People who think fat is not a genetics issue

lsorci919

There are studies that say the same thing about alcoholism....
But just because there is a history of alcoholism in my family, that doesn't make me an alcoholic!
What makes me an alcoholic is the fact that I drank to excess, became dependent on it to run my life,
and when I got to the point of realizing it was killing me, I couldn't quit to save my life.... that's what made me an alcoholic!

Now, about food, it is basically the same thing, same behavior, same consequences and same results....
When I took control of my behavior, I became free of the obsession and lost the allergy for both....

Thanks for letting me share!

Alcoholism is the first thing that went through my head when I read the op. I have alcoholism and obesity in my family. So by genetics I should be a fat alcoholic. Yeah..................... That's not gonna happen. Just because it runs in your family doesn't mean it has to happen to you. You control what you eat and drink. I personally think when you take control of yourself and your decisions it makes it a lot easier.

bellesouth18

I battle genetics every day with my weight loss--PCOS and low thyroid. The Synthroid I take helps with thyroid levels, but I was too old to treat the PCOS when it was discovered when I was in my early 40s. But you know what? I've lost 64 lbs. in spite of it. Those two conditions just mean that I gain weight easily and can't take it off as easily as those with normal bodies. But it hasn't meant that I can't lose at all.

I was at a pretty normal weight until my mid 30s. I quit doing the strenuous exercise that I was used to doing and got lazy. I'm exercising again and monitoring calories and am about half way to my ultimate goal weight of 125 lbs. It can be done!

jennifer_417

After lots of research I have concluded this. You're making it way more complicated than it needs to be. Yes, genetics screwing up your weight loss are a real thing. And yes there are people that can practically eat whatever they want and not get as insanely fat as you or me. But it also doesn't stop you from losing weight unless you have a serious medical condition.

Bad genetics is basically your body's way of saying you're gonna have to work harder to get the results you want. Not that it's impossible, just a little more difficult. That's all. Some people might lose weight a little faster but the formula for weight loss is ridiculously easy. Eat less calories than you burn. Boom. Simple right? You do that and pretty much no matter what the weight will come off. No excuses. Do it!

Perfect.

evileen99

Genes can certainly influence weight, but it's 30% genetics, 70% environment.

I come from a long line of fat women. Women who eat fried foods, smother everything in gravy or butter, never pass up dessert, and never exercised a day in their lives.

I have managed, with those same genes, to maintain a normal weight my entire life by NOT recreating the environment I was brought up in.

MyJourney1960

It matters because if it really is unrealistic for me to lose and keep the weight off it is probably healthier to just maintain at current weight rather than put my body through the stress of repeated gains and losses. I am going to keep trying though, I am vain enough to shoot for a small chance of normal looking.

Argh, I should probably ban myself from posting here today, i don't actually want to bring you all down.

no i think you are missing the point.

while you may be genetically predisposed for *something* (obesity, etc), you *can* take steps to change this. if you are genetically tall and wide you will always be tall and wide, but that doesn't mean you have to be obese also. so the only thing stopping you fromkeeping the weight off is you. not your genetics.

firstsip

It matters because if it really is unrealistic for me to lose and keep the weight off it is probably healthier to just maintain at current weight rather than put my body through the stress of repeated gains and losses. I am going to keep trying though, I am vain enough to shoot for a small chance of normal looking.

Argh, I should probably ban myself from posting here today, i don't actually want to bring you all down.

Don't scare yourself with the "90% regain statistic." That inflated number has much more to do with HOW people lose weight and their knowledge of weight gain/loss and nutrition. Look on these boards--look at every magazine on a magazine rack. People attempt to lose weight as quickly as possible, eating low calorie diets, restricting odd foods or eating only certain ones, and generally overcomplicating things.

As a result, people: don't learn HOW their body functions, they become unhappy with what they're doing and only do so to reach a "goal weight" and then end up bingeing or overeating, AND low calorie diets (particularly with the slim emphasis on true weight lifting for women, in particular) end up with more shed lean body mass. Losing that LBM is a big deal when it comes to eating "normal" calories again--more will be put on in fat.

If you see how simplistic weight loss/gain is and value patience, you're not going to be that "90%."

ElliottTN

So maybe you should re-read this story and look at it from an entirely different perspective. Maybe something like this:

Despite genetic factors, those who ate excess calories......gained weight.

ElliottTN

Or maybe you could read the study in that: If we ever went through a time of extreme famine....I would have superior genetics.

Regardless, what does it really matter what the study says. Are you going to print it out and carry it around with you for the rest of your life? Maybe get a hole punch and tie it with a string around your neck? Besides, how bad would life suck without the struggle in the first place.

wheird

The age range could affect it because of the difference in hormone levels, a 17 year old would store more calories as muscle than fat, increasing their metabolism. Actual TDEE could be different based on actual activity done. Some people are naturally more jittery than others.

carolina822

In the long run, does it really matter if genetics play a role? I never doubted this was the case to some extent, but the same conclusion can be made according to the study: OVEREATING makes people gain weight, NOT genetics. Beyond that it's a matter of just how much they will gain when they overeat. About this article, I say, SO WHAT? Eat less and move more. This equation has not changed.

It matters in that people still judge the overweight as lazy slobs when the fact is that it just is a lot harder and requires constant vigilance that others don't have to worry about. If you weren't naturally talented at math, and you were required to be an engineer and while you CAN do it, it takes twice the effort and is ten times as frustrating, it would be pretty crappy to tsk tsk you for wanting to be a English teacher instead.

I'm not making excuses, just pointing out why it gets so damn hard for some of us to "simply" eat less and move more when it's such an uphil battle and one slip can wipe out a weeks worth of hard work and deprivation. Understanding that it really is harder and validating that with data makes it an easier pill ( for me at least) to swallow.

wheird

Except most overweight people simply do nothing to deliberately manage their weight. Not lazy, just used to avoidance.

missigus

I can see that there is a huge genetic role in weight gain factors. I have two children. They are fed the same things and have the same dietary restrictions as far as junk food consumption. My son has always been over-weight while my daughter has always been very under-weight. The fact is that they cannot eat the same and have the same result. There are many factors in the way the body utilizes food. The first one being your set metabolic rate. My daughter has a very high metabolism, and my son has a very slow one. After years of not know why he couldn't eat the same and not gain I had his blood work done and found out he had developed Hashimoto's thyroiditis,. No, we are not all put together the same and we are all susceptible to many different genetic differences good and bad that can affect our weight. What works for dietary and exercise for one body, doesn't for another. I too have the same thyroid condition. But is it an excuse to just throw my hands in the air and give up? Nope. I eat healthy most days and I work-out. What I have come to accept is that I may never have the same fat loss as someone else with an all natural, fast metabolism, but I can manage my health. I may never be "cut" but I can stay healthy and that's what's important in the end. Do it for your health not a certain look. Don't give up, discover what works for your body, and find a level you can maintain reasonably and be relatively content with.

Chevy_Quest

You are all correct and I sort of know this intellectually. I think maybe it's just that emotionally I am struggling with being on a diet (as in counting calories) for the rest of my life.

I need to man up really.

You are on your way - Great job!

ElliottTN

In the long run, does it really matter if genetics play a role? I never doubted this was the case to some extent, but the same conclusion can be made according to the study: OVEREATING makes people gain weight, NOT genetics. Beyond that it's a matter of just how much they will gain when they overeat. About this article, I say, SO WHAT? Eat less and move more. This equation has not changed.

It matters in that people still judge the overweight as lazy slobs when the fact is that it just is a lot harder and requires constant vigilance that others don't have to worry about. If you weren't naturally talented at math, and you were required to be an engineer and while you CAN do it, it takes twice the effort and is ten times as frustrating, it would be pretty crappy to tsk tsk you for wanting to be a English teacher instead.

I'm not making excuses, just pointing out why it gets so damn hard for some of us to "simply" eat less and move more when it's such an uphil battle and one slip can wipe out a weeks worth of hard work and deprivation. Understanding that it really is harder and validating that with data makes it an easier pill ( for me at least) to swallow.

This line of thinking is what got you to the place you are in now. One slip will not undo weeks of hard work. Believe it or not, people didn't just get this way overnight or by having one bad meal. Further, you shouldn't ever be depriving yourself. 500 cals below maintenance is basically like not eating one extra snack a day. If your doing more than that then you are basically paying your own price for lack of patience.

Oh and yeah, this is coming from a long time fat kid that is used to telling himself every excuse in the book. If you can still hear those little voices in the back of your head and give in to the hundreds of excuses than I just don't know what to tell you other than maybe at this time you just don't want it bad enough.

No, it is a simple as eat less move more...serious medical condition aside. The plan is simple, yes, the execution is harder for some but its still a simple concept.

Mr_Excitement

Every single one of those twins was running a calorie surplus.

Yes, some people will gain fat easier than others, and some lose more quickly than others. But everyone gains on a calorie surplus, and everyone loses with a calorie deficit.

It seems like you've made great progress already. It's not like you have to struggle and fight your nature for the rest of your life, either-- ideally you want to just change your habits, so maintaining at a lower weight just feels natural. Zero in on foods you like that keep you in your calorie goals, find physical activities you enjoy rather than *working* out, etc.

BenjaminMFP88

How do you explain this?

In a seminal series of experiments published in the 1990s, the Canadian researchers Claude Bouchard and Angelo Tremblay studied 31 pairs of male twins ranging in age from 17 to 29, who were sometimes overfed and sometimes put on diets. (None of the twin pairs were at risk for obesity based on their body mass or their family history.) In one study, 12 sets of the twins were put under 24-hour supervision in a college dormitory. Six days a week they ate 1,000 extra calories a day, and one day they were allowed to eat normally. They could read, play video games, play cards and watch television, but exercise was limited to one 30-minute daily walk. Over the course of the 120-day study, the twins consumed 84,000 extra calories beyond their basic needs.

That experimental binge should have translated into a weight gain of roughly 24 pounds (based on 3,500 calories to a pound). But some gained less than 10 pounds, while others gained as much as 29 pounds. The amount of weight gained and how the fat was distributed around the body closely matched among brothers, but varied considerably among the different sets of twins. Some brothers gained three times as much fat around their abdomens as others, for instance. When the researchers conducted similar exercise studies with the twins, they saw the patterns in reverse, with some twin sets losing more pounds than others on the same exercise regimen. The findings, the researchers wrote, suggest a form of “biological determinism” that can make a person susceptible to weight gain or loss.

It's a genuine question. I am beginning to feel absolutely destined to always be fat. There is a 90% plus chance of putting it all back on and then some if I do shift it. Maybe I'm just having a bad day :frown:

Genetics play their role, diet playes a role, exercise playes a role. Everything has it's place and all three have the ability to make fat loss easy or difficult. You may be proned to gain weight, but that in no way means that you are incapable of becoming fit, it may just be a bit harder to lose the fat and keep it off.

QuietBloom

What was not controlled (it seems to me) was NEAT calorie burning. Perhaps one of the twins was more prone to fidgeting, than the other, etc.

It's an interesting study, but not as well controlled as I would like to have seen.

carolina822

In the long run, does it really matter if genetics play a role? I never doubted this was the case to some extent, but the same conclusion can be made according to the study: OVEREATING makes people gain weight, NOT genetics. Beyond that it's a matter of just how much they will gain when they overeat. About this article, I say, SO WHAT? Eat less and move more. This equation has not changed.

It matters in that people still judge the overweight as lazy slobs when the fact is that it just is a lot harder and requires constant vigilance that others don't have to worry about. If you weren't naturally talented at math, and you were required to be an engineer and while you CAN do it, it takes twice the effort and is ten times as frustrating, it would be pretty crappy to tsk tsk you for wanting to be a English teacher instead.

I'm not making excuses, just pointing out why it gets so damn hard for some of us to "simply" eat less and move more when it's such an uphil battle and one slip can wipe out a weeks worth of hard work and deprivation. Understanding that it really is harder and validating that with data makes it an easier pill ( for me at least) to swallow.

This line of thinking is what got you to the place you are in now. One slip will not undo weeks of hard work. Believe it or not, people didn't just get this way overnight or by having one bad meal. Further, you shouldn't ever be depriving yourself. 500 cals below maintenance is basically like not eating one extra snack a day. If your doing more than that then you are basically paying your own price for lack of patience.

Oh and yeah, this is coming from a long time fat kid that is used to telling himself every excuse in the book. If you can still hear those little voices in the back of your head and give in to the hundreds of excuses than I just don't know what to tell you other than maybe at this time you just don't want it bad enough.

No, it is a simple as eat less move more...serious medical condition aside. The plan is simple, yes, the execution is harder for some but its still a simple concept.

No, what got me to where I am is feeling like there is something fundamentally wrong with ME as a person because I apparently just couldn't do something as easy as eating one less snack a day. I've been sitting on a two month plateau and the only thing that has changed substantially is that I have stepped up my workouts a lot. Stupid me thought I could eat a little more along with that but apparently I can't, and that's just something I'm going to have to live with. Such is life.

I'm learning that my body is pretty darned efficient at settling on a maintenance level - which hopefully will turn out to be a good thing at some point - so knowing that I'm not the only one DOES make me feel a little better about it and DOES keep me motivated, or at least not quite as grumpy about it.

cmriverside

Thank you for the congratulations, I am pleased with my loss. I am just a little tired I think. I had a bad weekend (for all sorts of reasons) and ended up eating way over my goal. It's logged and I am trying to move on and have a good week this week but it rather terrified me how easily I just went overboard.

OP, this is a good learning point that you have given yourself.

First of all, I regularly go over my calorie "goal" by 1000 or more calories. It happens and it is exceedingly easy to do. I reached maintenance and had to fiddle around with it for a couple years before I stumbled upon the things that work.

It isn't easy to actually gain weight. You have to over eat for days and weeks in a row. One weekend is just...one weekend. Get back at it.

Learn from this little misstep, understand we all do it - even at five years into maintenance, some days I just say, "Oh, whatever. Ice cream. All the cookies"

It does become intuitive - after a while - you won't have to obsessively count forever. You can weigh yourself regularly and stay in a range without logging. This is just ( as someone brilliantly said) Training Wheels.

astrampe

I think genetic factors play a role in fat loss.

I think anyone assuming that it's all genetics and not at all behavioral, is fooling themselves quite badly. I'm not suggesting you are doing this.

You cannot control your genetics.
You CAN control your lifestyle choices, and fortunately time and time again when we see examples of people who sustain caloric deficits, they lose weight. So fortunately there is something that can be done about it.

THIS!
It seems like you are looking for excuses - don't - it's really not valid and you are not doing yourself any favours.....

drshona

Genetics do play a role. Often, the way in which genes play a role is in controlling appetite. Either way, there must be an energy balance for you - even if it is different from the energy balance for a genetically different person - which will cause you to gain weight if you exceed it and lose weight if you come in under it.

There is a huge study of the genetics of obesity ongoing at Cambridge university - they have some interesting info on their website.

http://www.goos.org.uk/patients-and-families/how-do-genes-control-weight

Mr_Knight

Over the course of the 120-day study, the twins consumed 84,000 extra calories beyond their basic needs.

That experimental binge should have translated into a weight gain of roughly 24 pounds (based on 3,500 calories to a pound). But some gained less than 10 pounds, while others gained as much as 29 pounds.

I don't see the issue. The difference in weight gains is 19 pounds across 120 days. That equates to a difference in TDEE of only 500 calories a day. I have no trouble at all imagining a group of people where the "fastest" metabolism is burning 500 calories more than the "slowest" metabolism, especially as the extra caloric intake wasn't (as I understand it) adjusted for lean body mass.

NaoyukiTai

How do you explain this?

In a seminal series of experiments published in the 1990s, the Canadian researchers Claude Bouchard and Angelo Tremblay studied 31 pairs of male twins ranging in age from 17 to 29, who were sometimes overfed and sometimes put on diets. (None of the twin pairs were at risk for obesity based on their body mass or their family history.) In one study, 12 sets of the twins were put under 24-hour supervision in a college dormitory. Six days a week they ate 1,000 extra calories a day, and one day they were allowed to eat normally. They could read, play video games, play cards and watch television, but exercise was limited to one 30-minute daily walk. Over the course of the 120-day study, the twins consumed 84,000 extra calories beyond their basic needs.

That experimental binge should have translated into a weight gain of roughly 24 pounds (based on 3,500 calories to a pound). But some gained less than 10 pounds, while others gained as much as 29 pounds. The amount of weight gained and how the fat was distributed around the body closely matched among brothers, but varied considerably among the different sets of twins. Some brothers gained three times as much fat around their abdomens as others, for instance. When the researchers conducted similar exercise studies with the twins, they saw the patterns in reverse, with some twin sets losing more pounds than others on the same exercise regimen. The findings, the researchers wrote, suggest a form of “biological determinism” that can make a person susceptible to weight gain or loss.

It's a genuine question. I am beginning to feel absolutely destined to always be fat. There is a 90% plus chance of putting it all back on and then some if I do shift it. Maybe I'm just having a bad day :frown:

As Einstein said, Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

#1 If you go back to how you eat and exercise, the weight will come back. If you expect anything else, you are insane according to Einstein.

#2 If you change the daily food intake and exercise so that your net calories to be lower than TDEE, you will lose weight.
It's a life style change, not dieting.

If you do #2, there is no way you stay fat.

Gene affects BMR. So, it's easier/harder to lose weight depending on how you are predisposed.

But it does not mean that you stay fat because of gene, it's because you go back to the food/exercise pattern when you are fat.
So, use common sense. Only the change in your life style gives you the fitness you want.

Look at my weight ticker. I've totally changed what I eat, and since the food I'm eating works for making me lean, I'll stay with it. It's a night and day change in terms of what I used to eat and what I eat now.

ldrosophila

You arent destined to be fat, but what you are destined to do is work your azz off harder than someone who does not have the same genetic predispostion.

It will take longer for your body to reach a new set point because your fat cells are programmed to be a certain way or you have more than someone else. It's just time, patience, understanding your body, and working your f'en azz off.

That just means you have to manage your weight for the rest of your life. It is the same as you would manage it if you had a disease like diabetes or celiac's.

We can do it. It's a fight and its a battle and it's f'en hard but when we succeed our success is all the more sweeter.

ldrosophila

Genetics do play a role. Often, the way in which genes play a role is in controlling appetite. Either way, there must be an energy balance for you - even if it is different from the energy balance for a genetically different person - which will cause you to gain weight if you exceed it and lose weight if you come in under it.

There is a huge study of the genetics of obesity ongoing at Cambridge university - they have some interesting info on their website.

http://www.goos.org.uk/patients-and-families/how-do-genes-control-weight

excellent link ty

ldrosophila

I think the analogy with alcoholism is a good one actually. Alcoholics are expected to remain fiercely vigilant all their lives, maybe that's the way I need to look at it.

Thank you for the congratulations, I am pleased with my loss. I am just a little tired I think. I had a bad weekend (for all sorts of reasons) and ended up eating way over my goal. It's logged and I am trying to move on and have a good week this week but it rather terrified me how easily I just went overboard.

I think this is the best mindset for those of use who struggle. It keeps us accountable and it makes us act like grown ups and say OK I've got this disease/condition/addiction/afflictions I have to take control of it before it controls my life.

ldrosophila

Acknowledgement from others that it *is* harder for some people IMO is important, because there's nothing worse than really struggling with something then other people acting like your struggle isn't real.

BRAVO!

And OP your cat is darn cute