You eat too much.

Please forgive me for sounding harsh, but bite me.

Most of us don't lead happy-go-lucky lives. It's not all sunshine and roses. So yes, I have times I over-indulge, I own that. But I also have employees acting like children and who don't want to be part of a team, I have a teacher husband who is stressed to the max with his job (AND he teaches in Illinois, one of the worst states for it), nearly $20K of emergency plumbing work this year to pay for, and a sick dog. On top of it, we've been trying to conceive for 5 years.

So yeah, I overindulge. I own it. I know it. However, I do work out on a regular basis, and I try my hardest to stick to more healthy foods. It's a daily struggle. There is no one reason why, every person here has their own unique struggle.

You don't appear to own it all that much if you get offended by someone pointing it out. The entire point is to decouple emotions from the facts.

I'm offended because it's not that easy. It's not that cut and dried for most people. I myself don't overeat just because I like food. It wouldn't matter how much I exercise or watch what I eat, if I can't resolve the REASONS behind why I do so, I will continue to struggle with the problem.

My sister is a perfect example. She works out like a fiend and has a body to show for it, but let her take a week or two break from it...She's a small business owner with 5 stepkids (ALL teenagers). Her overeating and binging won't simply be resolved by exercise and diet. She's fully aware of her actions, but if she can't get to the reasons behind her binges, she's never going to be completely healthy.

Please forgive me for sounding harsh, but bite me.

Most of us don't lead happy-go-lucky lives. It's not all sunshine and roses. So yes, I have times I over-indulge, I own that. But I also have employees acting like children and who don't want to be part of a team, I have a teacher husband who is stressed to the max with his job (AND he teaches in Illinois, one of the worst states for it), nearly $20K of emergency plumbing work this year to pay for, and a sick dog. On top of it, we've been trying to conceive for 5 years.

So yeah, I overindulge. I own it. I know it. However, I do work out on a regular basis, and I try my hardest to stick to more healthy foods. It's a daily struggle. There is no one reason why, every person here has their own unique struggle.

You don't appear to own it all that much if you get offended by someone pointing it out. The entire point is to decouple emotions from the facts.

I'm offended because it's not that easy. It's not that cut and dried for most people. I myself don't overeat just because I like food. It wouldn't matter how much I exercise or watch what I eat, if I can't resolve the REASONS behind why I do so, I will continue to struggle with the problem.

My sister is a perfect example. She works out like a fiend and has a body to show for it, but let her take a week or two break from it...She's a small business owner with 5 stepkids (ALL teenagers). Her overeating and binging won't simply be resolved by exercise and diet. She's fully aware of her actions, but if she can't get to the reasons behind her binges, she's never going to be completely healthy.

If I may, I think you're reading something into this post that isn't there. I'm also an emotional and binge eater. I needed a good therapist to help me lose the weight and I'm not finding it easy to keep off. I had to fight through a lot of emotional issues and complications to stay on this journey. But jonnythan's post is still completely accurate. Those emotional issues we all have may make it harder, they may mean we have to approach weight loss differently (by incorporating a mental health component), but they don't change the math.

If you, your sister, your aunt, your best friend, or your cousin's roommate aren't losing weight it's because they're eating more than their body burns. What they do with that information and how they approach their dieting aren't addressed by this post. Ultimately, we all have to figure that out for ourselves.

I am often told I am hard to understand when explaining things. I tend to leave out explanations that are clear to me, but may not come across as such to other people. I'm not putting anyone down, merely stating the reason why may not be clarifying what I'm trying to say very well.

"If you achieve and maintain a healthy body composition and exercise regularly you will have basically the best physical health you can have within a margin of maybe a couple of percent. "

This statement bothers me. You can do all the exercises and follow a strict diet, but if you don't resolve the issues behind WHY you're overeating/binging/purging/starving yourself, you're not going to be leading a HEALTHY life or be in the best physical health. Health is all of it, mind, body and soul. To me, the viewpoint of the creator of this thread is only about the physical (body) health of a person. If you can't resolve your emotions behind why you're eating 6 cupcakes in a row or exercising for hours on end to achieve an unrealistic body image, you're not "successful", no matter how good or bad your body looks.

The original post feels more like a tear-down, than a lift-up. It may be just the kick in the pants that some people need, but for me, it feels detrimental to motivation and does not inspire me.

It struck a wrong cord with me. Perhaps I should have just not have replied, as everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it's not in my nature. The topic just felt wrong to me.

I agree we eat too much and I also support the other point of view that until we are free of problems we'll keep finding solace the only way we know - in food. I also realize that people need to find ways to deal with issues: meditation, sleep, exercise, religion, whatever so that soul food replaces sweets and pasties, etc. It is hard, it is a journey of its own, growing and maturing as a human being and it can happen at 20 it can happen at 65. One step at a time, that's all we can do.