Why are we fat?
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MAYBE WE'RE TOO STRESSED click to show MAYBE A VIRUS IS TO BLAME click to show MAYBE THE TEMPERATURE IS JUST RIGHT click to show MAYBE IT'S ALL THAT HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP click to show MAYBE LOW-FAT FOODS MADE US EAT MORE click to show MAYBE WE TAKE TOO MANY DRUGS click to show Theory series experts: who they are click to show This is an interesting series I read in LA Times. I have a bit of difficulty with it since it points to many factors, but leaves out a critical one, "Maybe We Don't Excercise Enough" which I believe makes this whole series moot since it's a good feature of the change of our lifestyles. There is another factor that is not listed here which is portion distortion, "Maybe We Don't Know How Much We're Supposed To Eat" I do find that HSFC and low fat foods make me less satisfied than whole fat and natural sugared items. It is a personal belief that because I'm not as satisfied I tend to eat more of it, which in turn equals more calories. In the years that I gave up smoking, I didn't increase weight at all. After giving up drinking, I've gained 20lbs. in the past 2 years. What do you believe makes us fat? Vote for as many or all that you believe are contributing factors. |
Certainly, because most people don't exercise enough.
The average overweight person rarely exercises or works to the point where their heartrate is sufficiently elevated for any period of time. Many people also overeat in comparison to their energy expenditure. |
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As much as I'd love to say the smoking one, I agree with highthief. People need to pay attention during high school biology (or was it Chemistry? Fuck if I remember..).
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Culturally Americans have made ourselves fat. I see several factors since my childhood that have changed the way we eat and entertain ourselves. In fact there are times I think that we make eating part of our entertainment. We have largely seemed to have moved toward an easier and less healthy lifestyle choice. And it is a lifestyle choice with the key point being choice.
Dinner and a movie, dinner and a concert, dinner and a show are common among a great many of us. We combine a meal with too large of portions with an activity that is pretty much sedentary. Our consumption of easy to purchase, easy to prepare food and our failure to observe portion control along with a regular exercises program is far more likely the cause than any of the poll options. Recently, my wife and I purchased two bicycles and we have been riding every evening instead of eating dinner and watching TV or surfing the Internet. In one week, we have lost weight, spent more quality time together and and have started to increase our overall health and happiness. |
There's no option for "weeat too much and move about too little", but that's what I pick.
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There IS a definitive answer: sedentary lifestyle combined with poor diet is responsible. People try to make it more complicated by suggesting it's anything from "glandular" to "big boned", but the reality is that people are lazy and eat rubbish. Once we stop being lazy and eating rubbish, we'll be healthier.
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It's really very simple for most. They eat too much BAD food and they don't get enough exercise. BTW, I did not vote because there is no "None of the Above" answer and I refuse to submit an answer since I don't agree with any of them. They all may be contributing factors to certain types of obesity ... but not one of them answer the question: "Why are WE fat?" |
None of those options fit my thoughts on why people are fat. For me I simply see it as most overweight people take in more calories than they burn. I know that some people are not able to control there weight easily due to other issues but for most it is simply no physical activity coupled with a side of fries.
The funny thing for me is that growing up I was the opposite. So skinny and could not put any weight on. I worked out, tried to eat my mom out of house and home and never put any weight on (for sports). I hated being called skinny, bone rack....etc then all of sudden around the age of 25 my metabolism changed and I shot up to a max of 235lbs (6ft tall). I loved it! I remember going home after being away for a while and my mom telling me I looked chunky! I worked hard for that weight! Only lasted for a year maybe and now i sit anywhere from 175-195lbs depending on time of year and training. Too keep on topic, I think that quality of food and easy availability of high fat foods acts as a huge accelerator coupled with no physical activity. |
[X] Calories in > Calories out
All others are in there simply corrolations masked as convenient excuses. |
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If I eat 2500 calories a day in McDonands and burn 2500 calories a day for a week, what would the result be? If I eat 2500 calories a day in low carb fruits and veggies, lean meats, and nuts, and burn 2500 calories a day for a week, what would the result be? |
The answer: maybe we are making too many excuses for ourselves
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Maybe you're a lazy fuck that sits on his/her ass all day watching shitty TV while shoveling food in your mouth?
Maybe you have low self-esteem and you don't care what you look like. Maybe you think being fat is cool cause it's not trendy. Maybe someone lied to you about how you really look. Maybe we're American and that's how we like everything... BIG! |
Will
Mrs Dlish is an APD practicing dietitian. i asked her about your scenario about the 2500 calories example you put forward. her initial response was "what weighs more, a kilo of bricks or a kilo of feathers"? having 2500 calories of one things vs 2500 calories of another, there is no difference. she also said this is not to encourage people to eat McDonald's though due to higher risks in heart disease and diabetes due to refined carbs and high saturated fat content. she said that that the diet you referred to is the preferred one, because it fruits and veggies contained low calories generally, nuts are a good source of good fats but at the end of the day nuts can still make you put on weight |
We don't eat enough fiber, we eat too many refined sugars and processed foods, and we don't move our asses enough. It's pretty simple, and so is the solution. Unfortunately, most people are lazy--they want there to be some kind of magic trick to weight loss, some easy way out, and there isn't.
Eat more fiber (whole grains, fruits, veggies, beans), cut out processed foods and refined sugars, and exercise--all of these things increase health and quality of life. |
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Maybe we're not all having enough vigorous sex?
There are quite a few portly individuals I know, and most don't give a shit. They're fat and damned proud of it! One, in particular, has to run home in the middle of the work day, several times a year, because he's busted a seam in his trousers. Yet, every day, he eats the same breakfast, lunch, and presumably, dinner. The only time he exerts himself is at quitting time, when he rushes out the door to hurry home, slug down a few beers, and surf porn on the web. There were a few weeks, many years ago, when he started taking walks during his lunch break. Those ended with one of the first rainy afternoons. On the flip side, I have a friend who, at way over 300 lbs, had an epiphany. About a year and a half ago, he made some changes in his lifestyle, his diet, his exercise patterns. He's dropped over 100 pounds and looks and feels 1000% better. He's found new energy, found a great girlfriend, found more rewarding job (so far), and seems to be enjoying life a lot more. He's a lot more relaxed and happy sounding in conversation. I almost didn't recognize him when he called me the other day. He's still a large person, always will be. But he's added a lot to his life since he subtracted a lot from his body. That explains my take on this subject. With the exception of the relative few who suffer from glandular irregularities or other health issues that can lead to obesity, I believe that most fat people choose to be fat, or choose to not do what it takes to no longer be fat. If that makes me a fat bigot, so be it. I don't love my overweight friends any less because of their size. I just don't buy into any excuses. The ones that are my friends don't try to sell any. In answer to the poll: *all of the above, plus a whole bunch more. Where's the choice for "It's way too hard NOT to be fat?" |
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2500 calories a day on McDonalds? Morgan Spurlock gained 24 lbs. in less than 30 days in "Supersize Me", and he was exercising regularly during the shooting (when he wasn't vomiting). His BMI rose 4 points. In a given day, he had a sausage mcmuffin (~370c), hash (150c), 2 hamburgers (500c), small fries (230c), a small coke (150c), and a double quarter pounder (740c), medium fries (380c), and a medium diet coke (0c). That's almost exactly 2500c. Compare a diet like that to a 2500c healthy diet like mine. Yesterday I had: 2 cups oatmeal (300c) + 1 cup 2% milk (120c) + about 1 oz. of almonds (126c) + 1 scoop whey protein powder (110c) + a grapefruit (75c), fillet of Atlantic cod (189c) + a few spears broccoli (maybe 20c), Orange Berry Blitz Jamba Juice (540c), chicken florentine (500ish?) + 1 glass of pinot grigio (114c) + 1 cup of vanilla ice cream (200c). That's about 2300c. On my diet, with regular exercise, one could be in great shape. Actually, one IS in great shape. |
u freak me out sometimes will..
and you write all this down in a diary for what reason? or do u do this just for fun? you'd freak me out even more if you told me you remembered all that info from the top of your head including the calories consumed.. |
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But my point stands. Calorie quality is equally important to calorie intake in determining health. Calories from delicious broccoli are always going to be better than calories from processed sugars and corn syrups in soda. |
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According the this, he ate 5000 calories a day and did not exercise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me Quote:
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Even I don't eat 5,000 calories a day (usually).
The problem with the Big Mac diet either way is that it lacks essential nutrients and other things such as fibre, healthy fats, and phytonutrients. Calories are not all equal due to what they each carry or don't carry. Your body fat isn't just about burning calories; it's also about enabling your body to do the work it needs as efficiently as possible. At least when you're looking at dietary factors. |
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If people actually did something about their weight, there wouldn't be half as many fat people as there are now.
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One of the possible other choices: Maybe we lack self-discipline, exercise poor judgment, and we just eat too much.
... perhaps sub-consciously (or fully-knowing) passing these habits along on to our children, their children, and on. The impact has been gradually cumulative. I think the majority of people know they over-eat or consume foods of questionable nutrition. I think there's an addictive angle related to fast-food or junk-food. |
aunt phil and i have talked about this type of thing on a few occasions; we believe that clothing should be banned...
let people go wherever they have to go in the altogether... think that would be an incentive? (the visuals could be disastrous...) |
I agree for the most part on the calorie and lifestyle choices
mentioned above. Did anyone see the recent 60 minutes episode, linking chronic sleep deprivation and obesity? That study seemed accurate to some extent. I would like to see more information. |
The cortisol/sleep/fat issue is of interest to me. I'm glad to see more studies are being done.
Chronic deep deprivation isn't the only issue; so is chronic stress. Compound the two, and bammo, you've accumulated more fat than you would have otherwise. |
when i used to weigh about 300 pounds more than i do now, i drank alot and ate processed foods and didn't exercise much because it was a kind of circle. i cut out most drinking and all processed foods at the same time, so i don't know which was to blame, really. when i began drinking once in a while again, i had also started biking, so i still don't know. but processed foods seem to me the main culprit, somehow.
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Look no one here is saying 2000 calorie McMack diet is as healthy as a 2000 calorie balanced diet. Nutrients/fiber/etc are required aspects of our activities, however fat deposits occur only when there is more energy consumed than is required. It is then stored by the body as we have evolved.
Excess fat only occurs when there is a difference between calories consumed vs. burned. It could be 10calories per day, it could be 1000. The simple fact of the matter is a calorie is a measurement of energy. If buy 10gallons of gas for your car a day, and use 8... you'll need a place to store said gas, carrying it around with you. It matters not if you buy supreme or regular to this equation. Sure supreme works better for engines designed for it, but the type entered in does not change the equation before and after the calculation. Now of course you'll want to follow up with quality of gas, state of the engine, any water in the gas, et al. You fail to realize that does not matter in the statement of the equation. You can get 100mpg or 1, hell there could be a leak in tank, it doesn't matter. If you buy 10gallons, use 8, you'll have some left over. Fat is much the same. |
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Over the course of almost two years, I've lost 60 lbs without going on a "diet." Hell, I've lost 40 lbs of it without going to the gym or even exercising more. Hell, exercising AT ALL. I don't exercise. I used to, but I stopped going when I noticed I still lost weight when I ate less. Sitting at my cubicle all day, I burn around 1500 calories per day by regular body functions. If I eat more than 1500 calories, I gain weight. You can even eat fucking McDonald's every single day if you want, just don't eat more than 1500 calories. You'll have horrible cholesterol and other life-threatening side effects, but you won't be overweight. I went on what I call the "Lasereth Way of Living." He showed me the way and it worked absolutely perfectly. Breakfast: nothing. Lunch: Michelina's microwave meal, not to exceed 300 calories. One meal is usually between 190-350 calories. Dinner: Anything, but do not exceed 800-900 calories. I dropped weight to the point of people thinking I got gastric bypass surgery, and the last half of my weight loss included going to the gym NONE! The average person isn't ready to handle the fact that you are going to have to go to one of two extremes to lose weight: hit the gym for an hour every single day, or eat less and starve your body so it uses your stored fat :thumbsup: And before everyone jumps on me for losing weight "the unhealthy way," I would rather lose weight the unhealthy way than go to the gym every single day and see minute results. And believe it or not, I have excellent blood pressure, cholesterol, and muscle mass! |
Skipping breakfast? Oy vey. Numerous studies clearly demonstrate that people who skip breakfast are more likely to be obese. Why? YOU NEED FOOD. You've been burning food all night and your tanks are on empty. If you skip breakfast you're more likely to snack in the morning.
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But we're not cars, see? I'll go back to the nutrients, etc. When you don't eat a balanced diet, your body doesn't have the materials it needs to operate normally (or optimally).
You'd have to look at it this way to be a bit more accurate:
Which car would run better on the same amount of gas? Which car would get further? |
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You both need to read my post IN FULL.
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Energy in vs. Energy out. |
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The problem is jr. high dietary science is circulated a lot. BTW, you will not burn the same amount of calories running a mile vs. walking a mile either. And storks don't supply infants. |
You burn calories differently depending on what you eat. This means 100 calories of crap burn at a different rate than 100 calories of the good stuff. Yes, burning 100 calories is 100 calories burnt regardless of the food source, but metabolism works 24-hours a day. Your body cannot adequately operate on a McDiet, so those calories would mess up your system, including your metabolism. This is why it isn't as simple as energy in vs. energy out.
You'd have a really hard time burning through 2,500 daily calories of McFood vs. burning through 2,500 calories of WillravelFood. Metabolism is a complex mechanism. |
I'm guessing that there has been very little calories consumed in the typing of all these silly assed arguments
It is interesting that people's desire to be right about everything spills over into a simple observation of what is creating a serious health issue in the fat, happy and sassy parts of the world. It is safe I think to assume that 3500 calories from the consumption of donuts and potato chips is likely not as good for someone as a balanced diet of 3500 calories is. But in the end, we need to get out from behind the computers, away from the front of the TV and start doing something to change things. |
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