to be thin or even particularly healthy, but to enjoy.  If you are on a budget and are biking or walking to do your errands and you take time to cook and you look at meal time as sacred, then you should be able to both live below your means and within your seams.  And don't forget the wine!


Cpa Cat

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #161 on: November 04, 2014, 03:30:47 PM »
Now, try to have a no-eat November. I challenge all of you. It's just a matter of willpower, isn't it? Yes yes, we actually spent some money in no-spend November above...you can have a (small) plate of rice and beans for lunch every Friday. And all the water you can drink. Even if you survive no-eat November...I can almost guarantee it's going to be a LOT harder, and a lot less comfortable, than the no-spend version.

I don't mean to nitpick, but wouldn't a fairer comparison be "No snack November" or "Eat only from your Pantry/Freezer November"? In No spend November, you were allowed to cover the basics, after all.

I've tried a no snack month. It's hard. Probably as hard as going cold turkey on your spending. It's mostly hard because if you're used to snacking, you don't really think about making sure your breakfast/lunch/dinner is healthy, enjoyable, and keeps you un-starving. It works better if you're allowed snacks, but only specific ones (celery, an apple, etc) and you simply don't buy anything else.

But cutting out the snacks one by one? That's a lot easier. There's a hurdle point where you really want that donut or that soda - but go a month without one, and you're pretty much done with it.

You make it sound like giving up Starbucks is easy - but it really isn't any easier than giving up donuts or cookies. You're hooked on the caffeine and the ritual (same with being hooked on the sugar and the ritual/comfort). Same with smoking. If someone was making excuses about quitting smoking, we would just Face Punch them, no question. There's no sympathy about smoking. But it's not as if quitting smoking is easy. If someone was making excuses about being an alcoholic, we wouldn't say, "Oh, it's ok - you have kids, so it's hard not be drunk all the time." And yet you can actually die from alcohol withdrawal. No one dies from sugar withdrawal.

Point being - it's hard to give up junk food. But no harder than anything else people give up.

NumberJohnny5

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #162 on: November 04, 2014, 05:11:53 PM »
You make it sound like giving up Starbucks is easy

Actually, I said giving up on buying Starbucks coffee at Starbucks, and buying Starbucks coffee at the grocery store, was easy.

And yet you can actually die from alcohol withdrawal. No one dies from sugar withdrawal.

People die from going on diets. I don't know percentages, I'll readily believe more people die from alcohol withdrawal than from cookie withdrawal.

Point being - it's hard to give up junk food. But no harder than anything else people give up.

That's my point...junk food (and other things like smoking, drinking, doing drugs) can be harder to give up than other things.

I can decide to not spend a single cent today, and my life today will look much as it did yesterday. I have food, I have shelter, I have entertainment, etc. If I give up sweets today, my life will be a bit different than it was yesterday.

You can have a nice house, nice phone, nice car, nice etc. etc., and be frugal. Just don't buy a new car every 3-5 years, don't upgrade your phone every 6-12 months, etc. Using the same type of smartphone now that you used way back in 2013 is not a huge sacrifice. It's really not a sacrifice at all. Same with driving a nice, comfortable, reliable car. Toyota made nice cars back in 2008, nice smooth ride, fairly safe, a/c and heat, etc. You don't have to buy a 2015 car to get all that.

But if we use the same analogy for food, that'd be like saying "Hey, I'm doing good for still eating the same kind of oreos I did last year. Maybe in a few years I can upgrade to the double-stuffed chocolate-coated ones. And yeah, the pancakes with loads of butter and syrup are still mighty tasty; I think I'll wait another year before upgrading to the chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and chocolate syrup."

A whole lot of MMM (perhaps even a majority) is simply optimizing. Why pay $100/mo for lots of TV when you can pay under $10? Why pay $100/mo for a mobile phone plan with data when you can pay $15? Why pay $500/mo for a car payment when the "old" one works perfectly fine? It's hard to "optimize" the sugar out of your diet without noticing.

BTW, I'm not saying it's impossible. Not even saying it's not simple. Rather, that it may not be that easy.

BTW #2, the simplest analogy I could come up with that'd equate eating less sugar to the MMM philosophy, would be to replace sugar with artificial sweeteners. That fails for a number of reasons though.

justajane

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #163 on: November 04, 2014, 08:16:30 PM »
As a French women, living now in America, I am fascinated by this thread.  I love the saying "Live below your means and within your seams." I think the MMM movement is about both.  I also think my lovely, wonderful, American friends, that so many of you have too much guilt and shame issues about food.  Interestingly, both those claiming to have trouble losing weight and the super-fit people giving them advice here--you all seem to make food the enemy, something to be controlled and have rigid rules around.  Calories to count, fitness plans . . . this all seems to take the joy out of the 3 times a day you get to sit, relax and savor your meal.

For me, the goal is not to be thin or even particularly healthy, but to enjoy.  If you are on a budget and are biking or walking to do your errands and you take time to cook and you look at meal time as sacred, then you should be able to both live below your means and within your seams.  And don't forget the wine!

This is a great outside perspective. Thanks! I appreciate hearing from someone from the outside looking in. Your point about food being the enemy and the joylessness of food is spot on. 

mm1970

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #164 on: November 04, 2014, 10:15:37 PM »
People can make all the excuses they want for being overweight. Physiology is only a small part of it. What percentage of people were overweight/obese 40 years ago as opposed to today? Do genetics change that much in 40 years where 70% of the AMERICAN population suddenly has the "fat, malfunctioning thyroid gene"? I think not. I'm not "fat shaming" anybody. I just think it is selfish and unfair for the fit/healthy people to have to pay higher medical premiums as a result of all the health issues from the 70%(which, in most cases, is preventable).

I dropped 50 pounds about two years ago. Do I still eat junk food? Yes. Do I still drink alcohol? Yes. What's different? I started exercising, cut out the soda and cut back on the alcohol and junk food. Everything in moderation.
My grandma was, so was my dad, and still is, age 77, btw, on no prescription drugs at all. its your anecdotal evidence against mine.  Absolutely, eating junk and not exercising will make almost anyone fat. Bit it will make some people obese, some only modestly overweight. Some of us have to make a job of staying on top of our weight. That is the problem.  Life gets in the way. I am not obese, but that is because I have spent half of my waking hours working out, preparing food, reading up on nutrition and fitness. What a drain on time.

Most common excuse I hear. Life is almost always in the way. I work 65 hours a week and I still find the time to exercise and eat properly. Time devoted to fitness/nutrition is an investment against a future of crushing medical bills and doctor visits. It is inevitable that your poor health will also "get in the way" if you're not willing to put forth the effort.
"Time devoted to fitness/nutrition" does not guarantee you won't be overweight.

You can put in the time, and the effort, and still be fat.  I hate the assumption that you can tell, just by looking at someone, whether or not they put in the time.

Just because you can do it, everyone can?  Even when I was working 50-60 hours a week - it was a LOT easier to spend my spare time cooking, eating healthfully, and working out, because I didn't have kids.  I could go lift with my husband, run on my lunch break, shop for and cook healthy exciting meals.  I didn't spend every spare waking minute coloring, changing diapers, feeding small children, doing 3rd grade homework.  My "free time" to work out is an occasional walk to the park with the kids to play.  Sometimes a workout DVD in the morning, but only before they wake up.  (Which was at 4:57 am today).

I still exercise many hours a week - I squeeze it in.  But it's a LOT harder with small children than people without children realize.

Sounds like more excuses to me. I can't count how many times I've heard the "I've got kids" excuse.
Probably because it's true?  And maybe you don't have kids?

The choice is sleep or exercise.  Sleep, or plan meals.  4:20 am wakeup today from the toddler, and boy the alarm was already set for 4:50 am and I REALLY wanted those extra 30 minutes.  Oh, I went to the gym, and swam anyway, and in fact did my 30 laps faster than ever before.  When my friends with small kids would tell me they couldn't exercise (and I also had a child), I pointed out to them that I was choosing exercise over sleep and was, in fact, getting 2 fewer hours of sleep a day than they were.  You know what?  They started exercising.  But at some point you get diminishing returns. If you are talking 7.5 hours instead of 9.5, then okay.  If you are talking 6 instead of 8, that's an entirely different ballgame.  And if they aren't continuous?  Ouch.

If I don't sleep, I get sick - every single sniffle, flu, or anything that someone from work or one of the kids brings home, I get it, and go down hard.  So about a year ago, I had to make sleep a priority.  If things are great, kids are healthy, I'm sleeping, kids aren't waking me up at night, husband not traveling no problem. I  wake up at 5 am and work out.

If husband is traveling or I'm not sleeping, or I'm exhausted because I've up for 2 hours in the middle of the night, I can't get up to exercise.  Just can't.

But if you've  never been there, you can't judge. 

If you'd like to judge for yourself, you can set your alarm for 1:30 am, stay awake for two hours, go back to sleep, wake up at 5:30 or 6 am, go to work, and then borrow someone else's kids when you get home, until 9 pm.  Every night. Do their  homework, play, give them baths, cook them a healthy meal, do the dishes, pack their lunches.

I never said it was impossible, just difficult, and exhausting. 

mm1970

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #165 on: November 04, 2014, 10:20:38 PM »
Quote
Now, try to have a no-eat November. I challenge all of you. It's just a matter of willpower, isn't it? Yes yes, we actually spent some money in no-spend November above...you can have a (small) plate of rice and beans for lunch every Friday. And all the water you can drink. Even if you survive no-eat November...I can almost guarantee it's going to be a LOT harder, and a lot less comfortable, than the no-spend version.
This was funny - I think you were trying to be funny/sarcastic?

Because I joke that I'm doing a NO-vember.
NO-alcohol
NO-sugar (mostly, I won't sweat it if there's some sugar in my marinara sauce)
NO-bread (or pasta, or crackers, or wheat tortillas)
NO-fried foods (which eliminates most salty snacks - I don't eat out much, so that part's not a challenge)

aka NO fun.

But honestly, it shouldn't be terribly hard - these foods were not a big part of my diet anyway.  Maybe a glass of wine or two on the weekend, a couple slices of bread a week, a little chocolate twice a month.

Cpa Cat

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #166 on: November 05, 2014, 09:01:35 AM »
Quote
It's hard to "optimize" the sugar out of your diet without noticing.

I guess I just disagree with this. These forums are filled with people whose knee jerk reaction to giving something up is, "OH NO I CAN'T!" Be it cable or a car or an IPhone. I mean... most people are going to notice a change in their life when they go car-free! And spouses regularly go TOTALLY INSANE at the mere suggestion from their Mustachian partner that they give up their IPhone.


It's only after we make any of these changes that we say, "Ok, that really didn't matter. Nothing is truly different - or if it is, it's better." You need that change to be history before you can truly gain perspective on it.

I think what makes it harder is the opportunity to cheat. If I give up my car, there's really not much I can do to cheat on that decision other than go buy a new car! I'd have to actually call up the cable/phone company and reinstate cable/data plan once that's cut.

But cookies? People bring them to work! Donuts? I pass two donut shops on the way home every day! Candy? It's right there in the grocery store, every single week! Heck, during busy season at my firm, they pretty much main line junk food directly into my stomach while I sit at my desk 70-80 hours a week. It's not just one decision, it's an every day decision. But every day the decision gets just a tiny bit easier.

That puts it up with alcoholism and smoking. But we're a lot less willing to give excuses for those two than we are over our eating habits. I don't know why we're so willing to put unhealthy food on a pedestal.

Public Hermit

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #167 on: November 05, 2014, 11:02:29 AM »
People can make all the excuses they want for being overweight. Physiology is only a small part of it. What percentage of people were overweight/obese 40 years ago as opposed to today? Do genetics change that much in 40 years where 70% of the AMERICAN population suddenly has the "fat, malfunctioning thyroid gene"? I think not. I'm not "fat shaming" anybody. I just think it is selfish and unfair for the fit/healthy people to have to pay higher medical premiums as a result of all the health issues from the 70%(which, in most cases, is preventable).

I dropped 50 pounds about two years ago. Do I still eat junk food? Yes. Do I still drink alcohol? Yes. What's different? I started exercising, cut out the soda and cut back on the alcohol and junk food. Everything in moderation.
My grandma was, so was my dad, and still is, age 77, btw, on no prescription drugs at all. its your anecdotal evidence against mine.  Absolutely, eating junk and not exercising will make almost anyone fat. Bit it will make some people obese, some only modestly overweight. Some of us have to make a job of staying on top of our weight. That is the problem.  Life gets in the way. I am not obese, but that is because I have spent half of my waking hours working out, preparing food, reading up on nutrition and fitness. What a drain on time.

Most common excuse I hear. Life is almost always in the way. I work 65 hours a week and I still find the time to exercise and eat properly. Time devoted to fitness/nutrition is an investment against a future of crushing medical bills and doctor visits. It is inevitable that your poor health will also "get in the way" if you're not willing to put forth the effort.
"Time devoted to fitness/nutrition" does not guarantee you won't be overweight.

You can put in the time, and the effort, and still be fat.  I hate the assumption that you can tell, just by looking at someone, whether or not they put in the time.

Just because you can do it, everyone can?  Even when I was working 50-60 hours a week - it was a LOT easier to spend my spare time cooking, eating healthfully, and working out, because I didn't have kids.  I could go lift with my husband, run on my lunch break, shop for and cook healthy exciting meals.  I didn't spend every spare waking minute coloring, changing diapers, feeding small children, doing 3rd grade homework.  My "free time" to work out is an occasional walk to the park with the kids to play.  Sometimes a workout DVD in the morning, but only before they wake up.  (Which was at 4:57 am today).

I still exercise many hours a week - I squeeze it in.  But it's a LOT harder with small children than people without children realize.

Sounds like more excuses to me. I can't count how many times I've heard the "I've got kids" excuse.
Probably because it's true?  And maybe you don't have kids?

The choice is sleep or exercise.  Sleep, or plan meals.  4:20 am wakeup today from the toddler, and boy the alarm was already set for 4:50 am and I REALLY wanted those extra 30 minutes.  Oh, I went to the gym, and swam anyway, and in fact did my 30 laps faster than ever before.  When my friends with small kids would tell me they couldn't exercise (and I also had a child), I pointed out to them that I was choosing exercise over sleep and was, in fact, getting 2 fewer hours of sleep a day than they were.  You know what?  They started exercising.  But at some point you get diminishing returns. If you are talking 7.5 hours instead of 9.5, then okay.  If you are talking 6 instead of 8, that's an entirely different ballgame.  And if they aren't continuous?  Ouch.

If I don't sleep, I get sick - every single sniffle, flu, or anything that someone from work or one of the kids brings home, I get it, and go down hard.  So about a year ago, I had to make sleep a priority.  If things are great, kids are healthy, I'm sleeping, kids aren't waking me up at night, husband not traveling no problem. I  wake up at 5 am and work out.

If husband is traveling or I'm not sleeping, or I'm exhausted because I've up for 2 hours in the middle of the night, I can't get up to exercise.  Just can't.

But if you've  never been there, you can't judge. 

If you'd like to judge for yourself, you can set your alarm for 1:30 am, stay awake for two hours, go back to sleep, wake up at 5:30 or 6 am, go to work, and then borrow someone else's kids when you get home, until 9 pm.  Every night. Do their  homework, play, give them baths, cook them a healthy meal, do the dishes, pack their lunches.

I never said it was impossible, just difficult, and exhausting.

The most defensive are often the most guilty. I've witnessed your knee-jerk responses the entire thread. Not sure why you felt the need to justify your weight issues with an elaborate story about your lifestyle. Please do go on....this is quite entertaining. Let me guess, its your Thyroid's fault....

You mentioned you "walk" on your lunch break for 30 minutes each day in addition to swimming and weight lifting 2x a week. Weights are good, swimming is better, but walking? I don't understand people that say they "walk" every day but complain that they're not losing weight. You need more moderate/high intensity cardio. Interval training is recommended as you get older. Walking is going to do little or nothing to aid in weight loss. I'll agree walking will do some good for your cardiovascular health, but it will not shred fat. You mentioned your joints hurt, so running must be out for you. Ellipticals are low-impact and great for intervals.

I also find it disturbing that you associate fried foods, bread, and sugar with "fun". That alone says a lot more about you than anything else. Me thinks you're not telling us the entire story. I'm not fat shaming anyone. Most of these overweight people bring up the subject on their own volition while vomiting bullshit excuses to make themselves feel better. Interestingly enough, they initiate the subject WITHOUT provocation, claiming a victim mentality 99% of the time while expecting compassion & empathy from everyone else.

I do find your indirect advice about not having kids valuable though, even though I don't plan to reproduce, ever. Because, evidently, kids make people fat.


frugalnacho

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #168 on: November 05, 2014, 11:13:49 AM »
I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today. 

golden1

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #169 on: November 05, 2014, 11:21:00 AM »
Quote
The most defensive are often the most guilty. I've witnessed your knee-jerk responses the entire thread. Not sure why you felt the need to justify your weight issues with an elaborate story about your lifestyle. Please do go on....this is quite entertaining. Let me guess, its your Thyroid's fault....

You mentioned you "walk" on your lunch break for 30 minutes each day in addition to swimming and weight lifting 2x a week. Weights are good, swimming is better, but walking? I don't understand people that say they "walk" every day but complain that they're not losing weight. You need more moderate/high intensity cardio. Interval training is recommended as you get older. Walking is going to do little or nothing to aid in weight loss. I'll agree walking will do some good for your cardiovascular health, but it will not shred fat. You mentioned your joints hurt, so running must be out for you. Ellipticals are low-impact and great for intervals.

I also find it disturbing that you associate fried foods, bread, and sugar with "fun". That alone says a lot more about you than anything else. Me thinks you're not telling us the entire story. I'm not fat shaming anyone. Most of these overweight people bring up the subject on their own volition while vomiting bullshit excuses to make themselves feel better. Interestingly enough, they initiate the subject WITHOUT provocation, claiming a victim mentality 99% of the time while expecting compassion & empathy from everyone else.

I do find your indirect advice about not having kids valuable though, even though I don't plan to reproduce, ever. Because, evidently, kids make people fat.

Have you read any of her other responses?  She is eating a very low calorie diet, and has lost 20 lbs doing it.  She is not making excuses; she is trying to explain why it is difficult sometimes when you have time constraints, you get older, or you have other life issues. 

And you are fat shaming.  The drivel you just typed is exactly what fat-shaming is.  And it is completely ineffective and counter-productive.  When I read statements like that, I see someone who is making someone else feel like shit so they can feel better.  Congratulations.  Hope it feels good.     

infogoon

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #170 on: November 05, 2014, 11:27:53 AM »
I'm not fat shaming anyone. Most of these overweight people bring up the subject on their own volition while vomiting bullshit excuses to make themselves feel better.

Well, it's a good thing you're not shaming anyone.

frugalnacho

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #171 on: November 05, 2014, 11:40:24 AM »
I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today.

That's because you're a fatty fat fat with no self control.

4alpacas

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #172 on: November 05, 2014, 11:41:58 AM »
I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today.
HOW DO YOU HAVE HALLOWEEN CANDY?!!??!?!?  I ate the last of mine on Monday. 

justajane

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #173 on: November 05, 2014, 11:57:53 AM »
Public Hermit - I've witnessed your tone deaf responses the entire thread. Not sure why you feel the need to continue to beat up on mm1970. Please do not go on....it is not entertaining.

waltworks

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #174 on: November 05, 2014, 12:02:47 PM »
Strategic purchasing. You wouldn't want to run out and disappoint the kids, would you? Better get 10# of tootie rolls, just to be safe.

-W

I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today.
HOW DO YOU HAVE HALLOWEEN CANDY?!!??!?!?  I ate the last of mine on Monday.

4alpacas

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #175 on: November 05, 2014, 12:14:00 PM »
Strategic purchasing. You wouldn't want to run out and disappoint the kids, would you? Better get 10# of tootie rolls, just to be safe.

-W

I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today.
HOW DO YOU HAVE HALLOWEEN CANDY?!!??!?!?  I ate the last of mine on Monday.
I've been doing Halloween all wrong. 

mm1970

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #176 on: November 05, 2014, 12:19:37 PM »
People can make all the excuses they want for being overweight. Physiology is only a small part of it. What percentage of people were overweight/obese 40 years ago as opposed to today? Do genetics change that much in 40 years where 70% of the AMERICAN population suddenly has the "fat, malfunctioning thyroid gene"? I think not. I'm not "fat shaming" anybody. I just think it is selfish and unfair for the fit/healthy people to have to pay higher medical premiums as a result of all the health issues from the 70%(which, in most cases, is preventable).

I dropped 50 pounds about two years ago. Do I still eat junk food? Yes. Do I still drink alcohol? Yes. What's different? I started exercising, cut out the soda and cut back on the alcohol and junk food. Everything in moderation.
My grandma was, so was my dad, and still is, age 77, btw, on no prescription drugs at all. its your anecdotal evidence against mine.  Absolutely, eating junk and not exercising will make almost anyone fat. Bit it will make some people obese, some only modestly overweight. Some of us have to make a job of staying on top of our weight. That is the problem.  Life gets in the way. I am not obese, but that is because I have spent half of my waking hours working out, preparing food, reading up on nutrition and fitness. What a drain on time.

Most common excuse I hear. Life is almost always in the way. I work 65 hours a week and I still find the time to exercise and eat properly. Time devoted to fitness/nutrition is an investment against a future of crushing medical bills and doctor visits. It is inevitable that your poor health will also "get in the way" if you're not willing to put forth the effort.
"Time devoted to fitness/nutrition" does not guarantee you won't be overweight.

You can put in the time, and the effort, and still be fat.  I hate the assumption that you can tell, just by looking at someone, whether or not they put in the time.

Just because you can do it, everyone can?  Even when I was working 50-60 hours a week - it was a LOT easier to spend my spare time cooking, eating healthfully, and working out, because I didn't have kids.  I could go lift with my husband, run on my lunch break, shop for and cook healthy exciting meals.  I didn't spend every spare waking minute coloring, changing diapers, feeding small children, doing 3rd grade homework.  My "free time" to work out is an occasional walk to the park with the kids to play.  Sometimes a workout DVD in the morning, but only before they wake up.  (Which was at 4:57 am today).

I still exercise many hours a week - I squeeze it in.  But it's a LOT harder with small children than people without children realize.

Sounds like more excuses to me. I can't count how many times I've heard the "I've got kids" excuse.
Probably because it's true?  And maybe you don't have kids?

The choice is sleep or exercise.  Sleep, or plan meals.  4:20 am wakeup today from the toddler, and boy the alarm was already set for 4:50 am and I REALLY wanted those extra 30 minutes.  Oh, I went to the gym, and swam anyway, and in fact did my 30 laps faster than ever before.  When my friends with small kids would tell me they couldn't exercise (and I also had a child), I pointed out to them that I was choosing exercise over sleep and was, in fact, getting 2 fewer hours of sleep a day than they were.  You know what?  They started exercising.  But at some point you get diminishing returns. If you are talking 7.5 hours instead of 9.5, then okay.  If you are talking 6 instead of 8, that's an entirely different ballgame.  And if they aren't continuous?  Ouch.

If I don't sleep, I get sick - every single sniffle, flu, or anything that someone from work or one of the kids brings home, I get it, and go down hard.  So about a year ago, I had to make sleep a priority.  If things are great, kids are healthy, I'm sleeping, kids aren't waking me up at night, husband not traveling no problem. I  wake up at 5 am and work out.

If husband is traveling or I'm not sleeping, or I'm exhausted because I've up for 2 hours in the middle of the night, I can't get up to exercise.  Just can't.

But if you've  never been there, you can't judge. 

If you'd like to judge for yourself, you can set your alarm for 1:30 am, stay awake for two hours, go back to sleep, wake up at 5:30 or 6 am, go to work, and then borrow someone else's kids when you get home, until 9 pm.  Every night. Do their  homework, play, give them baths, cook them a healthy meal, do the dishes, pack their lunches.

I never said it was impossible, just difficult, and exhausting.

The most defensive are often the most guilty. I've witnessed your knee-jerk responses the entire thread. Not sure why you felt the need to justify your weight issues with an elaborate story about your lifestyle. Please do go on....this is quite entertaining. Let me guess, its your Thyroid's fault....

You mentioned you "walk" on your lunch break for 30 minutes each day in addition to swimming and weight lifting 2x a week. Weights are good, swimming is better, but walking? I don't understand people that say they "walk" every day but complain that they're not losing weight. You need more moderate/high intensity cardio. Interval training is recommended as you get older. Walking is going to do little or nothing to aid in weight loss. I'll agree walking will do some good for your cardiovascular health, but it will not shred fat. You mentioned your joints hurt, so running must be out for you. Ellipticals are low-impact and great for intervals.

I also find it disturbing that you associate fried foods, bread, and sugar with "fun". That alone says a lot more about you than anything else. Me thinks you're not telling us the entire story. I'm not fat shaming anyone. Most of these overweight people bring up the subject on their own volition while vomiting bullshit excuses to make themselves feel better. Interestingly enough, they initiate the subject WITHOUT provocation, claiming a victim mentality 99% of the time while expecting compassion & empathy from everyone else.

I do find your indirect advice about not having kids valuable though, even though I don't plan to reproduce, ever. Because, evidently, kids make people fat.
No, kids don't necessarily make you fat.  Well, if you are the woman who gets pregnant, they do.  What they do is suck up time, time that can't be spent doing other things.  Those years, however, are fairly short.  By the age of 4, you start the "sweet spot".  They are potty trained, can play independently for awhile, find it "fun" to exercise with you - my older son, at 4, would do P90X videos with me.  Now that he's 8, he's joined me in my 30-day November burpee challenge (though I'm pretty sure he'll give up before the end of the month when we hit 100).

But younger children are a drain and a time-suck.  It's no surprise that it's difficult to lose weight when you are stressed or not sleeping - there are honest, actual links with weight and those things called hormones, which are affected by stress.  I think maybe my friends who had 2 kids, 2 years apart, were certainly pretty smart.  And my friends who had kids in their 20's were pretty smart too (I wouldn't change anything for the world). 

When I was training for my half marathons, I found it pretty fascinating how FAST women in their late 30's and early 40's were.  I'm not particularly fast, not built really for distance - I was happy to hit a 10-minute mile for a half.  But then I started realizing that *most* of the women runners I know - at age 40 their kids are teens, so they finally have free time.  They don't need to pay babysitters, and heck they can get their teens training with them!  It was somewhat frustrating too because I ran a few races where I would have "placed" in any age group but my own.  40 year old women are fast, dangit!!

The problem I see here is some people take "explanation" as "being whiny or guilty".  False.  It goes back to something I said on a different thread.  There is optimism, pessimism, and realism. 
Pessimism is "I'm always going to be fat, and never lose weight because of X (genetics, nothing works, etc.)"  I remember feeling that way in my early 30's.  I "ate healthy" and "exercised regularly" and was still obese.  But then weight watchers "I'll try it, it won't work, but whatever", and it worked like a charm - because I educated myself on exercise, and calories, and healthy food.  Lost 57 pounds.  Then after, when I would read or hear people say the same thing, I thought two things "1. Oh, I totally understand where you are coming from, I've been there", and "2. You can do it!!"  So there is your optimism.

The optimism comes in when you do it anyway, and figure - well, at least I'll be healthier, right?  Of course what a "healthy" diet is debated by everyone from IIFYM, to Paleo, to vegan, to Primal, to ... fill in the blanks.  But I think that most people agree that vegetables are good for you.  It's everything else (meat, butter, beans, bread, carbs) that spark a disagreement.

The realism comes in when things change.  I lost 57 pounds in 4-5 months when I was 31.  When my first child was 20 months old, I took it as a part time job to lose the baby weight.  I lost 20 pounds in 3 months.

Well, fast forward 7 years, and it just doesn't come off like it used to.  And that's realism.  I've lost 20 pounds in 10 months - 3 times longer than 7 years ago. 

And you say that I need "high intensity cardio" - but other people say no, chronic cardio is the problem, you need weight training.  See, nobody agrees on what people need.
The realism comes in with what I have to deal with right now.
I try and swim 2-3x a week, for 45 minutes.  That's my "me" time.  But the realism is - I have to split gym days with my husband, so he gets 3 mornings, and I get 3 mornings.
I like to exercise at lunch.  5 years ago, it was running - realism comes in two-fold now.  First, I only have a 30 minute lunch break, so not enough time to change, run, shower, and get back to work.  Second, joint injuries that do not allow me to run.  I miss running - both for the fitness and for the relaxation benefits.  I walk instead because it's something I can DO at lunch.  Get away from the desk, de-stress, get some sun, and get some exercise to boot.  Before the knee injury I was doing biking or elliptical for intervals, but even those can give my knee a flare up.
I prefer to get up on my husband's gym days and work out in the morning, but since the time change, the 2 year old is up at the crack of 4:30 am.  Which means, no workout.  He won't let me.  Literally. 
I could, if I chose, work out after work and before dinner.  Pick up toddler at 5, school kid at 5:20, get to the YMCA at 5:40, put them in childcare (throw them a granola bar in the car), workout for 45 minutes or so, get home at 6:40 pm, cook dinner, have dinner at 7:35 pm, put the kids to bed at 8 pm.  That seems...I dunno...kind of wrong, so I don't do it.
I work out with the hours that I have, and with what my body lets me do.  I wish I could go back to part time (32 hours).  That freed up a lot more time for exercise.  But my boss said no.

But I'm kind of used to people like you.  I once had a boss who was a bit of an expert on different personality types.  Everyone is a blend of personality types, but everyone has a dominant trait.  And when under times of stress, the dominant trait takes over.  Well, I'm an engineer and I work with a bunch of PhDs.  Nearly every PhD in my company has a dominant trait that their default failure mode is "be perfect".  That's what I see here.  Clearly, if things are going the way you want, you have to "be perfect".  And if you aren't perfect, you are a failure.  And if you ARE perfect, well clearly you are lying about it.  (Like the people who get sick on a vegan diet "you clearly aren't doing it right!!")  My company President is like this.  When something goes wrong, he simply wants to blame someone - anyone.

He doesn't care WHY it happened, he doesn't care to hear HOW we can make it better.  He only wants to place blame.  He has called me in his office to chat about "things" that went wrong (that I was not personally involved in).  When I've tried to make recommendations on how to fix them I'm told "I don't care about the details".  Aka, I am going to judge you for failure, but I really don't care if you are doing everything right or not.

The descriptions here are intended to explain the nuances of the body, and life, and hormones, and balancing X,Y,Z.  Some people prefer black and white and non nuance.  They haven't yet experienced it, or realized the fact that two people can do the same thing and get different results.  These kinds of things fascinate me.  My one coworker is looking great these days, and we were chatting.  She said "well, it took me 2 years to lose 20 lbs, and it didn't happen until my youngest was about 4.  You don't realize how stress and sleep affect your weight.  It's terrible."

It comes down to experience, and empathy.  If you've never experienced it, then you cannot understand.  But don't expect anyone to respect your judgment if you really don't know what you are talking about.

As far as associating those foods as "fun" - that was a joke about the SAD (standard American diet).  Most people would consider bread, alcohol, sugar, fried foods as "enjoyable" (and in fact, science backs this up).  And apparently, somewhere else in this thread, a Frenchwoman backs this up too.  Man, one meal a week with a glass of red wine, a slice of fresh bread with bruschetta, followed by a small piece of dark chocolate?  That would be heaven. 

I haven't had my thyroid checked lately, maybe I should do that at my next Doctor's appointment (apparently my cousin had an issue with this recently).  But since I've actually been losing weight (albeit slowly), I don't think I have an issue.  I guess I was just hoping for faster results.  I wasn't expecting my 37-year old results of 20 lbs in 3 months, but I was hoping for 20 lbs in 6 months.  Instead, it took 10, and I still would like to lose 10-15 pounds.  15 might be pushing it though.  Things shift after having a baby.

frugalnacho

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #177 on: November 05, 2014, 12:25:36 PM »
I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today.
HOW DO YOU HAVE HALLOWEEN CANDY?!!??!?!?  I ate the last of mine on Monday.

Costco membership + cold spell + rain = perfect storm for candy surplus.

mm1970

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #178 on: November 05, 2014, 12:26:41 PM »
I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today.
Ha!  We have this deal with our son that he can keep 1 piece of candy per year of his age (he's 8).  The rest we buy back from him.  Mostly, I don't want to rot his teeth, and too much candy is not good for you.

The 2 year old is too young to understand that deal, he just went for his first time.

So my husband bought 4 bags of chocolate candy (MMs and Reese's - my faves), even though by the time we get home, we NEVER have trick or treaters.

Anyway, I've been doling it out.  Monday I brought an unopened bag of MMs to work (the mini bags).  Tuesday I brought a bag with the kids' leftovers for the night shift and Reese's for the day shift.
Today I brought the last two bags.

Hey, if I can't lose weight I can make everyone else fat, eh?  Just kidding.  I don't like having it in the house. 

I find that the holidays are a slippery slope. It's almost easier to just give up everything, so you don't do a gradual slide.  Halloween candy, Thanksgiving pie and stuffing and gravy, company holiday parties with wine, dessert, fried foods, Christmas cookies, New Year's champagne. 

MandalayVA

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #179 on: November 05, 2014, 12:31:09 PM »
I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today.
HOW DO YOU HAVE HALLOWEEN CANDY?!!??!?!?  I ate the last of mine on Monday.

HOW DID ANY OF YOU HAVE HALLOWEEN CANDY LEFT OVER?!?!?!?!?!?!  I blew through over 450 pieces Friday night and could have given out more if I'd bought it. 


4alpacas

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #180 on: November 05, 2014, 12:40:30 PM »
I'm still interested in the Halloween candy talk.  frugalnacho, how much extra candy are we talking about? 

Also, DOES EVERYONE HAVE A COSTCO MEMBERSHIP EXCEPT ME?! 

The lines at the two closest Costco (to get into the store) wrap around the building on the weekends.  I'm also really lazy and stick to one grocery store (and get my groceries delivered).  However, I keep hearing about the magic inside Costco. 

get home at 6:40 pm, cook dinner, have dinner at 7:35 pm
I can definitely understand why you're tired.  I can't imagine spending an hour/day cooking dinner after working a full day.  Maybe you should look into ways to cut down on your prep/cook time.  I'm a huge fan of bulk cooking on the weekends.  My DH will toss something into the microwave if he gets home first.  Home-cooked food for 5 minutes of effort. 

frugalnacho

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #181 on: November 05, 2014, 12:51:23 PM »
I'm still interested in the Halloween candy talk.  frugalnacho, how much extra candy are we talking about? 

Also, DOES EVERYONE HAVE A COSTCO MEMBERSHIP EXCEPT ME?! 

The lines at the two closest Costco (to get into the store) wrap around the building on the weekends.  I'm also really lazy and stick to one grocery store (and get my groceries delivered).  However, I keep hearing about the magic inside Costco. 

get home at 6:40 pm, cook dinner, have dinner at 7:35 pm
I can definitely understand why you're tired.  I can't imagine spending an hour/day cooking dinner after working a full day.  Maybe you should look into ways to cut down on your prep/cook time.  I'm a huge fan of bulk cooking on the weekends.  My DH will toss something into the microwave if he gets home first.  Home-cooked food for 5 minutes of effort.

We bought a large bag of the fun sized assortments.  Had over half of it left.  Wife didn't think it was healthy to keep around the house so I said I would take it to work and distribute to my coworkers.  I did, but also secretly ate a ton of it.

Yea, costco is pretty cool.  High quality food I find.  We buy all our meat from costco because it is head and shoulders above any other place we might shop (kroger, meijer, walmart)

dragoncar

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #182 on: November 05, 2014, 02:18:50 PM »
As a French women, living now in America, I am fascinated by this thread.  I love the saying "Live below your means and within your seams." I think the MMM movement is about both.  I also think my lovely, wonderful, American friends, that so many of you have too much guilt and shame issues about food.  Interestingly, both those claiming to have trouble losing weight and the super-fit people giving them advice here--you all seem to make food the enemy, something to be controlled and have rigid rules around.  Calories to count, fitness plans . . . this all seems to take the joy out of the 3 times a day you get to sit, relax and savor your meal.

For me, the goal is not to be thin or even particularly healthy, but to enjoy.  If you are on a budget and are biking or walking to do your errands and you take time to cook and you look at meal time as sacred, then you should be able to both live below your means and within your seams.  And don't forget the wine!

Unfortunately, this kind of mindless enjoyment makes me plump

GuitarStv

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #183 on: November 06, 2014, 06:41:44 AM »
I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today.
HOW DO YOU HAVE HALLOWEEN CANDY?!!??!?!?  I ate the last of mine on Monday.

Costco membership + cold spell + rain = perfect storm for candy surplus.

Yeah, we had cold and rain as well.  Our usual 120 - 130 kids coming by the door ended up only being about 40 this year.  That translates into a lot of leftover candy for us.

dragoncar

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #184 on: November 06, 2014, 08:58:47 AM »
I ate 6 pieces of chocolate Halloween candy today.
HOW DO YOU HAVE HALLOWEEN CANDY?!!??!?!?  I ate the last of mine on Monday.

Costco membership + cold spell + rain = perfect storm for candy surplus.

You may not want to hear this, but you can return leftover candy to Costco... I saw a lady return half a tub of lettuce the other day.  Actually I wish I had returned my tub of lettuce too, since it got slimy too fast

Cinder

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #185 on: November 06, 2014, 04:26:10 PM »
Saw this today, thought of this thread...

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/dieting_pie_chart

mm1970

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #186 on: November 06, 2014, 06:34:10 PM »
I'm still interested in the Halloween candy talk.  frugalnacho, how much extra candy are we talking about? 

Also, DOES EVERYONE HAVE A COSTCO MEMBERSHIP EXCEPT ME?! 

The lines at the two closest Costco (to get into the store) wrap around the building on the weekends.  I'm also really lazy and stick to one grocery store (and get my groceries delivered).  However, I keep hearing about the magic inside Costco. 

get home at 6:40 pm, cook dinner, have dinner at 7:35 pm
I can definitely understand why you're tired.  I can't imagine spending an hour/day cooking dinner after working a full day.  Maybe you should look into ways to cut down on your prep/cook time.  I'm a huge fan of bulk cooking on the weekends.  My DH will toss something into the microwave if he gets home first.  Home-cooked food for 5 minutes of effort.

I usually spend about 30 minutes cooking dinner, not an hour, and only about half of it is "hands on".  Only because I bulk cook on the weekends.  Unfortunately, I run out of "bulk cooked" meals by about Wednesday, so I do have to cook Thursday and Friday.  That's because the bulk cooking also goes toward lunches.

That estimate of 45 minutes up there  - that includes getting the kids into the house from the car, putting the dishes in the drying rack away, washing kids' hands, getting them a glass of water, unloading my dirty lunch tupperware, changing a diaper, talking, giving snuggles and kisses, etc.  It generally takes me 30 to 45 minutes from when I walk in the door until dinner is on the table. (Heat up something leftover on the stove or in the oven and microwave a vegetable).

For the record, that's what it would be if I went to the gym after work - I don't.  I get home at 5:30 and we eat at 6:15.

This weekend I made a big pot of black bean soup, and a roasted potato/chard/onion frittata.  We ran out of the frittata on Tuesday and the soup for lunch today.  I also washed a large head of lettuce for salad (used the last today), hard boiled 6 eggs for the salad, washed, peeled, chopped about a pound of baby carrots from the CSA, a head of celery, and a cucumber.  I also diced and roasted a butternut squash and a few potatoes (those only lasted a meal and a half) and roasted a head of cauliflower (that lasted 3 meals).  I threw some chicken in the crockpot Tuesday at random.  We had that Tuesday with quick steam-fried broccoli and mushrooms (pre-chopped and sliced and cleaned from TJ's).  We are having the rest of the chicken tonight with steamed green beans and soup from the freezer.

Not sure about tomorrow though.  Probably veggie burger for me and frozen pizza for everyone else.  I have been cooking a lot of soup lately, so I have about 6 meals of soups that I should start to use up.  So that might be our veggie side.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2014, 06:42:11 PM by mm1970 »

The Resilent Dame

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #187 on: November 07, 2014, 08:04:55 AM »
The same time/health tradeoff applies in the same way as money. It really is a very good analogy.

If you are working full time and have a young family, money is going to be harder to budget because of a lack of time to DIY, you pay more for convenience, etc.

The people who are successful at both understand that everything is a tradeoff. Obviously, some people are very good at sticking to health goals, eating well, and make that a priority. And they are unsuccessful at managing their money. And vice versa.

Just like with money, nobody comes from the same starting place with the ability to stay a healthy weight. Genes, how you were fed in early childhood, medical issues, are ALL similar obstacles one faces with money. Grew up poor, bad education, started off life making poor choices. Everything has long term effects.

I'm fairly thin and other than about 20 pounds of baby weight (that yes, were difficult to lose when the baby was young), so some people may look at me and think, "she's never had to work at it! No fair!" However, EVERY SINGLE OTHER MEMBER OF MY FAMILY IS OBESE. I've worked long and hard since my TEENS to stay healthy. JUST LIKE those who have worked long and hard since their teens to save money, there will be long term advantages to it. That's they way it works.

Being healthy, just like money management, involves long term thinking. Quick fixes don't work for either.

dividendman

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #188 on: November 19, 2014, 09:23:20 PM »
Fatties gonna fat. If they were the sort of people to take responsibility for their actions, they wouldn't be obeasts.

I just want to say, after reading this thread and as someone who is fat, yes I'm fat because I'm lazy and like delicious bad for you food. I don't have any metabolic disorders or whatever else people above were mentioning. Some (most?) of us are fat because we're lazy and it's just not a priority to get into shape at the moment -  but I think it will be for me soon.

It really does annoy me that other fat folks *pretend* (yes PRETEND) that they are trying to be healthy and it's the top priority but it just can't happen due to blah blah blah. If it was really THE top priority then you should abandon other things for it, if you're not doing that then just admit to yourself that it's not the top priority (or even a priority) and move on. It doesn't help to tell yourself it's a priority but then *act* as though it's not - which is exactly what the whiners above are doing IMO.

I went home from work today, ate a burger, and then played call of duty advanced warfare (which is awesome) and browsed internet forums because THAT was a higher priority than being healthy. That's the fact of the matter because those are my actions. Whether that is smart or not is another discussion.

austin

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #189 on: November 19, 2014, 10:00:01 PM »
I this the thread where people get their hate against fat people out or something?

I just don't understand this attitude. I'm not fat, some people are, it doesn't affect me, why do I care what other people weigh?

Seems like this hate against the fat people has become more prominent on the internet as homophobia becomes less socially acceptable. I'm guessing it's the same sort of people who are just looking for some group to direct their negative feelings towards. Sad way to live. : /

Cressida

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #190 on: November 19, 2014, 10:12:43 PM »
I don't understand people that say they "walk" every day but complain that they're not losing weight. You need more moderate/high intensity cardio. Interval training is recommended as you get older. Walking is going to do little or nothing to aid in weight loss. I'll agree walking will do some good for your cardiovascular health, but it will not shred fat.

Not true. I lost 15 pounds earlier this year by restricting calories and walking an hour a day (with a small amount of biking thrown in, but really not much). At the time, I was 39, which isn't young. Quit discouraging people.

Cinder

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #191 on: November 20, 2014, 06:40:24 AM »
I don't understand people that say they "walk" every day but complain that they're not losing weight. You need more moderate/high intensity cardio. Interval training is recommended as you get older. Walking is going to do little or nothing to aid in weight loss. I'll agree walking will do some good for your cardiovascular health, but it will not shred fat.

Not true. I lost 15 pounds earlier this year by restricting calories and walking an hour a day (with a small amount of biking thrown in, but really not much). At the time, I was 39, which isn't young. Quit discouraging people.

Everybody is different.  Diet is the largest factor in weight gain/loss.  If you are morbidly obese, then dropping down to a lower / 'normal' caloric intake will have you lose weight.
If you are only slightly over weight and not exercising, then unless you cut to an almost unmanageably low caloric intake, then you probably have to add exercise to your routine. 

I know not everyone here is a programmer, but there is a podcast aimed at programmers, but really more at 'thinking people' who don't just want to hop on trends but want to know some of the real information behind some of the fitness things at getupandcode.com . Lots of great info on exercise and nutrition there. 

Tallgirl1204

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #192 on: November 20, 2014, 08:59:09 AM »
I like that the MMM forums give me so many chances to re-examine (improve?) my attitudes and approaches to things. From this thread:
1. The simple-mindedness of the "I did it, so anybody can" argument is more obvious when people other than me say it. I grew up in poverty, in a family where nobody had gone beyond high school. Now I have a PhD and a high-paying job. I'm often tempted to think people who don't make that jump are lazy or stupid. Then I remind myself that I grew up with hard-working organic-gardening highly-literate parents in the socialist paradise of Quebec, where my poverty included free healthcare, free good centrally-administered public schools, and free or cheap post-secondary. From birth to BA in hand, my total costs for health care and education were $1590. Many people have far harder roads. So I'll seek out opportunities to shut up about how smart and hard-working I am.
2. I often have trouble putting myself in other people's shoes. I'm extremely grateful when someone spends time to write a thoughtful explanation of their situation. I need to remember to not pay them back by dismissing their experience because it's not mine, or because I like winning arguments.
3. Circle of control, obviously. Other people's weight is outside it. I don't get thinner or healthier by insulting them. This last one is hypocritical, though, because we come to the wall of shame and comedy specifically to insult *somebody*.

Thanks, Gerard, for your THOUGHTFUL comment.  This thread has been dispiritingly mean-spirited. 

Our images of fat and thin, especially for women, are so driven by the media, that we pass judgment on others without any idea, really.  Our images are Taylor Swift or Kate Moss-thin (genetic freaks of nature-- beautiful, yes, but not the norm), and guess what?  Even the most fit of women are not going to be them.  I thought I was "fat," at 6 feet and 118 pounds (when I was 18-- and had a mother who used that word at me because I ate so much) and I still look in the mirror and see 'fat," instead of "middle aged woman of healthy weight (155, which btw IS healthy at my height), who has had a child." 

I used to work with women who worked outside for a living.  Guess what?  They talked about how "fat" they were.  These were women with absolutely no fat in their faces, who were cut with muscle in their legs and arms, who were blessed with thick sturdy bones that could support a 75 pound pack, who could walk (or jog)25 miles in a day with smiles on their faces.  But they didn't look like women in magazines.  FAT.  That's how they saw themselves.  I'm going to guess that some of the people (especially women) on this thread who are describing their weight struggles fall into this category.   And they are hearing themselves shamed, yet again. 

The posts in this thread that have been helpful (to me) are the ones that talk about being healthy, about eating good food, about being strong.  Because hearing people talk about the level of control they have over their food and their bodies and saying "you're weak because you can't do this too" is not helpful.  It puts me right back in self-shaming mode.   In my life, I have finally decided to pursue "healthy" rather than beating myself up for 5 pounds on the scale.  I can't imagine what having 40 or 100 or 200 pounds to lose would feel like. 

And to that person I would say "What's one thing you could do today to improve your health?  Add one thing.  And do it for a week.  And if I'm your friend, and that one thing is that you can take a walk at work, I will take that walk with you.  And in a week, think of one more thing.  Etc.  And if you fall off the wagon, get back on it as soon as you can.  And know that people are rooting for you."  At least, I am. 


 

« Last Edit: November 20, 2014, 10:22:53 AM by Tallgirl1204 »

Public Hermit

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #193 on: November 20, 2014, 10:32:16 AM »
I don't understand people that say they "walk" every day but complain that they're not losing weight. You need more moderate/high intensity cardio. Interval training is recommended as you get older. Walking is going to do little or nothing to aid in weight loss. I'll agree walking will do some good for your cardiovascular health, but it will not shred fat.

Not true. I lost 15 pounds earlier this year by restricting calories and walking an hour a day (with a small amount of biking thrown in, but really not much). At the time, I was 39, which isn't young. Quit discouraging people.

That alone is 80% of the equation. Walking didn't do shit. It was the change in diet that led to the weight loss. And I am not discouraging anybody.

enigmaT120

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #194 on: November 20, 2014, 10:59:23 AM »
I know plenty of people for whom walking is a cardio exercise.  I don't plant a heart rate monitor on them, but they breath harder like I would on a run, so they are obviously getting a workout.  Since it's weight bearing it's even better for them than biking or swimming. 

frugalnacho

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #195 on: November 20, 2014, 12:16:41 PM »
I've seen people breathe harder and break a sweat from peeling an orange.

Cressida

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #196 on: November 20, 2014, 01:22:00 PM »
I don't understand people that say they "walk" every day but complain that they're not losing weight. You need more moderate/high intensity cardio. Interval training is recommended as you get older. Walking is going to do little or nothing to aid in weight loss. I'll agree walking will do some good for your cardiovascular health, but it will not shred fat.

Not true. I lost 15 pounds earlier this year by restricting calories and walking an hour a day (with a small amount of biking thrown in, but really not much). At the time, I was 39, which isn't young. Quit discouraging people.

That alone is 80% of the equation. Walking didn't do shit. It was the change in diet that led to the weight loss. And I am not discouraging anybody.

(sigh) Dude, I was there. Yes it did. The calorie restriction was minor.

Guses

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #197 on: November 21, 2014, 03:05:56 PM »
I just want to say, after reading this thread and as someone who is fat, yes I'm fat because I'm lazy and like delicious bad for you food. I don't have any metabolic disorders or whatever else people above were mentioning. Some (most?) of us are fat because we're lazy and it's just not a priority to get into shape at the moment -  but I think it will be for me soon.

It really does annoy me that other fat folks *pretend* (yes PRETEND) that they are trying to be healthy and it's the top priority but it just can't happen due to blah blah blah. If it was really THE top priority then you should abandon other things for it, if you're not doing that then just admit to yourself that it's not the top priority (or even a priority) and move on. It doesn't help to tell yourself it's a priority but then *act* as though it's not - which is exactly what the whiners above are doing IMO.

I went home from work today, ate a burger, and then played call of duty advanced warfare (which is awesome) and browsed internet forums because THAT was a higher priority than being healthy. That's the fact of the matter because those are my actions. Whether that is smart or not is another discussion.

Bravo Sir!! I applaud your intellectual honesty!

You hit the nail in the head! In this situation, as in others, in order for it to be change, there needs to be a change of priorities.

I was lucky to be fat when I was a kid. Other kids used to make fun of me. This drove me to not want to be fat in adulthood above all else. This lead to a permanent change in my psyche where exercice and relatively healthy eating is a priority in my life. I say relatively healthy because I eat what is generally considered to be "fattening" foods (bread, fatty meat, pasta etc..) but I don't eat any processed food or candies or soda...etc. 

The first thing I do when I get home from work is to work out. I do 3-4 weight training sessions per week and 3-4 high intensity cardio sessions per week. Doesn't matter if I am tired because our kid kept us up, hungry, or otherwise not feeling like it. I just do it. On top of this I walk regularly, run sometimes, cycle to work (most of the year) and like to be active. My body has grown into this habit and, because of my muscle mass, I probably eat around 3000 cal. per day at maintenance.

I think that looking at it from the diet side only is missing the point in two ways:

1) You need permanent change to change permanentely.

@MM1970

If you viewed your diet as a means to an end instead as a new way of life to grow into, this could be one of the reasons why you find it hard to keep the weight off. Diet don't work because they are not permanent. You need to change your habits so that you can find a steady state that works for you.

2) Body composition is (IMHO) at least as important as what you put in your body

I would rather gain 10 lbs of muscle than lose 10 lbs of fat for instance. Those muscles will increase your steady state and make it easier to maintain and lose weight.

Benchpress, squats and deadlifts are your friends to domesticate.








mm1970

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #198 on: November 21, 2014, 05:02:52 PM »
Quote
@MM1970

If you viewed your diet as a means to an end instead as a new way of life to grow into, this could be one of the reasons why you find it hard to keep the weight off. Diet don't work because they are not permanent. You need to change your habits so that you can find a steady state that works for you.

It's never been a means to an end for me, it's always been a lifestyle.  I have been interested in healthy eating for over a decade now, and first really started getting into it, and reading more and more about it, in 2002.

But as far as "keeping the weight off", it's nothing more complicated than life and age - has nothing to do with thinking of a diet as a means to an end.

As far as "life" goes, it's called pregnancy.  Once I originally got healthy and lost weight, it was easy to maintain - until I got pregnant.  With work stress and a baby and lack of sleep, it took about 2 years (23 months, to be exact) until I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  It was several months after I stopped nursing (so: hormones had to get back to normal).  Keeping a steady state was easy, but losing weight was not.

Once I lost the baby weight, I maintained a healthy weight on my healthy diet for years - well, I originally got healthy in 2002, had the baby in 2006, reached my healthy weight again in 2008, maintained that healthy weight until 2011.

(Which is when I got pregnant again.)

So now my son is 2 years 4 months.  I have found it much more difficult to lose weight after this second pregnancy.  Note: I still eat a healthy diet.  It's never been a temporary thing for me. What I have found, however, is that age has come into play.

I used to eat a fairly low fat, high grain diet - because that's what the USDA recommended.  In my early to mid-30's, I could maintain my weight pretty easily on that.  After the first baby it was harder, but I could still do it.

Well, now I'm 44 not 31 - things simply don't work the same way that they used to.  I've been doing tests and tweaks to my healthy diet here and there - and I've learned that my olden days "healthy diet" of mostly-vegetarian low-fat high-carb doesn't work for weight loss anymore.

So a "permanent" change might not actually be permanent - simply because your body can change as you age.   Note: earlier this year I was very resistant to the idea of cutting carbs.  Because: the USDA recommends 6-11 servings of grain per day!  What do you mean I should only be eating two!  Then I found my way to a book by Luise Light, who was in charge of creating the food pyramid in the 1980's.  I learned that her expert team's recommendations were 1-3 servings of whole grains per day, maximum, for health and weight.  (She quit the USDA, they released a much-adulterated food pyramid years later).

So at that point, it was a light bulb sort of moment for me.  I had already made a "permanent lifestyle change" that worked, until it didn't work anymore.  My choices were to accept the extra 25-35 pounds or figure out how to fight it.  So I cut my carb intake to 2 servings per day.  That worked for awhile, to the tune of about 17 pounds.  Then I stalled again.  With some more tweaks I'm down 21 pounds for the year.  It looks like I just cannot have wheat anymore.  Like, maybe ever.

This isn't anything new for me either.  You cannot out-exercise a bad diet.  It hits everyone at some point, just when?  When I first lost my weight I was 32.  My in-laws and I would talk about healthy food, and healthy portion sizes, and I heard, often "I don't eat too much" (note: they weren't obese, and maybe only slightly overweight).  10 years later - and lo and behold, they've cut their portion sizes considerably - it just hit them in their late 60's, not their early 30's.  Better genes I guess.

Permanent isn't really permanent as you age.  I could eat 6 grains a day, and now I can't.  I could have a glass of wine a day, then it was 2 per week.  Now it is once per month.  I could have dessert 2x a month, now it is once a month or less.  There is very little wiggle room as a I age.

Oh, and BTW, I love weight training and have muscle.  Due to time constraints, I tend to keep it to body weight exercises at home (pushups, squats, burpees, and shoulder-pressing a 27 pound toddler).



Bob W

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Re: "I'm obese because I don't get enough government money"
« Reply #199 on: November 24, 2014, 11:57:35 AM »
mm1970 -  Interesting progression,  thanks for all the details.   Might I suggest the USDA is in the business of promoting agriculture and food consumption?   

In my very, very, humble opinion it is not just you that shouldn't eat wheat,  it is all of us.  (check out the Wheat Belly book for why this is)

We would all be a bit slimmer if we would avoid wheat and sugar.   That said I recently attempted to do that and did great for a few months.   Now I'm hooked on the wheat again, shit, damn, hell.   And my weight has magically blossomed back to where I was. 

For poor folks, I think there are just a few things that tax payers should fund ---  some meat,  some potatoes,  some olive or grape seed oil and lots of veggies.    When I was eating only those categories I was healthier and happier and the weight loss was marginally slow.  Age does play a factor.  At 55 the pounds don't just melt away like they did at 40.