to wonder about obesity

[crashingwaves]

Please, please, PLEASE don't think that this is a fat-bashing thread, I hate it when people do that and I'd never ever do it myself.

The thing is, I love food, I do like nice food and I do overeat on occasions. My BMI is 'overweight' - I could do with shifting a stone - I'm most definitely not a size 8 smuggie person.

What I'm wondering about isn't even people a fair bit bigger than me. But really, really large people (I'm thinking around the 20 stone + region) Isn't it quite, well, difficult in a way to maintain and gain weight at that size, as you really would have to be eating an awful lot (unless a medical reason, I realise things like PCOS can contribute.)

I suppose I was wondering as my friend has a friend who is only 21 and weighs 18 and a half stone - to be honest I think she is in denial a little bit as she says things like "Oh I know I don't look this big" when to be honest she does - I understand that - but given that at that size it is fairly easy to make small changes and still lose weight, I guess I just wonder why people don't. That did sound quite bitchy and judgemental and I'm honestly trying hard to avoid that.

I can totally see how people get big, I've "been there" myself but I guess what I mean was when the scales hit 13 stone I thought "f*ck!" and went on a diet - surely if the scales hit 20 stone you would ...?

I probably deserve a flaming - can I just say mega apologies if I DO offend you as I honestly don't want to do that!

These cases, however, go nowhere towards explaining the obesity epidemic

'I'm thin, I don't deny myself.

I eat every food I want to.

I eat takeaway, I eat cheese, I eat chocolate and cake, I only buy full fat milk.

The secret is.............portion size, that's it.
No big secret.

Small portions of the fattening stuff, with lots of veg on the side, fruit for afters, and that's it.'

This is 100% correct I am very slim (just over 7 stone). I eat mainly fatty foods and can eat whatever I like, I snack on things and have 3 meals. I just dont eat massive portions and I move around constantly.

Like today I have only had 2 eggs on toast, an ice lolly, mcdonalds (chicken mayo, cheeseburger and mozarella sticks), 2 custrad cream biscuits and am about to have an iceland lasagne with waffles. None of those are big portions but I get to eat whatever I want.

I would see 2 eggs on toast as big portions tbh

Actually i see a lot of that as big noodle.

Today I had about 1/2 cup sultana bran and s/skimmed milk, a pear, a ham and salad sandwich and have had one egg sized easter egg (you know the ones?). I am not sure about dinner yet.

Would you? I always get told I dont eat much

Its all relative. I see that as a LOT.

acumenin - what meds were you on??

I take it the toast was lunch?

See that doesn't look like a balanced diet at all thesecondcomimg and noodle hardly any veg/fruit at all .. Really nowhere near what should be in your diet.

But SecondComing had beans, an apple, salad and fruit. Sounds like she got her 5/day if enough salad. What would you like to see Hairylights?

More veg and fruit to balance things out. There are not five portions there and there are not really what I'd call fresh veg (salad not enough in my opinion)

A cup of salad is considered a portion

Noodle, funnily enough I see that as big portions (it was my post you quoted btw) and your day's food would be a very occasional thing for me.
I rarely eat ready made foods, I make most things from scratch.

I don't move much either but that's because I have severe asthma.

I still eat every food I want to, I adore cheese, I just watch the portion sizes and eat lots of fruit and veg to fill up.

Doesn't it depend what's in the salad? On my food chart, I have no idea if it's right, it says you need about a cereal bowl of lettuce to = one portion of veg. Whereas peppers, cucumber etc you don't need so much.

Everyone saying how much noodle eats, I easily get through twice that in a day

I know it isnt a healthy diet hairylights. I have started to try salads though and have eaten 3 this week which I have never done before. I have to have it with dip though cause I dont really like the taste on its own.

I know my diet isnt that healthy but I dont think its massive portions at all. My overweight friends say I dont eat much cause if I go round for a DVD or something they would eat a whole pack of biscuits and snack on loads during eother the day/night or both so they think I dont eat enough food.

I had frosties with semi skimmed, 2slices of toast with 1/4 tin beans and an egg scrambled- followed by an apple. I had a creme egg and we're having bbq for tea so I'll have meat and salad (no burger rolls etc) and fruit.

Sorry, but that really isnt a healthy or balanced diet.

Frosties = sugar coated crap.

Swap that for a something with less sugar, and have skimmed milk.

Toast - was that white bread? if so, then swap to wholemeal.

Beans, egg then apple...

Was that ALL for breakfast?

why the creme egg?

bbq meat? burgers are generally full of rubbish... not really a healthy option unless you make them yourself.

I think the creme egg may have been because I was easter yesterday?

I would normally not eat chocolate but had a few eggs yesterday so had one today as well :)

squeeky i assumed the toast meal was lunch

It's tremendously easy to get overweight. The equation is fundamentally very simple. If you eat more calories than you burn off (either naturally or through more exercise) you gain weight. When I hit 39, for some reason my metabolism changed, and I carried on eating normally but gained weight. It took me an age for the penny to drop.

Now, I'm back at the weight I was when I left university 22 years ago. But I actually eat probably around half what I did then.

It just takes some people a while to work out the cause. And if they do work out the cause, they have to have the willpower to sort it out. And if they don't want to sort it out, well, that's up to them, isn't it?