To think if we eat and adopted some of the lifestyle of the europeans we would not be the fattest country in Europe.

[WonderWendy1]

I went on a med cruise two weeks ago we stopped in Portugal, Spain, South Of France and Italy.

I think of myself as a fairly fit size 12 (14 in some things). I would say i'm on the slimmer side in the Uk. I go to these european cities and the women (and men) are much slimmer then me and dh.

I was then in Paris for a few nights a week ago and I can only say my gosh nearly everywomen I saw had the legs of Taylor Swift.

Aibu to think we need to be doing what the europeans do to avoid becoming the American country of Europe.

All diets are successful if you accept that you have to say no for the rest of your life
ie learn to eat like a healthy person.

If your lean body TDEE is 1500 calories a day (as mine is) if you consume more than that you'll get bigger. If you consume less than that you'll shrink.

A "Diet" that involves eating a lot less and then going back to "normal" will by definition fail

People who have been brought up to consume within their TDEE stay lean.
It really is that simple.

It just involves will power, self control and gratification deferral - not things that people want to have to do.

It's like talking to a wall.

On you go.

Most fad weight loss diets don't work long term because in addition to them being unsustainable and people returning to bad habits, stupid diets just trick the metabolism into slowing down further. Hence you get yoyo dieters that get fatter every time. I don't have a weight/ food issue and yet when I've been unwell I can drop 8lbs plus in a week, yet gain it back in 48hrs. It amazes me that many dieters spend their lives doing the same thing and yet being all suprised when the weight comes back faster than it was lost.
As well as a healthy mindset and willpower people need to actually educate themselves on nutrition, metabolism and exercise instead of blindly following the rest of the crowd who are misguidedly repeating whatever bull the latest diet guru is preaching.

TalkinPeace
All diets are successful if you accept that you have to say no for the rest of your life ie learn to eat like a healthy person.

I think that's an incredibly negative and unsustainable approach and I disagree that that is how healthy people eat (if any do, it's not a healthy mental approach).

It just involves will power, self control and gratification deferral - not things that people want to have to do.

Too hard, and unsuccessful. I think a successful relationship with food needs to be based on positive values and inclusions, not denial and will power.

How do thin people eat then?

It makes no sense to say

"You just have to say no for the rest of your life"

That is not what the Southern Europeans we are talking about on this thread do- quite the opposite -they seem to be enjoying their food, using it for social purposes and to bring the family together

What is coming across time and time again is they are (currently) in a less consumerist culture with less choice and to some extent, less money. They don't need to learn to say no (yet)

The issue is how do you get people in the UK to say no to the conglomerates, the supermarkets, the advertisers, the TV programmes, etc etc? It's everywhere and the way our society is set up makes your suggestion incredibly difficult for many people.

I'm currently watching a documentary on Netflix called FedUp. They show clearly that since the 70s, gym membership levels in the U.S. Have rocketed. So many more people exercising! In the exact same time period, obesity has also rocketed. It's very complex, related to the food industry and misunderstandings/ misinformation. by scientists and health professionals about how you lose weight (we still don't know the definitive answer to that btw) and ineffectual governments (who with the scientists as commonly also heavily influenced by the food industry)

What Talkin said. In spades.

It is not negative and unsustainable to learn how to eat like a healthy person - it's how most people around the world eat each and every day.

Willpower and self control is not "too hard" ffs. It's part and parcel of a healthy lifestyle. I am slim because I eat less food than the overweight people I know, and do more exercise. When I ate more, I was fat. So now I choose to eat less.

" How do thin people eat then? "

They only eat when they are hungry, stop eating when they stop feeling hungry, and do not snack between meals.
I think.

and yes agree with talkinpeace and running...
Just say no to eating between meals, and processed food.
then you can eat as much as you like.

also (on a roll now) when you go for a coffee, don't order a bucket of creamy cappuccino and put sugar in it, and have a biscuit or cake on the side. Have a single espresso and a glass of water. Far more stylish anyway

Just got back from two weeks in the Basque area of France/Spain. I think there are a lot more overweight French people than there were 10 years ago, more junky food around and the food in the restaurants is not what it was.

What I did notice, on the beach, is the rise of the flabby young person. Not particularly overweight as such, but with an incredibly untoned physique; teenaged boys with moobs and girls with pot bellies. Still lots of beautiful people on a beach in the South of France, especially some fantastically trim older people. But I imagine in 40 years time, the picture will be very different.

"and yes agree with talkinpeace and running...
Just say no to eating between meals, and processed food.
then you can eat as much as you like."

You're not serious? You think no fat person does this already? You think all skinny people do this? Pmsl

If you understand the complexity of the issue, and the role of environmental factors, why is your solution solely one of individual responsibility (without even a nod to managing environmental factors)?

I could nod to environmental factors until my head falls off.

But the truth is, we own our own bodies and we choose what to put in them.

We live in a free country and unless that changes, or we become a complete Nanny state, people will have to take responsibility for themselves and what they consume.

" Pmsl "

you are pissing yourself laughing at the thought of not eating between meals? OK.....
If you have a urine leak problem, the best thing you could do is lose some weight.

Taking, YY to the little fat Italian Bimbi, they stuff them with cakes/crisps/ice cream its fucked up

the English eat shit food in general. fact, you go out to a public place and your choice is
Burger
Sandwich & walkers
Greggs

and for a treat we have a lardy take away curry/Pizza AND- this is critical. we drink too much.

you might be able to get a super food salad if you look hard, but not outside of the metropolitan centres

I don't need to lose weight coffee. I'm skinny but I also gave empathy. Amazing

" I'm skinny "

so how do you know so much about the eating habits of fat people?
I am telling you, if you stop eating between meals, cut out alcohol, and move a bit, you will not stay fat.

I am, and always have been celebrity type of skinny. I definitely eat junk,don't really eat fruit, now and again eat veg. I have recently started eating salads if they have lots of caeser dressing on.

I strongly believe you can eat what you want as long as you move.

I don't know about the eating habits of fat people I think you are too dim to converse with.

I agree Iamralph and as long as you don't eat too much of it.

So if you popped in for an occasional McDonalds, sure have a small cheeseburger and fries.

But don't have a large big mac meal with a bucket of milkshake, a chicken wrap and a McFlurry. Which is what many people do before getting in the car to drive the 20 minute walk home.

I would definitely have the big mac meal/mcchicken sandwich meal. I do eat lots of fast food and when I am work have 3 or so a week. I often have 2 chicken mayo and portion cheese melts on an average work day.I still think that is fine if you exercise

What we see South and East Europeans eating while out at a restaurant on their annual holiday is NOT how they eat every day of the week at home in work times.

What they see English people eating - bags of crisps and fast food junk IS what the English eat every day of the week.

I love food. I love three course restaurant meals with wine. I also know that they are something I can only have one day a week or for a couple of weeks a year if I want to stay healthy.

" I think you are too dim to converse with."
Frankly you really do not sound like the sharpest tool in the box but there you go.

If you do lots of exercise, yes. When I was marathon training I'd sometimes burn off 2000 calories in one run.
But unfortunately most people don't make time to exercise and, even if they do go to the gym, avoid working hard while they're there. I see people in spin classes putting no resistance on the bikes, free wheeling for an hour, and then going to the cafe for a cup of frothy cream afterwards - before driving home. The balance is utterly out of whack.

I really believe that people have lost sight of what a healthy diet and a healthy level of exercise look like.

Iamralphwiggum it would take a shit load of exercise to burn that lot off though, especially when added to the rest of the calories consumed that day.

Plus, the more food you pack into your stomach in one sitting, the more you eventually have to pack in just to fill up, because stomachs stretch.