Has anyone ever worked out why their demon was being fat?

[bluetrampolines]

I know how to diet. I know how to exercise. I have every aspect of my life nailed. Almost. Apart from being fat.

Why is this my demon? Can anyone help?

I dont think it is a change in willpower actually. Through most of human history thinness was not down to willpower at all, it was down to scarcity and enforced physical activity. Now you do need willpower to stay thin, but we've never evolved the need for it (quite the contrary actually).

I was the same for 40 years. Read an article on sugar addiction here:

That was me.

Gave up sugar to feel better and the weight fell off all 3 stone of it. Eating like a horse. No restrictions on butter etc.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/five-steps-to-kick-your-sugar-addiction-30212401.html

Turns out Sugar and I have a toxic relationship. I ate to feel good but ultimately it made me feel like shit.

Pcos and a shit metabolism.

Seriously I monitored eating 1000 calories a day for a month and I put on 4lbs - it is fucking depressing.

I agree BarbarianMum. Our willpower hasn’t developed to deal with modern life. So an abundance of food doesn’t equal health, just like an abundance of wealth doesn’t equal happiness.

I’d rather be rich and fat than poor and hungry though.

I’d rathef

"I realised today that food so central to my life,when I thought about my healthy lunch I actually felt sad!"

I feel like this as well and am not quite overweight. When I go to the work canteen with my salad in a box, it can be difficult.

@BarbarianMum I really think you've got it there. Humans didn't need willpower throughout much of history because there was nothing to resist - it's only over the last 50 years that there has been an abundance of food and that there has been cheap, high energy food available. It will likely take a lot longer than that for evolution to catch up with the way we live now.

"^Overeating and no exercise. Yeah of course you did (!) hmm"

Seems strange to me too, but if the person normally eats even more then I suppose it's possible. Some posters have said they lose weight on holiday because the rest of the time they snack throughout the day. Of course if you cut out snacks and other things stay the same, you might lose weight.

Read Fat is a Feminist Issue by Susie Orbach. Being fat can be about building physical status to protect ourselves. That's why it's not simple to become thin, there are strong psychological factors that drive us to keep weight on. I found it revelatory

I’m reading Eating Less by Gillian Riley. Not finished it but it seems good so far. I’ve read so many books though. I’m not expecting miracles but it does have some interesting ideas. Might be worth a try.

But it isn't purely a feminist issue, DH does it. As do the majority of men in this town .

I think the title is misleading, more about psychology than feminism.

One thing I now know about myself; if I am unhappy I get fat. When I am happy, I return to normal size / fitter self.

Unhappy me eats and drinks too much to feel better and doesn't exercise. Happy me is careful about what I eat and drink and practices moderation so I still have treats but am healthy and regularly go to the gym whether I want to or not.

I am ok now, but spent over 20 years on diets. I am heavier than that first ever diet. I put the problem down to quick fix diets and becoming obsessive that I could only stick to it if I lied to myself on how wonderful my life would be thinner. Reality was life never changed that much and the over eating would begin again. I dieted to obesity and it only stopped when I stopped dieting.

I'll share this in case it helps. I was thin when young a petite size 8 and then as my twenties and thirties progressed, I got fatter and fatter. I've never had a sweet tooth but craved carbs like you wouldn't believe. I started to get other symptoms too such as digestive problems, concentration issues and had awful mood swings.

After being fobbed off by my GP, I saw a private doctor (££££, unfortunately) who tested me thoroughly. Turns out, I had systemic candida overgrowth and two gut parasites. Once those were sorted out I went back to my usual self.

I'm NOT saying that everyone or indeed anyone on this thread has my problems but I'm sharing this because sometimes, there are underlying causes of conditions which aren't all as they seem.

Handlike would you mind if i pmd you? Just to learn more about the tests?

I have PCOS and weight has always been an issue for me. Post 2 children I'm the heaviest I've ever been and despite intensive low carb, HIT exercise and increasing activity (10 miles walks x2 a week) the weight just hasn't come off.

I am still breastfeeding and feel my body won't let me loose the weight. Very frustrating.

Any other PCOS sufferers tried ionsitol supplement? There is evidence to.say it helps with the side effects of PCOS. I've used it for 6 months, it's helped clear up my skin, brought my menstrual cycle back in order but not helping yet with weight loss.

I really think diets make you fat in the longterm. They mess with your metabolism and your relationship with food. I have never been on a diet and I have never been overweight. Coincidence? A lot is also down to luck. None of the women in my family are overweight although we are all quite lazy!

I also agree with BarbarianMum. There's too much cheap food around which people enjoy. Food used to be boring for the most part.
I've simplified my diet to the way I was bought up (pre obesity epidemic)- just a few meals, simple plain foods, treats kept to a minimum, sticking to a small budget (even though I can afford more)and I've lost tons of weight, although slowly, but it's so easy. I can carry on eating this way for the rest of my life.
My golden rule is do not buy snacks or keep treats in the house. If I'm really hungry I'll make myself a small bowl of porridge, it's boring as hell, no one wants to pig out on porridge, it's just something you eat to stop feeling hungry.

I definitely think other factors than diet are underestimated. I've lost a stone by simply changing the medication I was taking. Before then I was fighting the steady creep of the scales, no matter what I did. I haven't suddenly become a better person, or gained willpower, or whatever it is that's supposed to separate thinner people from fatter people.

I was watching my DD (normal weight) and her friend (very overweight) watching tv. My DD does not stop moving while watching tv, doing handstands or even just wriggling around. I don't think the friend moved a single muscle.
It made wonder about simple activity. I am slim and when I walk anywhere with over weight friends I've realised how slow they walk and I have to slow down.

I stay thin because if I put on even 6lbs I get heart burn, my clothes feel too small ( & I hate the thought of buying new ones in a bigger size ) and I feel sluggish unfit and miserable.
I’m 5’1” so always knew I’d never be able to eat as much as taller people so never ate desserts or starters or snacked.
Still gained weight in my 50s no matter what ( it seemed) so I started running. Weight dropped off and stayed off and I can eat normally again
I just absolutely hate the fat feeling, loath it.
I love love feeling fit since taking up running it’s a million times better than being fat.
I’ve had 3 dcs with each one it got harder to get back in shape. For me being out of shape felt so gross I had to work on it.
Anyway some thin people do have to work at it I suppose that’s all I’m saying. I think I’m lucky only in that I’ve always hated feeling too full & had an obese mother who sat around all day moaning that she was not over eating. She was, she smacked a lot always eating biscuits and tasting while cooking and clearing her dgc plates so it added up.

I think a lot is down to stress and insomnia.

I don’t think with me losing weight is done by eating less and moving more.

I sleep on average (according to my fitbit) 4hours 4minutes per night. Sometimes I only get 1.5 hours.

The thing is occasionally after taking 10mg of melatonin (can’t do it on a regular basis as it leaves me feeling groggy and a bit strange in the morning) I get 8-9 hours sleep.

On those mornings I get up feeling great. Jump on the scales and I have lost 3 lbs from the previous day.

There are so many reasons people are overweight.

Eating less in Summer is so much more easier than in days like today when the sky is grey and it is chucking itself down and you are feeling depressed

Handslikecowstits

There is loads of good research about our gut bacteria being fundamental to health and weight. The fast food diet, antibiotics and the quality of our soil are all detrimental to the healthy gut.

I’d be really interested in what the ££ doctor did with you

There has been research that stress causes weight gain. Your insulin spikes and your body doesn’t remove the insulin. Also cortisol. Some medications cause weight gain. I have steroid inhalers and despite every doctor saying the steroids go straight into your lungs I am double the weight I was as a young woman. I have always had a healthy diet.

I find that the best way to stay at a healthy weight is to be very careful of some diet advice. Yes to maintain weight you need to eat roughly the same calories that you use. You need to eat less than you use to lose weight and if you eat more you will gain. That's true but it's over simplified. How your body reacts to what you eat is in many ways more important. Fat doesn't make you fat. Cholesterol in eggs does not equal increased cholesterol in your body. Sucrose and the fructose in whole fruit are not the same and do not have the same effect on your body.

If you are pretty sedentary reduce calories derived from carbohydrates and increase calories derived from protein. Not because the protein will magically make you weigh less but because it will fill you up. If you are going to eat a 300 calorie breakfast, then let that be 300 calories of food that will bring you happily through to your next proper meal and not 300 calories that means you'll be jonesing for a pastry 90 minutes later.

If you like sweet treat foods then incorporate them into your meals rather than tacking them onto the end as a dessert or as mid-meal snacks. I love sweet food and often make a banana and oat omelette for breakfast and eat it with a side of fruit. It's absolutely delicious, feels like a decadent treat and so filling that I can eat it at 8am and not be hungry again until it's almost time for my next meal at 2/3pm. This morning I just had porridge with fruit and I know it's not going to satisfy me in the same way.