Why do people overeat and/or become obese? Is it harder than average for some to lose weight?

Tretop76

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.

aliblain

SezxyStef wrote: »

moe0303 wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

moe0303 wrote: »

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.

d4_54

JaneSnowe wrote: »

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.....

lemurcat12

Here you go: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10439311/why-do-people-think-overeating-is-compensating

ilex70

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.