ARE ALL DIETERS MESSED UP IN THE HEAD?
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From one extreme to the other...
That can't be normal.
Something must be off in our heads compared to people that can maintain their whole lives without ever getting too fat, let it be
lack of self control, emotional eating, etc.
A screw's missing, what is it?
Staying active and regularly exercising.0 -
Maybe!
I have a different head mess now though. After years of feast/famine I lost 28lbs and have been maintaining for a year. I exercised 3xwk during loss and also mini trampolined and walked hard (have been mountain walking for 17yrs). I now do wt machines 2x wk, mini tramp and walking.
Although I am at top end of my wt range I really don't want to lose any more, I am 46 and already look like a shelled tortoise! However, I am pretty sure I'd be called skinny fat as I still carry wt on my tum - limbs are thin / skinny but muscular.
SO - after years of bad food habits and being overweight I have cracked that bit......only to find a different area where I feel a failure and it's really quite affecting me. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
There actually aren't many people that never get fat without dieting. it's just that some people diet before they get fat, and others don't start until they are overweight or obese.
And this.
Cutitng back a bit and/or exercising a bit more occasionally to deal with a couple extra pounds that have built up is a pretty normal thing to do for most non-fat people.
Pretty much everyone has a lose a few for swimsuit season. If you're not fat this is relatively painless and easy, and doesn't take but a few weeks.0 -
Part of it is emotional eating or boredom, but there's nothing to offset that now. I'm sure people overeat in the old days, but back when they were working on farms or at physically demanding factory jobs was the norm. Even though there weren't as many women in the workforce, housework was a lot more physical, too. Also, there were less processed foods available so people ate healthier by default. That means there was a lot more "wiggle room" for those who consumed more calories.
Now we live in a society where we fight or a parking spot by the door at the health club. We're also bombarded by unrealistic media images that make us insecure, whereas once upon a time we wouldn't have worry about not being Barbie Doll thin. Those are just a few factors that I think contribute to the overall messing with our heads.0 -
Yep. Brain likes glucose. Sugar is often demonized by dieters (And that one dude who started the anti-sugar trend) And thinking about food all day makes you crazy. Just because.0
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1. The lack of self-control
2. Some people do emotionally eat
3. We are lazier now than back in the day
4. Our portion sizes are double what they used to be.
Those people who seem to maintain, listen to their body, move throughout the day, and don't follow the current crazies for diets, etc.0 -
There are a lot of reasons to revise a diet that have nothing to do with being "messed up in the head."
1. Life changes - In high school and college we aren't nearly as sedentary as we are at work. So, we have to adjust to sitting at a desk for the majority of our lives and that involves diet and exercise.
2. Moving - I moved from NYC where I walked everywhere to a place where I need to drive everywhere. It's amazing how much this has impacted my activity levels and, subsequently, my daily burn.
3. More responsibility - As we gain more responsibility in our jobs or family life (kids), time gets crunched. It's easy to put off exercising or cooking a healthy meal when so busy.
Does that mean that these should be excuses? No. But, it does explain ways that people gain weight that have nothing to do with an abnormal relationship with food.0 -
There actually aren't many people that never get fat without dieting. it's just that some people diet before they get fat, and others don't start until they are overweight or obese.
I eat when I'm hungry, I drink when I'm dry...
Never been overweight or dieted for weight loss. Honestly, I really don't think about food that much.0 -
Overeating to assuage my emotions was my downfall.
Started about age 15. Parents went though a very nasty near-divorce that I wish had actually happened. There's no way a divorce would have been any worse than what they put their family through by staying together.
Hard to get a cap on those anger issues as well, but I've managed well on my own in that. Now it's just the stress relief I'm working on.0 -
Not all, but a significant amount are.0
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Something must be off in our heads compared to people that can maintain their whole lives without ever getting too fat, let it be
lack of self control, emotional eating, etc.
A screw's missing, what is it?
For many of us, it's physiological. If I eat 1600 calories at 60% carbs/25% fat/15% protein, my body responds differently than it does to 1600 calories at 20% carbs/60% fat/20% protein. In the former case, I'll be hungry all the time, thinking about food constantly, craving sweets, and may gain a few pounds. In the latter, I can maintain weight or even lose a little, without cravings. YMMV.
Sure, some people do have emotional issues with food, and others lack self-control. But that isn't the case with everyone.0 -
I think it's more of a "I'm bored, so I'll eat thing" or an "emotional eating" problem.
Personally, I'm a junk food junkie. Even if I'm not hungry and something sweet is around... I have to eat it. I bodybuild, have my diet in check, and know what I can and can't do and I still battle with sweets.
I've learned to incorporate a small fix or it by making a majority of my carbs junk food, and yes, I've lost weight AND built and continue to build muscle doing this so don't lecture me on "YOU NEED OATS AND SWEET POTATOES"... I call that mentality B.S.
You need oats and sweet potatoes..
ok.. nevermind.. just oats.. sweet potatoes are over rated..0 -
I'd like to think not...
I gained weight because I used to be very active and ate like a horse to support that activity...then I got a desk job and started working a gazillion hours and traveling for business, etc...I was far less active but continued to eat like a horse. I have since made adjustments for that and have become more active with regular exercise and I have moderated my diet to allow me to lose my excess 40 Lbs and maintain my current weight. I've had little issue maintaining my current weight for the last 8 months without logging...it was simply a matter of getting things back into balance for me.
I guess I wouldn't consider myself a "dieter" though...MFP was the first time I really took anything serious enough to actually say I was dieting. I tried South Beach a couple of times years ago, but it was a pretty half assed effort that lasted about a week.0 -
I personally don't know of one person in real life that's 'naturally' thin past their late 20s. Either they do something to keep their weight in check, or they're overweight/obese. There was one person I know, that I thought fell into the natural category, but a recent fb post of hers mentioning diet pills blew that out of the water
For me-I was actually 'naturally' thin until just a few years ago-I never had to watch portion sizes, was clueless to how calories worked etc. And I maintained solidly in the middle of a healthy bmi. I didn't even own a scale, but the number stayed pretty stable every year at my annual physicals. Then I had 3 pregnancies close together and hit my 30s. It all went down hill from there :grumble: But, I've lost the extra weight with little fuss and I'm now maintaining the loss with even less effort (just watching portion sizes and spot checking calories), so life has gone on pretty much as normal, except I now spend way to much time on MFP and my husband has started complaining about having to wear dirty uniforms to work :laugh:0 -
I think it's more of a "I'm bored, so I'll eat thing" or an "emotional eating" problem.
Personally, I'm a junk food junkie. Even if I'm not hungry and something sweet is around... I have to eat it. I bodybuild, have my diet in check, and know what I can and can't do and I still battle with sweets.
I've learned to incorporate a small fix or it by making a majority of my carbs junk food, and yes, I've lost weight AND built and continue to build muscle doing this so don't lecture me on "YOU NEED OATS AND SWEET POTATOES"... I call that mentality B.S.
You need oats and sweet potatoes..
ok.. nevermind.. just oats.. sweet potatoes are over rated..
You have to mash the sweet potatoes and stir in the oats. Then drizzle the whole thing with pecans, maple syrup and whipped cream.0 -
I think it's more of a "I'm bored, so I'll eat thing" or an "emotional eating" problem.
Personally, I'm a junk food junkie. Even if I'm not hungry and something sweet is around... I have to eat it. I bodybuild, have my diet in check, and know what I can and can't do and I still battle with sweets.
I've learned to incorporate a small fix or it by making a majority of my carbs junk food, and yes, I've lost weight AND built and continue to build muscle doing this so don't lecture me on "YOU NEED OATS AND SWEET POTATOES"... I call that mentality B.S.
You need oats and sweet potatoes..
ok.. nevermind.. just oats.. sweet potatoes are over rated..
You have to mash the sweet potatoes and stir in the oats. Then drizzle the whole thing with pecans, maple syrup and whipped cream.
:noway:
That sounds super sweet.. like sickeningly sweet, I'll pass but someone else can try and report back. :drinker:0 -
But as a species, shouldn't we be adapting to environments? As mentioned why aren't fit and lean people suffering being overweight/obese when all the same foods are available to them? While I agree instinct plays a part, socially we can adapt to what is being viewed as accepted. For instance wouldn't it be beneficial to have as many offspring as one can to ensure genes get passed on? Yet, a person who isn't in a monogamous relationship is possibly viewed as unfit to have a family?Our species evolved in times when the availability of food was sporadic and you had to eat all the calorie dense food you could whenever you had the chance. Now the food is everywhere always and we have to fight our instincts. We are more fish out of water than messed up in the head.
Thoughts?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Technology has made us lazy. I don't like exercise, and I don't have any friends to play sports with, so I naturally spend most of my time on the laptop. It turns out that sitting on your butt all day puts you on the fast track to weight gain. Even walking around isn't all that convenient. Everyone is driving, intersections are everywhere, people don't know how to drive etc. it's just not safe. Especially if you live in California, Florida, Texas, or New York (the states with the most pedestrian casualties).0
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It's the dieting mentality that's messed up. It goes something like-"tomorrow I'm starting my diet and I'm going to cut out all those "bad" foods and be super "good!" Bye bye icecream, cookies (or whatever fits your definition of unclean foods) hello bland boring foods! After all weight loss can't be as simple as a calorie deficiet can it? No! Certain healthy foods magically melt fat off your body by default. Now I'm not saying we should eat nothing but cookies and pizza though you could lose weight that way (though you'd probably feel pretty awful). Eating healthy definitely has its benefits, but is it realistic to eat "perfect" 100% percent of the time? For most people no. There comes a time when you do want that cookie. But with that "can't have" dieting mentality you usually feel so deprived that that one cookie turns into a free for all and then of course there's justification, I've been so good I deserve it. If you can't see yourself eating that way the rest of your life the diet is unsustainable and you'll just gain weight back when you go off your diet.From one extreme to the other...
That can't be normal.
Something must be off in our heads compared to people that can maintain their whole lives without ever getting too fat, let it be
lack of self control, emotional eating, etc.
A screw's missing, what is it?0 -
Our species evolved in times when the availability of food was sporadic and you had to eat all the calorie dense food you could whenever you had the chance. Now the food is everywhere always and we have to fight our instincts. We are more fish out of water than messed up in the head.
If that were true everyone would be this way0
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