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

ppeat I disagree about the majority of people drinking sweetened colas.
Most people tend to drink diet drinks nowadays.
As for wheat, yeah right. Nothing to do with obesity.

Not sure there is such a thing as heavy bones! I'll hazard a guess that, given the same volume, fat and muscle are heavier than bone.

I have big bones and weigh surprisingly little for my figure (I have some quite a bit of fat and no muscle at all )

The trouble with losing weight is that we have to eat. Nobody has to smoke or drink alcohol, so those habits are relatively easy to change.

I think that portion control is the key issue. I'm always amazed at the sheer volume of food that a lot of people are able to consume. I agree with a PP who said that her DS has an off switch that she and his brother don't have. I have that switch and can't eat if I'm not hungry.

I do wonder if it's time to stop making an issue out of obesity and accept that this is part of the evolution of the human race. Instead of trying to make fat people thin, why don't we recognise that they are now the majority and start making train and aeroplane seats bigger, design the world around them and for the fat future.

I truly believe we have lost the battle against fat and should start working with this rooted trend rather than against it - and before everyone piles in with the cost to the NHS argument, the NHS exists to serve us, not the other way around.

Disclaimer- I'm slim. Always have been and every day receive comments to do with my size.

Karma is a bitch I hear and I really hope OP that your friend that you are publicly belittling loses a ton of weight, ditches you and steals your husband!

ohtoblazes there is such a thing as bone 'density' which is increased by doing weight bearing exercise. Generally speaking, it's a good thing to have increased bone density because it helps prevent fractures and osteoporosis.
However, as a previous poster pointed out, this would only account for a few pounds in weight.

carabos we haven't, and can't afford to, lost the battle against obesity.
The NHS may exist to serve us, however it is a limited resource, so thats a bit of a silly thing to say really.

The trouble with losing weight is that we have to eat. Nobody has to smoke or drink alcohol, so those habits are relatively easy to change.

Tell that to an addict.

And WRT 'we have to eat', yes but we don't have to overeat or eat all the things we know are going to add to our own weight issues.

None of these things are particularly easy to change.

Karma is a bitch I hear and I really hope OP that your friend that you are publicly belittling loses a ton of weight, ditches you and steals your husband!

Ive lost ten stone going from a size 28 down to a size 14 I certainly wasnt in denial about my weight when i was bigger 14 years ago.

There was no shortage of abusive ppl in the street dying to remind me constantly.

I am fat,I know it and I know why. But I really really do not want some well meaning patronising person to give me "advice". So many say jokes which basically mean STFU

In a post obese world, the NHS would have to reprioritise its limited resources and of course the whole future of the NHS is another debate - nothing silly about that . If we as a population determine to eat too much, exercise too little, smoke and drink alcohol then we will as a consequence have to determine what sort of health service we want, need and are prepared to pay for, either through direct or indirect taxation, privately or publicly provided. It's way, way more complicated than "everyone should lose weight so that the NHS doesn't collapse . "

And WRT 'we have to eat', yes but we don't have to overeat or eat all the things we know are going to add to our own weight issues.

I actually read some research where a group of morbidly obese people were admitted to hospital and not given any food at all for 3 weeks. All said it was much easier to simply not eat, than to cut down the amount they ate.

As long as the NHS is happy with providing me with the more expensive drug that isnt a steroid IF i happen to need it IF i ever happen to get ill.

DISCLAIMER..........ive never taken a steroid so it wasnt the reason for the fact that i was a size 28 but ive seen posts from MNers on here who have been moaned at about their weight by a consultant at the same time as he/she writes out another steroid prescription.

They cant keep moving the goalposts to suit their wallet.

Here in the US, where the spend per person is much higher on healthcare, weight management is a huge issue. I've been told that my probability of a heart attack before 50 is over 70% because of my weight, having preeclampsia with DD and long working hours. My GP, bless her, has me signed up to the cheap gym and doing 4 hours of exercise where I sweat a week. I see her for a weigh in every 2 weeks where she wants to see at least 0.5lb lost. Once my hours drop she wants me to go see someone about stress eating. She said it's an eating disorder that needs to be fixed.

My BMI is 30.1. She told DH is morbidly obese and she has talked to him about having surgery in 2018 if he can't lose at least 20lbs in 2017. She sent me a link to a Dr Oz segment where he talked about the long term implications of obesity. It was eye opening.

Given the NHS can't even afford to treat my father who has cancer I don't see them being able to provide this level of support for someone who needs to manage their weight. The cost is about $500 a month.

I'm overweight, not obese but overweight. I know exactly how to lose weight. I know I should control my portions, drink more water, not snack.

I will just eat even when I'm full. I hate it but I can't stop it. There's nothing I haven't tried.

Carabos

What a stupid thing to say.
Nobody forces you to eat unhealthily do they. Nobody forces you to eat cake/bread/chocolate/cream etc. Think it's totally wrong saying smoking is different. It's exactly the same. Obese people are generally addicted to fatty junk food.

Karma is a bitch I hear and I really hope OP that your friend that you are publicly belittling loses a ton of weight, ditches you and steals your husband!

Hope you get the karma for posting stuff like that

Helena, patients on steroids will need to watch their diets/exercise very carefully, so of course consultants will make that clear or 'moan' at them - whichever way you want to put it.

penciltop
Rorty 5:2 diet works well for people who can't exercise. My friend tried it and the weight shifted quickly.

Thanks, I'll have a read about it although not sure how much I can cut down from my current one meal a day. But I'll take a look.

Pestilence13610
Rorty ask for a physiotherapist appointment. They are specialist in getting you the right exercises for you and may even be able to get you access to a hydrotherapy pool.
I had a very disabled DM, on all the wrong medicines, a good physio kept her reasonably fit and not too overweight. Her consultant reckons it added years to her life and improved its quality.

Thanks for an excellent idea. The hospital I will be having my op at is Stoke Manderville and I would assume they are pretty well equipped for that sort of thing. I'll talk to a physio when I'm in there.

Women are your own worst enemies when it comes to this. It starts with snidey comments at school. My wife has been on a diet on and off since she was 18. The thing is though she doesn't diet at all, she just convinces herself she is on one by joining slimming world for the 50th time (no wonder they make so much money!) she wonders why, when eating these boring slimming world meals, she doesn't lose more weight. It's obvious! The 15 chocolate biscuits, 3 cakes, 2 ice creams and 10 glasses of wine have been forgotten!!

I am fine with whatever she does and have always advocated moderation being the best policy. I don't limit myself at all but do go some days without biscuits/alcohol etc and exercise more. That keeps my weight the same.

You don't need to be told by someone, you either do it or you don't.

It's no wonder so many women have such low self esteem with the propoganda that you get forced on you.

Worra I had some very interesting discussions about weight with the consultant surgeon who performed my gallstone op. He told me that ppl on steroids will gain weight no matter what they eat.

Some of them are a bit more honest about it.

As ppl are so fond of telling us its up to us to be responsible what we put in our mouths that can affect our weight. I include medication in that. My body my responsibility my choice. I worked damn hard to lose the weight and WILL NOT TAKE THE RISK.

I do wonder if it's time to stop making an issue out of obesity and accept that this is part of the evolution of the human race. Instead of trying to make fat people thin, why don't we recognise that they are now the majority and start making train and aeroplane seats bigger, design the world around them and for the fat future.

Because the NHS is broken due to people's self-inflicted abuse of their bodies.

If people just died as soon as they were obese, maybe your argument would hold some water, but the fact is people whose illnesses are not self inflicted can't be treated (cancer etc) because funds are being wasted on overweight with diabetes and heart attacks- people who can't control what they put in their gobs.

Shame is a difficult emotion to bare and people would rather make excuses to spare them from feeling it i think. Its not just fatness its anything: drink, smoking, unruly kids etc etc. Usually when people make the big change uts because they have faced up to their shame and tackle that rather than the "fake" problem they have covered it up with. Took me a good 6 years to embrace my shame about overeating before i could properly lose weight!

Worra I had some very interesting discussions about weight with the consultant surgeon who performed my gallstone op. He told me that ppl on steroids will gain weight no matter what they eat.

Yes, which is why it's all the more important to watch their diet/exercise closely. That was my original point.

Consultants will still 'moan' at patients about their weight, if they feel they're not watching it, whether they're on steroids or not.

polly That's the issue. People can't control what they put in their mouths. Up until recent times food was very expensive so people couldn't just eat what they wanted.

Times have changed and it turns out that a lot of people have a very hard time controlling how much they eat. There is help available through therapy because not being able to control your eating is an eating disorder. The NHS just isn't funded close to near enough for this type of help to be given to those who need it. Also, MM is quick to talk about anorexia but not so much about emotional, stress or binge eating. I had no clue about stress eating being an eating disorder until my doctor identified it and told me I have to go see a therapist and work with them to fix it if I'm going to keep the weight off.