Why is gaining weight so easy

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Replies

  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
    Physiology. The body is VERY efficient at storing energy and sustaining energy for survival. Evolution hasn't caught up fast enough to compensate for the agricultural/industrialization of food.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition


    You may include it within "industrialization", but I also like to point out the increased commercialization of food. Way back in time, we were gathering food ourselves as our bodies demanded. Then, when we had specialization of labor, the farmer was going to sell you what he produced. But now, not only do we have the industrialization of food production, but those producers are paying other companies simply to go out and make us want to buy that food. You can be going along in your day and eating just fine, but then a carefully and specifically crafted commercial comes on that makes you start to want to buy a restaurant's burger.

    Heck, I can turn on my TV and it won't take long for a commercial to come on for a restaurant whose nearest franchise is 2.5 hours away. Back in the old ways of doing things, such a distant food item would not have come to my attention.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Actually for some it is very hard to gain weight. It is actually easier to lose weight. Do you think it's easier to eat in 1000 calorie surplus than to eat in 1000 calorie deficit? The latter is easier.
    It's so true that those who have trouble gaining are poo-poo'd while those who have trouble losing are recognized.

    I hope people who need to gain are not hurt or offended by anything said here.

    This thread is in the diet and weight loss section, the OP starts with "for those of us who tend to put on weight".
    Still and all, I hope that nobody would be hurt by anything I said. (Or anything anyone else said.)

    I don't want to belittle what, for some, is a serious problem.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    There's a finite number of pounds in the world and when someone releases one, it floats around in the atmosphere looking for a likely host to attach to. Some of us are very good pound hosts and tend to vacuum up many of the free radical pounds in the universe ... at least, that's my excuse.
  • pmumble
    pmumble Posts: 19
    Because your body is actually better geared for survival than those who store fat with more difficulty. Fat is a resource for your body in times of scarcity. You've just got better genes!! :D

    The easy solution is to move more so you can eat more. What MFP is all about.



    Paleo is a fad. Most people won't stick to it.

    ^ Huh? Silly. Then you list some diets you're on that are based on macronutrient restriction. Paleo is a way for many of us to kick auto-immune diseases that were caused by industrial agriculture. Maybe some people do it as a fad, but many of us will be paleo our entire lives now that we've found a way to cure ourselves. Paleo is THE natural way of eating that we would fall back on if nobody was producing our agriculture for us.

    Plus, it makes you feel great. :)
  • ClaireJames776
    ClaireJames776 Posts: 4
    Its simple:

    We live in a culture where 90% of us are addicted to sugar. Virtually everything made has sugar in it now. On top of that the companies that produce foods are constantly making them less and less "filling" and more and more "tasty" by the use of harmful additives. These two things ensure higher profit margins.

    Take 4 chocolate chip cookies for example......they equal roughly the same amount of carbs as a cup of oatmeal, as much sugar as 2 apples, and about the same fat as 30-60 almonds given the size of each cookie.

    Which is more filling?
  • LaReinaDeCorazones
    LaReinaDeCorazones Posts: 274 Member
    Because sometimes I swear, I have to but "look" at a piece of cheesecake and its added to my *kitten*!
    Me too. ...nummy nummy cheesecake. ..Mmmm cheesecake * homer voice*
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    Its simple:

    We live in a culture where 90% of us are addicted to sugar. Virtually everything made has sugar in it now. On top of that the companies that produce foods are constantly making them less and less "filling" and more and more "tasty" by the use of harmful additives. These two things ensure higher profit margins.

    Take 4 chocolate chip cookies for example......they equal roughly the same amount of carbs as a cup of oatmeal, as much sugar as 2 apples, and about the same fat as 30-60 almonds given the size of each cookie.

    Which is more filling?

    The cookies.
    Because I ate them due to me wanting them, being hungry, and because I fit them into my macros. Plus, I hate oatmeal and almonds, so I'd never eat them.
    Sugar isn't satan incarnate. It is okay as long as its consumed in moderation. Which helps people avoid gaining weight or overeating.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Actually for some it is very hard to gain weight. It is actually easier to lose weight. Do you think it's easier to eat in 1000 calorie surplus than to eat in 1000 calorie deficit? The latter is easier.
    It's so true that those who have trouble gaining are poo-poo'd while those who have trouble losing are recognized.

    I hope people who need to gain are not hurt or offended by anything said here.

    This thread is in the diet and weight loss section, the OP starts with "for those of us who tend to put on weight".

    Yeppp.

    Plus...a 1,000 calorie deficit is just as easy to get as a 1,000 calorie surplus. Calorie dense foods, anyone?
    This thread is not a competition for who has it worse.

    I'm just stating from my experience that people who want to gain weight have a tough time eating and stuffing there face with all that food. I know a guy would had to eat 4000 calories a day to gain one pound a week. He said it was very difficult to eat all that food.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    Actually for some it is very hard to gain weight. It is actually easier to lose weight. Do you think it's easier to eat in 1000 calorie surplus than to eat in 1000 calorie deficit? The latter is easier.
    It's so true that those who have trouble gaining are poo-poo'd while those who have trouble losing are recognized.

    I hope people who need to gain are not hurt or offended by anything said here.

    This thread is in the diet and weight loss section, the OP starts with "for those of us who tend to put on weight".

    Yeppp.

    Plus...a 1,000 calorie deficit is just as easy to get as a 1,000 calorie surplus. Calorie dense foods, anyone?
    This thread is not a competition for who has it worse.

    I'm just stating from my experience that people who want to gain weight have a tough time eating and stuffing there face with all that food. I know a guy would had to eat 4000 calories a day to gain one pound a week. He said it was very difficult to eat all that food.

    I stand by my original point that a 1,000 surplus can be created through calorie dense foods just like one can create a 1,000 calorie deficit through limiting portions.
    My friends who have high cal needs easily meet them through eating dense foods.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
    Its simple:

    We live in a culture where 90% of us are addicted to sugar. Virtually everything made has sugar in it now. On top of that the companies that produce foods are constantly making them less and less "filling" and more and more "tasty" by the use of harmful additives. These two things ensure higher profit margins.

    Take 4 chocolate chip cookies for example......they equal roughly the same amount of carbs as a cup of oatmeal, as much sugar as 2 apples, and about the same fat as 30-60 almonds given the size of each cookie.

    Which is more filling?

    The cookies.

    And this is why there are so many fat people running around looking for magical fixes.
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    Our brains are still wired to chase Mammoths across the tundra at the foot of the last ice-age's glaciers. If you find the food, you eat the food, because that might be all you get for awhile.
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    *eye roll* in come the millions of posters convinced sugar is the super devil. No, no after you.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    We live in a culture where 90% of us are addicted to sugar. Virtually everything made has sugar in it now. On top of that the companies that produce foods are constantly making them less and less "filling" and more and more "tasty" by the use of harmful additives. These two things ensure higher profit margins.

    Glad I'm in the 10%. :drinker:
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    for us who tend to put on weight? I know you have to eat 3500 calories above your maintanance calories to gain one pound of fat.3500 calories is allot of food so I was just wondering what type of foods that can make it easy to reach that number.

    Eritrea says hello.

    It's not about the types of food, it's about the quantities. It's easy to put weight on because for those of us in the developed world its easy to be around too much affordable food.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    Its simple:

    We live in a culture where 90% of us are addicted to sugar. Virtually everything made has sugar in it now. On top of that the companies that produce foods are constantly making them less and less "filling" and more and more "tasty" by the use of harmful additives. These two things ensure higher profit margins.

    Take 4 chocolate chip cookies for example......they equal roughly the same amount of carbs as a cup of oatmeal, as much sugar as 2 apples, and about the same fat as 30-60 almonds given the size of each cookie.

    Which is more filling?

    The cookies.

    And this is why there are so many fat people running around looking for magical fixes.

    Did you even read the rest of my post before writing that response?

    Edit: I'm adding in the part you conveniently deleted and left out.

    "The cookies.
    Because I ate them due to me wanting them, being hungry, and because I fit them into my macros. Plus, I hate oatmeal and almonds, so I'd never eat them.
    Sugar isn't satan incarnate. It is okay as long as its consumed in moderation. Which helps people avoid gaining weight or overeating."
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    Its simple:

    We live in a culture where 90% of us are addicted to sugar. Virtually everything made has sugar in it now. On top of that the companies that produce foods are constantly making them less and less "filling" and more and more "tasty" by the use of harmful additives. These two things ensure higher profit margins.

    Take 4 chocolate chip cookies for example......they equal roughly the same amount of carbs as a cup of oatmeal, as much sugar as 2 apples, and about the same fat as 30-60 almonds given the size of each cookie.

    Which is more filling?

    The cookies.

    And this is why there are so many fat people running around looking for magical fixes.

    Did you even read the rest of my post before writing that response?

    I got distracted by cookies :wink:
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Paleo is a way for many of us to kick auto-immune diseases that were caused by industrial agriculture.

    The vast majority of people on "Paleo" are getting most of their calories from foods that weren't even available prior to "industrial agriculture". The whole thing is a marketing ploy with no basis in science.

    If people want to eat that way, whatever, I don't care, it's no better or worse than the million other fad diets that preceded it. But to attempt to paint as something that actually makes biochemical sense is pure fantasy.
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
    Because food is so delicious and a lot of us have no concept of how many calories are actually in things.

    For example I'm making a Banoffie Pie for pudding tonight as its my husbands birthday. As this is the first time making it since starting to look at weight management I put the recipe in and oops! it's 790 calories a slice. That's more than any dinner I've had the last few weeks and in the past it wasn't unusual for me to make a pie then eat about half of it myself over the course of a couple of days. That's 3200 calories in grazing that I would have had as well as my usual meals.

    The above is the same for me - I starting putting crumbles and sticky toffee pudding in the recipe section, it's scary. I would also pick at the leftovers the next day and eat 100 cals each time I went to the fridge.

    Or I'd make a perfectly healthy meal and eat 2 portions of it, or, eat the same sized portions as my marathon running freaky sporty hyperactive husband. I'm a secretary during day and student at night, I spend a significant portion of my day on my *kitten*. I'm an ardent feminist, the food, like everything, is to be shared equally - but there's no need for me to eat the same amount as him.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Actually for some it is very hard to gain weight. It is actually easier to lose weight. Do you think it's easier to eat in 1000 calorie surplus than to eat in 1000 calorie deficit? The latter is easier.

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    PS: Your friend having trouble eating 4000 calories must have been trying to stick to "clean" foods - if I had to guess!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Paleo is a fad. Most people won't stick to it.
    Keto is a fad too, and is any eating plan that has a name to it.

    Eat real food, eat less than you burn, and you will lose weight no matter what type of diet your choose.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    It's easier to just eat rather than moderate food.
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    Paleo is a fad. Most people won't stick to it.
    Keto is a fad too, and is any eating plan that has a name to it.

    Eat real food, eat less than you burn, and you will lose weight no matter what type of diet your choose.

    But it will be easier for some people to stick to keto diets, and easier for others to stick to low fat diets. Ultimate calorie balance determines your results, but hunger (and lack of it from eating things that make you feel full) is what determines your success.

    All diets fail if you don't stick to them; being ravenous all the time is a recipe for failure.
  • nykismile
    nykismile Posts: 198
    It's all relative to the individual, but generally speaking, eating a bit more than is required to maintain is a pretty easy thin to do. Let's say a sedentary female maintains on roughly 1600 calories....It wouldn't be that hard to eat a few hundred more calories than that...one extra handful of nuts that weighs about an ounce? 160 calories. An apple...about 90 calories. Right there you're talking about gaining about 1/2 Lb per week if those two very healthful items are in excess of your maintenance calories. It's pretty easy to overeat is the point.

    This is why I'm scared of food.

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