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Why do people overeat and/or become obese? Is it harder than average for some to lose weight?
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depression0
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@TheFatLadyPortrait
Sorry but I can't even imagine that CICO is something you believe in - but it has worked for other people so likely it can work for you. You're 100% correct about the difficulties involved in changing habits, I can not get my closet straight or papers organised- so breaking the habit of eating too much, when food is so yummy, gosh-it has to be all but impossible.
There is one lady on my FL here who has lost 160 pounds and maybe she'd make a good contact for you. She's not at goal but is steadfast and chipping away at the extra pounds. The pounds didn't go on overnight so they won't be lost overnight- but at 30 you are at least young enough that you're still going to lose faster than someone in the 40's or 50's.
Her food diary could be helpful.
Please feel free to message me and I'll give you her name on this website.2 -
I am a very undisciplined person, very spontaneous. I don't respond well to meal planes, not even to recipes. These are certainly factored into why I became obese, but the other reason is because when I left my parents' home, I discovered food. Before then, I did not like the foods presented in my childhood home, and my discovery led me to eat whatever I wanted/liked, including sugar-pop. I had no perception of proper eating. I got to the point at which, at 5'4", I weighed 237.
The weight loss, once I started, was embarrassingly painless. Now, I weigh 114 or so, but I live in fear of gaining it all back.4 -
@RainaProske - how many years maintaining at 114 and how tall?RainaProske wrote: »I am a very undisciplined person, very spontaneous. I don't respond well to meal planes, not even to recipes. These are certainly factored into why I became obese, but the other reason is because when I left my parents' home, I discovered food. Before then, I did not like the foods presented in my childhood home, and my discovery led me to eat whatever I wanted/liked, including sugar-pop. I had no perception of proper eating. I got to the point at which, at 5'4", I weighed 237.
The weight loss, once I started, was embarrassingly painless. Now, I weigh 114 or so, but I live in fear of gaining it all back.
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If no one has mentioned it already, I strongly recommend Dr. David Ludwig's book "Always Hungry?". Dr. Ludwig is a Harvard endocrinologist and he lays it all out for us, based on years spent studying weight loss protocols. He contends that "...over-eating doesn't make us fat; the process of 'getting fat' makes us over-eat". Seriously, this book revolutionized my understanding of how I wound up with about 80 extra pounds of visceral fat, and what I need to do to get rid of it. If anyone has read it, or reads it on my advice, and wants to discuss any or all of it, please send me a specific friend request (mention the book...), and I would love to engage with you. Good luck, everyone!5
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@LINIA , I started changing the way I ate at age 60, lost 50 pounds by my 61st birthday, 50 more by my 62nd, and I was satisfied -- elated! -- with a 100 lb loss. However, the rest fell off over the next two years, and I was even happier. I am now 67. So from @ my 63rd bd until now, 4 years.
My weight fluctuates between 112.5 and 119, although I haven't weighed 119 in several months. 5 -
Raina - awesome, excellent maintaining!
I'm 5'1" and weigh just about what you weigh.
It really is plenty for a short person.1 -
Thank you, Linia! 1
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I was never extremely overweight or obese but a few months ago I got into the overweight BMI for the first time, which made me want to lose weight. For me, it just seemed like effort that I didn't want to put in at the time. I always just said I'll start next week and then next week comes and I'm like whatever I'll start next week what's the difference and so on and I just kept gaining weight. I feel like for extremely overweight people they might feel like they dug the hole too deep. I know that if I was 200+ pounds I would just feel like it would be impossible to lose weight. I would think I don't have enough patience or motivation and it's easier to just avoid the fact that I'm overweight instead of facing it.2
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I can't tell you about everyone else but I'll tell you what goes on with me.
For me, not all calories from all foods are equal. What I get out of a hardboiled egg is much different than a piece of toast with peanut butter, and I don't mean just the basic nutritional value of it. What comes with that toast is the "need" or "strong urge" to have more. I'll eat one piece and want another. I might be ok after that, but in a couple hours I'll want some other fix from a bowl of cereal or something.
And I mean, why not right? We see it all the time on TV. "Part of a balanced breakfast!" Pictured a huge glass of orange juice, a giant bowl of cereal and two pieces of toast. So we see it constantly on TV and think, ok, that's what I should be eating.
Well.. for me, that's wrong. That glass of OJ will cause massive sugar cravings and will actually make me more hungry than before I even drank it. I could easily eat two bowls of cereal and my mind will still think, we should have fruit too.
But - if I eat something else, like eggs with bacon, I'm good until the afternoon. If I eat a baked chicken breast with broccoli and butter, I'm full and don't feel the need to get anything else. I don't have that switch, that craving to tell me to get more.
It's not just "putting down the fork". It's re-evaluating what you're eating and the patterns foods and cravings have on you.
I agree with all of this, because I am the same. I want to say that I read a study (I don't have the link) that said simple carbohydrates can trigger over-eating. Now that I think about it, I read it at dietdoctor.com. It may not be the case with everyone, but for me, it's true.1 -
My dad was addicted to alcohol, my mother to cigarettes, my oldest sister any drug she could get her hands on, me: food for comfort or when I'm stressed. I put others before myself for years and didn't take care of myself so when I finally got to "sit down" and have "me time" it was with my favorite show and my favorite foods. It took me awhile to realize that food has been an addiction for me. I don't like to be told what to do, so therefore I didn't restrict my calories and the only time I would watch what I ate was when it was going into my mouth. I'm trying really hard to stick with the tools available on MFP. I finally believe in myself, it only took 22 years.1
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I don't really see how this thread won't end up here anyway, so I'm going to go ahead and throw it out there:
In some (or many) cases, people are afflicted with a compulsion/addiction/condition/whatever-term-that-won't-cause-mental-anguish-to-people. I believe that there is both a physical and mental component to this.
The physical is that there is an abnormal reaction to the effects of certain behaviors and or experiences (such as overeating and/or eating highly palatable foods). This reaction manifests in a phenomenal craving. Once the craving is triggered, it cannot be satisfied.
The mental aspect is an obsession with the behavior or experience. They are inexplicably drawn to attempt normal consumption even if they have proven an inability to do so in the past. No matter their level of commitment or the seriousness of their situation (i.e. you'll have to get your leg amputated if you can't get this under control), they will trigger the craving again.
Basically it boils down to this, they can't stop once they've started and they can't stop themselves from starting.
I don't believe this for one second.
Lack of education.
That's fine.
Are you saying I lack education or the people I am talking about lack education. What education is lacking?
I think the majority of people who are overweight/obese lack education in anything food related.
I watched an episode of my 600lb life...the guy gained weight and the doctor was asking why? the patient said "I don't know I should be losing I switched out my white bread for whole wheat"....seriously.
And based on my own experience I knew about calories from being a teenager and having my mother diet all the time...but had no clue on how to lose weight and maintain...
I could lose like a demon...but gain it back.
diet books, diet websites, diet pills, diet programs aka WW etc...all teach people how to lose but not how to maintain...
and as adults if we weren't taught about nutrition and calories how do we teach our kids??????
I feel like I have all the information I require to lose weight and maintain my weight- if I set my mind to it, I lose weight very steadily and predictably. My problem is that I naturally have a large appetite. If I eat until I'm satisfied I gain weight. I always need to maintain a level of self control in order to prevent my weight from increasing. At the moment I'm breastfeeding and my naturally high appetite is now at ravenous levels- I am one of these people who manages to gain weight whilst breastfeeding despite burning an extra 500 calories per day. For me, I have a maximum comfortable weight and as soon as I exceed that level, my motivation to lose weight exceeds my motivation to satisfy my appetite and I start to lose weight.0 -
On different threads I've seen people saying that weight loss is more complex than CICO. I don't think they all mean that CICO doesn't work (though a few do); I suspect they're trying to say that, for them, either Calories In is harder to limit or that Calories Out is harder to achieve than for the average person.
On a recent thread this topic came to the forefront, but so as to not derail that thread --and also to give people with a different perspective on CICO than what is typical on MFP a chance to speak their minds-- I've decided to move the conversation here.
The post that sparked this thread is:Why are they eating so much? What drives the desire and need to consume extra calories than needed? Casually pointing out that people who have trouble losing weight "are eating too much" isn't helping people identify why.
The topics up for discussion are exactly what's in the title.
Here is a link that one person provided to explain why "put down the fork" is overly simplistic advice for some people. I thought it would make a good starting point.
https://medium.com/@dannylennon/why-do-we-overeat-homeostatic-vs-non-homeostatic-eating-1d2e8e33ddce#.63y2auqhy
I think people overeat to obesity in responses to emotions/feelings they are not addressing or feel unable to.
I think that the answer to weight loss is accepting oneself and to realise you are good enough right now without feeling the need to change yourself. You must realise that you are not lacking in any way and being slimmer will not make you better it will only make you healthier. Healthier is not better as is thinner. It is only healthier.
Remove anything you think you need to do to make you better as seeking happiness for something gained tomorrow will always leave you sad today.
Restricting calories or food types to reach a body weight/shape you are happy with often (95% of time) leads to weight regain. The trap is thinking that the solution is physical actions as opposed to mental actions.
Finding happiness and acceptance in yourself will put you on the right direction to improving your relationship with food and having a healthy weight.
I think any diet advice is a waste of time if the person receiving is unhappy with who they see in the mirror. I say this because that poor relationship with food (think drug abuse) will always be there.
I know some of you will read this and continue to look for that next best weight loss secret.
If you take onething then take this:
"You don't lose weight by dieting. The truth is you get overweight/Obesse by abusing food It's why you abuse food that needs addressing. Then the issue will be fixed".
This is not addressed at OP. I am talking generally.
Basically the desire to overeat, the loss of control around food, that feeling of always being hungry and not satisfied is a mental issue. Not something that is to be fixed by a diet.
Let the attacks begin.....
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seekingdaintiness wrote: »There's a lot of misinformation out there. One big piece of it is the oft repeated "2000 calories a day is a healthy diet". That isn't true for everyone. I gained steadily on an average of 2000 healthy calories a day. I do have PCOS, but even if I didn't, smaller women can have slower metabolisms and don't necessarily need that amount of food, especially as they age.
There's a perception that everyone who becomes very overweight does so by eating fast food 2-3 times a day or otherwise eating junk, but simply by having second helpings or one snack too many over enough time, you can gain an enormous amount of weight in just a few years. Accordingly it was a real shock when I had to finally face how strictly I had to diet in order to lose. I'm still bitter about it, especially when people continue to believe I spent years pigging out constantly. But I have given up on trying to change anyone's mind. They can believe I'm a hog who stuffs my face all they want - I know it was never true.
Haven't read this long thread, but this would be my answer.
All the emotional/impulsive eating stuff aside fact is not all of our bodies seems to follow the standard calculations and IMO that makes it "harder".
I've never eaten an impressive amount of food, thought I do have a preference for high calorie density foods.
The general guideline is that your maintenance calories are 15 times your weight in pounds and that at 10 to 12 times your weight in pounds you should lose weight.
Personal experience makes me highly skeptical that I will be able to maintain at a desirable level at 15 times my body weight in pounds. At my goal that would be 2040 calories a day.
Right now I do a significant amount of exercise and have barely been trending downward at around 11 times weight in pounds on average.
If you peek at my diary you will see some higher bits recently...family vacation and a diet break.0
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