Being fat is not the problem
 

One of my pet peaves is the idea that being fat is a problem, it is not the problem it is a symptom of the real problem. Don't believe me? Try any crazy diet plan out there that only has you alter your food intake to drop pounds. Then go for a brisk walk, heck walk up a few flights of stairs. You'll notice that you heart will still be pounding and your lungs will begin to burn. You may be able to go a little further before feeling exhausted after losing a few pounds just like a healthy person can walk further without a heavy backpack.

At that point you'll begin to see the real problem. A sedentary lifestyle is the problem, it's symptoms include a weakening of the cardiovascular system, increased weight, sleep problems, lowered ability to concentrate and more. No diet alone will address this, only a balanced diet and regular excersise will. It doesn't take much to get in shape, take a thirty minute walk during a lunch break and another walk with a friend or SO in the evening is all it takes to start fixing the real problem. Of course going to the gym and doing a heavy workout would go even further to fix it as well.

If we could get people to understand that fitness is far more important than body shape we could get rid of the dangerous diets and eating disorders that plague our society.

Right on the money there frogza!

But you know, this "obesity epedemic" is all just a myth and it's not really real and being fat is beautiful! If I choose to go to CiCi's pizza buffet and eat eleven plates of pizza, who is to say I'm doing something wrong?
/sarcasm

The problem with a "diet" is that you're only getting half the picture of being "healthy"- getting your ass of the couch goes a lot further towards being healthy and losing weight than counting your carbs. My Father in law is a perfect example of this- he's like the most religious convert to the Atkins diet ever, and yet he doesn't lose weight BECAUSE HE NEVER EXERCISIES. Ever. Period. He doesn't even like to walk around that much during the day. It's too funny :)

I have heard it said that "A diet without exceisize is not a diet." To that end, I agree 100% with what you are saying, frogza.

All these fad diets (and I consider the whole "low carb" thing just another big national fad) may cause you to lose weight, but at what cost. Basicly when you deprive your body of ANY single element of "normal" food intake, the result will be weight loss. But with the low carb (and by definition, higher fat) diet, you will be putting extra strain on the heart.

The real key to success is a 40-30-30 balanced intake (40% of calories are from protein, 30% from fat and 30% from carbs) and ABOVE ALL portion control. Even if you never counted a single gram of fat, protein or carbs, but only ate enough to satisfy your hunger, you'd be healthier. The problem with most overweight people (myself included) is that we eat too damn much at one sitting, then continue inactivity after the heavy meal. With that said, here is an interesting fact... to a habitual overeater, the feeling of being stuffed triggers the same parts of the brain that are being triggered by a drug addict when they get their fix.

I'm currently dieting by limiting my fat intake, being aware of portions and walking daily. So far I have lost 27 lbs and will continue this aggressive plan for as long as it takes.

These Fad diets are really interventions. the low carb diet seems to be the current magic bullet (along with Dr. Bernstiens etc) which gets people to do an initial bulk drop of weight so that people can start at a lower inital weight level with their lifestyle change.

what ever happens, it is true, sedentariness will result in all of the ailments described, and may even contribute to type two diabetes in the future...

"But you know, this "obesity epedemic" is all just a myth and it's not really real "

Umm, obesity kills 300,000 per year...almost the same as tobacco, 400,000

There is no clear explanation-some its a mere lifestyle change, others have genetic issues, such as leptin deficiencies. But, the obesity epidemic is real, don't kid yourself.

You CAN lose weight without exercising, but you will plateu at a certain point. It's simple math..burn more calories than you consume.

The whole "fat" issue is still a relative mystery. Sme research says we all have a "lipostat" where our genetics determine our body fat, and no matter how much we gain or lose, eventually we will settle at this point.

Do you realize that more funding is going into obesity research rather than cancer ? People are receiving bypass surgeries everyday, despite the fact that 1 in 100 dies, and many have severe complications.

All the fads are stupid, do agree that a lifestyle change is needed. Giving money to anything to lose weight is rediculous, and what makes people like myself a fatter paycheck. (I work in anti-obesity drug development). WEight watchers is a great diet, because it emphasizes moderation...but peple need to realize they can moderate on their own without paying a weekly fee.

As far as weight loss drugs go...none have had any research done for long term effects, and they all have terrible side effects. Orlistat and Xenical--Orlistat works in the GI tract and blocks the absorption of fat. Smart eh ? No! Many essential nutrients are fat solible, so you don't get them, and if you eat too much, say hello to anal leakage, and the worst upset stomach in a lifetime. Xenical, is also shit. It was an antidepressant, and they noticed patients losing weight, but still being depressed. It works in the hypothalamus to block certain chemicals that signal hunger. Well, in clinical trials, the best result was a 5% weight lost in 1 year, which is the minimum amount of weight the FDA requires to sell a weigh-loss drug.

For the many that have genetic issues, or severe physical disabilities, your case is more complicated. But for everyone else, just ask yourself how you became obese in the first place.

I agree totally with the portion control, however, I don't agree with that 40-30-30 bit (which I'm told is The Zone thing). Granted I've never done that or ever even read about it so I have no basis for my judgement (pure opinion) but that just seems like an excessive amount of protein. When I was paying very close attention to my caloric intake I was on a 25-15-60 ratio and that was tough enough trying to get 25% of my calories from protein.

Obesity is a symptom of a sedentry lifestyle. It's an obvious one compared to others. That's why it is targeted.

Exercise and diet go hand in hand. The body is made in the kitchen; cooked in the gym.

I love that quote! :)

Sweetpea

Great quote!!

What goes in must be balanced with what goes out. Every time I put a little on I know why and reverse the process to regain balance.

Eat what you want as long as you are in the gym regularly, by this I mean 3-5 times a week for about an hour. Don't just work out casually while taking 5-10 minute breaks in between. Get a routine down for about 3 months and then change it up.
I agree with the rest of you, diet is important, but most people are missing the other side of the equation. The people who are pushing these eating plans don't want you to work out. If you worked out, you wouldn't need to give them money to tell you how to eat.

Oh, how I've seen the effect that activity has on your weight!

I broke my foot in March for a month couldn't even walk on it. Even now it's painful to do anything more than a gentle walk. I gained 17 lbs and 5 inches on my waist. Since then I've cut back what I NORMALLY eat which is fairly small portions anyway. I've put more vegetables and less sugar in my diet and I've been popping the pain pills so that I can increase my activity level. The result - it's not coming off. Not yet anyway. My diet this week was quite restricted. For example, Breakfast: Oatmeal and Rasberry Leaf tea (no sugar added to either), Lunch: Salad - Iceburg and Romain lettuce with shredded carrots and tuna. (one tablespoon french dressing), Tea again, Supper: small steak, corn on the cob and tea again. All through the day when I was hungry I drank water or sugar free crystal light. I've changed the menu each day but it's been very similar in calories, sugar, and fats. As for activity - I played tennis two days, road bike, one day, shoveled 1/4 trailer load of dirt myself one day, and ran through puddles with my daughter for 30 minutes one day. They're not "technical" excercising but they are exercise. I also had anywhere from 2-5 kids at my house every day for at least part of the day - if they don't keep you busy nothing will.

I've never had trouble before loosing weight. Now all of a sudden I can't take off 17 lbs.

There was a very interesting article in the June 2005 Scientific American titled "The Overblown Obesity Epidemic". Basically, the number of deaths due to heart disease has decreased in the past 40 years, if taken as a percentage of the population. Part of this is surely due to the technological advances in the past 40 years, but obesity and illness are not directly correlatable, except for heart failure and type 2 diabetes. In the meantime, the media coverage of obesity has skyrocketed, because there aren't all that many people who aren't at least somewhat concerned about their weight.
That's not to say that obesity isn't a problem...it's just that the situation isn't quite as bad as we hear on tv.

That's fine, except that it's extremely unhealthy (Atkins and all the others). I've read of a death that's suspected to be due to the Atkins diet, along with all manner of other health problems. Aside from that, it doesn't tend to kickstart healthy lifestyles. More commonly the individual equates being thin with being healthy, assumes he doesn't need the diet, goes back to his old eating habits and eventually regains all the weight. This creates a yo-yo effect that is also quite unhealthy, as it's very hard on your heart.

The only good way to lose weight and keep it off is to change your lifestyle. Diet is a part of that and learning what and how much to eat is what it comes down to for that, but without exercise it's just not enough. The problem is that a lot of people aren't that patient; they don't want to wait six weeks to see results (the generally accepted minimum amount of time for a change to a healthier lifestyle to have an impact), so they go and do these other things to lose the weight quicker. But then they don't have the commitment to keep with it. If you work hard to sweat off your weight a pound at a time, odds are you're not going back to how you were. Nobody's going to throw away years of that sort of hard effort for a twinkie.

Once again, being overweight isn't the problem, it is only a symptom. A sedentary lifestyle is directly tied to health problems, and being overweight. The reason for the drop in health problems over the years is our awareness of diet. A proper diet will help with many health problems, but not all of them. Diet and excersise together are the only silver bullet.

The reason the media has jumped all over obesity is because it's easy and your average reporter is more interested in getting the story out and pleasing the editor than in taking the time to really investigate things before running to press.

processed foods
 

I think the main problem is our foods.. most of our life styles are rush rush rush.. no time for the old home cooked foods our grandma's made.. everything is already premade , just pop it in the microwave, open a can, or bag to boil and walah . done in 10 minutes..processed foods is americas way of life and problem..

I was and I am an obese despite of fact I lost 12 kilos in last 5 months. I still have a lot of extra fat on my body. What can I say? Obesity is the origin of many troubles related to diabetes, heart, bones, sexuality. It's very easy to gain kilos and very hard to throw them away. It's not a problem of diet or exercise, it's a problem of life style. Go eat food with low fat and high fiber and exercise at least 20 min/day until sweat in runing. If you want to exercise more and much hard, take care, you need a coach.
But very important is to treat obesity like any other medicat disease.

Only one diet works:

Eat less, move about more.

I lack the willpower to do it though. That and I like cake.

Being fat is a very big problem.
Troubles start with clothes, hygiene, cleaning yourself, bad smelling, breathing. Then come the big problems as obesity is the leading cause of diabetes, blood presure, heart diseases, and a lot of. I know because I'm obese