To wonder why some people are in denial about their weight?

[penciltop]

Not criticising anyone here but just wondering.

I had a morbidly obese friend who says she is that size because she is muscular and has 'big bones'. I don't comment but she clearly has a lot of fat on her body and she does overeat.

I have come across other people too who say people are healthier these days so are going to be bigger. People say it is because of genetics. Everyone is overweight in their family and that is the reason they are.

I know weight loss isn't easy - trying to lose weight myself! - but surely pretending it is because of reasons outside of your control isn't going to help. People keep telling me I am fine and I don't need to lose weight. Err yes I do according to BMI. I am in the overweight category

Not denying the reasons for people who have real medical reasons such as disabilities or because of medication

Veggies are better for you than fruit. I hardly ever eat fruit now, only vegetables.

Well it depends on the veg.;carrots are good for you but need to be cooked for us to get at the vitamins. I never eat potatoes, (or any of the deadly nightshade veg. they give me arthritic twinges).

Oranges are the only fruit that give me eczema!

Organic lemons OTOH are amazing for vitamin C levels. I have them whole in my smoothie, the pith is packed with Vit. C. My gums don't bleed and I'm old Oh and I don't need that special sensitive teeth toothpaste , it's down to the lemons I reckon.

We're going a bit off topic now I think. You don't have to be a paragon of virtue to avoid being overweight or obese and I think a little of what you fancy does you good.

Well watching what you eat helps a lot. Not overeating (even highly nutritious food ) is the most helpful thing. I can easily overeat too like anyone

My diet is now 75% vegetables and it really helps me with my weight loss. Typical lunch is a bag of frozen spinach mixed with a creamed spinach over half a cup of pasta. Total calorie count is 400 and it's so filling (it's a huge mound of food on my plate!)

I try to limit my fruit to one portion a day. Yesterday I had strawberries, about 3 of them.

Gwen i actually have no problem with some of your suggestions.

A post of mine from another thread.

live in a poor area and am maintaining a ten stone weight loss.

But i have to fight to do so.
a. In the few months before Christmas supermarkets shoved all the sweets and choc out and my usual healthier food kept getting moved around so i had to keep hunting for it.
Theyve just changed the freezer items around again as well as discontinuing my usual frozen veg so ive had to switch to another brand a couple of months back and had to spend longer traipsing around again.
The biscuits and choc and crisps always stay in the same aisles year after year and dont get moved.
Im not daft. I know thats because this is a poorer area and that is what sells. So ppl who want them dont have to risk groin strain getting them from a high shelf like i now do the frozen veg because they have moved them from a chest freezer to a high shelf in one of the door freezers. And this is Sainsburys.

b. A lot of the streetlights in my area have been turned off to save money. When i do the 45 min walk to my parents one evening a fortnight or ive wanted to go out for a power walk a lot of it has been in complete darkness. And a lot of the pavements arent maintained so its possible to trip over.

c. a lot of recreational areas where kids play are going to be built on (ppl need homes understandably) but there are also things like climbing frames which are being taken down even in areas where no housing is being built because the council has no money to maintain the equipment to a good and safe standard.

d. When i first started excersizing again a sports bra was out of my reach PRICE wise as well as size wise so running was out I could only power walk.

e. When i walk into town (i walk everywhere) it takes bloody ages to get across two main roads and drivers rarely stop for you. There is no way of avoiding these roads if i aim to walk because of where my flat is.

f. certain organisations are very keen to espouse healthy eating because its great PR for them but as soon as it inconvieniences them then they contradict themselves.

Ive seen housing association tweet about the health benefits of healthy eating but then advise tenants that they will have to live on takeaways for six weeks while their subcontractors take 6 weeks + for a kitchen repair or refit.

g. An ex of mine who worked for a car rental company was told he would have to get a takeaway for lunch every day because employer didnt want to give him proper breaks or provide a microwave.

h. When it snows in winter the roads get gritted but the pavements NEVER do.

This so called obesogenic environment is not just the fault of overweight ppl.

Corporates have to take some of the responsibility

Being a pedestrian who doesnt drive i tend to notice these things.

I think the supermarket thing is similar to my point about how the same chains will have healthier options in London than what we have here. I know it's driven by demand, but I want the government to intervene in the market here.
Companies I've worked for have had a habit of having junk food around all the time, not just at special occasions, but all the time. Mainly it's brought in by colleagues, but sometimes there's also a company administered tuck shop selling shit. When you have a very boring job, it's really hard to resist and if I try to say something about weight I get "there's nothing to you", which is just not true and even if I were very slim, it doesn't mean I could eat cakes every day because then I wouldn't be slim, would I? This is why I mentioned a duty of care on the employer, but it's also to do with the employees themselves realising that there is a problem and that's why I want us to be able to talk about it.

I think all these things will happen in the end, just like we've had more and more regulation on smoking, but it might be too late by then.

#ppeatfruit I'm interested to know your exercisepretty please.

Wally (wobbles less)

I think all these things will happen in the end, just like we've had more and more regulation on smoking, but it might be too late by then

I think it is going to be really difficult to put more regulations in place. I know what you mean about cakes etc in the workplace. We have ridiculous amounts in the office. Smoking is different because it was banned. More difficult with junk food though.

When it snows in winter the roads get gritted but the pavements NEVER do.

The last big freeze, I (not long given birth, with a baby in a sling) had to cancel meeting an elderly relative because neither of us felt safe to walk from our houses to our bus stops. Now, that's life. It happens.

What isn't "just life", is other people who just had to make it between the front door and a car door, over six foot of driveway, saying to me, "oh this weather isn't a problem, it's not stopping anyone getting about".

An ex of mine who worked for a car rental company was told he would have to get a takeaway for lunch every day because employer didnt want to give him proper breaks or provide a microwave

Why couldn't he take his own lunch in? A sandwich or salad where no microwave is needed

My thought exactly rooty.

Or a flask of hot soup if he wanted something hot. A takeaway is not the only alternative to a microwave meal.

Because his boss said no. And he wasnt in the office most of the time and was out in non air conditioned vans or cars.

There was a bit of fault on both sides there though.........he wasnt that arsed about eating healthily at home either.

His employers attitude was still wrong though. He was on minimum wage and employer was always ringing him up to moan that he was taking too long and wouldnt accept that traffic was bad expecting ex to talk on his mobile while driving and also expected ex to break the speed limit He ended up with a speeding ticket. An employer like this wouldnt give a shit about whether his employee ate healthily or not.

I did put " didnt give him proper breaks" as well.

A flask of hot soup while driving Could be interesting!

No more interesting than a hot take away. Presumably to get a takeaway you either need to iPhone up and order it and wait for it to be delivered or you need to take the time to go and collect it. The time spent doing either of those is more than enough time to eat a small bowl of soup and then a sandwich could be eaten on the move. But people will always have some far fetched excuse for why it is not possible for them to eat anything except an unhealthy takeaway.

he wasnt that arsed about eating healthily at home either

That sums it up really

Exactly six and rooty

My friend is a HGV driver away 4 or 5 nights a week so has minimal cooking/storage facilities yet still manages to maintain a healthy diet and exercise - because that is a priority for him. It would be pretty easy for him to try to justify a McDonald's every night or whatever but he puts in the effort to do the best he can with what is available.

I think we have to accept that some of us are lazy around food preparation and I include myself in that. I don't cook and I'm not going to start any time soon (don't have children so there's no obligation on me to do so). I'd like to see more healthy, quick options and less pushing of unhealthy options. Where I buy my sandwich for lunch (because I often can't be bothered to make one in the morning and bring it in), it's actually more expensive to have a sandwich and drink than to have a meal deal with an unhealthy snack. That shouldn't be allowed.

When I lived on the continent I sometimes got a smoothie for breakfast. I know there are criticisms of smoothies because the fibre's been taken away and it's high in calories if you use it as a drink rather than a breakfast, but it worked well as a breakfast. That's not possible where I live now.

So basically Gwen what you want is someone else to take responsibility for your weight/health?

I watched an old episode of Secret Eaters on YouTube (as I find this helps put me off the unhealthy eating path). And the people on there are in absolute denial. They were saying they don't think they actually eat enough. But are piling in caloric food without thinking (e.g cheese and crackers. Second helpings of tuna pasta).

I can be a secret eater. It's easy to deny how much you've had by simply not acknowledging it. I'm trying to stay accountable this year but logging in myfitnesspal and doing more exercise. So far so good. I feel so much more In control of my life when I do this but it's so easy to just say F it as well

Sirzy - I at least want others not to push me into overeating with financial penalties for choosing the healthy option.

Why is it not possible to have a smoothie for breakfast gwen? They are readily available in most shops if you don't want to make your own.