To think that people pretend not to understand obesity

Again - addictive foods are made that way - to trigger the pleasure pathways in the brain - you don’t need a “medical condition” you just need a brain that is more susceptible to reacting strongly to these substances either through genetics or just the way your brain is/biological variations.

So yes it is partly the food they eat (which is designed to be addictive) and partly how their body metabolises and stores food - and it is way more complex than calories in/calories out.

Here is just one short quote which might help people understand why obesity is very complex - people can google “NAD” to understand better if they want to help the obesity epidemic rather than just victim blame.

“NAD+ plays a crucial role in metabolism and energy production, and its levels are often reduced in obesity, potentially contributing to metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance. Boosting NAD+ through precursors like nicotinamide riboside (NR) or nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) may help improve metabolic health and combat obesity.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37761000/#:~:text=Adipose%20tissue%20plays%20a%20key,;%20sirtuin;%20type%202%20diabetes.

Obesity is a symptom not a disease or mindset. It's a descriptor and it can be the result of many things. Some of them are undeniably diet related but some of them are medical conditions, whatever the Fat Shamers like to say. I have lymphoedema. In my case I'm probably at least overweight and might or might not be obese, even without this condition, but someone else could still have lymphoedema and look obese even though they were carrying no more fat than the critics themselves. I'm sick to the back teeth of people who say obesity is always caused by overeating and state this as if it is fact. It's not; it's simplistic twaddle. For most of my life the fact that people might be taking one look at me and making the judgement that I was weak, lazy and somehow less than them would make me very sad and uncomfortable. I'm glad to say that I've finally reached an age where I realise that those people and their tiny, uneducated minds are nothing.

There is a reason that the population is getting larger, all the chemicals in our food and environment are permanently altering our microbes and hormones causing metabolic and hormonal issues. For some people this can cause leptin deficiencies so the body doesn’t get the usual cues to say it is full, for others it can be insulin resistance which causes the body to store fat no matter how much you diet, it can cause food to travel through the digestive system faster which can increase hunger, slow down metabolism etc… they are only really beginning to tap the surface of all of the issues. More and more people are getting digestive issues, food intolerances and things like autoimmune diseases.

My granny was always about 7 stone and cooked everything in cream and butter, had cream in her coffee and kept little chocolate bars in the fridge. But it was all relatively non processed food. It’s also the type of food - there was a recent documentary about how snacks are now designed to dissolve quickly and require very little chewing which disrupts and confuses our body affecting digestion. There are chemicals in some crisps and things that encourage the brain to keep eating too. I think all these factors are why the majority of the population is now overweight. There needs to be a major overhaul of the food industry and stricter rules on what chemicals can go in food. Companies are making a fortune making us fat and then selling us diet food to combat that which is also loaded with chemicals and messes our bodies up further.

I had a passive aggressive colleague who went on a rant one day about how she would never hire an overweight person as it shows poor impulse control and laziness - she was about a size 8 and would regularly eat half a pack of biscuits in one sitting, she worked from home half the time and was rarely contactable so definitely not a model employee.

Addictive substances - so you need to avoid them - and you need to ensure your children don’t get the taste

apples , whole grains and the like are not addictive like crisps and Greggs pies

Absolutely, I know a couple who are both overweight and so are both their children (aged 7 and 11).

The parents will post photos of their meals on their IG accounts (as the dad likes to cook) and the portions are huge!!! All 4 plates are covered in food, you wouldn’t be able to tell which ones are for the adults and which ones are for the children.

Neither kid does any sport or exercise either which doesn’t help, they spend their time in the ‘Gaming Room’ at home playing on their consoles.

I really feel for the children because they are noticeably overweight, so I’m sure the parents realise it too, but nothing will change and things will just get worse.

Obesity is so multi faceted, there is no one fix.

Yes of course, how much and what we eat is a key factor. And exercise plays almost no role at all in weight loss. It's great for health of course. But to lose weight? No.

But so are hormones. Any woman in or past the menopause will tell you, they can practically fast and the weight won't come off. I've experienced this. With GP support.

Hormones change for a period after weight loss surgery (got this from the horses mouth, from one of the UK's leading weight loss surgeons) and this is what makes weight loss surgery work. It's also why the effect of the surgery wears off after a few months, despite still having a hugely reduced stomach size.

Insulin resistance. Makes losing weight very very hard, regardless of calorie intake. Another reason that WLI work. Because they're designed for diabetics. It isn't just about the appetite suppression.

When losing weight, the body is designed to try to cling onto the weight. Losing just 3 percent of your body weight can result in a 17 percent slowdown in your
metabolism – a body-wide starvation response that blasts you with hunger hormones and drops your internal temperature until you rise back to your highest weight.

So no one is saying that eating junk food, drinking fizzy drinks loaded with sugar, high fat, high fat and crappy food isn't too blame. But it isn't the whole picture. ~

And people that have never been obese aren't experts. All this calories in, calories out crap is just that.

If you talk to a REAL expert, they know this.

Obesity is so multi faceted, there is no one fix.

Yes of course, how much and what we eat is a key factor.

But so are hormones. Any woman in or past the menopause will tell you, they can practically fast and the weight won't come off. I've experienced this. With GP support.

Hormones change for a period after weight loss surgery (got this from the horses mouth, from one of the UK's leading weight loss surgeons) and this is what makes weight loss surgery work. It's also why the effect of the surgery wears off after a few months, despite still having a hugely reduced stomach size.

Insulin resistance. Makes losing weight very very hard, regardless of calorie intake. Another reason that WLI work. Because they're designed for diabetics. It isn't just about the appetite suppression.

When losing weight, the body is designed to try to cling onto the weight.

Obesity is so multi faceted, there is no one fix.

Yes of course, how much and what we eat is a key factor.

But so are hormones. Any woman in or past the menopause will tell you, they can practically fast and the weight won't come off. I've experienced this. With GP support.

Hormones change for a period after weight loss surgery (got this from the horses mouth, from one of the UK's leading weight loss surgeons) and this is what makes weight loss surgery work. It's also why the effect of the surgery wears off after a few months, despite still having a hugely reduced stomach size.

Insulin resistance. Makes losing weight very very hard, regardless of calorie intake. Another reason that WLI work. Because they're designed for diabetics. It isn't just about the appetite suppression.

When losing weight, the body is designed to try to cling onto the weight.

Yes I can see it must be horrible for people who have some sort of medical reason for not being able to lose weight or gain weight too quickly. The problem is the vast majority of overweight people are like that due to the food they eat, the amount of food they eat or the lack of movement.

But the problem is that willpower, the ability to delay gratification, is mediated in the brain through our physical/chemical reward systems ie it is a physical rather than emotional thing. Addictive substances disrupt these balances so willpower itself is reduced. And it is also finite - no one can live in a state of delayed gratification permanent unless they have some underlying psychological issue like body dysmorphia.

So I get your point but I don’t agree with it because it suggests that people with addictions are just not “strong enough” or trying hard enough and it is a reductionist narrative which is victim blaming.

food noise increases with sugar and junk food though and decreases with self respect and self love

I think a lot of this shows how important it is to start kids on the right path

because it’s not as simple as saying sone people are predisposed- there is way more than that happening which is why obesity is rising over the last 40 years

if you have a fussy eater let them be fussy unless they are unhealthy thin and losing weight - and in that case just feed more of anything good they will eat - don’t add in crap

avoid junk and sugar when breastfeeding. Treats are a yearly event not a daily one.

give the kids a fighting chance because you don’t want them to grow up unhealthy and staring at a life of medication

I think what I said about willpower came out a bit wrong, sorry. I mean maybe some of those people who say "just eat less" (or words to that effect) have a lot less "food noise" and need a lot less willpower. So we're not all on an even playing field when it comes to wanting to eat all day long (or not). I know there is more to it than just willpower, but I think for those who don't really think about food, it's easy to discount how invasive food thoughts can be.

Do heroin addicts stay on methadone for life or can they eventually come off it? Do alcoholics always have the threat of relapse in the back of their minds no matter how many years it has been? Do gambling addicts ever manage to walk past a bookies without getting that little twitch? I would say Mounjaro users would hope to come off after using it as a treatment pathway to reach their healthy goals and heal their relationship with food hoping they can move forward but the threat of relapse is always there just like any other addiction.

Which is why she is doing it SLOWLY over a year to gradually reduce the portion size rather than cutting them to a normal size straight away.

It is an addiction but there is always still a choice. Some people are just not good at helping themselves.

Either you are over eating or genuinely dieting. Diets do work. They fail because people cannot stick to them due to food addiction.

It's like any addiction. It takes effort to beat them. Mine was with nicotine. I had to WANT to stop to be successful and would make excuses why I needed another. I've had that battle with my head and won. Eventually.

When you WANT to do something you will.

I am not overweight but have battled with food all of my life. I lost stones of weight through calorie counting around 20 years and kept it off but it was very psychological and the ways to lose the weight and keep it off were all mental. In theory, it's a case of calories in and calories out but in reality, there is a reason why some people struggle to have less coming in than they have going out. I feel, having been through it in the past, that it is a kind of eating disorder; where food goes through some kind emotional process in the brain and the body comes to expect and tolerate that level of calories and sort of mindless eating. The lens through which you view food, and yourself has to have a massive shift. I'm slim now but the good noise is always there. I think about food all the time but just about managed to not be overpowered and because I am slim, the sense of being helpless and overhwlemed by already being overweight doesn't have a grip over me (as it was when I was overweight).

There are a lot of factors. I live abroad in a place where obesity isn't an issue in the same way as it is in the UK. The availability of junk food isnt as prolific as it is in the UK and going to the beach every weekend is very much part of the culture; it certainly does create a motivation not to feel uncomfortable in your swimsuit on the Saturday. I don't know the answer. In my case, I did lose weight the 'old fashioned way' but I remember having to really hold on and the urge to eat was like psychological warfare that I was constantly battling. I remember having a breakthrough, mentally, and having a light bulb moment and that seemed to blow away a lot of the sense of powerlessness to the pull of food, but it was hard.

I'm so glad that medication is available to turn that noise off. The thought of food can be like a demon tormenting you day and night. I get it. It's very difficult.

But willpower does come into it to a certain extent. I could so easily eat rubbish all day long but I dont because I dont want to get fat or have health issues. But I could very easily enjoy takeaways and fast food and chocolate all the time! I have to make a conscious effort not to.

Thank you 👍

So do people with this problem have to stay on MJ for life because if they stop the food addiction will begin again?

I have a friend who is an endocrinologist. We have talked a great deal about obesity as we both struggle with weight gain/losing weight. She told me that research suggests that obesity is an endocrinological disorder in that same way that diabetes is. Some people are just predisposed to gain weight and have issues losing it. Medication like Mounjaro etc is now available to combat this issue.

It’s not about willpower though.

Disclaimer - I’m a problem drinker and have massively researched the impact of alcohol on the brain including motivational and pleasure pathways. Food is similar to alcohol in this respect in many ways. “Pleasure” neurotransmitters come into play with all substances/addictions in a physical way - it’s not just an emotional reaction. It’s literally the way addictive “things” are produced and marketed to be.

So saving money will not give the same “rush” as spending money/gambling for example, because it doesn’t have the same effect on dopamine, for example. No one gets a “rush” eating lettuce because it doesn’t contain the chemicals which stimulate the reward systems in the brain the way fats and sugars do.

And yes, some people will appear “addicted” to healthy eating but that is more likely to be linked to body image issues than simply enjoying salad. Exercise addiction is also well researched for similar reasons.

Only a very small number of people. And no, private prescriptions are not 'no questions asked'

I really don't think people "are faking ignorance to have the fun of fat bashing". It's genuine ignorance: they just don't understand that while eating less and exercising more works for them, it doesn't work for everyone, or some people just can't manage it.

The older I get the more I realise that weight is linked to a lot of factors around emotion, stress, etc. I think finding what stops you from losing weight if you want to lose weight and finding a way of dealing with that is the key.