To think that people pretend not to understand obesity

I'd say I'm addicted to food. I crave it all the time. I notice my weight go up after several months of not eating or exercising like I should. Moderation!

And what caused you to be overweight in the first place that resulted in you having to only eat 700 cals a day.

Yes, being addicted to food and being unable to stop oneself from overeating? Why are you shouting “EXACTLY!” like you’ve made some kind of gotcha?

It isn't all about moderation though. I had to get down to below 700 calories a day to lose weight while in menopause which isn't sustainable long term. And even then, once I'd been doing that for a while, I was eventually unable to lose any weight. I did that for a year and a half with GP monitoring.

That isn't moderation. It's starvation.

EXACTLY! You said it yourself- binge eaters. Or as another person said 'cake monsters' you and she are using those words to describe potentially what causes someone to be obese.

Just because you don’t ’believe it’ doesn’t mean it’s not a fact.

That wasn't what I said.

What I said that women in menopause may not be able to lose weight even if they fast. I know this, because I did it. While being monitored by my GP.

I didn't say all women.
Or that we need to fast.

The point I was making was that it becomes almost impossible for some women to lose weight no matter how much they reduce their food/calorie intake once in or through menopause.

Eh? People drink alcohol but are not alcoholics? Yes, just like people eat food but are not binge eaters. But there are binge eaters, and there are alcoholics.

Food can't really be compared to alcohol or drugs, because those are optional substances we control at a societal level by laws and approbation. Whereas food is something we all need. And an individual's desire for food, satiety levels, tendency to see food as good or bad: all individual, all able to be manipulated, all hard to self-report. Plus it's perverse to take an issue that's fraught with personal, societal, familial emotional issues - and medical context matters so much as well - and boil it down to 'I don't understand why people don't simply eat less and better'. It's a bit dim when we all know instinctively how humans vary.

No, I think there are unhappily obese people because of poor education around food, meaning people get trapped in a toxic cycle of dieting and bingeing. And because it sucks to deprive yourself 24/7, which is what is required to lose a lot of weight.

It simply cannot be compared to trying to kick a heroin addiction!

Having said that, I think if people want to take weight loss drugs they should crack on. Anything to bring people's weight down to healthy a limit should be encouraged. My inlaws are morbidly obese and it's not an old age I'd wish on anyone.

Come on really. People themselves know about their own habits and lifestyle.

Its about choice and also moderation. Plenty people drink alcohol and are not alcoholics. Smoking that's a choice same with drugs. But we all eat food.

And of course everyone who is overweight knows for certain whether they're over weight because they are idle pigs stuffing their faces all day or if they have an underlying medical condition that makes losing weight/moving difficult...

Oh wait. They don't. And finding answers/dx is really difficult because you're told it IS just that you're a greedy lazy cake monster.

But can’t you see that it clearly is, or there wouldn’t be (unhappily) obese people?

And for the record I dont judge people based on their size. Its about being healthy not a certain size. Also if someone is happy being bigger then great! But when people openly admit to scoffing whole packets of biscuits etc then also claim to be on a diet, then moan about how hard it is. Sorry no I dont have sympathy. I couldn't tell you the amount of times I've wanted to eat a whole packet of something but I dont because I know the consequences and care about my health.

No, as I don't believe food to be addictive in the same way as drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.

Do you feel the same about alcoholics and drug addicts- do you think “just don’t have a drink then” or “just don’t shoot up then”?

Well I'm here not to, OP asked a question I'm giving my replies to help answer it. I am one of those people who dont 'understand' it.

With respect, understanding obesity means understanding you can’t solve it by dieting.

You solve it by resetting your connection with your hunger signals and satiated signals. You reset it so you no longer crave binging or crap food, but so that your body is in tune with what you want to eat and when.

I used to be a compulsive over-eater/ binge eater and bulimic ( for about a decade) and I conquered it not by focusing on dieting but by setting a long term goal to attune to my hunger and to feelings of being satiated. I did lose weight, but that was a by product and not my goal.

I read an account on here about what MJ has done for the poster ( food no longer on her mind all the time etc), and I thought, ‘that’s exactly what I managed to do myself’ ( prior to MJ existing).

So I do think for many people it is possible without drugs.

People always fill these threads with claims of how the environment/ biology etc makes it impossible for people to lose weight. But it is possible, if you set the right goal, and strategy. It’s just hard. But then all things worth doing are hard.

Got it in one.

And when there are so many more worthy reasons for humans to feel good about themselves … But some definitely cling to it as a badge of self worth.

I was a very low bmi right up until my last baby, at which point I have moved, still within the “ healthy” category but much higher up it! In hindsight, I feel 18/19 was too low and I was healthier when I gained a bit.

I absolutely know I was no more worthy as a person when in my teeniest sizes - actually probably more self-absorbed if I’m honest. But effort-wise nothing has changed. It’s just hormones from peri.

I agree it's a way of upping your status by showing how good looking and healthy you are both mentally and physically. They are like wealthy people who insist the poor are all feckless layabouts and that we all have the same 24 hours in the day.

Secret eaters

@NorthernGirl1981- I certainly plan to stay on it long term after reaching a weight I’m happy with.

It’s addressing my insulin issues, improving my blood sugar, and doing wonders for my brain. It seems illogical to stop taking something that is having such a positive effect.

I'm enjoying the references to the deserving ("obese due to an actual medical condition") vs undeserving fatties which appear on these threads. The need to judge is really strong in some people apparently!

For some people being naturally slim or having the automatic built in ability to see food as fuel and nothing more gives them a sense of moral high ground, the weight loss medication threatens this. The people who are particularly spiteful towards obese people in my experience are the ones that get validation and self worth by being naturally slim, they wear it as a badge of honour.